Family 1. CLETHRACEAE 
By NaTtHaNnieL Lorp Brirron 
Shrubs or trees. Leaves alternate, petioled, simple, often toothed, pin- 
nately nerved. Flowers perfect, fragrant, in terminal, elongate, simple or 
branched racemes. Calyx deeply 5-cleft, its segments imbricate, persistent. 
Corolla white, rarely pink, of 5 essentially distinct, imbricate, deciduous petals, 
these usually broadest above the middle. Stamens 10; filaments slender, short 
or elongate. Anthers sagittate, inverted in anthesis, their sacs opening by 
apical pores. Pollen of simple grains. Disk obsolete. Ovary superior, pu- 
bescent, 3-celled, 3-lobed. Style 1, compound; stigma 3-lobed. Ovules 
numerous. Fruit a 3-lobed, loculicidally 3-valved capsule, the valves 2-cleft 
at maturity. 
1. CLETHRA [Gron.] L. Sp. Pl. 396. 1753. 
Volkameria P. Br. Hist. Jam. 214; hyponym. 1756. 
Tinus L,. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 1010. 1759. Not Tinus (L.) Mill. 1754. 
Junia Adans. Fam. Pl. 2: 165. 1763. 
Gillena Adans. Fam. Pl. 2: 166. 1763. 
Kowalewskia Turez. Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. 321: 263. 1859. 
Characters of the family. 
Type species, Clethra alnifolia L. 
Style elongate, much longer than the calyx in fruit; filaments long; leaves 
deciduous. Species of the eastern United States. (EucLETHRA.) 
Leaves glabrous or nearly so; filaments glabrous. 1. C. alnifolia. 
Leaves pubescent, at least beneath. : 
Calyx-segments obtuse; style pubescent; capsule depressed. 2. C. tomentosa. 
Calyx-segments acute; style glabrous; capsule ovoid. 3. C. acuminata. 
Style short, little longer than the calyx in fruit; filaments short; leaves per- 
sistent. Species of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. 
(GILLENA.) 
Pedicels, or some of them, as long as the calyx or longer (sometimes shorter 
in C. quercifolia and C. lanata). 
Leaves glabrous on both sides. (Mexico and Guatemala.) 4, C. suaveolens. 
Leaves tomentose, pubescent, or puberulent beneath. 
Twigs and petioles long-villous; leaves green and villous beneath. 
(Costa Rica.) 5. C. costaricensis. 
Twigs and petioles tomentose, short-villous, or puberulent. 
Pedicels slender, 8-12 mm. long. (Mexico.) 6. C. Pringlei. 
Pedicels shorter, 6 mm. long or less. 
Calyx 2.5 mm. long, its segments lanceolate; leaves puberu- 
lent beneath. (Mexico.) 7. C. macrophylia. 
Calyx 3-4 mm. long, its segments ovate. 
Leaves densely tomentose or puberulent and pale beneath. 
Leaves, or some of them, sharply serrate. (Mexico.) 
Lateral veins widely spreading. 8. C. quercifolia. 
Lateral veins ascending. 9. C. Rosei. 
Leaves entire, merely undulate-dentate or low-serrate. 
Leaves prevailingly oblong. 
Racemes densely tomentose. (Jamaica.) 10. C. occidentalis. 
Racemes loosely tomentose. (Mexico.) 11. C. Hariwegi. 
Leaves obovate. (Mexico and Central America.) 
Leaves puberulent beneath. 12. C. hondurensis. 
Leaves tomentose beneath. 
leaves chartaceous; petioles slender; calyx 
3-3.5 mm. long. 13. C. lanata. 
Leaves coriaceous; petioles stout; calyx 
4-5 mm. long. 14. C. mexicana. 
Leaves green, and pubescent only on the veins, beneath. 
(Jamaica.) 15. C. jamaicensis. 
VouumE 29, Part 1, 1914] 3 
