COKNEL FAMILY. 157 



Root perennial, 3-6 inches long, and about half an inch in diameter, often forked 

 downwards, whitish, transversely rugose. SLem 9-18 inches high, herbaceous, angular, 

 smooth, with a verticil of 3 (rarely 4) petiolate compound leaves at summit, and a simple 

 erect pedunculate umbel in the centre. Common petiole 3-4 inches long. Leaflets un- 

 equal, the 3 principal ones 3-5 inches long, the lateral ones much smaller. Umbel 

 many -flowered, the central flowers often abortive. Petals yellowish green. Ovary 

 compressed, cordate-ovate, or gibbous at base on each side. Fruit a fleshy drupaceous 

 reniform berry, crowned with the persistent calyx-teeth and styles, smooth, bright 

 crimson when mature. 



Rich woodlands : Northern and Western States. Fl. July. Ft: September. 



Obs. The root of this plant is slightly stimulant, and rather pleasantly 

 aromatic. It has long been, and continues to be, an article of some im- 

 portance in our commerce with China ; and although it has but little to 

 do with Agriculture, it is presumed that a brief description of a native 

 plant, so abundantly produced in our western forests and so highly 

 prized in the " Celestial Empire " will not be unacceptable. 



2. HE'DERA, L. IVY. 



[Xame supposed to be from*the Celtic word for cord.] 



Calyx of 5 teeth. Petals 5, broadest at base. Stamens 5-10. Style 

 simple, or 5-10, more or less combined. Berry with 3-10 seeds, 

 crowned by the calyx. Evergreen shrub adhering to objects by means 

 of numerous rootlets. 



1. H. HE'LIX, L. Leaves thick, angular-heart-simped, 3-5-lobed, 

 those of the flowering shoots ovate and pointed ; umbels erect. 

 English Ivy. Irish Ivy. 



Stem long and tortuous, climbing walls, &c., to a great height, and adhering firmly. 

 Leaves dark shining green, veined with white. Flowers in spherical heads or umbels, 

 yellowish green. Berries obscurely 4-angled, about the size of peas, black. 



Native of Europe. Cultivated. 



Obs. This beautiful vine thrives well, when planted in a northern ex- 

 posure, even at the south. The so-called Irish Ivy is a broader leaved 

 form. 



ORDER XXXV. CORNA'CE^E. (CORNEL FAMILY.) 



Chiefly small trees or shrubs, with mostly opposite entire leaves destitute of stipules, and 

 flowers in cymes, sometimes clustered into heads and surrounded by a large petaloid in- 

 volucre. Calyx adherent to the 2-celled ovary, the limb 4-toothed. Petals 4, valvate in 

 aestivation. Stamens us many as the petals, and alternate with them. Styles united into 1. 

 Fruit a 2-celled drupe, crowned with the persistent calyx-teeth. Seeds solitary, pendu- 

 lous : embryo nearly the length of the fleshy albumen. 



1. COR'NUS, Tournef. DOGWOOD. 



[Latin, Cornu, a horn ; from the horny toughness of the wood.] 



Calyx 4-toothed, the teeth minute. Petals oblong, spreading. Sta- 

 mens longer than the corolla. Style sub-clavate ; stigma obtuse or cap- 

 itate. Drupe oval or subglobose, with a 2 - 3-celled nut. 

 * Flowers capitate, with a Cleaved involucre. 



