Not a large family, widely distributed, most abundant in the northern
hemisphere; herbs, with opposite leaves and no stipules; flowers
usually perfect, rather small, in clusters; the calyx sometimes
lacking, or small, but often becoming conspicuous in fruit; corolla
somewhat irregular, tube sometimes swollen or spurred at base, lobes
united and spreading, usually five; stamens one to four, with slender
filaments, on the corolla, alternate with its lobes; ovary inferior,
with one to three cells, only one containing an ovule, the others
empty; style slender; fruit dry, not splitting open, containing one
seed.
There are many kinds of Valerianella, much alike, distinguished
principally by their fruits.
[Sidenote: =Corn-salad=
_Valerianélla macrosèra (Plectritis)_
=Pink
Spring, summer
Northwest, Cal.=]
This has a juicy stem, from a few inches to over a foot tall, springing
from a clump of smooth, very bright green leaves, and bearing most of
the flowers at the top, in a small close cluster, with narrow purplish
bracts. They are tiny, with a slightly irregular corolla, light pink,
with two tiny crimson dots on each side of the lowest lobe, three
dark brown anthers, and a calyx without a border. This is rather
pretty, growing in long grass in damp places, but the flowers are too
small to be effective.
[Illustration: Corn-salad--Valerianella macrosera.