1^2 AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



be obliged to consider nearly all the members of the orchid family 

 as one genus! Such neglect of fully appreciating the value of 

 other important floral characters leads us to separate at least the 

 Sugar Maples from Acer. If the characters are constant there 

 can hardly be any good excuse for having plants with apetalous 

 flowers in the same genus with petal -bearing plants. 



Saccharodendron (Raf.) Nwd. 



Segregate of Acer Linn. Subgenus Saccharodendron Raf. New. 

 Fl. N. Am. p. 47, (1836). 



Arbores cum foliis 3-5 lobatis subtus saepius glaucescentibus 

 et inflorescentiis terminalibus sessilibus umbellatis; floribus 

 praecocibus andromonoicis vel androdioicis, staminibus, 3-8, in 

 stamineis perigynis (vel hypogynis) calice sepalorum connatorum, 

 petalis nullis. Fructus et alia fere omnia ut in Acer. 



Trees with leaves 3-5 lobed often glaucous beneath and with 

 terminal (or lateral) sessile umbellate inflorescences. Flowers 

 precocious, plants andromonoicous (or androdioicous). Calyx 

 with sepals united: petals none. Stamens 3-8 perigynous (or 

 hypogynous) in the staminate flowers. Fruit and most other 

 characters as in Acer. 



Type Acer Saccharum Marsh. 



vSection i Saccharina. 



Flowers appearing just a little before the leaves, stamens 

 in the staminate flowers perigynous. flowers andro-monoecious 

 inflorescence terminal. 



Saccharodendron barbatum (Michx.) Nwd. 



Acer Saccharuni Marsh, ^ Arb. Amer. p. (1785). 



Acer barbatum (Michx.) Fl. Bor. Amer. 2. p. 252, (1803). 



Saccharodendron floridanum (Chapman) Nwd. 



Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax. Bugler's Jahrbuch VII., 



p. 243, (1886). 



Saccharodendron leucoderme (Small) Nwd. 



Acer leucoderme Small. Bull. Torr. Bot. CI. XII., p. 367, (1895). 



2 The name Acer Saccharuni is absurd and licsides homonymous if 

 admissable with Acer Sacchariiiuni IJnii. Saccharum is the noun, sugar 

 .Saccharin urn adjective thereof. A tree can noc l)c the substance sugar! 

 Marsh's name is unsrammatical and had better be dr{)i)ped out of our 

 nomenclature. 



