v a s i u b a i p i p
GERARDIA PURPUREA.
PURPLE GERARDIA.
Didynamia Gymnospermia, Linn. Scrophularia, Juss.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calix half 5-cleft, or 5-toothed. Corolla sub-campanulate, unequally 5-lobed, segments
mostly'rounded. Capsule 2-celIed, opening at the summit.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Stem very much branched, leaves opposite, linear; flowers axillary, opposite, ses-
sile. Willd. and Pursh.
A b i e n n ia l plant from fifteen to eighteen inches high, often two
feet, in rich wet soils. Leaves thick, linear, about an inch or an inch
and a quarter long. Flowers large, very handsome purple. Grows
along the shores of our rivers and creeks and other water-courses in
great abundance, being one of the gayest of their ornaments in the
autumn. This plant and the S. tenuifolia nearly resemble each other
