316 ERICACE^. (heath FAMILY.) 



mostly in the shade of evergreens, Maine to Minn., and southward to N. Ga. : 

 also far northward. July. — The bright red berries (formed of the calyx) and 

 the foliage have the well-known spicy -aromatic flavor of the Sweet Birch. 

 Usually called Wintergreen, or sometimes in tlie interior Tea-herr;j. Eastward 

 it is often called Checkerherr ij or Partridge-be rrij (names also applied to Mitch- 

 ella, the latter especially so), also Boxherry. 



7. ANDRdMEDA, L. 



Calyx without bractlets, of 5 nearly or partly distinct sepals, valvate in the 

 bud, but very soon separate or open. Corolla urceolate (in ours), 5-toothed. 

 Stamens 10; anthers fixed near the middle, the cells opening by a terminal 

 pore. Capsule globular, 5-celled, 5-valved ; the many-seeded placentae borne 

 on the summit or middle of the columella. Seeds pendulous or spreading. — 

 Shrubs, with umbelled, clustered, or panicled and racemed (mostly white) 

 flowei*s. (Fancifully named by Linn£eus in allusion to the fable of Andromeda.) 



* Anthers aimed ; capsule more or less globose; leaves thick and evergreen. 



1. A. polifolia, L. Glabrous, 6-18' high; leaves linear to lanceolate- 

 oblong, strongly v&\o\atB,ichite beneath; flowers in terminal umbels; pedicels 

 from axils of persistent scaly bracts ; each anther-cell with a slender terminal as- 

 cending an-n. — Wet bogs, N. J. and Penn. to Minn., and northward. 



2. A. floriblinda, Pursh. Very leafy, 2-6° high ; i/onng branchlets, etc., 

 strigose-hairi/ ; leaves lanceolate-oblong, acute or acuminate, ciliate-serrulate, 

 glandular-dotted beneath (2' long); racemes croivded in short terminal panicles, 

 densely flowered ; each anther-cell with a slender dejlexedawn on the hack. — Moist 

 hillsides, in the Alleghanies from Va. to Ga. 



* * Anthers awnless ; capsule 5-angled,ioith a thickened ridge at the dm sal sut- 

 ures; leaves thinnish and deciduous, 



3. Ao Mariana, L. (Stagger-bush.) Mostly glabrous, 2-4° high, 

 leaves oblong or oval (1-3' long); fascicles of nodding Jlowers racemose on 

 naked shoots; ^filaments 2-toothed near the apex; capsule ovate-p yramidal , trun- 

 cate at the contracted apex. — Low grounds, R.I. to Fla. ; also in Tenn. and Ark. 

 Foliage said to poison lambs and calves. 



4. A. ligustrina, jNIuhl. Minutely pubescent, ^ -\0° \\\g\\\ leaves obo 

 vate to lanceolate-oblong (1 -2' long), serrulate or entire; racemes crowded in 

 naked or leafy panicles ; ^filaments Jlat, not appendaged ; capsule globular. — 

 Wet grounds, Canada to Fla. and Ark. — Var. pubescens, Gray, is a form 

 with dense soft pubescence. — Va. to Ga. 



8. OXYDENDRUM, DC. Sorrel-tree. Sour-wood. 



Calyx without bractlets, of 5 almost distinct sepals, valvate in the bud. 

 Corolla ovate, 5-toothed, puberulent. Stamens 10; anthers fixed near the 

 base, linear, awnless, the cells tapering upward and opening by a long chink. 

 Capsule oblong-pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved ; the many-seeded placentae at 

 the base of the cells. Seeds all ascending, slender, the thin and loose reticu- 

 lated coat extended at both ends into awl-shaped appendages. — A tree with 

 deciduous, oblong-lanceolate, pointed, soon smootli, serrulate leaves, on slender 

 petioles, and white flowers in long one-sided racemes cln.stered in an open pan 



