606 ARALIACEAE (GINSENG FAMILY^ 



* Umbels numerous in a large compound panicle ; leaves very large, decompoumt 



1. A. spinbsa L. (Angelica-tree, Hehcules' Club.) Shrub, or a low 

 tree; the stout stem and stalks prickly; leaflets ovate, pointed, serrate, pale 

 beneath. —River-banks, s. N. Y. to Mo., and south w. July, Aug. 



2. A. racembsa L. (Spikenard.) Herbaceous ; stem widely branched ; leaf- 

 lets heart-ovate, pointed, doubly serrate, slightly downy ; umbels racemose ; 

 styles united. — Rich woodlands. July. — Well known for its spicy-aromatic 

 large roots. 



* * Umbels mostly 2-7, corymbed ; stem short, somewhat woody. 



3. A. hispida Vezit. (Bristly Sarsaparilla, Wild Elder.) Stem 4-9 

 dm. high, bristly, leafy, terminating in a peduncle bearing several umbels; 

 leaves twice pinnate; leaflets oblong-ovate, acute, cut-serrate. — Rocky and 

 sandy places, Nfd. to Hudson Bay, s. to N. C, W. Va., Ind., Mich., and Minn. 

 June, July. 



4. A. nudicaulis L. (Wild Sarsaparilla.) Stem scarcely rising out of the 

 ground, smooth, bearing a single long-stalked leaf (2-4 dm. high) and a shorter 

 naked scape, with 2-7 umbels ; leaflets oblong-ovate or oval, pointed, serrate, 



5 on each of the 3 divisions. — Moist woodlands ; Nfd. to Gd., Col., and Ida. 

 May, June. — The long horizontal aromatic roots a substitute for officinal Sarsa- 

 parilla. Var. ELONGA.TA Nash, from the Catskill Mts., has been distinguished 

 because of its somewhat longer narrower leaflets (13-15 cm. long, 4 cm. widb), 

 which are paler beneath. Var. PROLfrERA Apgar, of w. N. J., has more divided 

 leaves with 25-40 leaflets and proliferous inflorescence with 5-70 umbelletSo 



2. pAnAX L. Ginseng 



Flowers dioeciously polygamous. Umbel solitary, simple, terminal. Carpels 

 2-3. — Herbaceous perennials, springing from thickish roots or tubers, the erect 

 simple stems bearing a solitary whorl of 3 palmate leaves. (Name from ttSj, all, 

 and &KOS, cure, that is, all-healing, a panacea.) Often included in Aralia. 



1. P. quinquef51ium L. (Ginseng.) Boot large and spindle-shaped, often 

 forked, 1-2 dm. long, aromatic ; stem 3 dm. high ; leaflets long-stalked, mostly 

 5, large and thin, obovate-oblong, pointed ; styles mostly 2 ; fruit bright red. 

 {Aralia Dene. & Planch.) — Rich and cool woods. Que. and Ont., s. to N. E., 

 N. Y., Great L. region, e. la., Mo., and along the mts. to Ga. July. — Much 

 sought for the root, which is purchased by the Chinese and extensively employed 

 by them in their medicine, as is also the even more highly prized Asiatic 

 P. ginseng C. A. Mey. 



2. P. trifblium L. (Dwarf G., Ground-nut.) Boot or tuber globular, ^.e^"^ 

 in the ground ; stem 1-2 dm. high ; leaflets 3-5, sessile at the summit of the leaf- 

 stalk, narrowly oblong, obtuse ; styles usually 3 ; fruit yellowish. {Aralia Dene. 



6 Planch.) —Rich woods, N. S. to w. Ont., s. to Del., Md., 111., la., and along 

 the mts. to Ga. Apr., May. 



3. fAtSIA Dene. & Planch. 



Flowers perfect or polygamous. Umbels numerous in simple or compound 

 racemes or paniculately disposed. Calyx-margin narrow or obsolete, obscurely 

 crenate-lobed. Carpels (in ours) 2. — Stout sometimes arborescent shrubs, oura 

 very prickly. Leaves simple, long-petioled, the limb suborbicular, palmately 

 lobed. (Name from the Japanese vernacular designation of one of the species.) 

 EcHiNOPANAx Dene. & Planch. Oplopanax Miquel. 



1. F. h6rrida (Sm.) B. & H. (Devil's Club.) Coarse shrub, thickly besel 

 with stramineous prickles ; leaves 1-3 dm. in diameter, with 5-13 deltoid acute 

 lobes, the margin sharply and unevenly serrate, the ribs prickly beneath, 

 {Echinopanax Dene. & Planch.) — Rocky cliffs, etc., Isle Royale, L. Superior 

 ( W. A. Wheeler") ; and from the Rocky Mts. to Cai. and s. Alaska. (Japan.) 



