226 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



accompanied by an additional pair of smaller stipules below. 

 The buds are small and roundish. 



The barren aments are crowded towards the ends of the 

 branches, in the axil of the sometimes persistent leaves of the 

 last year. They are erect, about half an inch long, composed 

 of brownish, hairy, pointed, kidney-shaped scales, closely in- 

 vesting each other in spiral lines. 



The fertile aments are globular and bur-like, less than an 

 inch in diameter, with a few ovate, smooth, shining, dark 

 brown nuts, set among rough, narrow, awl -shaped, bristly 

 scales. 



The whole plant gives out a pleasant, spicy odor. This is 

 stronger and somewhat different when the leaves are crushed. 

 They are a common ingredient in diet drinks, and an infusion is 

 a popular remedy for dysentery. 



Dr. Richardson found the sweet fern in New Brunswick and 

 in Canada as far as the Saskatchawan. It occurs abundantly 

 throughout the New England and Middle States, and on the 

 mountains of Carolina and Georgia. 



FAMILY VII. THE PLANE TREE FAMILY. PLATANACEM. 



LlNDLEY. 



The family of the plane trees comprehends some of the lofti- 

 est and largest deciduous trees of the northern temperate zone. 

 They are distinguished for their broad leaves, globular inflores- 

 cence and fruit, and the absence of milk in leaves, fruit, wood 

 and bark. In some parts of the old continent, they are valued 

 for their timber, and have been, from ancient times, most highly 

 esteemed for their shade. The leaf-buds are enclosed in the 

 leaf-stalk, whence the planes are necessarily deciduous, the 

 expansion of the buds forcing the previous leaves from their 

 articulation. The layers of bark have little mutual adherence, 

 and are deficient in toughness and extensibility ; the outer lay- 

 ers are therefore liable to fall off in large irregular patches. 

 The roots are long and running. By some writers the plane 



