D. VeRNA, L. (WHITLOW-GRa.s.s.) 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. ALSSUM, 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 acc.u.mbent. (Greek name of a plant reputed to check the hiccup, as the etymology denotes.)

A. MARiTIMUM, L. (SWEET ALYSSUM), with green or slightly h.o.a.ry linear leaves, honey-scented small white flowers, and 2-seeded pods, commonly cult., begins to be spontaneous southward. (Adv. from Eu.)

A. CALYCNUM, L., a dwarf h.o.a.ry 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 gra.s.sland. (Adv. from Eu.)

8. LESQUEReLLA, Watson.

Pod mostly globular or inflated, with a broad orbicular to ovate hyaline part.i.tion nerved to the middle, the hemispherical or convex thin valves nerveless. Seeds few or several, in 2 rows, flat. Cotyledons acc.u.mbent.

Filaments toothless.--Low herbs, h.o.a.ry with stellate hairs or lepidote.

Flowers mostly yellow. (Named for _Leo Lesquereux_.)

1. L. globsa, Watson. Minutely h.o.a.ry all over; stems spreading or dec.u.mbent from an annual or biennial root; leaves oblong or lanceolate with a tapering base, repand-toothed or nearly entire; raceme at length elongated, with filiform diverging pedicels; petals light yellow; style filiform, much longer than the small globose, acutish, about 4-seeded pod; seeds marginless. (Vesicaria Shortii, _Torr._)--Rocky banks, Ky.

to Tenn. and Mo. May, June.

2. L. gracilis, Watson. Annual, slender; p.u.b.escence 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. Ludoviciana, Watson. Biennial or perennial; p.u.b.escence compact; leaves linear-oblanceolate, mostly entire; pods p.u.b.escent, pendulous on recurved pedicels; style long. (Vesicaria Ludoviciana, _DC._)--Minn. to Neb. and southwestward.

9. CAMeLINA, Crantz. FALSE FLAX.

Pod obovoid or pear-shaped, pointed, flattish parallel to the broad part.i.tion; valves 1-nerved. Seeds numerous, oblong. Cotyledons inc.u.mbent. Style slender. Flowers small, yellow. (Name from ?aa?, _dwarf_, and ?????, _flax_.)

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

10. SUBULaRIA, L. AWLWORT.

Pod ovoid or globular, with a broad part.i.tion; the turgid valves 1-nerved. Seeds several. Cotyledons long and narrow, inc.u.mbently 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. aquatica, L. Margin of lakes in Maine; Echo Lake, Franconia, N. H.; also in alpine regions of the western mountains. June, July.

(Eu.)

11. NASTuRTIUM, 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 acc.u.mbent.--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. OFFICINaLE, 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._

N. SYLVeSTRE, R. Br. (YELLOW CRESS.) Stems ascending; _leaves pinnately parted_, the divisions toothed or cut, lanceolate or linear; pods ('

long) on slender pedicels, linear and narrow, bringing the seeds into one row; _style very short_.--Wet meadows, Ma.s.s. to Va.; rare. (Nat.

from Eu.)

1. N. sinuatum, 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. sessiliflrum, 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. obtusum, 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. pal.u.s.tre, 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--1" long. Stems 1--3 high.--The typical form with oblong pods is rare. Short pods and hirsute stems and leaves are common. Var. HiSPIDUM 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._

5. N. lacustre, Gray. (LAKE CRESS.) Aquatic; immersed leaves 1--3-pinnately dissected into numerous capillary divisions; emersed leaves oblong, entire, serrate, or pinnatifid; pedicels widely spreading; _pods ovoid, 1-celled, a little longer than the style_.--Lakes and rivers, N. E. New York to N. J., Minn., and southwestward. July--Aug.--Near N. amphibium.

N. ARMORaCIA, Fries. (HORSERADISH.) Root-leaves very large, oblong, crenate, rarely pinnatifid, those of the stem lanceolate; fruiting pedicels ascending; _pods globular_ (seldom formed); _style very short_.

(Cochlearia Armoracia, _L._)--Roots large and long; a well-known condiment. Escaped from cultivation into moist ground. (Adv. from Eu.)

12. BARBAReA, R. Br. WINTER CRESS.

Pod linear, terete or somewhat 4-sided, the valves being keeled by a mid-nerve. Seeds in a single row in each cell, marginless. Cotyledons acc.u.mbent.--Mostly biennials, resembling Nasturtium; flowers yellow.

(Anciently called the Herb of St. Barbara.)

1. B. vulgaris, R. Br. (COMMON WINTER CRESS. YELLOW ROCKET.) Smooth; lower leaves lyrate, the terminal division round and usually large, the lateral 1--4 pairs or rarely wanting; upper leaves obovate, cut-toothed, or pinnatifid at the base; pods erect or slightly spreading; or in var.

STRICTA, appressed; in var. ARCUaTA, ascending on spreading pedicels.--Low grounds and roadsides; apparently introduced, but indigenous from L. Superior northward and westward. (Eu.)

B. PRae'c.o.x, R. Br. (EARLY WINTER C.), with 5--8 pairs of lateral lobes to the leaves, and longer pods on very thick pedicels,--yet probably only a variety of the other,--somewhat cultivated from N. Y. southward as a winter salad, under the name of SCURVY-GRa.s.s,--is beginning to run wild.

(Eu.)

13. HeSPERIS, Tourn. ROCKET.

Pod linear, nearly cylindrical; stigma lobed, erect. Seeds in 1 row in each cell, oblong, marginless. Cotyledons inc.u.mbent.--Biennial or perennial, with serrate sessile or petiolate leaves, and large purple flowers. (Name from ?sp??a, evening, from the evening fragrance of the flowers.)

H. MATRONaLIS, L. (DAME'S VIOLET.) Tall; leaves lanceolate, ac.u.minate, mostly petiolate; pods 2--4' long, spreading.--Sparingly naturalized.

(Nat. from Eu.)

14. ERSIMUM, Tourn. TREACLE MUSTARD.