432 ERICACEiE. Clethra. 



pedicels and calyx clothed with a whitish down. Sepals oblong, obtuse. Petals obovate- 

 spatulate, slightly connected at the base. Stamens exserted : filaments smooth : anthers in 

 the unexpanded flower reflexed on the filament, so that the true base appears to be the 

 summit. Ovary hairy : style ratlier longer than the stamens. Capsule small, globose, first 

 dehiscing loculicidally, and finally through the dissepiments. Seeds oval, angular, reticulated 

 and rough. 



Swamps and wet thickets ; southern part of the State, and Long Island. I have not found 

 it north or west of the Highlands. Fl. End of July - August. Fr. October. A handsome 

 plant, bearing numerous spikes of white sweet-scented flowers. It is known in some places 

 by the name of White Alder. 



3. EPIGiEA. Linn. ; Sioartz, fl. Ind. occ. 2. p. 842 ; Endl. gen. 4322. 



GROUND LAUREL. 



[From the Greek, epi, upon, and ge, the earth; in allusion to the prostrate habit.] 



Calyx deeply 5-parted, colored, with three bracts at the base ; the lobes acuminate. Corolla 

 salver-form, with the limb 5-parted. Stamens 10 : anthers opening longitudinally. Capsule 

 depressed-globose, 5-celled, covered with the persistent calyx. Seeds several in each cell. 

 — Sufi'ruticose, trailing or assurgent evergreens. Leaves cordate, entire or serrate. Flowers 

 in short dense axillary and terminal fasciculate racemes, white or rose-color. 



1. Epig^a repens, Linn. Ground Laurel. Trailing Arbutus. 



Stem prostrate, creeping ; leaves cordate-ovate, entire ; corolla hairy inside. — Linn. sp. 1. 

 p. 395 ; Lam. ill. t. 367. f. 1 ; Michx.fl. \.p. 250 ; Bot. repos. t. 102 ; Pursh,fl. I. p. 297 ; 

 Ell. sk. l.p. 501 ; Bigel.fl. Bost. p. 164; Torr.fl. 1. p. 428 ; Bot. reg. t. 201 ; Beck, hot. 

 p. 219 ; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. 2 ;). 42 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 259; DC. prodr. 7. p. 591. 



Stem woody, spreading on the ground and rooting at the joints, clothed (as are the petioles) 

 with stiff" brownish hairs. Leaves 1-2 inches long, more or less cordate at the base, obtuse 

 or with a short mucronate point, sprinkled and fringed with hairs ; the petiole half an inch or 

 more in length. Flowers rather large and ornamental, conspicuously bracteate, fragrant. 

 Sepals ovate, acute, smooth. Corolla tubular-salverform, with a somewhat spreading border, 

 rose-color or almost white ; the lobes ovate, obtuse, very hairy inside toward the base. 

 Stamens shorter than the corolla : filaments hairy at the base : anthers linear. Style straight : 

 stigma obtusely 5-lobed. Capsule obtusely 5-angled ; the placentae large and 2-lobed. Seeds 

 ovate. 



Dry sandy woods, and hill-sides. Fl. April - May. Fr. July. This plant has acquired 

 some celebrity as a domestic remedy for gravel. It is sold by the Shakers, under the name 

 of Gravel plant. 



