Woody climbers, with palmate or peltate alternate leaves, no stipules, the sepals and petals similar, in three or more rows, imbricated in the bud; hypogynous, diœcious, 3–6-gynous; fruit a 1-seeded drupe, with a large or long curved embryo in scanty albumen.—Flowers small. Stamens several. Ovaries nearly straight, with the stigma at the apex, but often incurved in fruiting, so that the seed and embryo are bent into a crescent or ring.—Chiefly a tropical family.

[*] Sepals and petals present. Anthers 4-celled. Seed incurved.

1. Cocculus. Stamens, petals, and sepals each 6.

2. Menispermum. Stamens 12–24, slender. Petals 6–8.

[*][*] Petals none. Anthers 2-celled. Seed saucer-shaped.

3. Calycocarpum. Stamens in the sterile flowers 12; in the fertile flowers 6, abortive.

1. CÓCCULUS, DC.

Sepals, petals, and stamens 6, alternating in threes, the two latter short. Anthers 4-celled. Pistils 3–6 in the fertile flowers; style pointed. Drupe and seed as in Menispermum.—Flowers in axillary racemes or panicles. (An old name, a diminutive of coccus, κόκκος, a berry.)

1. C. Carolìnus, DC. Minutely pubescent; leaves downy beneath, ovate or cordate, entire or sinuately or hastately lobed, variable in shape; flowers greenish, the petals in the sterile ones auriculate-inflexed below around the filaments; drupe red (as large as a small pea).—River-banks, Va. to S. Ill., Kan., and southward. July, Aug.

2. MENISPÉRMUM, L. Moonseed.

Sepals 4–8. Petals 6–8, short. Stamens 12–24 in the sterile flowers, as long as the sepals; anthers 4-celled. Pistils 2–4 in the fertile flowers, raised on a short common receptacle; stigma broad and flat. Drupe globular, the mark of the stigma near the base, the ovary in its growth after flowering being strongly incurved, so that the (wrinkled and grooved) laterally flattened stone takes the form of a large crescent or ring. The slender embryo therefore is horseshoe-shaped; cotyledons filiform.—Flowers white, in small and loose axillary panicles. (Name from μήνη, moon, and σπέρμα, seed.)

1. M. Canadénse, L. Leaves peltate near the edge, 3–7-angled or lobed.—Banks of streams; common. June, July.—Drupes black with a bloom, ripe in September, looking like frost grapes.

3. CALYCOCÁRPUM, Nutt. Cupseed.

Sepals 6, petaloid. Petals none. Stamens 12 in the sterile flowers, short; anthers 2-celled. Pistils 3, spindle-shaped, tipped with a radiate many-cleft stigma. Drupe globular; the thin crustaceous putamen hollowed out like a cup on one side. Embryo foliaceous, heart-shaped.—Flowers greenish-white, in long racemose panicles. (Name from κάλυξ, a cup, and καρπός, fruit.)

Order 5. BERBERIDÀCEÆ. (Barberry Family.)

Shrubs or herbs, with the sepals and petals both imbricated in the bud, usually in two rows of 3 (rarely 2 or 4) each; the hypogynous stamens as many as the petals and opposite to them; anthers opening by 2 valves or lids hinged at the top. (Podophyllum is an exception, and Jeffersonia as respects the sepals in one row.) Pistil single. Filaments short. Style short or none. Fruit a berry or a pod. Seeds few or several, anatropous, with albumen. Embryo small, except in Berberis. Leaves alternate, with dilated bases or stipulate.

[*] Petals and stamens 6. Fruit few-seeded.

1. Berberis. Shrubs, with yellow flowers and wood; a pair of glandular spots on the base of each petal. Fruit a berry.

2. Caulophyllum. Herb, with greenish flowers; petals thick, much shorter than the sepals. Ovary soon bursting; the two seeds left naked.

3. Diphylleia. Herb with white flowers; petals much longer than the sepals. Berry 2–4-seeded.

[*][*] Petals 6–9. Stamens 8–18. Fruit many-seeded. Herbs.

4. Jeffersonia. Petals and stamens usually 8; anthers opening by uplifted valves. Pod opening by a lid.

5. Podophyllum. Petals 6–9. Stamens 12–18; anthers not opening by uplifted valves. Fruit a large berry.

1. BÉRBERIS, L. Barberry.

Sepals 6, roundish, with 2–6 bractlets outside. Petals 6, obovate, concave, with two glandular spots inside above the short claw. Stamens 6. Stigma circular, depressed. Fruit a 1–few-seeded berry. Seeds erect, with a crustaceous integument.—Shrubs, with yellow wood and inner bark, yellow flowers in drooping racemes, sour berries, and 1–9-foliolate leaves. Stamens irritable. (Derived from Berbêrys, the Arabic name of the fruit.)

1. B. Canadénsis, Pursh. (American Barberry.) Leaves repandly toothed, the teeth less bristly-pointed; racemes few-flowered; petals notched at the apex; berries oval; otherwise as in the next.—Alleghanies of Va. and southward; not in Canada. June.—Shrub 1–3° high.

B. vulgàris, L. (Common Barberry.) Leaves scattered on the fresh shoots of the season, mostly reduced to sharp triple or branched spines, from the axils of which the next season proceed rosettes or fascicles of obovate-oblong closely bristly-toothed leaves (the short petiole jointed!), and drooping many-flowered racemes; petals entire; berries oblong, scarlet.—Thickets and waste grounds in E. New Eng., where it has become thoroughly wild; elsewhere occasionally spontaneous. May, June. (Nat. from Eu.)

2. CAULOPHÝLLUM, Michx. Blue Cohosh.

1. C. thalictroìdes, Michx. (Also called Pappoose-root.) Stems 1–2½° high; leaflets obovate wedge-form, 2–3-lobed, a smaller biternate leaf often at the base of the panicle; flowers appearing while the leaf is yet small.—Deep rich woods; common westward. April, May.—Whole plant glaucous when young, as also the seeds, which are as large as peas.

3. DIPHYLLÈIA, Michx. Umbrella-leaf.

Sepals 6, fugacious. Petals 6, oval, flat, larger than the sepals. Stamens 6; anthers oblong. Ovary oblong; style hardly any; stigma depressed. Ovules 5 or 6, attached to one side of the cell below the middle. Berry globose, few-seeded. Seeds oblong, with no aril.—A perennial glabrous herb, with thick horizontal rootstocks, sending up each year either a huge centrally peltate and cut-lobed, rounded, umbrella-like radical leaf, on a stout stalk, or a flowering stem bearing two similar (but smaller and more 2-cleft) alternate leaves which are peltate near one margin, and terminated by a cyme of white flowers. (Name composed of δίς, double, and φύλλον, leaf.)

1. D. cymòsa, Michx. Root-leaves 1–2° in diameter, 2-cleft, each division 5–7-lobed; lobes toothed; berries blue.—Wet or springy places, mountains of Va. and southward. May.

