344 



THE KINDS OF PLANTS 



B. Trees (or tall shrubs). 



C. Leaves simple (more or less palmately lobed) 

 or (in 1 species) 3-5 pinnately compound: 



fruit a samara (with 2 winged seeds) 2. Acer 



CC. Leaves digitately compound, 5-9 leaflets 3. ^sculus 



BB. Shrubs: leaves pinnately 3-7 compound: fruit a 



large bladdery pod 4. Staphylea 



1. CAEDIOSPfiRMUM. Balloon-vine. Heart-seed. 



Vines climbiugiby axillary, hook-like tendiils among flower clusters: 

 leaves alternate, biternate, leaflets toothed : flowers dioecious, or some per- 

 fect: sepals 4, 2 of them smaller: petals 4, irregular, each with an appen- 

 dage at inner base: stamens 8, filaments unequal: style short, 3-cleft: ovary 

 triangular, S-cplled, I ovule to each cavity: capsule membranous, much 

 inflated. 



C. Halicacabum, Linn. Climbing or spreading herb, delicate and 

 slender: leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acute, cut and toothed: flowers small, 

 •white: fruit large, balloon-like, decorative: seeds black with white scar, 

 hard, round. Cultivated. Summer. 



2. ACER. Maple. Box-elder. 



Trees or shrubs, with opposite lobed or parted leaves (pinnate in box- 

 elder) : flowers small and greenish or reddish, in early spring and often 

 from winter buds, in box-elder dicecious, in true maples 

 perfect (or imperfectly diclinous) : calyx about 5-cleft: 

 petals 5 or none: stamens usually 3-8: fruit a samara 

 "^i^mlSe £^f^J' with 2 seeds and 2 wings. Two shrubby woods maples 

 are common in some parts of the country. 



a. Maples: leaves simple, palmately lobed. 

 b. Flowers from lateral winter huds, preceding the 

 leaves: fruit ricAuring very early. 

 A. saccharinum, Linn. (A. dasycarpnm, Waugh). 

 *64. White or silver maple. Fig. 4G4. Flow- 



Acer saccharinum. ^^^ greenish, with no petals: leaves 

 very deeply 5-lobed, silvery white beneath, the narrow iv>^> 

 divisions lobed and toothed: fruit with large spreading f ,^ 

 ■wings, downy when young. Common along streams and in 

 low grounds; much planted. There is a cut-leaved form 

 known as Wier's maple, popular as a lawn tree. Wood 

 white. Linnaeus thought it to be the sugar maple, hence 

 his name "saccharinum." 



A. rtbrum, Linn. Bed, soft, or swamp maple. Fig. 465. -^.oer rubrum. 

 Tree usually of only medium size: flowers red. with narrow-oblong petals: 

 leaves rather small, not deeply 3-5-lobed, whitish beneath, the lobes serrate 

 and toothed: fruit with nearly parallel or slightly spreading wings, not 

 downy. Low grounds. 



