604 ERICACEA. 
Division of the Order and Illustrative Genera.—The order may 
be divided into five tribes as follows :— 
Tribe 1. Arbutex.—Corolla deciduous. Fruit baccate. Illus- 
trative Genus :—Arbutus, Linn. 
Tribe 2. Andromedex.—Buds usually clothed with scales. 
Corolla deciduous. Fruit capsular, loculicidal. Illustrative 
Genus :—Andromeda, Linn. 
Tribe 3. Hricee.—Buds naked. Corolla persistent. Fruit 
capsular, usually loculicidal, or rarely septicidal. Illustrative 
Genera :—Erica, Linn. ; Calluna, Salisb. 
Tribe 4. Rhodorex.—Buds scaly, cone-like. Corolla deciduous. 
Fruit capsular, septicidal. Illustrative Genera :— Azalea, 
Linn. ; Phyllodoce, Salish. 
Tribe 5. Pyrolex.—Herbs or somewhat shrubby plants.. Corolla 
polypetalous, or the petals united at the base, deciduous. 
Fruit capsular, loculicidal. Illustrative Genera :—Pyrola, 
Tourn. ; Chimaphila, Pursh. 
Distribution and Numbers.—They are very abundant at the 
Cape of Good Hope, and are also more or less generally diffused 
in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. There are 
over 900 species. 
Properties and Uses.—The plants of this order are chiefly re- 
markable for astringent properties ; others are tonic and diuretic; 
and some are narcotic, and even poisonous. This is especially 
the case with Kalmia latifolia, Rhododendron chrysanthum, An- 
dromeda floribunda, and Azalea pontica. The fruits of many 
are edible. Thespecies of Hrica, Rhododendron, Kalmia, Azalea, 
&c., are largely cultivated in this country on account of the 
beauty of their flowers. The three latter genera are commonly 
called American Plants. Such plants are not, however, confined 
to America, as the name would imply. 
Andromeda floribunda.—This shrub, which isa native cf North America, 
is poisonous. So recently as 1866 a number of sheep were poisoned by 
eating it, but nineteen out of thirty-seven attacked recovered under judicious 
treatment. 
Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi, the Bearberry.—The leaves are astringent, 
and are official in the British Pharmacopeia. Combined with astringency 
thev also possess mild diuretic properties. 
Azalea pontica.—Trebizond honey owes its poisonous properties to the 
bees feeding on the flowers of this plant. The poisonous honey mentioned 
by Xenophon, in his account of the ‘ Retreat of the Ten Thousand,’ was of a 
like nature. 
Chimaphila umbellata, Winter-green, Pipsissewa.—This herb possesses 
diuretic and tonic properties. The leaves are official in the United States 
Pharmacopeia. In the United States, Chimaphila has been called ‘King’s 
Cure,’ from its reputed value in scrofula. The fresh leaves are acrid, and 
when applied to the skin act as a rubefacient. 
Epigea repens, Trailing Arbutus.—The leaves and stems possess similar 
properties to those of Uva-Drsi, and are used in the United States in similar 
diseases. 
Erica.—From the roots of E. arborea, which’ grows to a large size 
