254 ERICACEAE. (HEATH FAMILY.) 



| 3. PLERIS, Don. — Corolla ovoid-oblong or cylindraccous : filaments slender and 

 aid-shaped, appendaged with a spreading or recurved bristle on each side at or below 

 the apex: anthers oblong, awnless: sutures of the b-angular pod witJi a more or less 

 thickened line or ridge, which often falls away separately when the pod opens : seeds 

 turned in all directions, oblong, with a thin and rather loose reticulated coat : flowers 

 in umbel-like clusters variously arranged. 



3. A. Mariana, L. (Stagger-bush.) Nearly glabrous ; leaves decid- 

 uous, but rather coriaceous, oval or oblong, veiny ; flowers large and nodding, 

 in clusters from axillary scaly buds, which are crowded on naked branches of 

 the preceding year ; sepals pretty large, leaf-like, deciduous with the leaves. — 

 Sandy low places, Rhode Island to Virginia near the coast, and southward. 

 May, June. — Shrub 2° -4° high : foliage said to poison lambs and calves. 



(A. nitida, Bartram, the Fetterbush, belongs to this group, and may 

 grow in S. Virginia.) 



§ 4. LYONIA, Nutt. — Calyx 5-cleft: corolla globular, pubescent: filaments and 

 anthers destitute of awns or appendages : pods prominently ribbed at the sutures, the 

 ribs at length separating or separable: seeds slender, all pendulous, with a loose and 

 thin cellular coat: flowers small, mostly in clusters which are racemose-panicled : 

 bracts minute and deciduous : le<0es pubescent or scurfy beneath. 



4. A. EijfSJSirBBta, Muhl. Leaves deciduous, not scurfy, smoothish when 

 old, obovate-oblong varying to oblong-lanceolate; flowers racemose-panicled on 

 branchlets of the preceding year. — Swamps and low thickets, BT. England along 

 the coast to Virginia, and southward. June, July. — Shrub 4° - 10° high. 



II. OXYDESfDBUH, DC. Sorrel-tree. Sour-wood. 



Calyx without bractlcts, of 5 almost distinct sepals, valvate in the bud. Corol- 

 la ovate, 5-toothed, puberulent. Stamens 10 : anthers fixed near the base, linear, 

 awnless, the cells tapering upwards, and opening by a long chink. Pod oblong- 

 pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved ; the many-seeded placentas at the base of the cells. 

 Seeds all ascending, slender, the thin and loose reticulated coat extended at both 

 ends into awl-shaped appendages. — A tree with deciduous, oblong-lanceolate 

 and pointed, soon smooth, serrulate leaves, on slender petioles, and white flowers 

 in long one-sided racemes clustered in an open panicle, which terminates the 

 branches of the season. Bracts and bractlcts minute, deciduous. Foliage sour 

 to the taste (whence the name, from o|vs, sour, and devdpov, tree). 



1. O. arboreilin, DC. (Andromeda arborea, L.) — Rich woods, from 

 Penn. and Ohio southward, mostly along the Alleghanics. June, July. — Tree 

 40° - G0° high. Leaves in size and shape like those of the Peach. 



12. CLETHBA, L. White Alder. Sweet Pepperbush. 



Calyx of 5 sepals, imbricated in the bud. Corolla of 5 distinct obovate-oblong 

 petals. Stamens 10, often exserted : anthers inversely arrow-shaped, inverted 

 and reflsxed in the bud, opening by terminal pores or short slits. Style slender, 

 3-cleft at the apex. Pod 3-valved, 3-celled, many-seeded, enclosed in the calyx. 

 Shrubs, with alternate and serrate deciduous leaves, and white flowers in termi- 



