500 CXXVIl. SALICACEiE. 



8tig. 2, subulate, or dilated and petaloid. 



FAdnipaceous or dr>'. Seed solitary, erect, without albumen. 



Genera 3 soecies about 20, found in the temperate parts of North America, in India and South Africa, 

 one species in Eiirope. SiveeC Fern is highly aromatic and astringent. The fruit of the bayberry bush 

 yields wax in abundance. 



Genera. 



I cuneate-lanceolate, serrate. Flowers dicecious nJ^'^f^in o 



Leaves ( sinuate-pinnatitid. Flowers moneecious Lompionia. z 



1. MYRlCA. 



Gr. jivpio, to flow ; because some of the species are native of river banks and inundated places. 



Flowers c? 9 • Aments ovate-oblong ; scales loosely imbricate, lunate, 

 c? Stamens 4—6, short, erect; anth. large, 4-valved. 9 Ovary 1, 

 superior ; sty. 2, spreading ;• stig. 2, acute ; drupe 1-celled, 1-seeded. 

 — Stipules very fugacious or 0. 



1. M. Gale. Sweet Gale. Dutch Myrtle. 



Lis. glabrous, cuneate-lanceolate, obtuse and serrate above, margin very- 

 entire and slightly revolate below, tapering to a very short petiole ; sterile aments 

 of ovate, cordate, acuminate, ciliate scales ; fr. in an oblong, dense, amenta- 

 ceous head.— A branching shrub, 3— 4f high, on the inundated borders of ponds 

 and mountain lakes. Northern States and Can. Leaves dark green, paler be- 

 neath with a strong midvein, 9—18" by 4—6", entire i the length'. ^ and 9 

 aments on separate plants, the former terminal, about 1' in length, the latter 

 axillary and much shorter. Fruit and leaves, when crushed, with a pungent, 

 spicy odor. May. 



2. M. CERiFERA. Bayherry. Wax Myrtle. 



Lvs. glabrous, cuneate-oblbng, rather acute or obtuse, distinctly petiolate, 

 margin entire or remotely dentate above, paler and with distinct veinlets be- 

 neath ; a7nenfs cotemporaiy with the leaves, lateral, naked, the ^ larger, with 

 lax, roundish scales; //•. spherical, distinct, clustered, naked, covered with wax. 

 —This interesting and useful shrub is found in dry woods or in open fields, 

 Nova Scotia to Flor. W. to Lake Erie. It varies in height from 2— 8f, covered 

 with a grayish bark. It has a very branching top, numerous dry-looking leaves 

 11 — 2i' by* — I'. The ^f and 9 aments on separate plants, below the leaves, 

 1 — f ' long, the former much thicker. The fruit consists of a globular stone en- 

 closing a kernel, and covered with a coating of whitish wax, which, being sepa- 

 rated by boiling water, constitutes the baySerry tallmo of commerce. May. 



2. CO MPT ONI A. 



In honor of Henry Compton, Lord Bishop of London, who made an extensive collection of plants. 



Flowers S . c? Ament cylindric ; bract reniform-cordate, acumi- 

 nate ; cal. scale 2-parted ; sta. 3, forked ; anth. 6. 9 Ament ovate ; 

 cal. scales 6, longer than the bract; sty. 2; nut ovoid, 1-celled. — 

 Low shrubs. Lvs. long and narroic, pi)matifid-lobed, toitk sinall stipules. 



C. Aspr.ENiFOLiA. Ait. (Liquidambar, Linn.) Sweet Fern. 



Lvs. long, linear-lanceolate, alternately sinuate-pinnatifid. — A well known, 

 handsome, aromatic shrub, 2f high, common in dry woods and hills. The main 

 stem is covered with a rusty, brown bark, which becomes reddish in the branches, 

 and wliite downy in the young shoots. Leaves numerous, on short peduncles, 

 3 — i' by h', divided nearly to ithe midvein into numerous, rounded lobes so as 

 to resemble those of the spleenwort. Stipules in pairs, acuminate. Barren 

 flowers in erect, cylindric catkins, terminal aiid lateral. Fertile flowers in a 

 dense, rounded burr or head, situated below the barren ones. Fruit a small, 

 ovate, brown, 1-celled nut. May. 



Order CXXVII. SALICACEJS.— Willoworts. 



FreRs msJiruhs, with alternate, simple leaves and deciduous or persistent stipules. 

 FIs. diiBcious, amentaceous, achlamydeous, axillary to l-flowered bracts. 

 HreTile.—Sla. 2 — several, distinct or monadelphous. Anth. 2-celled. 

 Fertile. — Ova. i -ZceWed. 0»m?6s numerous, erect. Stijies or 3tigm(K % 



