Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club/Volume 23/OEnothera and its Segregates

Volume 23 (1896)
OEnothera and its Segregates by John Kunkel Small

Pages 167-194

1201357Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club — Volume 23 (1896)
OEnothera and its Segregates by John Kunkel Small

BULLETIN
OF THE
TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB.

Vol. 23.	Lancaster, Pa., May 30, 1896.	No. 5.

OEnothera and its Segregates.

By John K. Small

The year 1835 marks a great crisis in the history of the genus OEnothera of Linnaeus. Edouard Spach then divided the genus into about a dozen, taking his characters from the flower and fruit. The results of his observations were published in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles,^[1] Histoire Naturelle des Végétaux,^[2] and in his Monographia Onagrearum published in Nouvelles Annales du Muséum,^[3] the last named work containing a complete exposition of his conclusions. Although Spach's work was considered good and reliable, his generic lines were not generally accepted, but were used to divide the composite genus OEnothera into sections.

Spach, however, was not the first to see that OEnothera contained many generic types. In 1763 Adanson published Onagra, Rafinesque established Meriolix in 1818, in the same year Link separated Chamissonia (not Chamissoa H.B.K.), and later several genera were proposed by Nuttall.

Between 1835 and the present time authors have at one time or another eliminated one or two genera from OEnothera, but it was not until 1893, when Rud. Raimann prepared the Onagraceae for Engler and Prantl's Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien,^[4] that any systematic or logical subdivision of the genus into several genera appeared. Raimann's conclusions are based on Spach's work, but he has presented them in a much more satisfactory manner than was indicated by the earlier author.

The committee which prepared the List of Pteridophyta and Spermatophyta of Northeastern North America,^[5] adopted Raimann's interpretation, and it was suggested by Dr. Britton that I make an examination of the material in the Herbarium of Columbia University to ascertain to what extent the characters hitherto assigned for generic lines held. The study has been interesting both from a generic and a specific standpoint in exposing the strong tendency to mass, and to maintain composite species and genera where clear and constant characters exist both in habit and in the more minute morphology.

The following pages contain the results of these observations on the North American species.

I will be glad to receive additional material, either specimens or seeds, for examination. Proposing to present a monograph of this group at an early day.

Key to the Genera edit

•

Flowers regular (stamens equal in length.)

•

Stigma deeply four-cleft, its segments linear.

•

Ovules and seeds horizontal, inserted in two or rarely in several rows, prismatic-angled.

1.

Onagra.

•

Ovules and seeds ascending, not angled.

•

Buds erect; flowers yellow; ovules and seeds in one row.

2.

OEnothera.

•

Buds drooping; flowers pink; ovules and seeds in two rows.

3.

Angora.

•

Stigma entire or rarely four-toothed.

•

Ovaries and capsules sessile or nearly so, subglobose or elongated.

•

Calyx-tube longer than the ovary.

•

Stigma capitate; calyx-tube slender, usually adherent to the style.

10.

Taraxia.

•

Stigma disk-like; calyx-tube funnel form.

11.

Galpinsia.

•

Calyx-tube shorter than the ovary.

•

Stigma disk-like, slightly four-toothed; calyx-tube broadly funnelform, sometimes twice shorter than the ovary.

12.

Meriolix.

•

Stigma capitate; calyx-tube campanulate or somewhat funnelform, many times shorter than the ovary.

•

Capsules incompletely four-celled; calyx-tube with a lobed disk in its throat.

13.

Eulobus.

•

Capsules with complete septa; calyx-tube naked at the throat.

14.

Sphaerostigma.

•

Ovaries and capsules long stalked, more or less club-shaped.

15.

Chylisma.

•

Flowers irregular (the alternate stamens longer).

•

Ovules and seeds numerous, not tuberculate, clustered on slender funiculi; capsules club-shaped.

•

Flowers yellow

4.

Kneiffia.

•

Flowers red, purple or white.

5.

Hartmannia.

•

Ovules and seeds few, sessile, in one or two rows.

•

Plants normally acaulescent.

•

Capsules obtusely or retusely four-angled; seeds with a deep furrow along the raphe.

6.

Pachylophus.

