Class II. Monocotyledonous or Endogenous Plants (part 1)

Stems with no manifest distinction into bark, wood, and pith, but the woody fibre and vessels in bundles or threads which are irregularly imbedded in the cellular tissue; perennial trunks destitute of annual layers. Leaves mostly parallel-veined (nerved) and sheathing at the base, seldom separating by an articulation, almost always alternate or scattered and not toothed. Parts of the flower commonly in threes. Embryo with a single cotyledon, and the leaves of the plumule alternate.

Order 108. HYDROCHARIDÀCEÆ. (Frog's-bit Family.)

Aquatic herbs, with diœcious or polygamous regular flowers, sessile or on scape-like peduncles from a spathe, and simple or double floral envelopes, which in the fertile flowers are united into a tube and coherent with the 1–3-celled ovary. Stamens 3–12, distinct or monadelphous; anthers 2-celled. Stigmas 3 or 6. Fruit ripening under water, indehiscent, many-seeded. Seeds ascending, without albumen; embryo straight.

Tribe I. HYDRILLEÆ. Stem elongated, submerged, leafy. Spathes small, sessile.

1. Elodea. Leaves verticillate (rarely opposite). Perianth-tube long-filiform.

Tribe II. VALLISNERIEÆ. Stemless. Leaves elongated. Spathes pedunculate.

2. Vallisneria. Submerged; grass-like. Fertile flower solitary on a very long scape.

Tribe III. STRATIOTEÆ. Stem very short, with crowded leaves. Spathes pedunculate. Ovary 6–9-celled.

3. Limnobium. Stemless, floating; broad leaves long-petioled.

1. ELODÈA, Michx. Water-weed.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious, solitary and sessile from a sessile tubular 2-cleft axillary spathe. Sterile flowers small or minute, with 3 sepals barely united at base, and usually 3 similar or narrower petals; filaments short and united at base, or none; anthers 3–9, oval. Fertile flowers pistillate or apparently perfect; perianth extended into an extremely long capillary tube; the limb 6-parted; the small lobes obovate, spreading. Stamens 3–9, often with imperfect anthers or none. Ovary 1-celled, with 3 parietal placentæ, each bearing a few orthotropous ovules; the capillary style coherent with the tube of the perianth; stigmas 3, large, 2-lobed or notched, exserted. Fruit oblong, coriaceous, few-seeded.—Perennial slender submerged herbs, with elongated branching stems, thickly beset with pellucid and veinless, 1-nerved, sessile, whorled or opposite leaves. The staminate flowers (rarely seen) commonly break off, as in Vallisneria, and float on the surface, where they expand and shed their pollen around the stigmas of the fertile flowers, raised to the surface by the prolonged calyx-tube, which varies in length according to the depth of the water. (Name from ἑλώδης, marshy.)

1. E. Canadénsis, Michx. Leaves in 3's or 4's, or the lower opposite, varying from linear to oval-oblong, minutely serrulate; stamens 9 in the sterile flowers, 3 or 6 almost sessile anthers in the fertile. (Anacharis Canadensis, Planchon.)—Slow streams and ponds, common. July.

2. VALLISNÈRIA, L. Tape-grass. Eel-grass.

Flowers strictly diœcious; the sterile numerous and crowded in a head on a conical receptacle, enclosed in an ovate at length 3-valved spathe which is borne on a very short scape; stamens mostly 3. Fertile flowers solitary and sessile in a tubular spathe upon an exceedingly lengthened scape. Perianth (calyx) 3-parted in the sterile flowers; in the fertile with a linear tube coherent with the 1-celled ovary, but not extended beyond it, 3-lobed (the lobes obovate); also 3 linear small petals. Stigmas 3, large, nearly sessile, 2-lobed. Ovules very numerous, scattered over the walls, orthotropous. Fruit elongated, cylindrical, berry-like.—Stemless plants, with long linear grass-like leaves, wholly submerged. The staminate clusters being confined to the bottom by the shortness of the scape, the flower-buds themselves break from their short pedicels and float on the surface, where they shed their pollen around the fertile flowers, which are raised to the surface by sudden growth at the same time; afterwards the thread-form scapes (2–4 feet long) coil up spirally, drawing the fruit under water to ripen. (Named for Ant. Vallisneri, an early Italian botanist.)

1. V. spiràlis, L. Leaves linear, thin, long and ribbon-like (1–6° long), obscurely serrulate, obtuse, somewhat nerved and netted-veined.—Common in slow waters, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and Tex.

3. LIMNÒBIUM, Richard. American Frog's-bit.

Flowers diœcious, (or monœcious?) from sessile or somewhat peduncled spathes; the sterile spathe 1-leaved, producing about 3 long-pedicelled flowers; the fertile 2-leaved, with a single short-pedicelled flower. Calyx 3-parted or cleft; sepals oblong-oval. Petals 3, oblong-linear. Filaments entirely united in a central solid column, bearing 6–12 linear anthers at unequal heights; there are 3–6 awl-shaped rudiments of stamens in the fertile flowers. Ovary 6–9-celled, with as many placentæ in the axis, forming an ovoid many-seeded berry in fruit; stigmas as many as the cells, but 2-parted, awl-shaped.—A stemless perennial herb, floating in stagnant water, proliferous by runners, with long-petioled and round-heart shaped leaves, which are spongy-reticulated and purplish underneath; rootlets slender, hairy. Sterile flowers rather small; the fertile larger; peduncle nodding in fruit. Petals white? (Name from λιμνόβιος, living in pools.)

1. L. Spóngia, Richard. Leaves 1–2´ long, faintly 5-nerved; peduncle of sterile flower about 3´ long and filiform, of the fertile only 1´ long and stout.—Stagnant water, N. J. to Fla.; also L. Ontario, Ill., and Mo.

Order 109. BURMANNIÀCEÆ. (Burmannia Family.)

Small annual herbs, often with minute and scale-like leaves, or those at the root grass-like; the flowers perfect, with a 6-cleft corolla-like perianth, the tube of which adheres to the 1-celled or 3-celled ovary; stamens 3 and distinct, opposite the inner divisions of the perianth; capsule many-seeded, the seeds very minute.—A small, chiefly tropical family.

1. BURMÁNNIA, L.

Ovary 3-celled, with the thick placentæ in the axis. Filaments 3, very short. Style slender; stigma capitate-3-lobed. Capsule often 3-winged. (Named for J. Burmann, an early Dutch botanist.)

1. B. biflòra, L. Stem low and slender (2–4´ high), 2-flowered at the summit, or soon several-flowered; perianth (2–3´´ long) bright blue, 3-winged.—Peaty bogs, Va. to Fla.

Order 110. ORCHIDÀCEÆ. (Orchis Family.)

Herbs, clearly distinguished by their perfect irregular flowers, with 6-merous perianth adnate to the 1-celled ovary, with innumerable ovules on 3 parietal placentæ, and with either one or two gynandrous stamens, the pollen cohering in masses. Fruit a 1-celled 3-valved capsule, with innumerable minute seeds, appearing like fine saw-dust. Perianth of 6 divisions in 2 sets; the 3 outer (sepals) mostly of the same petal-like texture and appearance as the 3 inner (petals). One of the inner set differs more or less in figure, direction, etc., from the rest, and is called the lip; only the other two taking the name of petals in the following descriptions. The lip is really the upper petal, i.e. the one next to the axis, but by a twist of the ovary of half a turn it is more commonly directed forward and brought next the bract. Before the lip, in the axis of the flower, is the column, composed of a single stamen, or in Cypripedium of two stamens and a rudiment of a third, variously coherent with or borne on the style or thick fleshy stigma; anther 2-celled; each cell containing one or more masses of pollen (pollinia) or the pollen granular (in Cypripedium). Stigma a broad glutinous surface, except in Cypripedium.—Perennials, often tuber-bearing or tuberous-rooted; some epiphytes. Leaves parallel-nerved, all alternate. Flowers often showy, commonly singular in shape, solitary, racemed, or spiked, each subtended by a bract,—in all arranged for fertilization by the aid of insects, very few capable of unaided self-fertilization.

Tribe I. EPIDENDREÆ. Anther terminal, erect or inclined, operculate. Pollinia smooth and waxy, 4 or 8 (2 or 4 in each cell), distinct, or those in each cell (or all in n. 3 and 7) united at base. (Pollinia 8 only in n. 7 of our genera.)

[*] Green-foliaged plants, from solid bulbs, with 1 or 2 leaves.

[+] Column very short; leaf solitary.

1. Microstylis. Flowers racemose, minute, greenish. Petals filiform.

[+][+] Column elongated; leaves radical.

[++] Whole plant (except the flowers) green.

2. Liparis. Leaves 2. Raceme few-flowered. Lip flat, entire.

3. Calypso. Leaf solitary. Flower large, solitary. Lip saccate.

[++][++] A single green autumnal leaf; otherwise mainly brownish or purplish.

4. Tipularia. Raceme many-flowered; flowers small, greenish; lip 3-lobed.

5. Aplectrum. Raceme loose; flowers rather large; lip 3-ridged, not spurred or saccate.

[*][*] Leafless, with coralloid roots; whole plant brownish or yellowish; flowers racemose.

6. Corallorhiza. Pollinia 4, in 2 pairs. Flower gibbous or somewhat spurred, and lip with 1–3 ridges; sepals and petals 1–3-nerved.

7. Hexalectris. Pollinia 8, united. Flower not gibbous; sepals and petals several-nerved; lip with 5–6 ridges.

Tribe II. NEOTTIEÆ. Anthers erect upon the back of the column at the summit, or terminal and opercular. Pollinia granular or powdery, more or less cohering in 2 or 4 delicate masses, and attached at the apex to the beak of the stigma.

[*] Anthers without operculum, erect upon the back of the short column. Flowers small, in spikes or racemes.

8. Listera. Stem from a fibrous root, 2-foliate. Lip flat, 2-lobed.

9. Spiranthes. Stems leafy below, from tuberous-fascicled roots. Flowers 1–3-ranked in a twisted spike. Lip embracing the column below, with 2 callosities at base.

10. Goodyera. Leaves radical, white-reticulated. Lip entire, free from the column, saccate, without callosities.

[*][*] Anther operculate, erect and jointed upon the short column. Stem stout, very leafy.

11. Epipactis. Flowers racemose; perianth spreading; lip dilated above.

[*][*][*] Anther terminal, operculate, incumbent; column elongated. Stem scapose or few-leaved; flowers large, solitary or few.

12. Arethusa. Leaf and flower solitary. Lip bearded, its base adherent to the linear column. Pollinia 4.

13. Calopogon. Leaf solitary, grass-like. Lip bearded, stalked, free. Column winged at the apex. Pollinia 4.

14. Pogonia. More or less leafy. Lip crested, free. Column clavate. Pollinia 2.

Tribe III. OPHRYDEÆ. Anther without operculum, the cells adnate to the top of the column and often continuous with the beak of the stigma. Pollinia 2, of coarse grains united by an elastic web, each attached at base by a stalk to a viscid gland. Flower (in ours) ringent and spurred, spicate upon a leafy stem.

15. Orchis. The two glands or viscid disks enclosed in a common pouch.

16. Habenaria. The two glands naked, either approximate or widely separated.

Tribe IV. CYPRIPEDIEÆ. Perfect anthers 2, lateral, the sterile one forming a dilated fleshy appendage above the terminal stigma. Pollen granular, not in masses.

17. Cypripedium. Stems more or less leafy. Perianth spreading; lip an inflated sac.

1. MICRÓSTYLIS, Nutt. Adder's-Mouth.

Sepals oblong, spreading. Petals thread-like or linear, spreading. Lip auricled or ovate at base, not tubercled, entire or nearly so. Column very small, terete, with 2 teeth or auricles at the summit and the erect anther between them. Pollen-masses 4, in one row (2 in each cell), cohering by pairs at the apex, waxy, without any stalks, threads, or gland.—Low herbs, from solid bulbs, producing simple stems, which bear in our species a single leaf and a raceme of minute greenish flowers. (Name composed of μικρός, small, and στυλίς, a column or style.)

1. M. monophýllos, Lindl. Slender (4–6´ high); leaf sheathing the base of the stem, ovate-elliptical; racemes spiked, long and slender; pedicels not longer than the flowers; lip long-pointed.—Cold wet swamps, N. New Eng. to Penn., N. Ind., Minn., and northward. July. (Eu.)

2. M. ophioglossoìdes, Nutt. Leaf near the middle of the stem, ovate, clasping; raceme short and obtuse; pedicels much longer than the flowers; lip truncate-3-lobed at the summit, the middle lobe very small.—Low moist ground, N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn. and Mo. July.—Pollinia (at least sometimes) only 1 in each cell.

2. LÍPARIS, Richard. Twayblade.

Sepals and petals nearly equal, linear, or the latter thread-like, spreading. Lip flat, entire, often bearing 2 tubercles above the base. Column elongated, incurved, margined at the apex. Anther lid-like, terminal; pollen-masses 4, in one row (2 to each cell), slightly united in pairs, without stalk, threads, or gland.—Small, low herbs, with solid bulbs, producing 2 root-leaves and a low scape, which bears a raceme of few purplish or greenish flowers. (Name from λιπαρός, fat or shining, in allusion to the smooth or unctuous leaves.)

1. L. liliifòlia, Richard. Leaves ovate; petals thread-like, reflexed; lip large (1½´ long), wedge-obovate, abruptly short-pointed, brown-purplish.—Moist woodlands, N. Eng. to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo. June.

2. L. Lœsèlii, Richard. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate or oblong, keeled; lip obovate or oblong (2´´ long), mucronate, yellowish-green, shorter than the linear unequal petals and sepals.—Bogs, N. Scotia to Md., S. Ill., and Minn. (Eu.)

3. CALÝPSO, Salisb.

Sepals and petals nearly similar, ascending, spreading, lanceolate, pointed. Lip larger than the rest of the flower, sac-shaped, inflated (9´´ long), 2-pointed underneath the apex. Column broadly winged and petal-like, ovate, bearing the lid-like anther just below the apex; pollen-masses waxy, 2, each 2-parted, all sessile on a square gland.—A little bog-herb; the solid bulbs producing a single ovate or slightly heart-shaped thin leaf, as in Aplectrum, and a short (3–5´ high) scape, sheathed below, bearing a large and showy (variegated purple, pink, and yellow) flower. (Name from the goddess Calypso.)

1. C. boreàlis, Salisb.—Cold bogs and wet woods, the bulbs resting in moss, with a coralloid root beneath; Maine and Vt. to Mich. and Minn., and northward. May.—A very local and beautiful plant. Lip somewhat resembling that of a Lady's Slipper, woolly-hairy inside. (Eu.)

4. TIPULÀRIA, Nutt. Crane-fly Orchis.

Sepals and petals spreading, oblong; the latter rather narrower. Lip prolonged beneath into a thread-like ascending spur twice or thrice the length of the flower (9–12´´ long), 3-lobed; the middle lobe linear, a little wavy, as long as the petals, the side lobes short and triangular. Column narrow and wingless. Anther lid-like, terminal; pollen-masses 2, waxy, each 2-parted, connected by a linear stalk with the transverse small gland.—Herb with large solid bulbs connected horizontally, on a distinct pedicel, producing in autumn a single ovate nerved and plaited leaf on a slender petiole, purplish beneath, and in summer a long slender scape, with 1 or 2 sheaths at base, bearing a raceme of many small greenish flowers tinged with purple. (Name from a fancied resemblance of the flowers to insects of the genus Tipula.)

1. T. díscolor, Nutt. Scape 10–18´ high; lip blunt at the tip.—Sandy woods, Vt. to N. J. and Fla., west to Mich.; very scarce.

5. APLÉCTRUM, Nutt. Putty-root. Adam-and-Eve.

Perianth neither gibbous nor with any trace of a spur or sac at the base. Lip free, the palate 3-ridged. Otherwise the flowers and scape (invested below with 3 greenish sheaths) as in Corallorhiza; but, instead of a coral like root, a slender naked rootstock produces each year a thick, globular, solid bulb or corm, often 1´ in diameter (filled with exceedingly glutinous matter), which sends up late in summer a large, oval, many-nerved and plaited, petioled, green leaf, lasting through the winter, and early in the succeeding summer its scape is terminated by a loose raceme of dingy rather large flowers. (The name composed of α- privative and πλῆκτρον, a spur, from the total want of the latter.)

1. A. hiemàle, Nutt. Stem 1° high or more; perianth greenish-brown, or the lip whitish, and somewhat speckled with purple, 5–6´´ long.—Woods, in rich mould; rather rare or local, N. Eng. to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.—Each corm lasts 2 or 3 years before it shrivels, so that 3 or 4 are found horizontally connected.

6. CORALLORHÌZA, Haller. Coral-root.

Perianth somewhat ringent, oblique and gibbous or obscurely spurred at base; the oblong or lanceolate sepals and petals nearly alike, 1–3-nerved, the upper arching; the lateral sepals ascending, their bases with that of the lip forming the gibbosity or short spur which is mostly adnate to the summit of the ovary; lip slightly adherent to the base of the 2-edged straightish column, bearing a pair of projecting ridges on the face below, spreading or recurved at the apex. Anther terminal, lid-like. Pollen-masses 4, obliquely incumbent, soft-waxy, free.—Brownish or yellowish herbs, destitute of green foliage, with much-branched and toothed coral-like root-stocks (probably root-parasitical), sending up a simple scape, with sheaths in place of leaves and bearing a raceme of rather small dull-colored flowers; fruit reflexed. (Name composed of κοράλλιον, coral, and ῥίζα, root.)

§ 1. Small spur or sac adnate to the summit of the ovary; flowers small; lip whitish or purplish, often mottled with crimson.

1. C. innàta, R. Brown. Plant slender, light brownish or yellowish (3–9´ high), 5–12-flowered; pedicels very short; perianth 2–2½´´ long; lip somewhat hastately 3-lobed above the base, the lamellæ thick and rather short; spur a very small protuberance; capsule oval or elliptical (3–4´´ long).—Swamps and damp woods, N. Eng. to northern N. J., Ohio, Mich., Minn., and northward, and south in the mountains to Ga. May, June. (Eu.)

2. C. odontorhìza, Nutt. Plant light brown or purplish; stem rather slender, bulbous-thickened at base (6–16´ high), 6–20-flowered; pedicels rather slender; perianth about 3´´ long; lip entire or merely denticulate, thin, broadly ovate or obovate, abruptly contracted into a claw-like base, the lamellæ a pair of short projections; the spur represented by a small cavity wholly adnate to the summit of the ovary; capsule at first very acute at base, at length short-oval (4´´ long).—Rich woods, E. Mass. (Hitchings) and Vt. to N. J. and Fla., west to Mich, and Mo. May–July.

3. C. multiflòra, Nutt. Plant purplish, rather stout (9–18´ high), 10–30-flowered; perianth 2½–4´´ long; lip deeply 3-lobed, with a short narrowed base and with prominent lamellæ; spur manifest and protuberant; capsule oblong (6–9´´ long), short-pedicelled.—Dry woods, N. Eng. to Md., west to Mo., Iowa, and Minn. July–Sept.

§ 2. Spur none; the broadly gibbous somewhat saccate base wholly free from the ovary; flowers large for the genus, purple, unspotted, more expanding.

4. C. striàta, Lindl. Plant purplish, stout (6–16´ high), bearing 15–25 large flowers in a crowded spike, on very short pedicels; perianth 6–7´´ long; lip oval or obovate, perfectly entire, concave, barely narrowed at the base, where it bears 1–3 short lamellæ; all the parts of the perianth marked with 3 darker nerves; pod oblong (9´´ long). (C. Macræi, Gray.)—Woods, from L. Erie westward along the Great Lakes and to the Pacific.

7. HEXALÉCTRIS, Raf.

Sepals and petals nearly equal, somewhat spreading, several-nerved, not gibbous nor spurred at base, free. Lip obovate, with 5–6 prominent ridges down the middle, 3-lobed above, the middle lobe somewhat concave. Pollen-masses 8, united into a single fascicle. Otherwise as in Corallorhiza. (Name probably from ἕξ, six, and ἀλεκτρυών, a cock, from the crests of the lip.)

1. H. aphýllus, Raf. Stem 1–2° high, beset with purplish scales, the lower sheathing; flowers racemed, bracteate, brownish-purple, 6–8´´ long. (Bletia aphylla, Nutt.)—Rich woods, Ky. and Mo. to Fla. and Mex.

8. LÍSTERA, R. Brown. Twayblade.

Sepals and petals nearly alike, spreading or reflexed. Lip mostly drooping, longer than the sepals, 2-lobed or 2-cleft. Column wingless; stigma with a rounded beak. Anther borne on the back of the column at the summit, erect, ovate; pollen powdery, in 2 masses, joined to a minute gland.—Roots fibrous. Stem bearing a pair of opposite sessile leaves in the middle, and a spike or raceme of greenish or brownish-purple small flowers. (Dedicated to Martin Lister, an early and celebrated British naturalist.)

[*] Column very short; sepals ovate, reflexed; plants delicate, 4–8´ high.

1. L. cordàta, R. Brown. Leaves round-ovate, somewhat heart-shaped (½–1´ long); raceme smooth; flowers minute, crowded, on pedicels not longer than the ovary; lip linear, twice as long as the sepals, 1-toothed each side at base, 2-cleft.—Cold woods, N. J. to Mich., Minn., and northward. June. (Eu.)

2. L. austràlis, Lindl. Leaves ovate; raceme loose and slender; flowers very small, on minutely glandular-pubescent pedicels twice the length of the ovary; lip linear, 3–4 times the length of the sepals, 2-parted, the divisions linear-setaceous.—Damp thickets, Oswego Co., N. Y., and from N. J. to Fla. June.

[*][*] Column longer, arching or straightish.

3. L. convallarioìdes, Nutt. Plant 4–9´ high; leaves oval or roundish, and sometimes a little heart-shaped (1–1½´ long); raceme loose, pubescent; pedicels slender, lip wedge-oblong, 2-lobed at the dilated apex, and 1-toothed on each side at the base, nearly twice the length of the narrowly lanceolate spreading sepals, purplish, {1/3}´ long.—Damp mossy woods, N. New Eng. to Mich., Minn., and northward, and south in the mountains to N. C.

9. SPIRÁNTHES, Richard. Ladies' Tresses.

Perianth somewhat ringent, oblique on the ovary; the sepals and petals all narrow, mostly erect or connivent, the three upper pieces sticking together more or less, the two lower covering the base of the lip. Lip oblong, short stalked or sessile, the lower part involute around the column, and with a callous protuberance on each side of the base; the somewhat dilated summit spreading or recurved, crisped, wavy, or rarely toothed or lobed. Column short, oblique, bearing the ovate stigma on the front, and the sessile or short-stalked (mostly acute or pointed) 2-celled erect anther on the back. Pollen-masses 2 (one in each cell), narrowly obovate, each 2-cleft, and split into thin and tender plates of granular pollen united by elastic threads, and soon adhering at base to the narrow boat-shaped viscid gland, which is set in the slender or tapering thin beak terminating the column. After the removal of the gland, the beak is left as a 2-toothed or 2-forked tip.—Roots clustered-tuberous; stem more or less naked above, leaf-bearing below or at the base. Flowers small (ours all white or greenish-white), bent horizontally, 1–3-ranked in a spike, which is commonly more or less spirally twisted (whence the name, from σπείρα, a coil or curl, and ἄνθος, flower).

[*] Flowers in 3 ranks, crowded in a close spike; leaves at the root and base of the stem present at the flowering season.

1. S. latifòlia, Torr. Low; naked stem or scape 4–9´ (rarely 12´) high, smooth; leaves all next the base, oblong or lance-oblong (1–4´ long, 3–9´´ wide), 3–5-nerved, contracted into a sheathing base; spike narrow (1–3´ long); flowers small (2–3´´ long); lip quadrate-oblong, yellowish on the face, not contracted in the middle, thin, wavy-crisped at the very obtuse or truncate apex, the small callosities at the base oblong, marginal and adnate for their whole length; gland and beak of the stigma short.—Moist banks, Vt. and W. Mass. to Mich. and Minn., south to Del. and Md.

2. S. Romanzoffiàna, Cham. Stem leafy below and leafy-bracted above (5–15´ high); leaves varying from oblong-lanceolate to grassy-linear; spike dense, oblong or cylindrical (1–4´ long); perianth curved and the summit manifestly ringent, pure white (4´´ long), the sepals and petals all connivent in the upper portion or galea; the lip ovate-oblong, contracted below the rounded wavy-crenulate much recurved summit, otherwise entire, the callosities at base globular and smooth; gland oblong-linear and the 2-horned beak of the stigma short.—High and cool bogs, N. New Eng. to Mich. and Minn., and northward; Norfolk, Conn. (Barbour); central N. Y. July, Aug. (Ireland.)

3. S. cérnua, Richard. Stem leafy below and leafy-bracted above (6–20´ high); leaves linear-lanceolate, the lowest elongated (4–12´ long, 2–9´´ wide); spike cylindrical, rather dense (2–5´ long) and with the white fragrant flowers either pubescent or nearly smooth; perianth horizontal or recurving (4–5´´ long), the lower sepals not upturned or connivent with the upper; lip oblong and very obtuse when outspread, but conduplicate or the margins much incurved, wavy-crisped above the middle, especially at the flattish and recurved-spreading apex, the callosities at the base prominent, nipple-shaped, somewhat hairy; gland of the stigma linear, in a long and very slender beak.—Common in wet places, especially eastward and southward. Sept., Oct. Very variable in size and foliage, often nearly losing its root-leaves at flowering time.—A variety, growing in dry ground but retaining its leaves and blooming somewhat later, has greenish cream-colored or yellowish stronger-scented flowers. E. Mass. and Del.

[*][*] Flowers in one straight or spirally twisted rank.

[+] Stem bearing elongated leaves at and toward the base, which mostly persist during the flowering season.

4. S. præ̀cox, Watson. Root of fleshy or tuberous-thickened fibres; stem 9´–2° high; lower and root-leaves linear or lance-linear (3–8´ long, 2–4´´ wide) gradually tapering to the base, the upper reduced to sheathing bracts; spike linear, dense (2–5´ long), usually much twisted, the axis, ovaries, etc., downy-pubescent; bracts ovate and gradually, or rhombic-ovate and abruptly taper-pointed, surpassing the ovary, the margins broadly hyaline; perianth 3´´ long; lip ovate-oblong when outspread, with rather small callosities at base, crisped at the rounded slightly recurved apex; anther and beak of the stigma very acute. (S. graminea, var. Walteri, Gray.)—Wet, grassy places, Mass. to N. J. and Fla.

[+][+] Scape very slender, merely bracted; the leaves with a blade all in a cluster at the ground, ovate or oblong, abruptly contracted into a petiole, commonly withering away at or before flowering; flowers small, and whole plant glabrous or nearly so; bracts small, sharp-pointed, not longer than the capsule.

5. S. grácilis, Bigelow. Roots clustered, tuberous-thickened; scape 8–18´ high, bearing a slender many-flowered one-sided or twisted spike; perianth barely 1½–2´´ long; lip oval when outspread, narrowly oblong in natural form, thickish and green above with thin white margins, the recurved obtuse or acutish apex wavy-crisped, the callosities at the base nipple-shaped.—Hilly woods and sandy plains, common. July–Oct.

6. S. símplex, Gray. Root a solitary oblong or spindle-shaped tuber; no leaves at flowering time; scape 5–9´ high, bearing a small narrow (rarely 1-sided) spike (1–3´ long) of very short flowers (perianth 1–1½´´ long); lip thin, white, obovate-oblong, the apex eroded and crisped, the callosities at the base slender.—Dry sandy soil, E. Mass. to N. J., Del., and Md. Aug., Sept.

10. GOODYÈRA, R. Br. Rattlesnake-Plantain.

Lip sac-shaped, sessile, entire, and without callosities at base. Otherwise as Spiranthes.—Root of thick fibres, from a somewhat fleshy creeping rootstock, bearing a tuft of thickish petioled leaves, usually reticulated with white veining. Scape, spike, and the greenish-white small flowers usually glandular-downy. (Dedicated to John Goodyear, an early English botanist.)

§ 1. Lip strongly saccate-inflated and with a short spreading or recurved tip; anther short, borne on a distinct filament attached to the back of the short column, blunt; gland-bearing tip or beak of the stigma very short.

1. G. rèpens, R. Br. Small (5–8´ high) and slender; leaves ovate, more or less white-reticulated (about 1´ long); flowers several, in a loose 1-sided spike; lip with an ovate recurved tip; sepals ovate.—Woods, under evergreens, common northward and through the Alleghanies. Aug. (Eu.)

2. G. pubéscens, R. Br. Larger; leaves strongly white-reticulated; scape 6–12´ high, the numerous crowded flowers not one-sided; tip of the globular lip very short; otherwise like the preceding, and too near to it.—Rich woods, Newf. to Fla., west to Mich. and Minn.

§ 2. Lip barely saccate below, tapering and its sides involute above; anther ovate, long-pointed, borne on the base of the very short column, which is continued above the stigma into a conspicuous tapering awl-shaped gland-bearing beak.

3. G. Menzièsii, Lindl. Leaves ovate-oblong, acute (2–3´ long), less white-reticulated than the preceding, some not at all so; scape 9–12´ high; flowers rather numerous in a looser often 1-sided spike; flower-buds less pubescent, elongated-ovate and pointed; lip with the saccate-conduplicate lower portion gradually tapering into the narrow barely spreading summit.—Woods, Gaspe and Tadousac, L. Can. (J. A. Allen, Goodale); Crawford, N. H. (Miss Minns); western N. Y. to Minn., and westward. July.

11. EPIPÁCTIS, Haller.

Sepals and petals nearly equal, spreading. Lip free, deeply concave at base, narrowly constricted and somewhat jointed in the middle, the upper portion dilated and petaloid. Column short, erect. Anther sessile behind the broad truncate stigma, on a slender-jointed base; pollen-masses coarsely granular, becoming attached to the gland capping the small rounded beak of the stigma.—Stem leafy, with racemed flowers, conspicuous bracts, and ovaries reflexed at maturity. (The ancient Greek name of a plant.)

1. E. Helleborìne, Crantz. Stems 1–2° high; leaves broadly ovate (2–3´ long), pointed, plicate, the upper narrower; raceme pubescent, 30–50-flowered, 1-sided; flowers varying from light greenish-yellow to dark purple; sepals ovate-lanceolate, 3–4´´ long; petals rather smaller; lip ovate, pointed above, with a dark centre. (E. latifolia, All.)—Near Syracuse and Buffalo, N. Y.; the only known stations. (Eu.)

12. ARETHÙSA, Gronov.

Flower ringent; the lanceolate sepals and petals nearly alike, united at base, ascending and arching over the column. Lip dilated and recurved-spreading toward the summit; very slightly gibbous at base. Column adherent to the lip below, petal-like, dilated at the apex. Anther lid-like, terminal, of 2 approximate cells; pollen-masses powdery-granular, 2 in each cell.—Beautiful low herbs, consisting of a sheathed scape from a globular solid bulb, terminated usually by a single large rose-purple flower. Leaf solitary, linear, nerved, hidden in the sheaths of the scape, protruding after flowering. (Dedicated to the nymph Arethusa.)

1. A. bulbòsa, L. Flower single (rarely 2), erect (1–2´ long), with an entire lip recurved at the apex and bearded-crested down the face.—Bogs, Newf. to the mountains of N. C., west to Ind. and Minn.

13. CALOPÒGON, R. Br.

Flower with the ovary or stalk not twisting, therefore presenting its lip on the upper or inner side. Sepals and petals nearly alike, lance-ovate, spreading, distinct. Lip spreading, distant from the column, raised on a narrowed base or stalk, dilated at the summit, strongly bearded along the upper side. Column free, slender, winged at the apex. Anther terminal and lid-like, sessile; pollen-masses 4 (two in each cell), of soft powdery grains, lightly connected by delicate threads.—Scape from a small solid bulb, sheathed below by the base of the grass-like leaf, naked above, bearing several large flowers. Bracts minute. (Name composed of καλός, beautiful, and πώγων beard, from the bearded lip.)

1. C. pulchéllus, R. Br. Leaf linear; scape about 1° high, 2–6-flowered; flowers 1´ broad, pink-purple; lip as if hinged at the insertion, beautifully bearded toward the dilated summit with white, yellow, and purple club-shaped hairs.—Bogs, Newf. to Fla., west to Minn. and Mo.

14. POGÒNIA, Juss.

Flower irregular, the sepals and petals separate. Lip crested or 3-lobed. Column free, elongated, club-shaped, wingless. Anther terminal and lid-like, stalked; pollen-masses 2 (one in each cell), powdery-granular. (Πωγωνίας bearded, from the lip of some of the original species.)

§ 1. Sepals and petals nearly equal and alike, pale rose-color, sometimes white.

1. P. ophioglossoìdes, Nutt. Root of thick fibres; stem (6–9´ high) bearing a single oval or lance-oblong leaf near the middle and a smaller one or bract near the terminal flower, rarely one or two others with a flower in the axil; flower 1´ long, sweet-scented; lip spatulate, appressed below to the column, beard-crested and fringed.—Bogs, Newf. to Fla., west to N. Ind. and Minn. June, July. (Japan.)

2. P. péndula, Lindl. Stem (3–8´ high) from oblong tubers, bearing 3 to 7 alternate ovate-clasping very small (3–6´´) leaves, the upper 1–4 with drooping flowers in their axils on slender pedicels; perianth ½´ long, narrow; lip spatulate, somewhat 3-lobed, roughish or crisped above, crestless.—Damp woods, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Wisc. and Mo.

§ 2. Sepals linear, dingy or brownish, longer and much narrower than the erect or connivent petals; lip 3-lobed at the apex, crested down the middle, beardless; flowers solitary (or rarely a pair), terminal; root a cluster of fibres.

3. P. divaricàta, R. Br. Stem (1–2° high) bearing a lanceolate leaf in the middle, and a leafy bract next the flower, which is recurved on the ovary; but the sepals ascending or diverging, spatulate-linear, longer than the lanceolate-spatulate pointed and flesh-colored petals, these about 1–1½´ long.—Wet pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. June, July.

4. P. verticillàta, Nutt. Stem (6–12´ high) naked, except some small scales at the base and a whorl of mostly 5 obovate or obovate-oblong sessile leaves at the summit; flower dusky purplish, on a peduncle longer than the ovary and capsule; sepals more than twice the length of the petals, narrowly linear, spreading from a mostly erect base (1½–2´ long); lip with a narrow crest down the middle.—Low woods, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Ind. and Wisc.; rather rare, especially eastward. May, June. Glaucous when young. Fruit-stalk erect, about 1½´ long, more than half the length of the leaves.

