ORDER CXVIII. CONIFERS. 



199 



cultivation. The leaves are used to feed silk-worms. Var. MULTICAULIS is a 

 shrub with long, rank shoots and very large leaves. May. 



3. M. nigra. 



Black Mulberry. 



Leaves ovate-cordate, obtuse, often lobed, unequally serrate, rough ; flowers 

 greenish; fertile spikes oval; fruit very dark -purple, nearly black, pleasantly 

 suh-.acid, with a purple juice. A fine tree, often cultivated for its delicious 

 iruit. May. 



2. FlCUS. 



Flowers monoecious, attached to the inside of a turbinate re- 

 ceptacle, which is closed and somewhat depressed at summit. 

 Barren flowers, calyx 3-parted; stamens 3. Fertile flowers, 

 calyx 5-parted ; ovary 1 ; seed 1. Trees. 



1. F. cdrica,. Fig. 



Leaves cordate, 8 5-lobed, sometimes undivided, repandly toothed, with 

 obtuse lobes, rough above, pubescent beneath ; fruit juicy, purple, varying to 

 whitish and greenish when ripe. The Fig is often reared as a curiosity in house 

 cultivation, where it takes the form of a shrub. The delicious fruit needs no 

 description. 



3. CANNABIS. 



Flowers dioecious. Barren flowers in axillary racemes or 

 panicles; sepals 5 ; stamens 5. Fertile flowers spicate, clustered ; 

 calyx of 1 entire sepal inclosing the ovary. Herbs. 



1. C. sativa. Hemp. 



Stem, erect, tall, branching, rough ; leaves opposite ; upper ones alternate ; 

 all digitately parted ; leaflets lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, coarsely serrate, 

 dark -green above, paler beneath ; flowers green ; barren in terminal panicles, 

 fertile in spikes. The Hemp frequently grows ns a weed round buildings and 

 waste places generally. It is a tall, weed-like plant, 4 6 ft. high, with very- 

 tough, inner bark, used in the manufacture of ropes and coarse cloths. Jane. 

 An. 



4. HtTMULUS. 



Flowers dioacious ; barren in axillary panicles ; sepals 5 ; 

 stamens 5 ; fertile in axillary spikes or aments ; bracts leafy, im- 

 bricated, entire, persistent, 2-flowered; calyx of 1 sepal including 

 the ovary. Achenia invested in the persistent, enlarged calyx, 

 forming a strobile. 



1. H. Ll\pulus. 



Hop. 



Stem twining with the sun, rough backwards with reflexed prickles ; leaves 

 opposite, cordate, 3 5-lobed or undivided, very rough, on long stalks; stipules 

 ovate, persistent ; barren flowers very abundant, greenish, in axillary panicles ; 

 fertile in large strobiles or cones, consisting of enlarged, yellowish-white scales. 

 A rough vine in low grounds, twining over bushes and trees, distinguished by 

 its large cones of fertile flowers, which contain a bitter principle, that gives the 

 Hop its value in making beer and yeast. July. Per. 



5. tfRTICA. 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious. Barren flowers. Calyx 

 mostly of 4 sepals ; stamens 4. Fertile flowers. Calyx of 2 4 per- 

 sistent sepals. Achenium compressed, smooth, invested in the 

 calyx. Stinging herbs. 



1. U. Canadensis. Hemp Nettle. 



Stem erect, simple or branching, hispid and stinging, flexuous above ; leaves 

 alternate, broad-ovate, acuminate, serrate, rounded, rarely somewhat cordate at 

 base, on long petioles; flowers greenish-white, in loose, axillary, divaricate 

 panicles as long as the petioles, or shorter, upper ones staminate, lower pis- 

 tillate ; calyx of the barren flowers 5-parted. A common, stinging weed, grow- 

 ing in low, rich soils. It sometimes varies with nearly smooth leaves and stem, 

 which is 24 ft. high. Aug. 



2. U. dioica. 



Nettle. 



Stem erect, branching, very hispid and stinging, obtusely 4-angled ; leaves 

 opposite, ovate, cordate at base, acuminate, acutely and deeply serrate, pubes- 

 cent beneath ; flowers monoecious or dioecious, in axillary, branching panicled 

 spikes, greenish and homely. A stinging weed, 2 4 ft. high. Common in 

 waste places. July Aug. 