4. JEFFERSÒNIA, Barton. Twin-leaf.

Sepals 4, fugacious. Petals 8, oblong, flat. Stamens 8, anthers oblong-linear, on slender filaments. Ovary ovoid, soon gibbous, pointed, stigma 2-lobed. Pod pear-shaped, opening half-way round horizontally, the upper part making a lid. Seeds many in several rows on the lateral placenta, with a fleshy lacerate aril on one side.—A perennial glabrous herb, with matted fibrous roots, long-petioled root-leaves, parted into 2 half-ovate leaflets, and simple naked 1-flowered scapes. (Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson.)

1. J. diphýlla, Pers. Low; flower white, 1´ broad, the parts rarely in threes or fives.—Woods, western N. Y. to Wisc. and southward. April, May.—Called Rheumatism-root in some places.

5. PODOPHÝLLUM, L. May-apple. Mandrake.

1. P. peltàtum, L. Stamens 12–18; leaves 5–9-parted, the lobes oblong, rather wedge-shaped, somewhat lobed and toothed at the apex.—Rich woods, common. May.—Flowerless stems terminated by a large round 7–9-lobed leaf, peltate in the middle like an umbrella. Flowering stems bearing two one-sided leaves, with the stalk fixed near their inner edge; the nodding white flower from the fork nearly 2´ broad. Fruit ovoid, 1–2´ long, ripe in July, sweet and slightly acid, edible. The leaves and roots are drastic and poisonous!—Found occasionally with from 2 to 6 carpels!

Order 6. NYMPHÆÀCEÆ. (Water-Lily Family.)

Aquatic perennial herbs, with horizontal rootstocks and peltate or sometimes only cordate leaves floating or emersed; the ovules borne on the sides or back (or when solitary hanging from the summit) of the cells, not on the ventral suture; the embryo enclosed in a little bag at the end of the albumen next the hilum, except in Nelumbium, which has no albumen. Radicle hardly any; cotyledons thick and fleshy, enclosing a well-developed plumule.—Flowers axillary, solitary. Vernation involute. Rootstocks apparently endogenous.—The few genera differ so much in the flower and fruit that they are separated into the three following suborders.

Suborder I. Cabómbeæ. Sepals and petals each 3 or sometimes 4, hypogynous and persistent. Stamens definite (3–18). Pistils 2–18, free and distinct, coriaceous and indehiscent, 1–3-seeded on the dorsal suture.—Stems slender, leafy, coated with mucilage. Flowers small.

1. Cabomba. Stamens 3–4. Carpels 2–3. Submersed leaves capillary-multifid.

2. Brasenia. Stamens 12–18. Carpels 4–18. Leaves all peltate.

Suborder II. Nelumbòneæ. Sepals and petals numerous in several rows, passing gradually into each other, and with the indefinitely numerous stamens hypogynous and deciduous. Pistils several, 1-ovuled, separately immersed in the obconical receptacle, which is much enlarged and broadly top-shaped at maturity, the imbedded nut-like fruits resembling small acorns. Embryo large; no albumen.—Petioles and peduncles all from the tuberous rootstock, the centrally peltate leaves and the flowers large.

3. Nelumbo. Character of the Suborder.

Suborder III. Nymphæaceæ proper. Sepals 4–6, and petals numerous in many rows, persistent or decaying away, either hypogynous or variously adnate to the surface of the compound 8–30-celled ovary, which is formed by the union of as many carpels; the numerous ovules inserted over the whole inner face of the cells, except at the ventral suture. Stigmas radiate as in Poppy. Fruit baccate, with a firm rind. Petioles and peduncles from a thick rootstock.

4. Nymphæa. Petals adnate to the ovary, large; the stamens on its summit.

5. Nuphar. Petals (very small and stamen-like) and stamens inserted under the ovary.

Sepals 3. Petals 3, oval, bi-auriculate above the very short claw. Stamens 3–6; anthers short, extrorse. Pistils 2–4, with small terminal stigmas. Seeds 3, pendulous.—Slender, mainly submersed, with opposite or verticillate capillary-dissected leaves, a few floating, alternate and centrally peltate. Flowers single on long axillary peduncles. (Probably an aboriginal name.)

1. C. Caroliniàna, Gray. Floating leaves linear-oblong or -obovate, often with a basal notch; flowers 6–8´´ broad, white with yellow spots at base; stamens 6.—Ponds, S. Ill. (May–Sept., Schneck) to Fla. and Tex.

2. BRASÈNIA, Schreber. Water-Shield.

Sepals 3 or 4. Petals 3 or 4, linear, sessile. Stamens 12–18; filaments filiform; anthers innate. Pistils 4–18, forming little club-shaped indehiscent pods; stigmas linear. Seeds 1–2, pendulous on the dorsal suture!—Rootstock creeping. Leaves alternate, long-petioled, centrally peltate, oval, floating. Flowers axillary, small, dull-purple. (Name of uncertain origin.)

1. B. peltàta, Pursh. Leaves entire, 1–4´ across.—Ponds and slow streams. June–Aug. (Asia, Africa and Australia.)

3. NELÚMBO, Tourn. Sacred Bean.

The only genus of the suborder. (Nelumbo is the Ceylonese name of the East Indian species, the pink-flowered N. speciosum.)

1. N. lùtea, Pers. (Yellow Nelumbo, or Water Chinquapin.) Leaves usually raised high out of the water, circular, with the centre depressed or cupped, 1–2° in diameter; flower pale yellow, 5–10´ broad; anthers tipped with a slender hooked appendage. (Nelumbium luteum, Willd.)—S. Conn. (probably of Indian introduction) to Lake Ontario, Mich., Minn., E. Neb., and southward; rare in the Middle States.—Tubers farinaceous and edible. Seeds also eatable. Embryo like that of Nymphæa on a large scale; cotyledons thick and fleshy, enclosing a plumule of 1 or 2 well-formed young leaves, enclosed in a delicate stipule-like sheath.

4. NYMPHÆ̀A, Tourn. Water-Nymph. Water-Lily.

Sepals 4, green outside, nearly free. Petals numerous, in many rows, the innermost gradually passing into stamens, imbricately inserted all over the ovary. Stamens indefinite, inserted on the ovary, the outer with dilated filaments. Ovary 12–35-celled, the concave summit tipped with a globular projection at the centre, around which are the radiate stigmas; these project at the margin, and are extended into linear and incurved sterile appendages. Fruit depressed-globular, covered with the bases of the decayed petals, maturing under water. Seeds enveloped by a sac-like aril.—Flowers white, pink, yellow, or blue, very showy. (Dedicated by the Greeks to the Water-Nymphs.)

Var. mìnor, Sims., with leaves only 2–5´ and flowers 2–3´ broad.—Shallow water, in cold bogs and in sandy soil.

2. N. renifórmis, DC. (Tuber-bearing W.) Leaves reniform-orbicular, mostly larger (8–15´ wide) and more prominently ribbed than the last, rarely purplish beneath; rootstock bearing numerous spontaneously detaching often compound tubers; flower scentless (or with a slight odor as of apples), white, never pinkish, 4½–9´ in diameter, the petals proportionally broader and blunter than in n. 1; the fruit more depressed, and with fewer but much larger (i.e. twice as broad) globular-ovoid seeds, which when mature are barely enclosed by the aril and not stipitate. (N. tuberosa, Paine.)—Lakes, slow rivers, etc., western N. Y. (from Oneida Lake, Paine) and near Meadville, Penn., to Mich., E. Neb., and probably in the Southern States. July–Sept.

