XLVII. LEGUMINOS^. 217 



2. R. ALN-iFOLius. L'Her. (R. Iranguloides. Michx.) Alder-leaved 



Buckthorn. 



Shrub erect, with unarmed branches; Zt-x. oval, acuminate, serrate, pu- 

 bescent on the veins beneath ; fcd. aggregate, 1-flowercd ; /.>-. mostly pen'tan- 



drous ; cal. acute ; shj. 3, united, very short ; //-. turbinate, black. — A shrub 2 4f 



high, common in rough pastures and hills, Penn. to Can. Leaves 1 3' long 



J as wide, acute at base. Flowers mostly apetalous. Berries about as large 

 as currants, black, 3-seeded. May, Jn. 



2. C F, A N O T H U S. 

 Calyx tubular, campanulate, 5-cleft. separating transversely after 

 flowering ; petals 5, saccate-arched, with long claws ; stamens mostly 

 exserted ; style mostly 3-cleft ; capsule obtusely triangular, 3-celled, 



3-seeded, surrounded at base by the persistent tube of the calyx. > 



Shrubby and thornless. 



1. C. Americanus. Jersey Tea. Red-root. 



I/vs. oblong-ovate, serrate, 3-veined; panicles axillary, elongated.— A 

 small shrub, with a profusion of white blossoms, found in woods and groves, U. 

 S. Very abundant on the barrens at the West. Stems 2 — 4f high, slender' 

 with reddisli, round, smooth branches. Leaves thrice as long as broad, very 

 downy, with soft hairs beneath. Flowers minute, white, in crowded panicles 

 from the axils of the upper leaves. Stamens enclosed in the cm-iously vaulted 

 corolla. The root, which is large and red, is sometimes used for coloring. 

 The leaves have been used as a substitute for tea. Jn. 



2. C. ovALis. Bw. Oval-kavcd Ceanothiis. 



Lis. oval-lanceolate, with glandular serratures, 3-veined, veins pubescent 

 • beneath ; thyrse corymbose, abbreviated. — Burlington, Vt., Rvbbins, W. to Mich. 

 Shrub 2-— 3f high. Leaves smooth and shining, 1 — 3' long, \ — h as wide most- 

 ly acute at each end, crenately serrate, the serratures tipped with black', glan- 

 dular points. Thyrse short, almost hemispherical, IJ' diam. Flowers white 

 larger than those of the last. May. ' 



Order XLVII. LEGUMINOS^.— Leguminous Plants. 



Herbs, shrubs or trees. Lvs. alternate, usually compound, margins entire. 

 Stipules 2, at the tumid base of the petiole. Stipels commonly 2. 

 Cal. — Sepals generally 5, more or less united, often unequal. 

 Cor. — Petals 5. either papilionaceous or regular, perigynous. 

 Sta. diadelphous, monadelphous or distinct. Antliets versatile. 

 Ova. superior, single and simple. Stijle and stigma simple. 

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

 Sd.s. solitary or several, destitute of albumen. 

 The genera and species of this vast order were estimated by Mr. Bentham, in 1843, as follows 

 Suborder 1. Papilionacea;, 350 genera, 4800 species. 



" 2. Cacsalpineae, 88 " 700 " 



" 3. Mimoseae, 29 " looo " 



Total, 467 " 6500 " 



Geography.— The Leguminoseae are distributed throughout all lands, with the exception of a few 

 unimportant islands, from the equator to either of the frigid zones. Of its 6500 species now known, about 

 350 are natives of the United States and Territories. 



Properties.— 'No family of the vegetable kingdom po.ssesses a higher claim to the attention of the 

 naturalist than the LeguminosEB, whether we regard them as objects of ornament or utility. Of the 

 former we might mention the splendid varieties of Cersis, with their purple flowers, the Acacias, with 

 their airj' foliage and silky stamen.^, the pride of India, Colulea and Ca^salpina, with a host of others, 

 which, like the sweet pea, are redolent with perfume. Of the latter, the beans, ptas, Itntiis, cluvur and 

 lucerne, are too well known to require particular commendation. Among timber trees tlu' Knscwood (a 

 Brazilian species of Mimosa), the Laburnum, whose wood is durable and of an olive-green color, and the 

 locust (Robinia) of our own country, are preeminent? 



The following are a few of the important officinal products of this order. In medicine : liquorice is the 

 product of the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra of S. Europe. The purgative senna conaists of the leaves of 

 Cassia senna, C. acutifolia, C. jEthiopica and other species of Egypt and Arabia. C. Marjlandica is also 

 a cathartic, but more mild than the former. The sweet pulp tamariml, is the product of a large and 

 beautiful tree {Tamarindus Indica) of the E. and W. Indies. Resins and balsams : Gum Senegal is 

 yielded by Acacia Verek of the river Senegal ; Gum Arabic, by several sjtecies of Acncia of Central 

 Africa; Gi/m Tragacijnth, by Astragalus verus, A-c, of Persia. Balsam Copaiva is the product of 

 several species of Copaifera, natives of Brazil and W. India ; liaham Tohi of Myosperraum toluiferum, 

 of Peni, and balsam Peru of M. peruiferum of the same country. Dyes, &c. -. Indigo, the most valuable 

 of all. (but a violent poison,) is the product of several southern species of Indigof6ra,as I. anil of the W. 

 Indies, and I. argentea of Egypt. Brazil-wood, from Ca?salpina Braziliensis. Log-mood from Hsmatoxy- 

 ten Campeachianum.of Campeachv.nnd Red iandol-irond [rom Plcrocarpuspantalinusof Egypl,&c.,&c. 