6. PiLEA. 



Flowers monoecious, bracted ; sterile and fertile often mingled 

 together. Barren flowers of 3 i sepals ; stamens 3 4. Fertile 

 flowers calyx of 3 sepals, with 3 rudimentary stamens at base ; 

 ovary 1 ; stigma sessile, ending in a little tuft. 



1. P. pumila. 



Richweed. 



Stem ascending, simple or branching, succulent, translucent, smooth and 

 glassy ; leaves ovate, coarsely serrate, acuminate, chiefly 3-nerved, smooth, on 

 long petioles; flowers greenish, in axillary, corymbose clusters, shorter than the 

 petioles ; 4' 10' high. A little weed with a pellucid stem. July Sep. An. 

 1. BCEHMERIA. 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious. Barren flowers calyx 4- 

 parted; stamens 4. Fertile, calyx entire, or 4-lobed, tubular. 

 Ovary 1. Style 1, subulate. Achenium compressed, elliptical. 

 inclosed in the persistent calyx. 



1. B. cylindrica. 



False Nettle. 



Nearly or quite smooth ; stem erect, simple, slender ; leaves opposite, some- 

 times alternate, ovate lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, serrate, about 

 3-nerved, on long petioles; flowers minute, greenish, densely crowded in ax- 

 illarly spikes ; barren spikes interrupted ; fertile spikes cylindric, shorter and 

 thicker. A coarse, homely plant, resembling a Nettle, but destitute of stings. 

 Stem 13 ft. high. July Sep. Per. 



SUBCLASS II. GYMNOSPERM^E. 



ORDER CXVIII. Conifer*. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE GENERA. 



SUBORDER I. Abietinese. 



Fertile flowers in many-flowered aments, made up of carpellary scales, with 

 2 ovules at base, and subtended by a bract outside, forming a woody cone in 

 fruit 



1. PINUS. Leaves in clusters of 25, arising from the same sheath, per- 

 sistent 



2. ABIES. Leaves scattered, single, persistent 



SUBORDER II. Cupressinete. 



Fertile flowers in few-flowered aments, made up of carpellary scales, bear- 

 ing a few ovules at base, and destitute of bracts, trie whole forming a subglo- 

 bose drupe-like cone in fruit. 



8. THUJA. Flowers monoecious. Strobile dry when ripe, made up of a few 

 oblong scales. 



4. CUPEESSUS. Flowers monoecious. Strobile dry when ripe, somewhat 

 woody, consisting of peltate scales. 



5. JcNipKEUs. Flowers dioecious. Fruit when ripe a somewhat fleshy 

 drupe. 



1. PiNUS. 



Flowers monoecious. Barren aments in spikes; stamens 

 nijmerous, with very short filaments; anthers 2-celled; pollen 

 consisting of 3 united grains. Fertile aments terminating the 

 branches, solitary or clustered, consisting of imbricated scales, 

 each with a deciduous bract outside, and a pair of ovules inside, 

 attached to the base. Fruit a cone, consisting of the woody 

 scales, which are mostly thickened at apex and persistent, spread- 

 ing when mature and dry. Seeds sunk in hollows at the base of 

 the scales. Cotyledons 3 12. Trees with acerose leaves. 



1. P. resinosa. Red Pine. 



Leaves in pairs, half-cylindrical, elongated, arising from long sheaths ; cones 

 ovoid-conical, solitary or several together, half as long as the leaves ; scales 

 dilated in the middle, unarmed. A tall species, with smoother and somewhat 

 redder bark than most of the other species. Common in dry woods in Nor- 

 thern N. Eng. and N. York. The leaves are of a dark-green, 5' 6' long, and 

 mostly at the ends of the branches. May. 



2. P. rigida. Pitch Pine. 



Leaves in threes, with short sheaths; cones ovoid-conical, mostly in 

 clusters; scales ending in short, recurved spines. A small tree at the North, 

 but attaining to a great height at the South. Common in sandy soils. The 

 trunk is covered with a thick, rugged and furrowed bark, of a dark-brown 

 color. The wood is very resinous, and makes good fuel. May. 



3 P. Strobus. 



White Pine. 



Leaves in fives, slender, with very short, deciduous sheaths ; cones cylin- 

 drical, pendulous, solitary, loose, somewhat curved. A very tali and noble tree, 

 common in rich woods. The timber is light and soft, and is used extensively 

 for building, while the tall, straight, smooth trunks, furnish masts for ships. 

 The slender and graceful branches grow in almost regular verticils, while its 

 delicate, dark-green foliage renders this the most elegant species in the country 

 May. 



