Order 40.— AOBRACEiE. 



285 



thickness, covered with a grayish, scaly bark, and t)irows out all along its length 

 myriads of thread-like rootlets, which bind it firmly to its support. Leaflets 3 

 of a dark and shining green, the lowest rarely angular. Berries dull white. Fls'. 

 greenish. May, Jn. — The juice, like that of the last, is poisonous, and forms an 

 indelible ink. (R. tox. 13. Mx. and Ed. 2d.) 



8 R. aromitica Ait. Sweet Sumao. Lvs. sessile, incisely crenaie, pubescent 

 beneath, lateral ones ovate, terminal one rhomboid ; fls. in close aments, preced- 

 ing the leaves ; drupe globous, villous. — A small, aromatic shrub, 2 to 6f high 

 in hedges and thickets. Can. and TJ. S. Lfts." 1 to 2' long, J as wide, sessile, the 

 common petiole an inch or two in length. Fls. yellowish with a 5-lobed, glandu- 

 lar disk. Drupes red, acid. May. Not poisonous. 



9 R. Cotinus L. Venetian Sumac. Lvs. obovate, entire; fls. mostly abortive, 

 pedicels finally elongated and clothed with hairs. — A small shrub 8f high, native 

 in Ark. according to Nuttall (?), remarkable chiefly for the very singular and orna- 

 mental appearance of its long, diffuse, feathery fruit-stalks, showing in the dis- 

 tance as if the plant were enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Fls. smaU, in terminal, 

 compound panicles. Lvs. smooth, entire, much rounded at the end. In Italy 

 the plant is used for tanning. 



10 R. cotinoides Buckley. A large tree, 40 to 50f in height, in woods on the 

 high mts. of KT. Car. (Buckley). Also in Ark. (Nuttall ?). We have seen no 

 specimens, and are unable to give the specific differences between this new 

 species and R. Cotinus, if, indeed, it be distinct, as is probable. 



Order XXXIX. PITTOSPORACE^. 



JVeas or Shrubs, with alternate, exstipulate leaves and regular flowers. CcUyx 

 and corolla 4 or 5-merou3, imbricated in the bud, deciduous ; stamens 5, hypogynous, 

 alternate with the petals. Ovary free, style single, stigmas 2 or more, ceUs or pla- 

 cenioe as many. Seeds numerous"; embryo in fleshy albumen. 

 GmAva 13, spectes 78, chiefly from Australia. 



PITTOSPORUM, Solander. (Gr iriTTa, pitch, anopog, seed ; the cap- 

 sule is resinous.) Sepals 5, deciduous ; petals 5, conniving in a tube ; 

 capsule 2 to 5-celled, 2 to 5-valved ; seeds pulpy. — Handsome ever- 

 green shrubs. 



P. tobira Leland. Lvs. coriaceous, smooth and polished, obovate, obtuse ; caps. 

 S-valved. — This plant is hardy in the gardens, south, and common in the green- 

 house, north. Lvs. entire, beautifully dark-green and shining. Fls. in terminal 

 clusters, white. 



. ACERACE^. Maples. 



Trees or shrubs, with opposite, usually simple and 

 palmate-veined leaves. Stipules 0. Flowers often 

 polygamous, in axillary corymbs or racemes, hypo- 

 gynous. Sepals 5, rarely 4 to 9, more or less imited, 

 colored, imbricate in Eestivation. JPetals 5, rarely 

 4 to 9, hypogynous ; sometimes 0. Sia. usually 8, 

 on a fleshy disk. Ovary 2-lobed, compounded of 2 

 united carpels. Fr. a double samara with opposite 

 wings, thickened at the lower edges. Albumen 0. 

 (Illust. in Figs. 22, 26, 107, 475, 480.) 



Genera 3, species 60. The sap of several species of th# 

 maple yields sugar by evaporation. 



1. XCER, Moench. Maple. (The ancient 

 name, meaning sharp, vigorous.) Flowers 



684, Samara of Maple. ^ ^ $5 "^^^y^ ^ (4-9)-cleft ; COrolk 6 



