LXXVIII. ERICACEAE. 



367 



and roadsides, Can., N. Eng. ! to Ga. and 111.! The strict, upright stem, is 

 furnished with distant, short, alternate, heart-reniform, veiny, stem-clasping 

 leaves, containg I — 4 crowded flowers in the conca\-ity of their itpper surface. 

 Floweis axillary and terminal, ihe upper clusters larger. Corolla blue or pur- 

 ple, with spreading segments, calyx segments acute, lanceolate. June, July. 



2. S. spECULU]v# Veiius' Locking-glass. — St. difluse, very branching ; Ivs. ob- 

 long-crenate ; Jls. solitary; sca/es at the base of the corolla sometimes wanting. 

 — Aprcltv border flower named from the form of the blue corolla, which resem- 

 bles a little, round, concave mirror (speculum). Aug. 



Order LXXVIII. ERICACE^.— Heathworts. 



Plants shrabby or suffiiitjco=e, soraetimes herbaceous. 



Lvs. s;mple, allernate or owosite, mo.stly evergreen, entire or toothed, without stipules. 



In/loresccnce various. Cal. niferior or superior, 5- (seldom 4— G-) leaved or clelt, rarely entire. 



Cor. regular or somewhat irregular, 4—5- (rarely 6-) cleft, the petals rarely almost distinct. 



Sta. Generally distinct and inserted with the corolla. [appendagert. 



Anth. as maiiv or twice as many as the lobes of the corolla, 2-celled, generally opemng by pores, oftec 



Embryo straight, lying in the a.\i3 of, or in the end of fleshy albumen. 



Genera 66, species I0S5, dift'used throughout all countries, but comparatively rare in the torrid zone. The 

 true F.ricacea> (Heaths) are chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope, there being none in Asia, New 

 Holland, and but one or two in America. The Tribe Vaccinea; are chietiy natives ol N. America. 



Properties.— The Ericacea; are, in general, astrinffent and diuretic. Some of them yield a stimulating 

 and aromatic re.>!inous matter. The Eearberry. (Arciostaphylos Uva-ursi) is a well-known remedy in 

 nephritic complaints. An infusion of the leaves is astringent, demulcent and diuretic. Similar properties 

 are also possessed by the Pipsissiwa (Chimaphila umbellata). The species ot Rhododendron ami Kal- 

 mia are pervaded by a narcotic principle, rendering them (particularly their leaves) often actively poison- 

 ous. The honey collected from their flowers by bees appears to have been so to some of the soldiers in 

 the retreat of the immortal ten thousand (Xenophon's Anabasis). The berries of the Vaccineae (^\ hor- 

 tJeberries, Blueberries and Cranberries,) and of Gaultheria prociunbens (spicy Wintergreen) are esculent 

 and wholesome. 



FIG. 4S.-1. Azalea procumbens. 2. A flower enlarged. .3. A stamen much en arged showing tha 

 engitudinal dehiscence of each of (he cells. 4. Cro^s section of a 5 celled capsule of Rhodndenilron, 

 ahowiiiff llie inflexed marsriiis of the valves. 5. Pyrola secunda. 6. A flower enlarged. 7. A stamen 



showing the inflexed margins of the valves. 5. Pyro^ secunda. 6. A flower enlarged. 7 A stamen 

 enlarged, showing the terminal tubes and pores. 8. Cross section ol a .5-ce led, many-seeded capsule. 

 9 Gaultheria procumbens. lO. A flower enlarged. 11. A berry. U. Vertical section of the ovary, show- 

 ng the free, ffishy calyx. 13. Anther of Vaccinium Vitis Ideee. 11. Stamen of Arciostaphylos Uva-ursi. 

 Hi. Awned stamen of a Vaccinium. 



