308 ARISTOLOCHIACE^. 



Drupe nearly spherical, very dark blue. The wood of this tree, as of the next, 

 (if indeed it is distinct,) is remarkable for its toughness ; on which account it is 

 much used for making naves for carriage- wheels, &c. 



Sour Chim. Black Ghim. 



2. N. hijlora Wall. : leaves ovate-oblong, very entire, acute at each end, 

 smooth ; fertile peduncles 2-flowered ; drupe oval-compressed. N. aquatica 

 Linn. 



Swamps. N. S. ? S. to Car. June— A tree 30—50 feet high. Fertile flowers 

 almost invariably 2. Drupe dark blue. Probably not distinct from the pre- 

 ceding, at least as credited to the Northern States. 



Tupelo-tree. Swamp Hornbeam. 



2. HAMILTONIA. Muhl.—On Nut. 



(Dedicated by Muhlenberg to Mr. Hamilton, an American patron of botany.) 



Polygamous. Perfect Fl. Perianth turbinate-campanu- 

 late, 5-cleft. Germ immersed in the 5-toothed glandulous disk. 

 Style 1. Stigmas 2 — 3, sublenticular. Drupe pyriform, 1- 

 seeded, enclosed in the adhering base of the calyx. Sterile 

 Fl. resembling the perfect, except in wanting the pistil. 



H. oleifera Muhl. Pyrularia pubera Mich. 



Mountains. Penn to Geor. ; rare. May, June. \i. — Stem 4 — 6 feet high, 

 with a very deep root. Leaves oblong-obovate, entire, acuminate, 2 — 3 inches 

 long, petiolate, pubescent when young. Flowers in a terminal raceme, small, 

 greenish-yellow. Wliole plant more or less oily. Oil Nut. 



3. COMANDRA. Nult.— Bastard Toad Flax. 



(From the Greek kohtj, hair, and ar/jp, a man, (a stamen ;) in allusion to the 

 tuft of hair which connects the anthers with the perianth.) 



Perianth urceolate-campanulate ; the limb 5-cleft, persistent. 

 Stamens 5, rarely 4, the anthers adhering to the lobes of the 

 perianth by a tuft of hair. Style single. Fruit somewhat 

 drupaceous, dry, 1 -seeded, crowned by the persistent perianth. 



C. umbellata Nutt. : stem round and erect ; leaves lance-ovate or oblong, 

 subsessile, entire ; cymes in a leafy terminal panicle. Thesium umbeUatum 

 Linn, 



Rocky hills and woods. Subarct. Amer. to Geor. W. to Miss. May— Aug. 

 %..—Stem 8 — 12 inches high, smoothish, branched at the top. Flowers white, 

 numerous, on short pedicels. Bastard Toad-flax. 



Order CVIII. ARISTOLOCHIACE^.— Birthworts. 



Perianth superior, regular or very unequal ; the limb valvate. 

 Stamens 6 — 12, epigynous, distinct, or adhering to the style and 

 stigmas. Ovary inferior, 3 — 8-celled ; style simple ; stigmas 

 radiate. Fruit dry or succulent, 3 — 6 -celled. Seeds with a 

 very minute embryo, in»the base of fleshy albumen. — Herbs or 

 shrubs. Leaves alternate, simple, often with leafy stipules. 



