POPULAR FLORA. 137 



26. RUE FAMILY. Order ETJTACE^. 

 Strong-scented, sharp-tasted, and bitter-acrid plants, the leaves dotted with transparent 

 dots like punctures (which are filled with volatile oil) ; the stamens on the receptacle, as 

 many or twice as many as the petals. 

 Herbs, very strong-scented, with perfect flowers. Stamens 8 or 10. 



Leaves decompound. Flowers yellow ; petals concave. Pod roundish, {Rula) *RuE. 



Leaves pinnate. Flowers white or purple, large : petals slender: stamens long. Pods 



5, flattened, slightly united, (Dictdmnus) *Feaxinella. 



Shrubs or trees. Stamens 4 or 5, only as many as the petals. 



Flowers dicecious. Pistils 2 to 5, making fleshy pods with one or two black seeds. 



Leaves _pinnate. Stems prickly, (Zanikdxijlum) Peicklt-Ash. 



Flowers polygamous. Pistil 1, making a 2-celled, 2-seeded key, winged all round". 



Leaflets 3. Stems not prickly, {Ptelea) Hop-tkee. 



27. SUMACH Jl^miiT. Order ANACAEDIACE^. 

 Tregs or shrubs with a Mlky oflWesinous-acrid juice (in some cases poisonous), and al- 

 ternate ^feqjves : — ■ of whjjih we have only the genus 



Sumach. Rhus. 



•Sfcwers spfflHl, greenish-white or yellowish. Sepals, petals, and stamens 5 ; the latter borne on an en- 



largeu^pf of the receptacle which fills the bottom of the calyx. Styles or stigmas 3, on a one-celled 



ovaryjjwhich makes a one-seeded little stone-fruit with ix thin flesh. Fl. summer. Nos. 4 and 5 are 



poisonous to most people when touched. 



1. Staghobn Sumach. Small tree ; branches and stalks velvety-hairy; leaves pinnate, pale be- 



neath; flo)j||rs,and crimson-hairy sour fruit very many, in a great crowded panicle. S. iyphma. 



2. Smooth S.i Shrub ; branches and, stalks very smooth, pale : otherwise hke the last. R. glabra. 



3. Dwarf S,; [ S^jab 1° to 4° high ; branches and stalks downy ; leaves pinnate, with the stalk wing- 



marginedibetween the shining leaflets; fruits red and hairy. R. copaMna, 



i. Poison. S.*or Dogwood. Shrub smooth ;■ leaves pinnate ; leaflets 7 to 13, entire ; panicles slender 

 ,, in the^fcllsi^ fruit smooth. Poisoncras to most people. Sivamps. R. venenata. 



5. Poiso!^ Ivy. "Smooth ; stems climbing by rootlets ; leaflets 3, large, ovate, either entire, notched, or 

 ■ ^J'''S'J,i variable oiKllbe same stem. Poisonous like the last. R. Toxicodendron. 



6. "^XETiAx S. or Smoke-tree. Shrub, with simple oval or obovate leaves; branches of the panicle 

 JJPgthening after flowering, and feathered with long hairs, making large light bunches. Cult. 



I ■ a. Colinva. 



28. GRAPE FAMILY. Order VITACEJE. 



Shrubby plants with a watery and sour juice, climbing by tendrils; known by having a 

 minute calyx with scarcely any lobes, the petals valvate (edge to edge) in the bud and fall- 

 ing off very early, and the stamens (5 or 4) one before each petal ! — Only two genera. 



Grape. Vilis. 

 Petals 5, cohering slightly at the top while they separate at the base, and generally thrown off with- 

 out expanding. Berry with 4 bony seeds. Leaves lobed. Flowers polygamous iu the wild species, 

 and having the fragrance of Mignonette. 



