LESSONS IN BOTANY. 237 



maple and the red maple. The hard and soft maples furnish ex- 

 cellent timber, much used in the manufacture of furniture. 



The buckeye and the horse-chestnut, near relatives of the 

 maples, have white, somewhat irregular flowers arranged in a 

 conical cluster called a panicle, and large, palmately compound 

 leaves. 



The Ampelideae or Vine Family consists mainly of woody 

 shrubs or vines climbing by tendrils. The leaves are simple, 

 rounded and heart shaped, sometimes lobed. In some cases the 

 leaves and young shoots are covered with a cotton-like down. 

 Flowers small and greenish forming a cluster called a panicle. 

 The calyx is short, and connected by a thick disk with the ovary. 

 On this disk the petals and stamens are inserted, five thick 

 glands or lobes of the disk alternating with the stamens. The 

 petals cohere slightly at the top and the corolla is thrown off 

 without expanding. 



The vine has been cultivated and used by man from the earli- 

 est times. It is indigenous to southern Asia and North America. 

 There are many varieties. The best wine and raisin grapes grow 

 in southern Europe. 



The Virginia Creeper climbing by tendrils and rootlets belongs 

 to this family. The flowers form a cymose cluster and the pal- 

 mately compound leaf with five lance oblong cut tooth leaflets 

 changing to crimson in autumn make it highly prized as an orna- 

 mental vine. 



The Euphorbiaceze or Spurge Family is a vast group of more 

 than 3,000 species, distributed through a wide range of climate, 

 but growing most abundantly in tropical regions. They vary in 

 size and habit from a tiny creeping plant to a giant tree. They 

 usually have a milky, acrid, often poisonous juice, with flowers 

 varying widely in structure, but the ovary and fruit are usually 

 three-celled. Tapioca, castor and croton oil, caoutchouc and 

 several valuable woods are furnished by members of this family. 

 Many species, with thick succulent stems are cultivated for 

 ornament. 



The Umbelliferse or Parsley Family is a large and widely dis- 



