402 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



C. tomontosa has a hard shell. The bitternut (C. cordiformis) and pignut (C. 

 glabra have soft shells. The bark of hickories is used to flavor and color 

 glucose to imitate maple sugar. 



FAGALES 



Monoecious or rarely dioecious trees or shrubs, with simple alternate leaves ; 

 stipules deciduous; calyx usually present; corolla usually wanting; staminate 

 flowers in catkins; stamens 4-20; pistillate flowers solitary, clustered in scaly 

 catkins ; ovary more or less 2-7-celled with 1-2 pendulous, straight ovules, all the 

 ovules but one disappearing in fruit; involucre becoming a burr or cup; embryo 

 large; endosperm none. This is an important order, including the chesnut, oak, 

 birches and alders. The bark of a few species of Quercus, because of its as- 

 tringent qualities is used in medicine. The European filbert (Corylus Avellana) 



Fig. 183. American Chestnut (Castanea americana). 1. Flower- 

 ing branch. 2. Staminate flower, enlarged. 3. Diagram of pistillate 

 flower, cluster. 4. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Longitudinal sec- 

 tion of involucre of pistillate flowers. 6. Portion of fruiting branch. 

 7. Longitudinal section of fruit. 8. Involucral spine. 9. End of 

 young branchlet. 1, 6, 7, one-half natural size. M. M. Cheney. 



