LEGUMINOS^. 109 GILLENIA. 



woody. Leaves acutely serrate, thin, smooth on both sides. Flowers white, 

 small, in large, cylindric panicles, terminal and axillary. Jl. Aug. 



Meadow-sweet. 



3. S. aru'ncus. 



Leaves 3-pinnate, membranaceous ; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 

 tlie terminal ones ovate-lanceolate, doubly and sharply serrate; flmm-s very 

 numerous, small, white. A tall, branching herb, on the Cattskill Mts., &c. 

 Tor. <^ Gray. 



4. S. hypericifo'lia. 



Leaves obovate, entire or toothed at the apex ; mnhels sessile. A handsome 

 shrub, 4 or 5 feet high, cultivated in shrubberies. Leaves an inch long. Flow- 

 ers abundant, white, in smooth, lateral umbels, appearing in May. In Eu- 

 rope, where it is common, it is called the Jtalian St. Jokus-wort. Hard-hack. 



5. S. opulifo'lia. 



Leaves ovate, 3-lobpd, serrate; eorijinls stalked. River banks throughout 

 the Northern and Middle States. A shrub 4 feet high, sometimes seen in our 

 shrubberies. Leaves like those of the viburnum opulus. Flowers white, in 

 crowded, terminal corymbs. Capsules inflated, smooth, of a shining brown. 

 Styles 3. June. 



19. GILLE'NIA. 



Calyx infundibuliform, 5-toothed ; petals 5; stamens 10 — 



15, very short; styles 5; carpels 5, connate at base, each 2- 

 seeded. 



Gr. yiXuco, to laugh ; on account of its exhilarating qualities. Cal. tubular, 

 with an expanding, 5-toothed border. Cor. partly unequal. Pet. lanceolate, 

 tapering at the claws. Stem included. Capsule opening within. — Perennial 

 herbs, with trifoliate leaves. 



G. trifoi.ia'ta. 



Leaves trifoliate, lanceolate, serrate, nearly equal ; stipules linear, entire ; 

 floicers in loose, terminal panicles; crt/(/2- tubular-canipanulate ; styles 5. A 

 handsome herbaceous plant, 2 feet high, with ternate or trilobate leaves, and 

 white flowers appearing in June. Indian Phi/sic. 



ORDER XLIX. LEGUxMINOSiE. Leguminous or Bean Tribe. 



fa/.— Sepals generally -3. more or less united, often unequal. 



(k)r. — Petals 5, eitlier papilionaceous or regular, peri^n,-uous. 



Sta. — Diadelphous, nionadclphous or distinct. Anthers versatile. 



Oca. — Superior, single and simple. Sh/le and stigma simple. 



Fr. — A legume, either continuous (1-celled), or (a lament) jointed into 1-seeded cells. 



Sds. — Solitarj' or several, destitute of albumen. 



An immense family, consisting of herbs, shrubs and trees, with alternate, usually com- 

 pound leaves. Stipules 2. at the swelling base of the petiole. Stipelles connnonly S, at 

 the base of each leaflet. The Order is divided into two principal Suborders, whose char- 

 acters are indicated further on; viz. Suborder I, Papilionace.e, and Subnrder'J, MimosE-E. 



Geography. The Leguminosffi are distributed throughout all lands, with the exception 

 of a few unimportant Islands, from the Equator to either of the frigid zones. Of its 3300 

 Epecies known, about 290 are natives of the United States, ]6U2 (according to De Caudolle) 

 inhabit the Torrid Zone. 1302, north of that Zone, and 424, south of it. 



K 



