Epig^ja. LXXVIII. ERlCACEiE. 373 



6. MENZIESA. Smith. 



In honor of Menzies, companion of Vancouver in his voyage round the world. 



Calyx deeply 5-cleft ; corolla ovoid 4 — 5 cleft; stamens 8 — 10, 

 inserted into the receptacle ; capsule 4 — 5-celled, the dissepiments 

 made by the introflexed margins of the valves ; seeds many. — Low, 

 heath-like^ shrubby plants^ with evergreen leaves. 



1. M. TAXiFOLiA. Robbins. (M. coerulea. Swartz. Phyllodoce tax. Salisb, 

 Andromeda tax. PcUl. Andromeda ccEiulea. Linn.) Mountain Heath. — 



iS^. prostrate at base ; Ivs. linear, obtuse, with minute, cartilaginous teeth ; ped. 

 terminal, aggregate, one-flowered ; fis. campanulate, decandrous ; cal. acute. — 

 A small shrub, a lew inches high, found on the summit of the White Mts. It 

 resembles a Heath in its flowers and some of the fir tribe in its leaves and 

 stems. Stem decumbent at base, with crowded, scattered leaves above, which 

 are 5 — 1" in length. Flowers drooping, purple, at the top of the highest branch, 

 on colored peduncles. Calyx in 5 segments, purplish. Corolla of 5 segments, 

 emarginate, rather longer than the stamens. July. 



2. M. GLOBULARis. Salisb. 



Branches and pedicels with scattered hairs ; Ivs. oval-lanceolate, ciliate 

 above and on the veins beneath, apex tipped with a gland; cal. 4-cleft; cor. 

 globose ; sta. 8 ; caps. 4-celled, 4-valved. — Mountains Penn. to Car. Abundant 

 near Winchester, Va. Pursh. Shrub 4f high. Flowers yellowish-brown, nod- 

 ding and mostly solitary on each terminal pedicel. June. 



7. GAULTHERIA. Kalm. 



Named for one Gaulthier, a French physician at Quebec. 



Calyx 5-cleft with 2 bracts at the base ; corolla ovoid-tubular, limb 

 with 5 small, revolute lobes ; filaments 10, hirsute ; capsule 5-celled, 

 invested by the calyx which becomes a berry. — Suffruticose. mostly 

 American plants. Lvs. alternate^ evergreen. Pedicels bibracteolate. 

 G. PROCUMBENS. Dox-bervy. Checker-berry. Wintergreen. 

 St. with the procumbent branches erect or ascending; Its. obovate, mucro- 

 nate, denticulate, crowded at the top of the stem ; fls. few, drooping, terminal. — 

 A little shrubby plant, well known for its spicy leaves and its well-flavored 

 scarlet berries. Common in woods and pastures, Can. to Penn. and Ky. The 

 branches ascend 3' from the prostrate stem, or rhizoma, which is usually con- 

 cealed. Leaves thick, shining, acute at each end, with remote and very obscure 

 teeth. Corolla white, contracted at the mouth. Filaments white, bent towards 

 the corolla. Fruit well flavored, consisting of the capsule surrounded by the 

 enlarged calyx, which becomes of a bright scarlet color. June — Sept. 



8. CLETHRA. Gaert. 

 Gr. name of the alder, which these plants somewhat resemble. 



Calyx 5-parted, persistent ; petals 5 ; stamens 10, exserted ; style 

 persistent ; stigma 3-cleft ; capsule 3-celled, 3-valved, enclosed by the 

 calyx. — Shrubs and trees. Lvs. alternate, pdiolate. Fls. ichite, racemose. 



C. ALNipoMA. Sweet-pepper Bush. 



Lis. cuneiform-obovate, acute, acuminately .serrate, green on both sides, 

 smooth or slightly pubescent beneath ; Jls. in terminal, elongated, simple or 

 branched racemes; hracfs subulate. — A deciduous shrub, 4 — 8f high, growing 

 in swamps. Leaves 2 — 3' long, J as broad above, with a long, wedge-shaped 

 base, tapering into a short petiole. Racemes 3 — 5' long. Peduncles and calyx 

 hoary-pubescent, the former 3" in length, and in the axil of a bract about as 

 long. Corolla white, spreading, about equaling the stamens and .styles. Jl. Aug. 



9. EPIG.EA. 



Gr. CTTi, upon, and yrj, the earth ; from ita prostrate habit 



Calyx large, 5-parted, with 3 bracts at base ; corolla hypocratori- 



