294 LXVIII. ARALIACEjE. Aralia 



cal Leaf trilcrnatdij tkcompound. lavolucrate lis. solitary., hileniately 

 compound. Involucels of 3 — 6 entire., Unear-spatulate bracts. 



E. BULBosA. Nutt. (Sison. 3Iichx. Hydrocotyle composita. PL) 

 A small, early-flowering herb, along the shady banks of streams. Western 

 N Y. (Turr.c:^ aray.)Vi. to Ohio! and Mo. Plant 4— 6' high, with 2—4 

 leaves, the lower one "radical, numerously divided, the divisions incisely cleft 

 into narrow segments ; the upper ones bract-like, similarly divided, each sub- 

 tending a 3-rayed umbel of white flowers. March, Apr. 



30. COR I AN DRUM. 



Gr. KopiS, a bug ; on account of the smell of the leaves. 



Calyx with 5 conspicuous teeth : petals obcordate, inflexed at the 

 point, outer ones radiate, bifid ; fruit globose ; carpels cohering, with 

 5 flepressed, primary ribs, and 4 secondary, more prominent ones ; 

 seeds concave on the face. — ® Smooth. Iiivol. or \-lcaved. Invo- 

 lucels o-leaved, unilateral. 



G. SATIVUM. Coriander^. — Lis. bipinnate, lower ones with broad-cuneate 

 leaflets, upper with linear ones; car;;c/i- hemispherical. — Native of Europe, &c. 

 This well known plant is cultivated chiefly for the seeds, which are used as a 

 epice, as a nucleus for sugar-plums, &c. "Stem 2f high. Leaves numerously 

 divided, strong-scented. "Umbels with only the partial involucra. Flowers 

 white. Jl. i 



Order LXVIII. AR ALIACE^^.— Araliads. 



Trees, sliriibs or herbs, with the habit of mnbellifers. 



Cal. superior, entire or toothed. 



Cor. — Petals 5—10, deciduous, rarely 0, valvate in lestivation. 



Sta. equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them. Anth. introrse. 



Ova. crowned with a disk, 2 or many-celled. Ovides solitary. Styles as many as cells. 



FV. baccate or drupaceous, of several one-seeded cells. 



Genera 21, species 160, nearly allied to Umbellifera', from which they are distinuuished chiefly by the 

 several-celled ovary and fleshy fruit. They are native.- of northern temperate climes of both hemis- 

 pheres.— Several species arc well known in medicine, (fee, as ginseng, spikenard, sarsaparilla, &c. The 

 latter is sometimes substituted for the sarsaparilla of the shops. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



<, Flowers perfect Aralia. 1 



5 compound. \ Flowers polygamous Panax. 2 



Leaves ^simple, angular and lobed Hedera. 3 



1. ARALIA. 

 Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, limb short, 5-toothed or entire ; 

 petals 5, spreading, apex not inflexed ; stamens 5 — 10 ; styles 5, 

 spreading ; berry crowned with the remains of the calyx and styles, 

 mostly 5-celled and 5-seeded. — Lvs. compound. Fls. in simple., solitary 

 or racemose panicles. 



1. A. NUDiCAULis. Wild Sarsaparilla. 



Nearly stemless ; Z/". solitary, decompound ; scape naked, shorter than the 

 leaf; umbels few. — Tj. A well knovvn plant, found in woods, most abundant in rich 

 and rocky .'^oils, Can. to Car. and Tenn. It has a large, fleshy root, from which 

 arise a leaf-stalk and a scape, but no proper stem. The former is long, sup- 

 porting a single, large, compound leaf, which is either 3-ternate or 3-quinate. 

 Leaflets oval and obovate, acuminate, finely serrate. The scape is about a foot 

 high, bearing 3 simple umbels of greenish flowers. Jn. Jl. 



2. A. RACEMosA. Pctlymorrel. Spikenard. 



St. herbaceous, smooth ; lvs. decompoiJnd ; ped. axillary, branching, um- 

 belled. — %. In rocky woods. Can. to the S. StTites. Stem 3 — ^If high, dark green 

 or reddish, arising from a thick, aromatic root. The leaf-stalks divide into 3 

 partitions, each of which bears 3 or 5 large, ovate, serrate leaflets. Umbels 

 numerous, arranged in branching racemes from the axils of the leaves or 



