Wet meadows, chiefly in mountainous districts,'Canada! to Georgia!
west to Kentucky ! and Illinois. April-May.— Plant '6-12 inches high.
Leaves 1—14 inch broad, crenately toothed: stipules conspicuous. Flowers
large, sulphur-yellow; peduncles longer than the leaves: lateral petals bearded.—
Perhaps V. debilis of Michaux should rather be referred to V. Mu hit n-
bergii; but his specimens of that species are imperfect, and we were unable
to determine them with certainty.
16. P. MuMenbergii (Torr.): glabrous; stem assurgent or somewhat
prostrate; leaves reniform-cordate, the upper ones a little acuminate, cre-
natelv serrate; stipules lanceolate, deeply serrate-ciliate; stigma tubular,
papillose, pubescent; spur produced.— Torr.! fl. 1. p. 256. V. Muhlen-
bergiana, Ging. in DC. prodr. 1 .p. 297; Le Conte! 1. c.; Hook. fl. Bor.-
Am. 1. p. 78. V. uliginosa & asarifolia, Mulil.! cat. p. 25. V. debilis,
P u rsh ! fl. 1. p. 174 (excl. syn.). V. punctata & V. uliginosa, Schwein.!
l.c. V. Labradorica, Schrank ; DC. 1. c.
0. albiflora (Hook.): stems very short; leaves cordate-ovate or ovate,
densely pubescent; flowers white.—Hook. 1. c.
y. multicaulis; stems numerous, prostrate; leaves cordate-reniform, obtuse,
rather thick, minutely pubescent on both sides; stigma very acute, recurved
; lateral petals distinctly bearded.
Swamps, and in dry shady places, Labrador! and British America (lat.
59=) to New Orleans! west to the Rocky Mountains! 0. British America,
Richardson, y. Rocks near Kentucky River, Short. April-May.—Stt m
6-10 inches long, branched from the base, when old decumbent and geniculate.
Veins of the under surface of the leaves sometimes pubescent. Flowers
middle-sized, rather pale blue: lateral petals usually glabrous. Spur
often more than half the length of the petal.—Very near V. canina of Europe;
a species which is said by De Candolle to occur on the N. W. Coast,
but which has not been found by any of the recent travellers in that region.
The var. y. may prove to be a distinct species. When «first begins to flower
the stem is very short, but at length it throws off prostrate branches, which
produce tufts of leaves and flowers at the extremity.
17. V. longipes (Nutt.! mss.) : “ glabrous or slightly pubescent ; stem short,
somewhat decumbent; leaves ovate-cordate, obtuse, more or less decurrent
at the base, repandly crenate; stipules linear-lanceolate, remotely spinulose-
denticulate or lacerately ciliate; peduncles elongated; stigma slightly rostrate,
slender, papillose; spur produced, obtuse. V. debilis, Nutt.! in jour,
acad. Philad. 7. p. 15, not of Michx.
“ Borders of woods and in bushy plains near the Oregon, and in the
Rocky Mountains.—Root creeping. Stem 1-2 inches long. Leaves on
petioles which are 2-3 times as long as the lamina, dotted with minute brown
glands: stipules conspicuous, 6-8 line's long. Peduncles overtopping the
leaves: bracts above the middle, linear-subulate. Flowers as large as in V.
Muhlenbergii, deep blue. Appendages of the anthers filiform.” Nutt.—The
V. canina, Richards, in app. Frankl. journ-. is supposed by Nuttall to be a
variety of this species.
18. V. rostrata (Pursh): glabrous; stems numerous, assurgent, terete;
leaves cordate, the upper ones acute, serrate; stipules lanceolate, serrate-
ciliate; stigma glabrous, tubular, erect, minute; petals beardless; spur longer
than the corolla —Pursh, fl. 1. p. 72; Nu tt.! gén. 1. p. 150 ; Schwein. 1. c. •
Torr.! fl. l . p . 256; DC,, prodr. 1. p. 298; Le Conte! 1. c.j Hook. fl. Bor.-
Am. 1. p. 78.
Moist rocky situations, Canada ! to Virginia; west to Ohio and Kentucky.
