POLYGALACEJB. (MILKWORT FAMILY.) 85 



kind showy and perfect, borne in a loose terminal raceme, the other imperfect, 

 but fruiting, in radical (rarely axillary) spikes; wings ohovate ; caruncle half 

 as long as the obovate very hairy seed. (P. rubella, Maid.) — Wet or dry 

 sandy barrens, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. May and June. (2) — 

 Stems 6'- 12' high, very leafy. Racemes 2' -6' long. Flowers purple. 



17. P. Senega, L. (Sexeca Snakeroot.) Stems several from a thick 

 woody root, erect or ascending, simple or branching above ; leaves numerous, 

 lanceolate, the upper ones acute (1' long) ; spike cylindrical, peduncled; wings 

 round-obovate, as long as the capsule ; lobes of the caruncle linear, as long as 

 the obovate hairy seed. — Var. latifolta, Torr. & Gray. Stem taller ( 1° - U°) ; 

 leaves large (2' -4' long), ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate at each 

 end. — Dry rocky woods in the upper districts of North Carolina and northward ; 

 the variety in Tennessee, and northward. May and June. 1J. — Stems 8'- 12' 

 high. Spikes 1'- It' long. Flowers greenish-white. 



18. P. alba, Xutt. Stems several from a somewhat woody root, erect or 

 ascending, angular, at length branched above ; leaves linear, narrowed toward 

 the base, acute, or lowest ones obtuse ; spike long-peduncled, linear-lanceolate, 

 acuminate ; flowers short-pedicelled ; wings oval, rather longer than the capsule ; 

 lobes of the caruncle shorter than the oblong-obovate very hairy seed. (P. bicolor, 

 Kunth.) — Interior of Alabama, Buckley, and westward. — Stems ^°-l°high. 

 Spikes l'-3' long. Flowers white. Bracts deciduous. 



* * Leaves whorled: Jlowers small, greenish or ivhde, in slender spikes. 



19. P. Boykinii, Nott Perennial; stems numerous, angled, simple or 

 sparingly branched; leaves 4-5 in a whorl, the lower ones oblong-obovate. the 

 upper lanceolate and scattered ; spike linear, long-peduncled ; wings obovate, as 

 long as the capsule ; caruncle half as long as the oblong-obovate curved and 

 very hairy seed. — Rich calcareous soil, Florida, Georgia, and westward. May- 

 July. ]]. —Stems 1°- 2° high. Leaves 1 ' long. Spikes 2' -3' long. Flowers 

 white. 



20. P. verticillata, L. Annual ; stems low, 4-angled, much branched ; 

 leaves 4 - 5 in a whorl, linear, acute, the upper ones scattered ; spikes lanceolate , 

 wings roundish, as long as the capsule ; lobes of the caruncle half as long as the 

 oblong hairy seed. — Dry sandy soil, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. 

 June - Aug. — Stem 4' - 8' high. Spikes h' - I' long. Flowers greenish-white. 



21. P. leptOStachys, Shuttl. Annual; stems filiform or setaceous, sim- 

 ple, or branched above, straight; lea\es remote, 4-5 in a whorl, narrow-linear 

 or filiform, acute ; spike linear, long-peduncled ; wings oval, nearly sessile, 

 smaller than the capsule ; caruncle half as long as the smooth curved clavate- 

 obovate seed. — Dry sand hills, Florida. May - August. — Stems 10'-15' high. 

 Flowers greenish. 



§ 3. Flowers axillary, and with imperfect radical ones, as in No. 16. 



22. P. paucifolia, L. Perennial ; flowering stems erect, simple, leafy at 

 the summit ; leaves large, ovate, alternate, narrowed into a petiole, the lower 

 ones bract-like ; flowers (1-3) peduncled, crested, very large ; wings obovate ; 



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