258 ERICACE-di. \HEATII FAMILY.) 



trate ; leaves elliptical, obtuse, dotted both sides (like the brandies) with rusty scales ; 

 unibcls few-flowered ; corolla open bell-shaped, dotted ; stamens 5 - 10. — Alpine 

 summits of the high mountains of Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. 

 July. — Shrub 6' high, forming broad matted tufts ; the leaves £' long. Corolla 

 violet-purple. (Eu.) 



18. BHOD6RA, Duham. Rhodora. 



Calyx minute, 5-toothed. Corolla irregular and 2-lipped ; the upper lip usu- 

 ally 3-lobed or 3-cleft, and tbc lower 2-parted or of 2 distinct spreading petals. 

 Stamens 10, and with the slender style declined. Otherwise as in Azalea. 

 (Name from podov, a rose, from the color of the showy flowers.) 



1. R. Canadensis, L. — Damp cold woods and swamps, New England 

 to Penn. and northward, or on mountains. May. — A handsome low shrub, 

 with tlie oblong deciduous leaves whitish and downy underneath ; the showy 

 rose-purple (rarely white) flowers in clusters on short peduncles, rather earlier 

 than the leaves. 



19. LEDUM, L. Labrador Tea. 



Calyx 5-toothed, very small. Corolla of 5 obovatc and spreading distinct 

 petals. Stamens 5-10: anthers opening by terminal pores. Pod 5-cclled, 

 splitting from the base upwards, many-seeded : placentae borne on the summit 

 of the columella. — Low evergreen shrubs, with the alternate entire leaves 

 clothed with rusty wool underneath, the margins revolute : slightly fragrant 

 when bruised. Flowers white, handsome, in terminal umbel-like clusters from 

 large scaly buds, bracts caducous. (Arjdov, the ancient Greek name of the Cis- 

 tus, transferred by Linnaeus to this genus.) 



1. L.. latifolssilll, Ait. Leaves elliptical or oblong ; stamens 5, sometimes 

 6 or 7 ; pod oblong. — Cold bogs and damp mountain woods, New England 

 to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and northward. June. — Shrub 2° -5° high. — 

 (L. palustre, L., grows in British America, but is not known to occur in the 

 United States. It is distinguished by its linear leaves, uniformly 10 stamens, 

 and oval peds. ) (Eu. ) 



20. LOISELEURIA, Desv. Alpine Azalea. 



Calyx 5-partcd, nearly as long as the rather bell-shaped and deeply 5-clett 

 regular corolla. Stamens 5, not declined, included: anthers opening length- 

 wise. Style short. Pod ovoid, 2 - 3-celled, many-seeded, 2 - 3-valved ; the valves 

 2-cleft from the apex: placentae borne on the middle of the columella. — A 

 dwarf and prostrate evergreen shrubby plant, much branched and tufted, smooth, 

 with small and coriaceous opposite elliptical leaves, on short petioles, with revo- 

 lute margins. Flowers small, white or rose-color, 2 - 5 in a cluster, from a ter- 

 minal scaly bud ; the scales or bracts thick and persistent. Named for Loiseleur 

 Delongchamps, a French botanist.) 



1. L.. prociimbens, Desv. (Azalea procumbens, L.)— Alpine sum 

 mits of the White Mountains, New Hampshire, on rocks. June. (Eu.) 



