300 ERICACEAE. (HEATH FAMILY.) 



corymbs or clusters, from large scaly-bracted buds. ('Po868tp8pov, rose-tree ; the 

 ancient name.) 



1. R. maximum, L. (Great Laurel.) Leaves elliptical-oblong or lance- 

 oblong, acute, narrowed towards the base, very smooth, with somewhat revolute 

 margins ; pedicels viscid ; corolla bell-sbaped. — Damp deep woods, sparingly 

 from Maine to Ohio, but very common along shaded water-courses through the 

 mountainous parts of Pennsylvania and southward. July. — Shrub or tree 6°- 

 20° high. Leaves 4' -10' long, very thick. Corolla an inch broad, pale rose- 

 color or nearly white, greenish in the throat on the upper side, and spotted with 

 yellow or reddish. 



2. R. Catawbiense, Michx. Leaves oval or oblong, rounded at both ends, 

 smooth, pale beneath (3' -5' long); corolla broadly bell-shaped, lilac-purple; 

 pedicels rusty-downy. — High Alleghanies, Virginia and southward. June. — 

 Shrub 3° - 6° high. 



3. R. Lapponicum, Wahl. (Lapland Rose-bat.) Dwarf, prostrate ; 

 leaves elliptical, obtuse, dotted (like the branches) with rusty scales ; umbels few- 

 flowered ; corolla open bell-shaped, dotted ; stamens 5 - 10. — Alpine summits of 

 the mountains of Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. July. — Shrub 6' 

 high, in broad tufts : leaves ^' long. Corolla violet-purple. (Eu.) 



19. RHODORA, Duhamel. Ehodora. 



Calyx minute, 5-toothed. Corolla irregular and 2-lipped ; the upper lip 

 usually 3-lobed or 3-cleft, and the lower two-parted or of 2 distinct spreading 

 petals. Stamens 10, and with the slender style declined. Otherwise as in 

 Azalea. (Name from podov, a rose, from the color of the showy flowers.) 



1 . R. Canadensis, L. — Damp cold woods and swamps, New England 

 to Penn. and northward, or on mountains. May. — A handsome low shrub, 

 with the oblong deciduous leaves whitish and downy underneath ; the showy 

 rose-purple (rarely white) flowers in umbel -like clusters, on short peduncles, 

 appearing rather earlier than the leaves. 



20. LEDUM, L. Labrador Tea. 



Calyx 5-toothed, very small. Corolla of 5 obovate and spreading distinct 

 petals. Stamens 5-10: anthers opening by terminal pores. Pod 5-celled, 

 splitting from the base upwards, many-seeded : placentas borne on the summit 

 of the columella. — Low shrubs, with the alternate entire leaves clothed with 

 rusty wool underneath, persistent, the margins revolute : herbage slightly fra- 

 grant when bruised. Flowers white, small, in terminal umbel-like clusters 

 from large scaly buds : bracts or scales thin and caducous. (AtjSov, the ancient 

 Greek name of the Cistus. ) 



1. L. Iatif61ium, Ait. Leaves elliptical or oblong ; stamens 5, sometimes 

 6 or 7 ; pod oblong. — Cold bogs and damp mountain woods, New England to 

 Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and northward. June. — Shrub 2° -5° high. (L. 

 palustre, L., grows in British America. It is distinguished by its linear leaves, 

 uniformly 10 stamens, and oval pods.) (Eu.) 



