ERICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY) 625 



Multiplies freely by prostrate or subterranean suckers, and forms broad clumps 

 1-2 m. high. June-Aug. 



9. C. stricta Lain. (STIFF C.) A shrub 2-5 m. high ; branches brownish or 

 reddish, smooth ; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, acutish at base, 

 glabrous, of nearly the same hue both sides; cymes loose, flattish ; anthers and 

 fruit pale blue. Swamps, Va. and Mo., southw. Apr., May. 



10. C. paniculata L'He"r. Shrub 1-2.5 m. high, much branched; branches 

 gray, smooth; leaves ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, acute at base, whitish be- 

 neath but not downy ; cymes convex, loose, often panicled ; fruit white, de- 

 pressed-globose, on bright red pedicels. (C. candidissima Marsh. ?, not Mill.) 

 Thickets and river-banks, centr. Me. to Ont., Minn., and southw. June, 

 July. 



11. C. alternifblia L. f. Shrub or tree 2-6 m. high ; branches greenish, 

 streaked with white, the alternate leaves clustered at the ends, ovate or oval, 

 long-pointed, acute at base, whitish and minutely pubescent beneath ; cymes 

 very broad and open; fruit deep blue, on reddish stalks. Copses, e. Que. to 

 w. Ont., Minn., and la., s. to Ga. and Ala. May, June. 



2. NYSSA L. TUPELO. PEPPERIDGE. SOUR GUM 



Flowers borne at the summit of axillary peduncles. Stam. Fl. numerous. 

 Calyx small, 5-parted. Petals as in fertile flower or none. Stamens 5-12, 

 oftener 10, inserted on the outside of a convex disk. No pistil. Pist. Fl. soli- 

 tary, or 2-8, sessile in a bracted cluster, much larger than the staminate flowers. 

 Petals very small and fleshy, deciduous, or often wanting. Stamens 5-10, with 

 perfect or imperfect anthers. Style elongated. Drupe ovoid or ellipsoid. Trees 

 with entire or sometimes angulate-toothed alternate leaves and greenish flowers. 

 (The name of a Nymph: "so called because it [the original species] grows in 

 the water.") 



1. N. sylvatica Marsh. (BLACK GUM.) Middle-sized tree, with horizontal 

 branches ; leaves oval or obovate, commonly acuminate, glabrous or villous- 

 pubescent when young, at least on the margins and midrib, shining above when 

 old ; fertile flowers 3-8, at the summit of a slender peduncle ; fruit ovoid, acid, 

 bluish-black, about 1.2 cm. long. (N. multiflora Wang.) Kich soil, either 

 moist or nearly dry, s. Me. and n. Vt. to Mich., s. to Fla. and Tex. Apr., May. 

 Leaves turning bright crimson in autumn. Wood firm, close-grained. 



Var. biflbra (Walt.) Sarg. Leaves narrower, subcoriaceous, more obtuse; 

 stone decidedly furrowed. (TV. biflora Walt.) Marshes, southw.; sometimes 

 well marked. 



2. N. aquatica L. A large tree ; leaves oblong or ovate, sometimes slightly 

 cordate at base, long-petioled, entire or angulate-toothed, pale and downy-pubes- 

 cent beneath, at least when young, 1-3 dm. long ; fertile flower solitary on a 

 slender peduncle ; fruit ellipsoid, blue, 2.5 cm. or more in length. (JV. uniflora 

 Wang.) Deep swamps, s. Va. to s. 111. and Mo., s. to Fla. and Tex. Apr. 

 Wood soft ; that of the roots very light and spongy. 



ERICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY) 



Rhrubs, sometimes herbs, with the flowers regular or nearly so ; stamens as 

 many or twice as many as the 4-5-lobed or -5-petaled corolla, free from but: in- 

 serted with it ; anthers ^-celled, commonly appendaged, or opening by terminal 

 chinks or pores, introrse (except in Subfamily I) ; style 1 ; ovary 3-W-celled. 

 Pollen compound, of 4 united grains (except in Subfamily II). Seeds small, 

 anatropous. Embryo small, or sometimes minute, in fleshy albumen. A 

 large family, very various in many of the characters, ours comprising four 

 well-marked subfamilies. 



GRAY'S MANUAL 40 