5. P. affìnis, Austin. Somewhat smaller than the preceding; leaves paler and rather narrower; flowers (not rarely in pairs) yellowish or greenish; peduncle much shorter than the ovary and capsule; sepals but little longer than the petals, tapering to the base; lip crested over the whole face and on the middle of the lobes.—Low woods, S. W. Conn., S. New York, and N. New Jersey; rare.

15. ÓRCHIS, L.

Flower ringent; the sepals and petals nearly equal. Lip turned downward, coalescing with the base of the column, spurred below. Anther-cells contiguous and parallel. Pollen cohering in numerous coarse waxy grains, which are collected on a cobweb-like elastic tissue into 2 large masses (one filling each anther-cell) borne on a slender stalk, the base of which is attached to a gland or sticky disk of the stigma, the two glands contained in a common little pouch or hooded fold, placed just above the orifice of the spur. Flowers showy, in a spike.—Our species with low scape-like stems, with 1 or 2 leaves at base, from fleshy-fibrous roots. (Ὁρχις, the ancient name.)

1. O. spectábilis, L. (Showy Orchis.) Root of thick fleshy fibres, producing 2 oblong-obovate shining leaves (3–6´ long), and a few-flowered 4 angled scape (4–7´ high); bracts leaf-like, lanceolate; sepals and petals all lightly united to form the vaulted galea or upper lip, pink-purple, the ovate undivided lip white.—Rich woods, N. Brunswick to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo. May.

2. O. rotundifòlia, Pursh. Stem naked above, 1-leaved at base (5–9´ high), from a slender creeping rootstock; leaf varying from almost orbicular to oblong (1½–3´ long); flowers rose-purple, the lip white and spotted with purple, 3-lobed, and the larger middle lobe dilated and 2-lobed or strongly notched at the summit (4–6´´ long), exceeding the ovate-oblong petals and sepals, and the slender depending spur. (Habenaria rotundifolia, Richardson.)—Damp woods and bogs, N. Maine to Vt., N. Y., Minn., and northward.

16. HABENÀRIA, Willd. Rein-Orchis.

Glands or viscid disks (to which the pollen-masses are attached) naked and exposed, separate, sometimes widely so (becoming attached, some to the proboscis, others to the face or head of insects feeding upon the nectar of the spur, the pollen thus carried from one blossom to another); otherwise nearly as in true Orchis; the lateral sepals, however, mostly spreading. (Name from habena, a thong or rein, in allusion to the shape of the lip or spur of some species.)

§ 1. GYMNADÈNIA. Cells of the anther parallel and approximate, their glands therefore contiguous. (Appendages of the stigma in our species two or three and much developed, oblong or club-shaped.)

1. H. tridentàta, Hook. Stem slender (6–12´ high), with a single oblong or oblanceolate obtuse leaf below, and 2 or 3 small ones like bracts above; spike 6–12-flowered, oblong; flowers greenish or whitish, very small; lip wedge-oblong, truncate, and with 3 short teeth at the apex; the slender and slightly club-shaped spur curved upward, longer than the ovary.—Wet woods, N. Eng. to Minn. and Ind., and south in the mountains to N. C. June, July.—Root of few fleshy fibres. Appendages of the stigma three, oblong-club-shaped, one outside each orbicular gland and one between them, rising as high as the anther-cell, their cellular viscid summits receiving pollen in the unopened flower, and penetrated by pollen-tubes!

2. H. íntegra, Spreng. Root of very fleshy fibres (or some of them tuber-like); stem several-leaved (15´ high), the 1 or 2 lower leaves elongated, oblong-lanceolate, acute, the others becoming smaller and bract-like; spike densely many-flowered, oblong-cylindrical; flowers orange-yellow, small, lip ovate, entire or slightly crenulate or wavy, shorter than the awl-shaped descending spur.—Wet pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. July.—Appendages of the stigma two, lateral, oblong, fleshy; beak or middle appendage narrow.

3. H. nívea, Spreng. Stem slender, 1–1½° high, many-leaved, the 1 or 2 lower leaves lance-linear and 4–8´ long, the others small and bract-like; spike cylindrical, loosely many-flowered; flowers white, small; petals and entire lip linear-oblong; spur thread-shaped, ascending, as long as the white ovary, which is not twisted.—Pine-barren swamps, S. Del. to Fla. Aug.

§ 2. PERULÀRIA. Cells of the anther nearly parallel, the valves of each extended at base so as to form the sides of a deep oblong groove or cavity, which is lined by the dilated orbicular and incurved gland. (Flowers small, greenish, slender-spurred.)

4. H. viréscens, Spreng. Leaves ovate-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, the uppermost linear-lanceolate and pointed, passing into the bracts of the elongated raceme; petals ovate; flowers dull green; lip furnished with a tooth on each side and a strong nasal protuberance in the middle of the base, oblong, truncate-obtuse, about the length of the sepals, half the length of the slender club-shaped spur.—Wet places, common; N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and Mo. June, July.—Stem 10–20´ high; the spike at first dense, with the bracts longer than the flowers, at length elongated and often loose, the upper bracts shorter than the flowers, which are quite small, and with scarcely a tinge of yellow, drying brownish.

§ 3. PLATANTHÈRA. Cells of the anther sometimes parallel, more commonly divergent, so that their tapering bases and the exposed glands are more or less distant. (Root a cluster of fleshy fibres, or tuberous-thickened.)

[*] Flowers greenish or white, small, numerous in a close spike; spur not longer than the entire or merely notched narrow lip; anther-cells almost parallel, wholly adnate; stem leafy.

[+] Spur short and sac-like; the 3 sepals and 2 narrow petals erect; glands small, rather widely separated.

5. H. bracteàta, R. Br. Stem 6–12´ high; lower leaves obovate, the upper oblong and gradually reduced to lanceolate acute bracts 2–4 times the length of the green flowers; spike 10–30-flowered; lip oblong-linear or slightly spatulate, truncate and 2–3-toothed or lobed at the tip, more than twice the length of the white spur. (H. viridis, var. bracteata, Reichenb.)—Damp woods and meadows, N. Eng. to Minn., Iowa, Ind., south in the mountains to N. C., and far northward.

[+][+] Spur slender, incurved, about equalling the entire lip; lateral sepals spreading.

6. H. hyperbòrea, R. Br. Stem very leafy (6´–2° high); leaves lanceolate, erect; spike dense (2–15´ long); lower bracts lanceolate, longer than the (greenish) flowers; lip and petals lanceolate, somewhat equal, the latter spreading from the base; anther somewhat overhanging the transversely dilated stigma; glands orbicular; stalk of the pollen-masses very slender and weak.—Peat bogs and wet cold woods, N. Eng. to N. Y., S. Ill., Iowa, and northward. June, July. (Eu.)

7. H. dilatàta, Gray. Resembles n. 6, but usually more slender, with narrower commonly linear leaves; flowers white; lip lanceolate from a rhomboidal-dilated base, entire, its base with the bases of the petals and sepals erect-connivent, above spreading; anther-cells almost parallel; glands approximate, large and strap-shaped, vertical, nearly as long as the pollen-mass and its short flat stalk together; stigma narrow; a trowel-shaped conspicuous beak between the bases of the anther-cells.—Cold bogs, Conn. to N. Y., Mich., Minn., and northward.

[*][*] Flowers greenish or white, 5–15 in a loose spike, rather large for the size of the plant; scape or stem naked above, 1-leaved at base (5–9´ high); spur not longer than the lip; anther-cells wholly adnate, arcuate and widely separated.

8. H. obtusàta, Richardson. Leaf obovate or spatulate-oblong; upper sepal very broad and rounded, the others and the petals lance-oblong; lip entire, linear or lanceolate, deflexed (3´´ long), about the length of the tapering and curving spur.—Cold peat bogs, Maine and N. New Eng. (Mt. Wachusett, Mass.), to Minn. and northward. (Eu.)

[*][*][*] Flowers white or greenish, numerous in a loose spike, on a naked scape, 2-leaved at base; spur longer than the narrow entire lip; anther-cells widely diverging, their narrowed beak-like bases projecting forward; stalk of the pollen-mass laterally affixed to the back of the orbicular gland, the viscous face of which looks obliquely inward.

9. H. Hoókeri, Torr. Leaves orbicular, spreading (3–4´ broad); scape mostly naked (½–1° high), bearing 10–20 upright sessile yellowish-green flowers in a strict spike; sepals ovate-lanceolate; lip lanceolate, pointed, incurved, longer than the lance-awl-shaped petals; spur slender, acute, about the length of the ovary (nearly 1´ long).—Damp woods and borders of swamps, N. Scotia to N. J., west to Minn. and Iowa.—Var. oblongifòlia, Paine, has oblong leaves (3–5´ by 1½–2´). N. Y. and Can.

10. H. orbiculàta, Torr. Leaves very large (4–8´ wide), orbicular, spreading flat on the ground, shining above, silvery beneath; scape bracted (1–2° high), bearing many spreading greenish-white flowers in a loose raceme; upper sepal orbicular, the lateral ovate; lip narrowly linear and slightly spatulate, obtuse, drooping, nearly thrice the length of the oblong-lanceolate and falcate obtuse petals; spur curved, slender (about 1½´ long), gradually thickened toward the blunt apex, twice the length of the ovary; anther-cells strongly projecting at the free beak-like base (the glands nearly ¼´ apart).—Rich woods (especially coniferous), Newf. to Penn. and in the mountains to N. C., west to Mich. and Minn.

[*][*][*][*] (Fringed Orchis.) Flowers several or many in an open spike, with mostly foliaceous bracts; stem (rather tall) leafy; spur thread-shaped or scarcely club-shaped, longer than the fringed, cleft, or dissected lip; anther-cells widely separated and usually diverging, their narrow beak-like bases, supported by the arms of the stigma, strongly projecting forward or partly upward.

[+] Lip pectinately fringed but undivided; flowers golden yellow or white; anther-cells widely divergent, the orbicular glands as if raised on a tentacle projecting far forward or slightly inward; ovary long, tapering to the summit.

11. H. cristàta, R. Br. Lower leaves lanceolate, elongated; the upper gradually reduced to sharp-pointed bracts, nearly the length of the crowded (yellow) flowers; spike oblong or cylindrical; petals rounded, crenate; lip ovate, with a lacerate-fringed margin, scarcely shorter than the slender obtuse incurved spur, which is not half the length of the ovary.—Bogs, N. J. to Fla. July. Flowers very much smaller than in the next.

12. H. ciliàris, R. Br. (Yellow Fringed-Orchis.) Stem 1½–2° high; leaves oblong or lanceolate; the upper passing into pointed bracts, which are shorter than the ovaries; spike oblong, rather closely many-flowered; flowers bright orange-yellow; lateral sepal rounded, reflexed; petals linear, cut-fringed at the apex; lip oblong (6´´ long), about half the length of the spur furnished with a very long and copious capillary fringe.—Wet sandy places, N. Eng. to Fla. and Tex., west to Mich. and Ind. Our most handsome species.

13. H. blephariglóttis, Torr. (White Fringed-Orchis.) Stem 1° high; leaves, etc., as in the last; flowers white, rather smaller; petals spatulate, usually slightly cut or toothed at the apex; lip ovate- or lanceolate-oblong, with the irregular capillary fringe of the margins usually shorter than its disk, one third the length of the spur.—Peat bogs and borders of ponds, Newf. to N. J., west to Mich. and Minn. July.—Var. holopétala, Torr., has narrower petals with the toothing obsolete, and the lip less fringed.

[+][+] (Greenish Fringed-Orchis.) Lip 3-parted above the stalk-like base, the divisions cut into capillary fringes; flowers greenish- or yellowish-white; anther-cells not very divergent, the beaked bases projecting forward; the large glands oval or lanceolate, nearly facing each other; ovary short-tapering above; spurs long, clavate.

14. H. leucophæ̀a, Gray. Stem 2–4° high; leaves oblong-lanceolate; the bracts similar, rather shorter than the (large, fragrant) flowers; spike commonly elongated, loose; petals obovate, minutely cut-toothed; divisions of the lip (7–10´´ long) broadly wedge-shaped or fan-shaped, many-cleft to the middle into a copious thread-like fringe; spur longer than the ovary (1–1½´ long); glands transversely oval.—Moist meadows, western N. Y. to Ky., Mo., and Minn. July.

15. H. lácera, R. Br. (Ragged Fringed-Orchis.) Leaves oblong or lanceolate; raceme loosely many-flowered; petals oblong-linear, entire; divisions of the lip narrow, deeply parted into a few long nearly capillary lobes; spur about the length of the ovary; glands oblong-linear, as long as the stalk of the pollen-mass.—Bogs and moist thickets, N. Scotia to N. C. and Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.; common. July.

[+][+][+] (Purple Fringed-Orchis.) Lip fan-shaped, 3-parted above the stalk-like base, the divisions erosely fringed; flowers purple; anther-cells widely separated, little divergent, the orbicular glands oblique; ovary contracted only at the summit; the long curving spur somewhat clavate.

16. H. psycòdes, Gray. Leaves oblong or lanceolate, the uppermost passing into linear-lanceolate bracts; raceme cylindrical, densely many-flowered; lower sepals round-oval, obtuse; petals wedge-obovate or spatulate, denticulate above; divisions of the spreading lip broadly wedge-shaped, many-cleft into a short fringe.—Wet meadows and bogs, common; Newf. to N. C., west to Ind. and Minn. July, Aug.—Flowers short-pedicelled, crowded in a spike of 4–10´ in length, small, but very handsome, fragrant; lip short-stalked, barely ½´ broad and not so long; the middle lobe broadest and more closely fringed, but not so deeply cleft as the lateral ones.

17. H. fimbriàta, R. Br. Lower leaves oval or oblong, the upper few, passing into lanceolate bracts; spike or raceme oblong, loosely-flowered; lower sepals ovate, acute; petals oblong, toothed down the sides; divisions of the pendent large lip (¾–1´ broad) fan-shaped, more fringed.—Wet meadows, N. Scotia to N. J. and N. C., west to Mich. June.—Flowers fewer (lilac-purple), 3 or 4 times larger than those of the preceding.

18. H. peramœ̀na, Gray. Lower leaves oblong-ovate, the upper lanceolate; spike oblong or cylindrical, densely flowered; lower sepals round-ovate; petals rounded-obovate, raised on a claw; divisions of the large lip very broadly wedge-shaped, irregularly eroded-toothed at the broadly dilated summit, the lateral ones truncate, the middle one 2-lobed.—Moist meadows and banks, Penn. and N. J. to Ill., and south in the mountains. Aug.—Flowers large and showy (violet-purple); the lip paler and 8–10´´ long, variably toothed, but not fringed.

17. CYPRIPÈDIUM, L. Lady's Slipper. Moccason-flower.

Sepals spreading; all three distinct, or in most cases two of them united into one under the lip. Petals spreading, resembling the sepals but usually narrower. Lip a large inflated sac. Column declined; on each side a fertile stamen, with its short filament bearing a 2-celled anther; the pollen loose and pulpy or powdery-granular; on the upper side a dilated-triangular, petal-like but thickish body, which answers to the fertile stamen of other Orchids, and covers the summit of the style; stigma terminal, broad, obscurely 3-lobed, moist and roughish (not smooth and viscid as in the rest of the order). Pollen in most of our species, especially in n. 6, exposed by the conversion of the face of the anther into a viscid, varnish-like film, which adheres to whatever touches it, carrying away some of the pollen.—Root of many tufted fibres. Leaves large, many-nerved and plaited, sheathing at the base. Flowers solitary or few, large and showy. (Name composed of Κύπρις, Venus, and πόδιον, a sock or buskin, i.e. Venus's Slipper.)

§ 1. The three sepals separate; stem leafy; flower solitary, drooping.

1. C. arietìnum, R. Br. (Ram's-head L.) Stem slender (6–10´ high); upper sepal ovate-lanceolate, pointed; the 2 lower and the petals linear and nearly alike (greenish-brown), rather longer than the red and whitish veiny lip (6´´ long), which is somewhat pubescent, especially within, and prolonged at the apex into a short blunt conical point; leaves 3 or 4, elliptical-lanceolate, nearly smooth.—Cold swamps and damp woods, Maine to N. Y., Mich. and Minn., and northward.

§ 2. Two of the sepals united into one under the lip.

[*] Stem leafy to the top, 1–3-flowered; lip slipper-shaped or roundish, much inflated, horizontal, and with a rounded open orifice.

[+] Sepals and linear wavy-twisted petals brownish, pointed, longer than the lip.

2. C. cándidum, Muhl. (Small White Lady's Slipper.) Slightly pubescent, 1-flowered; leaves lance-oblong, acute; petals and sepals greenish, purple-spotted; sepals ovate-lanceolate; lip (not 1´ long) white, striped with purple inside, flattish laterally, convex above; sterile stamen lanceolate.—Bogs, N. Y. and Penn. to Minn., Mo., and Ky.; rare. May, June.

3. C. parviflòrum, Salisb. (Smaller Yellow L.) Stem 1–2° high leaves oval, pointed; sepals ovate or ovate-lanceolate; lip flattish from above, bright yellow (1´ long or less); sterile stamen triangular.—Bogs and low woods, Newf. to Ga., west to Minn. and E. Kan. May, June.—Flowers fragrant; sepals and petals more brown-purple than in the next, into which it seems to pass.

4. C. pubéscens, Willd. (Larger Yellow L.) Stem 2° high, pubescent, as are the broadly oval acute leaves; sepals elongated-lanceolate; lip flattened laterally, very convex and gibbous above, 1½–2´ long, pale yellow.—Bogs and low woods; same range as the last.

[+][+] Sepals and petals plane, rounded, white, not longer than the lip.

5. C. spectábile, Swartz. (Showy L.) Downy, 2° high; leaves ovate, pointed; sepals round-ovate or orbicular, rather longer than the oblong petals; lip much inflated, white, pink-purple in front (1½´ long); sterile stamen heart-ovate.—Peat-bogs, Maine and W. New Eng. to Minn. and Mo., and south in the mountains to N. C. July.—The most beautiful of the genus.

[*][*] Scape naked, 2-leaved at base, 1-flowered; sepals and petals greenish, shorter than the drooping lip, which has a closed fissure down its whole length in front.

6. C. acaùle, Ait. (Stemless L.) Downy; leaves oblong; scape 8–12´ high, with a green bract at top; sepals oblong-lanceolate, pointed, nearly as long as the linear petals; lip obovoid or oblong, rose-purple (rarely white), nearly 2´ long, veiny; sterile stamen rhomboid.—Dry or moist woods; Newf. to N. C., west to N. Ind., Mich., and Minn. May, June.

Order 111. BROMELIÀCEÆ. (Pine-apple Family.)

Herbs (or scarcely woody plants, nearly all tropical), the greater part epiphytes, with persistent dry or fleshy and channelled crowded leaves, sheathing at the base, usually covered with scurf; 6-androus; the 6-cleft perianth adherent to the ovary in the Pine-apple, etc., or free from it in

1. TILLÁNDSIA, L. Long Moss.

Perianth plainly double, 6-parted; the 3 outer divisions (sepals) membranaceous; the 3 inner (petals) colored; all connivent below into a tube, spreading above, lanceolate. Stamens 6, hypogynous! or the alternate ones cohering with the base of the petals; anthers introrse. Ovary free; style thread-shaped; stigmas 3. Capsule cartilaginous, 3-celled, loculicidally 3-valved; the valves splitting into an inner and an outer layer. Seeds several or many in each cell, anatropous, club-shaped, pointed, raised on a long hairy-tufted stalk, like a coma. Embryo small, at the base of copious albumen.—Scurfy-leaved epiphytes. (Named for Prof. Tillands of Abo.)

1. T. usneoìdes, L. (Common Long Moss or Black Moss.) Stems thread-shaped, branching, pendulous; leaves thread-shaped; peduncle short, 1-flowered; flower yellow.—East Shore, Va., south to Fla., and westward; growing on the branches of trees, forming long hanging tufts.

Order 112. HÆMODORÀCEÆ. (Bloodwort Family.)

Herbs, with fibrous roots, usually equitant leaves, and perfect 3–6-androus regular flowers, which are woolly or scurfy outside; the tube of the 6-lobed perianth coherent with the whole surface, or with merely the lower part, of the 3-celled ovary.—Anthers introrse. Style single, sometimes 3-partible; the 3 stigmas alternate with the cells of the ovary. Capsule crowned or enclosed by the persistent perianth, 3-celled, loculicidal, 3–many-seeded. Embryo small, in hard or fleshy albumen. A small family; chiefly of the southern hemisphere.

[*] Ovary wholly adherent to the calyx-tube; style filiform; seeds peltate, amphitropous.

1. Lachnanthes. Stamens 3, exserted; anthers versatile. Leaves equitant.

[*][*] Ovary free except at the base; style 3-partible; seeds anatropous.

2. Lophiola. Stamens 6, on the base of the woolly 6-cleft perianth. Leaves equitant.

3. Aletris. Stamens 6, in the throat of the warty-roughened and tubular 6-toothed perianth. Leaves flat, spreading.

1. LACHNÁNTHES, L. Red-root.

Perianth woolly outside, 6-parted down to the adherent ovary. Stamens 3, opposite the 3 larger or inner divisions; filaments long, exserted; anthers linear, fixed by the middle. Style thread-like, exserted, declined. Capsule globular. Seeds few on each fleshy placenta, flat and rounded, fixed by the middle.—Herb, with a red fibrous perennial root, equitant sword-shaped leaves, clustered at the base and scattered on the stem, which is hairy at the top and terminated by a dense compound cyme of dingy yellow and loosely woolly flowers (whence the name, from λάχνη, wool, and ἄνθος, blossom).

1. L. tinctòria, Ell.—Sandy swamps, near the coast, S. E. Mass., R. I., and N. J. to Fla. July–Sept.

2. LOPHÌOLA, Ker.

Perianth densely woolly, deeply 6-cleft; the divisions nearly equal, spreading, longer than the 6 stamens, which are inserted at their base. Anthers fixed by the base. Capsule ovate, free from the perianth except at the base, pointed with the awl-shaped style, which finally splits into 3 divisions, one terminating each valve. Seeds numerous, oblong, ribbed, anatropous.—A slender perennial herb, with creeping rootstocks and fibrous roots, linear and nearly smooth equitant leaves; the stem leafless and whitened with soft matted wool toward the summit, as also the crowded or panicled cyme. Perianth dingy yellow inside; the lobes naked only toward the tip, each clothed with a woolly tuft near the base (whence the name, from λοφεῖον, a small crest).

1. L. aùrea, Ker.—Boggy pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. June–Aug.

3. ÁLETRIS, L. Colic-root. Star-grass.

Perianth cylindrical, not woolly, but wrinkled and roughened outside by thickly-set points which look like scurfy mealiness, the tube cohering below with the base only of the ovary, 6-cleft at the summit. Stamens 6, inserted at the base of the lobes; filaments and anthers short, included. Style awl-shaped, 3-cleft at the apex; stigmas minutely 2-lobed. Capsule ovate, enclosed in the roughened perianth; the dehiscence, seeds, etc., nearly as in Lophiola.—Perennial and smooth stemless herbs, very bitter, with fibrous roots, and a spreading cluster of thin and flat lanceolate leaves; the small flowers in a wand-like spiked raceme, terminating a naked slender scape (2–3° high). Bracts awl-shaped, minute. (Ἀλετρίς, a female slave who grinds corn; the name applied to these plants in allusion to the apparent mealiness dusted over the blossoms.)

1. A. farinòsa, L. Flowers oblong-tubular, white; lobes lanceolate-oblong.—Grassy or sandy woods, Mass. to Fla., Ill., and Minn. July, Aug.

2. A. aùrea, Walt. Flowers bell-shaped, yellow (fewer and shorter); lobes short-ovate.—Barrens, N. J. to Fla. July.

Order 113. IRIDÀCEÆ. (Iris Family.)

Herbs, with equitant 2-ranked leaves, and regular or irregular perfect flowers; the divisions of the 6-cleft petal-like perianth convolute in the bud in 2 sets, the tube coherent with the 3-celled ovary, and 3 distinct or monadelphous stamens, alternate with the inner divisions of the perianth, with extrorse anthers.—Flowers from a spathe of 2 or more leaves or bracts, usually showy. Style single, usually 3-cleft; stigmas 3, opposite the cells of the ovary, or 6 by the parting of the style-branches. Capsule 3-celled, loculicidal, many-seeded. Seeds anatropous; embryo straight in fleshy albumen. Rootstocks, tubers, or corms mostly acrid.

[*] Branches of the style (or stigmas) opposite the anthers.

1. Iris. Outer divisions of the perianth recurved, the inner erect; stigmas petal-like.

[*][*] Branches of the style alternate with the anthers. Perianth regular.

2. Nemastylis. Stem from a coated bulb. Filaments united. Style-branches 2-cleft.

3. Belamcanda. Stems from a creeping rhizome. Filaments distinct. Stigmas dilated.

4. Sisyrinchium. Root fibrous. Filaments united. Stigmas thread-like.

1. ÌRIS, Tourn. Flower-de-Luce.

Perianth 6-cleft; the tube more or less prolonged beyond the ovary; the 3 outer divisions spreading or reflexed, the 3 inner smaller, erect. Stamens distinct; the oblong or linear anthers sheltered under the overarching petal-like stigmas (or rather branches of the style, bearing the true stigma in the form of a thin lip or plate under the apex); most of the style connate with the tube of the perianth. Capsule 3–6-angled, coriaceous. Seeds depressed-flattened, usually in 2 rows in each cell.—Perennials, with sword-shaped or grassy leaves, and large showy flowers; ours with creeping and more or less tuberous rootstocks. (Ἶρις, the rainbow, anciently applied to this genus on account of its bright and varied colors.)

[*] Stems leafy and rather tall (1–3° high), from thickened rootstocks, often branching; tube of the perianth shorter than the divisions, which are beardless and crestless, the erect inner ones (petals) much smaller than the outer.

[+] Flowers violet-blue, variegated with green, yellow or white, and purple-veined.

1. I. versícolor, L. (Larger Blue Flag.) Stem stout, angled on one side; leaves sword-shaped (¾´ wide); ovary obtusely triangular with the sides flat; flowers (2½–3´ long) short-peduncled, the funnel-form tube shorter than the ovary; capsule oblong, turgid, with rounded angles.—Wet places, Newf. to Fla., west to Minn. and Ark. May, June.

2. I. prismática, Pursh. (Slender Blue Flag.) Stem very slender, terete; leaves narrowly linear (2–3´´ wide); flowers slender-peduncled (1½–2´ long), the tube extremely short; ovary 3-angled, each side 2-grooved; capsule sharply triangular. (I. Virginica, Man.; not L.)—Marshes near the coast, Maine to N. C. June.

I. Caroliniàna, Watson, resembling n. 1, but with longer laxer and greener leaves, and the very large seeds in one row in each cell, probably occurs in S. Va.

(Addendum) 2a. I. hexágona, Walt. Stems flexuous, often low and slender (1–3° high), leafy; leaves much exceeding the stem, 6–12´´ broad; flowers solitary and sessile in the axils, large, deep blue, variegated with yellow, purple, and white; tube ½´ long; segments about 3´ long, the inner narrow; capsule oblong-cylindric, 6-angled, 2´ long—Prairies, Ky. (Short) to W. Mo. (Bush), and on the coast from S. Car. southward.

[+][+] Flowers copper-colored or dull reddish-brown; petals widely spreading.

3. I. fúlva, Ker. Stem and leaves as n. 1; tube of the perianth cylindrical, as long as the 6-angled ovary; style-branches narrow. (I. cuprea, Pursh.)—Swamps, S. Ill. and Mo. to La. and Ga. May.

[*][*] Stems low (3–6´ high), from tufted and creeping slender (or here and there tuberous-thickened) rootstocks, 1–3-flowered; tube of the perianth long and slender; the violet-blue divisions nearly equal.

4. I. vérna, L. (Dwarf Iris.) Leaves linear, grass-like, rather glaucous; the thread-like tube of the perianth about the length of the divisions, which are oblong-obovate and on slender claws, the outer ones slightly hairy down the orange-yellow base, crestless; capsule obtusely triangular.—Wooded hillsides, Lancaster Co., Penn., to S. C., west to Ky. and Ala. April.—Flowers sometimes white with yellowish centre.

5. I. cristàta, Ait. (Crested Dwarf Iris.) Leaves lanceolate (3–5´ long when grown); those of the spathe ovate-lanceolate, shorter than the thread-like tube of the perianth, which is 2´ long and much longer than the light blue obovate short-clawed divisions, the outer ones crested but beardless; capsule sharply triangular.—In the mountains from Md. to N. C.; Trumbull Co., Ohio (Ingraham); knobs of S. Ind. May.—Flowers fragrant.

6. I. lacústris, Nutt. (Lake Dwarf Iris.) Tube of the perianth rather shorter than the divisions (yellowish, ½–¾´ long), dilated upward, not exceeding the spathe; otherwise as in the last, and too near it.—Gravelly shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan. May.

I. Pseudácorus, L., the Yellow Iris of European marshes, with very long linear leaves and bright yellow beardless flowers, is reported as having become established in Mass. and N. Y.

2. NEMÁSTYLIS, Nutt.

Perianth spreading, the segments similar and nearly equal. Filaments more or less united into a tube. Style short, its slender 2-parted branches alternate with the anthers and exserted between them; stigmas minute, terminal. Capsule oblong or ovate, truncate, dehiscent at the summit. Seeds globose or angled.—Stems terete, from coated bulbs, with few plicate leaves, and few fugacious flowers from 2-bracted spathes. (Name from νῆμα, a thread, and στυλίς, style, for the slender style-branches.)

1. N. geminiflòra, Nutt. Stem 1–2° high; spathes 2-flowered; perianth pale blue-purple, 1–2´ broad, the divisions oblong-obovate; capsule obovate, ½´ long.—E. Kan. to Tex.

3. BELAMCÁNDA, Adans. Blackberry-Lily.

Perianth 6-parted almost to the ovary; the divisions widely and equally spreading, all nearly alike, oblong with a narrowed base, naked. Stamens monadelphous only at base; anthers oblong. Style club-shaped, 3-cleft, the narrow divisions tipped with a small dilated stigma. Capsule pear-shaped; the valves at length falling away, leaving the central column covered with the globose black and fleshy-coated seeds, imitating a blackberry (whence the popular name).—Perennial, with rootstocks, foliage, etc., of an Iris; the branching stems (3–4° high) loosely many-flowered; the orange-yellow perianth mottled above with crimson-purple spots. (An East Indian name of the species.)

B. CHINÉNSIS, Adans. (Pardanthus Chinensis, Ker.)—Sparingly escaped from gardens, Md. to S. Ind. and Mo. (Adv. from China, etc.)

4. SISYRÍNCHIUM, L. Blue-eyed Grass.

Perianth 6-parted; the divisions alike, spreading. Stamens monadelphous to the top. Stigmas thread-like. Capsule globular, 3-angled. Seeds globular.—Low slender perennials, with fibrous roots, grassy or lanceolate leaves, mostly branching 2-edged or winged stems, and fugacious umbelled-clustered small flowers from a 2-leaved spathe. (A meaningless name, of Greek origin.)

1. S. angustifòlium, Mill. Scape (4–12´ high) winged or wingless, simple, the spathe solitary and terminal, its outer bract more or less elongated; flowers delicate blue, changing to purplish (rarely white), the divisions of the perianth more or less notched, bristle-pointed and ciliate; mature seeds globose, large (½´´ broad), faintly pitted or nearly smooth. (S. Bermudiana, var. mucronatum, Gray, excl. descr.)—Moist meadows, etc., among grass; common everywhere. June–Aug. (Addendum)—Sisyrinchium angustifolium. What appears to be a form of this species with pale yellow flowers is found near Independence, Mo. (Bush).

2. S. ánceps, Cav. Scape (6–18´ high) usually branching and bearing 2 or more peduncled spathes; seeds more ovate, much smaller, deeply pitted. (S. Bermudiana, var. anceps, Gray, excl. descr.)—Similar localities; common.

Order 114. AMARYLLIDÀCEÆ. (Amaryllis Family.)

Chiefly bulbous and scape-bearing herbs, not scurfy or woolly, with linear flat root-leaves, and regular (or nearly so) and perfect 6-androus flowers, the tube of the corolline 6-parted perianth coherent with the 3-celled ovary; the lobes imbricated in the bud.—Anthers introrse. Style single. Capsule 3-celled, several–many-seeded. Seeds anatropous or nearly so, with a straight embryo in the axis of fleshy albumen.—An order represented in our gardens by the Narcissus, Daffodil, Snowdrop, etc., but with very few indigenous representatives in this country. Bulbs acrid. Differs from Liliaceæ chiefly in the inferior ovary.

[*] Capsule 3-valved, loculicidal; anthers versatile; perianth funnel-shaped; glabrous.

1. Zephyranthes. Flower naked in the throat; the tube short or none. Bulbs coated.

2. Hymenocallis. Flower with a slender tube and narrow recurved lobes; a cup-shaped crown connecting the stamens. Bulbs coated.

3. Agave. Flower equally 6-cleft, persistent, no crown. Fleshy-leaved, not bulbous.

[*][*] Capsule indehiscent; anthers sagittate; villous.

4. Hypoxis. Perianth 6-parted nearly down to the ovary, persistent. Bulb solid.

1. ZEPHYRÁNTHES, Herb.

Perianth funnel-form, from a tubular base; the 6 divisions petal-like and similar, spreading above; the 6 stamens inserted in its naked throat; anthers versatile. Pod membranaceous, 3-lobed.—Leaves and low scape from a coated bulb. Flowers solitary from a scarious simple bract. (From ζέφυρος, a wind and ἄνθος, flower.)

1. Z. Atamásco, Herb. (Atamasco Lily.) Leaves bright green and shining, very narrow, channelled, the margins acute; scape 6–12´ high; peduncle short; spathe 2-cleft at the apex; perianth white and pink, 3´ long; stamens and style declined.—Penn. to Va. and Fla. June. (Addendum) (Amaryllis Atamasco, L.).

2. HYMENOCÁLLIS, Salisb.

Perianth with a long and slender tube, and an equal 6-parted limb; lobes long and narrow, recurved; the throat bearing a tubular or cup-shaped corolla-like delicate crown, which connects the bases of the 6 exserted stamens. Anthers linear, versatile. Capsule thin, 2–3-lobed; seeds usually 2 in each cell, basal, fleshy, often like bulblets.—Scapes and leaves from a coated bulb. Flowers white, fragrant, large and showy, sessile in an umbel-like head or cluster, subtended by 2 or more scarious bracts. (Name composed of ὑμήν, a membrane, and κάλλος, beauty.)

