484 ORDER 73. ERICACEAE. 



with divaricate branches, 1 to 3f high. Lvs. much larger than in the other spe- 

 cies, veins beneath pubescent. Berries globular, scarlet, translucent. Jn. 



2 O. paltistris Pers. St. filiform, prostrate; Ivs. ovate, entire, revoluto on the 

 margin ; pedicels terminal, 1-flowered ; segments of the corolla ovate. A pros- 

 trate under-shrub, found in Alpine bogs, Brit. Am. and N. States. Stems creep- 

 ing extensively, smooth, purple, with erect branches. Lvs. very small (2 to 3" 

 long), exactly ovate. Fls. several together on the summits of the branches. 

 Pedicels an inch in length, with 2 nearly opposite bracts in the middle. Cor. 

 light pink. Stamens purple. Fruit smaller than in the next species, crimson, 

 ripe in Oct. Fls. in June. 



3 O. macroccirptis Pers. St. creeping, filiform ; Ivs. oblong, obtuse at each end, 

 edges revolute, glaucous beneath; pedicels axillary, elongated, 1-flowered; seg- 

 ments of the corolla linear-lanceolate. Sphagnous swamps Va. to the Arc. Ocean. 

 Stems 8 15' in length, brown, with ascending branches. Lvs. numerous, 4 6" 

 by 2 3", rounded at each end, on very short petioles, smooth both sides. Fls. 

 flesh-colored, pedicels 5 15" long, solitary in the axils of the upper leaves. Berry 

 large, bright scarlet, ripe in Oct. Fls. in June. 



4. CHIOG'ENES, Salisb. (Gr. %i(*)v, snow, yevof, offspring; in allu- 

 sion to its evergreen habit.) Ca-lyx 4-cleft, persistent; cor. broadly 

 campanulate, limb deeply 4-cleft; stem. 8, included, filaments very 

 broad and short, anther cells distinct, awnless on the back, bicuspidate 

 at apex, opening longitudinally ; ovary adherent, except at the summit, 

 4-celled; fruit white, 4-celled, many-seeded. -A prostrate, evergreen 

 undershrub, with alternate leaves. Fls. solitary, axillary. (Fig. 38.) 



C. hispidula Ton*. & Gr. A delicate woody creeper, in old shady woods, moun- 

 tains, N. Eng. to Newfoundland, "W. to the R. Mts. Stems ligneous, slender, 

 creeping extensively, with numerous branches, and clothed with short, appressed, 

 reddish hairs. Leaves numerous, alternate, and roundish-oval, 6" by 3 4", 

 abruptly acute, dark evergreen above, paler beneath. Cor. white, its parts .in 4s. 

 The leaves and white berries have an agreeable spicy flavor like those of G-aul- 

 theria procumbens. (Vaccinium L.) May, Jn. 



SUBOKDER II. ERICINEJL THE HEATH TRIBE. 



5. ERPCA, L. HEATH. HEATHER. (Gr. speitta), to break ; in allu- 

 sion to the brittleness of the branches and stems.) Calyx 4-cleft ; cor. 

 tubular, globous, ovoid, urceolate, campanulate or hypocrateriform, 

 limb short, 4-lobed ; stam. 8 ; style filiform ; caps. 4, rarely 8 -celled, 

 4-valved, loculicidal ; seeds 2 co in each cell, affixed to the axillary pla- 

 centa, usually conformed to the smoothish or shining testa.- European, 

 or chiefly South African shrubs, branching, mostly brittle. Lvs. linear, 

 acerous, margin revolute, verticillate, rarely alternate. Fls. axillary, 

 : solitary, verticillate, or terminal, corymbous or capitate, mostly nodding. 

 Cor. of the cyanic series, from purple through red to white, very rarely 

 orange or yellow. 



Obs. Of this vast and beautiful genus, 429 species are described by Mr. Bentham in the Tro- 

 dromus of DC., Part vii., pp. C13 -693. All these species have been cultivated in Europe, and 

 many in this country, but their successful culture is attended with more care than that of most 

 other plants, and they have never as yet received general attention. To describe so few spe- 

 cies as the limits of this work would permit, where so many are rarely and none generally met 

 with, would be of little satisfaction to the student. 



6. KAL'MIA, L. AMERICAN LAUREL. (Named by Linnaeus in 

 honor of Peter Kalm, Prof, at Abo, Finland.) Calyx 5-parted, corolla 

 with 10 prominences beneath and 10 corresponding cavities within, in- 

 Deluding the 10 anthers ; border 5-lobed ; filam. elastic ; capsule 5-celled, 



