Part 111 (1/2)

Tribe II. PRIMULEae. Ovary wholly free.

[*] Stemless, leaves all in a cl.u.s.ter from the root; capsule dehiscent by valves or teeth.

2. Dodecatheon. Corolla reflexed, 5-parted. Stamens exserted, connivent in a cone.

3. Primula. Corolla funnel-form or salver-shaped, open at the throat.

Stamens included.

4. Androsace. Corolla short, very small, constricted at the throat.

Stamens included.

[*][*] Stems leafy; corolla rotate (none in Glaux); leaves entire.

[+] Capsule dehiscent vertically by valves or irregularly, mostly globose.

5. Trientalis. Corolla mostly 7-parted. Stem leafy only at the summit.

6. Steironema. Corolla 5-parted. Five slender staminodia between the fertile stamens.

7. Lysimachia. Corolla 5--6-parted or 5--6-petalled. Staminodia none.

Leaves dotted.

8. Glaux. Corolla none; the calyx petal-like. Flowers axillary.

[+][+] Globose capsule circ.u.mscissile, the top falling off as a lid; flowers axillary.

9. Anagallis. Corolla longer than the calyx, 5-parted. Leaves opposite.

10. Centunculus. Corolla shorter than the calyx, 4--5-cleft. Leaves alternate.

Tribe III. SAMOLEae. Ovary connate at base with the base of the calyx.

11. Samolus. Corolla bell-shaped, with 5 staminodia in the sinuses.

Flowers racemose.

1. HOTTNIA, L. FEATHERFOIL. WATER VIOLET.

Calyx 5-parted, the divisions linear. Corolla salver-shaped, with a short tube; limb 5-parted. Stamens 5, included. Capsule many-seeded, 5-valved; the valves cohering at the base and summit. Seeds anatropous.--Aquatic perennials, with pectinate immersed leaves, and the erect hollow flower-stems almost leafless. Flowers white or whitish, whorled at the joints, forming an interrupted raceme. (Named for _Prof.

Hotton_, a botanist of Leyden.)

1. H. inflata, Ell. Leaves dissected into thread-like divisions, scattered on the floating and rooting stems, and crowded at the base of the cl.u.s.ter of peduncles, which are strongly inflated between the joints (often as thick as one's finger); pedicels short.--Pools and ditches, Ma.s.s. to S. Ind., and south to the Gulf. June--Aug.

2. DODECaTHEON, L. AMERICAN COWSLIP.

Calyx deeply 5-cleft, the divisions lanceolate, reflexed. Corolla with a very short tube, thickened throat, and 5-parted reflexed limb; the divisions long and narrow. Filaments short, monadelphous at base; anthers long and linear, approximate in a slender cone.--Perennial smooth herb, with fibrous roots, a cl.u.s.ter of oblong or spatulate leaves, and a simple naked scape, involucrate with small bracts at the summit, bearing an ample umbel of showy flowers, nodding on slender pedicels. Corolla rose-color, or sometimes white. (Name from d?de?a, _twelve_, and ?e??, _G.o.ds_, given by Pliny to the primrose, which was believed to be under the care of the superior G.o.ds.)

1. D. Meadia, L. (SHOOTING-STAR.) Rich woods, Penn. and Md. to Wisc., south to Ga. and Tex. May, June.--Very handsome in cultivation.