1. H. occidentàlis, Kunth. Leaves strap-shaped, glaucous, 1–1½° long, 9–18´´ broad; scape 3–6-flowered; bracts narrow, 2´ long; perianth-tube about 2½–4´ long, the linear segments scarcely shorter; the crown 12–15´´ long, tubular below, broadly funnel-form above, the margin deltoid and entire, or 2-toothed and erose, between the white filaments, which are twice longer; anthers yellow; style green.—Marshy banks of streams, S. Ill. to N. Ga. and Ala.—Apparently distinct from H. lacera, Salisb. (Pancratium rotatum, Ker.), of the southern coast.

3. AGÀVE, L. American Aloe.

Perianth tubular-funnel-form, persistent, 6-parted; the divisions nearly equal, narrow. Stamens 6; anthers linear, versatile. Capsule coriaceous, many-seeded. Seeds flattened.—Leaves thick and fleshy, often with cartilaginous or spiny teeth, clustered at the base of the many-flowered scape, from a thick fibrous-rooted crown. (Name from ἀγαυή, noble,—not inappropriate as applied to A. Americana, the Century-plant.)

1. A. Virgínica, L. (False Aloe.) Herbaceous; leaves entire or denticulate; scape 3–6° high; flowers scattered in a loose wand-like spike, greenish-yellow, fragrant, the perianth 9–12´´ long, its narrow tube twice longer than the erect lobes.—Dry or rocky banks, Md. and Va. to Fla., west to S. Ind., Mo., and Tex.

4. HYPÓXIS, L. Star-grass.

Perianth persistent, 6-parted, spreading; the 3 outer divisions a little herbaceous outside. Stamens 6; anthers sagittate, erect. Capsule crowned with the withered or closed perianth, not opening by valves. Seeds globular, with a crustaceous coat, ascending, imperfectly anatropous, the rhaphe not adherent quite down to the micropyle, the persistent seed-stalk thus forming a sort of lateral beak. Radicle inferior!—Stemless small herbs, with grassy and hairy linear leaves and slender few-flowered scapes, from a solid bulb. (An old name for a plant having sourish leaves, from ὕποξυς, sub-acid.)

1. H. erécta, L. Leaves linear, grass-like, longer than the umbellately 1–4-flowered scape; divisions of the perianth hairy and greenish outside, yellow within.—Meadows and open woods, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., E. Kan., and Tex.

Order 115. DIOSCOREÀCEÆ. (Yam Family.)

Plants with twining stems from large tuberous roots or knotted rootstocks, and ribbed and netted-veined petioled leaves, small diœcious 6-androus and regular flowers, with the 6-cleft calyx-like perianth adherent in the fertile plant to the 3-celled ovary. Styles 3, distinct.—Ovules 1 or 2 in each cell, anatropous. Fruit usually a membranaceous 3-angled or winged capsule. Seeds with a minute embryo in hard albumen.

1. DIOSCORÈA, Plumier. Yam.

Flowers very small, in axillary panicles or racemes. Stamens 6, at the base of the divisions of the 6-parted perianth. Capsule 3-celled, 3-winged, loculicidally 3-valved by splitting through the winged angles. Seeds 1 or 2 in each cell, flat, with a membranaceous wing. (Dedicated to the Greek naturalist, Dioscorides.)

1. D. villòsa, L. (Wild Yam-root.) Herbaceous. Stems slender, from knotty and matted rootstocks, twining over bushes; leaves mostly alternate, sometimes nearly opposite or in fours, more or less downy beneath, heart-shaped, conspicuously pointed, 9–11-ribbed; flowers pale greenish-yellow, the sterile in drooping panicles, the fertile in drooping simple racemes; capsules 8–10´´ long.—Thickets, S. New Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., Kan., and Tex.

Order 116. LILIÀCEÆ. (Lily Family.)

Herbs, or rarely woody plants, with regular and symmetrical almost always 6-androus flowers; the perianth not glumaceous, free from the chiefly 3-celled ovary; the stamens one before each of its divisions or lobes (i.e. 6, in one instance 4), with 2-celled anthers; fruit a few–many-seeded pod or berry; the small embryo enclosed in copious albumen. Seeds anatropous or amphitropous (orthotropous in Smilax). Flowers not from a spathe, except in Allium; the outer and inner ranks of the perianth colored alike (or nearly so) and generally similar, except in Trillium.

Suborder I. Smilaceæ. Shrubby or rarely herbaceous, the petiole of the 3–9-nerved netted-veined leaves often tendril-bearing. Flowers (in ours) diœcious, in axillary umbels, small, with regular 6-parted deciduous perianth. Anthers apparently 1-celled. Stigmas 3, sessile. Fruit a 3-celled berry, with 1–2 pendulous orthotropous seeds in each cell. Embryo minute in horny albumen.

1. Smilax. Characters as above.

Suborder II. Liliaceæ proper. Never climbing by tendrils. Very rarely diœcious. Seeds anatropous or amphitropous.

Series A. Floral bracts scarious. Stamens perigynous on the usually withering-persistent nerved perianth; anthers introrse. Style undivided, mostly persistent. Fruit a loculicidal capsule or a berry. Leaves transversely veined.

[*] Scape from a coated bulb; fruit capsular; leaves linear.

[+] Flowers umbellate; segments 1-nerved; pedicels not jointed.

2. Allium. Perianth 6-parted. Capsule deeply lobed, often crested; cells 1–2-seeded. Very alliaceous.

3. Nothoscordum. Perianth 6-parted. Seeds several in each cell. Not alliaceous.

4. Androstephium. Perianth tubular-funnel form. Filaments in the throat, united into a crown.

[+][+] Flowers racemose, 6-parted, the segments 3–several-nerved.

5. Camassia. Flowers light blue, long racemose. Filaments filiform.

6. Ornithogalum. Flowers greenish white, sub-corymbose. Filaments dilated.

[+][+][+] Flowers densely racemose; perianth urn-shaped, 6-toothed.

7. Muscari. Flowers deep blue, small. Stamens included.

[*][*] Stem or scape not from a bulb, several-flowered; capsule many-seeded.

8. Hemerocallis. Scape from a fleshy-fibrous root. Flowers few, large, yellow, tubular-funnel-form; limb 6-parted. Stamens and long style declined. Seeds globose.

9. Yucca. Stem woody, leafy. Flowers white, campanulate, 6-parted. Stigmas sessile. Seeds flat.

[*][*][*] Leafy stems (scape in n. 10) from running rootstocks; fruit a berry; leaves cordate to lanceolate (except n. 12); flowers white; pedicels jointed.

[+] Perianth gamophyllous, 6-lobed.

10. Convallaria. Leaves sheathing the scape. Flowers racemose; perianth bell-shaped.

11. Polygonatum. Stem leafy. Flowers axillary; perianth cylindrical.

[+][+] Perianth-segments distinct, small, spreading, persistent.

12. Asparagus. Stems branching, the apparent leaves thread-like. Flowers axillary.

13. Smilacina. Stem simple, leafy. Flowers 6-parted, racemose or paniculate.

14. Maianthemum. Stem low, 2-leaved. Flowers 4-merous, racemose.

Series B. Floral bracts none or foliaceous. Stamens hypogynous or at the base of the distinct segments of the deciduous perianth (persistent in n. 23); anthers extrorse or dehiscent laterally. Style undivided, deciduous (stigmas sessile and persistent in n. 23). Fruit a loculicidal capsule or a berry. Veinlets anastomosing (transverse in n. 15, 17–19).

[*] Fruit a berry; stem or scape from a creeping rootstock; leaves broad, alternate or radical; flowers narrowly campanulate.

15. Streptopus. Stem leafy. Flowers axillary, on bent pedicels. Anthers sagittate, acute; filaments deltoid or subulate.

16. Disporum. Stem leafy. Flowers few, in terminal umbels. Anthers oblong, obtuse; filaments slender. Veinlets anastomosing.

17. Clintonia. Flowers umbellate on a scape, few or many.

[*][*] Fruit a capsule.

[+] Stems leafy, from a short or creeping rootstock; flowers few, solitary, pendulous; capsule few-seeded.

18. Uvularia. Stem terete. Leaves perfoliate. Flowers terminal. Capsule truncate, 3-lobed.

19. Oakesia. Stem angled. Leaves sessile. Flowers opposite the leaves. Capsule acutely 3-winged.

[+][+] Stem or scape from a bulb or corm; capsule many-seeded.

20. Erythronium. Scape from a solid bulb, with a pair of leaves. Flower solitary. Seeds angled, obovoid.

21. Lilium. Stem leafy from a scaly bulb. Seeds horizontal, flattened.

[*][*][*] Fruit a berry; stem from a tuber-like rootstock, bearing 1 or 2 whorls of leaves; flowers terminal; stigmas sessile.

22. Medeola. Leaves in 2 whorls. Flowers umbellate. Perianth-segments similar, colored, deciduous.

23. Trillium. Leaves (3) in a terminal whorl. Flower solitary; outer sepals leaf-like, persistent.

Series C. Floral bracts green or greenish (rarely scarious), or none. Stamens at the base of the distinct 1–several-nerved persistent perianth-segments; anthers small, versatile. Styles or sessile stigmas distinct. Capsule mostly septicidal. Seeds with a loose testa or appendaged. Leaves with transverse veinlets (except in n. 24 and 25).

[*] Stems leafy or bracteate, from a thick tuberous rootstock; flowers racemose; anthers 2-celled; stigmas linear.

24. Helonias. Leaves radical, oblanceolate. Flowers perfect. Capsule broadly obovate, many-seeded.

25. Chamælirium. Stem very leafy. Flowers diœcious. Capsule oblong, many-seeded.

26. Xerophyllum. Stem very leafy; leaves very narrow. Flowers perfect. Capsule few-seeded.

[*][*] Stems distichously equitant-leafy, from a creeping rootstock; flowers on bracteolate pedicels, racemose; anthers 2-celled; stigmas small, terminal; seeds often appendaged.

27. Tofieldia. Bractlets 3, verticillate. Styles short. Seeds horizontal.

28. Narthecium. Bractlet linear. Stigma slightly lobed. Seeds ascending.

[*][*][*] Anthers heart- or kidney-shaped, confluently 1-celled and peltate after opening; stigmas terminal; capsule 3-beaked by the persistent styles; seeds angled or flattened and margined.

[+] Stems tall, leafy, from a thick rootstock, pubescent above; flowers polygamous, racemose-paniculate; seeds flat, winged.

29. Melanthium. Sepals free from the ovary, their long claws bearing the filaments.

30. Veratrum. Sepals without claws, slightly adnate to the ovary. Leaves strongly nerved and plicate.

[+][+] Root mostly bulbous; glabrous; flowers racemose or panicled; seeds narrow, angled; leaves linear.

31. Stenanthium. Sepals lanceolate, acuminate, without glands.

32. Zygadenus. Sepals oblong to ovate, glandular toward the base.

33. Amianthium. Flowers in a dense raceme. Sepals ovate-oblong, glandless, free from the ovary. Cells of the capsule widely divergent, 1–2-seeded.

1. SMÌLAX, Tourn. Greenbrier. Cat-brier.

Flowers diœcious in umbels or axillary peduncles, small, greenish or yellowish, regular, the perianth-segments distinct, deciduous. Filaments linear, inserted on the very base, the introrse anthers linear or oblong, fixed by the base, apparently 1-celled. Ovary of fertile flowers 3-celled (1-celled, with single stigma, in n. 11); stigmas thick and spreading, almost sessile; ovules 1 or 2 in each cell, pendulous, orthtropous; fruit a small berry.—Shrubby or rarely herbaceous, usually climbing or supported by a pair of tendrils on the petiole of the ribbed and netted-veined simple leaves. (The ancient Greek name, of obscure meaning.)

§ 1. Stems herbaceous, not prickly; flowers carrion-scented; ovules 2 in each cell; leaves membranous, mucronate-tipped; berries bluish-black with a bloom.

1. S. herbàcea, L. (Carrion-Flower.) Stem climbing, 3–15° high; leaves ovate or rounded, mostly heart-shaped or truncate at base, abruptly acute to short-acuminate, 7–9-nerved, smooth; petioles ½–1´ long; peduncles elongated (3–4´ long, or sometimes even 6–8´ and much longer than the leaves), 20–40-flowered; seeds 6.—Moist meadows and river-banks; common, from the Atlantic to Minn., Mo., and Tex. June. Very variable.—Var. puberulénta, Gray, has the leaves more or less soft-downy beneath.

2. S. tamnifòlia, Michx. Stem upright or climbing; leaves mostly 5-nerved, smooth, broadly ovate to lanceolate, truncate or cordate at base, abruptly acute to acuminate, some of them hastate with broad rounded lobes; peduncles longer than the petioles; berry smaller, 2–3-seeded.—Pine-barrens, N. J. to S. C.

3. S. ecirrhàta, Watson. Erect, ½–3° high, without tendrils (or only the uppermost petioles tendril-bearing), glabrous; lower leaves reduced to narrow scale-like bracts, the rest thin, 5–7-nerved, broadly ovate-elliptical to roundish, acute, mostly cordate at base, 2–5´ long, sometimes verticillate, sparsely pubescent beneath; peduncles about equalling the petioles (1–2½´ long), on the lower part of the stem; umbels 10–20-flowered; berry 3-seeded.—Md. to S. C., west to Mich. and Mo. May, June.

§ 2. Stems woody, often prickly; ovules solitary; glabrous throughout.

[*] Leaves ovate or roundish, etc., most of them rounded or heart-shaped at base, and 5–9-nerved, the three middle nerves or ribs stronger and more conspicuous.

[+] Peduncles shorter or scarcely longer than the petioles (2–6´´), flattened; leaves thickish, green both sides.

4. S. Wálteri, Pursh. Stem low, somewhat angled, prickly near the base or unarmed; leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate or oblong, somewhat heart-shaped or rounded at base (3–4´ long); berries coral-red.—Pine barrens, N. J. to Fla.

5. S. rotundifòlia, L. (Common Greenbrier. Horse-brier.) Stem armed with scattered prickles, as well as the terete branches; branchlets more or less 4-angular; leaves ovate or round-ovate, often broader than long, slightly heart-shaped, abruptly short-pointed (2–3´ long); berries blue-black, with a bloom.—Moist thickets, N. Eng. to Ga., west to Minn. and Tex. Very variable, passing into var. quadrangulàris, Gray, which has branches, and especially branchlets, 4-angular, and is more common west.

[+][+] Peduncle longer than but seldom twice the length of the short petiole, flattened; leaves tardily deciduous or partly persistent; berries black, with a bloom.

6. S. glaùca, Walt. Terete branches and somewhat 4-angular branchlets armed with scattered stout prickles, or naked; leaves ovate, rarely subcordate, glaucous beneath and sometimes also above, as well as the branchlets when young (about 2´ long), abruptly mucronate, the edges smooth and naked.—Dry thickets, E. Mass. to Fla., west to S. Ind., Mo., and Tex.

7. S. bòna-nox, L. Branches and the angular (often square) branchlets sparsely armed with short rigid prickles; leaves varying from round-heart-shaped and slightly contracted above the dilated base to fiddle-shaped and halberd-shaped or 3-lobed, green and shining both sides, cuspidate-pointed, the margins often somewhat bristly-ciliate or spinulose. (S. tamnoides, Man.; probably not L.)—Thickets; Nantucket, Mass. (L. L. Dame); N. J. to Fla., west to Ill., Mo., and Tex.

[+][+][+] Peduncle 2–4 times the length of the petiole; leaves ample (3–5´ long), thin or thinnish, green both sides; berries black; stem terete and branchlets nearly so.

8. S. híspida, Muhl. Rootstock cylindrical, elongated; stem (climbing high) below densely beset with long and weak blackish bristly prickles, the flowering branchlets mostly naked; leaves ovate and the larger heart-shaped, pointed, slightly rough-margined, membranaceous and deciduous; peduncles 1½–2´ long; sepals lanceolate, almost 3´´ long.—Moist thickets, Conn. to Va., west to Minn. and Tex. June.

9. S. Pseùdo-Chìna, L. Rootstock tuberous; stems and branches unarmed, or with very few weak prickles; leaves ovate-heart-shaped, or on the branchlets ovate-oblong, cuspidate-pointed, often rough-ciliate, becoming firm in texture; peduncles flat (2–3´ long).—Dry or sandy soil, N. J. to Fla., west to S. Ind. and Mo. July.

[*][*] Leaves varying from oblong-lanceolate to linear, narrowed at base into a short petiole, 3–5-nerved, shining above, paler or glaucous beneath, many without tendrils; peduncles short, seldom exceeding the petioles, terete; the umbels sometimes panicled; branches terete, unarmed.

10. S. lanceolàta, L. Leaves thinnish, rather deciduous, ovate-lanceolate or lance-oblong; stigmas 3; berries dull red.—Rich woods and margins of swamps, Va. to Fla., west to Ark. and Tex. June.

11. S. laurifòlia, L. Leaves thick and coriaceous, evergreen, varying from oblong-lanceolate to linear (2½–5´ long); stigmas solitary and ovary 1-celled; berries black when ripe, 1-seeded, maturing in the second year.—Pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla., west to Ark. and La. July, Aug.

2. ÁLLIUM, L. Onion. Garlic.

Perianth of 6 entirely colored sepals, which are distinct, or united at the very base, 1-nerved, often becoming dry and scarious and more or less persistent; the 6 filaments awl-shaped or dilated at base. Style persistent, but jointed upon the very short axis of the ovary, thread-like; stigma simple. Capsule lobed, loculicidal, 3-valved, with 1–2 ovoid-kidney-shaped amphitropous or campylotropous black seeds in each cell.—Strong-scented and pungent stemless herbs; the leaves and scape from a coated bulb; flowers in a simple umbel, some of them frequently changed to bulblets; spathe scarious, 1–2-valved. (The ancient Latin name of the Garlic.)

§ 1. Bulbs cespitose, narrowly oblong and crowning a rhizome; coats membranous.

[*] Leaves (2 or 3) elliptic-lanceolate; ovules solitary in each cell.

1. A. tricóccum, Ait. (Wild Leek.) Scape naked (4–12´ high from clustered pointed bulbs, 2´ long), bearing an erect many-flowered umbel; leaves 5–9´ long, 1–2´ wide; sepals oblong (greenish white), equalling the nearly distinct filaments; capsule strongly 3-lobed.—Rich woods, W. N. Eng. to Minn. and Iowa, south in the mountains to N. C. Leaves appearing in early spring and dying before the flowers are developed.

[*][*] Leaves linear; ovules a pair in each cell.

2. A. Schœnóprasum, L. (Chives.) Scape naked or leafy at base (6–12´ high), bearing a globular capitate umbel of many rose-purple flowers; sepals lanceolate, pointed, longer than the simple downwardly dilated filaments; leaves awl-shaped, hollow; capsule not crested.—From N. Brunswick and the Great Lakes to the Pacific. (Eu., Asia.)

3. A. cérnuum, Roth. (Wild Onion.) Scape naked, angular (½–2° high), nodding at the apex, bearing a loose or drooping few–many-flowered umbel; leaves linear, flattened, sharply keeled (1° long); sepals oblong-ovate, acute (rose-color), shorter than the slender filaments and style; capsule 6-crested.—In the Alleghanies to S. C., west to Minn., Mo., Tex., and westward.

§ 2. Bulbs mostly solitary, not rhizomatous; coats often fibrous; leaves narrowly linear, flat or channelled (terete in A. vineale).

4. A. stellàtum, Nutt. Scape terete (6–18´ high), slender, bearing an erect umbel; bulb-coats membranous; sepals broad, acute; stamens and style exserted; capsule prominently 6-crested.—Rocky slopes, Minn. to W. Ill. and Mo., and westward.

5. A. reticulàtum, Fraser. Scape 3–8´ high; bulbs densely and coarsely fibrous-coated; spathe 2-valved; umbel rarely bulbiferous; sepals ovate- to narrowly lanceolate, thin and lax in fruit, a third longer than the stamens; capsule crested.—Sask. to Iowa and N. Mex.

6. A. Nuttállii, Watson. Scape 4–6° high, from a very fibrous-coated bulb; spathe usually 3-valved; sepals usually broader, rather rigid in fruit; capsule not crested.—Central Kan. to Tex., and westward.

7. A. Canadénse, Kalm. (Wild Garlic.) Scape 1° high or more; bulb-coats somewhat fibrous; umbel densely bulbiferous or few-flowered; sepals narrowly lanceolate, obtusish, equalling or exceeding the stamens; capsule not crested.—Moist meadows, N. Eng. to Minn., south to the Gulf. May, June.

A. vineàle, L. (Field Garlic.) Scape slender, clothed with the sheathing bases of the leaves below the middle (1–3° high); leaves terete and hollow, slender, channelled above; umbel often densely bulbiferous; filaments much dilated, the alternate ones cuspidate on each side of the anther.—Moist meadows and fields; a vile weed eastward. June. (Nat. from Eu.)

3. NOTHÓSCORDUM, Kunth.

Flowers greenish or yellowish white. Capsule oblong-obovate, somewhat lobed, obtuse, with the style obscurely jointed on the summit; cells several-ovuled and -seeded. Filaments filiform, distinct, adnate at base. Bulb tunicated, not alliaceous. Otherwise as in Allium. (Name from νόθος, false, and σκόρδιον, garlic.)

1. N. striàtum, Kunth. Scape 1° high or less; bulb small, often bulbiferous at base; leaves narrowly linear; flowers few, on slender pedicels, the segments narrowly oblong, 4–6´´ long; ovules 4–7 in each cell. (Allium striatum, Jacq.)—Prairies and open woods, Va. to Ind., Neb., and southward.

4. ANDROSTÉPHIUM, Torr.

Perianth funnel-form, the cylindrical tube equalling the somewhat spreading limb or shorter; segments 1-nerved. Stamens 6, in one row upon the throat; the filaments united to form an erect tubular crown, with bifid lobes alternate with the oblong versatile anthers. Capsule sessile, subglobose-triquetrous, beaked by the stout persistent style; seeds large, few to several in each cell.—Scape and linear leaves from a membranous- or fibrous-coated corm; pale lilac flowers umbellate; pedicels not jointed; involucral bracts several. (Name from ἀνήρ, for stamen, and στέφος, crown, referring to the stamineal crown.)

1. A. violàceum, Torr. Scape 2–6´ high; flowers 8–12´´ long or more, usually exceeding the stout pedicels, the tube nearly as long as the limb; crown scarcely shorter than the limb.—Kan. to Tex.

5. CAMÁSSIA, Lindl.

Perianth of 6 colored (blue or purple) spreading sepals, 3–7-nerved, slightly irregular, mostly deciduous; the 6 filiform filaments at their base. Style thread-like, the base persistent. Capsule oblong or obovate, 3-angled, loculicidal, 3-valved, with several black roundish seeds in each cell.—Scape and linear leaves from a coated bulb; the flowers in a simple raceme, mostly bracted, on jointed pedicels. (From the native Indian name quamash or camass.)

1. C. Fràseri, Torr. (Eastern Camass. Wild Hyacinth.) Scape 1° high or more; leaves keeled; raceme elongated; bracts longer than the pedicels; sepals pale blue, 3-nerved, 4–7´´ long; capsule acutely triangular-globose. (Scilla Fraseri, Gray.)—Rich ground, W. Penn. to Minn. and E. Kan., and in the mountains to Ga.

6. ORNITHÓGALUM, Tourn. Star-of-Bethlehem.

Perianth of 6 colored (white) spreading 3–7-nerved sepals. Filaments 6, flattened-awl-shaped. Style 3-sided; stigma 3-angled. Capsule membranous, roundish-angular, with few dark and roundish seeds in each cell, loculicidal.—Scape and linear channelled leaves from a coated bulb. Flowers corymbed, bracted; pedicels not jointed. (An ancient whimsical name from ὄρνις, a bird, and γάλα, milk.)

O. umbellàtum, L. Scape 4–9´ high; flowers 5–8, on long and spreading pedicels; sepals green in the middle on the outside.—Escaped from gardens. (Nat. from Eu.)

O. nùtans, L. Scape 1° high or more; flowers 5 or 6, large (1´ long), nodding on very short pedicels; filaments very broad.—Rarely escaped from gardens; Penn. (Adv. from Eu.)

7. MUSCÀRI, Tourn. Grape-Hyacinth.

Perianth globular or ovoid, minutely 6-toothed (blue). Stamens 6, included; anthers short, introrse. Style short. Capsule loculicidal, with 2 black angular seeds in each cell.—Leaves and scape (in early spring) from a coated bulb; the small flowers in a dense raceme, sometimes musk-scented (whence the name).

M. botryoìdes, Mill. Leaves linear, 3–4´´ broad; flowers globular (1–1½´´ long), deep blue, appearing like minute grapes.—Escaped from gardens into copses and fence-rows. (Adv. from Eu.)

M. racemòsum, Mill. Leaves 1–1½´´ broad; flowers oblong-urceolate, 2–2½´´ long, deep blue, fragrant.—Rare escape, Md. and Penn. (Adv. from Eu.)

8. HEMEROCÁLLIS, L. Day-Lily.

Perianth funnel-form, lily-like; the short tube enclosing the ovary, the spreading limb 6-parted; the 6 stamens inserted on its throat. Anthers as in Lilium, but introrse. Filaments and style long and thread-like, declined and ascending; stigma simple. Capsule (at first rather fleshy) 3-angled, loculicidally 3-valved, with several black spherical seeds in each cell.—Showy perennials, with fleshy-fibrous roots; the long and linear keeled leaves 2-ranked at the base of the tall scapes, which bear at the summit several bracted and large yellow flowers; these collapse and decay after expanding for a single day (whence the name, from ἡμέρα, a day, and κάλλος, beauty.)

H. fúlva, L. (Common Day-Lily.) Inner divisions (petals) of the tawny orange perianth wavy and obtuse.—Roadsides, escaped from gardens (Adv. from Eu.)

9. YÚCCA, L. Bear-Grass. Spanish Bayonet.

Perianth of 6 petal-like (white or greenish) oval or oblong and acute flat sepals, withering-persistent, the 3 inner broader, longer than the 6 stamens. Stigmas 3, sessile. Capsule oblong, somewhat 6-sided, 3-celled, or imperfectly 6-celled by a partition from the back, fleshy, at length loculicidally 3-valved from the apex. Seeds very many in each cell, flattened.—Stems woody, either very short or rising into thick and columnar palm-like trunks, bearing persistent rigid linear or sword-shaped leaves, and an often ample compound panicle or branched raceme of showy flowers. (The native Haytian name for the root of the Cassava-plant.)

1. Y. angustifòlia, Pursh. Caudex none or very short; leaves straight very stiff and pungent, ½–2° long by 1–6´´ wide, filiferous on the margin; raceme mostly simple, nearly sessile (1–4° long); flowers 1½–2½´ wide; stigmas green, shorter than the ovary; capsule 6-sided (3´ long); seeds 5–6´´ broad.—Dak. to Iowa, Kan., and N. Mex. May, June.

2. Y. filamentòsa, L. (Adam's Needle.) Caudex 1° high or less, from a running rootstock; leaves numerous, coriaceous, more or less tapering to a short point, rough on the back, 1½–2° long by 1–3´ wide, filiferous on the margin; panicle pyramidal, densely flowered, on a stout bracteate scape, 4–9° high; flowers large; stigmas pale, elongated; capsule 1½´ long; seeds 3´´ broad.—Near the coast, Md. to Fla. and La. July. Very variable.

10. CONVALLÀRIA, L. Lily of the Valley.

Perianth bell-shaped (white), 6-lobed, deciduous; the lobes recurved. Stamens 6, included, inserted on the base of the perianth; anthers introrse. Ovary 3-celled, tapering into a stout style; stigma triangular. Ovules 4–6 in each cell. Berry few-seeded (red).—A low perennial herb, glabrous, stemless, with slender running rootstocks, sending up from a scaly-sheathing bud 2 oblong leaves, with their long sheathing petioles enrolled one within the other so as to appear like a stalk, and an angled scape bearing a one-sided raceme of pretty and sweet-scented nodding flowers. (Altered from Lilium convallium, the popular name.)

1. C. majàlis, L.—High mountains of Va. to S. C. Apparently identical with the European Lily of the Valley of the gardens.

11. POLYGONÀTUM, Tourn. Solomon's Seal.

Perianth cylindrical-oblong, 6-lobed at the summit; the 6 stamens inserted on or above the middle of the tube, included; anthers introrse. Ovary 3-celled. with 2–6 ovules in each cell; style slender, deciduous by a joint; stigma obtuse or capitate, obscurely 3-lobed. Berry globular, black or blue; the cells 1–2-seeded.—Perennial herbs, with simple erect or curving stems, from creeping thick and knotted rootstocks, naked below, above bearing nearly sessile or half-clasping nerved leaves, and axillary nodding greenish flowers; pedicels jointed near the flower. (The ancient name, composed of πολύς, many, and γόνυ, knee, alluding to the numerous joints of the rootstock and stem.)—Ours are alternate-leaved species, the stem terete or scarcely angled when fresh.

1. P. biflòrum, Ell. (Smaller Solomon's Seal.) Glabrous, except the ovate-oblong or lance-oblong nearly sessile leaves, which are commonly minutely pubescent as well as pale or glaucous underneath; stem slender (1–3° high); peduncles 1–3- but mostly 2-flowered; perianth 4–6´´ long; filaments papillose-roughened, inserted toward the summit of the perianth.—Wooded hillsides, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., E. Kan., and Tex.

2. P. gigantèum, Dietrich. (Great S.) Glabrous throughout; stem stout and mostly tall (2–7° high), terete; leaves ovate, partly clasping (3–8´ long), or the upper oblong and nearly sessile, many-nerved; peduncles several-(2–8-) flowered, jointed below the flower; flowers 5–9´´ long; filaments smooth and naked, or nearly so, inserted on the middle of the tube.—Meadows and river-banks, N. Eng. to Va., west to the Rocky Mts. June.

12. ASPÁRAGUS, Tourn. Asparagus.

Perianth 6-parted, spreading above; the 6 stamens on its base; anthers introrse. Style short; stigma 3-lobed. Berry spherical, 3-celled; the cells 2-seeded.—Perennials, with much-branched stems from thick and matted rootstocks, and small greenish-yellow axillary flowers on jointed pedicels. The narrow, commonly thread-like, so-called leaves are really branchlets, acting as leaves, clustered in the axils of little scales which are the true leaves. (The ancient Greek name.)

A. officinàlis, L. (Garden Asparagus.) Herbaceous, tall, bushy-branched; leaves thread-like.—A frequent escape from gardens. June. (Adv. from Eu.)

13. SMILACÌNA, Desf. False Solomon's Seal.

Perianth 6-parted, spreading, withering-persistent (white). Stamens 6, inserted at the base of the divisions; filaments slender, anthers short, introrse. Ovary 3-celled, with 2 ovules in each cell; style short and thick, stigma obscurely 3-lobed. Berry globular, 1–2-seeded.—Perennial herbs, with simple stems from creeping or thickish rootstocks, alternate nerved mostly sessile leaves, and white, sometimes fragrant flowers in a terminal and simple or compound raceme. (Name a diminutive of Smilax, to which, however, these plants bear little resemblance.)

[*] Flowers on very short pedicels in a terminal racemose panicle; stamens exceeding the small (1´´ long) segments; ovules collateral; rootstock stout, fleshy.

1. S. racemòsa, Desf. (False Spikenard.) Minutely downy (1–3° high); leaves numerous, oblong or oval-lanceolate, taper-pointed, ciliate, abruptly somewhat petioled; berries pale red, speckled with purple, aromatic.—Moist copses, N. Brunswick to S. C., west to Minn., E. Kan. and Ark.

[*][*] Flowers larger (2–3´´ long), on solitary pedicels in a simple few-flowered raceme; stamens included; ovules not collateral; rootstock rather slender.

2. S. stellàta, Desf. Plant (1° high or less) nearly glabrous, or the 7–12 oblong-lanceolate leaves minutely downy beneath when young, slightly clasping; raceme sessile or nearly so; berries blackish.—Moist banks, Lab. to N. J., west to E. Kan., Minn., and westward. (Eu.)

3. S. trifòlia, Desf. Glabrous, dwarf (2–6´ high); leaves 3 (sometimes 2 or 4), oblong, tapering to a sheathing base; raceme peduncled; berries red.—Cold bogs, Lab. to N. Eng., west to Mich. and Min. (Sib.)

14. MAIÁNTHEMUM, Wigg.

Perianth 4-parted, with as many stamens. Ovary 2-celled; stigma 2-lobed. Otherwise as in Smilacina.—Flowers solitary or fascicled, in a simple raceme upon a low 2–3-leaved stem. Leaves ovate- to lanceolate-cordate. (Name from Maius, May, and ἄνθεμον, a flower.)

1. M. Canadénse, Desf. Pubescent or glabrous (3–5´ high); leaves lanceolate to ovate, cordate at base with a very narrow sinus, sessile or very shortly petioled; perianth-segments 1´´ long. (Smilacina bifolia, var. Canadensis, Gray.)—Moist woods, Lab. to N. C., west to Minn. and Iowa. May.

15. STRÉPTOPUS, Michx. Twisted-Stalk.

Perianth recurved-spreading from a bell-shaped base, deciduous; the 6 distinct sepals lanceolate, acute, the 3 inner keeled. Anthers arrow-shaped, extrorse, fixed near the base to the short flattened filaments, tapering above to a slender entire or 2-cleft point. Ovary with many ovules in each cell; style and sometimes the stigmas one. Berry red, roundish-ovoid, many-seeded.—Herbs, with rather stout stems from a creeping rootstock, forking and divergent branches, ovate and taper-pointed rounded-clasping membranaceous leaves, and small (extra-) axillary flowers, either solitary or in pairs, on slender thread-like peduncles, which are abruptly bent or contorted near the middle (whence the name, from στρεπτός, twisted, and ποῦς, foot or stalk).

1. S. amplexifòlius, DC. Stem 2–3° high, glabrous; leaves very smooth, glaucous underneath, strongly clasping; flower greenish-white (4–6´´ long) on a long abruptly bent peduncle; anthers tapering to a slender entire point; stigma entire, truncate.—Cold moist woods, N. Eng. to N. Minn., south to Ohio, Penn., and in the mountains to N. C. June. (Eu.)

2. S. ròseus, Michx. Lower leaves green both sides, finely ciliate, and the branches sparingly beset with short bristly hairs; flower rose-purple (3–4´´ long), more than half the length of the slightly bent peduncle; anthers 2-horned; stigma 3-cleft.—Cold damp woods, N. Eng. to N. Minn., and south in the mountains to Ga. May.

