146 



OBDER XXXVI. ACERACE^E MAPLE-TKIBE. OKDEB XXXIX. KHAMNACE.E BUCKTHORN-TRIBE. 



common petiole winged ; flowers greenish, in thyrsoid, sessile, terminal pani- 

 cles ; drupes red, hairy, acid. A smaller shrub than the last, in rocky, barren 

 grounds. July. 



4. R. venenata. Dogwood, Poison Sumach. 



Very glabrous ; leaflets 7 18, mostly oval, entire, abruptly acuminate ; 

 common petiole not winged, red ; flowers very small, green, mostly dioecious, 

 in loose, axillary, pedunculate panicles; drupes subglobose, smooth, greenish, 

 as large as peas. A very elegant shrub, in swamps, with leaves of a shining 

 green, 10 15 feet high, and exceedingly poisonous to most persons, producing 

 eruptions on the skin, when touched, and in some cases even when approached 

 very nearly. June. 



5. R. toxicodendron. Poison-Oak, Poison-Ivy. 



Stem erect, or decumbent ; leaves pubescent, ternate ; leaflets broad-oval, or 

 rhomboid, acuminate, entire, or pinnately-loothed ; flowers green, in racemose, 

 axillary, subsessile panicles ; drupes subglobose, smooth, pale brown. A low 

 shrub 1 3 feet high, poisonous, but less so than the last 



Var. Badicans. Leaflets entire, mostly smooth ; stem long, climbing by 

 radicles, often 20 30 feet, or more. This variety, by some authors considered 

 a species, is very distinct in habit, and in N. Eng. is by far the most common 

 form, if indeed the other be found there at all. June. 



6. R. Cotinus. 



Smoke-tree. 



Leaves obovate, entire; flowers mostly abortive, minute, in terminal com- 

 pound panicles; pedicels finally elongated, and clothed with long hairs. A 

 shrub 6 feet high, not uncommon in cultivation, chiefly remarkable for the 

 peculiar appearance of its panicles, which cause the plant to look, at a distance, 

 as if enveloped in a cloud of smoke. 



ORDER XXXVI. Aceraceae. Maple-tribe. 



I. ACEE. 



Flowers mostly polygamous. Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5, or 

 none. Stamens 7 10, rarely 5. Styles 2. Samaras 2, winged, 

 united at base, by abortion 1 -seeded. 



1. A. rxVbrum. Red Maple. 



Leaves palmate, 8 5-lobed, mostly cordate at base, unequally or incisely- 

 toothed, whitish, and nearly or quite smooth beneath ; lobes acute or acumi- 

 nate; sinuses acute ; flowers crimson, rarely yellowish, on short pedicels, aggre- 

 gate, about 5 together; pedicels in fruit elongated and pendulous: fruit red, 

 with wings about 1' long. A tall, handsome tree, common in low grounds and 

 swamps. It makes a splendid appearance in April, before the leaves come out, 

 when covered with its numerous crimson flowers. 



2. A. dasycarpum. White Maple. 



Leaves deeply 5-lobed, mostly truncate at base, sometimes cordate, white, 

 and smooth beneath ; sinuses obtuse ; lobes acute, or acuminate, unequally or 

 incisely-toothed, entire toward the base; flowers small, yellowish-green, in 

 crowded, simple umbels ; pedicels short and thick ; petals none ; fruit tomou- 

 tose when young, nearly smooth when old, with very large upwardly dilated 

 diverging wings; pedicels elongated in fruit Distinguished from the last, 

 which it much resembles, by its larger leaves and fruit, and yellowish short- 

 pedicelled flowers. Wood white, soft Sap less sweet than that of the Sugar 

 Maple. April. 



3. A. saccharinum. Sugar Maple. 



Leaves palmately-lobed, cordate at base, or truncate, glaucous, pubescent or 

 smooth beneath ; sinuses obtuse and shallow ; lobes acuminate, with a few 

 coarse, repand teeth ; flowers pale yellow, on long, pendulous, filiform, vil- 

 lons pedicels ; sepals bearded inside; petals none; fruit yellowish, with wings 

 1' long. A noble tree of the most elegant foliage and growth, very often culti- 

 vated as a shade tree. Its sap yields that universal favorite, Maple Sugar. 

 Eocky woods. May. 



