ERICACEAE. (HEATH FAMILY.) 245 



1. S. perfoliata, A. DC. Somewhat hairy ; leaves roundish or ovate, 

 clasping by the heart-shaped base, toothed; flowers sessile, solitary or 2-3 to- 

 gether in the axils ; the upper and later ones only with a conspicuous expanding 

 (purple-blue) corolla ; pod oblong, opening rather below the middle. — Dry hills 

 or open fields; common. May -Aug. 



Order 62. ERICACEiE. (Heath Family.) 



Shrubs, sometimes herbs, with the flowers regular or nearly so: the stamens 

 as many or twice as many as the 4 - b-lobed or A- b-petalled corolla, free 

 from but inserted with it: anthers 2-ccllcd, commonly appendaged or open- 

 ing by terminal chinks or pores: style 1 : ovary 3 - 10-celled. Seeds small, 

 anatropous. Embryo small, or sometimes minute, in fleshy albumen — A 

 large family, very various in many of the characters, comprising four well- 

 marked suborders, as follows : — 



Suborder I. VACCINIE^E. The Whortleberry Family. 



Calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, which forms an edible berry or berry- 

 like fruit, crowned with the short calyx-teeth. Anthers 2-parted. Pollen 

 compound (of 4 united grains). — Shrubs or somewhat woody plants, with 

 scaly buds. 



1. GAYLUSSACIA. Ovary 8 - 10-celled, with a single ovule in each cell. Fruit a berried 



drupe with 8-10 small nutlets. 



2. VACCINIUM Berry 4 - 5-celled (or imperfectly 8 -10-celled by false partitions), many- 



seeded. Anther-cells tapering upward into a tube. 



3. CHIOGENES. Berry 4-celled, many-seeded, its summit free. Anther-cells not prolonged 



iuto a tube, but each 2-pointed. 



Suborder II. ERICIXEiE. The proper Heath Eamilt. 



Calyx free from the ovary. Corolla monopetalous, or rarely nearly or 

 quite polypetalous, hypogynous. Pollen of 4 united grains. — Shrubs or 

 6mall trees. 



Tribe I. ARBUTEjE. Fruit indehisceut, a berry or drupe. Corolla deciduous. 



4. ARCTOSTAPIIYLOS. Corolla urn-shaped Drupe berry-like, 5 - 10-seeded. 



Tribe II. A1VI>K03IKDE.?E. Fruit a pod opening loculicidally. Corolla deciduouj. 

 * Anthers upright in the bud, the cells opening lengthwise. Corolla salver-shaped. 



6. EPIG.EA. Calyx of 5 separate dry and pointed sepals. Anthers not appendaged. 



* • Anthers upright in the bud, opening only at the top. Corolla monopetalous, either glob- 

 ular, urn-shaped, bell-shaped, or cylindrical. 

 +- Calyx enlarged and berry -like in fruit. 

 0. GADLTHEKIA. Calyx 5-cleft, in fruit enclosing the small many -seeded pod Anthers 4- 

 awned at the top. 



■•- ■*- Calyx dry, not becoming fleshy after flowering. 



7. LEUCOTHOE. Calyx imbricated in the bud. Corolla cyliudraceous. 5-toothed. Pod de- 



pressed, B-lobed, the valves entire. 



8. CASSANDRA. Calyx imbricated. Corolla cylindraceous, 5-toothed Pod splitting when 



ripe into an outer and inner layer, the inner of 10 valves. 

 21 * 



