318 



MELANTHACE.E. 



Helonias. 



4. HELONIAS. Linn, (in part); Gray in ann. lyc. N. York, 4. p. 130. HELONIAS. 



[ Said to be derived from hclos, the Greek for marsh ; some of the species growing in wet grounds.] 



Flowers perfect (sometimes polygamous or dioecious). Leaflets of the perianth narrow, without 

 claws or glands, spreading. Stamens 6, hypogynous, and finally exceeding the perianth. 

 Anthers roundish, 2-celled, forked at the base. Styles 3, spreading, flat and stigmatose on 

 the inside the whole length. Capsule obcordate or ovoid ; the cells many-seeded. Seeds 

 winged at each end. — Smooth perennial herbs. Pedicels without bracts. 



Subgenus CiiamvELIRItjm, Willd. Flowers dicecious. Capsule ovoid, septicidal ; the cells 5 — 9- 

 seeded. — Root prcemorse : stem slender : flowers white, in a long [finally virgate) spike-like 

 raceme. 



1. Helonias (Cham^elirium) dioica, Pursh. DeviV s-bit. Unicorn- plant. 



Stem leafy ; sterile raceme nodding at first ; the fertile mostly erect. — Pursh, fl. 1. p. 243 ; 

 Ell. sk. 1. p. 423 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 370 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 141 ; Beck, hot. p. 367 ; Dar- 

 lingt. fl. Cest.p. 233 ; Gray, I. c. p. 132 ; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 178. H. pumila, Jacq. 

 ic. rar. 2. t. 253. H. lutea, Ait. Kew. (ed. 2.) 2. p. 330 ; Bot. mag. t. 1062. Veratrum 

 luteum, Linn. sp. 2 p. 1044, et amcen. acad. 3. t. l.f. 2. Chamaelirium Carolinianum, Willd. 

 in mag. naturf. 2. p. 23 ; Kunth, enum. 4. p. 176. Ophiostachys Virginica, Delile in Red. 

 Lil. t. 464. 



Root thick and bitter. Sterile plant 1-2 feet high ; the fertile often three feet or more. 

 Radical leaves in a tuft 4-8 inches long and half an inch to an inch broad, tapering to a long 

 narrow base : stem-leaves much smaller, and linear-lanceolate. Sterile raceme usually nod- 

 ding or recurved, 3-8 inches long ; the pedicels spreading, 1-2 lines long : fertile raceme 

 longer, and commonly erect ; the pedicels erect, 2-3 lines long. Flowers white. Leaflets 

 of the perianth narrowly linear-spatulate. Stamens unequal, white, longer than the perianth 

 in the sterile flowers, short and imperfect in the fertile. Ovary green, usually entirely wanting 

 in the staminate flowers. Styles somewhat clavate, nearly the length of the ovary. Capsule 

 oblong-ovoid or obovoid, 3-lobed, 3-partible at the summit ; the carpels opening on the inside. 

 Seeds 6 - 10 in each cell, with a winged margin which is broadest at each end. 



Meadows, and moist woods. Fl. May - June. Fr. September. Dr. Darlington states 

 that he has found perfect flowers on the staminate racemes, and sometimes the ovary composed 

 of 4 carpels. The root is a popular tonic and anthelmintic. 



