SA FIN DA CEA . 609 



I. AESCULUS L. 



Characters of the family. [Ancient name.] 

 Capsule spiny, at least when young; stamens exserted. 



Flowers white, mottled with yellow and purple ; leaflets abruptly acuminate. 



i. AE. Hippocastanum. 

 Flowers yellow. 



A tree; leaflets 5-7. 2. AE. glabra. 



A shrub; leaflets 7-9. 3. AE. arguta. 



Capsule glabrous; stamens not exceeding the petals. 



Corolla yellow, or purplish; calyx oblong; a tree. 4. AE. octandra. 



Corolla red; calyx tubular ; a shrub. 5. AE. Pavia. 



1. Aesculus Hippocastanum L. HORSE-CHESTNUT. (I. F. f. 2381.) A 

 large tree, the buds very resinous. Leaves long-petioled, glabrate when mature, 

 or with persistent tufts of hairs in the axils of the veins on the lower surface; 

 leaflets 5-7 (occasionally only 3 on some leaves), obovate, 1-2 dm. long, cuneate- 

 narrowed to the base, irregularly crenulate-dentate; inflorescence rather dense, 

 often 3 dm. long, the pedicels and calyx canescent; fruit globose. Escaped from 

 cultivation, N. Eng. to southern N. Y. and N. J. Native of Asia. June-July. 



2. Aesculus glabra Willd. FETID BUCKEYE. OHIO BUCKEYE. (I. F. f. 

 2382.) Bark rough and fetid. Leaves long-petioled; leaflets 7.5-15 cm. long, 

 oval, oblong or lanceolate, acuminate, narrowed at the base, glabrous or slightly 

 pubescent on the veins beneath, finely serrate; inflorescence loose, pubescent, i- 

 1.5 dm. long; flowers pale yellow; calyx campanulate; petals 4, 1-1.4 cm - l n g> 

 slightly unequal, their claws about equalling the calyx-lobes; stamens curved, ex- 

 serted; fruit 2.5-3.7 cm. in diameter, prickly when young, becoming smoothish. 

 Woods, Penn. to Ala., Mich., Neb. and the Ind. Terr. April-May. 



3. Aesculus arguta Buckl. SHRUBBY OR WESTERN BUCKEYE. (I. F. f. 

 2383.) A shrub, 1-3 m. high, with smooth bark. Twigs, young petioles, leaves 

 and inflorescence somewhat pubescent, becoming glabrate; leaflets narrow, 7-10 

 cm. long, about 2.5 cm. wide, long-acuminate, unequally serrate; inflorescence 

 dense, 1-1.5 dm. l n gl flowers yellow, " the centre reddish; " calyx broadly cam- 

 panulate, its lobes very obtuse; stamens exserted, curved; petals 1-1.2 cm. long; 

 fruit very spiny when young. Kans. and the Ind. Terr, to Tex. March-April. 



4. Aesculus octandra Marsh. YELLOW, SWEET OR BIG BUCKEYE. (I. F. 

 f. 2384.) A large tree, rarely reduced to a shrub; bark dark brown, scaly. Leaf- 

 lets 5, rarely 7, 1-2 dm. long, 5-7.5 cm. wide, oval, more or less pubescent be- 

 neath, acuminate, the lower ones oblique, the others cuneate at the base, all finely 

 serrate; inflorescence rather loose, puberulent; petals 4, long-clawed, connivent, 

 the 2 upper narrower and longer than the lower. Woods, Penn. to Ga., Iowa 

 and Tex. April-May. 



Aesculus octdndra hybrida(DC.) Sarg. PURPLISH BUCKKYE. Flowers purplish or 

 pink; leaflets pubescent beneath; bark light brown. W. Va. to Ga. and Tex. 



5. Aesculus Pavia L. RED BUCKEYE. (I. F. f. 2385.) A shrub, 1-4 m. 

 high. Leaflets 5-7, stalked, oblong, lanceolate, or obovate, 7.5-13 cm. long, 

 2.5-3.75 cm - wide, acute or short-acuminate, narrowed at the base, finely serrate, 

 nearly glabrous on both sides when mature, shining; inflorescence loose; peduncles 

 l-3-flowered; flowers 2. 5 -4 cm. Ions:; calyx-lobes short; upper petals longer than the 

 lower. In rich soil, Va. to Fla., Ky., Mo. and Ark. April-May. 



Aesculus parviflfcra Walt., a low shrub with 5-foliolate puberulent leaves and 

 long thyrses of yellowish flowers, the stamens long-exserted, has been found as an 

 escape from cultivation in southeastern Penn. It is a native of the Southern States. 



Family ii. SAPINDACEAE R. Br. 



Soapberry Family. 



Trees or shrubs, with watery sap, rarely herbaceous vines. Leaves 

 alternate (opposite in one exotic genus), mostly pinnate or palmate, with- 

 out stipules. Flowers polygamo-dioecious, regular or slightly irregular. 

 Sepals or calyx-lobes 4 or 5, mostly imbricated. Petals 3-5. Disk fleshy. 



