224 PLANTAGIXIACE-E. 



somewhat bell-shaped; stamaisS', styh:s 4, 2-Iobcd at the apex. 

 Woods and old fields, abundant near Liverpool, along the Suspuehanna. June. 

 \ small tree 20 to 30 feet high. Leaves '1 to3 inches long, glaucous ben 

 Flowers obscure, pale, yellowish-green, the fertile ones bu ■ i edi I by a plum-like 

 1 inch Id diameter, which is exceedingly astringent when green, golden-yel- 

 Ldw when ripe, aua sweet and edible after exposure to irost. 



Order 64. FLANTAGINIACE2E. 



Chiefly shmhss herb?, with regular i-merous spiled flowers, the stamens in 

 j-i the tube of the dry and, membranaceous veinless moiwpcialous corolla altt 

 .-—chiefly represented by the typical genua 



1. PL ANT AGO, Linn. Plantain. 



The Latin name of the Plantain. 



Flowers perfect. Calyx of 4 imbricated persistent 

 sepals. Corolla - tubular, withering on the capsule, the 

 border 4-parted, renexed. Stamens 4, mostly with long 

 and weak filaments. Capsule 2-eelled, 2-several-seeded, 

 opening transversely, so that the top falls off like a lid. — 

 Acaulescent herbs, iviih radical ribbed leaves, and small whitish 

 flowers in a oracled spike raised on a naked scape. 



1. P. MAJOR, L.' Common P Junta in. 



Smooth or hairy; Uaves oval or ovate, somewhat toothed, '5 to 7-nr>rvod, i abrupuy 

 larrOwed into a channelled petiole; spike long, cylindrical, densely flowered : 

 stamens and style long/ 



Rich moist soil, about footpaths near houses. June — Sept. Per. Scape 8 to 12 

 inches high, pubescent. Leaves spreading on the ground, coarsely toothoi. 



2 to 6 inches long, close. Flowers whitish. Probably introduced. 



2: P. CORDATA, Lam. Ilcart-leavcd Plantain. 



Smooth; leaves ovate and mostly heart-shaped, scarcely toothed, thickish, on 

 long stout petioles; spike very long, at' length rather loose; bracts ovate, obtuse 

 seeds mostly 4. 



Banks of streams, rare. June, July. Per. Scales stout 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves 



3 to S inches long.- the ti to 8* ribs or veins confluent below "with the thick midrib . 

 Flowers in a slender elongated spike, with white corollas. 



3, P. lanceolata, L.- Lance-haved Plantain. 



Hairy or almost smooth; leaves' lanceolate, 3 to 5-nerved, entire or nearly so, 

 tapering to each end, on slender petioles, remotely toothed ; scape slender, elongated, 

 grooved; spike short, ovoid or cblong-cylindrieal, very tiehse; bracts scale-like, 

 ovate, pointed ; seeds 2.- 



Dry fields among grass, common. Slay— Aug.- Per. Scape 12 to 18 inches 

 high, somewhat hairy. Flowers whitish, with 2 of the sepals commonly united 

 into one. Introduced.' 



4. P. Virginica, L. Virginian Plantain. 



Woolly with soft hairs; leaves oblong or lanceolate-ovate, 5-nerved, sparingly 

 ioothed, or entire, narrowed into a short margined petiole; spike cylindrical, 

 lease-flowered above and interrupted and scattered below ; lobes of tho corolla in 

 oruit involute and converging into a sort of beak. 



