XLVII. LEGUMINOSJi:. 217 



2. R. ALNiFOLius. L'Her. (R. Irangnloides. Michx.) Alder-leaved 



Buckthorn. 



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

 bescent on the veins beneath ; ped. aggregate, 1-flowered ; fis. mostly pentan- 

 drous ; cal. acute ; sly. 3, united, very short ; fr. turbinate, black. — A shrub 2 — 4f 

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

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

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



2. CEANOTHUS. 

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

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

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

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

 Shrubby and t hornless. 



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



Lvs. 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 reddish, 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 curiously 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-leaved Ceanothus. 



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

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

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

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

 dular points. Thyrse short, almost hemispherical, 1^' diam. Flowers white, 

 larger than those of the last. May. 



Order XLYII. 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. Antliers versatile. % 



Ova. superior, single and simple. Style and stis^ria simple. 



FY. a legume, either continuous (l-ciTled), or (a loment) iointed into 1-seeded cells. 

 Sds. solitary or several, destitute of albumen. 

 The genera and species of this vast order were estimated by Mr. Bentham, in 1845, as follows 

 Suborder 1. Papilionaceae, 350 genera, 4800 species. 

 2. Ca'salpineir, 88 " 700 " 



" , 3. Mimosea;, 29 " 1000 " 



Total, 467 " 6500 " 



Geography.— The Leguminosea; ore distributed throughout all lands, with the e.\ception 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 posses.'^cs a higher claim to the attention of tho 

 naturalist than the Let'uminosii' wtirther wc retard them as objects of ornament or utility. Of the 

 former we micht mention the .•*pl(-n(iid varitiie.s of r^rsis, wi*h thi'ir purple Howeis, the Acacias, with 

 their airy foliage and Hilky st.imttiM. I tie pride of India, Coliilea and CiiHalpiiia, with a host of others, 

 which, like the sweet pea, are redolent willi I'crfume. Of the latter, the bean.-*, peas, lentils, clover and 

 lucerne, are too well known to re(|uire particular commendation. Among limber trees the Rosewood (a 

 Brazilian species of Mimosa), the Laburnum, whose wood is durable and of anolive-grecn color, and the 

 locust (Ilobinia) of our own country, arc preeminent. 



The following are a few of the important ofllcinal products of thi.^ order. In medicine : tigiiorice is the 

 product of the root of Cilvcyrrhiza glabra of .S. Kurope. The purgative «f«w<i consists of the leaves of 

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

 a cathartic, but more mild than the former. The sweet pulp tamarind, is the product of a largi; and 

 beautiful tree (Tamariiidns Indica) of Ihe E. and W. Indies. Resins and Imlsams : Gum scnfisal is 

 yielded by Acjicia Verek of ttie river .'^meiral ; Gum Arabic, by several species of Acacia of rentral 

 Africa : Gum Tra^ari/rith, by Astnuralus verus, A-c , of Persia. Halmin Copaivd is rhc pro<liict of 

 several species of Copnifera, natives of Brazil and W. India ; Hat»am Tulu of .Myitspeimum loluifcrum. 

 of Peru, and balsam Peru of IVI. peruiferum of the same country. Dyes, Ac : Indi^'o, the mo«t valuable 

 of all, (nut a violent poison,) is Ihe produdof several southern species of Indigofera,as I. nnilof thf W 

 Indies, aijd I. argentsa of Egypt. Brazil-wood, from Cwsalpino Braziliensis. Lo^trood from Hs-matoxy- 

 fon Camp«s<'hianum,of Csmpearhy.and Rtd fftrdal'trood from rterocarru* *anlalinu>r.,' F.rypi.A'- .At, 



