SAXlFUACwVCK.E. (SAXIFIIAGK FAMILY.) 1 G7 



fuid westward. Jul}-. — More slender than the next, and tlic (lower only lialf 

 the size. 



2. P, pallistris, L. Petah sessile; rather longer than the calyx, fcw- 

 vcined ; sttiih- jihiiiu^nts 9 -15 in each set, slendci- ; leaves heart-shaped. — Shore 

 t)t' Lake Superior, and northward. Aug. — Stalks 3'- 10' high. Flower nearly 

 I'l.road. (Ell.) 



•T. P. Carolini^na, Michx. Petuh xessile, more than twice the length 

 oi' tlie (mIvn, niany-M'iiied ; sterile Jilaments ^ in each set, stout, distinct almost to 

 tlic Ixise. — Wet hanks, New England to Wisconsin and southward, especially 

 along the mountains. July -Sept. — Leaves thickish, ovate or i-ounded, often 

 heart-shaped, usually but one on the stalk, and that low down and elasi)ing. 

 Stalk 9' - 2° lii.-h. Flower 1'- 1^' broad. 



4. P. asarifdlia, Vent. Petals abruptlji (milmcted into a claw at the base ; 

 sterile filaments 3 in each set ; leaves rounded kidnei/shajied : otherwise as in the 

 foregoing. — High Allcghanics of Virginia and southward. 



6. ASTILBE, Don. False: Goatsbe.vrd. 



Flowers dia>ciously polygamous. Calyx 4-.5-parfed, small. Petals 4-5, 

 spatnlate, small, withering-persistent. Stamens 8 or 10. Ovary 2-eelIed, almost 

 free, many-ovuled : styles 2, short. Pod 2-Gclled, separating into 2 follicles, 

 each rijjening few seeds Seed-coat loose and thin, tapering at each end. — 

 Perennial herbs, with twice or thrice tcrnatcly-compound ample leaves, cut-lobed 

 and toothed leaflets, and small white or yellowish flowers in spikes or racemes, 

 which arc disposed in a compound panicle. (Name composed of a privative and 

 aTikjir], a briqlit surface, because the foliage is not shining.) 



1. A. dec^udra, Don. Somewhat' pubescent ; "leaflets mostly heart- 

 shaped; petals minute or wanting in the fertile flowers; stamens 10, — Rich 

 woods, Alleghanics of S. W. Virginia and southward. July. — - Plant^ipLtating 

 Spira;a Aruncus, but coarser, 3°-. 5° high. 



7. SAXIFRAGA, L. S.vxifrage. 



Calyx either free from or cohering with the base of the ovary, 5-clcft or 

 parted. Petals 5, entire, imbricated in the bud, commonly deciduous. Stamens 

 10. Stjles 2. Pod 2-beaked, 2-ccllcd, opening down or between the beaks ; or 

 sometimes 2 almost separate follicles. Seeds numerous, %vith a close coat. — 

 Chiefly perennial herbs, with the root-leaves clustered, those of the stem mostly 

 alternate. (Name from saxum, a rock, a.nd /lango, to breilk ,' manj species 

 rooting in the clefts of rocks. ) 



* S/ftHW prostrate, in tufts, leofij : leaves opposite : cali/.r free from the pod. 

 1. S. oppositif61ia, L. (Mointain SAXHUAr.i;.) Leaves fleshy, 

 ovate, keeled, ciliate, imbricated on the sterile branches (l"-2" long) ; flowers 

 solitary, large ; ])etals purjjle, obovatc, much longer than the S-t'left-caly.x. — 

 Rocks, Willoughby Mountain, Vermont, and northward. (En.) 

 ♦ ♦ Stems ascendin;/, leafy : stt-m-lfows alternate : cali/x coherent Mow with the pod. 



2. S. ' rivuliris, L. (ALriNii Brooic-S.) Small; stems weak, 3-5- 

 flowercd ; lower leans rounded, 3 - b-lobtd, on slender petioles, the ujiper lance- 



