94 



POLEMONIACEiE. 



Phlox. 



2. Phlox subulata, Linn. Mountain Pink. 



Stems procumbent, cespitose, pubescent, much branched, the branches assurgent ; leaves 

 linear-subulate, rigid, ciliate ; corymbs few-flowered ; calyx-segments subulate ; lobes of the 

 corolla cuneate, emarginate. — Linn sp. 1. p. 152 ; Bot. mag. t. 411 ; Miclix. ft. 1. p. 145 ; 

 Pursh, fl. 1. p. 151 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 249 ; Torr.Jl. 1. p. 229 ; Beck, bot. p. 247 ; Darlingt. 

 fl. Cest. p. 129. 



Root creeping. Stems 6-12 inches long, forming little tufts ; the branches 3-4 inches 

 high. Leaves about half an inch long and scarcely more than a line wide, with tufts of smaller 

 leaves or rudimentary branches in the axils. Corymbs or rather cymes 3 - 5-flowered. Calyx 

 hairy ; the segments rigid like the leaves. Corolla pink or bright purple, with a darker centre 

 (sometimes pale or almost while) ; the lube about one-third longer than the calyx. 



Rocky banks and hill-sides, particularly along rivers. April - May. I am not sure that 

 I have found this plant strictly within the limits of the State, but it is abundant on our 

 immediate borders in New-Jersey, and Muhlenberg records it as a native of New- York. 



2. POLEMONIUM. Tourn. ; Endl. gen. 3822. GREEK VALERIAN. 



[ From the Greek, polemos, war. According to Pliny, the plant to which this name was first given, was the cause of a 

 war between two kings, who could not agree which of them first discovered its virtues.] 



Calyx campanulate. Corolla campanulate-rotate ; the limb 5-lobed : tube short, closed by 

 the dilated bases of the filaments. Ovary with many ovules in each cell. Capsule globose- 

 ovoid ; the cells many- (or by abortion few-) seeded. — Herbs, with alternate pinnately 

 divided leaves, and flowers in terminal columns. 



1. Polemonium reptans, Linn. Jacob's Ladder. 



Stem slender, erect or declined ; leaflets 7-9 (rarely 11) ; flowers terminal, nodding. — 

 Linn. sp. (cd. 2.) 1. p. 230 ; Mill. ic. t. 209 ; Michx. fl. 1. p. 142 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 151 ; 

 Ell. sk. 1. p. 261 ; Nutt. gen. 1. p. 127 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 230 ; Beck, bot. p. 248 ; Darlingt. 

 fl. Cest. p. 127. 



Root perennial, creeping. Stem 12-18 inches high, branching, smooth. Leaves nearly 

 smooth ; the segments opposite or irregular, ovate-lanceolate, about an inch long, acute ; the 

 petiole winged. Flowers terminating the branches, in small corymbs. Pedicels nearly half 

 an inch long. Calyx smooth, veiny, finally somewhat inflated ; the lobes ovate, acute. Corolla 

 blue, nearly three times as long as the calyx ; the lobes short, rounded. Stamens shorter than 

 the corolla : anthers roundish. Style longer than the stamens. Capsule (by abortion) mostly 

 3-seeded. Seeds emitting, when moistened, an innumerable multitude of spiral threads, which 

 to the naked eye appear like a thick mucus. 



Moist woods and meadows. Cattaraugus county {Dr. Bradley). May. The seeds of this 

 plant emit the spiral threads from the surface of the testa almost as copiously as those of 

 Collomia. 