5. NÙPHAR, Smith. Yellow Pond-Lily. Spatter-Dock.

Sepals 5, 6, or sometimes more, colored, or partly green outside, roundish, concave. Petals numerous, small and thickish, stamen-like or scale-like, inserted with the very numerous short stamens on the receptacle under the ovary, not surpassing the disk-like 8–24-rayed sessile stigma, persistent and at length recurved. Fruit ovoid, naked, usually ripening above water. Aril none.—Rootstock creeping, cylindrical. Leaves with a deep sinus at the base. Flowers yellow or sometimes tinged with purple, produced all summer. (Name said to be of Arabic origin.)

1. N. ádvena, Ait. f. Sepals 6, unequal; petals shorter than the stamens and resembling them, thick and fleshy, truncate; stigma nearly entire, 12–24-rayed, pale red; ovary and fruit (1½´ long) ovate, not contracted above into a narrow neck; thin submersed leaves seldom present; floating or emersed and erect leaves thick (6–12´ long), from roundish to ovate or almost oblong, the sinus open, or closed or narrow.—Very common, in still or stagnant water; stout and coarse; flower often partly purplish (var. variegàtum, Engelm.).

Var. mìnus, Morong. More slender; leaves somewhat smaller (3–8´ long); flowers usually smaller (sepals 12–15´´ long); petals spatulate; stigmas 9–13-rayed, crenately toothed, bright red or crimson; fruit 1´ long, contracted above. (N. rubrodiscum, Morong. N. luteum, Man.; not Smith.)—N. Vt. to Mich. and Penn. Probably a hybrid between this and the next species.

2. N. Kalmiànum, Ait. Very slender and with slender rootstock; submersed leaves thin, round-reniform, the floating broadly elliptical with a deep narrow sinus, 2–4´ long; sepals usually 5, the flowers an inch broad or less; petals spatulate or obovate; stigmas 7–10-rayed, dark red; fruit globular with a short neck (6–9´´ in diameter). (N. luteum, var. pumilum, Man.)—Maine to Penn. and Minn., and northward.

3. N. sagittifòlium, Pursh. Rootstock stout; leaves narrowly oblong to oblong-lanceolate with a short sinus, 6–15´ long; flowers small (1´ broad).—S. Ind. and Ill. (Schneck), and southward.

Polyandrous and hypogynous bog-plants, with hollow pitcher-form or trumpet-shaped leaves,—comprising one plant in the mountains of Guiana, another (Darlingtonia, Torr.) in California, and the following genus in the Atlantic United States.

1. SARRACÈNIA, Tourn. Side-saddle Flower.

Sepals 5, with 3 bractlets at the base, colored, persistent. Petals 5, oblong or obovate, incurved, deciduous. Stamens numerous, hypogynous. Ovary compound, 5-celled, globose, crowned with a short style, which is expanded at the summit into a very broad and petal-like, 5-angled, 5-rayed, umbrella-shaped body, the 5 delicate rays terminating under the angles in as many little hooked stigmas. Capsule with a granular surface, 5-celled, with many-seeded placentæ in the axis, loculicidally 5-valved. Seeds anatropous, with a small embryo at the base of fleshy albumen.—Perennials, yellowish-green and purplish; the hollow leaves all radical, with a wing on one side, and a rounded arching hood at the apex. Scape naked, 1-flowered; flower nodding. (Named by Tournefort in honor of Dr. Sarrasin of Quebec, who first sent our Northern species, and a botanical account of it, to Europe.)

1. S. purpùrea, L. (Side-saddle Flower. Pitcher-Plant. Huntsman's Cup.) Leaves pitcher-shaped, ascending, curved, broadly winged; the hood erect, open, round heart-shaped; flower deep purple; the fiddle-shaped petals arched over the greenish-yellow style.—Varies rarely with greenish-yellow flowers, and without purple veins in the foliage.—Peat-bogs; common from N. Eng. to Minn., N. E. Iowa, and southward east of the Alleghanies. June.—The curious leaves are usually half filled with water and drowned insects. The inner face of the hood is clothed with stiff bristles pointing downward. Flower globose, nodding on a scape a foot high; it is difficult to fancy any resemblance between its shape and a side-saddle, but it is not very unlike a pillion.

2. S. flàva, L. (Trumpets.) Leaves long (1–3°) and trumpet-shaped, erect, with an open mouth, the erect hood rounded, narrow at the base; wing almost none; flower yellow, the petals becoming long and drooping.—Bogs, Va. and southward. April.

Order 8. PAPAVERÀCEÆ. (Poppy Family.)

Herbs with milky or colored juice, regular flowers with the parts in twos or fours, fugacious sepals, polyandrous, hypogynous, the ovary 1-celled with two or more parietal placentæ.—Sepals 2, rarely 3, falling when the flower expands. Petals 4–12, spreading, imbricated and often crumpled in the bud, early deciduous. Stamens rarely as few as 16, distinct. Fruit a dry 1-celled pod (in the Poppy imperfectly many-celled, in Glaucium 2-celled). Seeds numerous, anatropous, often crested, with a minute embryo at the base of fleshy and oily albumen.—Leaves alternate, without stipules. Peduncles mostly 1-flowered. Juice narcotic or acrid.

1. Sanguinaria. Petals white. Leaves and 1-flowered scape from a short rootstock.

[*][*] Petals 4, crumpled in the bud. Pod 2-valved or more.

[+] Pod 2–4-valved, the valves separating to the base from the placentas. Leaves pinnately parted. Flowers yellow.

2. Stylophorum. Pod bristly; style distinct; stigmas and placentas 3–4.

3. Chelidonium. Pod linear, smooth; style almost none; stigmas and placentas 2.

4. Glaucium. Pod rough, long-linear, 2-celled by a spongy partition; style none.

[+][+] Pod 4–20-valved, dehiscent only at the top or to the middle.

5. Papaver. Ovary incompletely many-celled; stigmas united into a radiate sessile crown.

6. Argemone. Stigmas (sessile) and placentas 4–6. Pod and leaves prickly.

1. SANGUINÀRIA, Dill. Blood-root.

Sepals 2. Petals 8–12, spatulate-oblong, the inner narrower. Stamens about 24. Style short; stigma 2-grooved. Pod oblong, turgid, 1-celled, 2-valved. Seeds with a large crest.—A low perennial, with thick prostrate premorse rootstocks, surcharged with red-orange acrid juice, sending up in earliest spring a rounded palmate-lobed leaf, and a 1-flowered naked scape. Flower white, handsome, the bud erect, the petals not crumpled. (Name from the color of the juice.)