16. DÍSPORUM, Salisb.

Perianth narrowly bell-shaped, the 6 sepals lanceolate or linear, deciduous. Filaments thread-like, much longer than the linear-oblong blunt anthers, which are fixed by a point above the base and extrorse. Ovary with 2 ovules (in our species) suspended from the summit of each cell; style one; stigmas short, recurved-spreading, or sometimes united into one! Berry ovoid or oblong, pointed, 3–6-seeded, red.—Downy low herbs, with creeping rootstocks, erect stems sparingly branched above, with closely sessile ovate thin and transversely veined leaves, and greenish-yellow drooping flowers, on slender terminal peduncles, solitary or few in an umbel. (Name from δίς, double, and σπορά, seed, in allusion to the 2 ovules in each cell.)

1. D. lanuginòsum, Benth. & Hook. Leaves ovate-oblong, taper-pointed, rounded or slightly heart-shaped at base, closely sessile, downy beneath; flowers solitary, [or] in pairs; sepals linear-lanceolate, taper-pointed (½´ long), soon spreading, twice the length of the stamens, greenish; style smooth; stigmas 3. (Prosartes lanuginosa, Don.)—Rich woods, western N. Y. to Va. and Ga., west to Ky. and Tenn. May.

17. CLINTÒNIA, Raf.

Perianth of 6 separate sepals, bell-shaped, lily-like, deciduous; the 6 stamens inserted at their base. Filaments long and thread-like; anthers linear or oblong, extrorsely fixed by a point above the base, the cells opening down the margins. Ovary ovoid-oblong, 2–3-celled; style long; stigmas 2 or 3, or in ours united into one. Berry few–many-seeded.—Short-stemmed perennials, with slender creeping rootstocks, bearing a naked peduncle sheathed at the base by the stalks of 2–4 large oblong or oval ciliate leaves; flowers rather large, umbelled, rarely single. (Dedicated to De Witt Clinton.)

1. C. boreàlis, Raf. Scape and leaves 5–8´ long; umbel 3–6-flowered; perianth greenish-yellow, somewhat downy outside (3–4´´ long); berry ovoid, blue; ovules 20 or more.—Cold moist woods, Lab. to N. C., west to Minn.

2. C. umbellàta, Torr. Flowers half the size of the last, white, speckled with green or purplish dots; umbel many-flowered; berry globular, black; ovules 2 in each cell.—Rich woods, in the Alleghanies from N. Y. to Ga.

18. UVULÀRIA, L. Bellwort.

Perianth narrowly bell-shaped, lily-like, deciduous; the 6 distinct sepals spatulate-lanceolate, acuminate, obtusely gibbous at base, with a deep honey-bearing groove within bordered on each side by a callus-like ridge. Stamens much shorter, barely adherent to their base; anthers linear, much longer than the filaments, adnate and extrorse, but the long narrow cells opening laterally. Style deeply 3-cleft; the divisions stigmatic along the inner side. Capsule truncate, coriaceous, 3-lobed, loculicidal at the summit. Seeds few in each cell, obovoid, with a thin white aril.—Stems rather low, terete, from a short rootstock with fleshy roots, naked or scaly at base, forking above, bearing oblong perfoliate flat and membranaceous leaves with smooth margins, and yellowish drooping flowers, in spring, solitary on terminal peduncles. (Name "from the flowers hanging like the uvula, or palate.")

1. U. perfoliàta, L. Glaucous throughout, ½–1½° high, with 1–3 leaves below the fork; leaves glabrous, oblong- to ovate-lanceolate, acute; perianth-segments granular-pubescent within (8–16´´ long); stamens shorter than the styles; tip of the connective acuminate; cells of the capsule with 2 dorsal ridges and 2-beaked at the apex.—Rich woods, N. Eng. to Dak., and southward.

2. U. grandiflòra, Smith. Yellowish-green, not glaucous; stem naked or with a single leaf below the fork; leaves whitish-pubescent beneath, usually somewhat acuminate; perianth-segments smooth within or nearly so (12–18´´ long); stamens exceeding the styles, obtusely tipped; capsule obtusely lobed. (U. flava, Smith.)—Rich woods, Canada to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.

19. OAKÈSIA, Watson.

Flowers resembling those of Uvularia, but the segments obtuse or acutish, carinately gibbous and without ridges within. Capsule membranous, elliptical, acutish at each end or shortly stipitate, triquetrous and acutely winged, very tardily dehiscent. Seeds globose, with a very tumid spongy rhaphe.—Stem acutely angled, from a slender creeping rootstock, with sessile clasping leaves scabrous on the margin, and 1 or 2 flowers terminal on slender peduncles but soon appearing opposite to the leaves by the growth of the branches. (Dedicated to William Oakes.)

1. O. sessilifòlia, Watson. Leaves lance-oblong, acute at each end, pale, glaucous beneath, sessile or partly clasping; sepals 7–12´´ long; anthers obtuse; capsule short-stipitate, 6–10´´ long. (Uvularia sessilifolia, L.)—Low woods, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., Neb. and Ark.

2. O. pubérula, Watson. Slightly puberulent; leaves bright green both sides and shining, oval, mostly rounded at base, with rougher edges; styles separate to near the base, not exceeding the acute anthers; capsule not stipitate, 10–12´´ long. (Uvularia puberula, Michx.)—Mountains, Va. to S. C.

20. ERYTHRÒNIUM, L. Dog's-tooth Violet.

Perianth lily-like, of 6 distinct lanceolate sepals, recurved or spreading above, deciduous, the 3 inner usually with a callous tooth on each side of the erect base, and a groove in the middle. Filaments 6´, awl-shaped; anthers oblong-linear, continuing erect. Style elongated. Capsule obovate, contracted at base, 3-valved, loculicidal. Seeds rather numerous, ovoid, with a loose membranaceous tip.—Nearly stemless herbs, with two smooth and shining flat leaves tapering into petioles and sheathing the base of the commonly one-flowered scape, rising from a deep solid-scaly bulb. Flowers rather large, nodding, in spring. (The Greek name for the purple-flowered European species, from ἐρυθρός, red.)

1. E. Americànum, Ker. (Yellow Adder's-tongue.) Scape 6–9´ high; leaves elliptical-lanceolate, pale green, mottled with purplish and whitish and commonly minutely dotted; perianth light yellow, often spotted near the base (10–20´´ long); style club-shaped; stigmas united.—Rich ground, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn. and Ark.

2. E. álbidum, Nutt. (White Dog's-tooth Violet.) Leaves elliptical-lanceolate, less or not at all spotted; perianth pinkish-white; inner divisions toothless; style more slender except at the apex, bearing 3 short spreading stigmas.—Rich ground, N. Y. to N. J., west to Minn. and Kan.

3. E. propúllans, Gray. Offshoot arising from the stem, near the middle; leaves smaller and more acuminate; flowers bright rose-color, yellowish at base (6´´ long); style slender; stigmas united.—In rich soil, Minn. and Ont.

21. LÍLIUM, L. Lily.

Perianth funnel-form or bell-shaped, colored, of 6 distinct sepals, spreading or recurved above, with a honey-bearing furrow at the base, deciduous; the 6 stamens somewhat adhering to their bases. Anthers linear, extrorsely attached near the middle to the tapering apex of the long filament, which is at first included, at length versatile; the cells dehiscent by a lateral or slightly introrse line. Style elongated, somewhat club-shaped; stigma 3-lobed. Capsule oblong, containing numerous flat and horizontal (depressed) soft-coated seeds densely packed in 2 rows in each cell. Bulbs scaly, producing simple stems, with numerous alternate-scattered or whorled narrow sessile leaves, and from one to several large and showy flowers; in summer. (The classical Latin name, from the Greek λείριον.)

[*] Flowers erect, the sepals narrowed below into claws; bulbs not rhizomatous.

1. L. Philadélphicum, L. (Wild Orange-red Lily. Wood Lily.) Stem 2–3° high; leaves linear-lanceolate, whorled or scattered; flowers (2–4´ long) 1–3, open-bell-shaped, reddish-orange spotted with purplish inside; the lanceolate sepals not recurved at the summit; bulb of thick fleshy jointed scales.—Dry or sandy ground, N. Eng. to N. C., west to Minn. and Mo.

2. L. Catesbæ̀i, Walt. (Southern Red Lily.) Leaves linear-lanceolate, scattered; flower solitary, open-bell-shaped, the long-clawed sepals wavy on the margin and recurved at the summit, scarlet, spotted with dark purple and yellow inside; bulb-scales thin, narrow and leaf-bearing.—Pine-barrens, N. C. to Fla., west to Ky. and Mo.

[*][*] Flowers nodding, the sepals sessile; bulbs rhizomatous.

3. L. supérbum, L. (Turk's-cap Lily.) Stem 3–7° high; lower leaves whorled, lanceolate, pointed, 3-nerved, smooth; flowers (3´ long) often many (3–20 or 40) in a pyramidal raceme; sepals strongly revolute, bright orange, with numerous dark purple spots inside.—Rich low grounds, N. Brunswick to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.

4. L. Canadénse, L. (Wild Yellow Lily.) Stem 2–5° high; leaves remotely whorled, lanceolate, strongly 3-nerved, the margins and nerves rough; flowers few (2–3´ long), long-peduncled, oblong-bell-shaped, the sepals recurved-spreading above, yellow or orange, usually spotted with brown.—Moist meadows and bogs, N. Brunswick to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.

5. L. Gràyi, Watson. Stems 2–3° high; leaves in whorls of 4–8, lanceolate, acute or slightly acuminate, smooth; flowers 1 or 2, nearly horizontal, the sepals (1½–2½´ long) but little spreading above the rather broad base, rather abruptly acute, deep reddish orange, thickly spotted within.—Peaks of Otter, Va., and southward in the mountains to N. C.

L. tigrìnum, Ker. (Tiger Lily.) Tall, pubescent above; leaves scattered, narrowly lanceolate, dark green, 5–7-nerved, the upper axils bulbiferous; flowers large, resembling those of L. superbum.—An escape from gardens. (Adv. from E. Asia.)

22. MEDÈOLA, Gronov. Indian Cucumber-root.

Perianth recurved, the 3 sepals and 3 petals oblong and alike (pale greenish-yellow), deciduous. Stamens 6; anthers shorter than the slender filaments, oblong, extrorsely attached above the base, but the line of dehiscence of the closely contiguous parallel cells lateral or slightly introrse. Stigmas, or styles, stigmatic down the upper side, recurved-diverging from the globose ovary, long and thread-form, deciduous. Berry globose (dark purple), 3-celled, few-seeded.—A perennial herb, with a simple slender stem (1–3° high, clothed with flocculent and deciduous wool), rising from a horizontal and tuberous white rootstock (which has the taste of cucumber), bearing near the middle a whorl of 5–9 obovate-lanceolate and pointed, sessile, lightly parallel-ribbed and netted-veiny, thin leaves; also another of 3 (rarely 4 or 5) much smaller ovate ones at the top, subtending a sessile umbel of small recurved flowers. (Named after the sorceress Medea, for its supposed great medicinal virtues.)

1. M. Virginiàna, L.—Rich damp woods, N. Eng. to Minn., Ind., and southward. June.

23. TRÍLLIUM, L. Wake Robin. Birthroot.

Sepals 3, lanceolate, spreading, herbaceous, persistent. Petals 3, larger, withering in age. Stamens 6; anthers linear, on short filaments, adnate, usually introrse; the cells opening down the margins. Stigmas sessile, awl-shaped or slender, spreading or recurved above, persistent, stigmatic down the inner side. Ovary 3–6-angled. Berry ovate, usually 6-angled or -winged, 3-celled (purple or red). Seeds ovate, horizontal, several in each cell.—Low perennial herbs, with a stout and simple stem rising from a short and præmorse tuber-like rootstock, naked, bearing at the summit a whorl of 3 ample, commonly broadly ovate, more or less ribbed but netted-veined leaves, and a terminal large flower; in spring. (Name from triplum, triple; all the parts being in threes.)—Monstrosities are not rare with the calyx and sometimes petals changed to leaves, or the parts of the flower increased in number.

[*] Ovary and fruit 6-angled and more or less winged.

[+] Flower sessile; the very broad connective produced beyond the anther-cells.

1. T. séssile, L. Leaves sessile, ovate or rhomboidal, acute, often blotched or spotted; sepals spreading; sessile petals erect-spreading, narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, dark and dull purple, varying to greenish, fruit globose, 6´´ long.—Moist woods, Penn. to Fla., west to Minn. and Ark.

2. T. recurvàtum, Beck. Leaves contracted at the base into a petiole, ovate, oblong, or obovate; sepals reflexed; petals pointed, the base narrowed into a claw, oblong-lanceolate to -ovate, dark purple; fruit ovate, strongly winged above, 9´´ long.—Rich woods, Ohio and Ind. to Minn. and Ark.

[+][+] Flower pedicelled; connective narrow, not produced; leaves subsessile.

[++] Pedicel longer than the flower; filament shorter than the anther.

3. T. eréctum, L. Leaves very broadly rhombic (2½–6´ wide), shortly acuminate; pedicel (1–3´ long) usually more or less inclined or declinate; petals ovate to lanceolate (9–18´´ long), brown-purple or often white or greenish or pinkish; stamens equalling or exceeding the stout distinct spreading or recurved stigmas; fruit ovate, 1´ long, reddish.—Rich woods, N. Scotia to N. C., west to Minn. and Mo. Flowers ill-scented.

4. T. grandiflòrum, Salisb. Leaves less broadly rhombic-ovate (1½–4´ wide); pedicel erect or ascending; petals oblanceolate, often broadly so (1½–2½´ long), white turning rose-color or marked with green; stamens with stout filaments (persistently green about the fruit) and anthers, exceeding the very slender erect or suberect and somewhat coherent stigmas; fruit globose, ½–1´ long.—Rich woods, Vt. to N. C., west to Minn. and Mo.

[++][++] Pedicel short, recurved or strongly declinate; filaments slender, about equalling the anther.

5. T. cérnuum, L. Leaves very broadly rhombic-ovate (2–4´ broad); petals white or pink, ovate- to oblong-lanceolate (6–12´´ long), wavy, recurved-spreading; stamens with short anthers, shorter than the stout recurved distinct stigmas; fruit ovate.—Moist woods, N. Eng. to Minn., south to Ga. and Mo.

[*][*] Ovary and fruit 3-lobed or angled, not winged; filaments slender, about equalling the anthers; pedicel erect or inclined; leaves petiolate.

6. T. nivàle, Riddell. (Dwarf White T.) Small (2–4´ high); leaves oval or ovate, obtuse (1–2´ long); petals oblong, obtuse (6–15´´ long), white, scarcely wavy, spreading from an erect base, equalling the peduncle; styles long and slender; fruit depressed globose, with 3 rounded lobes, 3–4´´ long.—Rich woods, W. Penn. and Ky. to Minn. and Iowa.

7. T. erythrocárpum, Michx. (Painted T.) Leaves ovate, taper-pointed; petals ovate or oval-lanceolate, pointed, wavy, widely spreading, white painted with purple stripes at the base, shorter than the peduncle; fruit broad-ovate, obtuse, 7–9´´ long.—Cold damp woods and bogs, N. Brunswick to Ga., west to Wisc. and Mo.

24. HELÒNIAS, L.

Flowers perfect. Perianth of 6 spatulate-oblong purple sepals, persistent, several-nerved, glandless, turning green, shorter than the thread-like filaments. Anthers 2-celled, roundish-oval, blue, extrorse. Styles revolute, stigmatic down the inner side, deciduous. Capsule obcordately 3-lobed, loculicidally 3-valved; the valves divergently 2-lobed. Seeds many in each cell, linear, with a tapering appendage at both ends.—A smooth perennial, with many oblong-spatulate or oblanceolate evergreen flat leaves, from a tuberous rootstock, producing in early spring a stout hollow sparsely bracteate scape (1–2° high), sheathed with broad bracts at the base, and terminated by a simple and short dense raceme. Bracts obsolete; pedicels shorter than the flowers. (Name probably from ἕλος, a swamp, the place of growth.)

1. H. bullàta, L.—Wet places, Penn. and N. J. to Va.; rare and local.

25. CHAMÆLÍRIUM, Willd. Devil's-Bit.

Flowers diœcious. Perianth of 6 spatulate-linear (white) spreading 1-nerved sepals, withering-persistent. Filaments and (white) anthers, as in Helonias; fertile flowers with rudimentary stamens. Styles linear-club-shaped, stigmatic along the inner side. Capsule ovoid-oblong, not lobed, of a thin texture, loculicidally 3-valved from the apex, many-seeded. Seeds linear-oblong, winged at each end.—Smooth herb, with a wand-like stem from a (bitter) thick and abrupt tuberous rootstock, terminated by a long wand-like spiked raceme (4–12´ long) of small bractless flowers; fertile plant more leafy than the staminate. Leaves flat, lanceolate, the lowest spatulate, tapering into a petiole. (Name formed of χαμαί on the ground, and λείριον, lily, the genus having been founded on a dwarf undeveloped specimen.)

1. C. Caroliniànum, Willd. (Blazing-Star.) Stem 1–4° high. (C. luteum, Gray.)—Low grounds, N. Eng. to Ga., west to Neb. and Ark. June.

26. XEROPHÝLLUM, Michx.

Flowers perfect. Perianth widely spreading; sepals petal-like (white), oval, distinct, without glands or claws, 5–7-nerved, at length withering, about the length of the awl-shaped filaments. Anthers 2-celled, short, extrorse. Styles thread-like, stigmatic down the inner side, persistent. Capsule globular, 3-lobed, obtuse (small), loculicidal; the valves bearing the partitions. Seeds 2 in each cell, collateral, 3-angled, not margined.—Herb with the stem simple, 1–4° high, from a thick tuberous rootstock, bearing a simple dense bracteate raceme of showy flowers, and thickly beset with needle-shaped leaves, the upper reduced to bristle-like bracts; those from the root very many in a dense tuft, reclined, a foot long or more, 1´´ wide below, rough on the margin, remarkably dry and rigid. (Name from ξηρός, arid, and φύλλον, leaf.)

1. X. setifòlium, Michx. Stem 1–4° high. (X. asphodeloides, Nutt.)—Pine-barrens, N. J. to Ga. June.

27. TOFIÈLDIA, Hudson. False Asphodel.

Flowers perfect, usually with a little 3-bracted involucre underneath. Perianth more or less spreading, persistent; the sepals (white or greenish) concave, oblong or obovate, without claws, 3-nerved. Filaments awl-shaped; anthers short, innate or somewhat introrse, 2-celled. Styles awl-shaped; stigmas terminal. Capsule 3-angular, 3-partible or septicidal; cells many-seeded. Seeds oblong, horizontal.—Slender perennials, mostly tufted, with short or creeping rhizomes, and simple stems leafy only at the base, bearing small flowers in a close raceme or spike. Leaves 2-ranked, equitant, linear, grass-like. (Named for Mr. Tofield, an English botanist of the last century.)

[*] Glabrous; pedicels solitary, in a short raceme or head; seeds not appendaged.

1. T. palústris, Hudson. Scape leafless or nearly so (2–6´ high), slender, bearing a globular or oblong head or short raceme of whitish flowers; leaves tufted, ½–1½´ long.—L. Superior, and northward. (Eu.)

[*][*] Stem and inflorescence pubescent; pedicels fascicled in threes; seeds caudate.

2. T. glutinòsa, Willd. Stem (6–16´ high) and pedicels very glutinous with dark glands; leaves broadly linear, short; perianth not becoming rigid; capsule thin; seeds with a contorted tail at each end.—Moist grounds, Maine to Minn., and northward; also south in the Alleghanies. June.

3. T. pùbens, Ait. Stem (1–3° high) and pedicels roughened with minute glands; leaves longer and narrower; perianth rigid about the firm capsule; seeds with a short white appendage at each end.—Pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. and Ala. July.

28. NARTHÈCIUM, Moehring. Bog-Asphodel.

Sepals 6, linear-lanceolate, yellowish, persistent. Filaments 6, woolly; anthers linear, introrse. Capsule cylindrical-oblong, attenuate upward and bearing the slightly lobed sessile stigma, loculicidal, many-seeded. Seeds ascending, appendaged at each end with a long bristle-form tail.—Rootstock creeping, bearing linear equitant leaves, and a simple stem or scape, terminated by a simple dense bracteate raceme; pedicels bearing a linear bractlet. (Name an anagram of Anthericum, from ἀνθέρικος, supposed to have been the Asphodel.)

1. N. Americànum, Ker. Stem 1° high or more; leaves 1´´ wide, 7–9-nerved; raceme dense (1–2´ long); perianth-segments narrowly linear (2–2½´´ long), scarcely exceeding the stamens. (N. ossifragum, var. Americanum, Gray.)—Sandy bogs, pine-barrens of N. J. June, July.

29. MELÁNTHIUM, Linn.

Flowers monœciously polygamous. Perianth of 6 separate and free widely spreading somewhat heart-shaped or oblong and halberd-shaped or oblanceolate sepals, raised on slender claws, cream-colored or greenish, the base marked with 2 approximate or confluent glands, or glandless, turning greenish brown and persistent. Filaments shorter than the sepals, adhering to their claws often to near the summit, persistent. Anthers heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, confluently 1-celled, shield-shaped after opening, extrorse. Styles 3, awl-shaped, diverging, tipped with simple stigmas. Capsule ovoid-conical, 3-lobed, of 3 inflated membranaceous carpels united in the axis, separating when ripe, and splitting down the inner edge, several-seeded. Seeds flat, broadly winged.—Stems tall and leafy, from a thick rootstock, roughish-downy above, as well as the open and ample pyramidal panicle (composed chiefly of simple racemes), the terminal part mostly fertile. Leaves linear to oblanceolate or oval, not plaited. (Name composed of μέλας, black, and ἄνθος, flower, from the darker color which the persistent perianth assumes after blossoming.)

[*] Sepals with a conspicuous double gland at the summit of the claw.

1. M. Virgínicum, L. (Bunch-flower.) Stem 3–5° high, leafy, rather slender; leaves linear (4–10´´ wide); sepals flat, ovate to oblong or slightly hastate (2½–4´´ long); capsule 6´´ long; seeds 10 in each cell, 2–3´´ long.—Wet meadows, N. Eng. to N. C., west to Minn. and Tex.

2. M. latifòlium, Desrouss. Leaves more oblanceolate, often 2´ broad; sepals undulate (2–3´´ long), the very narrow claw nearly equalling the orbicular or ovate blade; capsule 6–8´´ long; styles more slender; seeds 4–8 in each cell, 3–4´´ long. (M. racemosum, Michx.)—W. Conn. to S. C.

[*][*] Sepals oblanceolate, without glands.

3. M. parviflòrum, Watson. Stem rather slender (2–5° high), sparingly leafy, naked above; leaves oval to oblanceolate (2–4´ wide), on long petioles; sepals 2–3´´ long, oblanceolate or spatulate, those of the sterile flowers on claws; stamens very short; capsule 6´´ long; seeds 4–6 in each cell, 4´´ long. (Veratrum parviflorum, Michx.)—In the Alleghanies, Va. to S. C.

30. VERÀTRUM, Tourn. False Hellebore.

Flowers monœciously polygamous. Perianth of 6 spreading and separate obovate-oblong (greenish or brownish) sepals, more or less contracted at the base (but not clawed), nearly free from the ovary, not gland-bearing. Filaments free from the sepals and shorter than they, recurving. Anthers, pistils, fruit, etc., nearly as in Melanthium.—Somewhat pubescent perennials, with simple stems from a thickened base producing coarse fibrous roots (very poisonous), 3-ranked, plaited and strongly veined leaves, and racemed-panicled dull or dingy flowers; in summer. (Name from vere, truly, and ater, black.)

1. V. víride, Ait. (American White Hellebore. Indian Poke.) Stem stout, very leafy to the top (2–7° high); leaves broadly oval, pointed, sheath-clasping; panicle pyramidal, the dense spike-like racemes spreading; perianth yellowish-green, moderately spreading, the segments ciliate-serrulate; ovary glabrous; capsule many-seeded.—Swamps and low grounds, common.

2. V. Woódii, Robbins. Stem slender, sparingly leafy (2–5° high); leaves oblanceolate, only the lowest sheathing; panicle very narrow; perianth greenish-purple, with entire segments; ovary tomentose, soon glabrate; capsule few-seeded.—Woods and hilly barrens, S. Ind. to Mo.

31. STENÁNTHIUM, Gray.

Flowers polygamous. Perianth spreading; the sepals narrowly lanceolate, tapering to a point from the broader base, where they are united and coherent with the base of the ovary, not gland-bearing, persistent, much longer than the short stamens. Anthers, capsules, etc., nearly as in Veratrum. Seeds nearly wingless.—Smooth, with a wand-like leafy stem from a bulbous base, long and grass-like conduplicate-keeled leaves, and numerous small flowers in compound racemes, forming a long terminal panicle; in summer. (Name composed of στενός, narrow, and ἄνθος, flower, from the slender sepals and panicles.)

1. S. angustifòlium, Gray. Stem leafy (3–4° high), very slender; leaves 2–3´´ broad; panicle elongated, nearly simple, very open, with slender flexuous branches; flowers nearly sessile or the fertile on short pedicels; sepals linear-lanceolate (white), 2–3´´ long; capsule strongly reflexed, narrowly oblong-ovate, with spreading beaks.—In the Alleghanies from Va. to S. C.

2. S. robústum, Watson. Resembling the last; stem stout, leafy, erect (3–5° high); leaves 4–10´´ broad; panicle or raceme often 2° long, frequently compound with numerous slender branches; sepals (white or green) 3–4´´ long; capsule erect, ovate, with recurved beaks.—Penn. to S. C., Ohio and Tenn.

32. ZYGADÈNUS, Michx.

Flowers perfect or polygamous. Perianth withering-persistent, spreading; the petal-like oblong or ovate sepals 1–2-glandular near the more or less narrowed but not unguiculate base, which is either free, or united and coherent with the base of the ovary. Stamens free from the sepals and about their length. Anthers, styles, and capsule nearly as in Melanthium. Seeds angled, rarely at all margined.—Very smooth and somewhat glaucous perennials, with simple stems from creeping rootstocks or coated bulbs, linear leaves, and rather large panicled greenish-white flowers; in summer. (Name composed of ζυγός, a yoke, and ἀδήν, a gland, the glands being sometimes in pairs.)

[*] Glands on the perianth conspicuous.

[+] Rootstock creeping; glands 2, orbicular, above the broad claw.

1. Z. glabérrimus, Michx. Stems 1–3° high; leaves grass-like, channelled, conspicuously nerved, elongated, tapering to a point; panicle pyramidal, many-flowered; flowers perfect; sepals nearly free (½´ long), ovate, becoming lance-ovate, with a short claw.—Grassy low grounds, Va. to Fla. and Ala.

[+][+] Root bulbous; glands covering the base of the sepals.

2. Z. élegans, Pursh. Stem 1–3° high; leaves flat, carinate; raceme simple or sparingly branched and few-flowered; bracts ovate-lanceolate; base of the perianth coherent with the base of the ovary, the thin ovate or obovate sepals marked with a large obcordate gland, the inner abruptly contracted to a broad claw. (Z. glaucus, Nutt.)—N. Eng. to N. Ill., Minn., and westward.

3. Z. Nuttàllii, Gray. Like the last; raceme rather densely flowered, with narrow bracts; perianth free; sepals with an ill-defined gland at base, not at all clawed; seeds larger (3´´ long).—Kan. to Tex. and Col.

[*][*] Glands of the perianth obscure; perianth small, rotate; bulb somewhat fibrous.

4. Z. leimanthoìdes, Gray. Stem 1–4° high, slender; leaves narrowly linear; flowers small (4´´ in diameter) and numerous, in a few crowded panicled racemes; only a yellowish spot on the contracted base of the divisions of the free perianth.—Low grounds, pine-barrens of N. J., to Ga.

33. AMIÁNTHIUM, Gray. Fly-Poison.

Flowers perfect. Perianth widely spreading; the distinct and free petal-like (white) sepals oval or obovate, without claws or glands, persistent. Filaments capillary, equalling or exceeding the perianth. Anthers, capsules, etc., nearly as in Melanthium. Styles thread-like. Seeds wingless, oblong or linear, with a loose coat, 1–4 in each cell.—Glabrous, with simple stems from a bulbous base or coated bulb, scape-like, few-leaved, terminated by a simple dense raceme of handsome flowers, turning greenish with age. Leaves linear, keeled, grass-like. (From ἀμίαντος, unspotted, and ἄνθος, flower; a name formed with more regard to euphony than to good construction, alluding to the glandless perianth.)

1. A. muscætóxicum, Gray. (Fly-Poison.) Leaves broadly linear, elongated, obtuse (½–1´ wide); raceme simple; capsule abruptly 3-horned; seeds oblong, with a fleshy red coat.—Open woods, N. J. to Fla., west to Ky. and Ark. June, July.

Order 117. PONTEDERIÀCEÆ. (Pickerel-weed Family.)

Aquatic herbs, with perfect more or less irregular flowers from a spathe; the petal-like 6-merous perianth free from the 3-celled ovary; the 3 or 6 mostly unequal or dissimilar stamens inserted in its throat.—Perianth with the 6 divisions colored alike, imbricated in 2 rows in the bud, the whole together sometimes revolute-coiled after flowering, then withering away, or the base thickened-persistent and enclosing the fruit. Anthers introrse. Ovules anatropous. Style 1; stigma 3-lobed or 6-toothed. Fruit a perfectly or incompletely 3-celled many-seeded capsule, or a 1-celled 1-seeded utricle. Embryo slender, in floury albumen.

1. Pontederia. Spike many-flowered. Perianth 2-lipped, its fleshy persistent base enclosing the 1-seeded utricle. Stamens 6.

2. Heteranthera. Spathe 1–few-flowered. Perianth salver-shaped. Stamens 3. Capsule many-seeded.

1. PONTEDÈRIA, L. Pickerel-weed.

Perianth funnel-form, 2-lipped; the 3 upper divisions united to form the 3-lobed upper lip; the 3 lower spreading, and their claws, which form the lower part of the curving tube, more or less separate or separable to the base; after flowering the tube is revolute-coiled from the apex downward, and its fleshy-thickened persistent base encloses the fruit. Stamens 6; the 3 anterior long-exserted; the 3 posterior (often sterile or imperfect) with very short filaments, unequally inserted lower down; anthers versatile, oval, blue. Ovary 3-celled; two of the cells empty, the other with a single suspended ovule. Utricle 1-celled, filled with the single seed.—Stout herbs, growing in shallow water, with thick creeping rootstocks, producing erect long-petioled mostly heart-shaped leaves, and a 1-leaved stem, bearing a spike of violet-blue ephemeral flowers. Root-leaves with a sheathing stipule within the petiole. (Dedicated to Pontedera, Professor at Padua at the beginning of the last century.)

1. P. cordàta, L. Leaves arrow-heart-shaped, blunt, or sometimes triangular-elongated and tapering and scarcely cordate (var. angustifòlia, Torr.); spike dense, from a spathe-like bract; upper lobe of perianth marked with a pair of yellow spots (rarely all white); calyx-tube in fruit crested with 6 toothed ridges.—N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn. and Tex. July–Sept.

2. HETERANTHÈRA, Ruiz & Pav. Mud-Plantain.

Perianth salver-form with a slender tube; the limb somewhat equally 6-parted, ephemeral. Stamens 3, in the throat, usually unequal; anthers erect. Capsule 1-celled or incompletely 3-celled by intrusion of the placentæ, many-seeded.—Creeping, floating or submerged low herbs, in mud or shallow water, with a 1–few-flowered spathe bursting from the sheathing side or base of a petiole. (Name from ἑτέρα, different, and ἀνθηρά, anther.)

[*] Stamens unequal; 2 posterior filaments with ovate yellow anthers; the other longer, with a larger oblong or sagittate greenish anther; capsule incompletely 3-celled; leaves rounded, long-petioled; creeping or floating plants.

1. H. renifórmis, Ruiz & Pav. Leaves round-kidney-shaped to cordate and acute; spathe 3–5-flowered; flowers white or pale blue.—Conn. to N. J., west to Ill. and E. Kan., and southward. (S. Am.)

2. H. limòsa, Vahl. Leaves oblong or lance-oblong, obtuse at both ends; spathe 1-flowered; flowers larger, blue.—Va. to Mo. and La. (S. Am.)

[*][*] Stamens alike, with sagittate anthers; capsule 1-celled, with 3 parietal placentæ; leaves linear, translucent, sessile; submerged grass-like herbs, with only the flowers reaching the surface.

3. H. gramínea, Vahl. The slender branching stems clothed with leaves and bearing a terminal 1-flowered spathe (becoming lateral); flowers small, pale yellow, with a very long thread-like tube. (Schollera graminifolia, Willd.)—N. Eng. to N. C., west to Minn. and E. Kan.

Order 118. XYRIDÀCEÆ. (Yellow-eyed-grass Family.)

Rush-like herbs, with equitant leaves sheathing the base of a naked scape, which is terminated by a head of perfect 3-androus flowers, with extrorse anthers, glumaceous calyx, and a regular colored corolla; the 3-valved mostly 1-celled capsule containing several or many orthotropous seeds with a minute embryo at the apex of fleshy albumen.

1. XỲRIS, Gronov. Yellow-eyed Grass.

Flowers single in the axils of coriaceous scale-like bracts, which are densely imbricated in a head. Sepals 3; the 2 lateral glume-like, boat-shaped or keeled and persistent; the anterior one larger and membranaceous, enwrapping the corolla in the bud and deciduous with it. Petals 3, with claws, which cohere more or less. Fertile stamens 3, with linear anthers, inserted on the claws of the petals, alternating with 3 sterile filaments, which are cleft and in our species plumose or bearded at the apex. Style 3-cleft. Capsule oblong, free, 1-celled, with 3 parietal more or less projecting placentæ, 3-valved, many-seeded.—Flowers yellow, produced all summer. Ours apparently all perennials. (Ξυρίς, a name of some plant with 2-edged leaves, from ξυρόν, a razor.)

1. X. flexuòsa, Muhl. Scape slender (10–16´ high), barely flattened at the summit, often from a bulbous base, very smooth, much longer than the narrowly linear leaves, both commonly twisted with age; head roundish-ovoid (3–4´´ long); lateral sepals oblong lanceolate, finely ciliate-scarious on the narrow wingless keel, usually with a minute bearded tuft at the apex, shorter than the bract.—Sandy or peaty bogs, Mass. to Fla., west to Minn. and Mo.

Var. pusìlla, Gray. Small and very slender, seldom twisted, 2–9´ high, the base not bulbous; head 2–3´´ long.—White Mts. to Penn., west to L. Superior.

2. X. tórta, Smith. Scape terete, with one sharp edge, slender, 9–20´ high, from a dark bulbous base, and with the linear-filiform rigid leaves becoming spirally twisted; head ovoid, becoming spindle-shaped, or oblong and acute (5–9´´ long); sepals exceeding the bract; lateral sepals winged on the keel and fringed above the middle.—Pine barrens, in dry sand, N. J. to Fla., Tex. and Ark.

