SAriNDACK.E. (sOAPBKUUY FAMILY.) 117 



SunoRDKR I. STAPIIVLEACEiE. Bi.Ani>r.u-NrT Famii-y. 



Flowers (perfect) regular : stamens as many as the petals. Ovules 1 -8 

 in eaeh cell. Seeds bony, with a straight embryo in scanty albumen. — 

 Shrubs with oi)posite pinnately compound leaves, both stijiulate and sti- 

 pellate. 



1. Stnphylea. Lohes of the colored calyx and petals 5, erect. Stamens 5 Fruit a 3-celleil 



bladdery-inflated pml. 



Si-nouDKU II. SAPITVDACE.i: proper (including IIiitocastaxi:.!;.) 



Flowers (often ])olygainous) mostly unsyminetrical and irregular ; the 

 stamens commonly more numerous than the petals or sepals, but rarely 

 twice as many. Ovules 1 or 2 in each cell. Albumen none. Embryo 

 cinved or convolute, rarely straight : cotyledons thick and fleshy. — Leaves 

 alternate or sometimes opposite, destitute of stipules, mostly compound. 



2. .^scuIhs. Calyx .l-lobed. Petals 4 or 5. Stamens commonly 7. Fruit a leathery pod. 



L-aves opposite, digitate. 



Si-iJORDKu III. ACERIWE.i:. INIaple Family. 



Flowers (polygamous or dioecious) small, regular, but usually unsym- 

 metrical. Petals often wanting. Ovary 2-lobed and 2-celled, with a pair 

 of ovules in edch cell. Winged fruits 1-seeded. Albumen none. Em- 

 bryo coiled or folded ; the cotyledons long and thin. — Leaves opposite, 

 simple or compound. 



3 Acer. Flowers polygamous. Leaves simple, or rarely dijritatidy compounil. 

 4. Nrgilililo. Flowers diuecious. Leaves pinnate, with 3 5 leaflets. 



1. STAPHYLEA, L. Bl.vdder-Xut. 



Calyx deeply ."j-imrtid, the lolics erect, wiiitish. Petals 5, erect, spatulatc, 

 inserted on the nuirjiin of tiie thick perifrynous disk which lines the l)asc of the 

 calyx. Stamens .'), alternate with the petals. Pistil of 3 scvcral-oviiled carpels, 

 united in the axis, their loii<; styles lightly cohering. Pod larjxc, meiuhrana- 

 ccous, inflated, Sdobed, 3-eellcd, at length InirstiuH' at the summit ; the cells 

 contiuninp; 1-4 bony anatrojjous seeds. Aril none. Kmbryo large and straight, 

 in scanty albumen ; cotyledons broad and thin. — Upright shrubs, with o|)posite 

 pinnate leaves of 3 or 5 serrate leaflets, and white flowers in drooping raceme- 

 like clusters, tcnninatin;; the branelilets. Sti[)ules and stipels deciduous. {Name 

 from (TT(i(f)vXTi, (I rlitstcr.) 



1. S. trif61ia, L. (Amkukax Blamm-.h-mt.) Leaflets 3, ovate, 

 pointed. — Thickets, in moist soil. May. — Shrub 10° high, with greenish 

 striped branches. 



2. ..ffiSCULUS, L. IIonsK-niKSTNUT. Blckeye. 



Calyx tubular, 5-lol)C(l, often rather oblicpic or {jribbous at the base. Petals 

 4, sometimes 5, more or less unequal, with claws, nearly hypogynous. Stamena 



