356 



BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



b. ERICACE^ OR HEATH FAMILY. This is a large 

 family and the plants are widely distributed, especially in the 

 northern mountainous parts of both the Eastern and Western Con- 

 tinent. They vary from perennial herbs to trees. The flowers 

 are usually regular, the stamens being mostly 2-spurred (Fig. 

 8i, S), and the fruit is either a superior or inferior drupe or 

 berry (Fig. 134, H). 



Fig. 171. GauUheria prcc:i>nhens: .\, entire plant showing horizontally creeping stolons 

 and solitary axillary flowers; B, flower showing hypocrateriform corolla; C, stamen; D, 

 young fruit; E, section of fruit showing the baccate or berry-like calyx which encloses the 

 real fruit or capsule; F, leaf showing venation; G, cross-section of leaf showing epidermis 

 (e), three layers of palisade cells (p). and chlorenchyma (c); H. cross-section of margin of leaf 

 showing in addition a large group of sterome cells. After Holm. 



Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi is a low branching shrub which trails 

 or spreads on the ground. The leives are used in medicine 

 (p. 601). The flowers are small, white or pink, few and in short 

 racemes. The fruit is a red, globular drupe. 



Trailing arbutus (Epigcua repens) is a trailing, shrubby, hairy 

 plant with broadly elliptical or ovate, coriaceous, evergreen leaves 

 and white or rose-colored, fragrant flowers which are either 

 perfect, with styles and filaments of varying length, or dioecious. 

 The leaves contain gimilar constituents to those in Uva Ursi and 

 Chimaphila, 



