294 LXVIII. ARALIACE^E. ARALU 



col Leaf tnlernately decompound. Involucrate Ivs. solitary, biter nately 

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



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

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

 N Y. (Ttn-r. $ Gray.) W. to Ohio! and Mo. Plant 4 6' high, with 24 

 'eaves, the lower one radical, numerously divided, the divisions ineisely 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. KoptS, 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 ^-leaved, unilateral. 



C. SATlvuM. Coriander. LTS. 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. 71. t 



ORDER LXYIII. ARALIACE^E. ARALTADS. 



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



Cal. superior, entire or toothed. 



Cor. Petajs 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. 



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



Genera 521, 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- 

 pheres. Several species are well known in medicine, <fcc., as ginseng, spikenard, sarsapasilla, &c. The 

 latter is sometimes substituted for the sarsaparilla of the shops. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



( Flowers perfect Aralia. 1 



5 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. Pdtymorrd. Spikenard. - 



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

 oelled. 7J. 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 



