THE BLADDERNUT FAMILY 



STAPHYLEACE.E de Candolle 



HIS family includes some 5 genera, with probably 25 species of trees 

 or shrubs of wide geographic distribution. They are of no economic 

 value, but are sometimes planted for ornament. 



The Staphyleaceae have mostly opposite, rarely alternate, odd 

 pinnate or trifoliolate leaves. The flowers are regular and perfect, disposed in 

 racemes or panicles, terminal or axillary; the calyx is composed of 5 sepals, the 

 corolla of the same number of petals, which are longer than the sepals and imbri- 

 cated; stamens 5, inserted under the edge of a cup-like disk, their filaments dis- 

 tinct; anthers 2-cellcd, introrse; the ovary, of 2 or 3 partly united carpels, is 

 sessile, its 3 styles are distinct or united; stigmas simple; the ovules are borne in one 

 or two rows. The fruit is an inflated bladder-like membranous capsule, or 

 berry-like or drupaceous in some exotic genera; the seed is hard and bony, usually 

 shining, with scant fleshy endosperm and a straight embryo. 



There is one genus with 2 species of shrubs in our area, one of which occasionally 

 becomes arborescent. 



BLADDERNUT 



GENUS STAPHYLEA LINN^US 

 Species Staphylea trifoliata Linnaeus 



LADDERNUT is a well-known shrub, frequent in thickets from 

 Quebec to Minnesota, southward to Georgia and Arkansas; it has 

 recently been reported as being arborescent in Floyd county, Georgia, 

 and in Montgomery county, Alabama, by Dr. Roland M. Harper, 

 attaining the height of 9 meters, with a trunk diameter of 1.5 dm. As a shrub 

 it often reaches a height of 5 meters. 



The bark is smooth, and striped with light green or white. The twigs are slightly 

 angular, pithy, light green and more or less shining, becoming dark brown, dull, 

 and profusely striped with white. The buds are broadly ovoid, about 3 mm. 

 long, covered by broad smooth scales. The leaves are opposite, trifoHolate, the 

 leaflets being ovate, elliptic or obovate, 5 to 10 cm. long, usually taper-pointed, 

 finely toothed on the margin, the lateral pair unequally rounded or narrowed at 

 the base, the terminal one equal and stalked ; they are hairy at first, soon becom- 

 ing nearly smooth and bright green above, paler and slightly hairy beneath ; the 

 stipules are linear, 8 to 12 mm, long, tinged with red, and soon fall off. The bell- 



636 