•

Capsules sharply four-angled; seeds with a tubercle at one end.

7.

Lavauxia.

•

Stems diffuse and wiry; leaves 1-2 cm. long; capsules sharply four-angled.

8.

Gaurella.

•

Stems not diffuse, stout; leaves 4-15 cm. long or longer; capsules broadly winged.

9.

Megapterium.

1.0 edit

1. ONAGRA Adans. Fam. Pl. 2 : 85. 1763.

•

Plants annual or biennial.

•

Flowers small; petals 2-4 mm. broad.

1.

O. cruciata.

•

Flowers large; petals one or several centimeters broad.

•

Calyx-tubes slender, 2.5-5 cm, long.

•

Stems decumbent; pubescence rather dense, short and appressed.

2.

O. depressa.

•

Stems erect or nearly so.

•

Pubescence villous-hispid, strigose or soft and appressed; species ranging east of the Rocky Mountains.

•

Capsules 2-2.5 cm. long, abruptly narrowed at the apex.

3.

O. biennis.

•

Capsules 3-4 cm. long, long, gradually narrowed from near the base.

4.

O. Oakesiana.

•

Pubescence hirsute or canescent-hirsute; species ranging west of the Rocky Mountains.

5.

O. Hookeri.

•

Calyx-tubes stout, 6-13 cm. long.

•

Leaves distantly toothed, minutely ciliate.

6.

O. Jamesii.

•

Leaves entire, with short bristle-like cilia.

7.

O. macroceles.

•

Plants perennial.

8.

O. arguta.

1.1 edit

1. Onagra cruciata (Nutt).

OEnothera cruciata Nutt.; Ser. in DC. Prodr. 3 : 47. as synonym. 1828.

OEnothera biennis var. cruciata T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 492. 1840.

OEnothera biennis cruciata Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5 : 233. 1894.

Vermont and Massachusetts.

1.2 edit

2. Onagra depressa (Greene).

OEnothera depressa Greene, Pitt. 2 : 216. 1891.

Rocky Mountains of Montana.

1.3 edit

3. Onagra biennis (L.) Scop.

OEnothera biennis L. Sp. Pl. 346. 1753.

OEnothera muricata L. Syst. Ed. 12, 263. 1767.

OEnothera angustifolia Mill. Dict. Gard. Ed. 8, no. 2. 1768.

OEnothera glabra Mill. Gard. Dict. Ed. 8, no. 3. 1768.

Onagra biennis Scop. Fl. Cam. Ed. 2, 1 : 269. 1772.

OEnothera graveolens Gilib. Fl. Lituan. 2 : 168. 1781.

Onagra parviflora Moench, Meth. 675. 1794.

Onagra muricata Moench, Meth. 675. 1794.

OEnothera gauroides Hornem. Hort. Hafn. 1 : 362. 1813.

OEnothera pubescens Nees in Neuwied, Reise N. A. 2 : 435.

Onagra Europaea Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 359. 1835.

Onagra communis Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 359. 1835.

Onagra chrysantha Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 362. 1835.

Onagra vulgaris Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 353. 1835.

OEnothera biennis var. vulgaris T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 492. 1840.

OEnothera biennis var. muricata T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 492. 1840.

OEnothera biennis var. canescens T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 492. 1840.

? OEnothera Jepsonii Greene, Fl. Francis. 211. 1891.

Throughout the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, ranging from sea-level to about 650 meters on various mountains.

The geographic range of O. biennis is not as extensive as has been supposed. The species proper ranges westward only to the Mississippi River. In the area from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains it is represented by a closely related form clothed with strigose pubescence; this form might be separated as a variety or even a species. As far as I can learn, it has not been found west of the Rocky Mountains. Prof. Greene described OEnothera Jepsonii ^[6] from California, but later referred it to O. biennis ^[7] a doubtful disposition unless the plant is introduced. I have not seen specimens of this form.

3a. Onagra biennis grandiflora (Ait.) Lindl.

OEnothera grandiflora Ait. Hort. Kew. 2 : 2. 1789.

OEnothera suaveolens Desf. Tab. 169. 1804.

