XLVI. LEGUMINOS 2. 217° 
2. R. aunirouius. L’Her. (R. franguloides. Miche.) Alder-leaved 
Buckthorn. 
Shrub erect, with unarmed branches; lvs. oval, acuminate, serrate, pu- 
. sscent on the veins beneath; ped. aggregate, 1-flowered; fls. mostly pentan- 
v tous ; cal. acute; sty. 3, united, very short; fr. turbinate, black—A shrub 2—4f 
righ, common in rough pastures and hills, Penn. to Can. Leaves 1—3! long, 
4 as wide, acute at base. Flowers mostly apetalous. Berries about as large 
as currants, black, 3-seeded. May, Jn. 
2, CKANOTHUS. 
Calyx tubular, campanulate, 5-cleft. separating transversely after 
flowering ; petals 5, saccate-arched, with long claws ; stamens mostly 
exserted ; style mostly 3-cleft ; capsule obtusely triangular, 3-celled, 
3-seeded, surrounded at base by the persistent tube of the calyx.— 
Shrubby and thornless. 
1. C. AmericANnus. Jersey Tea. Red-root. 
Ivs. oblong-ovate, serrate, 3-veined; panicles axillary, elongated—A 
small shrub, with a profusion of white blossoms, found in woods and groves, U. 
S. Very abundant on the barrens at the West. Stems 2—4f high, slender, 
with reddish, round, smooth branches. Leaves thrice as long as broad, very 
downy, with soft hairs beneath. Flowers minute, white, in crowded panicles 
from the axils of the upper leaves. Stamens enclosed in the curiously vaulted 
corolla. The root, which is large and red, is sometimes used for coloring. 
The leaves have been used as a substitute for tea. Jn. 
2. C. ovatis. Bw. Oval-leaved Ceanothus. 
Lvs. oval-lanceolate, with glandular serratures, 3-veined, veins pubescent - 
beneath ; thyrse corymbose, abbreviated.—Burlington, Vt., Robbins, W. to Mich. 
Shrub 2—3f high. Leaves smooth and shining, 1—3! long, }—4 as wide, most- 
v acute at each end, crenately serrate, the serratures tipped with black, glan- 
ular points. Thyrse short, almost hemispherical, 14/ diam. Flowers white 
larger than those of the last. May. c 
Orver XLVII. LEGUMINOS&#.—Lecummovs Puanrts. 
Herbs, shrubs or trees. Lvs. alternate, usually compound, margins entire. 
Stipules 2, at the tumid base of the petiole. Stipels commonly 2. 
Cal.—Sepals generally 5, more or less united, often unequal. 
Cor.—Petals 5, either papilionaceous or regular, perigynous. 
Sta. diadelphous, monadelphous or distinct. Amthers versatile. 
Ova. superior, single and simple. Style and stigma simple. : 
Fr. a legume, either continuous (1-celled), or (a loment) jointed into 1-seeded cells. 
Sds. solitary or several, destitute of albumen. 
The genera and species of this vast order were estimated by Mr. Bentham, in 1845, as follows 
Suborder 1. Papilionacez, 350 genera, 4800 species. 
s 2. Cesalpinee, 88 “ 00; SS 
oe 3. Mimosez, 20) in 1000“ 
oo 
Total, 467. * 6500 ‘“* 
Geography.—The Leguminosee are distributed throughout all lands, with the exception of a few 
unimportant islands, from the equator to either of the frigid zones. Of its 6500 species now known, about 
350 are natives of the United States and Territories. k 
Properties.—No family of the vegetable kingdom possesses a higher claim to the attention of the 
naturalist than the Leguminose, whether we regard them as objects of ornament or utility. Of the 
former we might mention the splendid varieties of Cersis, with their purple flowers, the Acacias, with 
their airy foliage and silky stamens, the pride of India, Colutea and Cesalpina, with a host of others, 
which, like the sweet pea, are redolent with perfume. Of the latter, the beans, peas, lentils, clover and 
lucerne, are too well known to require particular commendation. Among timber trees the Rosewood (a 
Brazilian species of Mimosa), the Laburnum, whose wood is durable and of an olive-green color, and the 
locust (Robinia) of our own country, are pre-eminent. 
The following are a few of the important officinal products of this order. In medicine : liquorice is the 
product of the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra of S. Europe. The purgative senna consists of the leaves of 
Cassia senna, C. acutifolia, C. Hthiopica and other species of Egypt and Arabia. C. Marylandica is also 
a cathartic, but more mild than the former. The sweet pulp tamarind, is the product of a large and 
beautiful tree (Tamarindus Indica) of the E. and W. Indies. Resins and balsams: Gwm senegal is 
yielded by Acacia Verek of the river Senegal; Gwm Arabic, by several species of Acacia of Central 
Africa; Gwm Tragacynth, by Astragalus verus, &c., of Persia. Balsam Copaiva is the product of 
several species of Copaifera, natives of Brazil and W. India; Balsam Tolw of Myospermum toluiferum, 
of Peru, and balsam Peru of M. peruiferum of the same country. Dyes, &c.: Indigo, the most valuable 
of all, (but a violent poison,) is the product of several southern species of Indigofera, as I. anilof the W. 
Indies, and I. argentea of Egypt. Brazil-qwood, from Cesalpina Braziliensis. Log-wood from Hematoxy- 
lon Campeachianum, of Campeachy, and Red-sandal-1vood from Pterocarpus santalinus of Egypt, &c., &c. 
