The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States - Part 150
Library

Part 150

16. E. Darlingtnii, Gray. Tall _perennial_ (2--4 high); _leaves entire, minutely downy beneath_; those of the stem lanceolate-oblong from a narrow base; the floral oval, very obtuse; the upper roundish-dilated with a truncate base; umbel 5--8-rayed, then simply forked; _pod minutely warty_; large globular seed with a small caruncle.--Copses, N. Y. and Penn., to the mountains of N. C.

July--Sept.

17. E. obtusata, Pursh. Erect _annual_ (1--2 high); _leaves oblong-spatulate_, minutely serrulate, _smooth, all obtuse_; upper ones cordate at base; floral ones ovate, dilated, barely mucronate; umbel once or twice divided into 3 rays, then into 2; _involucre with naked lobes_ and small stipitate glands; _styles distinct_, longer than the ovary, erect, _2-cleft to the middle_; pod beset with long warts.--Damp woods, Va. to S. C., west to Iowa and Kan. May--July.

E. PLATYPHLLA, L. Erect _annual_ (8--18' high); upper _stem-leaves lanceolate-oblong, acute_, cordate at base, minutely serrulate, mostly _with scattered hairs beneath_; floral ones triangular-ovate, subcordate; umbel 5-rayed; _involucre with ciliate lobes_ and large sessile glands; _styles_ longer than the ovary, _united at base, slightly 2-cleft_; pod covered with depressed warts.--Along the St.

Lawrence and Great Lakes to Mich. June--Aug. (Adv. from Eu.)

[++][++] _Seeds rugose or reticulated; leaves serrulate; annuals._

18. E. dictyosperma, Fischer & Meyer. Stem erect (8--18' high); _leaves_ oblong- or obovate-spatulate, smooth, all obtuse and _obtusely serrate_; upper ones cordate at base; floral ones roundish-ovate or obscurely heart-shaped, slightly mucronate; umbels once or twice 3-forked, then 2-forked; involucre with nearly naked lobes and _small almost sessile glands_; styles shorter than the ovary, spreading or recurved; _pod warty; seeds delicately reticulated_.--Prairies and roadsides, Md. to Minn., Ala., and westward. May--July.

E. HELIOSCPIA, L. Stems ascending (6--12' high), stout; _leaves all obovate_ and very rounded or retuse at the end, _finely serrate_, smooth or a little hairy, those of the stem wedge-shaped; umbel divided into 5 rays, then into 3, or at length simply forked; _glands...o...b..cular, stalked; pods smooth and even; seeds with coa.r.s.e honeycomb-like reticulations_.--Waste places, eastward and along the Great Lakes to Mich. July--Sept. (Nat. from Eu.)

[+][+] _Leaves entire; glands crescent-shaped or 2-horned._

[++] _Seeds smooth and dark-colored; perennials, with running rootstocks._

E. eSULA, L. Stems cl.u.s.tered (1 high); _leaves lanceolate or linear, the floral_ (yellowish) _broadly heart-shaped_, mucronate; umbel divided into many rays, then forking; _glands short-horned_ (brown); pods smoothish and granular.--Ma.s.s., western N. Y., and Mich.; rare. (Adv.

from Eu.)

E. CYPARiSSIAS, L. Stems densely cl.u.s.tered (6--10' high); _stem-leaves linear, crowded, the floral heart-shaped_; umbel many-rayed; _glands crescent-shaped_; pods granular.--Escaped from gardens, common. (Nat.

from Eu.)

E. NICaeeNSIS, All. _Stout and tall_ glabrous perennial; _leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate_, the floral broadly heart-shaped, mucronate; terminal umbel many-rayed, the rays forking; glands short-horned; _pods finely wrinkled_.--A rare escape; Binghampton, N. Y. (Adv. from Eu.)

[++][++] _Seeds sculptured, ash-colored; pod smooth; annuals or biennials._

E. PePLUS, L. Erect or ascending (5--10' high); _leaves petioled_, thin round-obovate, the upper floral ones ovate; umbel 3-rayed, then forking; glands long-horned; lobes of the _pod 2-wing-crested_ on the back; _seeds 2-grooved on the inner face, pitted on the back_ (scarcely over " long).--Waste places, N. Eng. to N. J. and western N. Y. (Adv. from En.)

19. E. commutata, Engelm. Stems branched from a commonly dec.u.mbent base (6--12' high); _leaves_ obovate, obtuse; the upper all _sessile_, the upper floral ones roundish-dilated, broader than long; umbel 3-forked; glands with slender horns; _capsule obtusely angled; seeds ovate, pitted all over_ (1" long).--Along streams and shady slopes, Md. to Fla., Minn., and Mo.

