PAM. 2& 31 



E. decrngulare. Leaves longer than the sheath; scapes 3-10 dm.. 10-14 ridged; 



headi over 10mm. Marshland. Spring to Fall. 

 E. Ravenelli. I . r than the sheath; scapes 1-3 dm., 5-6 ridged; heads 



■m. Wet grounds. Summer and Winter. 

 2. -illate flowers 8, cohering below, ... - Syngonanthus 



S. iPaeralanthus) flavidulus. Le av es linear, scapes 1-3 dm., 5-angled. very 



< nt, heads 5 mm. Low pine-land. Spring and Summer. 

 Petall i I \ ist-Uate fl< wen none or reduced to hairs, - Lachnocaulon 



L. minus Michauiii . Leaves linear, scapes pubescent 0.5 — 3 dm.; heads gray 

 cr Irownish-gray. Moist soil. Spring and summer. 



26. Commelinaceae, Spider-vert Family. 



Herl s with erect or creeping stems, alternate leaves 

 with sheathing bases, perfect flowers solitary or in umbel- 

 like cymes, calyx herbaceous, corolla showy, stamens 5-6 

 of which 2-3 may be sterile, carpels 2-3 united, ovary su- 

 1 erior, styles united, stigma obscurely 2-3 lobed; fruit 

 a capsule. 



1. Petals alike; stamens 6. hairy, all normal. -------2 



1. Petals unlike; stamens 3, smooth, and 2-3 staminodia, - - Commelina 

 C. Virginica, Day- or Dew-flower. Stems spreading or decumbent; sheath more 



or less hairy; involucre spathe-like, folded; flowers irregular, in cymes; 

 sepals 3. partly united; petals 3, fugacious, two large, one smaller, Sandy 

 pine-land. Summer and Fall. — In low swampy places is found C erecta, 

 with stout erect stems. 

 2. Cymes with very small tracts unlike the leaves, - Cuthbertia 



C. Tradescantia rosea, Spiderwort. Stems erect, flowers in umbel-like cymes 

 of 3-10 at the ends of long peduncles and subtended by small bracts, sepals 

 3; petals 3, rose-colored, distinct. Sandy pine-land. Spring and Sum- 

 mer. 



2. Cymes with 2-3 bracts similar to the leaves. - - Tradescantia, Spiderwort 

 a. Sheaths not imbricated at the base of the stem; plants glaucous; — 



stem tall, often branched; leaves almost linear; bracts 2, un- 

 equal, reflexed; corolla blue. Sandy or clayey soil. Spring and 

 Summer. __________ x. reflexa 



a. Sheaths imbricated at the base of the stem, ----- _ b 



b. Plants glandular, sheaths small, ciliate; — stem erect or assurgent; 

 leaves linear, almost as long as the stem; bracts 2, small; cor- 

 olla deep-blue. Sandy pine-land. Spring and Summer, - T. longifolia 



b. Plants glabrous or glabrate, sheaths large, villous; — stem erect, 

 very leafy near the base; leaves narrowly linear, about as long 

 as the stem; bracts 3. unequal; corolla blue. Hammocks. 

 Spring. _________ j. foliosa 



Cultiva - of this family are: 



Tradescantia viridis fluminensis , Wandering Jew. Stems trailing or the 

 ends of the shoots ascending, glabrous, shining; leaves ovate, acute, sessile, 

 iate at the base, sheaths U.ng; flowers white, hairy inside, borne in a ses- 

 sile cluster, subtended by two unequal bracts; stamens 0. equal. 

 Tradescantia zebrina iZebrina pendula , Wandering Jew. Stems trailing, 



