IIa.XDHOUK ok TkkKS ok TIIK XoiMllKK.N SrATKS AND Ca.nada. 4J9 



THE ALDERS. (,k.\is ALXL'S Ckkix. 



Tlic Aldns arc lives and shiuhs ol' ah.iui iwciiiy spcics with astiiiiK.Mit Ijaik and durable 

 wood, iiiliabitiug the north temperate regions of botli hemispheres, and ranging among the 

 mountains of the New World into the tropics. Nine species are natives of North America of 

 which six are recognized as trees, five of these iniuibiting the Pacific slope, and one is a local 

 species of the Atlantic states. Besides these there is also one species from the Old World 

 naturalized in localities in the Atlantic states. 



Lcarcs serrate or dentate and falling in autunin witliuut change of color: buds naked, 

 stipitate. Floircrs both kinds in c.vuiose stalked anients which aiqiear during the previous 

 season and. remaining dormant during the winter, develop in early si)iing before the leaves, or, 

 in one American si)eci<>s, in late summer: staniiiuite aments pendulous with peltate scales, 

 8-(i tloweis in the axils of each scale and e.-ich subtended by minute bractlets: calyx -l-iiarted ; 

 stamens usually 4. with short simple filaments: i)istillate aments ovoid-oblong, erecr. with 

 thick scales and in tiic axils of each are two flowers without perianth and sidjtended each 

 by 2-4 minute bractlets: ovary sessile 2-celled : styles 2. Fruit: nutlet small, compressed, 

 tipped with the lemnants of the style and bearing lateral wings which are sometimes reduced 

 to a mere membranous border, 2 nutlets in the axils of each scale; scales thick woody, erose 

 or 5-toothed at apex and persistent, forming a strobile. 



Alitiis is the ancient Latin name of the Alder. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

 Leaves oblong, lustrous bright green above; aments expanding in autumn. ... A. maritiiua. 

 Leaves orbicular-obovate, dull green and glabrous; aments expanding in very early s]iiiiiir. 



A. glutiuosa. 



For .v/Kc/cv .sec PI). 12S-131. 



BEECH FAMILY. FAGACE/E. 



Trees of great economic value and some shrubs of wide distribution, mainly throughout 



the northern hemisphere. "^rhere ai'c nearly 400 known species grouped in six genera, five of 



which are represented in North America. Of these one is generally distributed throughout 



the United States, two others are represented in the Atlantic states only, and the remaining 



two are confined to the Pacific slope. 



Leaves alternate, petioled, pinniveined and with narrow caducous stipules. Floircrs 

 monoecious, small ; the staminate in aments or heads with 4-S-lobed calyx and 4-20 stamens 

 with slender distinct filaments and introrse 2-celled anthers opening iengthwise : pistillate 

 fiowers solitary or in few-flowered clusters or spikes subtended by a scaly involucre which 

 becomes woody in the fruit ; calyx 4-8-lobed. adiiate ; ovary i5-T-celled with 1-2 pendulous 

 anatropous ovules in each cell, but usually only one ovule of one of the cells maturing, and 

 as many linear styles as there are cells of the ovary. Fruit a nut subtended or enveloped by an 

 involucral covoiing and with a coriaceous or bony exocarp. 1-celled by abortion and containing 

 a single membranous-coaled seed without albumen : cotyledons fl(>sliy ; radicle short, superior. 



KEY TO THE GENERA. 



a Nut sharply triangular: staminate flowers in globose long-stalked heads Fagua. 



a' Nut globose and more or less flattened at base : staminate flowers in aments ; nut 



Inclosed in a i)rickly dehiscent burr : aments suberect Castanea. 



Subtended by a scaly, woody inv(ducral cui) Quercus. 



THE BEECHES. C.kxus FAGUS L. 



Ti'ces with smooth gi'ny bai-k, li;n-(l close-grained wood and long iiointed buds. About 

 a half dozen species are known, all confined to th(> t(>miterate regions of the northern hemisi>here 

 and one only is found in North America. 



Leaves convex and i)licale on the veins in the bud. firm, deciduous, serrate with straight 

 veins; stipules linear-lanceolate: ix'lioles short. Fhirvrx expanding with or soon after the 

 leaves; the staminate at the base of the shoots of the season in many-flowered drooi)ing heads 

 with long 2-bracte(l jx'duncles : pedicels short : calyx campanulate. greenish yellow, imbricated 

 in jTstivation. 4-S-lobed : stamens S-Ki. longer than the calyx, inserted on its base and with 

 greenish anthers: iiistillate in 2-4-flowei-ed clusters from the axils of the upper leaves and 

 surround"d by numerous awl-shaped bracts of which the outermost are longer ancl caducous 

 and the inner are united so as to form a 4-lobed burr-like covering: calyx 4 or ."t-lobed. villous, 

 adnate to the .'{-celled and .'{-angled ovary with 2 ovules in each cell and with 'A filiform and 

 recurved ;;tyles. Fruit a shari)ly .'{-anghvl ovoid nut. with thin histrous brown coriaceous 

 shell and inclosed usually in ))aii's in a 4-valved burr: seed (with the abortive ovules ( 

 suspended, oily, edible and of delicious flavor. 



Fagus is the Greek derivation alluding to the edible quality of the nuts. 

 For species see pp. 1S2-133. 



