19. E. commutàta, Engelm. Stems branched from a commonly decumbent base (6–12´ high); leaves obovate, obtuse; the upper all sessile, the upper floral ones roundish-dilated, broader than long; umbel 3-forked; glands with slender horns; capsule obtusely angled; seeds ovate, pitted all over (1´´ long).—Along streams and shady slopes, Md. to Fla., Minn., and Mo.
[*][*][*] Glabrous annual or biennial with entire opposite and decussate leaves, an umbelliform inflorescence, and short-horned glands.
E. Láthyris, L. Stem stout (2–3° high); leaves thick, linear or oblong, the floral oblong-ovate and heart-shaped; umbel 4-rayed, then forking.—Sparingly escaped from gardens, N. Eng. to N. C. (Adv. from Eu.)
2. PACHYSÁNDRA, Michx.
Flowers monœcious, in naked spikes. Calyx 4–5-parted. Petals none. Ster. Fl. Stamens 4, separate; filaments long-exserted, thick and flat; anthers oblong-linear. Fert. Fl. Ovary 3-celled; styles 3, thick, awl-shaped, recurved, stigmatic down their whole length inside. Ovules a pair in each cell, suspended, with the rhaphe dorsal (turned away from the placenta). Capsule deeply 3-horned, 3-celled, splitting into 3 at length 2-valved 2-seeded carpels.—Nearly glabrous, low and procumbent perennial herbs, with matted creeping rootstocks, and alternate, ovate or obovate, coarsely toothed leaves, narrowed at base into a petiole. Flowers each 1–3-bracted, the upper staminate, a few fertile ones at base, unpleasantly scented; sepals greenish or purplish; filaments white (their size and thickness giving the name, from παχύς, thick, and ἀνήρ, used for stamen).
1. P. procúmbens, Michx. Stems (6–9´ long) bearing several approximate leaves at the summit on slender petioles, and a few many-flowered spikes along the base; the intervening portion naked, or with a few small scales.—Woods, mountains of Ky., W. Va., and southward. March–May.
3. PHYLLÁNTHUS, L.
Flowers monœcious, axillary. Calyx usually 5–6-parted, imbricated in the bud. Petals none. Stamens mostly 3, erect in the bud, often united. Ovules 2 in each cell of the ovary. Capsule depressed; each carpel 2-valved, 2-seeded. Seeds not carunculate.—Leaves alternate, 2-ranked, with small stipules. (Name composed of φύλλον, leaf, and ἄνθος, blossom, because the flowers in a few species are borne upon leaf-like dilated branches.)
1. P. Carolinénsis, Walt. Annual, low and slender, branched; leaves obovate or oval, short-petioled; flowers commonly 2 in each axil, almost sessile, one staminate, the other fertile; calyx 6-parted; stamens 3; styles 3, each 2-cleft; glands of the disk in the fertile flowers united in a cup.—Gravelly banks, E. Penn. to Fla., west to S. Ind. and Ill. July–Sept.
4. JÁTROPHA, L.