OEnothera biennis var. grandiflora Lindl. Bot. Reg. 19. pl. 1604. 1833.

OEnothera Lamarkiana Ser. in DC. Prodr. 3 : 47. 1828.

Range the same as the species, more common in the Southeast; introduced in the vicinity of San Francisco according to Prof. Greene.

1.4 edit

4. Onagra Oakesiana (A. Gray) Britton.

OEnothera biennis var. Oakesiana A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 178. 1867.

OEnothera Oakesiana Robbins; A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 178. As synonym. 1867.

OEnothera Oakesiana Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5 : 233. 1894.

Shores of the St. Lawrence, west to the Great Lake region, south to New York and Nebraska.

1.5 edit

5. Onagra Hookeri (T. & G.).

OEnothera Hookeri T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 493. 1840.

OEnothera biennis Torr. Emory Rep. 140. 1848. Not L.

? OEnothera odorata H. & A. Bot. Beech. Voy. 343. 1841.

OEnothera biennis var. hirsutissima A. Gray, Pl. Fendl. 43. 1848.

Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, west to the Pacific; at 1800 meters in Utah.

It seems remarkable that this excellent species could be confounded with O. biennis. Its gross characters are so strong that a scrap or even a leaf is sufficient to separate it from related species. It does not range east of the Rocky Mountains and is the western homologue of the eastern O. biennis.

1.6 edit

6. Onagra Jamesii (T. & G.)

OEnothera Jamesii T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 493. 1840.

Southern Utah south to eastern Texas and eastern Arizona.

1.7 edit

7. Onagra macrosceles (A. Gray).

OEnothera macrosceles A. Gray, Pl. Fendl. 43. 1848.

Northern Mexico.

1.8 edit

8. Onagra arguta (Greene).

OEnothera arguta Greene, Fl. Francis, 212. 1891.

Southern California, from Monterey southward. I have not seen specimens of this plant.

2.0 edit

2. OENOTHERA L. Sp. Pl. 340. 1753.

•

Flowers axillary.

•

Plants clothed with dense appressed or ascending pubescence.

•

Flowers 2-3 cm. broad; species of the Atlantic Coast.

1.

O. humifusa.

•

Flowers 7-9 cm. broad; species of the Western Gulf Coast.

2.

O. Drummondii.

•

Plants glabrous or rarely clothed with spreading hairs.

3.

O. laciniata.

•

Flowers in terminal leafy bracted spikes.

•

Spike few-flowered, loose; bracts ovate; calyx villous.

4.

O. heterophylla.

•

Spike many-flowered, dense; bracts narrow; calyx silky.

5.

O. rhombipetala.

2.1 edit

1. OEnothera humifusa Nutt.

OEnothera humifusa Nutt. Gen. 1 : 245. 1818.

OEnothera sinuata var. humifusa T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 494. 1840.

Drifting sand along the coast from New Jersey to Florida; ranges but little above sea-level.

2.2 edit

2. OEnothera Drummondii Hook.

OEnothera Drummondii Hook. Bot. Mag. pl. 3361. 1835.

OEnothera sinuata var. humifusa A. Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 5 : 158. 1862.

Coast of Texas; ranges only a few meters above sea-level.

2.3 edit

3. OEnothera laciniata Hill.

OEnothera laciniata Hill, Syst. Veg. 12 : 64. 1767.

OEnothera sinuata L. Mant. 2 : 228. 1771.

OEnothera repanda Medic. Act. Acad. Theod. Palat. 3 : 198. pl. 8. 1775.

Onagra sinuata Moench, Meth. 676. 1794.

OEnothera prostrata Ruiz & Pavon, Fl. Per. 3 : 79. pl. 315. 1802.

OEnothera minima Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 262. pl. 15. 1814.

OEnothera sinuata var minima Nutt. Gen. 1 : 245. 1818.

? OEnothera longiflora Scheele; S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 8 : 618. 1873. Not Jacq.

New Jersey south to Florida, to Texas and Nebraska, also in central and northern South America.

3a. OEnothera laciniata Mexicana (Spach)

OEnothera Mexicana Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 347. 1835.

OEnothera sinuata var hirsuta T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 494. 1840.

