Genus i. 



WHITE-ALDER FAMILY. 



667 



3-lobed, 3-celled, pubescent; ovules numerous; style slender; stigmas 3 in our 

 species. Capsule subglobose, or 3-16bed, 3-celled, loculicidally 3-valved, the valves 

 at length 2-cleft. Seeds very small, with a loose cellular coat. 



I. CLETHRA L. Sp. PI. 396. 1753. 

 Characters of the family. [Greek, alder, from the resemblance of the foliage.] 

 The family consists only of the following genus, comprising about 30 species, natives of eastern 

 North America, Japan, Mexico, the West Indies and South America. Besides the following, an- 

 other occurs in the Southern States. Several inhabit the mountains of the West Indies. Type 

 species : Clethra alnifolia L. 



Leaves obovate, acute or obtusish ; filaments glabrous. i, C. alnifolia. 



Leaves oval or ovate, acuminate ; filaments hirsute. 2. C. acuminata. 



I. Clethra alnifolia L. Sweet Pepper- 

 bush. White or Spiked Alder. 

 Fig. 3195- 



Clethra alnifolia L. Sp. PI. 396. 1753. 



A shrub, 3°-lo° high, the twigs minutely 

 canescent. Leaves obovate, obtuse or acute 

 at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the 

 base, sharply serrate, at least beyond the 

 middle, glabrous or very nearly so and 

 green on both sides, l'-3' long; petioles 

 l"-6" long ; racemes erect ; bracts short, 

 deciduous; pedicels, calyx and capsule 

 canescent; calyx-lobes oblong, obtuse, 

 nerved; flowers about 4" broad, of spicy 

 fragrance ; filaments glabrous ; style longer 

 than the stamens ; capsule subglobose, 

 about li" in diameter, about the length of 

 the calyx. 



In swamps and wet woods, or sometimes 

 in dry soil, Maine to northern New Jersey, 

 Florida and Mississippi, mostly near the coast. 

 White bush. July-Aug. 



2. Clethra acuminata Michx. Mountain 

 Sweet Pepperbush. Fig. 3196. 



C. acuminata Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i: 260. 1803. 



A tall shrub or small tree, similar to the pre- 

 ceding species. Leaves oval, oblong, or ovate, 

 acuminate at the apex, narrowed or rounded at 

 the base, green above, pale and sometimes pu- 

 bescent beneath, closely serrulate with very sharp- 

 pointed teeth, 2-7' long, sometimes si' wide; 

 petioles 4"-i2" long; racemes spreading or re- 

 curved, solitary, or 2-3 together, 2'-8' long, the 

 rachis, pedicels and calyx densely pubescent or 

 canescent ; bracts longer than the flowers, cadu- 

 cous ; filaments and bases of the petals hirsute; 

 capsules pubescent. 



In mountain woods, Virginia and West Virginia to 

 Georgia. Ascends to 4500 ft. in North Carolina. 

 July-Aug. 



Family 2. PYROLACEAE Agardh, CI. PI. i8. 1825. 



WiNTERGREEN FAMILY. 



Low mostly evergreen perennials, with branched rootstocks. Leaves petioled. 

 Flowers perfect, nearly regular, racemose, solitary or corymbose, white to red. 

 Calyx 4-5-lobed. Corolla very deeply 4-5-parted, or of 5 petals. Stamens twice 



