STAPHYLEACEAE 251 



STAPHYLEACEAE. BladdKr-nut Family. 



About 5 genera and 22 species, trees and shrubs, widely dis- 

 tributed. A few ornamental. 



STAPHYLEA, Linnaeus. 



Staphylea trifolia, ly. (Bladder-nut.) 



A shrub, or rarely a small tree, with opposite ternate deciduous 

 leaves, whitish flowers in April, and balloon-like pods in fall. 

 Sometimes cultivated for ornament in the North. 



Grows on rich bluffs, river-banks, etc. ; often with Ptclca 

 frifoliata, which it somewhat resembles. 



lA. On Tennessee River near Florence (M. C. Wilson), and Ply- 

 mouth Rock Landing, Morgan County. 



IB. Base of Sand Mountain, Jackson County (Harbison). 



2B. Shale cliffs on left side of Warrior River at several places a few 

 miles above Tuscaloosa. 



3. Limestone hill near Lagarde, Etowah County. 



5. Along Coosa River, Chilton County. 



7. Along Catoma Creek between W.Ry. of Ala. and L. & N. R. R., 

 Montgomerv Countv. Some of the largest specimens on record.* ( Seen 

 there in 1906 and 1927.) 



low. In bottoms of Bassett's Creek near Suggsville station (Allen 

 P. O.), Clarke County. (One small specimen seen, May 15, 1927, but 

 there must be others in the vicinity.) 



ACERACEAE. Maple Family. 



Two or three genera and about 75 species, trees and shrubs, 

 mostly in the north temperate zone. Many are cultivated for or- 

 nament or shade, and some yield timber or sugar. 



ACER, L. The Maples. 

 Most of our maples fall into two groups, the hard or sugar 

 maples, with flowers appearing with the leaves, and the soft or 

 swamp maples, which bloom a month or two earlier, and have 

 fruit nearly grown by the time the leaves unfold. Some of the 

 first group are separated by rather obscure characters, and it is 

 not quite certain how many of them occur in Alabama. 



HARD MAPLES 



Acer Saccharum, Marsh. (A. saccJiarinum, Wang.) 



(Northern) Sugar Maple. 



A medium-sized tree, larger farther north, where it is the main 

 source of maple sugar. It is commonly cultivated for shade in 



*See Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 33:533. 1906. 



