276 ONAGRACEAE. 



5 BOISDUVALIA Spach. 

 Erecl annuals with alternate leaves. Flowers small or minute, in leafy 

 spikes or axillary along the branches. Calyx-tube (above the ovary) short, 

 obconic, the lobes erect. Petals 4, obovate, sessile, 2-lobed, purple to white. 

 Stamens 8, those opposite 1 the petals shorter; anthers basifixed. Capsule 4- 

 celledj Lvalved, sessile. (Jean-Alphonse Boisduval, French naturalist and 

 physician, author of Flora Francaise.) 



Capsule terete, membranous. 



Capsule septifragal, the septa wholly persistent on the placental axis, which is thus 



4 \> inged 1. B. densiflora. 



Capsule loculicidal, the septa adherent to the valves in dehiscence. 



Floral leaves ovate or oblong 2. B. glabella. 



Floral leaves linear 3. B. striata. 



Capsule 4-sided, coriaceous; dehiscence unknown 4. B. clcistogama. 



1. B. densiflora (Lindl.) Wats. Erect, 1 to 2 ft. high, branched above; 

 leaves lanceolate, 2 in. long, the floral ovate, acute, about 3 to 6 lines long ; 

 inflorescence spicate, commonly elongated; petals about 2 lines long, about 

 twice as long as the lobes of the calyx, and exceeding the subtending leaves; 

 capsule 2 lines long, dehiscent; seeds ovate or triangular-ovate. 



Widely distributed in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Coast Range val- 

 leys and among the hills, preferring low ground where water has stood in 

 spring pools. Also in the Sierra Nevada. June-Sept. Var. imbricata Greene. 

 Bracts densely imbricated, concealing the capsules; spikes commonly very 

 long and virgate. — Santa Cruz ; Marin Co. ; Vaca Valley. Var. moxtanus 

 Jepson. Short lateral spikelets numerous below the short terminal spike, each 

 spikelet subtended by a narrowly lanceolate bract l 1 ^ to 2 in. long. — Howell 

 Mt. 



Var. bipartita Jepson, n. comb. Herbage pale and villous; petals white, 

 very deeply parted into 2 unequal lobes, the smaller about % the length of the 

 other, the open corolla thus seemingly composed of 8 petals, 4 long and 4 

 short; capsule villous; seeds few and large. — Arroyo del Valle, Greene. (B. 

 bipartita Greene.) 



2. B. glabella Walp. var. campestris Jepson, n. comb. Commonly 

 branched from the base, 5 to 9 in. high, with a short scattered pubescence 

 or nearly glabrous, the foliage bright green; upper (flowering) portion of 

 branches densely imbricated with ovate or oblong denticulate leaves 5 or 6 

 lines long, in fruiting stage concealing the capsules; lower leaves ovate-lanceo- 

 late, scattered and rather longer, often with flowers in their axils; petals 2 

 lines long, purple; stamens opposite the sepals li/> lines long, the alternate 

 ones shorter (sometimes with nearly sessile anthers) ; capsule almost straight, 

 pointed at apex, 3 lines long; seeds fusiform, about 60. — (B. campestris Jep- 

 son.) 



Plains of the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys; associated with 

 B. cleistogama. May-June. 



3. B. stricta(Cray) Greene. Simple or often diffusely branched from 

 the hase, 5 to 13 in. high, pilose-pubescent or somewhat canescent ; leaves 

 linear, 1 j L . in. long or less; petals 1 line long, violet; capsule Blender, atten- 

 uate, arcuate recurved, <> to 7 lines long, not promptly dehiscent. 



Lower Sacramento Valley. Howell Mt. and Cloverdale (type IOC. lu>hnt<hr) 

 southward to New Alma<len ami the Santa Lucia Mts. dune. Frequently 