3. X. Caroliniàna, Walt. Scape flattish, 1-angled below, 2-edged at the summit, smooth, ½–2° high, the base hardly bulbous; leaves linear-sword-shaped, flat, 2–4´´ broad; head globular-ovoid (5–7´´ long); lateral sepals obscurely lacerate-fringed above on the winged keel, rather shorter than the bract.—Sandy swamps, near the coast, Mass. to Fla.

4. X. fimbriàta, Ell. Scape somewhat angled, 2-edged above, rough (2° high), rather longer than the linear-sword-shaped or strap-shaped leaves, the base not bulbous; head oblong-ovate (6–10´´ long); lateral sepals lanceolate-linear, nearly twice the length of the bract, above the middle conspicuously fringed on the wing-margined keel, and even plumose at the summit.—Pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. and Tex.

Order 119. MAYÀCEÆ. (Mayaca Family.)

Moss-like aquatic plants, densely leafy, with narrowly-linear sessile pellucid leaves, axillary naked peduncles terminated by a solitary perfect 3-androus flower, herbaceous calyx, white corolla, and a 3-valved 1-celled several-seeded capsule.

1. MAYÀCA, Aublet.

The only genus. Perianth persistent, of 3 herbaceous lanceolate sepals, and 3 obovate petals. Stamens alternate with the petals. Ovary with 3 parietal few-ovuled placentæ; style filiform; stigma simple.—Creeping or floating in shallow water; the leaves 1-nerved, entire, notched at the apex; the peduncle solitary, sheathed at base. (An aboriginal name.)

1. M. Michaùxii, Schott & Endl. Peduncles not much exceeding the leaves, nodding in fruit.—Va. to Fla. and Tex.

Order 120. COMMELINÀCEÆ. (Spiderwort Family.)

Herbs, with fibrous or sometimes thickened roots, jointed and often branching leafy stems, and chiefly perfect and 6-androus, often irregular flowers, with the perianth free from the 2–3-celled ovary, and having a distinct calyx and corolla; viz., 3 persistent commonly herbaceous sepals, and 3 petals, ephemeral, decaying or deciduous. Stamens hypogynous, some of them often sterile; anthers with 2 separated cells. Style 1; stigma undivided. Capsule 2–3-celled, 2–3-valved, loculicidal, 3–several-seeded. Seeds orthotropous. Embryo small, pulley-shaped, partly sunk in a shallow depression at the apex of the albumen. Leaves ovate, lanceolate or linear, parallel-veined, flat, sheathed at base; the uppermost often dissimilar and forming a kind of spathe.—Chiefly tropical.

1. Commelina. Cyme sessile within a cordate or connate bract (spathe). Petals unequal. Perfect stamens 3; filaments naked.

2. Tradescantia. Bracts leaf-like or small and scarious. Petals equal. Perfect stamens 6; filaments bearded.

1. COMMELÌNA, Dill. Day-flower.

Flowers irregular. Sepals somewhat colored, unequal; the 2 lateral partly united by their contiguous margins. Two lateral petals rounded or kidney-shaped, on long claws, the odd one smaller. Stamens unequal, 3 of them fertile, one of which is bent inward; 3 of them sterile and smaller, with imperfect cross-shaped anthers; filaments naked. Capsule 3-celled, two of the cells 2-seeded, the other 1-seeded or abortive.—Stems branching, often procumbent and rooting at the joints. Leaves contracted at base into sheathing petioles; the floral one heart-shaped and clasping, folded together or hooded, forming a spathe enclosing the flowers, which expand for a single morning and are recurved on their pedicel before and afterwards. Petals blue. Flowering all summer. Ours all with perennial roots, or propagating by striking root from the joints. (Dedicated to the early Dutch botanists. J. and G. Commelin.)

[*] Ventral cells 2-ovuled (usually 2-seeded), the dorsal 1-ovuled.

1. C. nudiflòra, L. Slender and creeping, glabrous; leaves lanceolate, small (1–2´ long); spathe cordate, acute, with margins not united; seeds reticulated. (C. Cayennensis, Richard.)—Alluvial banks, Del. to Fla., west to Ind., Mo. and Tex.

2. C. hirtélla, Vahl. Stout, erect (2–4° high); leaves large, lanceolate, the sheaths brown-bearded; spathes crowded, with margins united; seeds smooth. (C. erecta, Gray, Man., not L.)—River-banks, Penn. to Fla., west to Mo. and Tex.

[*][*] Cells 1-ovuled, 1-seeded; seeds smooth; spathe cucullate; roots sub-tuberous.

3. C. erécta, L. Slender, often low; leaves linear; cells all dehiscent.—Penn. to Fla.

4. C. Virgínica, L. Slender, usually tall; leaves lanceolate to linear; dorsal cell indehiscent, scabrous.—Damp rich woods and banks, southern N. Y. to Fla., west to Mich., Iowa, and Mo.

2. TRADESCÁNTIA, L. Spiderwort.

Flowers regular. Sepals herbaceous. Petals all alike, ovate, sessile. Stamens all fertile; filaments bearded. Capsule 2–3-celled, the cells 1–2-seeded.—Perennials. Stems mucilaginous, mostly upright, nearly simple, leafy. Leaves keeled. Flowers ephemeral, in umbelled clusters, axillary and terminal, produced through the summer; floral leaves nearly like the others. (Named for the elder Tradescant, gardener to Charles the First of England.)

[*] Umbels terminal or sometimes lateral, sessile, subtended by 1 or 2 leaf-like bracts; leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, flowers blue.

1. T. Virgínica, L. (Common Spiderwort.) Roots fleshy-fibrous, smooth or only slightly villous, more or less glaucous, often tall and slender and with linear leaves, rather rarely with 1 or 2 long lateral peduncles; bracts usually a pair.—Rich ground, N. Y. to Fla., west to Minn., Tex., and the Rocky Mts. Very variable.—Var. villòsa, Watson. Often dwarf, more or less villous throughout as well as pubescent. Mississippi valley and Gulf States.—Var. flexuòsa, Watson. Stout and dark green, with large linear-lanceolate pubescent leaves, the stem usually flexuous, and with several short lateral branches or sessile axillary heads. (T. flexuosa, Raf.)—Ohio to Ky. and Ga. T. pilosa, Lehm., is an intermediate form.

[*][*] Umbel pedunculate, subtended by small subscarious bracts; flowers small, rose-color.

2. T. ròsea, Vent. Small, slender (6–10´ high), smooth, erect from a running rootstock; leaves very narrowly linear, grass-like.—Sandy woods, Md. to Fla., west to Ky. and Mo.

Order 121. JUNCÀCEÆ. (Rush Family.)

Grass-like or rush-like herbs, with small flowers, a regular and hypogynous persistent perianth of 6 similar glumaceous sepals, 6 or rarely 3 stamens with 2-celled anthers, a single short style, 3 filiform hairy stigmas, and an ovary either 3-celled or 1-celled with 3 parietal placentæ, forming a loculicidal 3-valved capsule. Seeds anatropous, with a minute embryo enclosed at the base of the fleshy albumen.—Flowers liliaceous in structure, but sedge-like in aspect and texture.

1. Juncus. Capsule 3-celled (or imperfectly so), many-seeded. Plants never hairy, in moist ground or water.

2. Luzula. Capsule 1-celled, 3-seeded. Plant, often hairy, in dry ground.

1. JÚNCUS, Tourn. Rush. Bog-rush.

Capsule many-seeded, 3-celled, or 1-celled by the placentæ not reaching the axis. Stamens when 3 opposite the 3 outer sepals.—Chiefly perennials, and in wet soil or water, with pithy or hollow and simple (rarely branching) stems, and panicled or clustered small (greenish or brownish) flowers, chiefly in summer. Plant never hairy. (The classical name, from jungo, to join, alluding to the use of the stems for bands.)

§ 1. Stems leafless and scape-like, from matted running rootstocks, sheathed at base; the sheaths sometimes bearing terete knotless leaves like the scape; flowers in sessile apparently lateral panicles, the involucral leaf being similar to and continuing the scape.—Juncus proper.

[*] Flowers solitary on the pedicels or ultimate ramifications of the panicle.

[+] Sheaths at base of the stem leafless.

[++] Stamens 3.

1. J. effùsus, L. (Common or Soft Rush.) Scape soft and pliant (2–4° high); inner sheaths awned; panicle diffusely much branched, many-flowered; flowers small (1¼´´ long), greenish; sepals lanceolate, very acute, as long as the narrow triangular-obovate retuse and pointless greenish-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style very short; seeds small (about ¼´´ long), with short pale points.—Marshy ground, very common. (Eu.)—Var. conglomeràtus, Engelm. Scape more distinctly striate; panicle closely crowded; capsule short-pointed. In sphagnous swamps.

[++][++] Stamens 6.

2. J. filifórmis, L. Scape very slender (1–2° high), pliant; panicle few-flowered, almost simple; flowers 1½´´ long; sepals lanceolate, the inner a little shorter and less acute, longer than the broadly ovate obtuse but mucronate greenish capsule; anthers shorter than the filaments; style very short; seed (less than {1/3}´´ long) short-pointed at both ends, indistinctly reticulated.—N. Eng. to Mich., Neb., and northward. (Eu.)

3. J. Smíthii, Engelm. Scape rather slender (2–3° high); panicle few-flowered, nearly simple; flowers brown (1¼´´ long); outer sepals lanceolate, acute, the inner a little shorter, obtusish, shorter than the broadly ovate rather triangular acute deep chestnut-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style short; seeds large ({1/3}´´ long or more), obtuse, short-appendaged at both ends, many-ribbed and reticulated.—Sphagnous swamps, on Broad Mt. and in Lebanon Co., Penn.

4. J. Bálticus, Dethard, var. littoràlis, Engelm. Scape rigid (2–3° high); panicle loose; flowers larger (2´´ long), chestnut-brown with green; sepals ovate-lanceolate, the outer sharp-pointed, the inner obtusish, as long as the elliptical rather triangular obtuse and mucronate deep brown capsule; anthers much longer than the broad filaments; style about the length of the ovary; seeds rather large (½´´ long or more), nearly obtuse, delicately ribbed and cross lined.—Sandy shores, Newf. to Mass., west to Penn., along the Great Lakes, and westward.—Var. montànus, Engelm. Sepals nearly equal; anthers 4 times longer than the filament; capsule ovate-pyramidal, angled, beaked; seeds smaller, narrower, apiculate.—Minn., west and northward.

[+][+] Innermost sheaths leaf-bearing; stamens 6.

5. J. setàceus, Rostkovius. Scape slender (1–3° high); panicle loose, rather few-flowered; flowers greenish (2´´ long); sepals lanceolate, sharp-pointed, especially the 3 shining exterior ones, spreading in fruit, as long as the nearly globose beak-pointed greenish or light-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style conspicuous; seeds ({1/3}´´ long) almost globose, ribbed and cross-lined.—Va. to Fla., west to Mo. and La.

[*][*] Flowers in clusters, 6-androus; innermost sheaths at base of stem leaf-bearing.

6. J. Rœmeriànus, Scheele. Scape stout and rigid (2–3° high), its apex as well as the leaves pungent; panicle compound, open and spreading, brown; 3–6 greenish or light-brown flowers (1½´´ long) in a cluster; outer sepals lanceolate, sharp-pointed, longer than the obtusish inner ones, as long as the elliptical rather triangular obtuse mucronate brown capsule; anthers much longer than the broad filaments; styles shorter than the ovary; seeds ({1/3}´´ long) oval, obtuse, very delicately ribbed.—Brackish marshes, N. J. to Fla. and Tex.

7. J. marítimus, L. Resembling the last, but with a rigid contracted green panicle, an ovary attenuated into a style of nearly its own length, a greenish acute capsule which usually exceeds the acute sepals, and seeds with distinct tails and stronger ribs.—Known in this country only from Coney Island, N. Y., where it is apparently indigenous. (Eu.)

§ 2. Stems simple (rarely branched), leafy at base or throughout; leaves flat, or somewhat terete or setaceous and channelled, never knotted; panicle or head terminal.—Grassy-leaved Junci.

[*] Flowers in close heads (produced in late summer).

[+] Leaves thread-like, hollow; stamens 6; seeds few, large and caudate; the single head (sometimes 2) 1–4-flowered.

8. J. stýgius, L. Stems slender (6–16´ high) from slender branching rootstocks, 1–3-leaved below, naked above; heads 1 or rarely 2, of 3–4-flowers, about the length of the sheathing scarious awl-pointed bract; flowers pale and reddish (2½–3´´ long); sepals lanceolate, the inner obtusish, ¾ the length of the oblong acuminate capsule, as long as the slender stamens; filaments many times longer than the oblong anthers; recurved stigmas shorter than the style; seeds oblong, with a very loose coat prolonged at both ends (1½´´ long).—Peat-bogs, Newf. to northern N. Y., west to Mich. and N. Minn. (Eu.)

9. J. trífidus, L. Stems densely tufted from matted creeping rootstocks, erect (5–10´ high), sheathed and mostly leafless at base, 2–3-leaved at the summit, the upper thread-like leaves subtending the sessile head; flowers brown (1½–2´´ long); sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute, equalling or rather shorter than the ovate beak-pointed deep brown capsule; anthers much longer than the filaments; seeds few, oblong, angled (1´´ long), short-tailed.—Alpine summits of N. Eng. and N. Y., and far northward; also in N. J. (Eu.)

[+][+] Leaves flat and grass-like; stamens 3; stems flattened, simple, leafy.

10. J. rèpens, Michx. Stems ascending (4–6´ high) from a fibrous annual root, at length creeping or floating; leaves short, linear, those of the stem nearly opposite and fascicled; heads few in a loose leafy panicle, 3–12-flowered; flowers green (3´´ long); sepals rigid, lance-subulate, slender-pointed, the 3 outer as long as the linear triangular obtuse capsule, the inner much longer; stamens as long as the outer sepals; filaments many times longer than the oblong anthers; seeds small ({1/5}´´ long), obovate, slightly pointed, very delicately ribbed and cross-lined.—Miry banks, Md. to Fla. and La.

11. J. marginàtus, Rostk. Stem erect, from a bulbous and stoloniferous base (1–3° high); leaves long-linear; heads 3–8-flowered, panicled; flowers purplish with green (1½´´ long); sepals oblong, the 3 outer acute and slightly awned, the inner longer, mostly obtuse, as long as the almost globular scarcely mucronate capsule; stamens exceeding the outer sepals; purple anthers shorter than the filaments; style very short; seeds (¼–{1/3}´´ long) slender, pointed at both ends and strongly ribbed.—Moist sandy places, S. New Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and Tex.—Var. paucicapitàtus, Engelm., has few large 8–15-flowered heads; and var. biflòrus, Engelm., has numerous small 2–3-flowered heads in much-branched panicles.

[*][*] Flowers solitary, panicled; stamens 6.

[+] Stems slender, simple, tufted, leafy below; root perennial (fl. early in summer).

[++] Seeds tail-pointed at both ends.

12. J. Vàseyi, Engelm. Stems rigid (1–2½° high); leaves nearly terete, very slightly channelled on the inner side; panicle longer than the involucral leaf, loose; flowers few, often one-sided, greenish or light brown (2´´ long or more); sepals lanceolate, acute, appressed, shorter than the oblong and retuse green-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style very short; seeds slender (½–{2/3}´´ long), closely ribbed.—N. Maine (Pringle); Mich. to Iowa and westward.

13. J. Greénii, Oakes & Tuckerm. Stems rigid (1–2° high); leaves nearly terete, very deeply channelled (almost involute) on the inner side; panicle usually much shorter than the principal erect involucral leaf, dense, the numerous flowers often one-sided (1¾´´ long); sepals lanceolate, acute, light greenish-brown, appressed, shorter than the ovoid-oblong obtuse greenish-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style very short; seeds ovoid ({1/3}–{2/5}´´ long), ribbed and delicately cross-lined.—Sandy coast of N. Eng., N. Y., and N. J., and on the east shore of Lake Michigan.

[++][++] Seeds merely apiculate at both ends.

14. J. ténuis, Willd. Stem wiry (9–18´ high); leaves flat or channelled; panicle shorter than the involucral leaves, loose, or rarely crowded; flowers green (2´´ long or more); sepals lanceolate, very acute, spreading in fruit, longer than the ovoid retuse scarcely pointed green capsule; anthers nearly equal to the filaments; style very short; seeds small (about ¼´´ long), delicately ribbed and cross-lined.—Fields and roadsides, very common. (Eu.)—Var. secúndus, Engelm.; flowers smaller, secund along the incurved branches. N. Eng. to Penn. and Del.—Var. congéstus, Engelm.; branches contracted into a head and the flowers darker-colored. Minn. and westward.

15. J. dichótomus, Ell. Stems rigid (1½–2° high) from a tumid base; leaves filiform, nearly terete, slightly grooved on the inner side; panicle loose, often with 1-sided forked branches, mostly longer than the involucral leaf; flowers greenish (2´´ long or more); sepals lanceolate, sharp-pointed, spreading in fruit, as long as the globular beaked light mahogany-colored capsule; anthers nearly as long as the filaments; style short; seeds small ({1/5}–¼´´ long), coarsely cross-lined.—Low sandy grounds, N. J. to Fla.

16. J. Gerárdi, Loisel. (Black-Grass.) Stems scarcely flattened, rigid (1–2° high); panicle contracted, usually longer than the bracteal leaf; flowers chestnut-brown with green (1¾´´ long); sepals oval-oblong, obtuse, incurved, as long as the oval obtuse and mucronate capsule; anthers much longer than the short filaments; style as long as the ovary; seeds (nearly {1/3}´´ long) obovate, delicately ribbed and cross-lined.—Salt marshes; common along the coast and in W. New York; rare about the Great Lakes. (Eu.)

[+][+] Stems branched, diffuse, leafy; root annual, fibrous.

17. J. bufònius, L. Stems low and slender (3–9´ high), leafy, often branched from the base; panicle spreading, mostly with one-sided dichotomous branches; flowers remote, greenish (2–3½´´ long); sepals linear-lanceolate, awl-pointed, the 3 outer much exceeding the inner and the oblong obtuse capsule; stamens short; filaments scarcely longer than the anthers, seeds elliptical, obtuse ({1/5}–{1/6}´´ long).—Low grounds, by roadsides; common. (Eu.)

§ 3. Stems leafy; leaves terete or laterally flattened, more or less distinctly knotted by internal transverse partitions; panicle terminal, with flowers chiefly in heads.—Knotty-leaved Junci.

[*] Seeds barely pointed, not caudate.

[+] Flowers solitary or 2 together, panicled; stamens 6.

18. J. pelocárpus, E. Meyer. Stems slender and erect from a slender running rootstock (6–18´ high), bearing few thread-like slightly knotted leaves, branching above into a compound spreading panicle, bearing the flowers in the forks and along one side of the branches; often with the flowers or in place of them are tufts of leaves; flowers small (1–1¼´´ long), greenish with red; sepals oblong, obtuse, the 3 inner ones longer, but shorter than the oblong taper-beaked, 1-celled capsule; anthers much longer than the filaments; style slender; seeds (¼´´ long) obovate, short-pointed.—Sandy, wet or swampy places, Newf. to Fla., west along the Great Lakes to Minn. The proliferous plants are usually sterile and much larger, with larger diffuse panicles.—Var. súbtilis, Engelm. Creeping or floating, with a single pair of flowers at the end of the short stems.—Somerset Co., Maine (C. E. Smith); Canada.

[+][+] Heads numerous, of 3–12-flowers (rarely more); in early summer.

[++] Stamens 6.

19. J. articulàtus, L. Stems ascending or erect (9–15´ high), tufted from a short creeping rootstock, with 1 or 2 slender leaves; panicle short, spreading, the crowded heads 3–8-flowered; flowers brown, rarely pale (1¼–1½´´ long); sepals lance-oblong, acute or mucronate, or the 3 inner obtuse and a little longer, shorter than the ovate-oblong acute or abruptly mucronate-pointed incompletely 3-celled commonly deep chestnut-brown shining capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; ovary attenuate into a short style; seeds (less than {1/3}´´ long) obovate, attenuate below, abruptly pointed above.—Wet grounds, Newf. to Del., west to western N. Y. and Mich. (Eu.)

20. J. alpìnus, Villars, var. insígnis, Fries. Stems erect (9–18´ high) from a creeping rootstock, with 1 or 2 slender leaves; panicle meagre, with erect branches bearing distant greenish or light-brown heads, each of 3–6 flowers (1¼–1½´´ long); sepals oblong, obtuse, the outer mucronate or cuspidate and usually longer than the rounded inner ones, as long as or shorter than the obtuse short-pointed incompletely 3-celled light-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style short; seeds ({1/3}´´ or more in length) spindle-shaped.—Wet sandy banks, L. Champlain, Cayuga Lake, along the Great Lakes, and far west and northward. (Eu.)

21. J. militàris, Bigel. Stem stout (2–4° high) from a thick creeping rootstock, bearing a solitary stout erect leaf (½–3½° long) below the middle, which overtops the crowded and rather contracted panicle; heads numerous, 5–12- (rarely 25-) flowered; flowers brownish (1½´´ long); sepals lanceolate, the outer awl-pointed, as long as the ovate-oblong triangular taper-beaked 1-celled capsule; anthers longer than the filaments; ovary attenuate into a slender style; seeds (¼–{1/3}´´ long) globose-obovate, obtuse, abruptly pointed.—In bogs and streams, Maine to Md. Sometimes producing, in flowing water, numberless capillary submersed leaves, 2–3° long, from the rootstock.

[++][++] Stamens 3.

22. J. acuminàtus, Michx. Stems tufted, erect, slender (1–2° long), bearing about 2 leaves and a very loose spreading panicle; heads rather few and large, 5–many-flowered, greenish, at length straw-colored or darker; sepals lance-awl-shaped, sharp-pointed, equal (1½–2´´ long), as long as the triangular-prismatic short-pointed 1-celled straw-colored or light brown capsule; anthers a little shorter than the filaments; style almost none; seeds small ({1/5}–{1/4}´´ long), acute at both ends, ribbed-reticulated.—N. Eng. to Ga., Minn. and Tex. May, June. Very variable. Heads often proliferous in autumn.

Var. débilis, Engelm. Stems slender (9–18´ high); heads green, 3–6-flowered, in a loose panicle; flowers smaller (1¼–1½´´ long); capsule longer than the sepals.—Wet sandy soil, N. J. to S. C., west to Ohio, Mo., and Miss. Stem sometimes decumbent and rooting.

Var. robústus, Engelm. Stems stout, tall (2–4° high), bearing numerous 5–8-flowered light-brown heads in a large much-branched panicle; flowers small (1–1{1/5}´´ long); ovoid capsule scarcely longer than the sepals.—Deep swamps, Ill. to Mo. and La.

[+][+][+] Heads few, crowded, of numerous flowers.

[++] Stamens 3; stem rigid from a thick white horizontal rootstock.

23. J. brachycárpus, Engelm. Stem erect (1–2½° high), bearing about 2 leaves and 2–10 densely flowered spherical heads (4–5´´ wide) in a slightly spreading crowded panicle much exceeding the involucral leaf; flowers pale green (2´´ long); sepals lance-linear, awl-pointed, the 3 outer much longer than the inner, and the ovoid pointed 1-celled capsule rather shorter; anthers much shorter than the filaments; style very short; seeds ({1/5}´´ long) abruptly apiculate.—Moist places in open woods and prairies, Ohio and Mich. to Mo., Miss., and Tex.

24. J. scirpoìdes, Lam. Stem erect (1–3° high), rather slender, bearing about 2 terete leaves with wide and open sheaths, and a panicle of few or many densely-flowered pale-green spherical heads, much longer than the involucral leaf, its branches erect and often elongated; heads (3–4´´ wide) 15–40-flowered; flowers 1¼–1½´´ long; sepals rigid, awl-shaped and (especially the outer) bristly pointed, at length pungent, as long as the stamens and nearly equalling the oblong-triangular taper-pointed 1-celled capsule; anthers very small; style elongated or very short, seeds ovoid, abruptly pointed at each end (¼´´ long).—Wet sandy soil, Mass. to N. J. and S. C., west to Ind., Mo., and Tex.

Var. echinàtus, Engelm. Stouter; leaves terete; branches of the compact panicle short; heads larger (5–6´´ wide), 40–80-flowered; flowers 1¾–2´´ long); sepals narrower and more sharply pointed, the outer a little longer than the inner; stamens shorter and anthers longer than in the preceding, and seeds rather smaller and more slender.—Md. to Fla.

Var. polycéphalus, Engelm. Much stouter; leaves laterally flattened (3–6´´ wide); panicle spreading, branched, bearing many distant heads as large as in the last; flowers 2–2½´´ long; the 3 outer sepals the longer; anthers about as long as the filaments; seeds larger ({1/3}´´ long).—S. Va. to Fla., west to Mo. and Tex.

[++][++] Stamens 6.

25. J. nodòsus, L. Stem erect (6–15' or 2° high), slender from a creeping thread-like and tuber-bearing rootstock, mostly with 2 or 3 slender leaves; heads few or several, rarely single, 8–20-flowered (3½–4´´ wide), overtopped by the involucral leaf; flowers brown (1½–2´´ long); sepals lance-linear, awl-pointed (the 3 outer mostly a little shorter), nearly as long as the slender triangular taper-pointed 1-celled capsule; anthers oblong, shorter than the filaments; style very short; seeds (about ¼´´ long) obovate, abruptly mucronate.—Swamps and gravelly banks, N. J. and Penn. to N. Ind. and Iowa, and northward.—July, Aug.—Var. MEGACÉPHALUS, Torr. Stem stout (1–3° high), with thick leaves; heads few and large (6–8´´ wide), 30–80-flowered; flowers pale green (2¼–2¾´´ long); outer sepals longest; anthers linear, shorter than the filaments.—Western N. Y. to Minn. and Mo., and westward.

[*][*] Seeds caudate.

[+] Stamens 3.

26. J. Canadénsis, J. Gay. Tufted stems erect, terete, smooth, bearing 2–3 leaves; heads few- or many-flowered, paniculate; sepals lanceolate, the 3 outer shorter than the inner, not much longer than the stamens, equal to or shorter than the triangular-prismatic almost 1-celled usually short-pointed capsule; style mostly short; seeds more or less distinctly tail pointed, delicately many ribbed.—Common almost everywhere. Aug., Sept. Easily distinguished by its late flowering from the similar n. 22. Very variable.

Var. longicaudàtus, Engelm. Stem stout and rigid (1½–3° high), bearing in a decompound somewhat spreading panicle the numerous 5–50-flowered heads; flowers greenish or light brown (1½–2´´ long); sepals awl-pointed, mostly shorter than the abruptly short-pointed capsule; seeds slender ({2/3}–1´´ long), conspicuously tail-pointed.—Mass. to S. C., west to Minn. and La. The most common form.

Var. subcaudàtus, Engelm. Stem slender, often decumbent (1–2° high), bearing in simpler spreading panicles fewer 8–20-flowered heads; flowers greenish, as large as in the last; sepals awl-shaped, but not so rigid; capsule mostly tapering; seeds large (½–{2/3}´´ long), with short white membranous appendages, not reticulated.—Conn. to Penn. and Ga.

Var. brachycéphalus, Engelm. Stem slender (1½–2½° high), bearing numerous small 3–5-flowered heads in a large spreading panicle; flowers greenish or light brown (1¼–1½´´ long); sepals mostly obtuse, shorter than the brown abruptly short-pointed capsule; style longer than in other forms; seeds smaller (¼–{1/3}´´ long), slender, with rather short appendages.—Penn. and western N. Y., to Wisc. and Ill.

Var. coarctàtus, Engelm. Stem slender, shorter (9–18´ high), bearing fewer deep-brown 3–5-flowered heads in a somewhat erect contracted panicle; flowers as large as in the last; sepals acute, or rarely obtusish, much shorter than the prismatic abruptly pointed deep-brown capsule; seeds as in the last.—N. Eng. to N. J., N. Minn., and westward.

[+][+] Stamens 6.

27. J. ásper, Engelm. Stems tufted, erect (2–3° high), terete, stout, rigid, and with the rigid leaves rough; panicle with rigid slightly spreading branches, bearing scattered few- (2–6-) flowered heads; flowers greenish with brown (2½´´ long); sepals ovate-lanceolate, awl-pointed, rigid and strongly nerved, the outer much shorter than the inner, these a little shorter than the triangular-ovoid beaked incompletely 3-celled brown capsule, ovary tapering into a conspicuous style; seeds large, oblong, with white or often reddish appendages (1¼´´ long).—Sphagnous swamps, N. J. Aug.

2. LÙZULA, DC. Wood-Rush.

Capsule 1-celled, 3-seeded, one seed to each parietal placenta.—Perennials, often hairy, usually in dry ground, with flat and soft usually hairy leaves, and spiked-crowded or umbelled flowers. (From Gramen Luzulæ, or Luxulæ, dim. of lux, light,—a name given to one of the species from its shining with dew.)

[*] Pedicels 1-flowered, in a loose compound cyme or umbel.

1. L. vernàlis, DC. Plant 6–9´ high; leaves lance-linear, hairy; umbel mostly simple; sepals pointed, shorter than the obtuse capsule; seeds with a curved appendage, (L. pilosa, Willd.)—Woods and banks, Newf. to the mountains of N. C., west to Minn. (Eu.)

2. L. spadícea, DC., var. melanocárpa, Meyer. Nearly smooth (1–3° high); leaves broadly linear; corymb decompound, loose; pedicels drooping; sepals pointed, straw-color, about the length of the minutely pointed and brown capsule; seeds not appendaged. (L. parviflora, var. melanocarpa, Gray.)—Mountains of Maine, Vt., and northern N. Y., to Mich. and N. Minn. (Eu.)

[*][*] Flowers crowded in spikes or close clusters. (Plants 6–12´ high.)

3. L. campéstris, DC. Leaves flat, linear; spikes 4–12, somewhat umbelled, ovoid, straw-color, some of them long-peduncled, others nearly sessile; sepals bristle-pointed, longer than the obtuse capsules; seeds with a conical appendage at base.—Dry fields and woods, common. May. (Eu.)

4. L. arcuàta, Meyer. Leaves channelled, linear; spikes 3–5, on unequal often recurved peduncles, ovoid, chestnut-brown; bracts ciliate-fringed; sepals taper-pointed, longer than the obtuse capsule; seeds not appendaged.—Alpine summits of the White Mts. and far northward. (Eu.)

5. L. spicàta, Desvaux. Leaves channelled, narrowly linear; flowers in sessile clusters, forming a nodding interrupted spiked panicle, brown; sepals bristle-pointed, scarcely as long as the abruptly short-pointed capsule; seeds merely with a roundish projection at base.—With the last, and more common. (Eu.)

Order 122. TYPHÀCEÆ. (Cat-tail Family.)

Marsh or aquatic herbs, with nerved and linear sessile leaves, and monœcious flowers on a spadix or in heads, destitute of proper floral envelopes. Ovary 1–2-celled, with as many persistent styles and (usually elongated) 1-sided stigmas; cells 1-ovuled. Fruit nut-like when ripe, 1-seeded, rarely 2-seeded. Seed suspended, anatropous; embryo straight in copious albumen. Root perennial.

1. Typha. Flowers in a cylindrical compact terminal spike, spathe-like bract deciduous.

2. Sparganium. Flowers in globular heads with foliaceous bracts.

1. TỲPHA, Tourn. (Cat-tail Flag.)

Flowers in a long and very dense cylindrical spike terminating the stem; the upper part consisting of stamens only, inserted directly on the axis, and intermixed with long hairs; the lower part consisting of stipitate 1-celled ovaries, the stipes bearing club-shaped bristles, which form the copious down of the fruit. Nutlets minute, very long-stalked.—Spathes merely deciduous bracts, or none. Root-stocks creeping. Leaves long, sheathing the base of the simple jointless stems, erect, thickish. Flowering in summer. (Τύφη, the old Greek name.)

1. T. latifòlia, L. (Common Cat-tail.) Stout and tall (4–6° high), the flat sheathing leaves 3–10´´ broad, exceeding the stem; the staminate and dark brown pistillate parts of the spike (each 3–6´ long or more) usually contiguous, the latter at length 1´ in diameter; pistillate flowers without bractlets; stigma rhombic-lanceolate; pollen-grains in fours.—In marshes, throughout N. Am. (Eu.)

2. T. angustifòlia, L. Leaves narrower (3–6´´ broad), taller, somewhat convex on the back; pistillate and staminate inflorescence usually separated by a short interval, the light brown spike becoming 5–6´´ in diameter; pollen-grains simple; pistillate flowers with a linear stigma and a hair-like bractlet slightly dilated at the summit.—N. Eng. to N. J., west to Mich. and Mo.; less frequent, and mainly near the coast. (Eu.)

2. SPARGÀNIUM, Tourn. Bur-reed.

Flowers collected in separate dense and spherical leafy-bracted heads, which are scattered along the summit of the stem; the upper sterile, consisting merely of stamens, with minute scales irregularly interposed; the lower or fertile larger, consisting of numerous sessile 1–2-celled pistils, each surrounded by 3–6 scales much like a calyx. Fruit wedge-shaped or club-shaped, more or less corky toward the summit, the hard endocarp perforated at the apex.— Rootstocks creeping and stoloniferous; roots fibrous. Stems simple or branching, sheathed below by the base of the linear leaves. Flowering through the summer. (Name from σπάργανον, a fillet, from the ribbon-like leaves.)

[*] Fruit sessile, broad and truncate, often 2-seeded; stigmas often 2, elongated; scales rigid, nearly equalling the fruit; erect, with branched inflorescence.

1. S. eurycárpum, Engelm. Stems stout, erect (2–4° high); leaves mostly flat and merely keeled; pistil attenuate into a short style bearing 1 or 2 elongated stigmas; fruit-heads 2–6 or more, 1´ wide; fruit many-angled (3½–4´´ long) when mature, with a broad and depressed or retuse summit abruptly tipped in the centre.—Borders of ponds, lakes, and rivers, N. Eng. to Va., west to the Pacific.

[*][*] Fruit comparatively narrow, and mostly somewhat stipitate, 1-celled, longer than the scales.

2. S. símplex, Huds. Stems slender, erect (½–2° high); leaves more or less triquetrous (2½–4´´ wide); fertile heads (1–4) of the usually simple inflorescence often above the axils, sessile or peduncled, 6–8´´ wide in fruit; stigma linear, equalling the rather slender style or shorter; nutlets pale, fusiform or narrowly oblong (about 2´´ long), more or less contracted in the middle.—N. Eng. to N. J., west to Mich., Minn., and northward. (Eu.)

