Petals 3, narrow, flat in the bud, not longer than the calyx, withering-persistent. Stamens 3--12. Style scarcely any; stigmas 3, plumose. Pod globular, partly 3-celled; the 3 broad and thin placentæ borne on imperfect partitions, each bearing 2 seeds on the face toward the valve; in our species the placentæ curve backward and partly enclose the seeds. Embryo straightish.--Homely perennial herbs, with very small greenish or purplish flowers, in summer. (Named in honor of _John Leche_, a Swedish botanist.) [*] _Pubescence villous, spreading; leaves oblong; flowers very short-pedicelled in cymulose clusters._ 1. L. màjor, Michx. Stem upright (1--2° high), stout, simple, very leafy, producing slender prostrate branches from the base; leaves elliptical, mucronate-pointed, alternate and opposite or sometimes whorled; flowers densely crowded; pedicels shorter than the very small depressed-globose pod; sepals narrower than its valves.--Sterile grounds; common, especially southward. [*][*] _Pubescence appressed, leaves narrower; flowers paniculate._ [+] _Leaves comparatively short, broad, and thin; panicles leafy._ 2. L. thymifòlia, Michx. Erect, about 2° high; stem-leaves oval or oblong (3--6´´ long), commonly somewhat hairy, some whorled or opposite, those of the rather crowded panicles more linear; pod obovate-globose, one of the narrow outer sepals often longer. (L. Novæ-Cæsareæ, _Austin_.)--Dry grounds near the coast, E. Mass. to Fla. [+][+] _Leaves firmer, narrow, the cauline linear to slender-subulate; panicles more naked and racemiform._ [++] _Fruiting calyx globular or broadly ovoid; pod rather large, nearly globose._ 3. L. mìnor, L. Rather strict, 1° high or more, usually glabrate in age; leaves of radical shoots lanceolate, rigid, 2--3´´ long, the cauline linear, 6--9´´ long; pod about 1´´ high.--Dry and sterile ground; common. Var. marítima, Gray in herb. Stouter and more rigid, leaves of radical shoots thicker, linear, hoary, the cauline puberulent or glabrous, calyx canescent. (L. thymifolia, _Pursh._; L. maritima, _Leggett_.)--Sandy soil near the coast, Mass. to Ga. 4. L. tenuifòlia, Michx. Low, slender and diffuse, minutely pubescent or glabrous; leaves all small and very narrow; flowers mostly on very short pedicels, diffusely racemose-paniculate; sepals without lateral ribs; pod ovoid-globose.--Dry, sterile soil, E. Mass. to Mo., and southward. [++][++] _Smaller-flowered; fruiting calyx narrower; pod ellipsoidal._ 5. L. racemulòsa, Lam. Erect, soft-pubescent when young, soon nearly glabrous; leaves of radical shoots narrowly oblong, the cauline oblong-linear, 4--6´´ long; inflorescence loose and diffuse; fruiting calyx glabrous.--Dry and rocky soil, Long Island to Ky., and southward. ORDER 14. VIOLÀCEÆ. (VIOLET FAMILY.)