308 ARISTOLOCHIACE.E. 



Drupe nearly spherical, very dark blue. The wood of this tree, as of the next, 

 (if indeed it is distinct,) is remarkable for its toughness ; on which account it is 

 much used for making naves for carriage-wheels, &c. 



Sour Gum. Black Gum. 



2. N. biflora*Walt. : leaves ovate-oblong, very entire, acute at each end, 

 smooth ; fertile peduncles 2-flowered ; drupe oval-compressed. N. aquatica 

 Linn. 



Swamps. N. S. ? S. to Car. June. A tree 3050 feet high. Fertile flowers 

 almost invariably 2. Drupe dark blue. Probably not distinct from the pre- 

 ceding, at least as credited to the Northern States. 



Tupelo-tree. Swamp Hornbeam. 



2. HAMILTONIA. MuhL Oil Nut. 



(Dedicated by Muhlenberg to Mr. Hamilton, an American patron of botany.) 



Polygamous. PERFECT FL. Perianth turbinate-campanu- 

 late, 5-cleft. Germ immersed in the 5-toothed glandulous disk. 

 Style 1. Stigmas 2 3, sublenticular. Drupe pyriform, 1- 

 seeded, enclosed in the adhering base of the calyx. STERILE 

 FL. resembling the perfect, except in wanting the pistil. 



H. oleifera MM. Pyrularia pubera Mich. 



Mountains. Penn to Geor. ; rare. May, June. 17. Stem 4 6 feet high, 

 with a very deep root. Leaves oblong-obovate, entire, acuminate, 2 3 inches 

 long, petiolate, pubescent when young. Flowers in a terminal raceme, small, 

 greenish-yellow. Whole plant more or less oily. Oil Nut. 



3. COMANDRA. JVwW.Bastard Toad Flax. 



(From the Greek Kopri, hair, and avrip, a man, (a stamen ;) in allusion to the 

 tuft of hair which connects the anthers with the perianth.) 



Perianth urceolate-campanulate ; the limb 5-cleft, persistent. 

 Stamens 5, rarely 4, the anthers adhering to the lobes of the 

 perianth by a tuft of hair. Style single. Fruit somewhat 

 drupaceous, dry, 1 -seeded, crowned by the persistent perianth. 



C. umbellata Nutt. : stem round and erect ; leaves lance-ovate or oblong, 

 subsessile, entire ; cymes in a leafy terminal panicle. Thesium uinbellatum 

 Linn. 



Rocky hills and woods. Subarct. Amer. to Geor. W. to Miss. May Aug. 

 %. Stem 81-12 inches high, smoothish, branched at the top. Flowers white, 

 numerous, on short pedicels. Bastard Toad-flax. 



ORDER CVIII. ARISTOLOCHIACE^E. BIRTHWORTS. 



Perianth superior, regular or very unequal ; the limb valvate. 

 Stamens 6 12, epigynous, distinct, or adhering to the style and 

 stigmas. Ovary inferior, 3 6-celled ; style simple ; stigmas 

 radiate. Fruit dry or succulent, 3 6-celled. Seeds with a 

 very minute embryo, in the base of fleshy albumen. Herbs or 

 shrubs. Leaves alternate, simple, often with leafy stipules. 