Var. andrócladum, Engelm. Stouter (1½–3° high), with usually broader leaves (4–9´´) and branching inflorescence, the head or peduncles axillary or nearly so; fruiting heads (1–7) often larger (6–12´´ broad), the nutlets 2–3´´ long. (S. androcladum, Morong.)—In bogs or shallow water, common; N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and Mo.

Var. angustifòlium, Engelm. Very slender; leaves floating, long and narrow (½–2½´´ wide), flat; inflorescence simple; heads (4–6´´ broad) and nutlets smaller.—Mountain lakes and slow streams, N. Y., N. Eng., and northward; sometimes nearly out of water, dwarf and with shorter erect leaves.

Var. flùitans, Engelm. Floating in deep water, with long slender stems and flat narrow leaves; inflorescence usually short, sparingly branched; style stout with a short oval stigma; fruiting heads 4–6´´ broad; nutlets dark, as large as in the type. (S. androcladum, var. fluctuans, Morong.; not S. fluitans, Fries.)—Ponds, Penn., W. Conn., White Mts., N. Minn., and northward.

3. S. mínimum, Fries. Usually floating, with very slender stems and thin flat narrow leaves; fertile heads 1 or 2, axillary, sessile or peduncled (4–5´´ wide); stigma oval, about as long as the short style, scarcely surpassing the oval or obovate denticulate scales; fruit oblong-obovate (1–2´´ long), pointed, somewhat triangular, the stipe very short or none.—N. Eng. to Penn., N. Ind., Minn., north and westward.—Stems 3–6´ high when growing out of water, much longer when submerged. (Eu.)

Order 123. ARÀCEÆ. (Arum Family.)

Plants with acrid or pungent juice, simple or compound often veiny leaves, and flowers crowded on a spadix, which is usually surrounded by a spathe.—Floral envelopes none, or of 4–6 sepals. Fruit usually a berry. Seeds with fleshy albumen, or none, but filled with the large fleshy embryo. A large family, chiefly tropical. Herbage abounding in slender rhaphides.—The genuine Araceæ have no floral envelopes, and are almost all monœcious or diœcious; but the genera of the second section, with more highly developed flowers, are not to be separated.

[*] Spathe surrounding or subtending the spadix; flowers naked, i.e. without perianth.

1. Arisæma. Flowers monœcious or diœcious, covering only the base of the spadix.

2. Peltandra. Flowers monœcious, covering the spadix; anthers above, ovaries below.

3. Calla. Flowers perfect (at least the lower ones), covering the whole of the short spadix. Spathe open and spreading.

[*][*] Spathe surrounding the spadix in n. 4, none or imperfect in the rest; flowers with a calyx or perianth and perfect, covering the whole spadix.

4. Symplocarpus. Spadix globular, in a fleshy shell-shaped spathe. Stemless.

5. Orontium. Spadix narrow, naked, terminating the terete scape.

6. Acorus. Spadix cylindrical, borne on the side of a leaf-like scape.

1. ARISÆ̀MA, Martius. Indian Turnip. Dragon Arum.

Spathe convolute below and mostly arched above. Flowers monœcious or by abortion diœcious, covering only the base of the spadix, which is elongated and naked above. Floral envelopes none. Sterile flowers above the fertile, each of a cluster of almost sessile 2–4-celled anthers, opening by pores or chinks at the top. Fertile flowers consisting each of a 1-celled ovary, tipped with a depressed stigma, and containing 5 or 6 orthotropous ovules erect from the base of the cell; in fruit a 1–few-seeded scarlet berry. Embryo in the axis of albumen.—Low perennial herbs, with a tuberous rootstock or corm, sending up a simple scape sheathed with the petioles of the simple or compound veiny leaves. (Name from ἀρίς, a kind of arum, and αἷμα, blood, from the spotted leaves of some species.)

1. A. triphýllum, Torr. (Indian Turnip.) Leaves mostly 2, divided into 3 elliptical-ovate pointed leaflets; spadix mostly diœcious, club-shaped, obtuse, much shorter than the spathe, which is flattened and incurved-hooded at the ovate-lanceolate, pointed summit.—Rich woods, N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn. and E. Kan. May.—Corm turnip-shaped, wrinkled, farinaceous, with an intensely acrid juice; spathe with the petioles and sheaths green, or often variegated with dark purple and whitish stripes or spots.

2. A. Dracóntium, Schott. (Green Dragon. Dragon-root.) Leaf usually solitary, pedately divided into 7–11 oblong-lanceolate pointed leaflets; spadix often androgynous, tapering to a long and slender point beyond the oblong and convolute pointed greenish spathe.—Low grounds, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., E. Kan., and Tex. June.—Corms clustered; petiole 1–2° long, much longer than the peduncle.

2. PELTÁNDRA, Raf. Arrow Arum.

Spathe elongated, convolute throughout or with a dilated blade above. Flowers monœcious, thickly covering the long and tapering spadix throughout (or only its apex naked). Floral envelopes none. Anthers sessile, naked, covering all the upper part of the spadix, each of 5 or 6 cells imbedded in the margin of a thick and shield-shaped connective, opening by a terminal pore. Ovaries at the base of the spadix, each surrounded by 4–5 staminodia connate into a cup, 1-celled, bearing 1–few amphitropous or nearly orthotropous ovules at the base; stigma almost sessile. Fruit a leathery or fleshy berry, 1–3-seeded. Seed obovate, surrounded by a tenacious jelly, the base empty, the upper part filled with a large and fleshy spherical embryo; no albumen.—Stemless herbs, with arrow-shaped leaves and simple scapes from a thick-fibrous or subtuberous root. Fruit in a globose cluster, enclosed by the persistent fleshy base of the spathe. (Name from πέλτη, a target, and ἀνήρ, for stamen, from the shape of the latter.)

1. P. undulàta, Raf. Root of thick tufted fibres; scape 1–1½° high, about equalling the leaves; basal lobes of the leaves rather long and often acutish; spathe convolute throughout, wavy on the margin, mostly green, 4–7´ long; sterile portion of the spadix several times longer than the pistillate; ovules several; fruit green; seeds 1–3. (P. Virginica, Kunth, and most authors.)—Shallow water, New Eng. to Fla., west to Mich. and Ind. June.

2. P. álba, Raf. Rootstock tuberous, covered with thick-fleshy roots and propagating by offshoots; lobes of the leaves mostly short and broad, obtuse; spathe 3–4´ long, the blade broader, acuminate, somewhat expanded, white; sterile part of the spadix scarcely longer than the pistillate; ovules and seeds solitary; berry scarlet, 5–6´´ long. (P. Virginica, Schott. Xanthosoma sagittifolia, Chapm., not Schott. Caladium glaucum, Ell. Arum Virginicum, L., in part?)—Marshes, S. Va.(?) and N. C. to Fla.

3. CÁLLA, L. Water Arum.

Spathe open and spreading, ovate (abruptly pointed, the upper surface white), persistent. Spadix oblong, entirely covered with flowers; the lower perfect and 6-androus; the upper often of stamens only. Floral envelopes none. Filaments slender; anthers 2-celled, opening lengthwise. Ovary 1-celled, with 5–9 erect anatropous ovules; stigma almost sessile. Berries (red) distinct, few-seeded. Seeds with a conspicuous rhaphe and an embryo nearly the length of the hard albumen.—A low perennial herb, growing in cold bogs, with a long creeping rootstock, bearing heart-shaped long-petioled leaves, and solitary scapes. (An ancient name, of unknown meaning.)

1. C. palústris, L.—Cold bogs, N. Scotia to N. J., west to Mich. and Minn., and northward. June.—Seeds surrounded with jelly. (Eu.)

4. SYMPLOCÁRPUS, Salisb. Skunk Cabbage.

Spathe hooded-shell-form, pointed, very thick and fleshy, decaying in fruit. Spadix globular, short-stalked, entirely and densely covered with perfect flowers, their 1-celled or abortively 2-celled ovaries immersed in the fleshy receptacle. Sepals 4, hooded. Stamens 4, opposite the sepals, with at length rather slender filaments; anthers extrorse, 2-celled, opening lengthwise. Style 4-angled and awl-shaped; stigma small. Ovule solitary, suspended, anatropous. Fruit a globular or oval mass, composed of the enlarged and spongy spadix, enclosing the spherical seeds just beneath the surface, which is roughened with the persistent fleshy sepals and pyramidal styles. Seeds filled by the large globular and fleshy corm-like embryo, which bears one or several plumules at the end next the base of the ovary; albumen none.—Perennial herb, with a strong odor like that of the skunk, and also somewhat alliaceous; a very thick rootstock, bearing a multitude of long and coarse fibrous roots, and a cluster of very large and broad entire veiny leaves, preceded in earliest spring by the nearly sessile spathes, which barely rise out of the ground. (Name from συμπλοκή, connection, and καρπός, fruit, in allusion to the coalescence of the ovaries into a compound fruit.)

1. S. fœ̀tidus, Salisb. Leaves ovate, cordate, becoming 1–2° long, short-petioled; spathe spotted and striped with purple and yellowish-green, ovate, incurved; fruit (in autumn) 2–3´ in diam., in decay shedding the bulblet-like seeds, which are 4–6´´ long.—Bogs and moist grounds, N. Scotia to N. C., west to Minn. and Iowa.

5. ORÓNTIUM, L., Golden-club.

Spathe incomplete and distant, merely a leaf-sheath investing the lower part of the slender scape, and bearing a small and imperfect bract-like blade. Flowers crowded all over the narrow spadix, perfect; the lower with 6 concave sepals and 6 stamens; the upper ones with 4. Filaments flattened; anthers 2-celled, opening obliquely lengthwise. Ovary 1-celled, with an anatropous ovule; stigma sessile, entire. Fruit a green utricle. Seed without albumen. Embryo thick and fleshy, "with a large concealed cavity at the summit, the plumule curved in a groove on the outside." (Torr.)—An aquatic perennial, with a deep rootstock, long-petioled and entire oblong and nerved floating leaves, and the spadix terminating the elongated scape; its rather club-shaped emersed apex as thick as the spadix. (Origin of the name obscure.)

1. O. aquáticum, L.—Ponds, Mass. to Fla. May.

6. ÁCORUS, L. Sweet Flag. Calamus.

Spadix cylindrical, lateral, sessile, emerging from the side of a simple 2-edged scape which resembles the leaves, densely covered with perfect flowers. Sepals 6, concave. Stamens 6; filaments linear; anthers kidney-shaped, 1-celled, opening across. Ovary 2–3-celled, with several pendulous orthotropous ovules in each cell; stigma minute. Fruit at length dry, gelatinous inside, 1–few-seeded. Embryo in the axis of albumen.—Pungent aromatic plants, especially the thick creeping rootstocks (calamus of the shops), which send up 2-edged sword-like leaves, and scapes somewhat like them, bearing the spadix on one edge; the upper and more foliaceous prolongation sometimes considered as a kind of open spathe. (Ἄκορας, the ancient name, of no known meaning.)

1. A. Cálamus, L. Scape leaf-like and prolonged far beyond the (yellowish-green) spadix.—Margins of rivulets, swamps, etc., N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn., Iowa, and E. Kan.

Order 124. LEMNÀCEÆ. (Duckweed Family.)

Minute stemless plants, floating free on the water, destitute of distinct stem and foliage, being merely a frond, producing one or few monœcious flowers from the edge or upper surface, and commonly hanging roots from underneath; ovules rising from the base of the cell. Fruit a 1–7-seeded utricle. Seed large; the apex or radicular extremity of the seed-coat separable as an operculum or lid (as in Cabomba, etc.). Embryo straight, surrounded by fleshy or sometimes very scanty albumen.—The simplest, and some of them the smallest of flowering plants, propagating by the proliferous growth of a new individual from a cleft in the edge or base of the parent frond, remaining connected for some time or separating, also by autumnal fronds in the form of minute bulblets, which sink to the bottom of the water, but rise and vegetate in spring; the flowers (in summer) and fruit scarce, in some species hardly ever seen. Frond more or less cavernous; the upper surface furnished with stomata.—These plants may be regarded as very simplified Araceæ.

1. Spirodela. Frond 7–11-nerved, with several rootlets.

2. Lemna. Frond 1–5-nerved, with a single rootlet.

3. Wolffia. Frond thick, very minute (¼–{2/3}´ broad), without rootlets.

1. SPIRODÈLA, Schleiden.

Anther-cells bilocellate by a vertical partition and longitudinally dehiscent. Ovules 2. Frond 7–11-nerved or more; rootlets several, with axile vascular tissue. Otherwise as Lemna. (From σπεῖρα, a cord, and δῆλος, evident.)

1. S. polyrrhìza, Schleid. Fronds round-obovate (2–4´´ long), thick, purple and rather convex beneath, dark green above, palmately (mostly 7-) nerved. (Lemna polyrrhiza, L.)—Very common in ponds and pools, throughout N. Am., but very rarely found in flower or fruit. (Eu.)

2. LÉMNA, L. Duckweed. Duck's-meat.

Flowers produced from a cleft in the margin of the frond, usually three together surrounded by a spathe; two of them staminate, consisting of a stamen only; the other pistillate, of a simple pistil; the whole therefore imitating a single diandrous flower. Ster. Fl. Filament slender; anther 2-celled, didymous; the cells dehiscent transversely; pollen-grains large, spherical, muricate. Fert. Fl. Ovary 1-celled; style and truncate or funnel-shaped stigma simple. Ovules and seeds 1–7.—Fronds 1–5-nerved, producing a single rootlet beneath (which is destitute of vascular tissue), proliferous from a cleft in the margin toward the base, and at length stipitate; the tissue abounding with bundles of rhaphides. (An old Greek name of uncertain meaning.)

[*] Ovule solitary, orthotropous or nearly so; frond 1–3-nerved, thin.

[+] Fronds oblong, stalked at base, remaining connected.

1. L. trisúlca, L. Fronds oblong to oblong-lanceolate (6–9´´ long), attenuate at base into a slender stalk, denticulate at the tip, very obscurely 3-nerved, often without rootlets, usually several series of offshoots remaining connected; spathe sac-like; seeds ovate, amphitropous, with small round operculum.—Ponds and springy places, N. Scotia to N. J., west to the Pacific. (Eu.)

[+][+] Fronds oblong to elliptical or round-ovate, sessile, soon separating.

2. L. Valdiviàna, Philippi. Fronds elliptic-oblong, small (about 1´´ long), rather thick, usually somewhat falcate, obscurely 1-nerved; spathe broad-reniform; utricle long-ovate, pointed by the long style; seed orthotropous, oblong, with a prominent acute operculum. (L. Torreyi, Austin.)—Pools, N. J. and southward, westward across the continent. (S. Am.)

3. L. perpusílla, Torr. Fronds obovate or roundish-obovate, oblique (1–1½´´ long), obscurely 3-nerved; utricle ovate; style rather long; seed orthotropous, ovate or oval, obtuse, with scarcely apiculate operculum.—N. Y. and N. J., west to Mich. and Wisc.—Var. trinérvis, Austin, has larger, distinctly 3-nerved fronds, and an unequally cordate seed.

4. L. mìnor, L. Fronds round- to elliptic-obovate (1–2½´´ in diameter), rather thick, very obscurely 3-nerved; spathe sac-like; utricle short-urn-shaped, tipped with a short style; seed oblong-obovate, amphitropous, with prominent rounded operculum.—Stagnant waters, throughout N. Am. (Eu.)

[*][*] Ovules 2–7, anatropous; fronds very thick and spongy, flat above, very obscurely 5-nerved (1½–3´´ long).

5. L. gíbba, L. Fronds obovate-elliptic to nearly orbicular, almost hemispherical, soon separating; bract sac-like.—Mo. (?) to Ariz. and Calif.

3. WÓLFFIA, Horkel.

Flowers central, bursting through the upper surface of the globular (or in some foreign ones flat) and loosely cellular frond, only 2; one consisting of a single stamen with a 1-celled 2-valved anther; the other of a globular ovary, tipped with a very short style and a depressed stigma. Ovule orthotropous, rather oblique in the cell. Utricle spherical. Albumen thin.—Fronds rootless, proliferous from a cleft or funnel-shaped opening at the base, the offspring soon detached; no rhaphides.—The simplest and smallest of flowering plants, from ¼–{2/3}´´ long (an African and Cuban species much larger), floating as little grains on the water. (Named for John Fred. Wolff, who wrote on Lemna in 1801.)

1. W. Columbiàna, Karsten. Globose or globular, {1/3}–{2/3}´´ long, very loosely cellular, light green all over, not dotted; stomata 1–6; the opening at the base circular and with a thin border.—Floating rather beneath the surface of stagnant waters, Conn. to N. J., west to Minn. and La.

2. W. Brasiliénsis, Weddell. Oblong, smaller and more densely cellular, flattish and deep green with many stomata above, tumid and pale below, brown-dotted all over, anterior edge sharp, opening at base circular.—Growing with the last, but floating on the surface.

Order 125. ALISMÀCEÆ. (Water-Plantain Family.)

Marsh herbs, with scape-like stems, sheathing leaves, and perfect or monœcious or diœcious flowers; perianth of 3 herbaceous persistent sepals and as many (often conspicuous) white deciduous petals, which are imbricate or involute in bud; stamens 6 or more, included; ovaries numerous, distinct, 1-celled and mostly 1-ovuled, becoming achenes in fruit (in our genera); seeds erect; campylotropous.—Roots fibrous; leaves radical, petiolate and strongly nerved with transverse veinlets, the earlier sometimes without blade; flowers long-pedicellate, mostly verticillate, in a loose raceme or panicle, with lanceolate scarious bracts slightly connate at base.

1. Alisma. Flowers perfect, usually 6-androus. Carpels flattened, in one whorl.

2. Sagittaria. Flowers mostly unisexual. Stamens rarely few. Carpels flattened, in dense heads, winged.

3. Echinodorus. Flowers perfect. Stamens 6 or more. Carpels capitate, turgid and ribbed, often beaked.

1. ALÍSMA, L. Water-Plantain.

Flowers perfect. Petals involute in the bud. Stamens definite, mostly 6. Ovaries many in a simple circle on a flattened receptacle, forming flattened coriaceous achenes, which are dilated and 2–3-keeled on the back.—Roots fibrous. Leaves all from the root, several-ribbed, with connected veinlets. Scape with whorled panicled branches. Flowers small, white or pale rose-color. (The Greek name; of uncertain derivation.)

1. A. Plantàgo, L. Perennial by a stout proliferous corm; leaves long-petioled, ovate, oblong, or lanceolate or even linear, acute, mostly rounded or heart shaped at base, 3–9-nerved; panicle loose, compound, many-flowered (1–2° long); carpels obliquely obovate, forming an obtusely triangular whorl in fruit.—Shallow water and ditches, across the continent. Very variable as to foliage, but the leaves usually more broadly cordate-ovate than in Old World forms (var. Americànum, R. & S.); when growing under water thinner and narrowly lanceolate. (Eu., etc.)

2. SAGITTÀRIA, L. Arrow-head.

Flowers monœcious, or often diœcious in n. 1 and 4, and polygamous in n. 7. Petals imbricated in the bud. Stamens indefinite, rarely few. Ovaries many, crowded in a spherical or somewhat triangular depressed head on a globular receptacle, in fruit forming flat membranaceous winged achenes.—Marsh or aquatic, mostly perennial, stoloniferous herbs, with milky juice and fibrous roots; the scapes sheathed at base by the bases of the long cellular petioles, of which the primary ones, and sometimes all, are flattened, nerved, and destitute of any proper blade (i.e. are phyllodia); when present the blade is arrow-shaped or lanceolate, nerved and with cross-veinlets as in Alisma. Flowers produced all summer, whorled in threes, with membranous bracts; the sterile above. (Name from sagitta, an arrow, from the prevalent form of the leaves.)

§ 1. SAGITTARIA proper. Flowers monœcious, with the lower whorls pistillate, or diœcious; stamens few or numerous, covering the receptacle; sepals spreading or reflexed in fruit.

[*] Filaments numerous, narrow, as long as or longer than the linear-oblong anthers; bracts 3, distinct; fruiting heads larger.

1. S. variábilis, Engelm. Scape (¼–4° high) angled, with one or more of the lower whorls fertile; leaves very various, almost always sagittate; bracts mostly pointed; pedicels of the fertile flowers at least half the length of the sterile ones; petals wholly white; filaments glabrous, nearly twice the length of the anthers; achenes obovate (about 1´´ long), winged on both margins, with a long curved or usually horizontal beak ¼–{1/3} its length. (S. sagittæfolia, L., var. variabilis, M. Micheli.)—In water or wet places, very common; exceedingly variable in size and foliage, ordinarily with narrow halberd-shaped or sagittate leaves,—sometimes diœcious, with large, broad and obtuse leaves (var. obtùsa), or monœcious, with large, broad and acute leaves (var. latifòlia), or the narrow leaves with long and linear diverging lobes (var. angustifòlia), or with some leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, others more or less sagittate (var. diversifòlia), etc. Root propagating by stolons tuberiferous at the extremity.—The European species has the fertile pedicels only {1/3} or ¼ the length of the sterile; claws of the petals purple-tinged; filaments not longer than the anthers; and achenes almost orbicular, very broadly winged and with a short straight beak.

Var. pubéscens, Engelm. Upper part of petiole and scape and especially the orbicular-ovate obtuse bracts and sepals pubescent or woolly; beak of fruit horizontal.—N. J. and Penn. to Ga.

Var. (?) grácilis, Engelm. Lobes of the sagittate leaves very narrowly linear (½–2´´ wide); achene narrowly cuneate-obovate (2´´ long), the beak long, stout, and strongly recurved, the sides usually strongly 1–3-crested. (S. cristata, Engelm.?)—Mass. to western N. Y.; Iowa.

2. S. lancifòlia, L. Scape 2–5° high, with several of the lower whorls fertile; leaves lanceolate or lance-oblong, rarely linear, all with a tapering base, thick or coriaceous (6–18´ long and on a long and stout petiole, never sagittate), the nerves mostly arising from the very thick midrib; bracts ovate, acute or acuminate; pedicels slender, the fertile scarcely shorter than the sterile ones; filaments pubescent; achenes falcate, winged on the back, pointed with an incurved beak.—Swamps, Md. to Ky., Mo., and southward. (W. Ind.)

[*][*] Filaments very short, with enlarged mostly glandular base; anthers ovate or short-oblong; fruiting heads small; bracts more or less connate; leaves very rarely sagittate.

3. S. heterophýlla, Pursh. Scape weak (3´–2° high), at length procumbent; leaves lanceolate or lance-oval, entire, or with one or two narrow basal sagittate appendages; bracts roundish, obtuse; flowers of the lowest whorl fertile and almost sessile; the sterile on long pedicels; filaments glandular-pubescent; achenes narrowly obovate with a long erect beak.—N. Eng to Fla., west to Minn. and Mo. Varies as to foliage, the leaves being broad (var. ellíptica, Engelm.), or rigid and narrowly lanceolate with stout petioles (var. rígida, Engelm.), or nearly linear (var. angustifòlia, Engelm.)

4. S. gramínea, Michx. Scape 3´–2° high; phyllodia flat, mostly broadly linear, acuminate; leaves ovate-lanceolate to linear, on long slender petioles, sometimes reduced to the petiole merely; bracts rather obtuse; whorls of flowers often few, all staminate or the lower fertile; pedicels slender, spreading, nearly equal; filaments 15–20, glandular-pubescent; achene small (½´´ long), narrowly obovate, almost beakless, winged on the back, flat and scarcely costate on the sides.—N. Eng. to Minn., south to the Gulf; very variable.

5. S. tères, Watson. Phyllodia terete, very acutely attenuate upward, 3–12´ long, very rarely bearing a narrow blade; scape ½–1½° high; bracts connate at base; pedicels in 1–3 whorls, all very slender and spreading, 1 or 2 fruiting, ½–1´ long; filaments 12, dilated, pubescent; achene obovate, 1´´ long, with an erect beak, the margins and sides crenately several-crested.—In shallow water, S. New Eng. to N. J. (Hyannis, Mass., Deane; Wading River, L. I., Miller; barrens of N. J., Torrey.) Phyllodia usually very strongly nodose. (Addendum)—Sagittaria teres has been collected also at Brewster, Mass. (Farlow).

6. S. nàtans, Michx., var. loràta, Chapm. Usually dwarf; leaves linear, strap-shaped, obtuse or acutish, 1–6´ long, equalling or shorter than the scape, very rarely with a narrow blade; pedicels in 1–3 whorls, only 1 or 2 fruiting, stouter and recurved; bracts connate or spathe-like; filaments 6–8, glabrous; achene obovate, short-beaked, 1´´ long, the margins and sides crenately crested. (S. pusilla, Pursh.)—In mud or shallow water, near the coast; N. Y. to Fla.

Var. (?) gracíllima, Watson. Scape and the almost or wholly bladeless leaves very slender and greatly elongated (2–4° long, 1´´ wide); pedicels all elongated, in usually distant whorls, the lower pistillate, slender and spreading; fruit unknown. (S. natans, Engelm. in Torr. Bull. ix. 4.)—In deep water of streams in E. Mass. (Hitchings, Boott, C. E. Faxon, etc.) Wholly submerged, only 1 or 2 flowers appearing at a time, floating on the surface. The fruit, maturing under water, has not yet been collected.

§ 2. LOPHIOCÁRPUS. Fertile flowers perfect; stamens 9–15, at the base of the receptacle; sepals erect and embracing the fruit.

7. S. calycìna, Engelm. Scape weak (3–9´ high), at length mostly procumbent; usually only the lowest whorl fertile, with pedicels as long as those of the sterile flowers, recurved in fruit; bracts orbicular, obtuse or rarely pointed; filaments slightly rough, as long as the anthers; achenes obovate with a short horizontal style; leaves broadly halberd-shaped, obtuse or acutish, with wide spreading lobes, often wider than long, or lanceolate or sometimes reduced to linear phyllodia.—Maine to Del., west to Wisc., Mo., and Tex. Quite variable, several forms being enumerated, as var. spongiòsa, with spongy texture and bladeless submerged leaves, eastward; and westward, var. flùitans, with lance-linear floating leaves.

3. ECHINÓDORUS, Richard.

Flowers perfect. Petals imbricated in the bud. Stamens 6–21 or more. Ovaries several or many, imbricated in a head, forming thick and ribbed achenes in fruit, often beaked with a projecting persistent style.—Mostly annuals, with the habit of Sagittaria, the naked stems sparingly branched or simple, and the flowers on rather short pedicels, in whorls of 3–6 or more. Fl. summer and autumn. (Name from ἐχινώδης, prickly, or from ἐχῖνος, and δορός a leathern bottle, applied to the ovary, which is in most species armed with the persistent style, so as to form a sort of prickly head of fruit.)

1. E. párvulus, Engelm. Scapes 1–3´ high; shoots often creeping and proliferous; leaves lanceolate or spatulate, acute (½–1½´ long, including the petiole); umbel single, 2–8-flowered; pedicels reflexed in fruit; flower 3´´ broad; stamens 9; styles much shorter than the ovary; achenes beakless, obtusely few-ribbed.—In mud, Mass. to Mich. and E. Minn., south to Fla. and Tex. (S. Am.)

2. E. rostràtus, Engelm. Scape erect, 3´–2° high, longer than the leaves; leaves broadly ovate, cordate or truncate at base, obtuse (the blade 1–3´ long); umbel proliferous, in a branched panicle; flower 5´´ broad; stamens 12; styles longer than the ovary; achenes beaked, acutely many-ribbed.—Swamps and ditches, Ill. to Fla., Mo., and Tex.—A low form (var. lanceolàtus, Engelm.) has the leaves lanceolate with an acute base. Ill., Mo.

3. E. radìcans, Engelm. Stems or scape prostrate, creeping (2–4° long), proliferous, bearing many whorls of flowers; leaves somewhat truncately broadly heart-shaped, obtuse (2–8´ broad), long-petioled; flowers 6–9´´ broad; stamens about 21; styles shorter than the ovary; achenes short-beaked, the keeled back denticulate.—Swamps, Ill. to N. C. and Fla., west to Mo. and Tex.

Order 126. NAIADÀCEÆ. (Pondweed Family.)

Marsh or mostly immersed aquatic herbs, with stems jointed and leafy or (in Triglochin) naked and scape-like, leaves sheathing at base or stipulate, and flowers perfect or unisexual, often spathaceous, with perianth of 4 or 6 herbaceous distinct valvate segments, or membranous and tubular or cup-shaped, or none. Stamens 1, 2, 4 or 6, with extrorse anthers. Ovaries 1–6, distinct or more or less coherent, 1-celled, usually 1-ovuled, in fruit follicular or capsular or an indehiscent berry or utricle.

Suborder I. Juncagineæ. Marsh plants, with terete bladeless leaves; flowers perfect, spicate or racemose, with herbaceous 6- (rarely 3-) lobed perianth; carpels 3 or 6, more or less united, separating at maturity. Seeds anatropous; embryo straight.

1. Triglochin. Ovaries 3–6, united until maturity. Leaves radical. Flowers bractless, in a spike-like raceme terminating a jointless scape.

2. Scheuchzeria. Ovaries 3, nearly distinct, at length divergent. Flowers bracteate in a loose raceme upon a leafy stem.

Suborder II. Naiadeæ. Immersed aquatics, with flat leaves; ovaries solitary or distinct, 1-ovuled.

[+] Flowers perfect, spiked or clustered; anthers 4 or 2, sessile; leaves alternate.

3. Potamogeton. Spike peduncled. Sepals 4, herbaceous. Anthers 4. Ovaries 4, sessile.

4. Ruppia. Flowers on an enclosed spadix, at length long-exserted, without perianth. Anther-cells 4, distinct. Ovaries 4, becoming stipitate.

[+][+] Flowers monœcious or diœcious, axillary, naked, monandrous; leaves opposite (alternate in n. 6).

5. Zannichellia. Monœcious. Pistils (2–5) from a cup-shaped involucre or sheath.

6. Zostera. Pistils and stamens alternate in 2 vertical rows on the inner side of a leaf-like enclosed spadix. Stigmas 2, linear. Stem creeping.

7. Naias. Diœcious; pistil solitary, naked. Stamen enclosed in a membranous spathe. Stems floating, with opposite or ternate leaves.

1. TRIGLÒCHIN, L. Arrow-grass.

Sepals and petals nearly alike (greenish), ovate, concave, deciduous. Stamens 3–6; anthers oval, on very short filaments. Pistils united into a 3–6-celled compound ovary; stigmas sessile; ovules solitary. Capsule splitting when ripe into 3–6 carpels, which separate from a persistent central axis.—Perennials, with rush-like, fleshy leaves, below sheathing the base of the wand-like naked and jointless scape. Flowers small, in a spiked raceme, bractless. (Name composed of τρεῖς, three, and γλωχίν, point, from the three points of the ripe fruit in n. 1 when dehiscent.)

[*] Fruit of 3 carpels.

1. T. palústris, L. Scape (6–18´ high) and leaves slender; sepals and stamens 6; fruit linear-club-shaped; carpels when ripe separating from below upward, leaving a triangular axis, awl-pointed at base.—Marshes, western N. Y. to Ill., Minn., and westward. Aug. (Eu., Asia, etc.)

2. T. striàta, Ruiz & Pav. Scape (6–12´ high) and leaves slender; flowers very small; sepals and stamens 3; fruit globose-triangular, or when dry 3-lobed. (T. triandra, Michx.)—Sea-shore, Md. to Fla. (S. Am., etc.)

[*][*] Fruit of 6 carpels (rarely 5).

3. T. marítima, L. Scape (1–3° high) and leaves thickish, fleshy; fruit ovate or oblong, acutish; carpels rounded at base and slightly grooved on the back, the edges acute.—Salt-marshes along the coast, Lab. to N. J., and in saline places in the interior across the continent. (Eu., Asia, etc.)

2. SCHEUCHZÈRIA, L.

Sepals and petals oblong, spreading, nearly alike (greenish-yellow), but the latter narrower, persistent. Stamens 6; anthers linear. Ovaries 3, globular, slightly united at base, 2–3 ovuled, bearing flat sessile stigmas, in fruit forming 3 diverging and inflated 1–2 seeded pods, opening along the inside.—A low bog-herb, with a creeping jointed rootstock, tapering into the ascending simple stem, which is zigzag, partly sheathed by the bases of the grass-like conduplicate leaves, and terminated by a loose raceme of a few flowers, with sheathing bracts; leaves tubular at the apex. (Named for John and John Jacob Scheuchzer, distinguished Swiss botanists early in the 18th century.)

1. S. palústris, L.—Peat-bogs, N. Brunswick to N. J., westward across the continent. June. (Eu., Asia.)

3. POTAMOGÈTON, Tourn. Pondweed.

Flowers perfect. Sepals 4, rounded, valvate in the bud. Stamens 4, opposite the sepals; anthers nearly sessile, 2-celled. Ovaries 4 (rarely only one), with an ascending campylotropous ovule; stigma sessile or on a short style. Fruit drupe-like when fresh, more or less compressed; endocarp (nutlet) crustaceous. Embryo hooked, annular, or cochleate, the radicular end pointing downward.—Herbs of fresh, or one in brackish, ponds and streams, with jointed mostly rooting stems, and 2-ranked leaves, which are usually alternate or imperfectly opposite; the submersed ones pellucid, the floating ones often dilated and of a firmer texture. Stipules membranous, more or less united and sheathing. Spikes sheathed by the stipules in the bud, mostly raised on a peduncle to the surface of the water. (An ancient name, composed of ποταμός, a river, and γείτων, a neighbor, from the place of growth.)—By fruit, the full-grown fresh or macerated fruit is intended; by nutlet, that with the fleshy outer portion or epicarp removed. All except n. 19 flower in summer; the month mentioned indicates the time of ripening of the fruit.

§ 1. Leaves of two sorts; floating ones more or less coriaceous, with a dilated petioled blade, different in form from the thinner submersed ones.

[*] Submersed leaves reduced to narrowly grass-like or filiform sessile phyllodia.

[+] Stems rather stout; stipules free; spikes all emersed, cylindrical and densely fruited; fruits fleshy and turgid, obliquely obovate.

1. P. nàtans, L. Stem simple or sparingly branched; floating leaves all long-petioled, elliptical or ovate, somewhat cordate at base, obtuse but with a blunt point, 21–29-nerved; upper submersed leaves lanceolate, early perishing, the lower (later in the season) very slender (3–7´ long, barely 1´´ wide); upper stipules very long, acute; peduncle about the thickness of the stem; spikes 1–2´ long; sides of the turgid nutlet with a small deep impression in the middle; embryo coiled into an incomplete elliptical ring.—Ponds and ditches, N. Scotia to Va., westward across the continent. In deeper or flowing water the plant becomes more slender and often wholly submersed (var. prolíxus, Koch).—Aug., Sept. (Eu., Asia.)

