EEICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY) 625 



Multiplies freely by prostrate or subterranean suckers, and forms broad clumps 

 1-2 m. high. June-Aug. 



9. C. stricta Lam. (Stifi-C.) A shrub 2-5 m. high ; branches brownish or 

 reddish, smooth ; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, aoutish at base, 

 glabrous, of nearly the same hue both sides; cymes loose, flattigh ; anthers and 

 fruit pale blue. — Swamps, Va. and Mo., southw. Apr., May. 



10. C. paniculita L'H^r. Shrub 1-2.5 m. high, much branched; branches 

 gray, smooth; leaves ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, acute at base, whitish be- 

 neath but not downy ; cymes convex, loose, often panicled : fruit white, de- 

 j)ressed-globose, on bright red pedicels. (C. candidissima Marsli. ?, not Mill.) — 

 Thickets and river-banks, centr. Me. to Ont., Minn., and southw. June, 

 July. 



^11. C. alternifdlia L. f. Shrub or tree 2-6 m. high; branches greenish, 

 streaked with white, the alternate leaves clustered at the ends, ovate or oval, 

 long-pointed, acute at base, whitish and minutely pubescent beneath ; cymes 

 very broad and open ; fruit deep blue, on reddish stalks. — Copses, e. Que. to 

 w. Ont., Minn., and la., s. to Ga. and Ala. May, June. 



2. NYSSA L. Tupelo. Peppeeidge. Sour Gum 



Flowers borne at the summit of axillary peduncles. Stam. Fl. numerous. 

 Calyx small, 5-parted. Petals as in fertile flower or none. Stamens 5-12, 

 oftener 10, inserted on the outside of a convex disk. No pistil. Pist. Fl. soli- 

 tary, or 2-8, sessile in a bracted cluster, much larger than the staminate flowers. 

 Petals very small and fleshy, deciduous, or often wanting. Stamens 5-10, with 

 perfect or imperfect anthers. Style elongated. Drupe ovoid or ellipsoid. — Trees 

 with entire or sometimes angulate-toothed alternate leaves and greenish flowers. 

 (The name of a Nymph: "so called because it [the original species] grows in 

 the water.") 



\^ 1. N. sylvitica Marsh. (Black Gom.) Middle-sized tree, with horizontal 

 branches ; leaves oval or obovate, commonly acuminate, glabrous or villous- 

 pubescent when young, at least on the margins and midrib, shining above when 

 old ; fertile flowers 3-8, at the summit of a slender peduncle ; friiit ovoid, acid, 

 bluish-black, about 1.2 cm. long. {N. multiflora Wang.) — Kich soil, either 

 moist or nearly dry, s. Me. and n. Vt. to Mich., s. to Fla. and Tex. Apr., May. 

 — Leaves turning bright crimson in autumn. Wood firm, close-grained. 



Var. biflbra (Walt.) Sarg. Leaves narrower, subcoriaceous, more obtuse; 

 stone decidedly furrowed. (iV. biflora Walt.) — Marshes, southw.; sometimes 

 well marked. 



2. N. aqudtica L. A large tree ; leaves oblong or ovate, sometimes slightly 

 cordate at base, long-petioled, entire or angulate-toothed, pale and downy-pubes- 

 cent beneath, at least when young, 1-3 dm. long ; fertile flower solitary on a 

 slender peduncle ; fruit ellipsoid, blue, 2.5 cm. or more in length. (iV. uniflord 

 Wang.) — Deep swamps, ». Va. to s. 111. and Mo., s. to Fla. and Tex. Apr. — 

 Wood soft ; that of the roots very light and spongy. 



ESICACEAE (Heath Family) 



Shrubs, sometimes herbs, with the flowers regular or nearly so ; stamens as 

 many or twice as many as the i-b-lobed or 4-5-petaled corolla, free from but in- 

 serted with it; anthers 2-celled, commonly appendaged, or opening by terminal 

 chinks or pores, introrse (except in Subfamily I); style 1; ovary S-IO-celled. 

 Pollen compound, of 4 unrted grains (except in Subfamily II). Seeds small, 

 anatropous. Embryo small, or sometimes minute, in fleshy albumen. — A 

 large family, very various in many of the characters, ours comprising foui 

 well-marked subfamilies. ' 



bk+y's manual — 46 



