33 



AMYGDALACEAE. 



VOL. II. 



3. AMYGDALUS L. Sp. PI. 472. 1753. 



Trees or shrubs, with mostly lanceolate serrulate short-petioled leaves, and pink or white 

 flowers solitary or clustered at the nodes of the twigs of the preceding season. Petals 

 spreading. Stamens 20-30, distinct, the filaments filiform. Style and stigma as in Prunus. 

 Exocarp of the fruit mostly fleshy, velvety in the following species; endocarp (stone) bony, 

 deeply pitted or nearly smooth, oval or oblong, pointed, more or less compressed. [Name 

 said to be Syrian for the almond.] 



About 5 species, natives of Asia, the following the type of the genus. 



i. Amygdalus persica L. Peach. Fig. 2428. 



Amygdalits persica L. Sp. PI. 472. 1753. 



A small tree, the purplish-brown twigs glabrous. 

 Leaves mostly lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 

 3'-5' long, 8"-i8" wide, glabrous on both sides, 

 long-acuminate at the apex, usually narrowed at 

 the base, finely serrulate nearly all around, thick- 

 ish; petioles i"-3" long; flowers pink, 4 '-2' broad, 

 scaly-bracted ; drupe subglobose, grooved, softly 

 velvety, ii'-3' in diameter. 



Escaped from cultivation, New York to North 

 Carolina and Florida. April-May. 



Family 57. MIMOSACEAE Reichenb. Fl. Exc. 437. 1832. 

 MIMOSA FAMILY. 



Herbs, shrubs or trees, with alternate mostly compound, commonly 2-3-pinnate 

 leaves, the stipules various, and small regular mostly perfect flowers in heads, 

 spikes or racemes. Calyx 3-6-toothed, or 3-6-lobed, the teeth or lobes mostly 

 valvate in the bud. Corolla of as many distinct or more or less united petals, 

 also valvate. Stamens as many as the petals, or twice as many, or oo , distinct, or 

 monadelphous. Ovary i -celled ; ovules several or numerous ; style simple. Fruit 

 a legume. Seeds without endosperm ; cotyledons fleshy. 



About 40 genera and 1500 species, mostly of tropical distribution, a few in the temperate zones. 

 This, and the three following families, are often united under the name LEG-UMINOSAE. 



Stamens numerous^ at least more than 10. 



Filaments separate. i. Acacia. 



Filaments united below. 2. Albizzia. 



Stamenstonly as many as the petals, or twice as many. 

 Petals separate ; pod smooth. 



Pod separating into valves. 3. Acuan. 



Pod leathery, indehiscent. 4. Prosopis. 



Petals united to about the middle ; pod spiny. 5. Morongia. 



i. ACACIA [Tourn.] Mill. Card. Diet. Abr. Ed. 4. 1754. 



Shrubs or trees, some species nearly herbaceous, with bipinnate leaves, the ultimate leaf- 

 lets usually small and numerous, or the leaves in many exotic species modified into flat 

 simple phyllodes. Flowers small, in heads or spikes. Calyx campanulate, usually 4-5-toothed, 

 or of 4 or 5 distinct sepals. Petals mostly 4 or 5, separate, united, or wanting. Stamens , 

 exserted; filaments filiform, separate; pollen-grains cohering in 2's-6's. Ovary sessile or 

 stipitate. Pod linear, oblong or oval, flat or swollen, often constricted between the seeds. 

 [Greek, point, or thorn, many species being thorny.] 



Perhaps 300 species, chiefly in subtropical regions, most abundant in Africa and Australia, a few 

 in the temperate zones. Besides the following, several others occur in the southern United States. 

 Type species : Mimosa scorpioides L. 



