POPULAR FLORA. 157 



2. Three-leaved S. Stems spreading, 3' to 8' high; leaves wetlge-ohovate or oblong, the lower ones 



in whorls of 3; the earliest flower with the parts in fives, the rest generally in fours; petals white. 

 Rocky woods, S. and W. and in gardens. S. ternatum. 



3. Handsome S. Stems 4' to 12' high; leaves thread-shaped; flowers crowded; petals rose-purple. 



Rocky places, S. W. and cultivated. S. pukhdlum. 



4. Great S. or Live-for-ever. Stems 2° high; leaves oval; flowers in a close compound cyme, 



purple. Gardens. S. Td'ephium. 



42. SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. Order SAXIFRAGACE^. 



Herbs, or in the case of Hydrangea, &c. shrubs, differing from the last in having the 

 pistils fewer than the petals, and generally more or less united -with each other and with 

 the tube of the calyx. Petals 5 (rarely 4), on the calyx. Stamens 5 or 10, or in Alock- 

 Orange many. 



Herbs. Leaves generally alternate. Petals 5. Styles only 2. 



Stamens 10, short. Petals entire. Calyx deeply 5-cleft, Pod 2-beaked or pods 2, 



many-seeded, {Saxifraga) Saxifrage. 



Stamens 5. Petals small, entire (greenish or purplish), between the short lobes of the 

 bell-shaped calyx. Pod 1-celled, 2-beaked, many-seeded. Flowers in a long 

 panicle, {ffeiichera) Alum-koot. 



Stamens 10, short. Petals pinnatifid, whitish, slender. Styles and pod short, one- 

 celled, the latter few-seeded at the bottom, opening across the top. Stem 

 2-leaved below the slender raceme, {^fttella) Mitkewort. 



Stamens 10, and the 2 styles much longer than the slender-clawed petals. Pod slen- 

 der, few-seeded at the bottom. Flowers white in a short raceme on a 

 naked scape, ( Tiarella) False-Mitre wort. 



Shrubs. Leaves opposite. Tube of the calyx coherent with the ovary. Seeds many. 



Flowers small, in compound cymes ; some of the marginal ones generally large and 

 neutral (Fig. 169), or in cultivation nearly all the flowers becoming so. 

 Petals 4 or 5. Stamens 8 or 10. Styles 2, diverging, and between them the 

 little pod opens, {Hydrangea) Hydrangea. 



Flowers large, somewhat panicled. Petals 4 or 5, white, showy. Stamens 20 or 

 more. Styles 3 to 5, united below: pod with as many cells, very many- 

 seeded, ' {Philadclphiis) Mock-Oraxgjs, 



Saxifrage. Saxifraga. 



1. Early Saxifrage. Leaves all clustered at the root, obovate, toothed; scape 4' to 9' high, many- 



flowered ; flowers white, in early spring. Damp rocks. S. Virginiensis. 



2. Swamp S. Leaves all at the root, lanceroblong, 3' to 8' long; scape 1° or 2° high, clammy, bearing 



many small clustered greenish flowers. Bogs and wet ground, N. iS. Pennsylcdnica. 



Hydrangea. Hydrangea. 



1. Garden Hydrangea. Leaves very smooth; flowers mostly large neutral ones, blue, purple, or 



pink. A well-known garden and house plant. //. Hortensia. 



2. Wild H. Leaves thin, nearly smooth,' sometimes heart-shaped; flowers mostly perfect, white. 



H. arborescens. 



