l88. CLETHRACEAE — 189. ERICACEAE 415 



two short slits at the top ; pollen-grains separate. Disc none. Ovar}' superior, 

 3-celled. Ovules numerous, axile, inverted. Style 3-cleft at the top. Fruit a 

 locuHcidal capsule. Seeds with a lax testa, a fleshy albumen, and a short 

 embryo. (Under ERICACEAE.) 



Genus i, species i. Island of Madeira. Yields wood especially used for 

 making walking-sticks, and serves as an ornamental plant. 



Clethra L. 



FAMILY 189. ERICACEAE 



Undershrubs, shrubs, or trees. Leaves undivided, usuall}' narrow. Flowers 

 solitary or in umbels racemes or panicles, regular or nearly so, hermaphrodite. 

 Calyx 4 — 5-cleft or -parted, persistent. Petals united below, with imbricate or 

 contorted aestivation. Stamens 3 — 15, usually twice as many as the petals, free 

 from the corolla or almost so, rarely {Ficalhoa) distinctly inserted on the corolla- 

 tube. Anthers turned inwards, usually opening towards the top ; pollen- 

 grains united in groups of four. Disc more or less distinctly developed. Ovary 

 usually superior, i — 5-celled. Ovules axile or solitary, inverted or almost so. 

 Style simple. Seeds with copious albumen. — Genera 17, species 720. (In- 

 cluding VACCINIACEAE.) (Plate 120.) 



1. Ovar}' inferior, adnate to the calyx-tube. Corolla deciduous. Stamens 



8 — 10. PVuit a many-seeded berry. — Species 8. Azores, Madeira, 

 East Africa to Transvaal, and Madagascar. Some have edible fruits. 

 [Subfamily VACCINIOIDEAE, tribe YACCINIEAE.] Vaccinium L. 

 Ovary superior, free from the caly.x, but sometimes {Salaxis) adnate to the 

 corolla-tube at the base 2 



2. Flowers 5-merous, rarely 6-merous. Corolla deciduous. Stamens 10 — 15 



inserted at the base of the corolla. Ovules numerous in each ovary- 

 cell. Fruit a capsule without a persistent central column, or a berry. 

 Trees or tall shrubs. Leaves alternate or subopposite, oblong or lanceol- 

 ate. Flowers in racemes or panicles. [Subfamih' ARBUTOIDEAE.] 3 

 Flowers 4-merous, rarely 2 — 3-merous, very rarely {Erica) 5-merous, 

 but then low shrubs with fascicled flowers. Corofla usually persistent. 

 Stamens 3 — 8, rarely 10 — 12. Fruit a capsule, usually with a persistent 

 central column, or an achene. Undershrubs or mostly low shrubs, very 

 rarely trees 5 



3. Anthers attached below the apex, provided with two spur-like appendages. 



Filaments broadened at the base. Disc distinctly developed. Ovules 

 axile. Fruit a mealy berry with a warty skin. — Species 2. North 

 Africa. They yield tanning materials, medicaments, and edible fruits, 

 and serve as ornamental plants. " Strawberry-tree." [Tribe ARBUT- 



EAE.] Arbutus L. 



Anthers attached above the base, without appendages. Disc indistinct. 

 Ovules subbasal. Fruit a loculicidal capsule. [Tribe ANDROMED- 

 EAE.l 4 