May.—Stems 4-6 inches high. Sinus of the leaves open. Flowers ldro-e
pale blue. Petals beardless, slightly veined with deep blue. Spur slender
and rather acute, sometimes nearly twice the length of the petals. Appendages
of the anthers filiform, extending nearly the entire length of the spur.
19. V. adunca (Smith) : stem ascending, somewhat simple ; leaves ovate
and cordate-ovate, coriaceous, crenate, covered with distinct brown dots; stipules
lanceolate, acuminate, dentate-ciliate; stigma somewhat reflexed, glabrous;
sepals linear-lanceolate; petals scarcely longer than the spur, two of
them bearded; peduncles much longer than the leaves. Smith,, in Rees,
cycl.; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. 1 .p. 79.
North-west coast, Menzies, Douglas.—Leaves of a dusky hue. Flowers
deep purple-blue. Spur obtuse, straight or uncinate. Hook.
§ 2. Stigma capitate, bearing a tuft o f hairs on each side, with a minute
somewhat lateral foramen: style compressed, clavate: stamens
oblong, approximate: torus rather fla t: capsule often triangular.
Gingins.
20. V. Nutlallii (Pursh): stem erect; leaves ovate-lanceolate, somewhat
pubescent or nearly glabrous, undivided, nearly entire, attenuated into
a long petiole; stipules lanceolate, entire; sepals lanceolate, acuminate;
petals ovate-lanceolate; spur very short; peduncles shorter than the leaves.—
Pursh,fl. l.p . 174; Schwein.! 1. c.; DC.prodr. 1. p. 300; Le Conte! 1.
c .; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. l.p . 9. t. 26; Nutt.! in jour. acad. Philad. 7. p. 16.
Sandy plains of the Missouri, Nuttall! Saskatchewan, Drummond;
sources of the Oregon, Mr. Wyeth !■—Rhizoma ascending. Stems numerous,
short Leaves sometimes obscurely sinuate-toothed. Flowers small,
pale yellow. “ Pubescence of the depressed stigma very minute.” Nutt.
21. V. linguafolia (Nutt, mss.) : “ pubescent; stem scarcely any ; leaves
dblong-laneeolate, somewhat serrate) on very long petioles; bracts of the
peduncles minute ; stigma thick and clavate, with scarcely any beak; sepals
long and narrow, linear; petals linear-oblong, somewhat emarginate.
“ Kamas Prairie, near the sources of the Oregon, Mr. Wyeth.—Flowers
yellow, larger than in the preceding. Intermediate between V. Nuttallii and
the succeeding species.” Nuttall.
22. V.prcemorsa (Dough): hirsute or very pubescent; stems erect, short;
leaves ovate-lanceolate, repandly denticulate or nearly entire; stipules lanceolate,
entire; stigma clavate-capitate, conspicuously pubescent above, minutely
beaked; petals obovate; spur very short; peduncles longer than the
leaves.—Lindl. in bot. r-eg. t. 1254; Hook.! fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 80.
Dry plains of the Oregon, and on the Wahlamet, Nuttall! Douglas.
Fort Vancouver, Dr. Scouler! Plant 6 inches high, usually densely hirsute
with short spreading hairs. Flowers rather large, yellow, on peduncles
which are mostly shorter than the leaves. Lower petal emarginate, veined
with brown.
23. V. pedunculata: somewhat pubescent; stem short; leaves rhombic-
ovate, crenately toothed, abruptly narrowed at the base into a petiole; stipules
linear-lanceolate, entire ; stigma somewhat triangular, emarginate; spur very
short; appendages of the inferior stamens wing-form, a little produced at the
base.
California, Douglas !—Lamina of the leaves scarcely an inch long, rather
thick, with coarse obtuse teeth. Peduncles 2-3 times as long as the leaves.
Flower large, deep yellow. Sepals oblong, obtuse. Petals broadly obovate;
the 2 upper ones with conspicuous claws ; lateral ones bearded at the base.
Summit of the filaments rounded. Stigma with a minute lip on the lower
edge.
Mi V, hastata (Michx.): nearly glabrous; stem simple, erect; leaves