214 XLIII. HIPPOCASTANACE^. ^sculus. 



N. ACERoiDEs, Moencli.' (Acer Negundo. Linn.) Ash-leaved Maple. 



Box Elder. 



Lis. ternate and 5-pinnate ; Ifts. ovate, acuminate, remotely and une- 

 qually dentate ; 9 racemes long and pendulous, barren Jls. cor}anbose ; fr. ob- 

 long, with large wings dilated upwards. — A handsome tree, 20 — 30f in height, 

 with irregular, spreading branches, growing in woods. The trunk is a foot or 

 more in diameter, and when young, covered with a smooth, yellowish-green 

 bark. Leaflets serrated above the middle, petiolate, the terminal one largest, 

 all slightly pubescent. Wings of the samara approximate, broadest towards 

 the end. Apr. 



Order XLIII. HIPPOCASTANACE^.— Buckeyes. 



Trees or shrubs. Leavers opposite, rarely alternate, compound, without stipules. 



Fls. showy, with the pedicels articulated. 



Cal. campanulate.of 5 united sepals. 



Cor.— Petals 5, (one of tnem sometimes abortive.) unequal, hypogynous. 



Sta. 6—8, distinct, unequal, inserted upon a disk with the petals. 



Ova. roundish, 3-cornered, 3-celled. crowned with a single, filiform, conical style. 



Ft. roundish, coriaceous, with 1—3 large, roundish, smooth seeds. 



Genera 3, native of N. America and Northern India. The species are generally ornamental trees, with 

 astringent properties residing in the bark. The seeds contain much starch, and are nutritive but bitter. 

 Only the following genus is found in the Northern States, and even this is not indigenous in N. Eng. 



^SCtJLUS. 

 Calyx campanulate or tubular, 5-lobed ; corolla irregular, 4 — 5- 

 petaled ; stamens, ovary and fruit, as expressed in the order. — Trees, 

 with 'palmately 5 — 7 -foliate leaves. Flowers in thyrse-like panicles. 



1. M. GLABRA. Willd. (Pavia pallida. Spach. P. Ohiensis. MlcJix.) 

 Ohio Buckeye. 



Lfts. 5, oval or oblong, acuminate, serrate or serrulate ; fls. in lax, th5rr- 

 soid panicles ; cor. 4-petaled, spreading, with the claws as long as the calyx ; 

 sta. longer than the corolla ; fr. echinate. — A small, ill-scented tree, along the 

 banks of the Ohio and its tributaries. Leaflets 3 — 6' long, ^ as wide, subsessile, 

 or abruptly contracted at base to short stalks. Flowers yellow^ish-white, small, 

 slightly irregular. Fruit about \' diam. 



2. M. FLAVA. Ait. (Pavia flava. DC.) Big Buclceye. Sweet Buckeye. 

 Lfts. 5 — 7, oblong-ovate or elliptic-ovate, acuminate, serrulate, pubescent 



beneath ; fls. in thyrsoid, pubescent panicles, about 6 on each division of the 

 peduncle ; cal. campanulate, not half the length of the corolla ; pet. very unequal, 

 connivent, longer than the stamens ; fr. unarmed. — A large tree, 30 — 70f high, 

 common in the Western and Southern States. Leaflets 4r—l', by 1 — 3'. 

 Flowers pale yellow. Fruit globose, uneven on the surface, but not prickly, 

 2 — 2\' diam, with 1 or 2 large brown seeds. Apr. May. 



3. M. PAVIA. (Pavia rubra. Lam.) Small Buckeye. — Lfts. 5, oblong-lan- 

 ceolate, cuneate at base, abruptly and shortly acuminate, "finely serrate; /5. 

 very irregular, in a lax, thyrsoid raceme, pet. 4, erect, as long as the stamens.— 

 A beautiful shrub, 6 — lOf high, native of the Southern States. Flowers large, 

 red, glabrous. Apr. May. f 



4. M. PARviFLORA, Walt. (^. machrostachya. Mlchx.) native at the South, 

 a beautiful shrub, wath numerous small, white' flowers, in a long, slender, thyr- 

 soid raceme, is rarely cultivated. 



5. M. HippocASTANUM. HoTse Chestnui. — Z^rs. digitate, of 7 obovate leaflets; 

 pet. 5 ; spreading ; fr. prickly. — A noble tree, justly admired for its majestic 

 proportions, and for the beauty of its foliage and flowers. It is a native of the 

 north of Asia, but is now known throughout Europe and in this country, and is 

 a frequent ornament ot courts and avenues. It is of rapid growth, and attains 

 the height of 40 or 50f. In June it puts forth numerous pyramidal racemes or 

 thyrses of flowers, of pink and white, finely contrasting with the dark green of 

 its massy Ibliage. The leaves are digitate, with 7 obovate, acute, serrate leaf- 

 lets. The fruit is large, mahogany-colored, and eaten only by deer. 



