294 LXVIII. ARALIACEZ., / ARALIA 
cal leaf triternately decompound. Involucrate lvs. solitary, biternately 
compound. Involucels of 3—6 entire, linear-spatulate bracts. 
E. sutposa. Nutt. (Sison. Michx. Hydrocotyle composita. ig 
A small, early-flowering herb, along the shady banks of streams, Western 
N. Y. (Torr. g& Gray.) W. to Ohio! and Mo. Plant 4—6’ high, with 2—4 
leaves, the lower one radical, numerously divided, the divisions incisely cleft 
into narrow segments; the upper ones bract-like, similarly divided, each sub- 
tending a 3-rayed umbel of white flowers. March, Apr. 
30. CORIAN DRUM. 
Gr. xopts, a bug; on account of the smell of the leaves. 
Calyx with 5 conspicuous teeth ; petals obcordate, inflexed at the 
point, outer ones radiate, bifid ; fruit globose ; carpels cohering, with 
5 depressed, primary ribs, and 4 secondary, more prominent ones ; 
seeds concave on the face-—@® Smooth. nvol. 0 or \-leaved. Invo- 
lucels 3-leaved, unilateral. 
C. sativum. Coriander—Lwvs. bipinnate, lower ones with broad-cuneate 
leaflets, wpper with linear ones; carpels hemispherical.—Native of Europe, &c. 
This well known plant is cultivated chiefly for the seeds, which are used as a 
spice, as a nucleus for sugar-plums, &c. Stem 2f high. Leaves numerously 
divided, strong-scented. Umbels with only the partial involucra. Flowers 
white. Jl. + 
Orver LXVIIL ARALIACEK A.—Aratiaps. 
Trees, shrubs or herbs, with the habit of umbellifers. 
Cal. superior, entire or toothed. Se 
Cor.—Petals 5—10, deciduous, rarely 0, valvate in estivation. : 
Sta. equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them. Anth, introrse. 
Ova. crowned with a disk, 2 or many-celled. Ovules solitary. Styles as many as cells. 
Fr. baccate or drupaceous, of several one-seeded cells. 
Genera 21, species 160, nearly allied to Umbellifere, from which they are distinguished. chiefly by the 
several-celled ovary and fleshy fruit. They are natives of northern temperate climes of both hemis- 
heres.—Several species are well known in medicine, &c., as ginseng, spikenard, sarsaparilla, &c. The 
atter is sometimes substituted for the sarsaparilla of the shops. 
Conspectus of the Genera. 
Blowers perfect... 3. "sg whee. oe tn eee a a 
pene Flowers polyzamous..3:)/ 00 (16.1 ces “ve el CP Re ea eran eee 
Leaves 2 simple, angular and lobed. Beh ie oh oe Bee eae oem Hedera. 3 
1ARALIA. 
Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, limb short, 5-toothed or entire ; 
petals 5, spreading, apex not inflexed; stamens 5—10; styles 5, 
spreading ; berry crowned with the remains of the calyx and styles, 
mostly 5-celled and 5-seeded.— Lvs. compound. Fs. in simple, solitary 
or racemose panicles. 
1. A. Nupicaunis. Wild Sarsaparilla. 
Nearly stemless; /f. solitary, decompound ; scape naked, shorter than the 
leaf; wmbels few.—2 A well known plant, found in woods, most abundant in rich 
and rocky soils, Can. to Car. and Tenn. It has a large, fleshy root, from which 
arise a leaf-stalk and a scape, but no proper stem. The former is long, sup- 
pei a single, large, compound leaf which is either 3-ternate or 3-quinate. 
eaflets oval and obovate, acuminate, finely serrate. The scape is about a foot 
high, bearing 3 simple umbels of greenish flowers. Jn. Jl. 
2. A. RACEMOSA. Petlymorrel. Spikenard. 
St. herbaceous, smooth; lvs. decompound; ped. axillary; branching, um- 
belled.—2| In rocky woods, Can. to the S. States. Stem 3—4f high, dark green 
or reddish, arising from a thick, aromatic root. The leaf-stalks divide into 3 
partitions, each of which bears 3 or 5 large, ovate, serrate leaflets. Umbels 
numerous, arranged in branching racemes from the axils of the leaves or 
