ROSACEut:. (rose family.) 153 



2. SPIRiEA, L. Meadow-Sweet. 



Calyx 5-cleft, short, persisteut. Petals 5, obovate, equal, imbricated in the 

 bud. Stamens 1 - 50. Pods (follicles) 5-8, not inflated, few - several-seeded. 

 Seeds linear, with a thin or loose coat and no all)umen. — Shrubs or perennial 

 herbs, with simple or pinnate leaves, and white or rose-colored flowers in co- 

 rymbs or panicles. (The Greek name, from aireipdev, to twist, from the twisting 

 of the pods in the original species.) 



§ 1 . SPIR-^A proper. Erect shrubs, with simple leaves ; stipules obsolete ; pods 



mostly 5, several-seeded. 



1 S. betulse folia, Pall., var. corymbbsa, Watson. Nearly smooth (1 - 

 2° high) ; leaves oval or ovate, cut-toothed toward the apex ; corymbs large, flat, 

 several times compound ; flowers white. (S. corymbosa, Baf.) — Mountains of 

 Penn. and N. J. to Ga., west to Ky. and Mo. 



2. S. salicifolia, L. (Common- Meadow-Sweet.) Nearli/ sinooth (2-3° 

 high) ; leaves wedge-lanceolate, simply or doubly serrate ; jJowets in a crowded 

 panicle, white or flesh-color ; pods smooth. — Wet or low grounds, Xewf. to the 

 mountains of Ga., west to Minn, and Mo. ; also to the far northwest. (Eu.) 



3. S. tomentbsa, L. (Hardhack. Steeple-Bush.) Stems and lower 

 surface of the ovate or oblong serrate leaves veri/ icooll// ; flowers in short racemes 

 crowded in a dense panicle, rose-color, rarely white ; pods woolly. — Low 

 grounds, N. Scotia to the mountains of Ga., west to Minn, and Kan. 



§ 2. ULMARIA. Perennial herbs, with pinnate leaves and panicled cipnose 

 flowers ; stipules kidney form ; pods 5-8, 1 -2-seeded. 



4. S. lobata, Jacq. (Queen OF THE Prairie.) Gla])rous (2 - 8° high) ; 

 leaves interruptedly ])innate ; the terminal leaflet very large, 7 - 9-parted, 

 the lobes incised and toothed ; panicle compound-clustered, on a long naked 

 peduncle ; flowers deep peach-blossom color, handsome, the petals and sepals 

 often in fours. — Meadows and prairies, Penn. to Ga., west to Mich., Ky., and 

 Iowa. 



§ 3. ARUNCUS. Perennial herbs, with dioecious ivliitish flowers in mani/ slender 

 spikes, disposed in a long compound panicle ; leaves thrice pinnate ; stipules 

 obsolete : pods 3-5, several-seeded ; pedicels reflexed in fruit. 



5. S. Ariincus, L. (Goat's-Beard.) Smooth, tall; leaflets thin, ian- 

 ceolate-oblong, or the terminal ones ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, sharply cut 

 and serrate. — Rich woods, N. Y. and Penn. to Ga. in the mountains, west to 

 Iowa and Mo. 



3. PHYSOCARPUS, Maxim Nine-bark. 



Carpels 1-5, inflated, 2-valved ; ovules 2-4. Seeds roundish, with a smooth 

 and shining crustaceous testa and copious albumen. Stamens 30-40. Other- 

 wise as Spiraea. — Shrubs, with simple palmately-lobed leaves and umbel-like 

 corymbs of white flowers. (Name from (pvca, a bladder, and Kapivos, fruit.) 



1. P. opulif61ius, ]Maxim. Shrub 4-10° high, with long recurved 

 branches, the old bark loose and separating in numerous thin layers ; leaves 

 roundish, somewhat 3-lobed and heart-shaped ; the purplisli membranaceojis 

 pods very conspicuous. (Spiraea opulifolia, L. Neillia opulifolia, Benth. ^^ 



