ROSACE^E. (ROSE FAMILY.) 149 



short and close ; petals roundish ; fruit red turning to dark crimson ; stone 

 smooth. River-banks : common, especially northward. May. A tall shrub, 

 seldom a tree, with grayish bark ; the fruit very austere and astringent till per- 

 fectly ripe. (P. obovata, Bigelow. P. serotina, of several authors. ) 



8. P. ser6tina, Ehrhart. (WILD BLACK CHERRY.) Leaves oblong or 

 lanceolate-oblong, taper-pointed, serrate with incurved short and callous teeth, thickish, 

 shining above ; racemes elongated ; petals obovate ; fruit purplish-black. 

 Woods : common. June. A fine large tree, with reddish-brown branches, 

 furnishing valuable timber to the cabinet-maker : also abounding eastward as a 

 shrub. Fruit slightly bitter, but with a pleasant vinous flavor. 



2. SPI11.2EA, L. MEADOW-SWEET. 



Calyx 5-cleft, short, persistent. Petals '5, obovate, equal, imbricated in the 

 bud (except in No. 6). Stamens 10-50. Pods (follicles) 2-12, several- (2- 

 15-) seeded. Flowers white or rose-color, sometimes dioecious : rarely the parts 

 are 4 instead of 5. (Name probably from airfipda), to wind, alluding to the fit- 

 ness of the plants to be formed into garlands.) 



1. PHYSOCARPOS, Camb. (NEILLIA, Don.) Shrubs with simple pal- 

 mately-lobed leaves and umbel-like corymbs : pods inflated and diverging when 

 grown, 2 ^-seeded : seeds pretty large, roundish, bitter, with a thick crustaceous 

 seed-coat, and rather copious albumen ! 



1. S. opulifblia, L. (NINE-BARK.) Leaves roundish, somewhat 3-lobed 

 and heart-shaped ; pods 2-5. Rocky river-banks, especially westward. June. 



Shrub 4 - 10 high, with long recurved branches, and white flowers, suc- 

 ceeded by membranaceous purplish pods : the old bark loose and separating in 

 numerous thin layers. 



2. SPIRAEA proper. Shrubs, with simple leaves ; the stipules obsolete : pods 

 (mostly 5) not inflated, several-seeded: seeds mostly linear and with a thin or 

 loose coat and no albumen, in this and the following sections. 



2. S. corymbbsa, Raf. Nearly smooth (l-2 high); leaves oval or 

 ovate, cut-toothed towards the apex; corymbs large, flat, several times compound; 

 flowers white. Alleghanies of Pennsylvania to Virginia and Kentucky. June. 



A form of S. betulaefolia, Pallas. 



3. S. salicifblia, L. (COMMON MEADOW-SWEET.) Nearly smooth (2 - 

 3 high) ; leaves wedge-lanceolate, simply or doubly serrate ; flowers in a crowded 

 panicle, white or flesh-color ; pods smooth. Wet or low grounds : also culti- 

 vated. July. (Eu.) 



4. S. tomentbsa, L. (HARDBACK. STEEPLE-BUSH.) Stems and lower 

 surface of the ovate or oblong serrate leaves very woolly ; flowers in short racemes 

 crowded in a dense panicle ; pods woolly. Low grounds : commonest in New 

 England. July. Flowers rose-color, rarely white. 



3. ULMARIA, Moench. Perennial herbs, with pinnate leaves and panickd 

 cymose flowers: cglyx reflexed : pods 5 -8 in number, 1 - 2-seeded. 



5. S. lobata, Murr. ( QUEEN OF THE PRAIRIE.) Glabrous (2 - 8 high) ; 

 leaves interruptedly pinnate ; the terminal leaflet very large, 7 - 9-parted, the 

 lobes incised and toothed ; stipules kidney-form ; panicle compound-clustered, 



