251 ERICACEAE. (HEATH FAMILY.) 



$ 3* PlfeRIS, Don. Corolla ovoid-oblong or cylindraceous : filaments slender and 

 aid-shaped, appendaged with a spreading or recurved bristle on each side at or below 

 the apex: anthers oblong, awnless : sutures of the 5-angular pod with a more or less 

 thickened line or ridge, which often falls away separately when the pod opens : seeds 

 turned in all directions, oblong, with a thin and rather loose reticulated coat : fiowers 

 in umbel-like clusters variously arranged. 



3. A. Mariana, L. (STAGGER-BUSH.) Nearly glabrous ; leaves decid- 

 uous, but rather coriaceous, oval or oblong, veiny ; flowers large and nodding, 

 in clusters from axillary scaly buds, which are crowded on naked branches of 

 the preceding year ; sepals pretty large, leaf-like, deciduous with the leaves. 

 Sandy low places, Rhode Island to Virginia near the coast, and southward. 

 May, June. Shrub 2 -4 high : foliage said to poison lambs and calves. 



(A. NlriDA, Bartram, the FETTERBUSH, belongs to this group, and may 

 grow in S. Virginia.) 



4. LY6NIA, Nutt. Calyx 5-deft: corolla globular, pubescent: filaments and 

 anthers destitute of awns or appendages: pods prominently ribbed at the sutures, the 

 ribs at length separating or separable : seeds slender, all pendulous, with a loose and 

 thin cellular coat : Jlowers small, mostly in clusters which are racemose-panicled : 

 bracts minute and deciduous : leaves pubescent or scurfy beneath. 



4. A. ligTiStrilia, Muhl. Leaves deciduous, not scurfy, smoothish when 

 old, obovate-oblong varying to oblong-lanceolate ; flowers racemose-panicled on 



/-i branchlets of the preceding year. Swamps and low thickets, N. England along 

 the coast to Virginia, and southward. June, July. Shrub 4 - 10 high. 



11. OXYDENDRUM, DC. SORREL-TREE. SOUR-WOOD. 



Calyx without bractlets, of 5 almost distinct sepals, valvate in the bud. Corol- 

 la ovate, 5-toothed, puberulent. Stamens 10 : anthers fixed near the base, linear, 

 awnless, the cells tapering upwards, and opening by a long chink. Pod oblong- 

 pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved ; the many-seeded placentae at the base of the cells. 

 Seeds all ascending, slender, the thin and loose reticulated coat extended at both 

 ends into awl-shaped appendages. A tree with deciduous, oblong-lanceolate 

 and pointed, soon smooth, serrulate leaves, on slender petiojes, and white flowers 

 in long one-sided racemes clustered in an open panicle, which terminates the 

 branches of the season. Bracts and bractlets minute, deciduous. Foliage sou? 

 to the taste (whence the name, from ovsj sour, and devdpov, tree). 



1. O. arfooreum, DC. (Andromeda arborea, L.) Rich woods, from 

 Penn. and Ohio southward, mostly along the Alleghanies. June, July. Tree 

 40 - 60 high. Leaves in size and shape like those of the Peach. 



12. CLETHRA, L. WHITE ALDER. SWEET PEPPERBUSH. 



Calyx of 5 sepals, imbricated in the bud. Corolla of 5 distinct obovate-oblong 

 petals. Stamens 10, often exserted : anthers inversely arrow-shaped, inverted 

 and reflexed in the bud, opening by terminal pores or short slits. Style slender, 

 3-cleft.at the apex. Pod 3-valved, 3-celled, many-seeded, enclosed in the calyx. 

 Shrubs, with alternate and serrate deciduous leaves, and white flowers in termi 