1. S. Canadénsis, L.—Open rich woods; common. April, May.

2. STYLÓPHORUM, Nutt. Celandine Poppy.

Sepals 2, hairy. Petals 4. Style distinct, columnar; stigma 2–4-lobed. Pods bristly, 2–4-valved to the base. Seeds conspicuously crested.—Perennial low herbs, with stems naked below and oppositely 2-leaved, or sometimes 1–3-leaved, and umbellately 1–few-flowered at the summit; the flower-buds and the pods nodding. Leaves pinnately parted or divided. Juice yellow. (From στύλος, style, and φέρω, to bear, one of the distinctive characters.)

1. S. diphýllum, Nutt. Leaves pale or glaucous beneath, smoothish, deeply pinnatifid into 5 or 7 oblong sinuate-lobed divisions, and the root-leaves often with a pair of smaller and distinct leaflets; peduncles equalling the petioles; flower deep yellow (2´ broad); stigmas 3 or 4; pod oval.—Damp woods, W. Penn. to Wisc. and Tenn. May.—Foliage and flower resembling Celandine.

3. CHELIDÒNIUM, L. Celandine.

Sepals 2. Petals 4. Stamens 16–24. Style nearly none; stigma 2-lobed. Pod linear, slender, smooth, 2-valved, the valves opening from the bottom upward. Seeds crested.—Biennial herb with brittle stems, saffron-colored acrid juice, pinnately divided or 2-pinnatifid and toothed or cut leaves, and small yellow flowers in a pedunculate umbel; buds nodding. (Ancient Greek name from χελιδών, the swallow, because its flowers appear with the swallows.)

C. màjus, L. (Celandine.) Waste grounds near dwellings. May–Aug. (Adv. from Eu.)

4. GLAÙCIUM, Tourn. Horn-Poppy.

G. lùteum, Scop. Lower leaves pinnatifid; upper ones sinuate-lobed and toothed, cordate-clasping; pods rough (6–10´ long).—Waste places S. E. New Eng., Md., and Va.; not common. (Adv. from Eu.)

5. PAPÀVER, Tourn. Poppy.

Sepals mostly 2. Petals mostly 4. Stigmas united in a flat 4–20-rayed crown, resting on the summit of the ovary and capsule; the latter short and turgid, with 4–20 many-seeded placentæ projecting like imperfect partitions, opening by as many pores or chinks under the edge of the stigma.—Herbs with a white juice; the flower-buds nodding. (Derivation obscure.)—Three annual species of the Old World are sparingly adventive; viz.:

P. somníferum, L. (Common Poppy.) Smooth, glaucous; leaves clasping, wavy, incised and toothed; pod globose; corolla mostly white or purple.—Near dwellings in some places. (Adv. from Eu.)

P. dùbium, L. (Smooth-fruited Corn-Poppy.) Pinnatifid leaves and the long stalks bristly; pods club-shaped, smooth; corolla light scarlet.—Cult. grounds, Westchester, Penn., and southward; rare. (Adv. from Eu.)

P. Argemòne, L. (Rough-fruited C.) Smaller, with finer-cut leaves and paler flowers than the last; pods club-shaped and bristly.—Waste grounds, near Philadelphia. (Adv. from Eu.)

6. ARGEMÒNE, L. Prickly Poppy.

Sepals 2 or 3, often prickly. Petals 4–6. Style almost none; stigmas 3–6, radiate. Pod oblong, prickly, opening by 3–6 valves at the top. Seeds crested.—Annuals or biennials, with prickly bristles and yellow juice. Leaves sessile, sinuate-lobed, and with prickly teeth, often blotched with white. Flower-buds erect, short-peduncled. (Name from ἄργεμα, a disease of the eye, for which the juice of a plant so called by the Greeks was a supposed remedy.)

1. A. platýceras, Link & Otto. Setose-hispid all over; petals white, 1½–2´ long; capsule armed with stout spines.—Central Kan. and Neb., south and westward.

A. Mexicàna, L. (Mexican P.) Flowers yellow, rarely white.—Waste places, southward. July–Oct. (Adv. from trop. Amer.) (Addendum)—Argemone Mexicana. Collected at Merodosia, Ill., with white flowers, by A. B. Seymour.

Order 9. FUMARIÀCEÆ. (Fumitory Family.)

Delicate smooth herbs, with watery juice, compound dissected leaves, irregular flowers, with 4 somewhat united petals, 6 diadelphous stamens, and 2-merous pods and seeds like those of the Poppy Family.—Sepals 2, small and scale-like. Corolla flattened, closed; the 4 petals in two pairs; the outer with spreading tips, and one or both of them spurred or saccate at the base; inner pair narrower, and their callous crested tips united over the stigma. Stamens in two sets of 3 each, placed opposite the larger petals, hypogynous; their filaments often united; middle anther of each set 2-celled, the lateral ones 1-celled. Pod 1-celled, either 1-seeded and indehiscent, or several-seeded with 2 parietal placentæ and deciduous valves.—Leaves delicate, usually alternate, without stipules. Slightly bitter, innocent plants.

1. Adlumia. Petals united into a spongy persistent subcordate corolla. Seeds crestless.

2. Dicentra. Corolla cordate or 2-spurred at base, less united. Seeds crested.

[*][*] Corolla with but one petal spurred at base, deciduous.

3. Corydalis. Pod with few to many crested or arilled seeds.

4. Fumaria. Fruit a globular 1-seeded nutlet. Seed crestless.

1. ADLÙMIA, Raf. Climbing Fumitory.

Petals all permanently united in a cordate-ovate corolla, becoming spongy-cellular and persistent, enclosing the small, few-seeded pod. Seeds not crested. Stigma 2-crested. Filaments monadelphous below in a tube which is adherent to the corolla, diadelphous at the summit.—A climbing biennial, with thrice-pinnate leaves, cut-lobed delicate leaflets, and ample panicles of drooping white or purplish flowers. (Dedicated by Rafinesque to Major Adlum.)

1. A. cirrhòsa, Raf.—Wet woods; N. Eng. to Mich., E. Kan., and southward. June–Oct.—A handsome vine, with delicate foliage, climbing by the slender young leaf-stalks over high bushes; often cultivated.

2. DICÉNTRA, Borkh. Dutchman's Breeches.

Petals slightly cohering into a heart-shaped or 2-spurred corolla, either deciduous or withering-persistent. Stigma 2-crested and sometimes 2-horned. Filaments slightly united in two sets. Pod 10–20-seeded. Seeds crested.—Low, stemless perennials (as to our wild species) with ternately compound and dissected leaves, and racemose nodding flowers. Pedicels 2-bracted. (Name from δίς, twice, and κέντρον, a spur;—accidentally printed Diclýtra in the first instance, which by an erroneous conjecture was afterwards changed into Diélytra.)

[*] Raceme simple, few-flowered.

1. D. Cucullària, DC. (Dutchman's Breeches.) Scape and slender-petioled leaves from a sort of granulate bulb; lobes of leaves linear; corolla with 2 divergent spurs longer than the pedicel; crest of the inner petals minute.—Rich woods, especially westward.—A very delicate plant, sending up in early spring, from the cluster of grain-like tubers crowded together in the form of a scaly bulb, the finely cut leaves and the slender scape, bearing 4–10 pretty, but odd, white flowers tipped with cream-color.

