194 ERICACEAE. 



black dots underneath, deciduous. Flowers large and showy, nodding, 

 from axillary scaly buds, often forming elongated racemes ; the fascicles 

 4- to 10-flowered ; they appear in June and July. 



Habitat. In low sandy soil, from Khode Island southward, along the 



coast. 



This, and some other indigenous species of andromeda, are said to be 

 poisonous to lambs and calves, producing symptoms termed stagger*. The 

 plants are interesting from this fact, and from their being apparently anal- 

 ogous to Kalmia, which see. 



OXYDENDRON. SORREL TREE. 



Oxydendron arboreum De Candolle (Andromeda arborea Linne). 

 Sorrel Tree, Sour Wood. 



Description. Calyx without bractlets, very deeply 5-cleft, the segments 

 valvate in the bud. Corolla ovate, 5-toothed puberulent. Stamens 10 ; an- 

 thers linear, awnless ; the cells tapering upward, and opening by a long 

 chink. Capsule oblong-pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved, many-seeded. 



A tree 15 to 50 feet high. Leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, serrulate, at first downy, then smooth, on slender petioles, deciduous. 

 Flowers in long one-sided racemes, clustered in an open panicle, terminat- 

 ing the branches of the season ; they appear in June and July. 



Habitat. In rich woods from Pennsylvania to Georgia and westward. 

 Though commonly a small tree, Michaux states that in the fertile valleys at 

 the foot of the lofty mountains of North Carolina he measured specimens 

 which were 50 feet high and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. 



Part Used. The leaves not official. 



Constituents. Unknown. 



Preparations. Infusion and decoction. 



Medical Properties and Uses. The leaves of this tree have a pleasant 

 acidulous taste, and are said to be tonic, refrigerant, and diuretic. They 

 are used in domestic practice, in the form of infusion or decoction, as a 

 refrigerant drink hi fevers. 



KALMIA. AMERICAN LAUREL. 



Kalmia latifolia Linne. Calico- Bush, Mountain Laurel, Spoon- Wood. 



Description. Calyx small, 5-parted, persistent, with oval, acute seg- 

 ments. Corolla- tube short, cylindrical, the limb spreading, and terminating 

 in an erect, 5-parted margin. Stamens 10 ; anthers lodged in depressions, 

 in the corolla in such a manner that as the flower expands the filaments 

 are bent strongly outward ; when the flower is fully expanded the anthers 

 are released, and the filaments recoil elastic-ally, throwing the anthers over 

 upon the stigma. Pod globose, 5-valved, 5-celled, many-seeded. 