[*][*][*] _Glabrous annual or biennial with entire opposite and decussate leaves, an umbelliform inflorescence, and short-horned glands._

E. LaTHYRIS, L. Stem stout (2--3 high); leaves thick, linear or oblong, the floral oblong-ovate and heart-shaped; umbel 4-rayed, then forking.--Sparingly escaped from gardens, N. Eng. to N. C. (Adv. from Eu.)

2. PACHYSaNDRA, Michx.

Flowers moncious, in naked spikes. Calyx 4--5-parted. Petals none.

_Ster. Fl._ Stamens 4, separate; filaments long-exserted, thick and flat; anthers oblong-linear. _Fert. Fl._ Ovary 3-celled; styles 3, thick, awl-shaped, recurved, stigmatic down their whole length inside.

Ovules a pair in each cell, suspended, with the rhaphe dorsal (turned away from the placenta). Capsule deeply 3-horned, 3-celled, splitting into 3 at length 2-valved 2-seeded carpels.--Nearly glabrous, low and proc.u.mbent perennial herbs, with matted creeping rootstocks, and alternate, ovate or obovate, coa.r.s.ely toothed leaves, narrowed at base into a petiole. Flowers each 1--3-bracted, the upper staminate, a few fertile ones at base, unpleasantly scented; sepals greenish or purplish; filaments white (their size and thickness giving the name, from pa???, _thick_, and ????, used for _stamen_).

1. P. proc.u.mbens, Michx. Stems (6--9' long) bearing several approximate leaves at the summit on slender petioles, and a few many-flowered spikes along the base; the intervening portion naked, or with a few small scales.--Woods, mountains of Ky., W. Va., and southward. March--May.

3. PHYLLaNTHUS, L.

Flowers moncious, axillary. Calyx usually 5--6-parted, imbricated in the bud. Petals none. Stamens mostly 3, erect in the bud, often united.

Ovules 2 in each cell of the ovary. Capsule depressed; each carpel 2-valved, 2-seeded. Seeds not carunculate.--Leaves alternate, 2-ranked, with small stipules. (Name composed of f?????, _leaf_, and ?????, _blossom_, because the flowers in a few species are borne upon leaf-like dilated branches.)

1. P. Carolinensis, Walt. Annual, low and slender, branched; leaves obovate or oval, short-petioled; flowers commonly 2 in each axil, almost sessile, one staminate, the other fertile; calyx 6-parted; stamens 3; styles 3, each 2-cleft; glands of the disk in the fertile flowers united in a cup.--Gravelly banks, E. Penn. to Fla., west to S. Ind. and Ill.

July--Sept.

4. JaTROPHA, L.

Flowers moncious, rarely dicious, in a terminal open forking cyme; the fertile ones usually in the lower forks. Calyx corolla-like, in the staminate flowers often salver shaped, 5-lobed; in the pistillate, 5-parted, imbricated or convolute in the bud. Corolla of 5 distinct or apparently united petals, or none. Glands of the disk opposite the calyx-lobes. Stamens 10--30, in 2 or more whorls; filaments monadelphous at base. Ovary mostly 3-celled; styles 3, united below, their summits once or twice forked. Capsule 3-celled, 3-seeded, separating into 3 two-valved carpels. Seed carunculate.--Perennial herbaceous or shrubby plants, chiefly tropical, with alternate mostly long-petioled palmately-veined leaves, and stipules.--Our species is of the section CNIDoSCOLUS, with apetalous flowers, the staminate corolla salver-form, and the plants mostly armed with stinging bristles. (Name said by Linnaeus to be formed of ?at???, _a remedy_, and f???, _to eat_.)

1. J. stimulsa, Michx. (TREAD-SOFTLY. SPURGE-NETTLE.) Herbaceous, from a long perennial root, branching (6'--2 high); leaves roundish-heart-shaped, 3--5-lobed nearly to the base, on long petioles; the divisions entire or acutely toothed, cut, or even pinnatifid, often discolored; flowers white, fragrant, 9" long or more; filaments 10, monadelphous only at the woolly base, or the outer set almost distinct.

(J. urens, var. stimulosa, _J. Muell._)--Dry sandy soil, Va. to Fla. and La. June--Sept.

5. CRTON, L.

Flowers moncious, rarely dicious, mostly in terminal spike-like racemes or spikes. _Ster. Fl._ Calyx 5- (rarely 4--6-) parted; the divisions lightly imbricated or nearly valvate in the bud. Petals usually present, as many, but mostly small or rudimentary, hypogynous.

Glands or lobes of the disk as many as and alternate with the petals.