2. D. Canadénsis, DC. (Squirrel Corn.) Subterranean shoots bearing scattered grain-like tubers (resembling peas or grains of Indian corn, yellow); leaves as in n. 1; corolla merely heart-shaped, the spurs very short and rounded; crest of the inner petals conspicuous, projecting.—Rich woods, especially northward. April, May.—Flowers greenish-white tinged with rose, with the fragrance of Hyacinths.

[*][*] Racemes compound, clustered.

3. D. exímia, DC. Subterranean shoots scaly; divisions and lobes of the leaves broadly oblong; corolla oblong, 2-saccate at the base; crest of the inner petals projecting.—Rocks, western N. Y., rare, and Alleghanies of Va. May–Aug.—Coarser-leaved than the others; scapes 6–10´ high.

Corolla 1-spurred at the base (on the upper side), deciduous. Style persistent. Pod many-seeded. Seeds crested or arilled. Flowers in racemes. Our species are biennial, leafy-stemmed, and pale or glaucous. (The ancient Greek name for the crested lark.)

[*] Stem strict; flowers purplish or rose-color with yellow tips.

1. C. glaùca, Pursh. (Pale Corydalis.) Racemes panicled; spur of the corolla very short and rounded; pods erect, slender, elongated.—Rocky places; common; 6´–2° high. May–Aug.

[*][*] Low, ascending; flowers yellow.

[+] Outer petals wing-crested on the back.

2. C. flávula, DC. Pedicels slender, conspicuously bracted; corolla pale yellow, 3–4´´ long, spur very short; tips of the outer petals pointed, longer than the inner; crest 3–4-toothed; pods torulose, pendulous or spreading; seeds acutely margined, rugose-reticulated; aril loose.—Penn. to Minn., and southward.

3. C. micrántha, Gray. Pedicels short and bracts small; corolla pale yellow, 4´´ long, with short spur and entire crest, or flowers often cleistogamous and much smaller, without spur or crest; pods ascending, torulose; seeds obtuse-margined, smooth and shining.—N. Car., Mo., Minn., and southward.

4. C. crystállina, Engelm. Pedicels short, erect; corolla bright yellow, 8´´ long, the spur nearly as long as the body; crest very broad, usually toothed; pods terete, erect, densely covered with transparent vesicles, seeds acutely margined, tuberculate.—S. W. Mo. and southward.

[+][+] Outer petals merely carinate on the back, not crested.

5. C. aùrea, Willd. (Golden C.) Corolla golden-yellow, ½´ long, the slightly decurved spur about half as long, shorter than the pedicel; pods spreading or pendulous, becoming torulose; seeds obtuse-margined.—Rocky banks, Vt. to Penn., Mo., Minn., and westward.

Var. occidentàlis, Engelm. Flowers rather larger, the spur nearly as long as the body; pods less torulose, on short pedicels; seeds acutish on the margin.—Neb. and Kan. to W. Tex. and westward.

4. FUMÀRIA, Tourn. Fumitory.

Corolla 1-spurred at the base. Style deciduous. Fruit indehiscent, small, globular, 1-seeded. Seeds crestless.—Branched and leafy-stemmed annuals, with finely dissected compound leaves, and small flowers in dense racemes or spikes. (Name from fumus, smoke.)

F. officinàlis, L. (Common Fumitory.) Sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute, sharply toothed, narrower and shorter than the corolla (which is flesh-color tipped with crimson); fruit slightly notched.—Waste places, about dwellings. (Adv. from Eu.)

Order 10. CRUCÍFERÆ. (Mustard Family.)

SERIES I. Pod 2-celled, regularly dehiscent by 2 valves.

[*] Pod compressed parallel to the broad partition. Seeds flat or flattish, orbicular or oval; cotyledons accumbent or nearly so.

[+] Pod large, oblong-elliptical, valves nerveless. Seeds in 2 rows. Flowers yellow.

1. Selenia. Leaves pinnatisect. Raceme leafy-bracteate. Seeds winged.

[+][+] Pod linear; valves nerveless. Seeds in one row. Flowers yellow only in n. 3.

2. Leavenworthia. Seed winged; embryo straight or nearly so. Annual; stem often scapose, 1–few-flowered.

3. Dentaria. Stem naked below, 2–3-leaved. Pod coriaceous, with thick placentas, long-styled. Seeds wingless; cotyledons thick, very unequal.

4. Cardamine. Stem leafy. Pod coriaceous, with thick placentas. Seeds wingless; cotyledons flattened, equal.

[+][+][+] Pod linear, or oblong, or orbicular; valves 1-nerved or nerveless. Seeds in 2 rows (except in species of n. 4).

5. Arabis. Pod long-linear, the flat or flattish valves more or less 1-nerved. Seeds winged or wingless. Flowers white to purple. Stems leafy, at least below.

6. Draba. Pod oval to narrowly oblong or lanceolate; valves flat or flattish, faintly nerved or veined. Seeds wingless, numerous.

7. Alyssum. Pod orbicular; valves veinless, somewhat convex with flattened margin. Seeds wingless, 2–4.

[*][*] Pod terete or turgid, or 4-angled by the prominent midnerves. Seeds wingless, more or less turgid.

[+] Pods short. (See also n. 10.)

8. Lesquerella. Pod globular-inflated, about 4-seeded; valves nerveless. Cotyledons accumbent. Flowers yellow.

9. Camelina. Pod obovoid, many-seeded; valves 1-nerved; style slender. Cotyledons incumbent. Flowers yellow.

10. Subularia. Pod ovoid or globular, few-seeded, valves 1-nerved; style none. Cotyledons long, folded transversely. Flowers white. Dwarf stemless aquatic.

[++] Cotyledons accumbent.

11. Nasturtium. Pod often short; valves strongly convex, nerveless. Seeds small, in 2 rows in each cell. Flowers yellow or white.

12. Barbarea. Pod somewhat 4-sided; valves strongly 1-nerved. Seeds in 1 row. Flowers yellow.

[++][++] Cotyledons incumbent or partially so.

13. Hesperis. Pod terete, elongated; stigma-lobes narrow, erect. Flowers large, purple.

14. Erysimum. Pod 4-sided; valves strongly 1-nerved; stigma broadly 2-lobed. Pubescence of appressed 2–3-parted hairs. Flowers yellow.

15. Sisymbrium. Pod angled or teretish; valves 1–3-nerved; stigma small. Flowers yellow or white, small.

16. Thelypodium. Pod teretish; valves 1-nerved; stigma entire. Cotyledons obliquely incumbent. Flowers rose-color. Leaves auricled.

[++][++][++] Cotyledons conduplicate.

17. Brassica. Pod beaked or pointed beyond the end of the valves, or tipped with a rigid style, nearly terete, or 4-sided. Flowers yellow or whitish.

[*][*][*] Pod short; the boat-shaped valves conduplicate or much flattened contrary to the narrow partition. Flowers white.

18. Capsella. Pod many-seeded, obcordate-triangular, wingless. Cotyledons incumbent.

19. Thlaspi. Pod several-seeded, obovate or obcordate, winged. Cotyledons accumbent.

20. Lepidium. Pod 2-seeded, flat, scale-shaped. Cotyledons incumbent or accumbent.

21. Senebiera. Pod 2-seeded, didymous; the valves rugose, separating at maturity from the little partition as 2 closed 1-seeded nutlets. Cotyledons incumbent, narrow.

