296 KRICACE^. (IIKATH FAMILY.) 



at or below the apex : anthers ofAong, aivnless : sutures of the 5-anguIar pod with 

 a more or less tliickened line or ridge, which o/)en falls uwaij spjiaiatJj when the 

 pod opens : seed:i turned in alt directions, oblong, with a thin and rather loose 

 reticulated rout : Jloweis in umbel-like clusters variousli/ arrani/ed. 



3. A. Mariana, L. (Stagger-bcsh.) Nearly glabrous ; leaves dceid- 

 uous, but ratliur coriaceous, oval or oblong, veiny ; flowers large and nodding, 

 in clusters from axillary scaly buds, which are crowded on naked branches of 

 the preceding year ; sepals leaf-like, deciduous with the leaves. — Sandy low 

 places, Rhode Island to Virginia near the coast, and southward. May, June. 

 — Shrub 2° -4° high : foliage said to poison lambs and calves. 



§ 4. LYONIA, Nutt. Calyx T^-cleft : corolla globular, pubescent : filaments and 

 anthers destitute of aivns or ajipendages, or the former sometimes 2-setose near the 

 apex: pods pruminentli/ ribbed at the sutures, the ribs at length separating or 

 separable : seeds slender, all pendulous, with a loose and thin cilliilar coat : flow- 

 ers small, niostlij in clusters ichich are racemosed-jianicled : bracts minute and 

 deciduous: leaves pubescent or scurfy beneath. 



4. A. ligUStrina, Muhl. Leaves deciduous, not scurfy, smoothish when 

 old, obovate-oblong varying to oblong-lanceolate ; flowers raceniose-pauided on 

 branchlets of the preceding year. — Swamps and low thickets. New England 

 to Penn., Virginia, and southward. June, July. — Shrub 4° - 10° high. 



11. OXYDENDRXJM, DC. Sorrel-tree. Sour-wood. 



Calyx without bractlets, of 5 almost distinct sepals, valvatc in the bud. 

 Corolla ovate, 5-toothed, pubcrulent. Stamens 10: anthers fixed near the base, 

 linear, awnless ; the cells tapering upwards, and opening by along chink. Tod 

 oblong-pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved ; the many-seeded placenta; at the base of 

 the cells. Seeds all ascending, slender, the thin and loose reticulated coat ex- 

 tended at both ends into awl-shaped append.ages. — A tree with deciduous, ob- 

 long-lanceolate, pointed, soon smooth, serrulate le:ives, on slender petioles, and 

 white flowers in long one-sided racemes clustered in an oj)cn paiiide, terminat- 

 ing the branches of the season. Bracts and bractlets minute, deciduous. Foli- 

 age sour to the taste (whence the name, from o^vs, sour, and dfvSpou, tree). 



1- O. arb6l'eum, DC. (Andromeda arborea, L.) — Kich woods, from 

 Penn. and Oliio southward, mostly along the Alleghanics. June, July. — Tree 

 15° -40° high. Leaves in size and sha])e like those of the Peach. 



12. CLETHRA, L. White Alder. Sweet Pepperbush. 



Calyx of 5 sepals, imbricated in the bud. Corolla of 5 distinct obovate-ob- 

 long petals. Stamens 10, often exserted : anthers inversely arrow-shaped, in- 

 verted and reflexed in the bud, opening by terminal pores or short slits. Style 

 slender, 3-elcft at the apex. Pod .3-valved, .3-cel]e(l, many-seeded, enclosed in 

 the calyx. Shrubs or trees, with alternate and serrate deeiiluous leaves, and 

 white flowers in terminal honry racemes. Bracts deciduous. (KXij^pa, the 

 ancient Greek name of the Alder, which this genus somewhat resembles in 

 feliuge.) 



