AMMIACEAE. 207 



Umbel simple: plants scapose, the bracts whorled : styles 2 or 3. 1. Panax. 



Umbel compound : plants caulescent, the leaves alternate : styles 5. 2. Aealia. 



1. PANAX L. Perennial herbs. Leaf -blades palmately compound. Scape 

 topped with a T\horl of bracts quite similar to the leaves. Umbel simple. 

 Ovary mostly 2- or 3-celled. Styles distinct. Fruit red, yellowish or yellow. 



Rootstock globular : leaflets sessile, obtuse : berries yellow. 1. P. trifolium. 



Rootstock fusiform : leaflets stalked, acuminate : berries bright- 

 crimson. 2. P. quinquefoUum. 



1. P. trifolium L. Plants 1-2 dm. tall: bracts 3: leaflets 3, the blades oblong 

 or elliptic, 1-8 cm. long : petals white : berries 4-5 mm. broad. — Common, in 

 damp places in woods. — Spr. — Dwarf-ginseng. Ground-nut. 



2. P. quinquefolium L. Plants 2-4 dm. tall: bracts 3 or 5: leaflets 5-7, the 

 blades obovate, or those of the basal leaflets oval or suborbicular, 2-12 cm. 

 long: petals greenish; berries 8-10 mm. broad. — Eare, in rich woods. — Sum. 

 — Ginseng. 



2. AEALIA [Tourn.] L. Perennial herbs, shrubs, or trees, sometimes 

 prickle-armed or spiny. Leaves alternate: blades pinnately or ternately com- 

 pound. Umbel compound. Ovary mostly 5-celled. Styles distinct or united at 

 the base. Fruit black. — Spikenard. Sarsaparilla. 



Umbels few, in terminal corymbs or few-rayed umbels. 



Plants with elongate rootstocks, a peduncle or a leaf, or both, arising together 



at intervals from the rootstock: anthers globular. 1. A. nudicatiUs. 



Plants with leafy branches arising from the rootstocks : anthers 



oblong. 2. A. hispida. 



Umbels numerous, in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles. 



Large unarmed herb : leaflets membranous : hypanthium cam- 



panulate : anthers globular. 3. A. racemosa. 



Shrub or small tree, with prickle-armed stems : leaflets leathery : 



hypanthium broadly turbinate : anthers oblong. 4. A. spinosa. 



1. A. nudicaulis L. Plants 2-3.5 dm. tall, sparingly soft-pubescent or gla- 

 brous: leaf usually solitary: inflorescence overtopped by the leaf: berries 6-8 

 mm. in diameter : seeds 4.5-5 mm. long, very flat. — Common, in woods and on 

 rocky hillsides. - — Spr. and sum. — Wild Sarsaparilla. 



2. A. hispida Vent. Plants 2-9 dm. tall, bristly pubescent: leaves several or 

 many: inflorescence overtopping the leaves: berries rather smaller than those 

 of A. nudicaulis: seeds 2.5-3 mm. long, swollen. — E. S. Eather rare, in 

 thickets and rocky woods. — Sandstones and shales, schists. — Sum. — Wild- 

 elder. Bristly-sarsaparilla. 



3. A. racemosa L. Herb 1-2 m. tall, unarmed: blades of the leaflets mem- 

 branous: hyi^anthium campanulate: petals rather shorter than the hypan- 

 thium: berries 4-5 mm. in diameter: seeds about 2.5 mm. long. — Common, in 

 rich woods. — Sum. — Spikenard. 



4. A. spinosa L. Shrub or small tree, prickle-armed: blades of the leaflets 

 leathery: hypanthitim broad-turbinate: petals longer than the hypanthium: 

 berries 6-7 mm. in diameter : seeds about 4 mm. long. — Locally escaped from 

 cultivation. — Sum. — Prickly-ash. Toothache-tree. Hercules '-club. 



Family 3. AMMIACEAE. Carrot Family. 



Herbs with hollow stems. Leaves typically alternate : blades dissected, 

 or sometimes merely toothed, or entire. Flowers perfect or polygamous, 

 umbellate. Calyx of 5 tooth-like sepals, or obsolete. Corolla of 5 petals. 

 Androecium of 5 stamens. Gynoecium of 2 vmited carpels, often with a 

 stylopodium. Fruit dry, a cremoearp, the ribbed or winged carpels 

 separating at maturity. 



