VOL. II.] 



HEATH FAMILY. 



569 



Fetter-bush. (Fig. 2769.) 



2. Pieris nitida (Bartr.) Benth. & Hook. 



Andromeda nitida Bartr. ; Marsh. Arb. Amer. 



8. 1788. 

 Pieris nitida Benth. & Hook. Gen. PI. 2: 588. 



1876. 



A glabrous shrub, 2-6 high, the 

 branches slender, ascending or erect, leafy, 

 acutely angled, sparingly black-dotted. 

 Leaves short-petioled, coriaceous, ever- 

 green, oblong, oval, oblong- lanceolate, or 

 obovate, acuminate or acute at the apex, 

 narrowed at the base, somewhat black- 

 dotted beneath, the margins entire, revo- 

 lute, bordered by an intra-marginal nerve; 

 flowers in axillary umbels, nodding or 

 spreading; pedicels 2 // -4 // long; calyx- 

 segments ovate-lanceolate, rigid, purplish, 

 valvate in the bud, soon spreading; corolla 

 white or red, ovoid-cylindric, narrowed at 

 the throat, 3 // -4 // long; filaments 2-spurred; 

 style thickened above the middle; capsule 

 globose, about as long as the calyx-seg- 

 ments; seeds club-shaped. 



In wet woods, southeastern Virginia to 

 Florida and Louisiana. Also in Cuba. April- 

 May. 



3. Pieris Mariana (L/.) Benth. & Hook. Stagger-bush. (Fig. 2770.) 



Andromeda Mariana L. Sp. PI. 393. 1753. 

 Pieris Mariana Benth. & Hook. Gen. PI. a: 588. 



1876. 



A shrub, i-4 high, the branches nearly 

 erect, slender, glabrous or nearly so, black- 

 dotted. Leaves membranous, tardily decidu- 

 ous, oval or oblong, glabrous above, sparingly 

 pubescent on the veins and black-dotted 

 beneath, acute or obtuse, narrowed or some- 

 times obtuse at the base, entire, 2 / ~3 / long, 

 the margins slightly revolute; flowers nod- 

 ding in lateral umbels on the nearly leafless 

 branches of the preceding season, forming an 

 elongated compound inflorescence; calyx- 

 segments lanceolate, acuminate, almost folia- 

 ceous, deciduous; corolla ovoid-cylindric, 

 white, or faintly pink, 5 //r -6 /x long; filaments 

 pubescent on the outer side, usually with 2 

 setose appendages below the summit; capsule 

 ovoid-pyramidal, i^ // -2 // high, truncate, 

 about as long as the sepals; seeds club-shaped. 



In sandy soil, Rhode Island to Florida, 

 mostly near the coast. Also in Tennessee and 

 Arkansas (according to Gray). May-July. 



14. XOLISMA Raf. Am. Month. Mag. 4: 193. 1819. 

 [LYONIA Nutt. Gen. i: 266. 1818. Not Raf., 1808, nor Ell., 1817.] 

 Tall shrubs, or small trees, with terete twigs, alternate short-petioled leaves, and small 

 mostly white flowers in terminal or axillary, usually panicled racemes or clusters. Calyx 4- 

 5-lobed or 4-5-cleft, the lobes not imbricated, valvate. Corolla globose, or urceolate, pu- 

 bescent, 4-5-toothed, the teeth recurved. Stamens 8-10, included; filaments flat, incurved, 

 pubescent; anthers attached to the filaments near their bases, truncate, not awned, the sacs 

 opening by large terminal pores. Disk 8-io-lobed. Ovary 4-5-celled; style columnar; 

 stigma truncate; ovules numerous, pendulous, attached to the upper part of the placentae. 

 Capsule globose or ovoid, 4-5 -angled, loculicidally 4~5-valved, its apex intruded. Seeds 

 numerous, elongated, the testa membranous, loose, reticulated. [Name unexplained.] 



About 10 species, natives of eastern North America, the West Indies and Mexico. Besides the 

 following, another occurs in the southern United States. 



