LXXII. RUBIACE^E. 303 



long. Cymes large, on peduncles an inch or two in length, with caducous bracts. 

 Flowers' numerous, white. Berries dark blue, covered with a glaucous bloom, 

 sweetish when ripe. June. 



/3. cassinoldes. (V. pyrifolium. Lam.) Lvs. ovate, oval or often rhomboidal, 

 acuminate, acute, obtuse or even emarginate on the same twig ; margin finely 

 serrate ; fr. oblong-ovoid. 



8. V. PRUNIFOLIUM. Black Haw. Sloe. 



Lvs. smooth, roundish-obovate, acutely serrate, with uncinate teeth ; peti- 

 oles margined with straight, narrow wings. In woods and thickets, N. Y. to Ga. 

 A shrub or small tree, 10 20f high, the branches spreading, some of them often 

 stinted and naked, giving the plant an unthrifty aspect. Leaves about 2' long 

 and nearly as wide, on short petioles, slightly margined. Cymes rather large, 

 terminal, sessile. Flowers white, succeeded by oval, blackish berries which are 

 sweet and eatable. June. 



9. V. DENTATUM. Arrow-wood. 



Nearly smooth ; Ivs. roundish-ovate, dentate-serrate, subplicate, on long 

 stalks; cymes pedunculate. A shrub, 8 12f high, not uncommon in damp 

 woods and thickets, Can. to Ga. It is called arrow- wood from the long, straight, 

 slender branches or young shoots. Leaves roundish, 2 3' diam., the upper 

 pair .oval, the veins beneath prominent, parallel and pubescent in their axils. 

 Flowers white, succeeded by small, roundish, dark blue berries. June. 



10. V. PUBESCENS. Downy Viburnum. 



Lvs. ovate, acuminate, dentate-serrate, subplicate, villous beneath and 

 somewhat hairy above, on short stalks ; stipules 2, subulate ; cymes pedunculate ; 

 fr. oblong. In dry, rocky woods and thickets, Can. to Car. rare. A shrub, 

 about 6f high. Leaves about 2' long, each with a pair of short, hairy, subulate 

 appendages (stipular V\ at the base of the very short petiole. Cymes small, few- 

 flowered. Flowers rather larger than those of the foregoing species, white. Jn. 

 11. V. TINUS. Laurestine. Lvs. ovate, entire, their veins with hairy tufts 

 beneath. An exceedingly beautiful evergreen shrub, from Europe. Height 

 4 5f. Leaves acute, veiny, dark shining green above, paler beneath. Flowers 

 white, tinged with red, very showy. Degrees of pubescence variable. 



ORDER LXXII. RUBIAC^JE. MADDERWORTS. 



Trees, shrubs, and herbs. Lvs. opposite, sometimes verticillate, entire. 



Stip. between the petioles, sometimes resembling the leaves. 



Cal. Tube more or less adherent (superior or half-superior), limb 4 5-cleft. 



Cor. regular, inserted upon the calyx tube, and of the same number of divisions. 



Sta. inserted upon the tube of corolla, equal in number and alternate with its segments. 



Ova. 2- (rarely more) celled. Style single or partly divided. 



Fr. various. Seeds one, few or many in each cell. 



Genera 299, species 2982. It is generally divided into two Suborders, viz., KtellattR and Cinchonecz, to 

 which a third, Loganiecc. (which has no representatives at the North) is appended by Torrey and Gray. 



The species of the first Suborder, Stellatao, are common in the northern parts of both continents ; the 

 two other Suborders chiefly prevail in warm or torrid regions. 



Properties. A very important family, furnishing many useful products. The madder, one of the most 

 important of dyes, is furnished by the root of Rubia tinctoria. A similar coloring matter is possessed by 

 several species of Galium. Among the CincJiomcB we find Cinchona and Cephaelis furnishing two of 

 the most valuable of all medicines. Peruvian bark, a powerful febrifuge, well known and appreciated 

 everywhere, is the product of several species of the former, viz., Cinchona micranthia, C. condaminea, 

 C. lanceolata, C. magnifolia. &c., all natives of Peru. Their febrifugal properties depend upon the pres- 

 ence ol two alkalies, Cinchonia and Quinia, both combined with Kinicacid. Ipecacuanha, the prince 

 of all emetics, is the product of the root of CephSelisIpecacuanha, a little shrubby plant with creeping 

 roots, in the damp forests of Brazil. Several other species of Cinchoneae afford substitutes for the true 



Cqffeeis the hard albumen of the seeds of Coffea Arabica, a tree of moderate size, with a light brown 

 trunk and a conical shaped head. Leaves shining, light green. Flowers white, fragrant. The berries 

 are black when ripe. Coffee is said to have been used in Ethiopia from time immemorial. In Paris and 

 London it seems not to have been in general use earlier than the year 1700. but since that time, enough 

 has been drank in Europe and America to float the British navy. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



( Leaves (and interpetiolar leaf-like stipules) in verticils. . . . Galium. i 



( Ovary with 2 corollas ! MitcheUa. -2 



I Capsule 2-celled, many-seeded. . Hedyotis. 3 



1 Ovary < Carpels 2, l-seede,d, l indehiscent. . Spermacoce. 4 



I Leaves $ Herbs, t simple. ( Carpels 2, l-seeded, both indehiscent. Diodia. 5 



s adherent. L opposite. (Shrubs, v.-ith flowers m globose heads Cephalanthus. 6 



Ovary ( nearly free from the calyx. Leaves opposite. .... Kvi^clia 7 



26* 



