The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 112

[*] _Flowers (middle-sized) in a terminal leafy panicle; corolla without marks._

L. VULGaRIS, L., a coa.r.s.e and tall European species, p.u.b.escent and branching, with ovate-lanceolate distinctly petioled leaves, and glandular filaments united to near the middle.--Naturalized in a few places in E. Ma.s.s.

[*][*] _Flowers (small) in a virgate terminal raceme or in the upper axils; corolla dark-dotted or streaked; filaments conspicuously monadelphous, unequal._

1. L. quadriflia, L. Somewhat hairy; stem simple (1--2 high); _leaves whorled_ in fours or fives (sometimes in twos, threes, or sixes, rarely only opposite or partly alternate), ovate-lanceolate; _flowers_ on long capillary peduncles _from the axils of the leaves_; lobes of the corolla ovate-oblong.--Moist or sandy soil, N. Brunswick to Minn., and Ga. June.

2. L. stricta, Ait. Stems 1--2 high, often bearing oblong or moniliform bulblets in the axils; smooth, at length branched, very leafy; _leaves opposite_ or rarely alternate, lanceolate, acute at each end; _flowers_ on slender pedicels _in a long raceme_ (5--12'), leafy at base; lobes of the corolla lance-oblong.--Low grounds, Newf. to Minn., Ark., and N. Ga.

June--Aug.

[*][*][*] _Flowers (rather large) solitary in the axils of ordinary leaves; corolla not dark-dotted nor streaked; filaments slightly monadelphous._

L. NUMMULaRIA, L. (MONEYWORT.) Smooth; stems trailing and creeping; leaves roundish, small, short-petioled; peduncles axillary, 1-flowered; divisions of the corolla broadly ovate, obtuse, longer than the lance-ovate calyx-lobes and stamens.--Escaped from gardens into damp ground in some places. July--Sept. (Nat. from Eu.)

-- 2. NAUMBuRGIA. _Corolla very deeply 5- (or 6--7-) parted into linear divisions (somewhat purplish-dotted), with a small tooth in each sinus; filaments distinct, equal; leaves opposite, the lowest scale-like._

3. L. thyrsiflra, L. (TUFTED LOOSESTRIFE.) Smooth; stem simple (1--2 high); all but the lower leaves lanceolate, the axils of one or two middle pairs bearing short-peduncled head-like or spike-like cl.u.s.ters of small light yellow flowers.--Cold swamps, from Penn. to S. Ill., Iowa, and northwestward. June, July. (Eu.)

8. GLAuX, Tourn. SEA-MILKWORT.

Calyx bell-shaped, 5-cleft; lobes ovate, petal-like. Corolla wanting.

Stamens 5, on the base of the calyx, alternate with its lobes. Capsule 5-valved, few-seeded.--A low and leafy fleshy perennial, with opposite oblong and entire sessile leaves, and solitary nearly sessile (purplish and white) flowers in their axils. (An ancient Greek name, from ??a????, _sea-green_.)

1. G. maritima, L.--Sea-sh.o.r.e of N. Eng. from Cape Cod northward. Also in subsaline soil, Minn. to Neb., and westward. June. (Eu.)

9. ANAGaLLIS, Tourn. PIMPERNEL.

Calyx 5-parted. Corolla wheel-shaped, with almost no tube, 5-parted, longer than the calyx; the divisions broad. Stamens 5; filaments bearded. Capsule membranaceous, circ.u.mscissile, the top falling off like a lid, many-seeded.--Low, spreading or proc.u.mbent herbs, mostly annuals, with opposite or whorled entire leaves, and solitary flowers on axillary peduncles. (The ancient Greek name, probably from ???, _again_, and ??????, _to delight in_.)

A. ARVeNSIS, L. (COMMON PIMPERNEL.) Leaves ovate, sessile, shorter than the peduncles; petals obovate, obtuse, fringed with minute teeth or stalked glands.--Waste sandy fields. June--Aug.--Flowers variable in size, scarlet, sometimes purple, blue, or white, quickly closing at the approach of bad weather; whence the English popular name of "_Poor Man's Weather-gla.s.s_." (Nat. from Eu.)

