SHEPHERDIA 1^'^ 



land to Alaska, south to New York, Ohio, Minnesota, South Dakota 

 and New Mexico. 



2. ^. argentea Nutt. Buffalo -berry . Shrub 1-6 m.high, some- 

 what thorny; twigs silvery -scurfy. Banks of streams, Manitoba to 

 Alberta, south to Iowa, Kansas and New Mexico (Fig. 226). 



NYSSA L. (Nyssaceae) 



Tall deciduous trees. Twigs moderate, rounded; pith white, 

 continuous, but with firmer plates at intervals. Buds sessile or 

 slightly stalked, solitary or superposed, ovoid, with about 4 scales; 

 terminal bud larger. Leaf-scars alternate, broadly crescent-shaped 

 or triangular; bundle-traces 3; stipule-scars none. In some works 

 Nyssa is placed in the Cornaceae. 



1. _N. sylvatica L. Black Gum. Sour Gum. A large tree 

 reaching a height of 35-40 m. with a trunk diameter of 1. 5 m. ; 

 bark on young stems smooth and grayish, on older trunks reddish- 

 brown or grayish-black, scaly, and on very old trunks forming 

 "alligator" bark; twigs glabrous; buds varic^olored, soft-hairy. 

 Rich woods, Maine to Missouri, south to Florida and Texas (Fig. 

 227). 



ARALIA L. (Araliaceae) 



Deciduous shrubs or small trees (many species herbaceous), 

 sometimes with cortical prickles. Twigs often thick, rounded; pith 

 large, continuous. Leaf-scars alternate, crescent-shaped, half- 

 encircling the twigs; bundle-traces about 15, in a single series; 

 stipule- scars none. 



a. Tree or shrub, stem thick, prickly 1. A. spinosa 



a. Subshrub, stem moderate, bristly 2. A. hispida 



1. A. spinosa L. Hercules' Club. A shrub or tree, up to 10 

 m. high, with very prickly stems; branches gray or straw-colored, 

 glabrous; umbels numerous, in compound panicles, persistent into 

 winter. Rich woods, Florida to Texas, north to New Jersey, New 

 York, Illinois and Iowa; escaped from cultivation farther north 

 (Fig. 228). 



2. _A. hispida Vent. Bristly Sarsaparilla . Stem 2-9 dm. high, 

 bristly, scarcely woody. Rocky woods and clearings, Newfoundland 

 to Manitoba, south in the mountains to North Carolina (Fig. 229). 



