316 



MELANTHACE.E. 



Melantiiium. 



2. MELANTHIUM. Linn. gen. no. 454 ; Mich. fl. 2. p. 250. MELANTIIIUM. 



[ From the Greek, niclas, black, and antkos, a flower ; the flowers turning dark in decay.] 

 Leimanthium, WiUd.s Zygadenus (chiefly), Kunth. 



Flowers mostly polygamous. Leaflets of the perianth rotate, petaloid, each with 2 glands ; 

 the claws bearing the stamens. Stamens 6, shorter than the perianth : anthers reniform ; 

 the cells confluent at the apex, shield -form after dehiscence. Styles short, subulate : 

 stigmas simple, minute. Capsule ovoid-conical, membranaceous, 3-lobed ; the carpels 

 distinct at the summit and finally separable their whole length, opening on the inside, 

 4- 10-seeded. Seeds compressed, with a broad membranaceous wing. — Stem usually 

 tall and puberulent. Leaves linear or lanceolate. Flowers in a pyramidal panicle, ochro- 

 leucous or dull yellowish green. 



The genus Melanthium was founded on M. Virginicum ; the name must therefore be retained for that species, 

 and the nearly allied M. hybridum, as has been suggested by Dr. Gray in Sill. jour. 42. p. 27. 



1. Melanthium Virginicum, Linn. (PL CXXXIV.) Virginian Melanthium. 



Leaflets of the perianth ovate, auriculate-cordate at the base ; glands approximated, the 

 claws bearing the stamens above the middle. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 339 ; Michx. fl. 2. p. 251 ; 

 Pursh,fl. 1. p. 240 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 418 ; Torr. fl. I. p. 267 ; Beck, hot. p. 366 ; Darlingt. 

 fl. Cest. p 231. Helonias Virginica, Sims in bot. mag. t. 285. Leimanthium Virginicum, 

 Willd. in mag. naturf.fr. 2. p. 24, ex Schult. syst. 7. p. 1549 ; Gray, I. c. p. 115. Zygadenus 

 Virginicus, Kunth, enum. 4. p. 195. 



Stem 3-4 feet high, leafy, minutely pubescent. Leaves 8-15 inches long and \ - 1 

 inch wide, pale green, narrowed and clasping at the base. Panicle a foot or more in length ; 

 the branches few, simple and racemose : perfect and sterile flowers mixed. Pedicels 6-8 

 lines long, with ovate bracts at the base. Perianth about half an inch in diameter, dull greenish 

 yellow, finally becoming brown ; the leaflets stellately spreading, at first broadly ovate, but at 

 length narrower, somewhat hastate at the base, abruptly narrowed into a distinct claw ; the 

 glands oval, approximated but not united. Filaments cohering with the claws of the perianth 

 above the middle. Ovary in the sterile flower only rudimentary, but the styles distinct. Cap- 

 sule about half an inch long, consisting of 3 united follicular carpels, which are distinct at the 

 summit. Seeds much compressed, 4 - 10 in each carpel, with a broad winged margin. 



Wet meadows, Staten Island. Orange county {Dr. Hortori). Fl. July. Fr. September. 

 I suspect that the Orange county plant is M. hybridmn, as that species is frequent in the 

 neighboring county of Sussex in New-Jersey. I have not seen Dr. Horton's specimens. 



