CORNACE.E. (dogwood FAMILY.) 213 



flowers sliort and united. Ovary 2 - 5-celled, with .a single anatropous ovule 

 suspended fron) the top of each cell, ripening into a berry -like drupe, with as 

 many seeds as cells. Embryo minute. — Leaves compound or decompound. 

 Flowers white or greenish, in umbels. Roots (perennial), bark, fruit, etc., 

 warm and aromatic. (Derivation obscure.) 



§ 1. ARALIA. Flowers monoecionsl ij poljigamous or perfect, tJie umbels usualli/ 

 in corymbs or panicles ; styles and cells of the {black or dark purple) fruit 

 5; stems herbaceous or woody ; ultimate divisions of the leaves pinnate. 



* Umbels numerous in a large compound panicle ; leaves very large, decompound. 



1. A. spinosa, L. (Angelica-tree. Herclles' Club.) Shrub, or a 

 low tree ; the stout stem and stalks prickly ; leaflets ovate, pointed, serrate, pale 

 beneath. — River-banks, Penu. to Ind., and soutli to the Gulf. July, Aug. 



2. Ao racemosa, L. (Spikexakd.) Herbaceous; stem ividely branched ; 

 leaflets heart-ovate, pointed, doubly serrate, slightly downy ; umbels racemose ; 

 styles united. — Rich woodlands, N. Brunswick to Minn., south to the moun- 

 tains of Ga. July. Well known for its spicy-aromatic large roots. 



* * Umbels 2-7, corymbed : stem short, someichat woody. 



3. A. hispida, Vent. (Bristly Sarsaparilla. Wild Elder.) Stem 

 (1-2° high) bristly, leafy, terminating in a peduncle bearing several umbels; 

 leaves twice pinnate; leaflets oblong-ovate, acute, cut-serrate. — Rocky and 

 sandy places, Newf. to the Dakotas, south to the mountains of X. C. June. 



4. A. nudicaulis, L. (Wild Sarsaparilla.) Stem scarcely rising out 

 of the ground, smooth, bearing a single long-stalked leaf {1° high) and a shorter 

 naked scape, with 2-7 umbels ; leaflets oblong-ovate or oval, pointed, serrate, 

 5 on each of the 3 divisions. — Moist woodlands; range of n. 3. May, June. 

 The long horizontal aromatic roots a substitute for officinal Sarsaparilla. 



§2. GINSENG. Flowers dioeciously p)olygauious ; styles and cells of the red or 

 reddish fruit 2 or 3; stem herbaceous, loiv, simple, bearing a ichorl of 3 pal- 

 mately 3- 7-fuliulate leaves, and a simple umbel on a slender peduncle. 



5. A. quinquefolia, Decsne. & Planch. (Ginseng.) Root large and 

 spindle-shaped, often forked (4-9' long, aromatic); stem l°high; leaflets long- 

 stalked, mostly 5, large and thin, obovate-oblong, pointed ; styles mostly 2 ; 

 fruit bright red — Rich and cool woods, Vt. and W. Conn, to ]\Iinn., south to 

 the mountains of Ga. July. 



6. A. trifolia, Decsne. & Planch. (Dwarf Ginseng. Ground-nut.) 

 Root or tuber globular, deep in the ground (pungent to the taste, not aromatic) ; 

 stems 4-8' high ; leaflets 3-5, sessile at the summit of the leafstalk, narrowly 

 oblong, obtuse; styles usually 3; fruit yellowish. — Rich woods, N. Scotia to 

 Minn., south to Ga. April, ]\Iay. 



Ordkr 50. CORXACE^E. (Dog\yood Family.) 



Shrubs or trees {rarely herbaceous^, with opposite or alternate simple leaves, 

 the calyx-tube coherent icith the 1-2-celled ovary, its limb minute, the petals 

 (valvate in the bud) and as many stamens borne on the margin of an epigy- 

 nous disk in the perfect flowers ; style one : a single anatropous ovule hang- 

 ing from the top of the cell; the fruit a 1 - 2-seeded drupe; embrvo nearly 



