9. STENOSIPHON. Spach, monog. Onagr. p. 64.
Tube of the calyx filiform or almost capillary, much prolonged beyond
the ovary, recurved or declined after flowering, at length deciduous; the
limb 4-parted, much shorter than the tube. Petals 4, unguiculate, unequal.
Stamens 8, erect, the alternate ones a little shorter: filaments capillary:
anthers oblong, fixed by the middle. Ovary oval, 1-celled, with 4 suspended
ovules: style erect, filiform, dilated at the apex : stigma 4-lobed.
Fruit (very small) coriaceous and indehiscent, ovate, convex externally,
flatfish within, about 8-ribbed, 1-seeded.—A tall perennial herb, with virgate
branches, and scattered linear-lanceolate sessile acute nerveless entire leaves,
gradually reduced to bracts* Flowers (white) sessile, crowded, in long and
strict virgate spikes.
S. virgatus (Spach! 1. c.)—Gaura linifolia, Nutt.! in James' account of
Long's exped. 2. p. 100 ; Torr.! in ann. lyc. New York, 2. p. 200 ; DC.!
prodr. 3. p. 45.
On Salt River, Arkansas, Nuttall! On the upper part of the Canadian,
Dr. James ! Texas, Drummond !—Spikes in fruit sometimes nearly a foot
long. Bracts subulate, longer than the ovary, rather persistent. Calyx
pubescent; the tube exceedingly slender, 4-5 lines long. Petals rather large
in proportion. Ovary tomentose-pubescent.
Subtribe 4. Jussie®, DC.—Calyx not prolonged beyond the ovary; the
limb persistent. Seeds very numerous, naked.—Leaves opposite or alternate.
Petals sometimes wanting. Capsules tardily dehiscent.
10. JUSSIJEA. Linn. gen. p. 215 ; Geertn. Jr. t. 31; Lam. ill. t. 280.
Calyx-tube prismatic or cylindrical, not prolonged beyond the ovary; the
lobes 4-6, persistent. Petals 4-6, spreading. Stamens twice as many as
the petals. Ovary either flatfish at the apex, or crowned with the conical
furrowed base of the style : stigma capitate, 4-6-grooved. Capsule mostly
elongated, 4-6-celled, often ribbed, opening between the ribs. Seeds very
numerous.—Herbaceous or rarely slightly shrubby plants, growing in
marshes. Leaves alternate, mostly entire. Flowers yellow (rarely white)
axillary, often bibracteolate.
1. J. repens (Linn.): perennial, nearly glabrous; stem creeping at the
base, ascending; leaves lanceolate-oblong or oval, mostly obtuse, tapering at
the base into a slender petiole; flowers (large) on long pedicels, nodding
before their expansion, with 2 small fleshy bracteoles at the base of the
ovary; calyx, with the summit of the stem, slightly villous when young
with viscid hairs; the lobes 5, lanceolate, acute, shorter than the obovate
emarginate petals; stamens 10; capsules cylindrical, slightly attenuate at
the base, much shorter than the pedicels.—Linn. mant. p. 381 ; Swartz, obs.
p . 172; D C . prodr. 3. p. 54; W . <$* A m . prodr. Ind. Or. 1. p. 335, $ f in
Hook. hot. misc. suppl. t. 40. J. Swartziana, DC. 1. c. J. grandiflora, /?.
Hook. Sf Am. ! in compan. to hot. mag. 1. p. 25.
In ponds, Louisiana! and Arkansas! June-Aug.—Stems extensively
creeping and floating; ascending branches 1-2 feet high. Leaves very
smooth, veiny ; the petiole about the length of the limb. Pedicels 2 inches
or more in length.—This plant is certainly the same with the East Indian
and S. American J. repens, to which numerous synonyms are to be referred.
Some of its forms are noticed by Hooker & Arnott (Bot. misc. 3. p. 312).
The petals in our plant are yellow throughout, not at the base only, as is
represented in the figure cited above.
2. J. grandijlora (Michx.) : perennial, mostly hirsute or villous; stem
creeping at the base, erect; leaves lanceolate, nearly sessile, acute at each
end, the lower ones spatulate-oblong; flowers (large) nodding before their
expansion, on short ebracteolate or minutely bracleolate pedicels ; lobes of
the calyx 5, lanceolate, very acute, hairy, about half the length of the
obovate emarginate petals; stamens 10; ovary about the length of the
calyx-lobes, rather shorter than the pedicels.—Michx. ! Jl. 1. p. 267 ; Bot.
mag. t. 2122; Ell. sk. 1. p. 480 ; D C .! prodr. 3. p. 53; Hook. &r Am. 1. c.
(excl. 0.)
In bogs and ditches, S. Carolina! and Georgia! May-Aug.—Stem
creeping extensively, 2-3 feet high, villous when young. Ovary 5-angled.
—We have not seen the fruit, which, according to Elliott, seldom ripens in
its native situations. It is naturalized in the streams around Montpelier in
the south of France.
3. J. occidentalis (Nutt.! mss.): perennial ? pubescent; stem erect,
angled ; leaves lanceolate, acute at each end, sessile or with short petioles ;
flowers (rather large) on very short mostly bracteolate pedicels; lobes of the
calyx 4, ovate, acute, shorter than the obovate emarginate petals; stamens
.8; capsules elongated, 4-sided, thrice the length of the pedicels.
Margin of ponds, Arkansas, Nuttall! Texas, Drummond!—We adopt
Mr. Nuttall’s name for this species, but it will probably prove to be already
described; perhaps it is J. angustifolia, Lam. We have the same or a
nearly allied species from the Sandwich Islands.
4. J. leptocarpa (Nutt.): annual, mostly hirsute; stem erect or ascending;
leaves lanceolate, nearly sessile; flowers (small) on short ebracteolate pedicels
; lobes of the calyx usually 6, lanceolate, acuminate, hairy, as long as
the petals; stamens 10-12; capsules linear, almost cylindrical, much longer
than the pedicels.—Nutt.! gen. 1. p. 279; DC. prodr. 3 .p. 53; Hook. 4*
Arn.! in compan. to bot. mag. 1. p. 25.
Missouri! to Louisiana! and Arkansas! common. Alabama, Mr. Buck-
ley ! Florida, Mr. Ware! Dr. Chapman! June-Aug.—Stem simple or
sparingly branched, 1-2 feet high. Capsule about l i inch or more in length,
straight or a little arcuate, at length almost glabrous.
5. J. decurrens (DC.): perennial? glabrous; stem erect, branching, winged
by the decurrent leaves; branches slender; leaves lanceolate, acute, closely
sessile; flowers almost sessile; lobes of the calyx 4, ovate-lanceolate, acute,
about the length of the obovate petals, shorter than the capsule; stamens 8;
capsules subclavate-oblong, 4-sided, with the angles slightly winged, twice
or thrice the length of the pedicels.—DC.! prodr. 3 .jp. 56. J. erecta, Abbott,
insect. Georg, t. 40; Hook. Sf Am. in compan. to bot. mag. 1. p. 26;
not of Linn. J. tenuifolia, Nutt, in Sill. jour. 5. p. 294 ? Ludwigia decurrens,
Walt.! Car.p. 89; Ell. sk. 1 .p. 217. L. jussiaeoides, Michx.! Jl.
1. p. 89, not of Lam. ?
0- stem 2-3 inches high, 1-2-flowered.—L. uniflora, Raf. ?