Order 63.— TJMBELLIFERjE. 375 



8. FoTTiEr.GtLLE.E. Flowers monochlamydeous. Ovary solitary in each cell. 



Cal. 5 to 7-parted ; petals ; stamens 00. Shrub FoTUEBGILLA. 9 



3. Balsamiflu^e. Flowers mostly achlnmydeous. Ovules several in each 



cell. Calyx none ; fls. monoecious, in globous aments Liquidaubar. 8 



1. HAMAME'LIS, L. Witch Hazel. (Gr. dim, with, (ifjAov, fruit; 

 i. e., flowers and fruit together ou the tree.) Calyx 4-leaved or cleft, 

 with an involucel of 2 to 3 bracts at base ; petals 4, very long, linear; 

 sterile stamens scale-like, opposite the petals, alternating with the 4 fer- 

 tile ones ; capsule nut-like, 2-celled, 2-beaked. — Shrubs or small trees. 

 Petals yellow. 



H. Virginiana L. Lvs. oval or obovate, acuminate, erenate -dentate, obliquely 

 cordate at, base, on short petioles ; fls. sessile, 3 to 4 together in an iuvolucrate, ax- 

 illary, subsessilo glomerule. — U. S. and Can. A largo shrub, consisting of several 

 crooked, branching trunks from the same root, as large as the arm, and 10 to 12f 

 high. Lvs. nearly smooth, 3 to 5' long, § as wide. Petioles V long. Cal. downy. 

 Pet. curled or twisted, 9" long. Cap. woody, containing 2 nuts. Th's curious 

 shrub is not (infrequent in our forests, and amidst the reigning desolations of win- 

 ter puts forth its yellow blossoms. The small branches have been superstitiously 

 used for "divining rods," to indicate the presence of the precious metals and of 

 deep springs of water. 



2. FOTHERGIL'LA, L. fdius. (Dedicated by the younger Linnaeus 

 to Br. Fothergill^) Calyx campanulate, truncate and obscurely 5 to V- 

 toothed at the margin, bearing the 20 to 28 clavate filaments in a mar- 

 ginal row; petals none; styles 2, distinct; capsule adherent at base, 2- 

 lobed, 2-celled, cells 2-valved, 1-seeded. — A shrub resembliug an alder 

 in its leaves and a witch-hazel in its fruit. Fls. white, appearing before 

 the leaves, in a terminal dense spike or ament. 



F. alnifolia L. /. Shady margins of swamps, Va. to Fla. Shrub 2 to 4f high, 

 with virgate blossoms and stolons. Lvs. oval or obovate, somewhat erenate, pu- 

 bescent beneath. Cal. white, fringed with the long white or pink stamens. Sty. 

 long, filiform, recurved. Mar., Apr. 



3. LIQUIDAM'BAR, L. Sweet Gum Tree. (Lat. ligm'dam, fluid, 

 ambar, from its ambar-eoloivd gum.) Involucre 4-parted, deciduous; 



$ ament conical ; flowers naked, polyandrous ; ? aments globous ; 

 calyx a scale if any ; styles 2, elongated ; fruit aggregate (sorosis § 581), 

 globular, consisting of the hardened scales and woody, 2-cellcd capsules 

 which open between the beaks ; ovules many, but only 1 or 2 maturing 

 into a seed. — Trees with fragrant lvs. and exuding a balsamic resin. 



L. styraciflua L. Lvs. palmate, with acuminate, serrate lobes; veins villous at 

 their bases. — A large and handsome tree, abundant in the swamps and higher 

 grounds of the South, extending N. to Conn, and 111. With a diameter of 5f it 

 arises to the height of 60. Trunk covered with a deeply furrowed bark. Young 

 twigs yellowish, putting forth leaves of a rich green, which are deeply divided 

 into 5 lobes more star-like than those of the Rock Maple. Fruit a globular, com- 

 pact ball, suspended by a slender pedicel, consisting of numerous capsules, eaofa 

 containing 1 or 2 seeds. May. 



Order LXIII. TJMBELLIFER^E. Umbel worts. 



Herbs with hollow, striate stems, sheathing petioles and flowers in umbels. 

 Calyx adherent to the ovary, limb entire or 5-toothed. Petals 5, usually inflected 

 at the point, imbiicate in aestivation. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals, and in- 

 serted with them on the disk. Ovaries 2-carpeled, surmounted by the fleshy 

 disk which bears the petals and stamens. Styles 2, distinct or united at their 



