1. aSCYRUM, L. ST. PETER'S-WORT.

Sepals 4; the two outer very broad and leaf-like; the inner much smaller. Petals 4, oblique, very deciduous, convolute in the bud.

Stamens numerous; the filaments distinct and scarcely in cl.u.s.ters. Pod strictly 1-celled, 2--4-valved.--Low, rather shrubby, smooth plants, with pale black-dotted leaves, and nearly solitary light yellow flowers.

(An ancient Greek name of some plant, from a-, _without_, and s?????, _roughness_.)

1. A. stans, Michx. (ST. PETER'S-WORT.) Stem rather simple, 2-edged, 1--2 high, stout; _leaves oval or oblong, somewhat clasping_, thickish; flowers showy; outer sepals round-cordate, inner lanceolate; _petals obovate_; styles 3 or 4.--Pine barrens, Long Island to Penn., and southward. July, Aug.

2. A. Crux-andreae, L. (ST. ANDREW'S CROSS.) Low, much branched and dec.u.mbent; _leaves narrowly obovate-oblong, contracted at the base_, thin; _petals linear-oblong_; styles 2, very short; pod flat.--Nantucket; pine barrens of N. J. to S. Ill., Neb., and southward.

July--Sept.--Petals scarcely exceeding the outer sepals, approaching each other in pairs over them, in the form of a St. Andrew's cross.

2. HYPeRIc.u.m, Tourn. ST. JOHN'S-WORT.

Sepals 5, somewhat equal. Petals 5, oblique, convolute in the bud.

Stamens commonly united or cl.u.s.tered in 3--5 parcels; no interposed glands. Pod 1-celled or 3--5-celled. Seeds usually cylindrical.--Herbs or shrubs, with cymose yellow flowers. (An ancient Greek name, of obscure meaning.)

-- 1. _Stamens very numerous, 5-adelphous; styles 5, united below, the stigmas capitate; pod 5-celled, the placentae turned far back into the cells; perennial herb; flowers very large._

1. H. ascyron, L. (GREAT ST. JOHN'S-WORT.) Stems 2--5 high; branches 2--4-angled; leaves (2--5' long) ovate-oblong, partly clasping; petals narrowly obovate (1' long), not deciduous until after they wither; pod ' long, conical. (H. pyramidatum, _Ait._)--Banks of rivers, New Eng.

and Penn. to Iowa and Minn. July.

-- 2. _Stamens very numerous, obscurely if at all cl.u.s.tered; styles 3 (n. 2 excepted), more or less united into one, the stigmas not capitate except in n. 10; sepals mostly foliaceous._

[*] _Bushy shrubs, 1--6 high, leafy to the top._

[+] _Styles 5; pod completely 5-celled._

2. H. Kalmianum, L. (KALM'S ST. JOHN'S-WORT.) Branches 4-angled; branchlets 2-edged; leaves crowded, glaucous, linear to oblanceolate (1--2' long); flowers few in a cl.u.s.ter (1' wide); pods ovate.--Wet rocks, Niagara Falls and northern lakes. Aug.

[+][+] _Styles 3; pod completely 3-celled._

3. H. prolific.u.m, L. (SHRUBBY ST. JOHN'S-WORT.) Branchlets 2-edged; leaves narrowly oblong (1--2' long), mostly obtuse, narrowed at the base; flowers numerous, in single or compound cl.u.s.ters; pods lanceolate to ovate, 4--6" long.--N. J. to Mich., Minn., and southward.

July--Sept.--Varies greatly in size, etc.

4. H. densiflrum, Pursh. Exceedingly branched above, 1--6 high, the branches slender and crowded with smaller leaves; flowers smaller (--{2/3}' in diameter) and more numerous, in crowded compound cymes; pod 2--3" long. (H. prolific.u.m, var. densiflorum, _Gray_.)--Pine barrens of N. J. to glades of Ky., Ark., and southward.

[*][*] _Perennial herbs or a little woody at the base._

[+] _Pod incompletely 3--4-celled_.

