182 RHAMNACEAE 



small umbels which combine to form terminal spikes or panicles. 

 The ovary is 3-celled, and the fruit is usually dry, globose, and 

 3-lobed at the apex, and separates into 3 nutlets. 



There are between 50 and 60 species in this genus, all of them 

 natives of North America and northern Mexico. Only 2 occur 

 in the northeastern United States and these are native also in 

 Illinois. 



Key to the Jersey-Tea Species 



Leaves ovate to ovate-oblong, pubescent beneath; peduncles 

 longer than the leaves from whose axils they arise ; cap- 

 sules crested ; seeds smooth C. americanus 



Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous beneath; peduncles shorter 

 than the leaves in whose axils they arise ; capsules not 

 crested ; seeds pitted on the surface C. ovatus 



CEANOTHUS AMERICANUS Linnaeus 



Jersey-Tea 



The Jersey-Tea, fig. 45, is an erect shrub, generally with 

 several stems rising from a very large, red rootstock to a height 

 seldom in excess of 3 feet. The stems are somewhat branched 

 and either pubescent or glabrous below. The leaves are ovate 

 to ovate-oblong, 1^ to 4 inches long, ^ to 3 inches wide, acute 

 at the apex, and generally rounded and somewhat cordate at 

 the base. Margins are serrate, and the teeth are tipped with 

 glands. The surface is more or less pubescent above and gen- 

 erally velvety to the touch beneath. The petioles are short, 

 usually less than 14 i^^h long. 



The small, white flowers, which appear in June and early 

 July, stand in dense clusters at the end of long peduncles, 

 which are either terminal or arise from the axils of leaves of 

 the current year. The petals are clawed. The fruit matures 

 in September and October as a 3-celled capsule, each cell of 

 which contains one smooth, light brown seed, which is oblong 

 and is flattened on one side. 



Distribution. — The Jersey-Tea prefers dry situations and 

 often is found on slopes with black oak, as well as occasionally 

 in prairie regions. It ranges from Manitoba to Maine and 

 south to Texas and Florida. In Illinois, it has been collected 

 in more than a third of the counties and is one of the most 

 widely distributed shrubs in the state. 



