856 AMMIACEAE 



Umbels few, in terminal corymbs or few-rayed umbels. 



Plants with elongated rootstocks, a peduncle or a leaf, or both arising together at intervals from the 



rootstock. 1. A. nudicaulis. 



Plants with leafy branches arising from the rootstocks. 2. A. hispida. 

 Umbels numerous in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles. 



Large unarmed herb : leaflets membranous. 3. A. racemosa. 



Shrub or small tree with prickle-armed stems : leaflets leathery. 4. A. spinosa. 



1. Aralia nudicaulis L. Stems (rootstocks) horizontal or creeping. Leaves few, one 

 usually arising from the very short branch ; petioles 2-3 dm. long, erect, dividing into 3 

 branches : primary leaf-divisions 3-5-foliolate, 6-15 cm. long, oblong to ovate or the 

 terminal one oblanceolate, acuminate at the apex, doubly serrate : peduncles erect, 

 shorter than the leaves, topped by 3 rays, each of which terminates in an umbel : hypan- 

 thium turbinate : sepals rounded : petals greenish, ovate, shorter than the hypanthium: 

 berries subglobose, 6-8 mm. in diameter, dark purple or black. 



In woods and on ledges, Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to North Carolina and Missouri 

 Spring and fall. WILD SARSAPARILLA. 



2. Aralia hispida Vent. Stems (rootstocks) horizontal or creeping, the branches 

 erect, 2-9 dm. tall, simple or sparingly branched, bristly with rather rigid hairs or glabrate : 

 leaves alternate, bipinnate, the lower ones long-petioled, the upper short-petioled : leaflets 

 oblong, elliptic, oval or ovate, 1.5-5 cm. long, acute, irregularly serrate, acute or rounded 

 at the base, glabrous or pubescent on the nerves beneath : umbels several in a terminal 

 corymb : peduncles slender : bractlets of the involucels subulate : hypanthium turbinate : 

 sepals minute, acute : petals oblong or oblong-oval, 1.5-2 mm. long, white, recurved : 

 berries subglobose, 6-8 mm. in diameter, dark -purple. 



In rocky soil and open woods, Newfoundland and Labrador to Minnesota, south to North Carolina 

 and Indiana. Summer. 



3. Aralia racemosa L. A spreading shrubby herb with large aromatic roots. Stem 

 much branched, 1-2 m. tall, often purple or spotted : leaves thrice or five times pinnately 

 compound : leaflets thin, ovate to suborbicular, 4-20 cm. long, acuminate at the apex, 

 doubly serrate, cordate at the base, more or less pubescent on the nerves beneath, petioluled : 

 umbels numerous, in compound racemes which vary from 5-10 cm. in length : peduncles 

 and pedicels hairy : bractlets of the involucels subulate : sepals minute, hooked : corolla 

 greenish, about 2 mm. broad : petals ovate or ovate-lanceolate : berries subglobose, about 5 

 mm. in diameter, dark red or purple. 



In woods, New Brunswick to Minnesota, Missouri and Georgia. Summer. INDIAN-ROOT. 



4. Aralia spinosa L. A shrub or small tree sometimes 12 m. high, the stems and 

 branches armed with hard prickles. Leaves large, long-petioled, twice or thrice pinnate, 

 usually with a leaflet at the base of each division ; leaflets thickish, ovate, oval or elliptic- 

 lanceolate, 2-10 cm. long, acuminate at the apex, more or less sharply serrate, cordate or 

 rarely acute at the base, pale or glaucous or sometimes slightly pubescent beneath, short- 

 stalked : umbels numerous, in panicled racemes, varying from 1.5-5 dm. long : peduncles 

 and pedicels pubescent : sepals triangular : petals ovate, whitish, 2 mm. long : berries 6-7 

 mm. in diameter, black. 



In woods and low grounds, New York to Missouri, south to Florida and Texas. Summer. TOOTH 



ACHE-TREE. PRICKLY ASH. HERCULES' CLUB. 



FAMILY 3. AMMIACEAE Presl. CARROT FAMILY. 



Herbs of wide distribution, all possessing a volatile oil or balsam, many 

 with an alkaloid principle and acrid-narcotic poison, many yield odorous gum- 

 resins with active stimulant properties. Stems hollow. Leaves alternate, 

 sometimes all basal, or rarely opposite : blades more or less dissected, or merely 

 toothed or entire ; petiole dilated at the base. Inflorescence umbellate, usually 

 compound, the umbels sometimes contracted into heads. Flowers perfect or 

 polygamous. Calyx of 5 tooth-like sepals or a mere border. Corolla of five 

 valvate petals, inserted on a disk which crowns the ovary. Androecium of five 

 stamens, inserted with the petals. Gynoecium of 2 1-celled carpels, inferior. 

 Styles 2, their bases often united and thickened. Fruit dry, a cremocarp, of 

 two united carpels, separating at maturity from each other and often from a 

 slender axis, as two achene-like mericarps which are either ribbed or winged. 

 Seed with the pericarp and testa united. Endosperm copious. Embryo straight. 

 [Vmbelliferae B. Juss.] 



A. Fruit with obscure or obsolete oil tubes. 

 a. Fruit strongly flattened laterally. 



* Involucre wanting : fruit without secondary ribs or reticulations. 1. HYDROCOTYLE. 