10. CENTuNCULUS, Dill. CHAFFWEED.

Calyx 4--5-parted. Corolla shorter than the calyx, 4--5-cleft, wheel-shaped, with an urn-shaped short tube, usually withering on the summit of the pod (which is like that of Anagallis). Stamens 4 or 5; filaments beardless.--Small annuals, with alternate entire leaves, and solitary inconspicuous flowers in their axils. (Derivation obscure.)

1. C. minimus, L. Stems ascending (2--6' long); leaves ovate, obovate or spatulate-oblong; flowers nearly sessile, the parts mostly in fours.--Low grounds, from Ill. and Minn, to Fla. and Tex., and westward.

(Eu.)

11. SaMOLUS, Tourn. WATER PIMPERNEL. BROOK-WEED.

Calyx 5-cleft; the tube adherent to the base of the ovary. Corolla somewhat bell-shaped, 5-cleft, commonly with 5 sterile filaments in the sinuses. True stamens 5, on the corolla-tube, included. Capsule globose, 5-valved at the summit, many-seeded.--Smooth herbs, with alternate entire leaves, and small white racemed flowers. ("According to Pliny, an ancient Druidical name.")

1. S. Valerandi, L. Stem erect (6--12' high), leafy; leaves obovate or spatulate, the basal rosulate; bracts none; slender pedicels ascending, bracteolate in the middle. (Eu.)--Var. America.n.u.s, Gray. More slender, becoming diffuse; racemes often panicled, the pedicels longer and spreading.--Wet places, through the U. S. June--Sept.

ORDER 62. SAPOTaCEae. (SAPODILLA FAMILY.)

_Trees or shrubs, mostly with a milky juice, simple and entire alternate leaves (often rusty-downy beneath), small and perfect regular flowers usually in axillary cl.u.s.ters; the calyx free and persistent; the fertile stamens commonly as many as the lobes of the hypogynous short corolla and opposite them, inserted on its tube, along with one or more rows of appendages and scales (or sterile stamens); anthers turned outward; ovary 4--12-celled, with a single anatropous ovule in each cell; seeds large._--Alb.u.men mostly none; but the large embryo with thickened cotyledons. Style single, pointed.--A small, mostly tropical order, producing the Sapodilla or Star-apple, and some other edible fruits.

1. b.u.meLIA, Swartz.

Calyx 5-parted. Corolla 5-cleft, with a pair of internal appendages at each sinus. Fertile stamens 5; anthers arrow-shaped. Sterile stamens 5, petal-like, alternate with the lobes of the corolla. Ovary 5-celled.

Fruit small, resembling a cherry, black, containing a large ovoid and erect seed, with a roundish scar at its base.--Flowers small, white, in fascicles from the axils of the leaves. Branches often spiny. Leaves often fascicled on short spurs. Wood very hard. (The ancient name of a kind of Ash.)

1. B. lyciodes, Pers. (SOUTHERN BUCKTHORN.) Spiny (10--25 high); _leaves wedge-oblong varying to oval-lanceolate_, with a tapering base, often acute, _reticulated, nearly glabrous_ (2--4' long); _cl.u.s.ters densely many-flowered_, glabrous, fruit ovoid.--Moist ground, Va. to S. Ill., Fla., and Tex. May, June.

2. B. lanuginsa, Pers. Spiny (10--40 high); _leaves oblong-obovate or wedge-obovate, rusty-woolly beneath_, obtuse (1--3' long); _cl.u.s.ters 6--12-flowered_, p.u.b.escent; fruit globular.--Woods, S. Ill. to Fla. and Tex. July.

ORDER 63. EBENaCEae. (EBONY FAMILY.)

_Trees or shrubs, with alternate entire leaves, and polygamous regular flowers which have a calyx free from the 3--12-celled ovary; the stamens 2--4 times as many as the lobes of the corolla, often in pairs before them, their anthers turned inward, and the fruit a several-celled berry.

