640 Order 118.— JUGLANDACEJE. 



Genus l, species 5? Trees of the largest dimensions, natives of Barbary Levant and N. 

 America. 



PLAT'ANUS, L. Plane Tree. Button Wood. Sycamore. (Gr. 



•nXarvq, broad ; in reference to the ample foliage.) Character of tho 



genus the same as that of the order. 



P. occidentalis L. Lvs. angularly lobed and toothed; stipules obliquely ovate ; 

 branches whitish; fertile head? solitary. — The largest (though not ihe loftiest) 

 tree of the American forest. Along the Western rivers trees are found whoso 

 trunks measure from 40 — 50f in circumference, or more than 13f in diameter! 

 It flourishes in any soil, but is most frequently met with on tho stony borders and 

 beds of streams. Leaves very large, tomentous beneath when young. The pet- 

 iole covers the axillary bud in its concave base. Fls. in globular aments or balls, 

 which hang upon the tree on long pedicels most of the winter. Tho bark is 

 yearly detached from the trunk in largo scales leaving a white surface beneath. 

 May. 



Order CXVIII. JUGLANDACE^. Walnut. 



Trees with alternate, pinnate, exstipulato leaves and monoecious flowers. Slcrik 

 flowers in aments, with an irregular perianth. Fertile, solitary or clustered. % Calyx 

 regular, 3 to 5-lobed, tube adherent to the partly 2 to 4-celled ovary. Fruit a tryma 

 (§ 564), with a fibrous epicarp (shuck) and a bony endocap (sJiell). Seed large, or- 

 thotropous, exalbuminous, with lobed, often sinuous, oily cotyledons. 



Genera 4, species 27, mostly North American. 



Properties. — The well-known fruit of the Butternut, walnut, pecan nut is sweet and whole- 

 some, abounding in a rich drying oil. Tho epicarp is very astringent. Tho timber is highly 

 valuable. 



i. JUG'LANS, L. Walnut. (Lat. Jovis glans • i. c, the nut of 

 Jove ; a name given it by way of eminence.) $ Flowers in an imbri- 

 bricated, simple ament ; calyx scale 5 — G-parted, somewhat bracteato 

 at base ; stamens about 20. £ Calyx 4-cleft, superior; corolla 4-parted ; 

 stigmas 2 ; fruit drupaceous, epicarp spongy, indehiscent, endocarp 

 rugous and irregularly furrowed. — Trees of large size. Leaflets numer- 

 ous. Sterile aments axillary. Fertile flowers terminal. Pith separating 

 into thin, transverse disks. 



1. J. cinerea L. "White Walnut. Butternut. Lfts. numerous (15 — 17), 

 lanceolate, serrate, rounded at the base, soft-pubescent beneath ; petioles villous ; 

 Jr. oblong-ovate, with a terminal obtuse point, viscid, hairy ; shell oblong, acumin- 

 ate, deeply and irregularly furrowed. — A common tree, Can. to Ga. and W. States. 

 It is 40 — 50f high, with a large, but short trunk. Branches horizontal, and un- 

 usually wide-spreading, forming a very largo head. Leaves 12 — 20' long, con- 

 sisting of 7 or 8 pairs of leaflets, with an odd one. Barren flowers in long 

 aments; fertilo in short spikes. The kernel is rich in oil, and pleasant-flavored. 

 The wood is of a reddish hue, light, used in panneling and ornamental work. 

 Bark cathartic. April, May. 

 2 J. nigra L. Black Walnut. Lft3. numerous (15 to 21), ovate-lanceolate, ser- 

 rate, subcordate, tapering above ; petioles and under side of the leaves subpubes- 

 cent ; jr. globular, glabrous, uneven with scabrous punctures. — A common and 

 6tatcly forest tree in the Mid. S. and W. States, sparingly found in the Northern. 

 It arises GO — 90f ! high with a diameter of 3 — 6f. In open lands it spreads widely 

 into a spacious head. The duramen of the wood is compact and and heavy, of a 

 deep violet color, with a white alburnum. It is used extensively west of the 

 Alleghanies, for building and fencing, every where for cabinet work. Apr., May. 



2. CA'RYA, Nutt. Hickory. Shagbarks. (Gr. icapva, the wal- 

 nut, from Kapa, the Lead ; in allusion to the shape of the nut ?) $ 

 Aments imbricated, slender and mostly 3-partcd or trichotomous ; scales 



