MAGNOLIACEAE 449 



sepals ovate, 5-7 mm. long: outer petals oval to obovate, 2.5-4 cm. long at maturity, 

 much exceeding the inner ones and about live times the length of the sepals, pubescent on 

 the outside, especially toward the base : berries glabrous or nearly so. [^4. cimeata Shuttlw.] 

 In pine lands, peninsular Florida. Spring. Fruit ripening in summer. 



7. Asimina parviflora ( Michx. ) Dunal. A shrub, 3-40 dm. tall. Stems with spread- 

 ing branches, clothed with gray to reddish bark ; branchlets, young leaves, particularly their 

 lower surfaces, peduncles, and the outside of the young sepals and petals tomentose with 

 bright reddish brown hairs : leaf-blades obovate to oblong-obovate, 6-17 cm. long, acute at 

 the apex or short-acuminate, narrowed at the base, thin, glabrous above, usually more or 

 less tomentose beneath, especially on the midrib and veins ; petioles tomentose, 6 mm. 

 long or shorter : flowers solitary from the axils of the deciduous leaves of the preceding 

 year : pedicels 5 mm. long : sepals ovate, 5-7 mm. long : mature outer petals ovate to 

 broadly oval, 7-10 mm. long, less than twice the length of the sepals : berries oblong, about 

 3.5 cm. long, sparingly pubescent. 



In sandy soil in the low country and foothills, North Carolina to Alabama and Florida, Spring. 



8. Asimina triloba (L. ) Dunal. A shrub or tree, 3-12 m. tall. Stems much branched, 

 clothed with a dark gray bark ; branchlets and leaves when young, peduncles, and exterior 

 surfaces of the sepals and petals tomentose with reddish brown hairs : leaf-blades obovate 

 or obovate-cuneate, 10-30 cm. long, abruptly acuminate at the apex, usually acute, but 

 sometimes rounded at the base, membranous, glabrous above, the midrib and primary 

 nerves, usually pubescent ; petioles 0.5-1 cm. long, glabrous or sparingly pubescent : 

 flowers in the axils of the deciduous leaves of the preceding year : pedicels often recurved, 

 8-15 mm. long : sepals ovate or orbicular-ovate, 8-12 mm. long : petals at first greenish, 

 later purple and conspicuously nerved, the outer ones nearly orbicular, 2-2.5 cm. long, 

 more than twice tlie length of the sepals : berries oblong-cylindric, 7-16 cm. long, glau- 

 cous, turning yellow, becoming soft and edible : seeds brown, oblong, 2-2.5 cm. long, flat- 

 tened, obtuse at the apex and usually obliquely truncate at the base. 



In rich moist soil and on river banks, northern New Jersey to western New York, southern Mich- 

 igan, Nebraska, middle Florida and eastern Texas. Spring. 



2. ANONA L. 



Pungent-aromatic shrubs or trees. Leaves persistent : blades entire, leathery, often 

 punctate. Flowers perfect, white or yellow, solitary, clustered or rarely racemose, termi- 

 nal or lateral, nodding. Sepals 3, valvate, concave, somewhat united, deciduous. Petals 

 mostly 6, valvate, fleshy, concave, converging, 3-angled at the apex, the outer ones larger, 

 the inner sometimes wanting. Receptacle hemispheric. Anther-sacs contiguous, united to 

 the back of the filament, surmounted by the truncate, sometimes glandular tip of the connec- 

 tive. Carpels numerous, on the top of the receptacle, distinct or united. Ovaries pro- 

 longed into a sessile or nearly sessile stigma. Ovule solitary, erect. Fruit compound, 

 many-celled, smooth, scaly or muricate. Seeds flattened, with a brown leathery-crustu- 

 ceous testa, enclosed in an aril. Embryo with rather long cotyledons. Custard-apple. 



1. Anona glabra L. A stout tree, 8-14 m. tall, with a maximum trunk diameter of 

 5 dm., the branches spreading. Leaf-blades oblong or oval, 10-18 cm. long, leathery, acute, 

 or short-acuminate, rounded or abruptly narrowed at the base, dark green above, paler be- 

 neath ; petioles 1-2 cm. long: flowers nodding, yellow or dirty white: pedicels 1-3 cm. 

 long, enlarged at both ends : sepals 3, slightly united at the base, broader than long : 

 petals 6, fleshy, concave, 2-3.5 cm. long, converging, those of the outer series marked with 

 red within near the base, those of the inner series smaller and shorter : berry broadly 

 ovoid, 6-12 cm. long, flattened and depressed at the base, roitnded at the apex, yellow 

 blotched with brown when mature, edible but insipid : seeds oblong, 1-2 cm. long, the 

 thin aril surrounding the body. 



In swamps and ponds, peninsular Florida and the kej's. Also in West Indies. 



Family 4. MAGNOLIACEAE J. St. Hill. Magnolia Family. 



Shrubs, trees or vines, often conspicuous by their large leaves, with a soft 

 wood and pale often aromatic bark. Leaves alternate, or sometimes apparently 

 whorled at the ends of branches : blades often punctate, entire or lobed : stipules 

 deciduous or wanting. Flowers commonly perfect or monoecious axillary or ter- 

 minal, mostly large, showy, fragrant or ill-scented. Calyx of 3 petaloid, decid- 

 uous sepals or rarely more. Petals 5 or more, imbricated in 2 or more series. 

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