5. H. galiodes, Lam. Slender, branching, woody below; _leaves linear-oblanceolate_, narrowed downward, --3' long, mostly acute; flowers small in terminal and axillary cymes; sepals very narrow, 1--3" long; pod as long, ovate.--Del. to Ga. and E. Tenn.

6. H. adpressum, Barton. Stem simple, herbaceous, from a slightly woody creeping base (1--2 high), obscurely 4-angled below and 2-edged above; _leaves ascending, lanceolate_ or linear-oblong, often acute, thin; cyme terminal, leafy at the base, few-flowered; sepals linear-lanceolate, pods ovoid-oblong.--Moist places, Nantucket and R. I. to Penn., and southwestward. July--Aug.--Leaves 1' long. Petals bright yellow, 3--5"

long.

[+][+] _Pod 1-celled with 3 parietal placentae._

7. H. dolabriforme, Vent. Stems branched from the dec.u.mbent base, woody below (6--20' high), terete; _leaves linear-lanceolate_, widely spreading, veinless; cyme leafy, few-flowered; _sepals oblong or ovate-lanceolate_, about the length of the very oblique petals (5--6"

long); _pods ovate-conical, pointed_, the walls very thick and hard.--Dry hills and rocks, barrens of Ky. and Tenn. June--Aug.

8. H. cistiflium, Lam.! Stems mostly simple, herbaceous, with a somewhat woody base, angled with 4 very narrow salient lines (1--2 high); leaves narrowly oblong to nearly linear (1--3' long), sessile with a somewhat clasping base; the cyme naked, compound, usually many-flowered; _sepals ovate; pods depressed-globular or ovoid-conical_; seeds large, oblong, very rough-pitted. (H. sphaerocarpon, _Michx._)--Rocky river-banks, S. W. Ohio, to Iowa and southward.

July--Sept.--Flowers small.

9. H. elliptic.u.m, Hook. Stem simple, herbaceous (10--20' high), obscurely 4-angled; _leaves spreading, elliptical-oblong_, obtuse, usually narrower toward the subclasping base, thin; cyme nearly naked, rather few-flowered; _sepals oblong; pods ovoid, very obtuse_; seeds minutely striate.--Wet places, New Eng. and Penn. to Minn., and northward. July, Aug.--Petals light yellow, 3" long.

10. H. virgatum, Lam. Stem slender, strict, simple, sharply 4-angled, herbaceous (1--2 high); _leaves ascending_, opaque, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, acute (--1' long), closely sessile by a broad base; cyme compound, naked, the scattered flowers racemose on its ascending branches; _sepals herbaceous, erect_, enclosing the ovoid pod; _styles 3, separate_, with capitate stigmas. (H. angulosum, _Michx._)--Wet pine barrens of N. J. and southward; Ky. July--Sept.--Petals copper-yellow, 4--5" long.

-- 3. _Stamens very many, in 3 or 5 cl.u.s.ters; styles 3, separate and usually diverging; pod 3-celled; calyx erect; petals and anthers with black dots; perennials._

H. PERFORaTUM, L. (COMMON ST. JOHN'S-WORT.) Stem much branched and corymbed, somewhat 2-edged (producing runners from the base); leaves elliptical-oblong or linear-oblong, with pellucid dots; petals (deep yellow) twice the length of the _lanceolate acute sepals_; flowers numerous, in open leafy cymes.--Fields, etc. June--Sept.--Too well known as a pernicious weed, which it is difficult to extirpate. Juice very acrid. (Nat. from Eu.)

11. H. maculatum, Walt. Conspicuously marked with both black and pellucid dots; stem terete, sparingly branched; leaves oblong or lance-ovate, the base either obtuse or somewhat clasping; _flowers crowded_ (small); _petals pale yellow_, much longer than the _oblong sepals_, styles mostly not longer than the pod. (H. corymbosum, _Muhl._)--Damp places; common. July--Sept.--Leaves larger and flowers much smaller than in the last; petals 2--3" long, marked with black lines as well as dots. The ordinary northern form differs from the typical southern one in the shorter style and the more oblong less clasping leaves.

