S ub-class II. END O G EN JE. Monocotyledones,
These plants are generally to be distinguished by their leaves,
They are naturally divided into two tribes ;
P etaloidEiE, from their petals forming a whorled assemblage,
as in the preceding plants of polypetaloidal corolla, or else
achlamydeous ; and
Glumace/E, having imbricated floral organs.
TRIBE h PETALOIDE2E.
ORDER 229. ALISMACEjE . W ater-P lantain T r ib e .
Sepals, or leaves of the calyx, 3, and petals also 3 ; stamens
various in number ; ovaries several, superior and 1-celled, having
each its style ; fruit dry, not opening ; leaves with parallel veins;
more or less floating plants.
The herbage is commonly acrid, but the roots of some species
are eatable. The plants of this order are not very numerous,
and grow chiefly in northerly regions.
A lisma. L. 6. 12.
Named from the Celtic for water, as the plants grow in water or
wet places ; 10 known species ; 1 in this State.
•/?. plantago. L. Water Plantain. Stem 2 feet high, branching,
with broad nerved leaves, like the common Plantain, and
hence its name in English as well as in Botany ; petals white ;
July. The panicle is pyramidal with whorled branches ; root
bulbous with numerous radicles or fibres. It has been greatly
commended as a sure relief from hydrophobia. Indigenous also
over much of Europe.
S agittaria, L. 19. 12.
So called from the arrow-shaped leaves of many species. In
this country the plants are not employed for any useful purpose.
In China, one species is u cultivated for food.” Lind. About
a dozen species have been described, most of which are found in
this country, and 4 are pretty common in this State. Leaves
nearly radical, stand erect, and nearly equal to the length of the
scape or naked culm. Aquatics.
Floral envelopes 6-parted, 3 outer, calyx-like, and persistent;
3 inner, colored, petal-like ; stamens and pistils in separate flowers
; capsules compressed, 1-seeded.
S. sagittifolia. L. Arrow-head. Stem or scape often 2
feet high, with the lobes of the sagittate leaves long, straight,
acute, lanceolate ; flowers white, whorled in threes ; July. Common
also in Europe.
The leaves are very variable ; sometimes so wide as to give the
name broad-leafed to the variety ; sometimes with rather hastate
leaves, for another variety; sometimes very slender-leafed, forming
a slender and delicate variety ; and one variety has leaves so
obtuse, as to be often called S. obtusa, as a distinct species, though
the change from the narrow and acute leaves can be often traced
to the broad and obtuse within the distance , of a few rods where
the plants abound.
S. heterophylla. Ph. A more slender plant, with leaves linear
and lanceolate, or sagittate and narrow-lobed ; few-flowered ;
ditches and ponds ; July. A foot or more high.
$. acutifolia. Ph. Acute-leafed Arrow-head. Stem or
scape 6 inches high, with subulate, acute leaves, convex on the
back, and sheathing at the base ; few-flowered ; flowers on pedicles
; muddy places ; July.
It is probable that some other species, as they are commonly
considered, are confounded with the preceding.