70 VITACL^K. (vine family.) 



♦ * ♦ * ♦ riowers perfect, in an open panicle, the pedicels mosthj ahoiiivr, dongat- 

 in(j, and plumose : drupe smooth. 

 9. R. cotinoides, Nutt. Smooth ; leaves simple, mcmliiaiiiucoiis, oval, 

 obtuse, entire, acute at the base, the upper ones long-petiolcd ; panicle nearly 

 sessile, narrow, with erect branches ; flowers minute. — Interior of Alabama, 

 Buckley. Leaves, with the petiole, 3' -4' lonj,'. 



OuDER 38. VITACEiE. (Vine Family.) 



CIimbin<T shrubs, with watery juice, opposite stipulate leaves, and small 

 greenish flowers in panicled clusters opposite the leaves. — Calyx minute, 

 truncated. Petals 4-5, hypogynous or perigynous, valvate in the bud, 

 deciduous. Stamens 4-5, opposite the petals : anthers introrse. Ovary 

 2-celled, with 2 erect collateral ovules in each cell. Style short or none : 

 stigma sliglitly 2-lobed. Berry 1-4-seeded. Seeds anatropous, bony. 

 Embryo minute at the base of hard or fleshy albumen. Radicle inferior. 

 — Leaves simple or compound. Tendrils opposite the leaves. Flowers 

 perfect or polygamous, 



1. VITIS, L. Vine. Grape. 



Petals distinct, or rcmaining united at the apex and separating at the base, 

 inserted into a 4 - 5-iobcd or cup-shaped disk which sunouuds the ovary. 

 ^ I. Cissus. — /•'"/o.rers perfect: petals and stamens 4-5: style conspicuous: 

 stigma minute : leaves simple or compound. 



1. V. bipinnata, Torr. & Gray. Leaves bipinnatc, smoothish ; leaflets 

 small, ovate, sliarply toothed; flowers somewhat cymose, on. a long forking 

 peduncle ; petals 4 - 5, united at the apex, separating at the biise ; style conical ; 

 disk 4 - 5-lobcd ; berry 2 - 4-seedcd. ( Ampelopsis bipinnata, Micli.v.) — Margins 

 of swamps, Florida and northward. June and July. — Tendrils none. Leaflets 

 1' long. BciTy small, black. 



2. V. acida, L. Branches geniculate ; leaves trifoliolate, thick and rigid ; 

 leaflets small, cuneate-obovatc, sharply toothed at the apex ; tlowei-s in com- 

 jiound umbels ; petals 4, united at the apex, separating at the ba.se ; style slen- 

 der; disk cup-shaped, entire; berry black, 1 -seeded. — Key West. —Tendrils 

 stout and elongated. Leaflets h' long. Branchlcts and peduncles flattened 

 and clon-atcd. Leaves and parts of the panicle separating in drying, tis also in 

 the next species. 



3. V. incisa, Nutt. Smooth ; stem climbing, warty ; leaves trifoliolate, 

 very thick and fleshy ; leaflets stalked, wed<;c-shaped and entire near the base, 

 the lateral ones 2loi)ed, the middle 3-lobed, all mucronate-toothed <.r serrate; 

 l)erry (purple) (^lolm'^e-ovafc, nodding, pointed with the conspicuous siinder style, 

 1-seeded. — Si.ndv shores of St. Vincent's Island, West Florida and westward. 

 Fruiting in N<.vemlK-r. — Stem 6° -12° lonj;. Leaflets l'-3' long Panicles 

 cymobc. Berry 5' - C" long. Flowers uyt seen. 