-- 4. _Stamens 5--12, distinct or in 3 cl.u.s.ters; pod 1-celled, with 3 strictly parietal placentae; styles short, distinct, with capitate stigmas; petals oblong or linear; sepals narrow, erect; slender annuals, with 4-angular branches; flowering all summer._

[*] _Stem simple or loosely branched; leaves linear to ovate, spreading._

12. H. multilum, L. Stem flaccid, widely branching (6--20' high); _leaves ovate to narrowly oblong, obtuse, partly clasping, 5-nerved_; cymes leafy; flowers 2" broad; _pods ovate-conical, rather longer than the calyx_.--Low grounds, everywhere.

13. H. gymnanthum, Engelm. & Gray. Almost simple, with strict stem and branches (1--3 high); leaves clasping, heart-shaped, acute or obtuse; cyme naked, the floral leaves reduced to small awl-shaped bracts; in aspect approaching the next. (H. mutilum, var. gymnanthum, _Gray_.)--Del. and Penn. to Minn., and southward.

14. H. Canadense, L. Stem strict (6--15' high), with the branches erect; _leaves linear, 3-nerved_ at the base, obtuse; cymes naked; flowers deep yellow, 2--3" broad when expanded; _pods conical-oblong, usually much longer than the calyx_.--Wet, sandy soil; common. June--Oct.--Var.

MaJUS, Gray, is a large form, 1--2 high, with lanceolate leaves 1'

long, 3" wide, the upper acute. L. Superior, _Robbins_; S. New York and southward.--Var. MINIMUM, Chois., a simple few-flowered form, 1--3'

high, with oblong obtuse leaves. On wet rocks, Wisc., and northward.

[*][*] _Stems fastigiately branched; leaves linear or bract-like, ascending or appressed._

15. H. Drummondii, Torr. & Gray. Stem and the mostly alternate bushy branches rigid, erect (10--18' high); _leaves linear-subulate_, nearly erect, _1-nerved_ (3--9" long); _flowers scattered_ along the upper part of the leafy branches, _short-pedicelled; pods ovoid, not longer than the calyx_.--W. Ill., Iowa, Kan., and southward, in dry soil.

16. H. nudicaule, Walt. (ORANGE-GRa.s.s. PINE-WEED.) Stem and bushy branches thread-like, wiry (4--9' high); _leaves minute awl-shaped scales, appressed; flowers minute, mostly sessile_ and scattered along the erect branches; _pods ovate-lanceolate_, acute, _much longer than the calyx_. (H. Sarothra, _Michx._)--Sandy fields, N. Eng. to Ill., Mo., and southward; common. June--Oct.

3. ELDES, Adans. MARSH ST. JOHN'S-WORT.

Sepals 5, equal, erect. Petals 5, equal-sided, oblong, naked, imbricated in the bud. Stamens 9 (rarely more), united in 3 sets; the sets separated by as many large orange-colored glands. Pod 3-celled, oblong, styles distinct.--Perennial herbs, in marshes or shallow water, with small close cl.u.s.ters of flesh-colored flowers in the axils of the leaves and at the summit of the stem. (Name ???d??, _growing in marshes_, accidentally changed to ELODeA by Jussieu, who was followed by Pursh, etc.)

1. E. campanulata, Pursh. _Leaves closely sessile or clasping by a broad base_, oblong or ovate, very obtuse; filaments united below the middle.

(E. Virginica, _Nutt._)--Common in swamps; 1--2 high. July, Aug.

2. E. petiolata, Pursh. Taller, more branching; _leaves tapering into a short petiole, oblong_; filaments united beyond the middle.--From Va.

south and westward.

ORDER 19. TERNSTRMIaCEae. (TEA OR CAMELLIA FAMILY.)

_Trees or shrubs, with alternate simple feather-veined leaves, and no stipules, the regular flowers hypogynous and polyandrous, the sepals and petals both imbricated in aestivation, the stamens more or less united at the base with each other (monadelphous or 3--5-adelphous) and with the base of the petals._--Anthers 2-celled, introrse. Fruit a woody 3--5-celled loculicidal pod. Seeds few, with little or no alb.u.men.

Embryo large, with broad cotyledons.--A family with showy flowers, the types of which are the well-known CAMELLIA and the more important TEA PLANT,--represented in this country by the two following genera.