Nebraska to Texas and Mexico.

3b. OEnothera laciniata occidentalis

OEnothera sinuata var grandiflora S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 8 : 581. 1873. Not OE. grandiflora Ait. 1789.

? OEnothera longiflora Scheele; S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 8 : 618. 1873.

Missouri to Kansas, south to Texas.

2.4 edit

4. OEnothera heterophylla Spach.

OEnothera heterophylla Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 348. 1835.

OEnothera bifrons Don, Sweet, Brit. Fl. Gard. (II.) pl. 386, 1831-1838.

OEnothera rhombipetala Engelm. & Gray, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist 5 : 216. 1847.

OEnothera Leona Buckley, Proc. Acad. Phila. 1861: 163. 1861.

Florida to Texas.

2.5 edit

5. OEnothera rhombipetala Nutt.

OEnothera rhombipetala Nutt.; T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 493. 1840.

OEnothera Darlingtonii Pickering; S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 8: 612. 1873.

Minnesota and Wisconsin, to Illinois, Nebraska and Indian Territory.

3.0 edit

3. ANOGRA Spach, Ann. Sci. Nat. (II.) 4 : 164. 1835.

Burmannia Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 351. 1835. Not DC. 1833.

•

Tips of the calyx-segments not free in the bud.

•

Capsules divergent or reflexed.

•

Valves of the capsules not winged at the base.

1.

A. deltoidea.

•

Valves of the capsules winged at the base.

2.

A. xylocarpa.

•

Capsules more or less ascending.

•

Seeds narrow, smooth, sharply pointed.

3.

A. trichocalyx.

•

Seeds ovoid, minutely ribbed and pitted, rather blunt.

4.

A. albicaulis.

•

Tips of the calyx-segments free in the bud.

•

Throat of the calyx-tube villous within.

5.

A. coronopifolia..

•

Throat of the calyx-tube glabrous within.

•

Calyx glabrous or rarely appressed pubescent.

•

Stem several centimeters long; leaves longpetioled.

6.

A. simplex.

•

Stem elongated; leaves short-petioled or sessile.

7.

A. pallida.

•

Calyx villous.

•

Lower leaves oblanceolate or spatulate in outline.

8.

A. Californica.

•

Lower leaves lanceolate or oblong in outline.

9.

A. Neo-Mexicana.

3.1 edit

1 Anogra deltoidea (Torr & Frem.)

OEnothera deltoidea Torr. & Frem., Frem. Rep. 315. 1845

Utah to California and Arizona.

3.2 edit

2 Anogra xylocarpa (Coville).

OEnothera xylocarpa Coville, Cont. Nat. Herb. 4 : 105. 1892.

Tulare County, California.

3.3 edit

3 Anogra trichocalyx (Nutt.).

OEnothera trichocalyx Nutt.; T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 494. 1840.

Wyoming to California and New Mexico; ascends to 1950 meters in California.

3.4 edit

4 Anogra albicaulis (Pursh) Britton.

OEnothera albicaulis Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 733. 1814.

OEnothera pinnatifida Nutt. Gen. 1 : 245. 1818.

OEnothera Purshiana Steud. Nom. 2 : 207. 1841.

OEnothera Purshii Don, Gard. Diet. 2 : 688. 1832.

Burmannia pinnatifida Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 353. 1835.

Anogra pinnatifida Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 341. 1835.

OEnothera coronopifolia A. Gray, Pl. Wright. 2 : 56. 1853.

Anogra albicaulis Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5 : 234. 1894.

South Dakota to the Rocky Mountains south to Indian Territory, New Mexico and Sonora, ascending to 1100 meters in the Black Hills.

3.5 edit

5 Anogra coronopifolia (T. & G.) Britton.

OEnothera coronipofolia T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : 245. 1840.

OEnothera pinnatifida James, Bot. Long's Exp. 2 : 154. 1825. Not Nutt. 1818.

South Dakota to Wyoming, south to Kansas, Utah and New Mexico.

3.6 edit

6 Anogra simplex.

OEnothera ambigua S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 14: 293. 1879. Not Spreng. 1825.