Receptacle usually hairy. Stamens 5 or more; filaments with the anthers inflexed in the bud. _Fert. Fl._ Calyx 5--10-cleft or parted, nearly as in the staminate flowers; but petals none or minute rudiments. Ovary 3- (rarely 2--4-) celled, with a single ovule in each cell; styles as many, from once to thrice 2-cleft. Capsule separating into as many 2-valved 1-seeded carpels. Seeds carunculate.--Stellate-downy, or scurfy, or hairy and glandular plants, mostly strong-scented; the fertile flowers usually at the base of the sterile spike or cl.u.s.ter. Leaves alternate, or sometimes imperfectly opposite, with or without obvious stipules.

(???t??, the Greek name of the Castor-oil Plant, of this family.)

[*] _Sterile flowers with 4-parted calyx, as many petals, a 4-rayed disk and 8 stamens; fertile flowers with 5-parted calyx, very minute rudimentary petals, and the 3 styles 2-cleft._

1. C. glandulsus, L. Annual, rough-hairy and glandular (1--2 high), somewhat umbellately branched; leaves oblong or linear-oblong, obtusely toothed, the base with a saucer-shaped gland on each side; fertile flowers capitate-cl.u.s.tered at the base of the sterile spike, sessile in the forks and terminal.--Open waste places, Va. to Iowa, E. Kan. and southward.

[*][*] _Sterile flowers with 5-parted calyx, as many glands alternating with the petals, and 10--14 stamens; fertile flowers with 7--12-parted calyx, no petals, and the 3 styles twice or thrice 2-parted._

2. C. capitatus, Michx. Annual, densely soft-woolly and somewhat glandular (1--2 high), branched; leaves long-petioled, lance-oblong or elongated-oblong, rounded at base, entire; petals obovate-lanceolate, densely fimbriate; fertile flowers several, capitate-crowded at the base of the short terminal sterile spike.--Barrens, N. J. to Ga., west to S.

Ind., Iowa, and E. Kan. July--Sept.

[*][*][*] _Sterile flowers with unequally 3--5-parted calyx, as many petals and scale-like glands, and 3--8 stamens; fertile flowers with equally 5-parted calyx, no petals, 5 glands, and 2 sessile 2-parted stigmas._

3. C. monanthogynus, Michx. Annual, whitish-stellate-p.u.b.escent and rusty-glandular; stems (1--2 high) slender, erect, below often umbellately 3--4-forked, then repeatedly 2--3-forked or alternately branched; leaves oblong-ovate or narrowly oblong, entire, often acutish (6--12" long, about twice the length of the petioles); flowers in the forks, the sterile few on the summit of a short and erect peduncle, the fertile few and cl.u.s.tered or mostly solitary on short recurved peduncles; ovary 2-celled; fruit often by abortion 1-celled and 1-seeded; the seed broadly oval.--Barrens and dry prairies, S. Ind. to N. C. and Fla., west to E. Kan. June--Sept.

[*][*][*][*] _Dicious; calyx equally 5-parted; petals none; stamens 10 or more; styles twice or thrice dichotomously 2-parted._

4. C. Texensis, Muell. Annual, covered with a close canescent stellate p.u.b.escence, dichotomously branched or spreading (1--2 high); leaves narrowly oblong-lanceolate to linear; staminate spikes or racemes very short, often sessile; capsule stellate-tomentose and somewhat muricate.--Mo. and Kan. to Ala., Tex., and westward.

6. CROTONoPSIS, Michx.

Flowers moncious, in very small terminal or lateral spikes or cl.u.s.ters, the lower fertile. _Ster. Fl._ Calyx equally 5-parted. Petals 5, spatulate. Stamens 5, opposite the petals; filaments distinct, inflexed in the bud, enlarged at the apex. _Fert. Fl._ Calyx unequally 3--5-parted. Petals none. Glands (petal-like scales) 5, opposite the sepals. Ovary 1-celled, simple, 1-ovuled, bearing a twice or thrice forked style. Fruit dry and indehiscent, small, 1-seeded. Seed without caruncle.--A slender low annual, with alternate or opposite short-petioled linear or elliptical lanceolate leaves, which are green and smoothish above, but silvery h.o.a.ry with starry hairs and scurfy with brownish scales underneath, as well as the branches, etc. (_Croton_ and ????, _appearance_, for a plant with the aspect and general character of Croton.)

1. C. linearis, Michx.--Dry sandy soil, N. J. to Fla., west to Ill. and Kan. July--Sept.--Fruit about 1" long.

7. ARGYTHaMNIA, P. Browne.

Flowers moncious. Calyx 5-parted, valvate in the staminate flowers, imbricate in the pistillate. Petals alternate with the calyx-lobes and with the prominent lobes of the glandular disk. Stamens 5--15, united into a central column in 1--3 whorls. Styles 1--3-cleft. Capsule depressed, 3-lobed. Seeds subglobose, roughened or reticulated, not carunculate.--Erect herbs or undershrubs, with purplish juice, and alternate usually stipulate leaves. (Name from ???????, _silver_, and ?????, _bush_, from the h.o.a.riness of the original species.)