258 ERICACEAE. (HEATH FAMILY.) 



trate ; leaves eJiptical, obtuse, dcttedboth sides (like the branches) with rusty scales ; 

 umbels few-flowered ; corolla open bell-shaped, dotted ; stamens 5 - 10. Alpine 

 summits of the high mountain! of Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. 

 July. Shrub 6' high, forming broad matted tufts ; the leaves ' long. Corolla 

 violet-purple. (Eu.) 



18. It II ODOR A, Duham. RHODORA. 



Calyx minute, 5-toothed. Corolla irregular and 2-lipped ; the upper lip usu- 

 ally 3-lobed or 3-cleft, and the lower 2-parted or of 2 distinct spreading petals. 

 Stamens 10, and with the slender stylo declined. Otherwise as in Azalea. 

 (Name from poSoi/, a rose, from the color of the showy flowers.) 



1. R. C:i multilists, L. Damp cold woods and swamps, New England 

 to Penn. and northward, or on mountains. May. A handsome low shrub, 

 with the oblong deciduous leaves whitish and downy underneath ; the showy 

 rose-purple (rarely white) flowers in clusters on short peduncles, rather earlier 

 than the leaves. 



19. LEDUM, L. , LABRADOR TEA. 



Calyx 5-toothed, very small. Corolla of 5 obovate and spreading distinct 

 petals. Stamens 5-10: anthers opening by terminal pores. Pod 5-celled, 

 splitting from the base upwards, many-seeded : placentae borne on the summit 

 of the columella. Low evergreen shrubs, with the alternate entire leaves 

 clothed with rusty wool underneath, the margins revolute : slightly fragrant 

 when bruised. Flowers white, handsome, in terminal umbel-like clusters from, 

 large scaly buds, bracts caducous. (A.fj8ov, the ancient Greek name of the Cis- 

 tus, transferred by Linnasus to this genus.) 



1 . L<. latifolium, Ait. Leaves elliptical or oblong ; stamens 5, sometimes 

 6 or 7 ; pod oblong. Cold bogs and damp mountain woods, New England 

 to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and northward. June. Shrub 2 -5 high. 

 (L. rALtfsTRE, L., grows in British America, but is not known to occur in the 

 United States. It is distinguished by its linear leaves, uniformly 10 stamens, 

 and oval pcds. ) (Eu. ) 



20. L.OISELEIJRIA, Desv. ALPINE AZALEA. 



Calyx 5-parted, nearly as long as the rather bell-shaped and deeply 5-cleft 

 regular corolla. Stamens 5, not declined, included : anthers opening length- 

 wise. Style short. Pod ovoid, 2 - 3-celled, many-seeded, 2 - 3-valved ; the valves 

 2-cleft from the apex: placentae borne on the middle of the columella. A 

 dwarf and prostrate evergreen shrubby plant, much branched and tufted, smooth, 

 with small and coriaceous opposite elliptical leaves, on short petioles, with revo- 

 lute margins. Flowers small, white or rose-color, 2 - 5 in a cluster, from a ter- 

 minal scaly bud ; the scales or bracts thick and persistent. Named for Loiseleur 

 Dclonychamps, a French botanist.) 



1. L.. procfimbens, Desv. (Azalea proctimbens, L.) Alpine sum- 

 mits of the White Mountains, New Hampshire, on rocks. June. (Eu.) 



