AQUIFOLI ACE AE CELASTRUS 61 5 



Fig. 345. Waahoo (Enonymus atropurpureus). 345a. Bitter sweet (Celastrus scandens). 



pod globose, orange color, 2-4-celled dehiscent into as many valves; seeds en- 

 closed in a scarlet aril ; endosperm fleshy. About 30 species. 



Celastrus scandens L. Shrubby or Climbing Bittersweet 



Chiefly climbing shrubs with alternate leaves; flowers small, polygamo-dioe- 

 cious; calyx 5-lobed; petals 5; stamens 5, inserted under the 5-lobed disk; 

 capsule globose, orange-colored, 3-celled and 3-valved ; seeds 1-2 in each cell, 

 enclosed in a pulpy aril. About 30 species. The C. articulatus and several 

 other species are commonly cultivated and are hardy. Several species are 

 natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 



Distribution. From Quebec to Manitoba in Canada, and from Kansas to 

 Indian Territory, New Mexico and the Carolinas. 



Poisonous properties. The aril of "Bitter-sweet" has a sweetish, somewhat 

 disagreeable taste. The leaves of the plant are said to be poisonous to horses. 

 The plant Euonymous contains the amorphous bitter, odorless substance, euony- 

 min, which acts as a powerful heart poison. The waahoo acts as a drastic 

 purgative. The symptoms are those of deathly nausea, vertigo, prostration and 

 cold sweat. 



ACERACEAE. Maple Family 



Trees or shrubs with opposite, simple or compound leaves; flowers poly- 

 gamous or dioecious in cymose or racemose clusters; calyx 5-parted; petals 

 of the same number or none; stamens 4-12, inserted on a fleshy disk; ovary 

 2-lobed and 2-celled; styles 2, fruit a samara, exalbuminous ; cotyledons thin, 

 folded. There are 3 genera and about 100 species most of them in the genus 

 Acer, the maples being widely distributed in temperate regions. The maple, 

 (Acer) is commonly used for the manufacture of furniture and for inferior 

 finishings, floorings, etc. The most highly prized are the hard maples (Acer 

 nig rum and A. saccharum). Sugar maple is also derived from these species. 

 Curly maple is only a form of wood of these and of the A. macrophyllum of the 

 Pacific Coast, which is also much prized for cabinet work. The maples, in- 

 cluding the box elder (Negundo aceroides or A. Negundo), are also used for 

 shade trees. The silver maple (A. saccharinum) is widely distributed in the 

 United States. The red maple (A. rubrum} is less commonly used. The bark 

 of A. rubrum was used by the Indians as a remedy for sore eyes. 



