294 LXVIII. ARALIACEiE. Aralia 



cal leaf triternately decompound. Involucrate Ivs. solitary, biter nately 

 compound. Involucels of 3 — 6 entire, linear-spatulate bracts. 



E. BULBosA. Nutt. (Sison. Mlchx. Hydrocotyle composita. Ph.) 

 A small, early-flowering herb, along the shady banks of streams. Western 

 N. Y. (Torr. <f. Gray.') W. to Ohio ! and Mo. Plant 4—6' high, ^yith 2—4 

 leaves, the lower one radical, numerously divided, the divisions incisely cleft 

 into narrow segments ; the upper ones bract-like, similarly divided, each sub- 

 tending a 3-rayed umbel of white flowers, March, Apr. 



30. CORIANDRUM. 

 CrT. KoptS, a bug; on account of the smell of the leaves. 



Calyx with 5 conspicuous teeth ; petals obcordate, inflexed at the 

 point, outer ones radiate, bifid ; fruit globose ; carpels cohering, with 

 5 depressed, primary ribs, and 4 secondary, more prominent ones ; 

 seeds concave on the face. — ® Smooth. Iiivol. or l-leaved. Invo- 

 lucels ^-leaved, unilateral. 



C. SATIVUM. Coriander. — L/vs. bipinnate, lower ones with broad-cuneate 

 leaflets, upper with linear ones ; ca.rpeh hemispherical. — Native of Europe, &c. 

 This well known plant is cultivated chiefly for the seeds, which are used as a 

 spice, as a nucleus for sugar-plums, &c. Stem 2f high. Leaves numerously 

 divided, strong-scented. Umbels with only the partial involucra. Flowers 

 white. Jl. % 



Order LXVIII. ARALIACEJE.— Araliads. 



Trees, shrubs or herbs, with the habit of umbellifers. 



Cal. superior, entire or toothed. 



Cor.— Petals 5—10, deciduous, rarely 0, valvate in aestivation. 



Sta. equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them. Anth. introrse. 



Ova. crowned with a disk, 2 or many-celled. Ovules solitary. Styles as many as cells. 



Fr. baccate or drupaceous, of several one-seeded cells. 



Genera 21, species 160, nearly allied to Umbelliferee, from which they are distinguished chiefly by the 

 several-celled ovary and fleshy fruit. They are natives of northern temperate climes of both hemis- 

 pheres.— Several species are well known in medicine, &c., as ginseng, spikenard, sarsaparilla, &c. The 

 latter is sometimes substituted for the sarsaparilla of the shops. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



t Flowers perfect Aralia. l 



S compound. ? Flowers polygamous Panax. 2 



Leaves ( simple, angular and lobed Hedera. 3 



1. ARALIA. 

 Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, limb short, 5-toothed or entire ; 

 petals 5, spreading, apex not inflexed ; stamens 5 — 10 ; styles 5, 

 spreading ; berry crowned with the remains of the calyx and styles, 

 mostly 5-celled and 5-seeded. — Lvs. compomid. Fls. in simple, solitary 

 or racemose panicles. 



1, A. NUDiCAULis. Wild Sarsaparilla. 



Nearly stemless ; Z/! solitary, decompound ; scfl^;?^ naked, shorter than the 

 leaf; umbels few. — Ij. A well known plant, found in woods, most abundant in rich 

 and rocky soils, Can. to Car. and Tenn. It has a large, fleshy root, from which 

 arise a leaf-stalk and a scape, but no proper stem. The former is long, sup- 

 porting a single, large, compound leaf, %vhich is either 3-ternate or 3-quinate. 

 Leaflets oval and obovate, acuminate, finely serrate. The scape is about a foot 

 high, bearing 3 simple umbels of greenish flowers. Jn. Jl. 



2. A. RACEMosA. Pettymorrel. Spikenard. 



St. herbaceous, smooth ; lvs. decompound ; ped. axillary, branching, um- 

 belled.— Ij. In rocky woods, Can. to the S. States. Stem 3— 4f high, dark green 

 or reddish, arising from a thick, aromatic root. The leaf-stalks' divide into 3 

 partitions, each of which bears 3 or 5 large, ovate, serrate leaflets. Umbels 

 numerous, arranged in branching racemes from the axils of the leaves or 



