LXXVIII. ERICACEAE. 



367 



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

 furnished with distant, short, alternate, heart-rcniCorm, veiny, stem-clasping: 

 leaves, container 1 — 4 crowdeci (lowers in the concavity of their upper snrlace. 

 Flowers axillary and terminal, the upper clusters larger. Corolla Idue or pur- 

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



2. S. SPECULUM. Vc/iKs' Lookini^-s(fnss. — S(. ditlu.se, very branching; lis. ob- 

 long-crenate ; Jls. solitary ; scdJcs at the ba.se of the corolla .sometimes wanting. 

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

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



Order LXXVIII. ERICACEiE.— Heatiiworts. 



Plants shnibby or suffruficose, sometimes hcrlmceou.s. 



Lt's. simple, iilternate or opposite, mostly evergreen, entire or toothed, without stipules. 



Inflojrsc^iicc various. Ca/. iiilerior or superior, 5- (selilom 4— C-) leaved or cleft, rarely entire. 



Cor. refrular or sotncw hat irregular, 4—5- (rarely 6-) cleft, the petals rarely almost distinct. 



Sta. tieiienilly disiinct and iiii^erted willi the corolla. [appenda^ed. 



ylwf/;. iu< many or twice ai? many as the lobes of the corolla, 2-ccllcd, generally opening by pores, often 



Kmonjo straight, lying in the axis of, or in the end of fleshy albumen. 



Genera 66, species 1086, diffused 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 chieHy natives of N. America. 



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

 and aromatic resinous matter. The Bearberry, (Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi) is a well-known remedy in 

 nephritic complaint.s. An infusion of the leaves is astringent, demulcent and diuretic. Similar properfies 

 .ire also possessed by the Pipsissiwa (Chimaphila umbellata). The species of Rhododendron and Kal- 

 mia are pervaded by a narcotic principle, renilering 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 fen thousand (Xenophon's Anabasis). The berries of the Vaccineaj (Whor- 

 tleberries, Blueberries and Cranberries,) and of Gaultheria procumbens (spicy Wintergreen) are esculent 

 and wholesome. 



FIG. 43.— 1. Azalea procumbens. 2. A flower enlarged. 3. A stamen much enlarged, showing the 

 longitudinal dehiscence of each of the cells. 4. Cro^ss section of a 5-celled capsule of Bhododendron, 

 showinir the infle.xed margins of the valves. 5. Fyrola .secunda. 6. A flower enlarged. 7. A stamen 

 enlarged, showing the terminal tubes and pores. 8. Cross section of a 5-celled, many-seeded capsule. 

 9. Gaultheria procumbens. 10. A flower enlarged. 11. A berry. V2. Vertical .'section of the ovary, show- 

 ing the free, fleshy calyx. 13. Anther of VacciniumVitis Ideae. 14. Stamenof Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi. 

 15. Awned stamen of a Vaccinium. 