SERIES II. Pods indehiscent, continuous or transversely jointed; joints 1-celled.

22. Cakile. Pod short, 2-jointed; joints 1-seeded. Cotyledons plane, accumbent.

23. Raphanus. Pod elongated, several-seeded, continuous, or constricted between the seeds and moniliform. Cotyledons conduplicate.

1. SELÈNIA, Nutt.

Pod large, oblong-elliptical, flat; the valves nerveless. Seeds in 2 rows in each cell, rounded, broadly winged; cotyledons accumbent; radicle short.—A low annual, with once or twice pinnatifid leaves and leafy-bracteate racemes of yellow flowers. (Name from σελήνη, the moon, with allusion to Lunaria, which it somewhat resembles in its pods.)

1. S. aùrea, Nutt. Lobes of the simply pinnatifid leaves entire or toothed; pod ½´ long, on elongated spreading pedicels, beaked by the long slender style.—Mo. and Kan. to Tex.

2. LEAVENWÓRTHIA, Torr.

Pod broadly linear or oblong, flat; the valves nerveless, but minutely reticulate-veined. Seeds in a single row in each cell, flat, surrounded by a thick wing. Embryo straight! or the short radicle only slightly bent in the direction which if continued would make the orbicular cotyledons accumbent.—Little winter annuals, glabrous and often stemless, with lyrate leaves and short 1–few-flowered scape-like peduncles. (Named in honor of the late M. C. Leavenworth.)

2. L. torulòsa, Gray. Similar, but pods torulose even when young, linear; style 1–2´´ long; seeds acutely margined rather than winged; petals emarginate.—Barrens of Ky. and Tenn.

3. DENTÀRIA, Tourn. Toothwort. Pepper-root.

Pod lanceolate, flat, as in Cardamine. Style elongated. Seeds in one row, wingless, the stalks broad and flat. Cotyledons petioled, thick and very unequal, their margins somewhat infolding each other.—Perennials, of damp woodlands, with long, horizontal, fleshy, sometimes interrupted, scaly or toothed rootstocks, of a pleasant pungent taste; the simple stems leafless below, bearing 2 or 3 petioled compound leaves about or above the middle, and terminated by a single corymb or short raceme of large white or purple flowers. Flowers larger, pods broader, and seeds larger than is usual in Cardamine. (Name from dens, a tooth.)

[*] Rootstock elongated; leaves 3-foliolate.

1. D. diphýlla, L. Rootstock long and continuous, often branched, toothed; stem-leaves 2, similar to the radical ones, close together; leaflets rhombic-ovate or oblong-ovate, shortly petiolate, coarsely crenate, the teeth abruptly acute; petals white.—Rich woods, Maine to Minn. and Ky. May.—Rootstocks 5–10´ long, crisp, tasting like Water-Cress.

[*][*] Rootstock tuberous, more or less moniliform; leaves 3-foliolate or 3-parted.

2. D. laciniàta, Muhl. Tubers deep-seated, usually not jointed nor prominently tubercled; root-leaves often none; stem-leaves 3-parted, the lateral segments often 2-lobed, all broadly oblong to linear, more or less gash-toothed; flowers white or rose-color.—N. Eng. to Minn., Kan., and southward. April, May.—Var. multífida, a slender form with the narrowly linear segments usually more or less divided into linear lobes. (D. multifida, Muhl.) Southward, scarcely if at all within our limits.

3. D. heterophýlla, Nutt. Tubers near the surface, jointed, narrowly oblong or thick-clavate, prominently tubercled; leaves 3-foliolate, the leaflets distinctly petiolate, oblong-lanceolate to linear, entire to rather deeply crenate, rarely laciniate or lobed; root-leaves with ovate or lanceolate and usually lobed leaflets.—Penn. to Ky. and southward. Blooming a little later than the last.

4. D. máxima, Nutt. Tubers jointed, strongly tubercled; stem-leaves usually alternate, 3-foliolate; leaflets ovate or oblong-ovate, coarsely toothed and somewhat cleft or lobed.—Vt. to western N. Y. and Penn. May.

4. CARDAMÌNE, Tourn. Bitter Cress.

Pod linear, flattened, usually opening elastically from the base; the valves nerveless and veinless, or nearly so; placentas and partition thick. Seeds in a single row in each cell, wingless; their stalks slender. Cotyledons accumbent, flattened, equal or nearly so, petiolate.—Mostly glabrous perennials, leafy-stemmed, growing along watercourses and in wet places. Flowers white or purple. (A Greek name, in Dioscorides, for some cress, from its cordial or cardiacal qualities.)

1. C. rhomboídea, DC. (Spring Cress.) Stems upright from a tuberous base and slender rootstock bearing small tubers, simple; root-leaves round and often heart-shaped; lower stem-leaves ovate or rhombic-oblong, somewhat petioled, the upper almost lanceolate, sessile, all often sparingly toothed; pods linear-lanceolate, pointed with a slender style tipped with a conspicuous stigma; seeds round-oval.—Wet meadows and springs; common. April–June.—Flowers large, white.

Var. purpùrea, Torr. Lower (4–6´ high), and usually slightly pubescent; flowers rose-purple, appearing earlier.—Along streams in rich soil. Western N. Y. to Md. and Wisc.

2. C. rotundifòlia, Michx. (Mountain Water-Cress.) Stems branching, weak or decumbent, making long runners; root fibrous; leaves all much alike, roundish, somewhat angled, often heart-shaped at the base, petioled; pods small, linear-awl-shaped, pointed with the slender style; stigma minute; seeds oval-oblong.—Cool shaded springs, N. J. (Middletown, Willis) to Ky., and southward along the mountains. May, June.—Flowers white, smaller than in n. 1.

3. C. bellidifòlia, L. Dwarf (2–3´ high), alpine, tufted; leaves ovate, entire, or sometimes with a blunt lateral tooth (4´´ long), on long petioles; pods 1´ long, upright, linear; style nearly none, stout.—Summits of the White Mountains and Katahdin, Maine. July.—Flowers 1–5, white. (Eu.)

[*][*] Root perennial; leaves pinnate; flowers showy.

4. C. praténsis, L. (Cuckoo Flower.) Stem ascending from a short rootstock, simple; leaflets 7–13, those of the lower leaves rounded and stalked, of the upper oblong or linear, entire, or slightly angled-toothed; petals (white or rose-color) thrice the length of the calyx; pod 9–15´´ long, 1´´ broad; style short.—Wet places and bogs, Vt. to N. J., Wisc., and northward; rare. May. (Eu.)

[*][*][*] Root mostly biennial or annual; leaves pinnate; flowers small, white.

