294 LXVIII. ARALIACE^E. ARALIA 



ceil leaf triternately decompound. Involucrate Ivs. solitary , biternately 

 compound. Involucels of 3 6 entire, linear-spatulate bracts. 



E. BULBOSA. Nutt. (Sison. MicJix. Hydrocotyle composita. PA.) 

 A small, early-flowering herb, along the shady banks of streams, Western 

 N. Y. (Tarr. fy Gray.} W. to Ohio ! and Mo. Plant 46' high, with 24 

 leaves, the lower one radical, numerously divided, the divisions incisely cleft 

 into narrow segments ; the upper ones bract-like, similarly divided, each sub- 

 tending a 3-rayed umbel of white flowers. March, Apr. 



30. CORIANDRUM. 



Gr. KopiS, a bug ; on account of the smell of the leaves. 



Calyx with 5 conspicuous teeth ; petals obcordate, inflexed at the 

 point, outer ones radiate, bifid ; fruit globose ; carpels cohering, with 

 5 depressed, primary ribs, and 4 secondary, more prominent ones ; 

 seeds concave on the face. (D Smooth. Invol. or \-leaved. Invo- 

 lucels 3-leaved, unilateral. 



C. SATIVUM. Coriander. Lvs. bipinnate, lower ones with broad-cuneate 

 leaflets, upper with linear ones ; carpels hemispherical. Native of Europe, &c. 

 This well known plant is cultivated chiefly for the seeds, which are used as a 

 spice, as a nucleus for sugar-plums, &c. Stem 2f high. Leaves numerously 

 divided, strong-scented. Umbels with only the partial involucra. Flowers 

 white. Jl. $ 



ORDER LXVIII. ARALIACE^E. ARALIADS. 



Trees, shrubs or herbs, with the habit of umbellifers. 



Cal. superior, entire or toothed. 



Cor. Petals 5 10, deciduous, rarely 0, valvate in aestivation. 



Sta. equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them. Anth. introrse. 



Ova. crowned with a disk, 2 or many-celled. Ovules solitary. Styles as many as cells. 



Fr. baccate or drupaceous, of several one-seeded cells. 



Genera 21, species 160, nearly allied to Umbelliferae, from which they are distinguished chiefly by the 

 several-celled ovary and fleshy fruit. They are natives of northern temperate climes of both hemis- 



ie res. Several species are well known in medicine, &c., as ginseng, spikenard, sarsaparilla, &c. The 

 tter is sometimes substituted for the sarsaparilla of the shops. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



( Flowers perfect Aralia. 1 



t compound. ? Flowers polygamous Panax. 2 



Leaves < simple, angular and lobed Hedera. 3 



1. ARALIA. 



Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, limb short, 5-toothed or entire ; 

 petals 5, spreading, apex not inflexed; stamens 5 10; styles 5, 

 spreading ; berry crowned with the remains of the calyx and styles, 

 mostly 5-celled and 5-seeded. Lvs. compound. Fls. in simple, solitary 

 or racemose panicles. 



1. A. NUDICAULIS. Wild Sarsaparilla. 



Nearly stemless ; If. solitary, decompound ; scape naked, shorter than the 

 leaf; umbels few. 1\. A well known plant, found in woods, most abundant in rich 

 and rocky .soils, Can. to Car. and Tenn. It has a large, fleshy root, from which 

 arise a leaf-stalk and a scape, but no proper stem. The former is long, sup- 

 porting a single, large, compound leaf, which is either 3-ternate or 3-quinate. 

 Leaflets oval and obovate, acuminate, finely serrate. The scape is about a foot 

 high, bearing 3 simple umbels of greenish flowers. Jn. Jl. 



2. A. RACEMOSA. Petlymorrel. Spikenard. 



St. herbaceous, smooth; Ivs. decompound; pcd. axillary, branching, um- 

 belled. TJ. In rocky woods, Can. to the S. States. Stem 3 4f high, dark green 

 or reddish, arising from a thick, aromatic root. The leaf-stalks divide into 3 

 partitions, each of which bears 3 or 5 large, ovate, serrate leaflets. Umbels 

 numerous, arranged in branching racemes from the axils of the leaves or 



