Hydrangeaceae 203 
PARNASSIA GRASS OF PARNASSUS 
Glabrous, scapose. Leaves entire, palmately veined, the basal petioled; stem-leaf 
1, sessile. Flowers solitary, terminal. Calyx 5-lobed nearly to the base; tube short. 
Petals persistent, pale-yellow or white. Fertile stamens 5, opposite the sepals; sterile 
stamens generally numerous, in a cluster at the base of each petal. Ovary superior or 
partly inferior, 1-celled; style very short or none; placentae 4, projecting inward; stigmas 
usually 4. Capsule 4-valved. Seeds numerous, winged. (Named by the Greeks after 
Mt. Parnassus. ) 
A. Leaves ovate to broadly oval; petals 16—-20 mm. long, not fimbriolate at base; ster- 
ile stamens 20—24 in a group. U. 
P. californica Gr. 
AA. Leaves cordate to reniform; petals 8—1I3 mm. long, very much fimbriolate at 
base; sterile stamens 5—9 in a group. W. C. E. (P. intermedia. ) 
P. fimbriata Konig 
HYDRANGEACEAE Syringa Family 
Shrubs (ours), or trees, sometimes vines. Leaves opposite, deciduous (ours), some- 
times persistent; stipules none; blade simple, entire or toothed. Flowers usually perfect, 
often in cymes, those at the margin of the cyme sometimes sterile and conspicuously en- 
larged; cymes in racemes or corymbs or panicles. Sepals 410, united below, in ster- 
ile flowers, often conspicuously enlarged. Petals as many as the sepals. Stamens 8— 
many; filaments long. Ovary wholly or partly inferior; carpels 2—10, united. Capsule 
urn-shaped to conic or rarely globose. Seeds |—many in each carpel. 
A. Shrub low, spreading or trailing; stamens 10—12 or fewer; ovule and seed only 
I in each carpel; capsule beakless. WHIPPLEA (p. 203) 
AA. Shrub erect or spreading; stamens many; ovules and seeds many in each carpel; 
capsule beaked by the persistent style. PHILADELPHUS (p. 203) 
WHIPPLEA 
Low, diffuse; branches rather tender; bark ultimately somewhat shreddy. Leaf- 
blade oval or ovaté, shallowly few-toothed, 3-veined from base. Flowers small. Calyx- 
cup rather wide; segments 5—6, thin, scarcely longer than the cup. Petal-blades 
rhombic. Stamens 8—12, alternately longer and shorter. Ovary 3—5-celled; styles 
3—5, distinct. Capsule globose, separating into 3—5 leathery |-seeded carpels. (Honor 
of A. W. Whipple, who commanded a survey on the Pacific Coast.) W. 
W. modesta Torr. 
PHILADELPHUS SYRINGA 
Tall, branching. Leaf-blade toothed or entire, 3-veined from base. Flowers per- 
fect, often fragrant, borne at the ends of short leafy branches, solitary or in small 3—9- 
flowered cymes, or forming false racemes or panicles. Calyx-segments 4, rarely 5, per- 
sistent, ovate to lanceolate, somewhat tomentulose inside. Petals white (ours) or ochroleu- 
cous, conspicuous, in most species rounded or retuse at the apex. Stamens |5—60, (in 
ours 2560). Ovary at least 2/3 inferior, 3—5-celled. Capsule obovoid, somewhat 
woody or leathery, loculicidal. Seeds numerous. (Honor of King Ptolemy Philadel- 
phus, of Egypt. Why?) 
