The Flora of the Cayuga Lake Basin 329 



2. Nyssa L. 



1. N. sylvatica Marsh. (N. multiflora of Cayuga Fl.) Black Gum. Sour Gum. 

 Peppekidge. Tupelo. 



Low woodlands and also in drier upland woods, in various noncalcareous, mostly 

 gravelly, soils ; scarce. June. 



S. of Lick Brook; South Hill, toward Caroline (D.) ; s. of Coy Glen and Harden- 

 burg Gulf (D.) ; Six Mile Creek, n. of Wells Falls (D.) ; Chickaree Woods, 

 formerly; n. of Beebe Lake (D.\) ; Fall Creek, toward Varna; l l / 2 miles s. of Ken- 

 nedy Corners; w. shore of Cayuga Lake (D.) ; e. shore of the lake, in Lansing (D.) ; 

 w. side of Cayuga and Montezuma Marshes (D.\) ; absent in the McLean region. 



S. Me. and n. Vt. to Mich., southw. to Fla. and Tex.; common on the Coastal Plain. 



99. ERICACEAE (Heath Family) 27 



o. Ovary superior. 



b. Plant saprophytic, without green color; pollen grains simple; anthers dehiscing 

 by vertical or transverse, often terminal, slits ; fruit a capsule. 



1. Subfamily Monotropoideae 

 b. Plant with green foliage ; pollen grains compound. 



c. Anthers inverted, dehiscing by basal (apparently apical) pores; corolla poly- 

 petalous ; fruit a capsule ; low evergreen herbs. 



2. Subfamily Pyroloideae 



c. Anthers erect, dehiscing by apical pores, rarely by vertical slits ; corolla 

 gamopetalous, rarely polypetalous; fruit a capsule or a berry; habit various. 



3. Subfamily Ericoideae 



a. Ovary inferior; pollen grains compound; corolla gamopetalous; green plants of 

 diverse habit. 4. Subfamily Vaccinioideae 



1. Subfamily Monotropoideae 



a. Corolla polypetalous, with connivent petals ; anthers peltate, opening across the 



top, awnless. 1. Monotropa 



a. Corolla gamopetalous, ovoid or subglobose; anthers vertically dehiscent, awned 



on the back. 2. Pterospora 



2. Subfamily Pyroloideae 



a. Leaves lanceolate or oblanceolate, scattered ; flowers corymbose or umbellate ; 



style very short; valves of the capsule with smooth edges. 3. Chimaphila 

 a. Leaves suborbicular or elliptical, basal ; style long. 



b. Flowers racemose; valves of the capsule with cobwebby margins. 



4. Pyrola 

 b. Flowers solitary; valves of the capsule with smooth margins. 



5. Moneses 



27 Whether the Ericaceae should be considered a single family or be divided into Clethraceae, 

 Pyrolaceae, Monotropaceae, Ericaceae, and Vacciniaceae, is a much-discussed question. It would 

 seem that science is best served by the broader interpretation. These subdivisions are all similar 

 in having several carpels, two whorls of stamens, and a tendency toward apical dehiscence of the 

 anthers. In all but one group the pollen grains are compound. The differences, on the other 

 hand, are of minor importance, and the important characters interchange so that there are no sharp 

 division lines between the groups: for instance, in the case of the Vaccinioideae the inferior ovary 

 would naturally indicate a wide divergence from other types, but the corolla, the anthers, and 

 other characters are distinctly ericaceous. Several of the subdivisions include, at most, but one or 

 two genera, and there is therefore no opportunity to determine whether these subdivisions form 

 homogeneous and distinct groups. It is rather a case of generic differences within a phylogenetically 

 old family where differences are naturally greater than in those families which are more homo- 

 geneous and more recent. 



