542 



ORDER CXXXII. PONTEDERIACEJS. 



Genus VII.— STREPTOPUS. Mich. 6—1. 

 (From etreptos, twisted, and pons, foot, from the twisted flower-stalks.) 



Perianth 6-parted, revolute, campanulate, with nectariferous 

 pores at the base. Stamens 6. Style 1. Fruit baccate, sub- 

 globose, 3-celIed, few-seeded. 



1. S. ro'seus, (Mich.) Stem erect, glabrous, dichotomous. Leaves 

 oval, acuminate, clasping, many-nerved. Flowers axillary, solitary, 

 small, on nodding peduncles. — Rose-colored. 21. May — June. Mount- 

 ains. 12 — 18 inches. Hekorima dichotoma. 



2. S. lanugino'sus, (Mich.) Stem hoary, erect, branching. Leaves ses- 

 sile, ovate, acuminate, somewhat cordate, 5 — 7-nerved, pubescent. Pe- 

 duncles at the summit of the branchlets, 2-flowered. Flowers on long 

 pedicels. Fruit red. — Greenish-purple. If. Mountains. Pennsylva- 

 nia to Carolina. Prosartes lanuginosa, Don. 



Genus VIII.— VERA'TRUM. 6—3. 

 (From vere atrum, truly black ; in allusion to the color of the stem.) 



Perianth 6-parted, expanding, the segments sessile, without 

 glands. Stamens 6, inserted on the receptacle. Style 3, short. 

 Capsule oblong, 2-valved, many-seeded. 



1. V. vir'ide, (Ait.) Stem erect. Leaves large, sheathing at the 

 base, plaited, oval. Flowers in paniculate racemes. Bracts of the 

 branches oblong-lanceolate ; partial ones longer thnn the sub-pubescent 

 peduncles. Segments of the perianth oblong-oval, acute. — Greenish- 

 yellow. 21. July. Mountains. 3 — 6 feet. 



•J. V. pauviflo'rum, (Mich.) Leaves oval-lanceolate, flat, glabrous. 

 Floioers in slender, expanding panicles. Segments of the perianth acute 

 at each end, bearing the stamens. — Green. 21. July. Mountains. 

 2 — 3 feet. Zygadenus monozcus, Gray. 



3. V. angusttfo'lium, (Pursh.) Flowers dioecious, in simple panicles. 

 Segments of the perianth linear ; leaves very long, linear, keeled. — 

 Greenish-yellow. If. June. Mountains. 3 — 4 feet. 



Stenanthium angustifolium, Gray. 



Order CXXXII.— PONTEDERIA'CEvE. 



Perianth tubular, colored, 6-parted, more or less irregular, 

 aestivation ci rein ate. Stamens 3 or 6, unequal, perigynous. 

 Ovary superior, 3-celled, many-seeded. Style I. Stigma sim- 

 ple. Capsule 3-celled, 3-valved, dehiscence loculicidal. Seeds 

 numerous, orthotropous. Placenta? central. Aquatic plants, 

 with leaves sheathing at the base. Flowers spathaceous. 



Genus L— PONTEDE'RIA. L. 6—1. {Pickerel Weed) 

 (In honor of Julius Pontedcra, of Padua.) 



Perianth inferior, 6-parted, bilabiate, the under side of the 

 tube perforated with 8 longitudinal foramina, lower part per- 

 sistent. Stamens 6, unequally inserted. Capsule 3-celled. 



