ERICACEAE. 449 



liaccatc esculent, or nt. least innoceiil, yet tlie leaves of aoine (siieli as IJcarberry) arc used in 

 medicine, and others are reputed poisonous to eattie ; wliih; llie lioney made Irom tlic Wossoms 

 of Rlindodcndron and Azalea has Irom early times a bad reputation. Very many arc prized in 

 cultivation for their showy flowers. 



Suborder I. VACCINIEyE. 



Corolla and stamons epigynous, i. e. raised to or near tlio summit of tli(3 ovary, 

 the calyx-tube being adiiate. Fruit a berry, crowned with the vestiges of the calyx- 

 teeth. — Shrubby plants, with scaly leaf-buds. To tliis belong the Huckleberries 

 of the Atlantic States, the Blueberries, Bilberries, and Cranberries, all of the genus, 



1. Vaccinium. Calyx 4 - 5-toothed on the summit of the ovary. Stamens 8 or 10. Berry 



many-seeded. 



Suborder II. ERICINEiE. 



Corolla gamopetalous, or rarely of distinct petals, and with the stamens hypo- 

 gynniifl, the calyx being free. Anthers introrso in the bud. — Shrubby plants or 

 Hiniill trcM^s. 



♦ Fruit flcflliy, a liorry or a l)on7-llkn dnipo : corolla fi-tootlied, dociduous. 



2. Arbutiia. <")vary fi-cpllcd, mnny-ovulod. IWry mntiy-sended. 



13. Arctostaphylos. Ovary 5-10-colled, with a single ovulo in each coll. Drupe 5-10- 

 seeded or by abortion fewer. 



♦ ♦ Fruit a capsule enclosed within a fle.shy calyx, seeming like a berry. 



4. Gaultheria. Corolla 5-toothcd or 5-lobed. Ovary S-cellcd, S-lobed. 



* * * Fruit a naked capsule, the calyx remaining dry underneath. Corolla deciduous. 

 +■ Anthers with points or awns : cajisulc loculicidal. 



5. Leucothoe. Corolla with a narrowed 5-toothed orifice. Leaves petioled. 



6. Cassiope. Corolla open-campanulate, 5-lobed. Leaves scale-like or Heath-like, sessile, im- 



bricated. 



■^+- Anthers destitute of points, awns, or other appendages : capsule septicidal. 



++ C'orolla gamopetalons : pedicels subtended by foliaceous or firm-coriaceous persistent bracts : 

 seeds with a close coat : leaves evergreen. 



7. Bryanthus. Leaves lleatli-like. Corolla without ])ouches. 



8. Kalmla. Loaves l)road. Corolla with 10 jioucdios liolding the anthci-s. 



++ +t ('orolla gamopotalotia : pedioela subtended l)y Ihin scnrious bracts, forming a scaly bud, 



these deciduous when the flowers develop : seed-cont loose. 

 ft. Menzlesla. Corolla globular-campanulate, 4-toothed. Leaves deciduous. 



10. Rhododendron. Corolla funnclform or campanulate, 5-lobcd. 



++ ++ +t Corolla 5-potalous : seed-coat loose. 



11. Ledum. Leaves broad. Flowers in an umbel : scaly bracts deciduous. 



SunoRDEu TIT. PyROLE/E. 



Corolla of 5 (rarely 4) distinct jietals, and with the stamons hypogynous, the 

 calyx being free. Anthers extmrso in the bud, the pores downward, introrse in 

 the open flower, the pores upward. Seeds extremely numerous, with very loose 

 cellular and translucent coat, many times larger than the nucleus. — Herbaceous or 

 nearly herbaceous and broad-leaved low perennials, one species leaflc'^s. 



12. Chlmaphila. Flowers in a corymb or umlwl on a leafy stem. IVtaN widely spreading. 



Stylo very short, top-shaped : stigma broad and orbicnlar, ]>eUntn. 



13. Moiieses. Flower solitary on a scape. Petals widely spreading. Style sti-aight : stigma 



5-niycd. 



14. Pyrola. Flowers in a raceme on a scape. Petals not widely spreading. Stylo long : stigtnn 



various. 



