ROSACEA, (kose family.) 149 



short and close; petals roundish; fruit red turning to dark crimson; stone 

 smooth. — River-banks : common, especially northward. May. — A tall shrub, 

 seldom a tree, with grayish hark ; the fruit very austere and astringent till per- 

 fectly ripe. (P. obovkta, Bigelow. P. serotina, of several authors.) 



8. P, ser6tina, Ehrhart. (Wild Black Chekey.) Leaves oblong or 

 lanceohte-oUong, taper-pointed, senate with incurved short and callous teeth, thickish, 

 shining above; racemes elongated; petals obovate; fruit purplish-black.— 

 Woods : common. June. — A fine large tree, with reddish-brown branches, 

 furnishing valuable timber to the cabinet-maker : also abounding eastward as a 

 shrub. Fruit slightly bitter, but with a pleasant vinous flavor. 



2. SPIBJEA, L. Meadow-Swbbt. 



Calyx 5-cleft, short, persistent. Petals 5, obovate, equal, imbricated in the 

 bud (except in No. 6). Stamens 10-50. Pods (follicles) 2-12, several- (2- 

 15-) seeded. — Flowers white or rose-color, sometimes dioecious : rarely the parts 

 are 4 instead of 5. (Name probably from aireipda, to wind, alluding to the fit- 

 ness of the plants to be formed into garlands.) 



§ 1. PHYSOCAEPOS, Camb. (Neillia, Don.) Shrubs with simple pal- 

 mately-lobed leaves and umbel-like corymbs; pods inflated and diverging when 

 groum, 2 - 4-seeded : seeds pretty large, roundish, bitter, with a thick crustaceous 

 seed-coat, and rather copious albumen I 



1. S. opulifdlia, L. (Nine-Bakk.) Leaves roundish, somewhat 3-lobed 

 and heart-shaped ; pods 2-5. — ; Rocky river-banks, especially westward. June. 

 — Shrub 4° -10° high, with long recurved branches, and white flowers, suc- 

 ceeded by membranaceous purplish pods : the old bai'k loose and separating in 

 numerous thin layers. 



§ 2. SPIE-iE A proper. Slirubs, with simple leaves ; the stipules obsolete : pods 

 {mostly 5) not inflated, sevei'al-seeded : seeds mostly linear and with a thin or 

 loose coat and no albumen, in this and thefltllowing sections. 



2. S. corymbdsa, Raf. Nearly smooth (l°-2° high); leaves oval or 

 ovate, cut-toothed towards the apex ; corymbs large, flat, several times compound ; 

 flowers white. — Alleghanies of Pennsylvania to Virginia and Kentucky. Also 

 Morris Co., New Jersey, C. F. Austin. June. — A form of S. betuliefolia, Pallas. 



3. S. salicifdlia, L. (Common Meadow-Sweet.) Nearly smooth (2° - 

 3° high) ; leaves wedge-lanceolate, simply or doubly serrate ; ^o!«e?-s hi a crowded 

 panicle, white or flesh-color ; pods smooth. — Wet or low grounds : also culti- 

 vated. July. (Eu.) 



4. S. tomentbsa, L. (Haedhack. Steeple-Bdsh.) Stems and lower 

 surflnce of the ovate or oblong serrate leaves very woolly ; flowers in short racemes 

 crowded in a dense panicle ; pods woolly. — Low grounds : commonest in New 

 England. July. — Flowers rose-color, rarely white. 



§ 3. ULMARIA, Mojnch. Perennial herbs, with pinnate leaves and panicled 

 cyimse flowers : calyx reflexed : pods 5-8 in number, 1 -2-seeded.. 



5. S. lobita, Murr. (Queen or the Peaikie.) Glabrous (2° - 8° high) ; 

 leaves interruptedly pinnate ; the terminal leaflet very large, 7 - 9-parted, the 

 lobes incised and toothed ; stipules kidney-form ; panicle compound-clustered. 