2. P. Oakesiànus, Robbins. Stem more slender, much branched; floating leaves smaller (1–1½´ long), ovate- or oblong-elliptical, obtuse, fewer-(17–23-) nerved; lowest submersed ones almost capillary (only ¼–½´´ wide), continuing through the flowering season; spikes shorter (¾–1´ long), on peduncles much thicker than the stem; fruit smaller and more acute; sides of the turgid nutlet not at all impressed; curvature of the embryo nearly circular, its apex directed to a point above its base.—Ponds, and especially pools and stagnant ditches, Mass. to N. J.; also Anticosti. Aug.

3. P. Pennsylvánicus, Cham. Stems compressed, often simple from the creeping rootstocks; floating leaves chiefly opposite (1–3½´ long), 11–17-nerved, oblong, tapering into a short petiole, the lower gradually narrowing and passing into the submersed ones, which are very numerous and approximate, 2-ranked, linear (2–5´ long, and 1–2½´´ wide), 5–7-nerved, the lateral nerves slender and nearly marginal, the space within the inner nerves coarsely cellular-reticulated; stipules very obtuse; spikes numerous, about the length of the thickened peduncle; fruit round-obovate, flattish, 3-keeled when dry; nutlet distinctly impressed on the sides; curvature of the embryo transversely oval. (P. Claytonii, Tuckerm.)—Still or flowing water, N. Brunswick to S. C., west to N. Ind. and Minn. July, Aug.

[+][+] Like the preceding section, but all the parts small, slender and delicate, only the fertile plants producing floating leaves; spikes very small and few-flowered; propagated by autumn buds.

4. P. Vasèyi, Robbins. Very delicate; stem almost capillary; floating leaves obovate (3–5´´ long) and about the length of their filiform petioles, with 5 nerves deeply impressed beneath, cross-veins distinct; submersed leaves filiform-linear, very attenuate (1–2´ long, {1/8}–¼´´ wide) and acute; stipules not adnate, scarious, long, acute; spikes all emersed, few, interrupted-oblong, 3–5-flowered, on a thickish peduncle; fruit oblique, round-obovate ({2/3}´´ long), compressed, slightly sharp-margined, tipped with a distinct recurved style, the sides impressed and face acute; upper portion of the embryo circularly incurved, its apex transverse to the fruit.—Canada and N. Eng.; also Ill. The fruiting form, with floating leaves, rare; the submerged form apparently much more abundant.

5. P. lateràlis, Morong. Stem filiform, branching; floating leaves elliptical (4–6´´ long by 2´´ wide), with 5–7 nerves deeply impressed beneath, tapering at base into a somewhat dilated petiole shorter than the blade; submersed leaves linear, acute (1–3´ long by ¼–½´´ wide), 1–3-nerved, the mid-nerve with fine veins or cellular reticulations on each side, bi-glandular at base; stipules short; peduncles with a very peculiar lateral appearance, widely spreading at maturity, sometimes even recurved, often thicker than the stem; spikes often interrupted (2–4-flowered); fruit obliquely obovate (hardly 1´´ long), the back much curved, with two fine grooves upon it; embryo oval in its curve, the apex nearly touching the base.—Mass. and Mich.; rare. Undeveloped specimens resemble P. pusillus.

[+][+][+] Stems slender or filiform, much branched; floating leaves sometimes wanting; stipules adnate to the base of the leaf; spikes of two kinds, one emersed, cylindrical and many-flowered, on a club-shaped peduncle, the other submersed, globular and few-flowered; fruit flat, cochleate, with thin or scarcely any flesh and a thin nutlet; embryo spiral.

6. P. Spiríllus, Tuckerm. Floating leaves oval to lance-oblong and lanceolate (the largest 10´´ long, 4´´ wide), usually obtuse, about equalling the rather dilated petioles, with 5–many nerves beneath deeply impressed; upper submersed leaves either with or without a lance-oblong or broad-linear proper blade; the numerous lower ones narrow-linear, tapering toward the obtuse apex (¾–1½´ long, ¼–{2/3}´´ wide); stipules early lacerate; submersed flowers usually solitary on very short erect peduncles; fruit with the back either winged and with 4–5 distinct teeth or wingless and entire; embryo coiled 1¾ turns.—Rivers, and even far up small streams, N. Eng. to Va., west to Mich. and Mo. June–Aug.—Stem less slender than in the next.

7. P. hýbridus, Michx. Floating leaves oval to lance-oblong (the largest 10´´ long, 6´´ wide), often acute, longer than the filiform petioles, with about 5–7 nerves beneath deeply impressed; submersed leaves very numerous, almost setaceous (1–3´ long, very rarely ½´´ wide); stipules obtuse; emersed spikes 4–7´´ long; submersed spikes 1–4-flowered, their peduncles (of their own length) frequently recurved; fruit minute, about 8-toothed on the margin; embryo coiled 1½ turns.—Shallow stagnant waters, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and N. Mex. June–Aug.

[*][*] Submersed leaves lanceolate, rarely oval or linear, membranaceous; spikes dense, many-flowered, on stout peduncles.

8. P. ruféscens, Schrad. Stem simple; floating leaves (often wanting) 2–5´ long, rather thin, wedge-oblanceolate, narrowed into a short petiole, 11–17-nerved; submersed leaves almost sessile, lanceolate and lance-oblong, smooth on the margin, fewer-nerved; stipules broad, hyaline, obtuse, upper ones acuminate; spike 1–2´ long, often somewhat compound; fruit obovate, lenticular, pitted when immature, with an acute margin and pointed with the rather long style; embryo incompletely annular.—In streams or ponds, N. Brunswick to N. J., west to Minn. and Tex. Aug., Sept. (Eu.)

9. P. flùitans, Roth. Stem often branching below; floating leaves thinnish, lance-oblong or long-elliptical, often acute, long-petioled, 17–23-nerved; submersed leaves very long (3–12´, by 2–12´´ wide), lanceolate and lance-linear, 7–15-nerved, coarsely reticulated; peduncles somewhat thickened upward; fruit obliquely obovate, obscurely 3-keeled when fresh, and distinctly so when dry, the middle one winged above and sometimes with 3–5 shallow indentations; the rounded slightly curved face surmounted by the short style; nutlet with the sides scarcely impressed; upper part of the embryo circularly in-curved. (P. lonchites, Tuckerm.)—In streams or rarely in ponds, N. Brunswick to N. J., west to Minn. and Iowa. Aug., Sept. (Eu.)

10. P. púlcher, Tuckerm. Stem simple, black-spotted; leaves of three kinds; floating ones becoming very large (4½ by 3½´), roundish-ovate and cordate or ovate-oblong, 25–37-nerved, all alternate; upper submersed ones (3–5) usually lanceolate, acute at base and very long-acuminate, 10–15-nerved, very thin, cellular each side of the midrib, undulate, short-petioled; lowest (2–4 near the base of the stem) thicker, plane, oval or oblong with a rounded base, or spatulate-oblong, on longer petioles; stipules rather short and obtuse; peduncles thicker than the stem; fruit with a rounded back and angular face, pointed, distinctly 3-keeled when fresh, sharply so when dry; nutlet with two deep dorsal furrows, and a sinus below the angle in front; sides flat; embryo circularly much incurved above.—Ponds, Vt. to Ga. and Mo. July, Aug.

11. P. amplifòlius, Tuckerm. Stems simple, of very variable length; floating leaves (sometimes wanting) large, oblong or lance-ovate, sometimes slightly cordate at base, abruptly acutish, 30–50-nerved, on rather long petioles; submersed leaves often very large (reaching 7´ by 2´), lanceolate or oval, acute at each end, usually much recurved, undulate, mostly on short petioles; stipules very long and tapering to a point, soon becoming loose; peduncles thickened upward, in deep water much elongated; fruit very large (over 2´´ long), rather obliquely obovate, 3-keeled, with a broad stout beak; nutlet slightly impressed on the sides; upper part of the embryo curved into a ring.—Ponds and rivers, N. Eng. to N. J., west to Minn. and Kan. Aug., Sept.

12. P. Illinoénsis, Morong. Stem stout, branching towards the summit; floating leaves opposite, oval or ovate (2–5´ long by 1½–2´ broad), 19–25-nerved, rounded or subcordate at base, with a short blunt point at apex, on short petioles, submersed leaves rather few, oblong-elliptical, acute at each end, usually ample (largest 8´ by 1½´); stipules coarse, obtuse, strongly bicarinate (2´ long); peduncles often clustered at the summit (2–4´ long), thickening upward; fruit roundish-obovate (1¾–2´´ long), 3-keeled on the back, middle keel prominent; nutlet flattened and slightly impressed on the sides, obtuse or pointed at base; apex of embryo directed transversely inward.—Streams and ditches, western N. Y. to Ill., Iowa, and Minn. Very near the last.

13. P. heterophýllus, Schreb. Stem slender, very branching below; floating leaves mostly thin, variable, but with a short blunt point, 9–15-nerved, usually 1–2´ long and 6–9´´ wide; submersed ones usually lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acuminate or cuspidate, narrowed toward the base, about 7-nerved on the stem and 3-nerved on the branches; upper ones petioled, lower sessile; stipules obtuse, loose; peduncles somewhat thickened upward; fruit small, roundish, compressed, scarcely keeled; embryo annular above. (P. gramineus, Fries.)—Still or flowing water, common. Varies exceedingly in its submersed leaves, peduncles, etc.; the var. graminifòlius (Fries), growing in rapid streams, with stems much elongated and less branched, and the flaccid submersed leaves 2–7´ long by 2–10´´ wide.

Var. (?) myriophýllus, Robbins. Sending up from running rootstocks many short repeatedly dichotomous and densely leafy stems; fertile stems very slender; floating leaves small, delicate, lance-oblong, on long filiform petioles; submersed stem-leaves larger, early perishing; those of the branches (deep-green) linear-oblanceolate, very small (¾–1´ long), acute, sometimes minutely serrulate; spike slender, loosely-flowered, much shorter than the thickened peduncle.—Apponaug Pond, R. I., without fruit.

13a. P. Zízii, Mert. & Koch. Resembling P. lucens, but smaller, much branched at base; upper leaves coriaceous or subcoriaceous, long-petioled and sometimes emersed, the others subsessile, all usually numerous, undulate and shining; peduncle elongated. (P. lucens, var. minor, Nolte. Also P. gramineus, var. (?) spathulæformis, Robbins; P. spathæformis, Tuckerm.; "P. varians, Morong.")—N. Eng to Fla., and westward. Connecting with the next section. (Eu.)

§ 2. Leaves all submersed and similar, mostly sessile, membranaceous and dilated, lanceolate, oblong, or oval; stipules obtuse, becoming loose.

14. P. lùcens, L. Stem thick, branching, sometimes very large; leaves more or less petioled, oval or lanceolate, mucronate, often rough serrulate, frequently shining; peduncles often elongated; fruit roundish and compressed, with obtuse margins, slightly keeled; embryo circularly incurved above.—Ponds, N. Eng. to Fla., west to the Pacific. Aug., Sept. (Eu.)

Var. (?) Connecticuténsis, Robbins. Stem flexuous; leaves all submersed, nearly sessile, lanceolate, acuminate, crisped, not shining nor serrulate; fruit larger, distinctly keeled; nutlet thick and hard.—Lake Saltonstall, East Haven, Conn.

15. P. prælóngus, Wulf. Stem very long, branching, flexuous; leaves lance-oblong or lanceolate (sometimes 7´ long), half-clasping, obtuse with a boat-shaped cavity at the extremity, thence splitting on pressure; stipules scarious, very obtuse; spikes rather loose-flowered; peduncles very long (sometimes reaching 20´); fruit obliquely obovate, compressed, sharply keeled when dry; style terminating the nearly straight face; curve of the embryo oval and longitudinal.—Ponds and large rivers, N. Scotia to Mass., west to Minn. and Iowa. Sept., Oct.—Stem white; foliage bright green. (Eu.)

16. P. perfoliàtus, L. Stem branching; leaves orbicular, ovate or lanceolate from a cordate-clasping base, usually obtuse and often minutely serrulate; peduncles short, cylindrical; fruit irregularly obovate, obtusely margined; embryo incurved in an oval.—Ponds and slow streams, common. N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn. and Iowa. Sept., Oct. (Eu.)

Var. lanceolàtus, Robbins. Larger; leaves long-lanceolate from a cordate clasping base and acuminate, wavy, 3–4½´ long; peduncles thickened upward.—Same range as the species, and extending west to the Pacific.

17. P. críspus, L. Stem compressed; leaves linear-oblong, half-clasping, obtuse, serrulate, crisped-wavy, 3-nerved; fruit long-beaked; upper portion of the embryo incurved in a large circle.—Flowing and stagnant waters, Mass. to N. J. and Va., west to western N. Y. June, July. (Eu.)

18. P. Mýsticus, Morong. Stem very slender and irregularly branching, nearly filiform (1–3° high); leaves oblong-linear (½–1½´ long by 2–3´´ wide), 5–7-nerved, finely undulate and entire, obtuse or bluntly pointed, abruptly narrowing at base, sessile or partly clasping; spikes few, capitate (4–6-flowered). on erect peduncles (1–2´ long); fruit (immature) obovate, small (hardly ¾´´ long), obscurely 3-keeled on the back, a little beaked by the slender recurved style.—Mystic Pond, Medford, Mass.

§ 3. Leaves all submersed and similar, mostly membranaceous and sessile, linear or setaceous.

[*] Stipules free from the sheathing base of the leaf.

19. P. zosteræfòlius, Schum. Stem branching, wing-fattened; leaves linear and grass-like (commonly 4´ by 1½´´), abruptly pointed, with many fine and 3 larger nerves; stipules (seen young) oblong, very obtuse; spikes cylindrical, 12–15-flowered, not half as long as the peduncle; fruit obliquely obovate, somewhat keeled and with slight teeth on the back, the sides not impressed, the face arching and terminated by the short style; summit of the large embryo lying transverse to the fruit. (P. compressus, Fries; not L.?)—Still and slow-flowing waters, N. Eng. to N. J., Iowa, and Minn. Aug., Sept. (Eu.)

20. P. Híllii, Morong. Stem slender, widely branching, flattish; leaves linear, acute (1–2½´ long by ½–1¼´´ wide), 3-nerved, the lateral nerves delicate and near the margin; stipules whitish, striate, obtuse (3–5´´ long); spikes capitate (3–6-fruited), on short spreading or recurved peduncles; fruit as in the last.—Mich. and western N. Y.

21. P. obtusifòlius, Mertens & Koch. Stem flattened, very branching; leaves linear, tapering toward the base, obtuse and mucronate or very acute, 3- (rarely 5-) nerved; stipules elongated, very obtuse; spike ovate, continuous, 5–8-flowered, about the length of the peduncle; fruit oval, apiculate with the style, not keeled when fresh, upper portion of embryo coiled inward and lying transverse to the fruit.—Slow streams and ponds, Canada and N. Eng. to western N. Y. and Mich. Sept., Oct. (Eu.)

22. P. pauciflòrus, Pursh. Stem filiform, flattish and very branching; leaves narrowly linear (1–2´ long and seldom ½´´ wide), acute, obscurely 3-nerved; stipules obtuse; spikes capitate, 1–4- (usually 2-) flowered, on short club-shaped peduncles; fruit roundish-lenticular; the back more or less crested; upper portion of the embryo incurved in a circle.—Still or stagnant waters, N. Brunswick to Ga., Iowa, Minn., and westward.

Var. Niagarénsis, Gray. Stem often longer (1–3°); leaves larger (1½–3½´ long by 1´´ wide or less), 3–5-nerved at base, very acute and mucronate, narrowed to the subpetiolate base. (P. Niagarensis, Tuckerm.)—Running water, Great Lakes to S. C.; also in Cal.

23. P. pusíllus, L. Stem slender, flattish or nearly cylindrical, often very branching; leaves narrow- or setaceous-linear, acuminate, acute or subacute, 1–3-nerved, furnished with translucent glands on each side at the base; stipules at first obtuse; spikes interrupted or capitate, 2–8-flowered, on rather long peduncles; fruit obliquely elliptical, scarcely keeled; apex of embryo incurved and directed obliquely downward.—Pools and ditches, N. Scotia to N. J., west to Minn. and Mo., and westward.—Leaves sometimes almost setaceous (var. tenuissimus, Koch).

Var. polyphýllus, Morong. Dwarf form (3–5´ high), divaricately branching from the base, very leafy throughout; leaves very obtuse, not cuspidate, 3-nerved; non-flowering but abundantly provided with propagating buds which are formed on the thickened and hardened ends of the branches and closely invested by imbricated leaves.—In a shallow pool, S. Natick, Mass.

24. P. mucronàtus, Schrad. Resembling P. pusillus, but stem less branching; leaves broader (almost 1´´ wide), often 5-nerved; spikes interrupted. (P. pusillus, var. major, Fries.)—N. Brunswick to western N. Y., Mich., and Minn. July. (Eu.)

25. P. gemmíparus, Robbins. Stem filiform, branching, terete, varying greatly in height; leaves hair-like, sometimes not as broad as the stem, often with no apparent midrib, tapering to the finest point (1–3´ long), bi-glandular at base; stipules ½–1´ long; spikes few (3–6-flowered), interrupted, on long filiform peduncles; propagating buds very numerous; fruit like that of P. pusillus, very rare. (P. pusillus, var.? gemmiparus, Robbins.)—Slow-moving streams and still water, Mass. Aug., Sept.

26. P. Tuckermàni, Robbins. Very slender and delicate from a creeping rootstock, of a fine light green; stem filiform with several short and repeatedly dichotomous leaf-bearing branches; leaves thin and flat, but setaceous and tapering to near the fineness of a hair (1–4´ long and {1/3}´´ extreme width), obscurely 1–3-nerved, with a few coarse reticulations; stipules rather persistent below, {1/3}´ long, obtuse; peduncle solitary, very long, rather thickened upward; spike 4–8-flowered, in fruit continuous, oblong; fruit thick-lenticular, obscurely 3-keeled; nutlet slightly impressed on the sides; shell thick and hard; embryo nearly annular.—Cold ponds, White Mountains of N. H., N. Y., and N. J.

[*][*] Stipules united with the sheathing base of the leaf.

27. P. pectinàtus, L. Stem filiform, repeatedly dichotomous; leaves very narrowly linear, attenuate to the apex, 1-nerved with a few transverse veins; spikes interrupted, on long filiform peduncles; fruit obliquely broad-obovate, compressed, bluntly keeled; shell of nutlet very thick; embryo spirally incurved.—N. Brunswick to Fla., westward across the continent. Aug.–Oct. (Eu.)

28. P. marìnus, L. Resembling narrow-leaved forms of the last species, low and very leafy; peduncles much elongated; fruit much smaller (1´´ long) and thinner, round-obovate, not keeled upon the rounded back, tipped with the broad sessile stigma; embryo annular.—Western N. Y., Ill., Mich., and southward. Probably the range of this species is much more extensive than indicated, as it has been confounded with P. pectinatus.

29. P. Robbínsii, Oakes. Stem ascending from a creeping base, rigid, very branching, invested by the bases of the leaves and stipules; leaves crowded in two ranks, recurved-spreading, narrow-lanceolate or linear (3–5´ long and 2–3´´ wide), acuminate, ciliate-serrulate with translucent teeth, many-nerved; stipules obtuse when young, their nerves soon becoming bristles; spikes numerous, loosely few-flowered, on short peduncles; fruit oblong-obovate (2´´ long), keeled with a broadish wing, acutely beaked; embryo stout, ovally annular.—In ponds and slow streams, N. Brunswick to N. J., the N. shore of L. Superior, and far westward.

4. RÚPPIA, L. Ditch-grass.

Flowers perfect, 2 or more approximated on a slender spadix, which is at first enclosed in the sheathing spathe-like base of a leaf, entirely destitute of floral envelopes, consisting of 2 sessile stamens, each with 2 large and separate anther-cells, and 4 small sessile ovaries, with solitary campylotropous suspended ovules; stigma sessile, depressed. Fruit small obliquely ovate pointed drupes, each raised on a slender stalk which appears after flowering; the spadix itself also then raised on an elongated thread-form peduncle. Embryo ovoid, with a short and pointed plumule from the upper end, by the side of the short cotyledon.—Marine herbs, growing under water, with long and thread-like forking stems, and slender almost capillary alternate leaves, sheathing at the base. Flowers rising to the surface at the time of expansion. (Dedicated to H. B. Ruppius, a German botanical author of the early part of the 18th century.)

1. R. marítima, L. Leaves linear-capillary; nut ovate, obliquely erect, 1½´´ long; fruiting peduncles capillary (3–6´ long); stipes 1–12´´ long.—Shallow bays, along the entire coast; also occasionally in saline places in the interior. (Eu., Asia, etc.)

5. ZANNICHÉLLIA, Micheli. Horned Pondweed.

Flowers monœcious, sessile, naked, usually both kinds from the same axil; the sterile consisting of a single stamen, with a slender filament bearing a 2–4-celled anther; the fertile of 2–5 (usually 4) sessile pistils in the same cup-shaped involucre, forming obliquely oblong nutlets in fruit, beaked with a short style, which is tipped by an obliquely disk-shaped or somewhat 2-lobed stigma. Seed orthotropous, suspended, straight. Cotyledon taper, bent and coiled.—Slender branching herbs, growing under water, with mostly opposite long and linear thread-form entire leaves, and sheathing membranous stipules. (Named in honor of Zannichelli, a Venetian botanist.)

1. Z. palústris, L. Style at least half as long as the fruit, which is flattish, somewhat incurved, even, or occasionally more or less toothed on the back (not wing-margined in our plant), nearly sessile; or, in var. pedunculàta, both the cluster and the separate fruits evidently peduncled.—Ponds and slow streams, throughout N. America, but not common. July. (Eu., Asia.)

6. ZOSTÈRA, L. Grass-wrack. Eel-grass.

Flowers monœcious; the two kinds naked and sessile and alternately arranged in two rows on the midrib of one side of a linear leaf-like spadix, which is hidden in a long and sheath-like base of a leaf (spathe); the sterile flowers consisting of single ovate or oval 1-celled sessile anthers, as large as the ovaries, and containing a tuft of threads in place of ordinary pollen; the fertile of single ovate-oblong ovaries attached near their apex, tapering upward into an awl-shaped style, and containing a pendulous orthotropous ovule; stigmas 2, long and bristle-form, deciduous. Utricle bursting irregularly, enclosing an oblong longitudinally ribbed seed (or nutlet). Embryo short and thick (proper cotyledon almost obsolete), with an open chink or cleft its whole length, from which protrudes a doubly curved slender plumule.—Grass-like marine herbs, growing wholly under water, from a jointed creeping stem or rootstock, sheathed by the bases of the very long and linear, obtuse, entire, grass-like, ribbon-shaped leaves (whence the name, from ζωστήρ, a band).

1. Z. marìna, L. Leaves obscurely 3–5-nerved.—Common in shoal water of bays along the coast, from Newf. to Fla. (Eu.)

7. NÀIAS, L. Naiad.

Flowers diœcious or monœcious, axillary, solitary and sessile; the sterile consisting of a single stamen enclosed in a little membranous spathe; anther at first nearly sessile, the filament at length elongated. Fertile flowers consisting of a single ovary tapering into a short style; stigmas 2–4, awl-shaped; ovule erect, anatropous. Fruit a little seed-like nutlet, enclosed in a loose and separable membranous epicarp. Embryo straight, the radicular end downward.—Slender branching herbs, growing under water, with opposite and linear leaves, somewhat crowded into whorls, spinulose-toothed, sessile and dilated at base. Flowers very small, solitary, but often clustered with the branch-leaves in the axils; in summer. (Ναιάς, a water-nymph.)

1. N. marìna, L. Stem rather stout and often armed with broad prickles; leaves broadly linear (3–18´´ long), coarsely and sharply toothed, the dilated base entire; fruit 2–2½´´ long; seed very finely lineate, oblong, slightly compressed. (N. major, All.)—Marshes and salt-springs of western N. Y. and Mich. Teeth of one or more brownish cells upon a many-celled base. (Eu.)

Var. grácilis, Morong. Internodes long (1–3´) and nearly naked, with only a few teeth above; leaves very narrow, the dilated base also toothed; fruit smaller.—Canoga marshes, western N. Y.; also in Fla.

Var. recurvàta, Dudley. Stems short, inclined to be dichotomously branched, recurved-spreading; leaves usually recurved, the teeth prominent, the dilated base with a projecting tooth each side.—Cayuga marshes, N. Y.

2. N. fléxilis, Rostk. & Schmidt. Stems usually very slender; leaves very narrowly linear (½–1´ long), very minutely serrulate; fruit 1½´´ long, narrowly oblong; seeds lance-oval, smooth and shining.—Ponds and slow streams, N. Scotia to S. C., Iowa and Minn. Teeth on the margins of the leaves 1-celled. (Eu.)—Var. robústa, Morong. Stem stout, few-leaved, sparsely branching, elongated; leaves flat, abruptly acute.—E. Mass., Mich., and Tex.

3. N. Índica, Cham., var. gracíllima, A. Br. Branches alternate; leaves very narrowly linear, nearly capillary, straight, serrate, the rounded lobes of the sheathing base spinulose-ciliate; fruit linear, impressed-dotted between the numerous ribs.—Mass. to Penn., west to Ind. and Mo. Teeth of 3 cells each.

Order 127. ERIOCAÙLEÆ. (Pipewort Family.)

Aquatic or marsh herbs, stemless or short-stemmed, with a tuft of fibrous roots, a cluster of linear and often loosely cellular grass-like leaves, and naked scapes sheathed at the base, bearing dense heads of monœcious or rarely diœcious small 2–3-merous flowers, each in the axil of a scarious bract; the perianth double or rarely simple, chaffy; anthers introrse; the fruit a 2–3-celled 2–3-seeded capsule; seeds pendulous, orthotropous; embryo at the apex of mealy albumen.—Chiefly tropical plants, a few in northern temperate regions.

1. Eriocaulon. Perianth double, the inner (corolla) tubular-funnel-form in the staminate flowers; stamens twice as many as its lobes (4). Anthers 2-celled.

2. Pæpalanthus. Perianth as in the last; stamens only as many as the corolla-lobes (3). Anthers 2-celled.

3. Lachnocaulon. Perianth simple, of 3 sepals. Stamens 3, monadelphous below. Anthers 1-celled.

1. ERIOCAÙLON, L. Pipewort.

Flowers monœcious and androgynous, i.e. both kinds in the same head, either intermixed, or the central ones sterile and the exterior fertile, rarely diœcious. Ster. Fl. Calyx of 2 or 3 keeled or boat-shaped sepals, usually spatulate or dilated upward. Corolla tubular, 2–3-lobed, each of the lobes bearing a black gland or spot. Stamens twice as many, one inserted at the base of each lobe and one in each sinus; anthers 2-celled. Pistils rudimentary. Fert. Fl. Calyx as in the sterile flowers, often remote from the rest of the flower (therefore perhaps to be viewed as a pair of bractlets). Corolla of 2 or 3 separate narrow petals. Stamens none. Ovary often stalked, 2–3-lobed, 2–3-celled; style 1; stigmas 2 or 3, slender. Capsule membranaceous, loculicidal.—Leaves mostly smooth, loosely cellular and pellucid, flat or concave above. Scapes or peduncles terminated by a single head, involucrate by some outer empty bracts. Flowers, also the tips of the bracts, etc., usually white-bearded or woolly. (Name compounded of ἔριον, wool, and καυλός, a stalk, from the wool at the base of the scape.)—Our species are all stemless, wholly glabrous excepting at the base and the flowers, with a depressed head and dimerous flowers.

1. E. decangulàre, L. Leaves obtuse, varying from linear-lanceolate to linear-awl-shaped, rather rigid; scapes 10–12-ribbed (1–3° high); head hemispherical, becoming globular (2–7´´ wide); scales of the involucre acutish, straw-color or light brown; chaff (bracts among the flowers) pointed.—Pine-barren swamps, N. J. to Fla. July–Sept.

2. E. gnaphalòdes, Michx. Leaves spreading (2–5´ long), grassy-awl-shaped, rigid, or when submersed thin and pellucid, tapering gradually to a sharp point, mostly shorter than the sheath of the 10-ribbed scape; scales of the involucre very obtuse, turning lead-color; chaff obtuse.—Pine-barren swamps, N. J. to Fla.

3. E. septangulàre, Withering. Leaves short (1–3´ long), awl-shaped, pellucid, soft and very cellular; scape 4–7-striate, slender, 2–6´ high, or when submersed becoming 1–6° long, according to the depth of the water; chaff acutish; head 2–3´´ broad; the bracts, chaff, etc., lead-color, except the white coarse beard.—In ponds or along their borders, Newf. to N. J., west to Ind., Mich., and Minn. July, Aug. (Eu.)

2. PÆPALÁNTHUS, Martius.

Stamens as many as the (often involute) lobes of the funnel-form corolla of the sterile flowers, and opposite them, commonly 3, and the flower ternary throughout. Otherwise nearly as in Eriocaulon. (Name from παιπάλη, dust or flour, and ἄνθος, flower, from the meal-like down or scurf of the heads and flowers of many South American species.)

1. P. flavídulus, Kunth. Tufted, stemless; leaves bristle-awl-shaped (1´ long); scapes very slender, simple, minutely pubescent (6–12´ high), 5-angled; bracts of the involucre oblong, pale straw-color, those among the flowers mostly obsolete; perianth glabrous; sepals and petals of the fertile flowers linear-lanceolate, scarious-white.—Low pine-barrens, S. Va. to Fla.

3. LACHNOCAÙLON, Kunth. Hairy Pipewort.

Flowers monœcious, etc., as in Eriocaulon. Calyx of 3 sepals. Corolla none! Ster. Fl. Stamens 3; filaments below coalescent into a club-shaped tube around the rudiment of a pistil, above separate and elongated; anthers 1-celled! Fert. Fl. Ovary 3-celled, surrounded by 3 tufts of hairs (in place of a corolla). Stigmas 3, two-cleft.—Leaves linear-sword-shaped, tufted. Scape slender, bearing a single head, 2–3-angled, hairy. (Name from λάχνος, wool, and καυλός, stalk.)

1. L. Michaùxii, Kunth.—Low pine-barrens, Va. to Fla.

Order 128. CYPERÀCEÆ. (Sedge Family.)

Grass-like or rush-like herbs, with fibrous roots, mostly solid stems (culms), closed sheaths, and spiked chiefly 3-androus flowers, one in the axil of each of the glume-like imbricated bracts (scales, glumes), destitute of any perianth, or with hypogynous bristles or scales in its place; the 1-celled ovary with a single erect anatropous ovule, in fruit forming an achene. Style 2-cleft with the fruit flattened or lenticular; or 3-cleft and fruit 3-angular. Embryo minute at the base of the somewhat floury albumen. Stem-leaves when present 3-ranked.—A large, widely diffused family.

I. Flowers all perfect, rarely some of them with stamens or pistal abortive; spikes all of one sort.

Tribe I. SCIRPEÆ. Spikelets mostly many-flowered, with only 1 (rarely 2) of the lower scales empty.

[*] Scales of the spikelet strictly 2-ranked, conduplicate and keeled.

[+] Flowers destitute of bristles and of beak to the achene, inflorescence terminal.

1. Cyperus. Spikelets few–many-flowered, usually elongated or slender.

2. Kyllinga. Spikelets 1-flowered (but of 3 or 4 scales), glomerate in a sessile head.

[+][+] Flower furnished with bristles; achene beaked; inflorescence axillary.

3. Dulichium. Spikelets 6–10-flowered, slender, clustered on an axillary peduncle.

[*][*] Scales of the several–many-flowered spikelet imbricated all round (subdistichous in n. 5).

[+] Achene crowned with the bulbous persistent base of the style (usually deciduous in n. 7); flowers without inner scales (bractlets).

[++] Hypogynous bristles (perianth) generally present; culm naked.

4. Eleocharis. Spikelets solitary, terminating the culm. Stamens 3.

[++][++] Bristles always none; culm leafy.

5. Dichromena. Spikelets crowded into a leafy-involucrate head, laterally flattened, the scales more or less conduplicate and keeled. Many of the flowers imperfect or abortive.

6. Psilocarya. Spikelets in broad open cymes. Style almost wholly persistent.

7. Fimbristylis. Spikelets in an involucrate umbel. Culm leafy at base. Style usually wholly deciduous.

[+][+] Style not bulbous at base.

[++] Flowers without inner scales, but bristles generally present.

8. Scirpus. Spikelets solitary or clustered, or in a compound umbel, the stem often leafy at base and inflorescence involucrate. Barbed bristles 3–8 or none. Stamens mostly 3.

9. Eriophorum. As Scirpus, but the bristles naked, exserted and often silky in fruit. Stamens 1–3.

[++][++] Flower with one or more inner scales.

10. Fuirena. Scales of the spikelet awned below the apex. Flower surrounded by 3 stalked petal-like scales alternating with 3 bristles.

11. Hemicarpha. Flower with a single very minute hyaline scale next the axis of the spikelet; bristles none.

12. Lipocarpha. Flower enclosed by 2 inner scales, one next the axis, the other in front of the achene; bristles none.

Tribe II. RHYNCHOSPOREÆ. Spikelets mostly 1–2-flowered, with 2–many of the lower scales empty.

13. Rhynchospora. Spikelets terete or flattish; scales convex, either loosely enwrapping or regularly imbricated. Achene crowned with a persistent tubercle or beak, and commonly surrounded by bristles.

14. Cladium. Spikelets terete, few-flowered, the scales, etc., as in the preceding. Achene destitute of tubercle. No bristles.

II. Flowers unisexual.

Tribe III. SCLERIEÆ. Flowers monœcious; the staminate and pistillate in the same or in different clustered spikes. Achene naked, bony or crustaceous, supported on a hardened disk.

15. Sclerlia. Spikes few-flowered; lower scales empty. No bristles or inner scales.

Tribe IV. CARICEÆ. Flowers monœcious in the same (androgynous) or in separate spikes or sometimes diœcious. Achene enclosed in a sac (perigynium).

16. Carex. Hypogynous bristle short and enclosed in the perigynium or none.

1. CYPÈRUS, Tourn. Galingale. (Pl. 1.)

Spikelets many–few-flowered, mostly flat, variously arranged, mostly in clusters or heads, which are commonly disposed in a simple or compound terminal umbel. Scales 2-ranked, conduplicate and keeled (their decurrent base below often forming margins or wings to the hollow of the joint of the axis next below), deciduous when old. Stamens 1–3. No bristles or inner scales. Style 2–3-cleft, deciduous. Achene lenticular or triangular, naked at the apex.—Culms mostly triangular, simple, leafy at base, and with one or more leaves at the summit, forming an involucre to the umbel or head. Peduncles or rays unequal, sheathed at base. All flowering in late summer or autumn. (Κύπειρος, the ancient name.)