5. C. hirsùta, L. (Small Bitter Cress.) Glabrous or beset with scattered hairs; stems (3´–2° high) erect or ascending from the spreading cluster of root-leaves; their leaflets rounded, those of the upper leaves oblong or linear and often confluent, all either toothed, angled, or entire; pods linear, very narrow, erect or ascending; style variable.—Wet places; common. May–July. The ordinary form corresponds closely to the European var. sylvática, Gaud. The typical imperfectly developed annual form, with only 4 stamens and rather strict pods, occurs very rarely. A form answering to C. parviflora of Europe, with mostly linear leaflets and pods often erect on spreading pedicels, is occasionally found in drier localities. (Eu., Asia.)

5. ÁRABIS, L. Rock Cress.

Pod linear, flattened; placentas not thickened; the valves plane or convex, more or less 1-nerved in the middle, or longitudinally veiny. Seeds usually margined or winged. Cotyledons accumbent or a little oblique.—Leaves seldom divided. Flowers white or purple. (Name from the country, Arabia. See Linn. Phil. Bot. § 235.)

[*] Low, chiefly biennials, diffuse or spreading from the base.

1. A. Ludoviciàna, Meyer. Nearly glabrous, often annual; leaves all pinnately parted into oblong or linear few-toothed or entire divisions, those of the lower leaves numerous; pedicels very short; flowers small, white; pods rather broadly linear, spreading, flat; seeds winged.—Open grounds, Va. to Mo., and southward.

[*][*] Erect and simple leafy-stemmed biennials, with simple leaves, white or whitish flowers, narrow but flattened ascending or erect pods, and nearly wingless seeds.

2. A. pàtens, Sulliv. Downy with spreading hairs, erect (1–2° high); stem-leaves oblong-ovate, acutish, coarsely toothed or the uppermost entire, partly clasping by the heart-shaped base; petals (bright white, 4´´ long) twice the length of the calyx; pedicels slender, spreading; pods spreading or ascending, tipped with a distinct style.—Penn. to central Ohio and southward; Minn. April, May.

3. A. hirsùta, Scop. Rough-hairy, sometimes smoothish, strictly erect (1–2° high); stem-leaves oblong or lanceolate, entire or toothed, partly clasping by a somewhat arrow-shaped or heart-shaped base; petals (greenish-white) small, but longer than the calyx; pedicels and pods strictly upright; style scarcely any; immature seeds somewhat 2-rowed.—Rocks, common, especially northward. May, June. (Eu.)

[*][*][*] Erect and simple leafy-stemmed biennials (1–3° high), with small whitish flowers, recurved-spreading or pendulous flat pods (3–4´ long), and broadly winged seeds, their stalks adherent to the partition; root-leaves rarely lyrate.

4. A. lævigàta, Poir. Smooth and glaucous, upright; stem-leaves partly clasping by the arrow-shaped base, lanceolate or linear, sparingly cut-toothed or entire; petals scarcely longer than the calyx; pods long and narrow, recurved-spreading on ascending or merely spreading pedicels.—Rocky places, Maine to Minn. and southward. May.

5. A. Canadénsis, L. (Sickle-pod.) Stem upright, smooth above; stem-leaves pubescent, pointed at both ends, oblong-lanceolate, sessile, the lower toothed; petals twice the length of the calyx, oblong-linear; pods very flat, scythe-shaped, hanging on rough-hairy pedicels (2´´ wide).—Woods and ravines; not rare, especially westward. June–Aug.

§ 2. TURRÌTIS. Seeds not so broad as the partition, in two more or less distinct rows in each cell, at least when young; strict and very leafy-stemmed biennials; cauline leaves partly clasping by a sagittate base. (Our species very glabrous, except the mostly hirsute base of the stem and the lower leaves.)

6. A. perfoliàta, Lam. (Tower Mustard.) Tall (2–4° high), glaucous; stem-leaves oblong or ovate-lanceolate, entire; petals yellowish-white, little longer than the calyx; pods very narrow (3´ long) and pedicels strictly erect; seeds marginless; cotyledons often oblique.—Rocks and fields, N. Eng. to Minn. (rare), north and westward. (Eu.)

§ 3. PSEUDÁRABIS. Seeds oblong or elliptical, very small, wingless, in one row; cotyledons often more or less oblique. Biennial or perennial, branching from the base.

8. A. lyràta, L. Mostly glabrous, except the lyrate-pinnatifid root-leaves; stem-leaves scattered, spatulate or linear with a tapering base, sparingly toothed or entire; petals white, much longer than the yellowish calyx; pods long and slender, flat, ascending or spreading.—On rocks or sandy shores, New Eng. to Ky. along the mountains, Minn., and northward. April–July.—Usually biennial, but southward in the mountains decidedly perennial.

9. A. dentàta, Torr. & Gray. Roughish pubescent, slender (1–2° high); leaves oblong, very obtuse, unequally and sharply toothed; those of the stem numerous, half-clasping and eared at the base, of the root broader and tapering into a short petiole; petals (whitish) scarcely exceeding the calyx; pods widely spreading, very slender, short-stalked; style scarcely any.—N. Y. to Mich., Minn., and southward. May, June.

6. DRÀBA, Dill. Whitlow-Grass.

Pod oval, oblong, or even linear, flat; the valves plane or slightly convex; the partition broad. Seeds several or numerous, in 2 rows in each cell, marginless. Cotyledons accumbent. Filaments not toothed.—Low herbs with entire or toothed leaves, and white or yellow flowers; pubescence often stellate. (Name from δράβη, applied by Dioscorides to some cress; meaning unknown.)

§ 1. DRABÆ̀A. Petals not notched or cleft; perennial or biennial, leafy-stemmed, flowers white, pods twisted when ripe.

1. D. ramosíssima, Desv. Diffusely much branched and forming many radical tufts, perennial (5–8´ high), pubescent; leaves laciniate-toothed, linear-lanceolate, the lower oblanceolate, racemes corymbosely-branched; pods hairy, oval-oblong or lanceolate (2–5´´ long), on slender spreading pedicels, tipped with a long style.—Cliffs, Harper's Ferry, Natural Bridge, etc., Va., to Kentucky River, and southward. April, May.

2. D. incàna, L. Hoary-pubescent, biennial or somewhat perennial, the radical tuft seldom branching; leaves oblanceolate or the cauline lanceolate to ovate, few-toothed or entire; pods oblong to lanceolate, usually acute and straight, often pubescent, on short erect pedicels; style very short or none.—Dry rocks, Willoughby Mountain, Vt.; also northward and far westward. (Eu.)

Var. arábisans, Watson. Caudex much branched; pod glabrous, acuminate or acute, twisted, beaked with a longer distinct style. (D. arabisans, Michx.)—N. Vt. to western N. Y. and the shores of the upper lakes.

3. D. Caroliniàna, Walt. Small (1–5´ high); leaves obovate, entire; peduncles scape-like; petals usually twice the length of the calyx; raceme short or corymbose in fruit (½–1´ long); pods broadly linear, smooth, much longer than the ascending pedicels.—Sandy and waste fields, E. Mass. to Minn., and southward. March–May.—Petals often wanting in the later racemes, especially in the var. micrántha, Gray, with minutely rough-hairy pods, which is found with the other, westward.