Ovules 1 or 2, suspended from the summit of each cell._ Seeds anatropous, mostly single in each cell, large and flat, with a smooth coriaceous integument; the embryo shorter than the hard alb.u.men, with a long radicle and flat cotyledons. Styles wholly or partly separate.--Wood hard and dark-colored. No milky juice.--A small family, chiefly tropical.

1. DIOSP?ROS, L. DATE-PLUM. PERSIMMON.

Calyx 4--6-lobed. Corolla 4--6-lobed, convolute in the bud. Stamens commonly 16 in the sterile flowers, and 8 in the fertile, in the latter imperfect. Berry large, globular, surrounded at base by the thickish calyx, 4--8-celled, 4--8-seeded.--Flowers diciously polygamous, the fertile axillary and solitary, the sterile smaller and often cl.u.s.tered.

(Name, ????, _of Jove_, and p????, _grain_.)

1. D. Virginiana, L. (COMMON PERSIMMON.) Leaves thickish, ovate-oblong, smooth or nearly so; peduncles very short; calyx 4-parted; corolla pale yellow, thickish, between bell-shaped and urn-shaped, 6--8" long in the fertile flowers, much smaller in the sterile; styles 4, two-lobed at the apex; ovary 8-celled.--Woods and old fields, R. I. and N. Y. to Iowa, and south to Fla. and La. June.--Tree 20--70 high, with very hard blackish wood; plum-like fruit 1' in diameter, exceedingly astringent when green, yellow when ripe, and sweet and edible after exposure to frost.

ORDER 64. STYRACaCEae. (STORAX FAMILY.)

_Shrubs or trees, with alternate simple leaves dest.i.tute of stipules, and perfect regular flowers; the calyx either free or adherent to the 2--5-celled ovary; the corolla of 4--8 petals, commonly more or less united at base; the stamens twice as many as the petals or more numerous, monadelphous or polyadelphous at base; style 1; fruit dry or drupe-like, 1--5-celled, the cells commonly 1-seeded._--Seeds anatropous. Embryo nearly the length of the alb.u.men; radicle slender, as long as or longer than the flat cotyledons. Corolla hypogynous when the calyx is free; the stamens adherent to its base. Ovules 2 or more in each cell.--A small family, mostly of warm countries, comprising two very distinct tribes.

Tribe I. STYRACEae. Calyx 4--8-toothed or entire. Stamens 2--4 times as many as the petals, in one series; anthers linear or oblong, adnate, introrse. Cotyledons flat.--Flowers white, handsome. p.u.b.escence soft and stellate.

1. Styrax. Calyx coherent only with the base of the 3-celled ovary.

Corolla mostly 5-parted. Fruit 1-celled, 1-seeded.

2. Halesia. Calyx coherent with the whole surface of the 2--4-celled ovary, which is 2--4-winged and 2--4-celled in fruit. Corolla 4-lobed.

Tribe II. SYMPLOCINEae. Calyx 5-cleft, imbricate. Stamens in several series; anthers short, innate. Embryo terete. Flowers yellow. p.u.b.escence simple.

3. Symplocos. Calyx coherent. Petals 5, united merely at the base.

1. ST?RAX, Tourn. STORAX.

Calyx truncate, somewhat 5-toothed, the base (in our species) coherent with the base of the 3-celled many-ovuled ovary. Corolla 5-parted (rarely 4--8-parted), large, the lobes mostly soft-downy. Stamens twice as many as the lobes of the corolla; filaments flat, united at the base into a short tube; anthers linear, adnate. Fruit globular, its base surrounded by the persistent calyx, 1-celled, mostly 1-seeded, dry, often 3-valved. Seed globular, erect, with a hard coat.--Shrubs or small trees, with commonly deciduous leaves, and axillary or leafy-racemed white and showy flowers on drooping peduncles; produced in spring.

p.u.b.escence scurfy or stellate. (The ancient Greek name of the tree which produces _storax_.)