veratrum MELANTHAGEiE 663 



STENANTHELLA 



flowers: segments of the perianth oblanceolate, ciliate-serrulate, 4-6 lines 

 long, greenish-yellow, adnate to the attenuate base of the ovary: stamens 

 2-3 lines long : ovary glabrous : capsule oblong-ovate, acute, 10-12 lines 

 long, many-seeded: seeds 4-5 lines long. In damp woods in the high 

 mountains, Oregon to Alaska and the Eastern States and Canada. 



V. Californicum Durand Journ. Philad. Acad, iii, 103. ? Stems very 

 stout, 3-10 feet high, very leafy: lower leaves broadly oval, 6-12 inches 

 long, 4-8 inches wide .obtuse to acute: the uppermost ones lanceolate, 

 much reduced and bract-like: branches of the panicle slender, ascending: 

 bracts ovate-lanceolate to subulate, shorter or several times longer than 

 the pedicels: segments of the perianth greenish white, lanceolate, obtuse, 

 attenuate at base, 8-10 lines long, entire, or denticulate above, slightly ad- 

 nate to the ovary: stamens 3-5 lines long: ovary glabrous : capsule aninch 

 or more long. In swamps, Washington to California and Colorado. 



V. cautlatnm Heller Bull. Torr. Bot. Club xxvi. 588. by the descrip- 

 tion dose not differ from the above except in glabrous leaves : it grows in 

 wet meadows, Chehalis County, Washington. 



2 STEXANTHEI.LA Rydberg Bull. Torr. Bot. Club xxvii, 530. 



Erect glabrous herbs with coated bulbs, few narrow leaves and 

 perfect flowers in bracted racemes or panicles. Perianth of 6 dis- 

 tinct lanceolate acuminate subequal marcescent segments without 

 glands or distinct claw. Stamens ij, shorter than the perianth- 

 segments and inserted on their bases, free. Anthers reniform, 

 confluently 1-celled and peltate after opening. Ovary ovoid, su- 

 perior. Styles 3. Capsule 3-beaked, septicidal to the base. 

 Seeds oblong, winged. 



S. oceidentalis Bydb. 1. c. 531. Stenanthium occidentaU Gray. Bulb 

 oblong-ovoid, 4-6 lines in diameter : stem slender, 10-20 inches high : leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 6-12 inches long, 3-12 lines wide: raceme 

 simple, or branched at base : bracts somewhat scarious, broadly lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 3-12 lines long: pedicels slender, spreading or recurved, longer 

 than the bracts: flowers campanulate, nodding: segments of the perianth 

 brownish-purple, 6-8 lines long, oblong to lanceolate, acuminate, the tips 

 spreading or recurved: capsule at length strictly erect, 6-8 lines long, 

 attenuate into the elongated slender styles: seeds linear, flat, winged, 3-4 

 lines long. On rocky banks and bluffs, Oregon to Brit. Columbia and Idaho. 



3 ZYGADENU8 Michx. Fl. i. 213. (1803.] 



Erect herbs with coated bulbs, leafy stems, linear leave.- and 

 rather small white or yellowish flowers in terminal glabrous pan- 

 icles or racemes, perianth of 6 distinct similar marcescent 

 segments bearing 1 or 2 glands just above the narrowed base. 

 Stamens free from the perianth-segments and about equalling 

 them in length : anthers cordate or reniform, confluently 1-celled. 

 Capsule 3-lobed and 3-celled, the cells not diverging, dehiscent 

 to the base, seeds several or numerous in each cell, oblong or 

 linear, angled. 



* Flowers rather large, mostly perfect. 



Z. elegans Pursh Fl. 241. Stem 6 inches to 3 feet high : leaves glau- 

 cous, 2-6 lines broad : raceme simple, or sparingly branched below, often 

 few-flowered: bracts ovate lanceolate, usually purplish : perianth adnate to 

 the base of the ovary, its segments broad, oval or obovate, obtuse. 4—5 lines 



