HEATH FAMILY 



Pistil. — Ovary superior, five-celled ; style columnar ; stigma 

 truncate. 



Fruit. — Capsule, ovoid-pyramidal, small five-angled, five- 

 celled. Seeds many. 



The Stagger-bush is of somewhat straggling habit, 

 yet very pretty and useful as a border shrub, blossom- 

 ing profusely in early spring. The flowers are snow 

 white waxen bells which appear in clusters from axil- 

 lary buds crowded on the naked branches of last 

 year's wood. The branches are wand-like ; and the 

 leaves in autumn become intensely scarlet. 



The plant was well known to our earlier botanists, 

 and was first described as a Maryland shrub with the 

 leaves of a euonymus and the flowers of an arbutus. 

 It was sent over to England in 1736, and has been cul- 

 tivated there for many years. 



PRIVET ANDROMEDA 



Xolisma ligilstrina, Lybnia ligiistrina. Andrdmeda ligiistrina. 



Ligustrin, the bitter principle of the Privet. Otherwise, 

 these names seem to be without meaning. 



Bushy, three to twelve feet high, growing in swamps and wet. 

 soil ; stem and branches light ash-colored with stringy bark. 

 Ranges from New England to Florida and west to Arkansas. 



Leaves. — Alternate, sometimes tufted, simple, oblong, obo- 

 vate, oval or ovate, one to two and a half inches long, wedge- 

 shaped at base, minutely serrulate or entire, acute or acuminate 

 at apex ; when full grown glabrous or pubescent above, usually 

 downy beneath. Petioles short, downy. 



Flowers. — May, July. Perfect, small, white globes, borne in 

 terminal or axillary, panicled leafless racemes. Pedicels thread- 

 like, downy. Calyx-lobes triangular-ovate ; corolla an eighth ol 

 an inch in diameter ; stamens eight or ten, included ; ovary five- 

 celled ; capsule depressed-globose, obtusely five-angled. 



3S8 