4. D. cuneifòlia, Nutt. Leaves obovate, wedge-shaped, or the lowest spatulate, toothed; raceme somewhat elongated in fruit (1–3´), at length equalling the naked peduncle; petals emarginate, much longer than the calyx; pods oblong-linear, minutely hairy, longer than the horizontal pedicels.—Grassy places, Ill. to E. Kan., and southward. March, April.

5. D. brachycárpa, Nutt. Low (2–4´ high), minutely pubescent; stems leafy to the base of the dense at length elongated raceme; leaves narrowly oblong or the lowest ovate (2–4´´ long), few toothed or entire; flowers small; pods smooth, narrowly oblong, acutish (2´´ long), about the length of the ascending or spreading pedicels.—Dry hills, Ill., Ky., Va. (A. H. Curtiss), and southward. April.—Petals sometimes minute, sometimes none.

6. D. nemoròsa, L. Leaves oblong or somewhat lanceolate, more or less toothed; racemes elongated (4–8´ long in fruit); petals emarginate, small; pods elliptical-oblong, half the length of the horizontal or widely-spreading pedicels, pubescent or smooth.—Fort Gratiot, Mich., N. Minn., and westward. (Eu.)

§ 3. ERÓPHILA. Petals 2-cleft. (Annual or biennial; flowers white.)

D. vérna, L. (Whitlow-Grass.) Small (scapes 1–3´ high); leaves all radical, oblong or lanceolate; racemes elongated in fruit; pods varying from round-oval to oblong-lanceolate, smooth, shorter than the pedicels.—Sandy waste places and roadsides. April, May. (Nat. from Eu.)

7. ALÝSSUM, Tourn.

Pod small, orbicular, with only one or two wingless seeds in a cell; valves nerveless, somewhat convex, the margin flattened. Flowers yellow or white. Filaments often toothed. Cotyledons accumbent. (Greek name of a plant reputed to check the hiccup, as the etymology denotes.)

A. marítimum, L. (Sweet Alyssum), with green or slightly hoary linear leaves, honey-scented small white flowers, and 2-seeded pods, commonly cult., begins to be spontaneous southward. (Adv. from Eu.)

A. calycìnum, L., a dwarf hoary annual, with linear-spatulate leaves, pale yellow or whitish petals little exceeding the persistent calyx, and orbicular sharp margined 4-seeded pod, the style minute, occurs occasionally in grassland. (Adv. from Eu.)

8. LESQUERÉLLA, Watson.

Pod mostly globular or inflated, with a broad orbicular to ovate hyaline partition nerved to the middle, the hemispherical or convex thin valves nerveless. Seeds few or several, in 2 rows, flat. Cotyledons accumbent. Filaments toothless.—Low herbs, hoary with stellate hairs or lepidote. Flowers mostly yellow. (Named for Leo Lesquereux.)

2. L. grácilis, Watson. Annual, slender; pubescence very fine; leaves narrowly oblanceolate; pods glabrous, suberect on ascending or curved pedicels, stipitate; style long. (Vesicaria gracilis, Hook.)—S. Kan. to Tex.

3. L. Ludoviciàna, Watson. Biennial or perennial; pubescence compact; leaves linear-oblanceolate, mostly entire; pods pubescent, pendulous on recurved pedicels; style long. (Vesicaria Ludoviciana, DC.)—Minn. to Neb. and southwestward.

9. CAMÉLINA, Crantz. False Flax.

Pod obovoid or pear-shaped, pointed, flattish parallel to the broad partition; valves 1-nerved. Seeds numerous, oblong. Cotyledons incumbent. Style slender. Flowers small, yellow. (Name from χαμαί, dwarf, and λίνον, flax.)

C. satìva, Crantz. Annual; leaves lanceolate and arrow-shaped; pods margined, large. A weed in flax-fields, etc. (Adv. from Eu.)

10. SUBULÀRIA, L. Awlwort.

Pod ovoid or globular, with a broad partition; the turgid valves 1-nerved. Seeds several. Cotyledons long and narrow, incumbently folded transversely, i.e., the cleft extending to the radicular side of the curvature. Style none.—A dwarf stemless perennial, aquatic; the tufted leaves awl-shaped (whence the name). Scape naked, few-flowered, 1–3´ high. Flowers minute, white.

1. S. aquática, L. Margin of lakes in Maine; Echo Lake, Franconia, N. H.; also in alpine regions of the western mountains. June, July. (Eu.)

11. NASTÚRTIUM, R. Br. Water-Cress.

Pod a short silique or a silicle, varying from oblong-linear to globular, terete or nearly so; valves strongly convex, nerveless. Seeds usually numerous, small, turgid, marginless, in 2 irregular rows in each cell (except in N. sylvestre). Cotyledons accumbent.—Aquatic or marsh plants, with yellow or white flowers, and commonly pinnate or pinnatifid leaves, usually glabrous. (Name from Nasus tortus, a convulsed nose, alluding to the effect of its pungent qualities.)

§ 1. Petals white, twice the length of the calyx; pods linear; leaves pinnate.

N. officinàle, R. Br. (True Water-Cress.) Perennial; stems spreading and rooting; leaflets 3–11, roundish or oblong, nearly entire; pods (6–8´´ long) ascending on slender widely spreading pedicels.—Brooks and ditches; escaped from cultivation. (Nat. from Eu.)

§ 2. Petals yellow or yellowish, seldom much exceeding the calyx; pods linear, oblong, or even ovoid or globular; leaves mostly pinnatifid.

[*] Perennial from creeping or subterranean shoots; flowers rather large, yellow.

1. N. sinuàtum, Nutt. Stems low, diffuse; leaves pinnately cleft, the short lobes nearly entire, linear-oblong; pods linear-oblong (4–6´´ long), on slender pedicels; style slender.—Banks of the Mississippi and westward. June.

[*][*] Annual or biennial, rarely perennial (?), with simple fibrous roots; flowers small or minute, greenish or yellowish; leaves somewhat lyrate.

2. N. sessiliflòrum, Nutt. Stems erect, rather simple; leaves obtusely incised or toothed, obovate or oblong; flowers minute, nearly sessile; pods elongated-oblong (5–6´´ long), thick; style very short.—W. Ill. to E. Kan., Tenn., and southward. April–June.

3. N. obtùsum, Nutt. Stems much branched, diffusely spreading; leaves pinnately parted or divided, the divisions roundish and obtusely toothed or repand; flowers minute, short-pedicelled; pods longer than the pedicels, varying from linear-oblong to short-oval; style short.—With n. 1 and 2.

4. N. palústre, DC. (Marsh Cress.) Stem erect; leaves pinnately cleft or parted, or the upper laciniate; the lobes oblong, cut-toothed; pedicels about as long as the small flowers and mostly longer than the oblong, ellipsoid, or ovoid pods; style short.—Wet places or in shallow water; common. June–Sept.—Flowers only 1–1½´´ long. Stems 1–3° high.—The typical form with oblong pods is rare. Short pods and hirsute stems and leaves are common. Var. híspidum is a form with ovoid or globular pods. (Eu.)

§ 3. Petals white, much longer than the calyx; pods ovoid or globular; leaves undivided, or the lower ones pinnatifid; root perennial.