4. A. Pennsylvanicum. Moose-wood. 



Leaves subcordate at base, 8-lobed at summit, sharply and doubly serrate, 

 smooth; lobes acuminate; flowers large, yellowish-green, in simple, nodding 

 racemos; petals obovate ; fruit in long clusters, glabrous, with pale green, di- 

 verging wings. A small tree, 1015 feet high, the bark striped with green and 

 black. Common in Northern N. Eng. and N. York, rare further South. May. 



5. A. spicatum. 



Mountain Maple. 



Leaves pubescent beneath, somewhat cordate at base, 3 5-lobed, dentate 

 small, rough ; lobes acuminate ; flowers very numerous, minute, greenish, in 

 erect, compound racemes; petals linear-spatulate ; fruit almost smooth, with 

 wings slightly diverging, in pendulous racemes. A shrub, 6 10 feet high, 

 found in about the same localities as the last Jane. 



ORDER XXXVII. Hippocastanacese. Horse- 

 Ghestnut-f amity. 



1. jE'SCULUS. 



Calyx campanulate, tubular, 5-toothed. Petals 4 5, more or 

 less unequal. Otherwise as in the character of the order. 



1. JE. Hippocastanum. 



Horse-Chestnut. 



Leaves digitate ; leaflets 7, obovate, abruptly acute, serrate ; flowers large, 

 in pyramidal thyrses or racemes, pink and white ; stamens and styles longer 

 than the petals ; fruit large, dark chestnut colored, not eatable. A noble tree, 

 4050 feet high, admired for its elegant growth and foliage, as well as for its 

 showy flowers. June. 



ORDER XXXVIII. Celastracese. Staff-tree- 

 famity. 



1. CELASTBU8. 



Flowers sometimes dioecious or polygamous. Sepals 5, united 

 below into a very short tube. Petals 5, sessile. Capsule subglo- 

 bose, 2 3-celled, Seeds ariled, 1 2 in each cell. 



1. C. scandens. 



Shrubby Bittersweet. 



Stem woody, twining; leaves oval, or somewhat obovate, acuminate, ser- 

 rate, alternate, stipulate, smooth ; flowers small, greenish-white, in nearly sim- 

 ple racemes; seeds reddish-brown, covered with an aril, which at first is 

 orange, but afterwards becomes scarlet A climbing, woody plant, in woods, 

 thickets, and along stone walls. June. 



ORDER XXXIX. 



Rhamnaceae. Buckthorn- 

 t/ribe. 



\. EHAMNUS. 



Calyx urceolate, 4 5-cleft. Petals 4 5, emarginate, perigy- 

 nous. Ovary free from the calyx, 2 4-celled. Styles 2 t, 

 more or less united. Fruit drupaceous, containing 2 4 nuts. 



1. R. catharticus. Buckthorn. 



Leaves ovate, doubly serrate, acute, strongly veined, nearly smooth, alter- 

 nate, in fascicles at the ends of the branches, in young, rapidly-growing shoots, 

 often somewhat opposite ; flowers polygamous, in axillary fascicles, mostly te- 

 trandrous ; sepals at length reflexod ; petals entire ; fruit black, globose, nau- 

 seous, and cathartic. A shrub, 10 15 feet high, with opposite branches, 

 spinose at summit Not uncommon in Eastern N. Eng. Eoad-sides. June. 



2. R. alnifolius. 



Alder-leaved Buckthorn. 



Erect, unarmed ; leaves oval, acuminate, serrate, pubescent on the veins 

 >eneath ; peduncles 1-flowered, solitary or aggregate, arising from the upper 

 lart of the young shoots; flowers yellowish-green, mostly pentandrous and 

 apetalous ; sepals acute, spreading ; styles 8, united, very short ; fruit tnrbinate, 

 black, as laige as a currant, 5-seeded. A low shrub, 8 feet high, in dense 

 swamps, not uncommon in the northern parts of N. i ng. and N. York. May 

 June. 



2. CEAN6THUS. 



Calyx campanulate, 5-cleft ; the tipper portion at length 

 separating in a transverse line. Petals 5, longer than the calyx, 

 saccate and arched, with long claws. Stamens exsert Styles 

 mostly 3, united as far as the middle, separate above. Fruit a 

 dry, coriaceous capsule, obtusely triangular, 3-celled, ^-seeded, 

 surrounded at base by the persistent calyx-tube, 