OEnothera albicaulis var. decumbens S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 14: 293. 1879, as synonym. Not OE. decumbens Dougl.

Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.

3.7 edit

7. Anogra pallida (Lindl.) Britton.

OEnothera albicaulis Nutt. Fras. Cat. Name only. 1813.

OEnothera pallida Lindl. Bot. Reg. 14 : pl. 1142. 1828.

OEnothera Nuttallii Sweet, Hort. Brit. Ed. 2, 199. 1830.

Baumannia Nuttalliana Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 352. 1835.

Anogra Niittalliana Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 339. 1835.

Baumannia Douglasiana Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 352. 1835.

Anogra Douglasiana Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 339. 1835.

OEnothera pinnatifida var. integrifolia A. Gray, Pl. Fendl. 44. 1848.

OEnothera albicaulis var. Nuttallii Engelm. Am. Journ. Sci. (II.) 34 : 334. 1862.

OEnothera leptophylla Nutt.;S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 8 : 602. 1873.

British Columbia to Washington and Minnesota south to Sonora; ascends to about about 1700 meters in the Black Hills.

7a. Anogra pallida latifolia (Rydberg).

OEnothera pallida var. latifolia Rydberg, Cont. Nat. Herb. 3 : 159. 1895.

Nebraska and Colorado.

7b. Anogra pallida runcinata (Engelm.).

OEnothera albicaulis var. runcinata Engelm. Am. Journ. Sci. (II.) 34 : 334. 1862.

OEnothera pinnatifida A. Gray, Pl. Fendl. 43. In part. 1848. Not Nutt. 1818.

Utah to Arizona and Texas.

7c. Anogra pallida brevifolia (Engelm.).

OEnothera albicaulis var. brevifolia Engelm. Am. Journ. Sci. (II.) 34 : 335. 1862.

Sand hills south of El Paso, Texas.

7d. Anogra pallida Engelmanni.

OEnothera albicaulis var. trichocalyx Engelm. Am. Journ. Sci. (II.) 34 : 335. 1862. Not O. trichocalyx. Nutt. 1840.

Las Vegas, New Mexico.

3.8 edit

8 Anogra Californica (S. Wats.).

OEnothera albicaulis var. Californica S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 8: 582. 1873.

{{bbp0|OEnothera Californica|S. Wats.]]

Central California to southern Utah and southward; ascends to 1900 meters in the San Bernardino Mountains.

3.9 edit

9 Anogra Neo-Mexicana n. sp.

OEnothera albicaulis var. A. Gray Pl. Wright. 2 : 56. 1853.

Annual or perennial, stout, hispid-villous, dark green. Stem erect, 6-7 dm. tall, flexuous, somewhat branched, clothed with a pale papery bark; leaves oblong or lanceolate, 4-8 cm. long, obtuse or acute, sinuate-toothed or somewhat pinnatifid, puberulent, with some hispid-villous hairs on the mid-rib and lateral nerves, rather abruptly narrowed into a slender petiole which is less than one centimeter long; flowers few at the ends of the branches, 5-6 cm. broad; calyx hispid-villous, its tube stoutish, 4-4.5 cm. long; nearly thrice longer than the ovary, its segments nearly linear, one-half as long as the tube, the tips free in the bud; petals broadly obdeltoid, 1.8 cm. long, 2 cm. broad, somewhat emarginate, narrowed into a broad claw; filaments about one-half as long as the petals; anthers 1-1.2 cm. long; style slender, longer than the petals; capsule nearly cylindric, 2-2.5 cm. long, somewhat narrowed at the base and the apex, hispid-villous; seeds “oblong and perfectly smooth.”

New Mexico. Wright, no. 1068.

A perfectly distinct species, related to A. pallida, but easily separated by its foliage and hispid-villous calyx.

4.0 edit

4. KNEIFFIA Spach, Hist. Veg. 4 : 373. 1835.

•

Stem-leaves linear-filiform; capsule 4-angled or slightly winged.

1.

K. linifolia.

•

Stem-leaves never approaching filiform; capsules winged.

•

Capsules more or less club-shaped.

•

Capsules pubescent.

•

Stems decumbent, spreading; pedicels shorter than the body of the capsules.

2.

