The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 65

6. CuPHEA, Jacq.

Calyx tubular, 12-ribbed, somewhat inflated below, gibbous or spurred at the base on the upper side, 6-toothed at the apex, and usually with as many little processes in the sinuses. Petals 6, very unequal. Stamens mostly 12, approximate in 2 sets, included, unequal. Ovary with a curved gland at the base next the spur of the calyx, 1--2-celled; style slender; stigma 2-lobed. Capsule oblong, few-seeded, early ruptured through one side.--Flowers solitary or racemose, stalked. (Name from ??f??, _gibbous_, from the shape of the calyx.)

1. C. viscosissima, Jacq. (CLAMMY CUPHEA.) Annual, very viscid-hairy, branching; leaves ovate-lanceolate; petals ovate, short-clawed, purple; seeds flat, borne on one side of the placenta, which is early forced out of the ruptured capsule.--Dry fields, R. I. to Ga., west to Kan. and La.

ORDER 42. ONAGRaCEae. (EVENING-PRIMROSE FAMILY.)

_Herbs, with 4-merous (sometimes 2--3- or 5--6-merous) perfect and symmetrical flowers; the tube of the calyx cohering with the 2--4-celled ovary, its lobes valvate in the bud, or obsolete, the petals convolute in the bud, sometimes wanting; and the stamens as many or twice as many as the petals or calyx-lobes_, inserted on the summit of the calyx-tube.

Style single, slender; stigma 2--4-lobed or capitate. Pollen grains often connected by cobwebby threads. Seeds anatropous, small, without alb.u.men.--Mostly herbs, with opposite or alternate leaves. Stipules none or glandular.

[*] Parts of the flower in fours or more.

[+] Fruit a many-seeded pod, usually loculicidal.

[++] Calyx-limb divided to the summit of the ovary, persistent.

1. Jussiaea. Petals 4--6. Stamens twice as many. Capsule elongated.

2. Ludwigia. Petals 4 or none. Stamens 4. Capsule short.

[++][++] Calyx-tube prolonged beyond the ovary (scarcely so in n. 3) and deciduous from it. Flowers 4-merous.

3. Epilobium. Seeds silky-tufted. Flowers small, not yellow. Lower leaves often opposite.

4. nothera. Seeds naked. Flowers mostly yellow. Leaves alternate.

[+][+] Fruit dry and indehiscent, 1--4-seeded. Leaves alternate.

5. Gaura. Calyx-tube obconical. Filaments appendaged at base.

6. Stenosiphon. Calyx-tube filiform. Filaments not appendaged.

[*][*] Parts of the flower in twos. Leaves opposite.

7. Circaea. Petals 2, obcordate or 2-lobed. Stamens 2. Fruit 1--2-seeded, bristly.

1. JUSSIae'A, L.

Calyx-tube elongated, not at all prolonged beyond the ovary; the lobes 4--6, herbaceous and persistent. Petals 4--9. Stamens twice as many as the petals. Capsule 4--6-celled, usually long, opening between the ribs. Seeds very numerous.--Herbs (ours glabrous perennials), with mostly entire and alternate leaves, and axillary yellow flowers, in summer. (Dedicated to _Bernard de Jussieu_, the founder of the Natural System of Botany.)

1. J. decurrens, DC. _Stem erect_ (1--2 high), branching, _winged_ by the decurrent lanceolate leaves; _calyx-lobes 4_, as long as the petals; _capsule oblong-club-shaped, wing-angled_; seeds in several rows in each cell.--Wet places, Va. to Fla., west to S. Ill., Ark., and La.

2. J. repens, L. _Stem creeping, or floating and rooting_; leaves oblong, _tapering into a slender petiole_; flowers large, long-peduncled; _calyx-lobes and obovate petals 5_; pod woody, cylindrical, with a tapering base; seeds quadrate, in 1 row in each cell, adherent to the spongy endocarp.--In water, Ill. and Ky. to E. Kan., Ark., and Tex.

2. LUDWiGIA, L. FALSE LOOSESTRIFE.

Calyx-tube not at all prolonged beyond the ovary; the lobes 4, usually persistent. Petals 4, often small or wanting. Stamens 4. Capsule short or cylindrical, many-seeded. Seeds minute, naked.--Perennial herbs, with axillary (rarely capitate) flowers, through summer and autumn. (Named for _C. G. Ludwig_, Professor of Botany at Leipsic, contemporary with Linnaeus.)

[*] _Leaves all alternate, sessile or nearly so._

[+] _Flowers peduncled in the upper axils, with conspicuous yellow petals (4--8" long), equalling the ovate or lanceolate foliaceous lobes of the calyx._

1. L. alterniflia, L. (SEED-BOX.) _Smooth_ or nearly so, branched (3 high); _leaves lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, acute or pointed at both ends_; capsules cubical, rounded at base, wing-angled.--Swamps, E. Ma.s.s.

to Fla., west to Mich., E. Kan., and La.

2. L. hirtella, Raf. _Hairy_ all over; stems nearly simple (1--2 high); _leaves oblong, or the upper lanceolate, blunt at both ends_; capsules nearly as in the last, but scarcely wing-angled.--Moist pine barrens, N. J. to Fla. and Tex.

