358 8. PHYTEUMA SPICATUM. [CL. V, 



shorter, and, at last, entirely dib>appear. The lowermost 

 leaves are cordate, oblong, unequally crenate and dentate, 

 smooth on both sides, three inches long, and one inch broad. 

 The upper leaves are smaller, and, at last, are entirely lanceo- 

 late, and without stalks. On the upper part of the stem 

 stands the spike, frequently of a finger's length, the yellowish 

 white, sometimes blue flowers of which open from below up- 

 wards, (84.) Immediately under the spike a pair of small 

 stem-leaves are found, which are quite entire. 



The calyx surrounds the germen, and terminates at the 

 upper part in five pointed teeth. The corolla consists of five 

 long pointed petals, which, with their upper greenish ends, at 

 first are united around the pistil, and form a short tube, but 

 at their under part they are open. Afterwards they spring 

 from one another, and stand quite open. The filaments are 

 broad and hairy below, form a kind of arch over the up- 

 per part of the germen, by degrees become pointed above, 

 and pass into long yellow anthers. The pistil is simple, up- 

 wardly hairy, terminates in two convoluted stigmata, and is 

 much larger than the corolla and the anthers. On this ac- 

 count, and because androgynous dichogamy takes place here 

 (103. 331.), the stigma cannot be impregnated by the anthers 

 of the same flower, but from the superior flowers, which blos- 

 som later. The nectary is the surface of the germen. The 

 fruit is a capsule of two loculi, surrounded by a calyx, 

 containing in each loculus, on a separate free-standing pil- 

 lar, a number of fine seeds, which inclose, in the middle of 

 the albuminous substance, the erect embryon, with its two 

 cotyledons. 



Diagnosis. 



The nearest to this species is the Ph. betonicafolium, 

 Vaill. {Delph' t. IS.), which is distinguished only by longer 

 and smaller leaves, and by an oblong obtuse spike. The 

 Ph. cordatum Vill. (t. 11. jiigrirm Schmidt.)^ also is nearly 

 related, but its blossoms are constantly of a dark violet co- 

 lour, and the bracteae are subulate. The other species are 

 more distantly related. 



