ALTINGIACEAE 509 



the petals, and one-half of them sterile, or numerous and the petals wanting. 

 Filaments distinct, dilated at the base. Anthers introrse. Gynoecium of 2 

 partially united carpels which cohere to the base of the calyx. Styles 2, distinct. 

 Stigmas simple. Ovules solitary and suspended or several and horizontal. 

 Fruit a capsule, often opening elastically. Testa shining. Embryo straight in 

 the fleshy cartilaginous or bony endosperm. [Hamamelidaceae Lindl.] 



Calyx or calyx and corolla present : ovule solitary in each cavity, suspended. 



Petals wanting : stamens about 24 : filaments club-shaped, elongated. 1. FOTHERGILLA. 



Petals 4, ribbon-shaped : stamens 4 : staminodia 4 : filaments short. 2. HAMAMELIS. 



Calyx and corolla wanting : ovules several or numerous, horizontal. 3. LIQUIDAMBAR. 



1. POTHERGILLA L. 



Low monoecious shrubs, with erect or underground stems. Leaves alternate : blades 

 membranous or leathery, more or less coarsely toothed, short-petioled, deciduous. Flowers 

 white, fragrant, appearing before the leaves or with them, in terminal bracted spikes. 

 Hypanthium campanulate. Calyx truncate or obscurely 5-7-lobed. Petals wanting. 

 Stamens numerous, inserted in 1 row, very conspicuous : filaments clavate-filiform. Ovary 

 2-3-celled, partly inferior : styles 2-3, subulate-filiform. Ovule 1 in each cayity. Capsule 

 2-3-lobed, 2-3-valved at the apex. Seed solitary in each cavity. Testa bony. The 

 plants flower in the spring. DWARF ALDER. 



Flowers appearing before the leaves : leaf- blades stellate-pubescent above : filaments mostly less than 



10 mm. long : capsules 6-10 mm. long. 



Leaf-blades cordate at the base, about as broad as long, toothed from below the 



middle to the apex. 1. F. parvtfolia. 



Leaf-blades cuneate or rounded at the base, much longer than broad, toothed only 



near the apex. 2. F. Carolina. 



Flowers appearing with the leaves : leaf-blades glabrate above : filaments mostly over 



11 mm. long : capsules 11-13 mm. long. 3. F. major. 



1. Fothergilla parvif6lia Kearney. A low shrub, forming patches by underground 

 stems, its twigs, leaves and inflorescence canescent. Branches 3-6 dm. tall, simple below, 

 branched above : leaf-blades leathery, suborbicular or oval, 2-6 cm. long, coarsely crenate 

 above the middle, dull green and stellate-pubescent above, canescent beneath when mature, 

 cordate at the base, short-petioled : flowers appearing before the leaves : spikes 2-3 cm. , 

 long, dense : hypanthium canescent : filaments 6-7 mm. long : capsules about 6-8 mm. 

 long, turbinate at the base, acute at the apex. 



In sandy oak or pine lands, in the low country, North Carolina to Florida. 



2. Fothergilla Carolina (L. ) Britton. A low shrub, with erect branching stems, its 

 twigs and petioles finely pubescent. Stems becoming stout near the base : leaf-blades usu- 

 ally leathery, oblong, or nearly so, undulate or sharply toothed near the apex, paler and 

 more densely pubescent beneath than above, varying from cuneate to rounded at the base, 

 short-petioled : flowers appearing before the leaves : spikes 1-4 cm. long, dense : hypan- 

 thium very densely pubescent : filaments 8-10 mm. long : capsules 8-10 mm. long. 



In dry soil, Virginia to Georgia. 



3. Fothergilla major Lodd. A tall shrub, its twigs, petioles and peduncles downy. 

 Stems erect, much branched : leaf -blades membranous, suborbicular, oval or obovate, 6-8 

 cm. long, coarsely crenate above the middle, cuneate or subcordate at the base, bright 

 green on both sides, glabrous above, paler beneath, and pubescent on the nerves ; petioles 

 5-10 mm. long : flowers appearing with the leaves : spikes 4-7 mm. long, dense above 

 looser below : hypanthium downy : filaments 11-15 mm. long : capsules 11-13 mm. long 



On mountain slopes, North and South Carolina to Alabama. 



2. HAMAMBLIS L. 



Slightly aromatic shrubs or small trees, with a scaly bark and flexuous terete branch- 

 lets. Leaves alternate : blades simple, slightly leathery, crenate, inequilateral at the base : 

 stipules acute, deciduous. Flowers perfect or polygamous, appearing in fall or winter, in 

 terminal 3-flowered clusters, on short lateral bracted peduncles, each flower subtended by 

 bractlets. Hypanthium campanulate, persistent. Sepals 4, reflexed. Petals 4, ribbon-like* 

 persistent, or wanting in fertile flowers. Stamens 4, opposite the sepals, alternating with 

 4 strap-shaped staminodia : filaments subulate, each prolonged into a stout connective, 

 shorter than the calyx : anther-sacs separated by the connective, opening by persistent 

 valves attached on the outer edge. Ovary of 2, 1 -celled carpels united at the base : 

 styles 2, subulate : stigma terminal, minute. Ovules 1-2 in each cavity, suspended. Cap- 