[+][+] _Flowers small, sessile (solitary or sometimes cl.u.s.tered) in the axils, with very small greenish petals (in n. 5) or mostly none; leaves mostly lanceolate or linear on the erect stems (1--3 high) and numerous branches; but prostrate or creeping sterile shoots often produced from the base, thickly beset with shorter obovate or spatulate leaves. (Our species glabrous, except n. 3.)_

3. L. sphaerocarpa, Ell. Minutely p.u.b.escent, especially the calyx, or nearly glabrous; leaves lanceolate or linear, acute, tapering at base, those of runners obovate with a wedge-shaped base and glandular-denticulate; _bractlets minute, obsolete, or none; capsules globular or depressed_ (sometimes acute at base), not longer than the calyx-lobes (less than 2" long).--Water or wet swamps, E. Ma.s.s. to Fla.

and La. Bark below often spongy-thickened.

4. L. polycarpa, Short & Peter. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, acute at both ends, those of the runners oblong-spatulate, acute, entire; _bractlets linear-awl-shaped and conspicuous on the base of the 4-sided somewhat top-shaped capsule_, which is longer than the calyx-lobes.--Wet places, E. Ma.s.s. and Conn. to Mich., Minn., E. Kan., and Ky.

5. L. linearis, Walt. Slender, mostly low; leaves narrowly linear, those of the short runners obovate; minute petals usually present; _bractlets minute at the base of the elongated top-shaped 4-sided capsule_, which is 3" long and much longer than the calyx-lobes.--Bogs, pine barrens of N. J., and southward.

6. L. cylindrica, Ell. Much branched; leaves oblong- or spatulate-lanceolate, much tapering at the base or even petioled; _bractlets very minute at the base of the cylindrical capsule_, which is 3" long, and several times exceeds the calyx-lobes.--Swamps, S. Ill. to Fla. and Tex.

[*][*] _Leaves all opposite; stems creeping or floating._

7. L. pal.u.s.tris, Ell. (WATER PURSLANE.) Smooth; leaves ovate or oval, tapering into a slender petiole; petals none, or small and reddish when the plant grows out of water; calyx-lobes very short; capsules oblong, 4-sided, not tapering at base, sessile in the axils (2"

long).--Ditches, common. (Eu.)

8. L. arcuata, Walt. Smooth, small and creeping; leaves oblanceolate, nearly sessile; flowers solitary, long-peduncled; petals yellow, exceeding the calyx (3" long); capsules oblong-club-shaped, somewhat curved ({1/3}' long).--Swamps, Va. to Fla.

3. EPILBIUM, L. WILLOW-HERB.

Calyx-tube not or scarcely prolonged beyond the ovary; the limb 4-cleft or -parted, deciduous. Petals 4. Stamens 8; anthers short. Capsule linear, many-seeded. Seeds with a tuft of long hairs at the end.--Mostly perennials, with nearly sessile leaves, and violet, purple, or white flowers; in summer. A large genus, many of its species of difficult limitation. The following provisional arrangement has been made by Prof.

W. TRELEASE, mainly in accordance with Haussknecht's revision of the genus. (Name composed of ?p?, _upon_, and ?????, _a little pod_.)

-- 1. _Flowers large, purple, in a long raceme; calyx-limb deeply parted; petals entire; stamens and style successively deflexed; stigma of 4 long lobes._

1. E. angustiflium, L. (GREAT WILLOW-HERB. FIRE-WEED.) Stem simple, tall (4--7); leaves scattered, ample, lanceolate, nearly entire.--Low grounds, especially in newly cleared lands; N. Eng. to N. C., west to Minn. and E. Kan., and far north and westward. (Eu., Asia.)

-- 2. _Flowers mostly small and corymbed or panicled; calyx-limb 5-cleft; petals mostly deeply notched; stamens and style erect._

[*] _Stigma 4-parted; stem terete._

E. HIRSuRUM, L. Densely soft-hairy, stout, branching (3--5 high); leaves mostly opposite, lance-oblong, serrulate, sessile; flowers in the upper axils or in a leafy short raceme; petals 6" long, rose-purple.--Waste grounds, Ma.s.s. to N. Y. and Ont. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*] _Stigma clavate; stem terete, without decurrent lines (or with traces in n. 2); leaves numerous, the lower opposite, subentire, with revolute margins._

2. E. lineare, Muhl. Usually much branched above and minutely h.o.a.ry-p.u.b.escent, 1--2 high; leaves linear-lanceolate, tapering to a short but distinct petiole, acutish; flowers numerous, pale; capsules h.o.a.ry, on pedicels as long as the leaves. (E. pal.u.s.tre, var. lineare, _Gray_, mainly.)--Bogs, N. Eng. to Penn., Iowa, and northward.

3. E. strictum, Muhl. Erect, 1--2 high, densely beset with soft spreading somewhat glandular white hairs; leaves broader, more obtuse and with evident veins, very short-petioled or sessile; p.u.b.escence of the capsule soft and spreading. (E. molle, _Torr._)--Bogs, Ma.s.s. to Minn., south to Va. and Ill.