256 XL VIII. ROSACEiE. Spirjea. 



* Leaves without stipules. 



1. S. T0MENT6SA. HardJiacTc. 



Femiginous-tomentose ; Ivs. simple, ovate-lanceolate, smoothish above, 

 unequally serrate ; rac. short, dense, aggregated in a dense, slender, terminal 

 panicle ; carpels 5. — A small shrub, very common in pastures and low grounds, 

 Can. and U. S. Stem very hard, brittle, consequently troublesome to the scythe 

 of the hay-maker. Leaves 1^ — 2' long, ^ as wide, dark green above, rusty white 

 with a dense tomentum beneath, crowded, and on short petioles. Flowers 

 small, very numerous, with conspicuous stamens, light purple, forming a slen- 

 der, p5rramidal cluster of some beauty. The persistent fruit in winter furnishes 

 food for the snow bird. Jl. Aug. 



2. S. sALiciFOLiA. (S. alba. Bio.') Queen of the Meadow. Meadow-sweet. 

 Nearly glabrous ; Ivs. oblong, obovate or lanceolate, sharply serrate ; rac. 



forming a more or less dense, terminal panicle ; carpels 5. — A small shrub in 

 meadows, thickets, U. S. and Brit, Am. Stems 3 — 4f high, slender, purplish, 

 "brittle. Leaves smooth, \\ — 3' long, | — I as wide, acute at each end, petiolate, 

 often with small leaves in the axils. Flowers white, often tinged with red, 

 small, numerous, with conspicuous stamens, in a more or less spreading pani- 

 cle. JL Aug. f 



3. S. Aruncus. Goafs Beard. 



Herbaceous ; Ivs. membranaceous, tripinnate ; Ifts. oblong-lanceolate, acu- 

 minate, the terminal ones ovate-lanceolate, doubly and sharply serrate ; ils. 9 cJ*, 

 very numerous ; carpels 3 — 5, very smooth, — On the Catskill Mts., N. Y. to Ga. 

 Tarrey d^ Gray. Stem 4 — 61 high, branching. Flowers very small, white, 

 in numerous, slender racemes, forming a large, compound panicle. Jn, Jl. 

 0. Fls. in very long, virgate racemes. Georgetown, D, C. Bobbins. 



4. S. coRYMBosA. Raf. (S. chamaedrifolia. Ph.) Corymbose Spiraea. 

 I/vs. ovate or oblong-oval, incisely and unequally serrate near the apex, 



whitish with minute tomentum beneath ; corymbs large, terminal, pedunculate, 

 fastigiate, compound, dense, often leafy ; sly. and carpels 3 — 5. — Mountains, 

 Penn. Fauquier Co., Va. Dr. Bobbins, to Ky. S. to Flor. Stem slightly pu- 

 bescent, reddish, 1 — 2f high. Leaves nearly smooth above, entk-e towards the 

 base, 2 — 3' by | — If'. Flowers innumerable, white or rose-coiored, in a co- 

 rymb 4 — 6' broad. May, Jn. f 



5. S. HYPERiciFOLiA St. Pcter's Wreath. — Lvs. obovate-oblong, obtuse, ta- 

 pering at base to a petiole, entire or slightly dentate, nearly smooth ; Jis. in 

 pedunculate corymbs or sessile umbels ; pedicels smooth or pubescent ; segments 

 of the calyx ascending. — Cultivated in gardens and shrubberies. Shrub 3 — 5f 

 high, nearly smooth in all its parts. Flowers white, in numerous umbels, ter- 

 minating the short, lateral branches. Pedicels as long as the leaves. May, f 



* * Leaves accompanied loith stipules. 



6, S, soRBiFOLiA. Sorb-leaved Spircea. — (S/irw* stout, with straggling branches 

 and rough bark ; Zi;5, unequally pinnate ; lateral Ifts. oblong-lanceolate; termi- 

 nal one larger, irregularly lobed, all acuminate, sessile and doubly serrate ; fls. 

 in thyrsoid panicles, large, numerous, white, — In shrubberies. Height 4 — 6f. 

 May, t 



S, 7, OPULiFOLiA. Nine-bark. 



Nearly glabrous ; lvs. roundish, 3-lobed, petiolate, doubly-serrate ; corymbs 

 pedunculate ; carpels 3 — 5, exceeding the calyx in fruit. — A beautiful shrub, 

 3— 5f. high, on the banks of streams, Ca»."la. ! Mo. S. to Ga,, rare. Bark 

 loose, outer layers deciduous. Leaves 1 — 2j^' long, nearly as wide, sometimes 

 cordate at base, with 3 obtuse lobes above, petioles 6 — 9" long. Corymbs re- 

 sembling simple umbels, hemispherical, 1 — 2^' diam. Flowers white, often 

 tinged with purple. Follicles diverging, smooth, shining, purple, 2-seeded, Jn.f 



8. S. LOB ATA. Siberian Bed Spircea. 



Herbaceous ; lvs. pinnately 3 — 7 foliate, often with smaller leaflets inter- 

 posed, lateral Ifts, of 3, lanceolate lobes, cuneate at base, terminal one large, 

 pedately 7 — 9-parted, lobes all doubly serrate ; stip. reniform ; panicle large, 

 cymosely branched; fls. large, deep rose-color; carpels 6 — 8. — An herb of ex- 



