Synthyris
(from syn, together, and thyris, a little door; in allusion to the closed valves of the pod). ORD. Scrophularineae. A genus comprising about half-a-dozen species of glabrous or pilose, hardy, perennial herbs, with thick rhizomes, natives of North-west America. Flowers bluish or reddish, racemose or spicate; calyx four-parted, the segments narrow; corolla tube very short or wanting, the lobes erecto-patent, imbricated; stamens two; peduncles scape-like, simple, with alternate, amplexicaul, leafy bracts. Leaves radical, petiolate, ovate, or oblong and crenate or incised-pinnatisect. For culture of the only species introduced, see Veronica, on. p. 148. S. reniformis (kidney-shaped). fl. pale violet, about 1/4in. long; corolla lobes oblong-lanceolate, unequal; raceme erect, 4in. to 6in. long, many but not dense flowered; peduncle stout, 5in. to 10in. long. April. l. 1 1/2in. to 2 1/2in. in diameter, orbicular-cordate, coriaceous, doubly toothed. 1885. (B. M. 6860.)