§ 1. PYCRÈUS. Achene lenticular, the edge turned to the rhachis; spikelet flattened, many flowered; rhachis narrow, not winged. Annuals.

[*] Umbel simple or capitate, rarely slightly compound.

1. C. flavéscens, L. Culms 4–10´ high, spikelets 5–8´´ long; involucre 3-leaved, very unequal; spikelets becoming linear, obtuse, clustered on the 2–4 very short rays (peduncles); scales obtuse, straw-yellow; stamens 3; achene shining, orbicular, its superficial cells oblong.—Low grounds, N. Eng. to Mich., Ill., and southward. (Eu., etc.)

2. C. diándrus, Torr. (Pl. 1, fig. 1–4.) Spikelets lance-oblong (3–9´´), scattered or clustered on the 2–5 very short or unequal rays; scales rather obtuse, purple-brown on the margins or nearly all over; stamens 2, or sometimes 3; achene dull, oblong-obovate; otherwise much like the last.—Low grounds, common from the Atlantic to Minn., Ark., and N. Mex.—Var. castàneus, Torr. Scales more firm and browner; with the type.

3. C. Nuttàllii, Torr. Culms 4–12´ high; spikelets lance-linear, acute and very flat (½–1´ long), crowded on the few usually very short (or some of them distinct) rays; scales oblong, yellowish-brown, rather loose; stamens 2; achene oblong-obovate, very blunt, dull.—Mostly in salt or brackish marshes, along the coast from Mass. to the Gulf.

4. C. polystàchyus, Rottb., var. leptostàchyus, Boeckl. Culms very slender, 6–15´ high; leaves and elongated involucre very narrow; spikelets few to many on the 4–8 rays, linear, acute, 2–9´´ long; scales thin, ovate, acute, closely imbricated, pale brown; stamens 2; achene linear-oblong or clavate, short-pointed, grayish and minutely pitted. (C. microdontus, Torr.)—Margins of ponds and streams, Va. to Fla. and Tex.

[*][*] Umbel compound.

5. C. flavícomus, Vahl. Culm stout (1–3° high); leaves of the involucre 3–5, very long; spikelets linear (4–9´´ long), spiked and crowded on the whole length of the branches of the several-rayed umbel, spreading; scales oval, very obtuse, yellowish and brownish, broadly scarious- (whitish-) margined; stamens 3; achene obovate, mucronate, blackish.—Low grounds, Va. to Fla.

§ 2. CYPERUS proper. Achene triangular; spikelets usually many-flowered, more or less flattened, with carinate scales, the rhachis marginless or nearly so (winged in n. 12).

[*] Stamen 1; spikelets short and small (1½–5´´ long) in globular heads, ovate or linear-oblong, many-flowered; achene oblong-obovate to linear.

[+] Low annuals; involucre 2–3-leaved; heads few; scales pointed.

6. C. aristàtus, Rottb. Dwarf (1–5´ high); spikelets chestnut-brown, oblong becoming linear, 7–13-flowered, in 1–5 ovate heads (sessile and clustered, or short-peduncled); scales nerved, tapering to a long recurved point; achene oblong-obovate, obtuse. (C. inflexus, Muhl.)—Sandy wet shores; common. Sweet-scented in drying.

7. C. acuminàtus, Torr. Slender (3–12´ high); spikelets ovate, becoming oblong, 16–30-flowered, pale; scales obscurely 3-nerved, short-tipped; achene oblong, pointed at both ends.—Low ground, Ill. and southwestward.

[+][+] Tall perennial (1–4° high); heads many, greenish; scales pointless.

8. C. calcaràtus, Nees. Culm obtusely triangular; leaves and involucre very long, keeled; umbel compound, many-rayed; spikelets ovate (1½´´ long), in numerous small heads; achenes pale, linear, on a slender stipe; scales narrow, acutish, obscurely 3-nerved. (C. virens, Gray, in part; not Michx. C. Luzulæ, var. umbellatus, Britt.)—Wet places, Del. to Fla. and Tex.

[*][*] Stamens 3 (2 in C. fuscus); spikelets clustered on the rays of a simple umbel (or in a single sessile head); scales mostly green or greenish and many-nerved, abruptly sharp-pointed; achene obovate, sharply triangular.

[+] Low annuals.

9. C. Compréssus, L. Culms 3–9´ high, with a simple sessile or a few umbellate clusters of oblong to linear spikelets (15–30-flowered and 3–8´´ long) with crowded strongly keeled and very acute pale scales.—Sterile fields along the coast, Md. to Fla. and Tex.; also adventive near Philadelphia.

C. fúscus, L. Of similar habit; spikelets much smaller (2–4´´ long), the thin brown scales (greenish only on the keel) barely acutish and very faintly nerved.—Revere Beach, Mass. (Young); on ballast at Philadelphia. (Adv. from Eu.)

[+][+] Perennial, propagating from hard clustered corms or bulb-like tubers.

10. C. Schweinítzii, Torr. Culm rough on the angles (1–2° high); umbel 4–8-rayed, rays very unequal, erect; spikelets loosely or somewhat remotely 6–12-flowered, with convex many-nerved scales; joints narrowly winged.—Dry sandy shores and ridges, western N. Y. and Penn. to Minn. and Kan.

11. C. filicúlmis, Vahl. Culm slender, wiry, often reclined (8–15´ high); leaves linear (½–2´´ wide) or filiform; spikelets numerous and clustered in one sessile dense head, or in 1–7 additional looser heads on spreading rays of an irregular umbel; joints of the axis naked; scales blunt, greenish.—Dry sterile soil; common, especially southward.

12. C. Gràyii, Torr. Culm thread-form, wiry (6–12´ high); leaves almost bristle-shaped, channelled; umbel simple, 4–6-rayed; spikes 5–10 in a loose head, spreading; joints of the axis winged; scales rather obtuse, greenish-chestnut-color.—Barren sands, Plymouth, Mass., to N. J., near the coast.

§ 3. PAPỲRUS. Style 3-cleft; achene triangular; stamens 3; spikelets many-flowered, flattened, the carinate scales decurrent upon the rhachis as scarious wings; spikes in simple or compound umbels.

[*] Wings of the rhachis soon separating to the base as a pair of free scales; annual.

13. C. erythrorhìzos, Muhl. (Pl. 1, fig. 5–8.) Culm obtusely triangular (3´–3° high); umbel many-rayed; involucre 4–5-leaved, very long; involucels bristle-form; spikelets very numerous, crowded in oblong or cylindrical nearly sessile heads or spikes, spreading horizontally, linear, flattish (3–6´´ long), bright chestnut-colored; scales lanceolate, mucronulate.—Alluvial banks, L. I. to Penn., Mich., Minn., and southward; also adventive in N. Eng.

[*][*] Wings of the rhachis persistently attached; perennial by slender running rootstocks.

[+] Achene round-obovate; scales mucronate or acute, free or spreading.

14. C. Háspan, L. Culms sharply angled (1–1½° high); leaves linear, often reduced to membranous sheaths; umbel spreading, the filiform rays mostly longer than the 2-leaved involucre; spikelets narrowly linear; scales light reddish-brown, oblong, mucronate, 3-nerved.—Ponds and ditches, Va. to Fla. and Tex.

15. C. dentàtus, Torr. (Pl. 1, fig. 9.) Culms slender (1° high); leaves rigid and keeled; umbel erect, shorter than the 3–4-leaved involucre; scales reddish-brown, with green keel, ovate, acute, 7-nerved.—Sandy swamps, N. Eng. and northern N. Y. to S. C. and W. Va. Spikes often abortive and changed into leafy tufts.

[+][+] Achene linear to oblong; scales appressed, pointless or nearly so.

[++] Perennial by tuberiferous stolons.

16. C. rotúndus, L. (Nut-grass.) Culm slender (½–1½° high), longer than the leaves; umbel simple or slightly compound, about equalling the involucre; the few rays each bearing 4–9 dark chestnut-purple 12–40-flowered acute spikelets (4–9´´ long); scales ovate, closely appressed, nerveless except on the keel.—Sandy fields, Va. to Fla. and Tex.; also adventive near Philadelphia and New York city. (Eu.)

17. C. esculéntus, L. Culm (1–2½° high) equalling the leaves; umbel often compound, 4–7-rayed, much shorter than the long involucre; spikelets numerous, light chestnut or straw-color, acutish, 12–30-flowered (4–7´´ long); scales ovate or ovate-oblong narrowly scarious-margined, nerved, the acutish tips rather loose; achene oblong-obovate. (C. phymatodes, Muhl.)—Low grounds, along rivers, etc., N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn, and Tex.; spreading extensively by its small nut-like tubers and becoming a pest in cultivated grounds.

[++][++] Perennial, propagating by corm-like tubers from the base; spikelets narrow, acuminate, often teretish; scales oblong-lanceolate; achene linear-oblong.

18. C. strigòsus, L. Culm mostly stout (1–3° high); most of the rays of the umbel elongated (1–5´), their sheaths 2-bristled; spikelets 5–25-flowered, spreading; scales several-nerved, much longer than the achene.—Damp or fertile soil, Canada to Fla., west to Minn., Tex., and the Pacific. Very variable in the number and length of the rays of the simple or compound umbel, and in the size of the spikelets (2½–6 or even 12´´ long), more or less densely crowded on the axis.

§ 4. DICLÍDIUM. Style 3-cleft; spikelets narrow, terete or nearly so, few–many-flowered, the scales closely appressed and the broad wings of the jointed rhachis enclosing the triangular achene.

19. C. speciòsus, Vahl. Culm stout, mostly low (5–20´ high); rays of the simple or compound umbel mostly all short and crowded; spikelets 10–20-flowered, yellowish-brown at maturity (3–7´´ long), the short joints of its axis winged with very broad scaly margins which embrace the ovate triangular achene; the scales ovate, obtusish, imbricately overlapping. (C. Michauxianus, Gray, Manual; not Schultes.)—Low grounds and sandy banks, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and Tex.

20. C. Engelmánni, Steud. Resembles n. 19; but the spikelets more slender and terete, somewhat remotely 5–15-flowered, the zigzag joints of the axis slender and narrowly winged, and the oblong or oval broadly scarious scales proportionally shorter, so as to expose a part of the axis of each joint, the successive scales not reaching the base of the one above on the same side; achene oblong-linear, very small.—Low grounds, Mass. to Wisc. and southward.

§ 5. MARÍSCUS. Spikelets 1–4-flowered, subterete, usually in dense heads; scales oppressed, several-nerved, the lower empty and often persistent after the fall of the rest of the spikelet; joints of the rhachis winged, enclosing the triangular achene. Perennial.

[*] Spikelets slender and acuminate, more or less refracted in usually close umbelled spikes.—Connecting with § 4.

21. C. Lancastriénsis, Porter. Culm (1–2° high) triangular; leaves rather broadly linear; umbel of 6–9 mostly elongated rays; spikelets very numerous in short-oblong close heads, soon reflexed, of 3–6 narrow scales, the upper and lower empty, twice the length of the linear-oblong achene, which is nearly 1´´ long.—Rich soil, Penn. and N. J. to Ala.

22. C. retrofráctus, Torr. Culm and leaves usually minutely downy and rough on the obtusish angles (1–3° high); umbel many-rayed; spikelets slender-awl-shaped, very numerous in obovate or oblong heads terminating the elongated rays, soon strongly reflexed, 1–2-flowered in the middle (3–5´´ long); scales usually 4 or 5, the two lowest ovate and empty, the fertile lanceolate and pointed, the uppermost involute-awl-shaped; achene linear, 1¼´´ long.—Sandy fields, N. J. to Fla. and Tex.

23. C. refráctus, Engelm. Culm 1–2° high; rays usually more or less elongated; spikelets very slender, in rather loose heads, divaricate or more or less reflexed, 2–4-flowered; achene linear, 1¼´´ long.—N. J. to N. C. and Mo.

[*][*] Spikelets very short, blunt, in densely compacted globose or cylindrical heads.

24. C. ovulàris, Torr. Culm sharply triangular (6´–2° high); umbel 1–6-rayed; spikelets (50–100) in a globular head, 3-flowered, oblong, blunt (1½–2´´ long); scales ovate, obtuse, a little longer than the ovate-oblong achene.—Sandy dry soil, southern N. Y. to Fla., west to Ill., Ark., and Tex.—Var. robústus, Boeckl., is a form with large heads (4–8´´ long), the spikelets 3–4-flowered. (C. Wolfii, Wood.)—Ill. to Ark., and southward.

25. C. Torrèyi, Britton. Like the last, but the heads cylindrical or oblong, spikelets usually 2-flowered, and achene linear-oblong.—L. Island to Fla., west to Tex.

2. KYLLÍNGA, Rottboell. (Pl. 1.)

Spikelets of 3 or 4 two-ranked scales, 1–1½-flowered; the 2 lower scales minute and empty, as in Cyperus, § 4, but style oftener 2-cleft and achene lenticular; spikes densely aggregated in solitary or triple sessile heads.—Culms leafy at base; involucre 3-leaved. (Named after Peter Kylling, a Danish botanist of the 17th century.)

1. K. pùmila, Michx. Annual; culms 2–9´ high; head globular or 3-lobed, whitish-green (about 4´´ broad), spikelets strictly 1-flowered; upper scales ovate, pointed, rough on the keel; stamens and styles 2; leaves linear.—Low grounds, Ohio to Ill., south to Fla. and Tex. Aug.

3. DULÍCHIUM, Pers. (Pl. 1.)

Spikelets many- (6–10-) flowered, linear, flattened, sessile in 2 ranks on axillary solitary peduncles emerging from the sheaths of the leaves; scales 2-ranked, lanceolate, decurrent, forming flat wing-like margins on the joint below. Perianth of 6–9 downwardly barbed bristles. Stamens 3. Style 2-cleft above. Achene flattened, linear-oblong, beaked with the long persistent style.—A perennial herb, with a terete simple hollow culm (1–2° high), jointed and leafy to the summit; leaves short and flat, linear, 3-ranked. (An alteration of Dulcichinum, an old name for a species of Cyperus.)

1. D. spathàceum, Pers.—Borders of ponds, N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn. and Tex. July–Sept.

4. ELEÓCHARIS, R. Br. Spike-Rush. (Pl. 3.)

Spikelet single, terminating the naked culm, many–several-flowered. Scales imbricated all round in many (rarely in 2 or 3) ranks. Perianth of 3–12 (commonly 6) bristles, usually rough or barbed downward, rarely obsolete. Stamens 2–3. Style 2–3-cleft, its bulbous base persistent as a tubercle jointed upon the apex of the lenticular or triangular achene.—Leafless, chiefly perennial, with tufted culms sheathed at the base, from matted or creeping root-stocks; flowering in summer. (Name from ἕλος, a marsh, and χαίρω to delight in; being marsh plants.)

§ 1. Spikelet terete, hardly if at all thicker than the spongy-cellular culm; scales firmly persistent; style mostly 3-cleft; bristles 6 (rarely 7), firm or rigid, mostly barbed downward, equalling or surpassing the triangular or lenticular achene.

[*] Spikelet linear or lanceolate-awl-shaped, few-flowered; scales (only 3–9) few-ranked, convolute-clasping the long flattened joints of the axis, lanceolate, herbaceous (green) and several-nerved on the back, and with thin scarious margins.

1. E. Robbínsii, Oakes. Flower-bearing culms exactly triangular, rather stout, erect (8´–2° high), also producing tufts of capillary abortive stems or fine leaves, which float in the water; sheath obliquely truncate; spikelet 4–10´´ long; achene oblong-obovate, triangular, minutely reticulated, about half the length of the bristles, tipped with a flattened awl-shaped tubercle.—Shallow water, N. Eng. to Fla.

[*][*] Spikelet cylindrical, many-flowered, 1–2´ long; scales in several ranks, firm-coriaceous with scarious margin, pale, nerveless or faintly striate; culms large and stout (2–4° high); basal sheaths often leaf-bearing.

2. E. equisetoìdes, Torr. Culm terete, knotted as if jointed by many cross-partitions; achene smooth (the minute reticulation transversely linear-rectangular), with a conical-beaked tubercle.—Shallow water, R. I. to Fla., west to Mich. and Tex.

3. E. quadrangulàta, R. Br. (Pl. 3, fig. 6–9.) Culm continuous and sharply 4-angled; achene finely reticulated, with a conical flattened distinct tubercle.—Shallow water, central N. Y. to Mich., and southward; rare.

§ 2. Spikelet terete and turgid-ovate, much thicker than the very slender culm; scales thin-coriaceous or firm-membranaceous, persistent, ovate; style 3-cleft; bristles stout, barbed downward (or sometimes upward), as long as the striate and pitted-reticulated triangular achene and its tubercle; culms tufted from fibrous roots, 1–2° high.

4. E. tuberculòsa, R. Br. (Pl. 3, fig. 10.) Culms flattish, striate; spikelet 3–6´´ long, many-flowered; tubercle flattish-cap-shaped, as large as the body of the achene.—Wet sandy soil, from Mass. along the coast to Fla.

5. E. tórtilis, Schult. Culms sharply triangular, capillary, twisting when dry; spikelet 2–3´´ long, few-flowered; conical-beaked tubercle much smaller than the achene. (E. simplex, Torr.)—Eastern shore of Md. to Fla.

§ 3. Spikelets terete, much thicker than the culm, many-flowered; scales imbricated in many or more than 3 ranks, thin-membranaceous or scarious, with a thicker midrib, usually brownish or purplish, sometimes deciduous.

[*] Style 2-cleft (often 3-cleft in n. 7 and 10) and the smooth achene lenticular; culms slender or thread-form, terete or compressed.

[+] Annuals; culms tufted, from fibrous roots.

6. E. capitàta, R. Br. Culms terete, ¼–8´ high or more; spikelets ovate to oblong (1–3´´ long), obtuse, 15–40-flowered; scales thickish, round-ovate, obtuse, brown or brownish with green keel and paler margins; stamens 2; achene obovate, black, about equalling the 6–8 bristles, tipped with a flattened or saucer-shaped tubercle. (E. dispar, E. J. Hill.)—In sand or gravel near sloughs, Md. (Canby) to Fla. and Tex.; N. Ind. (Hill). (S. Am., etc.)

7. E. ovàta, R. Br. Culms nearly terete, 8–14´ high; spikelet globose-ovoid to ovate-oblong, obtuse, 1–6´´ long (dull brown); scales very obtuse, densely crowded in many ranks; style 3- (rarely 2-) cleft; achene obovate with narrow base, pale-brownish, shining, shorter than the 6–8 bristles, broader than the short-deltoid, acute and flattened tubercle. (E. obtusa, Schult.)—Muddy places, N. Brunswick to Minn., south and westward. Variable as to the length of its bristles. A low form, with smaller and more narrowly obovate achenes, and the bristles very short or none, is E. diandra, Wright. A dwarf form occurs with very small and few-flowered heads. (Eu.)

8. E. Engelmánni, Steud. Like the last; spikelets usually narrowly cylindrical and acute or acutish, 2–8´´ long; achene broad and truncate, the tubercle covering the summit; bristles not exceeding the achene. (E. obtusa, var. detonsa, Gray.)—Mass. to Penn. and Mo.

[+][+] Perennials, with running rootstocks.

9. E. olivàcea, Torr. (Pl. 2, fig. 1–5.) Culms flattish, grooved, diffusely tufted on slender matted rootstocks (2–4´ high); spikelet ovate, acutish, 20–30-flowered; scales ovate, obtuse, rather loosely imbricated (purple with a green midrib and slightly scarious margins); achene obovate, dull, abruptly beaked with a narrow tubercle, shorter than the 6–8 bristles.—Wet, sandy soil, Mass. to N. C., and western N. Y.

10. E. palsútris, R. Br. Culms nearly terete, striate, 1–5° high; spikelet oblong-lanceolate, pointed, many-flowered; scales ovate-oblong, loosely imbricated, reddish-brown with a broad and translucent whitish margin and a greenish keel, the upper acutish, the lowest rounded and often enlarged; achene rather narrowly obovate, somewhat shining, crowned with a short ovate or ovate-triangular flattened tubercle, shorter than the usually 4 bristles.—Very common, either in water, when it is pretty stout and tall, or in wet grassy grounds, when it is slender and lower. (Eu., Asia.)—Var. glaucéscens, Gray. Culms slender or filiform; tubercle narrower, acute, beak-like, sometimes half as long as the achene. With the type.—Var. cálva, Gray. Bristles none; tubercle short, but narrower than in the type.—Var. vìgens, L. H. Bailey. Culms very stout, rigid; achene more broadly obovoid. Lake Champlain and along the Great Lakes to Minn.

[*][*] Achene triangular or turgid; style 3-cleft.

[+] Bristles at least equalling the smooth achene, downwardly barbed, persistent.

11. E. rostellàta, Torr. Culms flattened and striate-grooved, wiry, erect (1–2½° high), the sterile ones reclining, rooting and proliferous from the apex (1–2° high), the sheath transversely truncate; spikelet spindle-shaped, 12–20-flowered; scales ovate, obtuse (light-brown); achene obovate-triangular, narrowed into the confluent pyramidal tubercle, which is overtopped by the 4–6 bristles.—Marshes, N. Eng. to S. C., west to Mich. and Ky.

12. E. intermèdia, Schultes. Culms capillary, wiry, striate-grooved, densely tufted from fibrous roots, diffusely spreading or reclining (6–12´ long); spikelet oblong-ovate, acutish, loosely 10–20-flowered (2–3´´ long); scales oblong, obtuse, green-keeled, the sides purplish-brown; achene obovoid with a narrowed base, beaked with a slender conical-awl-shaped distinct tubercle, which nearly equals the 6 bristles.—Wet slopes, Penn. to Iowa, north to Canada.

13. E. Torreyàna, Boeckl. Like the preceding, but more capillary and heads smaller (1½–2´´ long), sometimes proliferous, the one or more short new culms from the axil of its lowest scale, which persists as an herbaceous bract; achene very much smaller, with sharper angles and a short conical tubercle, which is hardly equalled by the 3–6 slender bristles. (E. microcarpa, var. filiculmis, Torr.)—Wet pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla.

(Addendum) 13a. E. álbida, Torr. Like n. 12 and 13 in habit, somewhat stouter; spikelet dense, ellipsoidal or oblong, 1–4´´ long, acutish, with pale obtuse scales; achene very small, triangular-obovate, very smooth, with a broadly triangular tubercle upon a narrow base, shorter than or exceeding the reddish bristles.—Salt marshes, Northampton Co., Va. (Canby), and south to Fla. and Tex.

[+][+] Bristles 2–4, shorter than the achene, slender and fragile, or none.

14. E. ténuis, Schultes. Culms almost capillary, erect from running rootstocks, 4-angular and flattish (1° high), the sides concave; spikelet elliptical, acutish, 20–30-flowered (3´´ long); scales ovate, obtuse, chestnut-purple with a broad scarious margin and green keel; achene obovate, roughish-wrinkled, crowned with a small depressed tubercle, persistent after the fall of the scales; bristles ½ as long as the achene or none.—N. Scotia to N. C., Minn., and Mo. June.

15. E. compréssa, Sullivant. Culms flat, striate, tufted, erect (1–2° high); spikelet ovate-oblong, or at length lanceolate, 20–30-flowered (4–7´´ long); scales lanceolate-ovate, acute, dark purple with broad white pellucid margins and summit; achene yellowish, obovate-pear-shaped, obtusely triangular, wrinkled, crowned with a small conical and pointed tubercle; bristles 1–4, very slender, fragile, shorter than or equalling the achene (sometimes none or a single rudiment).—Wet places, N. Y. and Ont. to Minn. and Mo.

16. E. melanocárpa, Torr. Culms flattened, grooved, wiry, erect (9–18´ high); spikelet cylindrical-ovoid or oblong, thick, obtuse, densely many-flowered (3–6´´ long); scales closely many-ranked, roundish-ovate, very obtuse, brownish with broad scarious margins; achene smooth, obovate-top-shaped, obtusely triangular, the broad summit entirely covered like a lid by the flat depressed tubercle, which is raised in the centre into a short abrupt triangular point; bristles often obsolete; achene soon blackish.—Wet sand, Mass. to Fla.

17. E. tricostàta, Torr. Culms flattish (1–2° high); spikelet soon cylindrical, densely many-flowered (6–9´´ long), thickish; scales ovate, very obtuse, rusty brown, with broad scarious margins; achene obovate, with 3 prominent thickened angles, minutely rough-wrinkled, crowned with a short-conical acute tubercle; bristles none.—N. J. to Fla.

18. E. Wólfii, Gray. Culms slender (1° high), from very small creeping rhizomes, 2-edged; spikelet ovate-oblong, acute; scales ovate-oblong, obtuse, scarious, pale purple; achene pyriform, shining, with 9 nearly equidistant obtuse ribs and transverse wrinkles between them; tubercle depressed, truncate, more or less apiculate; bristles not seen.—Wet prairies, N. Iowa and S. Minn.

§ 4. Spikelet more or less flattened, thicker than the slender or capillary culm, few–many-flowered; the thin membranaceous scales somewhat 2–3-ranked; style 3-cleft; bristles of the perianth 3–6, fragile or fugacious. Small or delicate species, differing from the last division chiefly in the flattish spikelets.

[*] Tubercle contracted at its junction with the achene.

19. E. aciculàris, R. Br. Culms finely capillary (2–8´ long), more or less 4-angular; spikelet 3–9-flowered; scales ovate-oblong, rather obtuse (greenish with purple sides); achene obovate-oblong, with 3-ribbed angles and 2–3 times as many smaller intermediate ribs, also transversely striate, longer than the 3–4 very fugacious bristles; tubercle conical-triangular.—Muddy shores, across the continent. (Eu., Asia.)

20. E. pygmæ̀a, Torr. Culms bristle like, flattened and grooved (1–2´ high); spikelet ovate, 3–8-flowered; scales ovate (greenish), the upper rather acute; achene ovoid, acutely triangular, smooth and shining, tipped with a minute tubercle; bristles mostly longer than the fruit, sometimes wanting.—Brackish marshes, from N. Brunswick to Fla.

[*][*] Tubercle continuous with the nutlet and not contracted at base.

21. E. pauciflòra, Link. Culms striate-angled, very slender (3–9´ high), scarcely tufted, on slender running rootstocks, with a short truncate sheath at base; scales of the ovate spikelet evidently 2-ranked, chestnut-brown, pointless, all flower-bearing, the two lower larger; bristles 3–6, about as long as the conspicuously beaked triangular achene. (Scirpus pauciflorus, Lightfoot.)—Wet places, N. Y. to N. Ill. and Minn., north and westward. (Eu., Asia.)

5. DICHRÒMENA, Richard. (Pl. 4.)

Spikelets aggregated in a terminal leafy-involucrate head, more or less compressed, few-flowered, all but 3 or 4 of the flowers usually imperfect or abortive. Scales imbricated somewhat in 2 ranks, more or less conduplicate or boat-shaped, keeled, white or whitish. Stamens 3. Style 2-cleft. Perianth, bristles, etc., none. Achene lenticular, wrinkled transversely, crowned with the persistent and broad tubercled base of the style.—Culms leafy, from creeping perennial rootstocks; the leaves of the involucre mostly white at the base (whence the name, from δίς, double, and χρῶμα, color).

1. D. leucocéphala, Michx. Culm triangular (1–2° high); leaves narrow; those of the involucre 4–7; achene truncate, not margined.—Damp pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. Aug., Sept.

2. D. latifòlia, Baldwin. (Pl. 4, fig. 1–5.) Culm stouter, nearly terete; leaves broadly linear, those of the involucre 8 or 9, tapering from base to apex; achene round-obovate, faintly wrinkled, the tubercle decurrent on its edges.—Low pine-barrens, Va. to Fla.

6. PSILOCÁRYA, Torr. Bald-rush. (Pl. 4.)

Spikelets ovoid, terete, the numerous scales all alike and regularly imbricated, each with a perfect flower. Perianth (bristles) wholly wanting. Stamens mostly 2. Style 2-cleft, its base or the greater part of it enlarging and hardening to form the beak of the lenticular or tumid more or less wrinkled achene.—Annuals, with leafy culms, the spikelets in terminal and axillary cymes. (Name from ψιλός, naked, and καρύα, nut.)

1. P. scirpoìdes, Torr. Annual (4–10´ high), leafy; leaves flat; spikelets 20–30-flowered; scales oblong-ovate, acute, chestnut-colored; achene somewhat margined, beaked with a sword-shaped almost wholly persistent style. (Rhynchospora scirpoides, Gray.)—Inundated places, S. N. Eng.

7. FIMBRÍSTYLIS, Vahl. (Pl. 3.)

Spikelets several–many-flowered, terete; scales all floriferous, regularly imbricated in several ranks. Perianth (bristles, etc.) none. Stamens 1–3. Style 2–3-cleft, often with a dilated or tumid base, which is deciduous (except in n. 4) from the apex of the naked lenticular or triangular achene. Otherwise as in Scirpus.—Culms leafy at base. Spikelets in our species umbelled, and the involucre 2–3-leaved. (Name compounded of fimbria, a fringe, and stylus, style, which is fringed with hairs in the genuine species.)

[*] Style 2-cleft, flattened and ciliate; achene lenticular; tubercle soon deciduous; spikelets many-flowered.

1. F. spadícea, Vahl, var. castànea, Gray. Culms (1–2½° high) tufted from a perennial root, rigid, as are the thread-form convolute-channelled leaves, smooth; spikelets ovate-oblong becoming cylindrical, dark chestnut-color (2´´ thick); stamens 2 or 3; achene very minutely striate and reticulated.—Salt marshes along the coast, N. Y. and N. J. to Fla. July–Sept.—Scales lighter colored than in the tropical form.

2. F. láxa, Vahl. (Pl. 3, fig. 1–5.) Culms slender (2–12´ high) from an annual root, weak, grooved and flattish; leaves linear, flat, ciliate-denticulate, glaucous, sometimes hairy; spikelets ovate, acute (3´´ long); stamen 1; achene conspicuously 6–8-ribbed on each side, and with finer cross-lines.—Low ground, Penn. to Fla., west to Ill. and La. July–Sept.

[*][*] Style 3-cleft and achene triangular; tubercle soon deciduous; spikelets smaller and fewer-flowered.

3. F. autumnàlis, Roem. & Schult. (Pl. 3, fig. 6–9.) Annual (3–16´ high), in tufts; culms flat, slender, diffuse or erect; leaves flat, acute; umbel compound; spikelets oblong, acute (1–2´´ long), single or 2–3 in a cluster; scales ovate-lanceolate, mucronate; stamens 1–3.—Low grounds, Maine to Fla., west to Ill. and La.

[*][*][*] Style 3-cleft, filiform and not ciliate; achene acutely triangular; tubercle more or less persistent.

4. F. capillàris, Gray. Low annual, densely tufted (3–9´ high); culm and leaves nearly capillary, the latter short; umbel compound or panicled; spikelets (2´´ long) ovoid-oblong; stamens 2; achene minutely wrinkled, very obtuse.—Sandy fields, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., Tex., and the Pacific.

F. Váhlii, Link (F. congesta, Torr.), a diminutive southern species, with long filiform leaves, sessile capitate spikelets, narrow acuminate scales, and the style 2-cleft and not ciliate, has been found in ballast-sand along the northern coast.

8. SCÍRPUS, Tourn. Bulrush or Club-Rush. (Pl. 3.)

Spikelets several–many-flowered, solitary or in a terminal cluster which is subtended by a 1–several-leaved involucre (this when simple often appearing like a continuation of the culm), terete, the scales being regularly imbricated all round in many or several ranks, or rarely somewhat compressed and the fewer scales inclining to be 2-ranked. Flowers to all the scales, or to all but one or two of the lowest, all perfect. Perianth of 3–6 mostly retrorsely barbed or ciliate bristles (not elongated), or sometimes wanting. Stamens mostly 3. Style 2–3-cleft, simple, not bulbous at base, wholly deciduous, or sometimes leaving a tip or point to the lenticular or triangular achene.—Culms sheathed at base; the sheaths usually leaf-bearing. Mostly perennials; flowering in summer. (The Latin name of the Bulrush.)

[*] Spikelets solitary, few-flowered, small, often flattish; achene triangular, smooth.

[+] Involucre a short awl-shaped bract; culms tufted (3–12´ high), filiform.

1. S. cæspitòsus, L. Culms terete, wiry, densely sheathed at base, in compact turfy tufts; the upper sheath bearing a very short awl-shaped leaf; spikelet ovoid, rusty-color; involucral bract a rigid-pointed scale, resembling the lowest proper scale of the spikelet and scarcely surpassing it; bristles 6, smooth, longer than the abruptly short-pointed achene.—Coast of Maine, alpine summits of N. Eng., swamps of northern N. Y., N. Ill., Minn., and northward; also on Roan Mt., N. C. (Eu.)

2. S. Clintònii, Gray. Culms acutely triangular, almost bristle-like; sheaths at the base bearing a very slender almost bristle-shaped leaf shorter (usually very much shorter) than the culm; involucral bract awl-shaped, mostly shorter than the chestnut-colored ovate spikelet, which has pointless scales; otherwise as the next.—Rather dry plains, N. Y. June.

3. S. planifòlius, Muhl. Culms triangular, leafy at base; leaves linear, flat, as long as the culm, and like it rough-edged; involucral bract a bristle-tipped scale usually overtopping the ovate or oblong chestnut-colored spikelet, the green midrib of the scales extended into sharp points; bristles upwardly hairy, as long as the pointless achene.—Dry or moist ground, N. Eng. to Del., west to western N. Y. and Penn.; W. Mo. (B. F. Bush.).

[+][+] One-leaved involucre more conspicuous, and as if continuing the culm.

4. S. subterminàlis, Torr. Aquatic; culms (1–3° long, thickish-filiform) partly and the shorter filiform leaves wholly submersed, cellular; the filiform green bract 6–12´´ long, much surpassing the oblong spikelet; scales somewhat pointed; bristles 6, bearded downward, rather shorter than the abruptly-pointed achene.—Slow streams and ponds, N. Eng. to N. J., west to Mich. and N. Ind.—Var. terréstris, Paine; less tall, with firmer stem and leaves, and fruiting spike more turgid. Growing chiefly emersed; Herkimer Co., N. Y.

[*][*] Spikelets clustered (rarely only one), appearing lateral, the one-leaved involucre resembling and seeming to be a continuation of the naked culm.

[+] Culm sharply triangular, stout, chiefly from running rootstocks; spikelets many-flowered, rusty brown, closely sessile in one cluster; sheaths at base more or less leaf-bearing.