K. Alleni.

•

Stems erect or nearly so, not spreading.

•

Pedicels longer than the body of the capsules.

•

Body of the capsules subglobose; leaves numerous.

3.

K. subglobosa.

•

Body of the capsules obovoid, leaves few.

4.

K. longipedicellata.

•

Pedicels shorter than the body of the capsules.

•

Capsules on slender pedicels, with thin wings.

5.

K. linearis.

•

Capsules on stout pedicels (sometimes nearly sessile) with thick wings.

6.

K. Spachiana.

•

Capsules glabrous or glabrate.

7.

K. pumila.

•

Capsules oblong or nearly so.

•

Plants not glaucous; capsules less than 1 cm. long.

8.

K. fruticosa.

•

Plants somewhat glaucous; capsules 1 cm. long.

9.

K. glauca.

4.1 edit

1. Kneiffia linifolia (Nutt.) Spach.

OEnothera linifolia Nutt. Journ. Acad. Phila. 2 : 120. 1821.

Kneiffia linifolia Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Par. 4 : 368. 1835.

Kansas and Illinois to Texas and Georgia; ascends only a few meters above sea-level.

4.2 edit

2. Kneiffia Alleni (Britton)

OEnothera fruticosa var. humifusa Allen Bull. Torr. Club, 1 : 1870. Not OE. humifusa Nutt. 1818.

Kneiffia linearis Alleni Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5 : 235. 1894.

Eastern end of Long Island, at sea-level. This local form must be separated from the species with which it has been associated on account of its habit, flowers and capsule.

4.3 edit

3. Kneiffia subglosa n. sp.

Perennial, slender, puberulent, dull green, producing numerous stolons. Stem erect, 2-3 dm. tall, much branched, strict or slightly flexuous, red; basal leaves spatulate, 4-10 cm. long, obtuse or acutish, undulately toothed, gradually narrowed into a short petiole; stem leaves linear or nearly so, 2-7 cm. long, entire or distantly toothed, narrowed into a short petiole or sessile, slightly revolute; flowers in terminal racemes which are more or less corymbosely arranged, yellow, about 3 cm. broad; calyx villous or silky, its tube slender, 1 cm. long, about twice as long as the ovary, its segments linear, about as long as the tube and less pubescent, the tips free in the bud; petals obovate, 1.5 cm long, notched at the apex; filaments nearly one half as long as the petals; style slender, two-thirds as long as the petals; stigmas filiform, 3-4 mm. long; capsule at length subglobose, or globose-obovoid, 6-7 mm. long, on a stalk which exceeds the body, the angles strongly winged, the faces strongly ridged; seeds very irregular, minutely papillose, black, 1 mm. long.

North Carolina and Georgia.

Most closely related to K. Alleni and part of Torrey and Gray's var. β. It differs especially in its erect habit, very different basal leaves and larger flowers.

4.4 edit

4. Kneiffia longipedicellata n. sp.

Annual, slender, bright green, more or less puberulent, stem erect or assurgent, 4-7 dm. tall, red, slender, simple or sparingly branched above; basal-leaves spatulate or obovate-spatulate, 4-6 cm. long; stem-leaves few, linear-lanceolate, 3-9 cm. long, obtuse or acutish, entire, often somewhat undulate, narrowed into a short petiole; flowers yellow, subtended by leaf-like bracts in terminal racemes which are sometimes corymbosely arranged; calyx hirsute, its tube slender, 1-1.5 cm. long, its segments linear, longer than the tube, the tips free in the bud; petals obovate, 2 cm. long, many-nerved, emarginate, stamens less than one half as long as the petals; styles slender, two-thirds as long as the petals; capsule narrowly obovoid, 1 cm. long, its angles winged, its faces ridged, on pedicels longer than the body; seeds irregularly oblong, .8 mm. long, brown, minutely papillose.

West Virginia to North Carolina and Florida.

Between K. subglobosa and K. linearis. It differs from the former in its sparsely leafy, usually nearly simple stem, the hirsute calyx, the larger flowers and the narrowly obovoid capsules. It can easily be separated from K. linearis by its pedicel, which exceeds the body of the capsule.