296 ERICACEAE. (HEATH FAMILY.) 



at or below the apex : anthers oblong, awnless : sutures of the 5-angular pod with 

 a more or less thickened line or ridge, which often falls away separately when the 

 pod opens : seeds turned in all directions, oblong, with a thin and rather loose 

 reticulated coat : flowers in umbel-like clusters variously arranged. 



3. A. Mariana, L. (Stagger-bush.) Nearly glabrous; leaves decid- 

 uous, but rather coriaceous, oval or oblong, veiny ; flowers large and nodding, 

 in clusters from axillary scaly buds, which are crowded on naked branches of 

 the preceding year ; sepals leaf-like, deciduous with the leaves. — Sandy low 

 places, Rhode Island to Virginia near the coast, and southward. May, June. 

 — Shrub 2° - 4° high : foliage said to poison lambs and calves. 



§ 4. LY6NIA, Nutt. Calyx 5-clefl : corolla globular, pubescent : filaments and 

 anthers destitute of awns or appendages, or the former sometimes 2-setose near the 

 apex: pods prominently ribbed at the sutures, the ribs at length separating or 

 separable : seeds slender, all pendulous, with a loose and thin cellular coat : flow- 

 ers small, mostly in clusters which are racemosed-panicled : bracts minute and 

 deciduous : leaves pubescent or scurfy beneath. 



4. A. ligUStrina, Muhl. Leaves deciduous, not scurfy, smoothish when 

 old, obovate-oblong varying to oblong-lanceolate ; flowers racemose-panicled on 

 branchlets of the preceding year. — Swamps and low thickets, New England 

 to Pcnn., Virginia, and southward. June, July. — Shrub 4° - 10° high. 



11. OXYDENDRUM, DC. Sorrel-tree. Sour-wood. 



Calyx without bractlets, of 5 almost distinct sepals, valvate in the bud. 

 Corolla ovate, 5-toothed, puberulent. Stamens 10 : anthers fixed near the base, 

 linear, awnless ; the cells tapering upwards, and opening by a long chink. Pod 

 oblong-pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved ; the many-seeded placenta? at the base of 

 the cells. Seeds all ascending, slender, the thin and loose reticulated coat ex- 

 tended at both ends into awl-shaped appendages. — A tree with deciduous, ob- 

 long-lanceolate, pointed, soon smooth, serrulate leaves, on slender petioles, and 

 white flowers in long one-sided racemes clustered in an open panicle, terminat- 

 ing the branches of the season. Bracts and bractlets minute, deciduous. Foli- 

 age sour to the taste (whence the name, from o£vs, sour, and 8tv8pov, tree). 



1. O. arb6reum, DC. (Andromeda arborea, L.) — Rich woods, from 

 Penn. and Ohio southward, mostly along the Alleghanies. June, July. — Tree 

 40° - 60° high. Leaves in size and shape like those of the Peach. 



It2. CLETHBA, L. White Alder. Sw*eet Pepperbush. 



Calyx of 5 sepals, imbricated in the bud. Corolla of 5 distinct obovate-ob- 

 long petals. Stamens 10, often exserted : anthers inversely arrow-shaped, in- 

 verted and reflexed in the bud, opening by terminal pores or short slits. Style 

 slender, 3-cleft at the apex. Pod 3-valved, 3-celled, many-seeded, enclosed in 

 the calyx. Shrubs or trees, with alternate and serrate deciduous leaves, and 

 white flowers in terminal hoary racemes. Bracts deciduous. (KXrjdpa, the 

 ancient Greek name of the Alder, which this genus somewhat resembles in 

 foliage.) 



