214 IIEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA 



long and cuneate-obovate, inciscly lobcd at apex; lobes mostly 3 (sometimes 2 am 

 occasionally a deeper division), lance-ovate, acute or acuminate ; terminal lcafl 

 petiolate, lateral ones sessile, or subsessilc. Panicle loose and racemose 

 J>eduncle2 to 3 inches long, proceeding from the base of the petioles,— often a s 

 ond, smaller panicle, by the side of the principal one ; pedicels half an inch ton> 

 an inch long, with small subulate bracts at base. Calyx spreading ; sepals 2 or *i 

 to 6 (sometimes wanting, 7fof*\), unequal, lance-oblong. Petals greenish yelli 

 twice as long as the sepals, obovate-lanccolatc, 3 to 5-ncrved, unguiculate with 

 subreniform viscid scale at the base of each claw. Sturnens short. Ovary 2-seeri 

 ed, obovoid, obliquely beaked by the style. Seeds speedily bursting from the younir 

 membranous capsule, and, pushing it on one side, become elevated in naked pairs n 

 of which is often abortive,) on the erect clavate stipes, or funiculi which attach then 

 to the bottom of the capsule. When mature, the seeds are 1 third of an inch in di 

 ameter, globose, drupe-like, and of a deep blue color. 



Hab. Rich woodlands; Brandywine, Sec. frequent. Fl. April— May. Fr. Aug 



Obs. This plant,— so remarkable for the structure of the fruit, and the process 

 by which it is developed, (first observed by that distinguished and sagacious Bot- 

 anist, Robert Brown),— was formerly a noted article in the Materia Medica of the 

 Aborigines ; but its virtues, if any, are very little attended to, at present. It i 8 ih$ 

 only species of the genus, in the U. States. 



167. PRINOS. L. Mttt. Gen. 308. 

 [Supposed to be from the Greek, Prio, to saw ; in allusion to its serrated leaves] 



Dioicouslt Polygamous : Calyx small, mostly 6-cleft. Corolla 

 monopctaloue, subrotate, mostly 6-parted. Ovavy superior. Berry 

 6-seeded ; seeds nuciform. 



Shrubs: leaves alternate, deciduous, or persistent; pedicels 1- flowered, axillary, 

 Nat. Ord. 166. Undl. Ilicikbje. 



1. P. verticillatus, L. Leaves deciduous, oval and obovate, acumi- 

 nate, serrate, pubescent beneath ; sterile flowers subumbellate ; fertile 

 flowers aggregated. Beck, Bot* p. 230. 

 P. Gronovii, Mx. Am. 2. p. 236. 



Vebticillate Prinos. Vulgb — Black Alder. Winter-berry. 



Stem 6 to 8 feet high, much branched. Leaves 2 to 3 inches long, and an inch to 

 an inch and' half wide, with prominent nerves beneath; scrratures mucronate» 

 somewhat uncinate ;petioles about half an inch long. Flowers greenish white, di- 

 oicous by abortion. Sterile flowers in pedunculate subumbellate clusters; com' 

 mon peduncle rather longer than the pedicels. Corolla often 5 or 7-parted. Stam- 

 ens often 5, or 7. Ovary abortive. Fertile flowers in smaller clusters than the 

 sterile, mostly perfect? common peduncle very short, or none ; pedicels scarcely 1- 

 fourth of an inch long. Berries globose, 1 fourth of an inch In diameter, in small 

 axillary persistent clusters, appearing somewhat verticillate, bright red when 

 mature. 



Hab. Low swampy grounds, and thickets : frequent. Fl. June. Fr. October. 



Obs. The bark of this, used in decoction, is a popular remedy for ill-conditioned 

 sores. It is administered both externally and internally ; but I believe its tirtucs 

 are over-rated. Five orsiz additional s pecies are enumerated in the U. States. 



