ORDER XXXVII. VTTACE.E. 263 



Order XXXYL— CEDRELEA'CE^E. R. Br. 



Calyx short, 4 — 5-cleft. Petals 4 — 5, alternating with the 

 segments of the calyx. Stamens twice the number of the petals, 

 the opposite ones shorter. Ovary 5-celled, situated on a torus. 

 Fruit a woody 3 — 5-celled capsule. 



Genus I.— SWIETE'XIA. L. 10—1. 



(la honor of Van Swieten, a Dutch botanist) 



Genus same as the order. 



1. S. Mahog'om, (L.) A large tree, with reddish-brown wood 

 Leaves abruptly pinnate ; leaflets small, usually 4 pairs, ovate-lanceo- 

 late, unequal at the base. Flowers in panicles, axillary. South Amer 

 ica, Honduras, Southern Florida. Mahogany. 



Order XXXVIL— VITA'CE^E. Juss. 



Calyx minute, 5-toothed. Petals 4 — 5, caducous. Flowers 

 dioecious. Stamens equal the number of petals and opposite 

 them. Filaments sometimes slightly cohering. Anthers ver- 

 satile. Ovary 2-celled, 2 ovules in each cell, surrounded at the 

 base by an expansion of the torus. Styles short or none. 

 Stigma simple. Fruit a globose, pulpy berry. Lower leaves 

 opposite, upper alternate. Flowers sometimes polygamous, 

 small, greenish. Climbing shrubs. 



Genus I.— YI'TIS. L. 5—1. 



(From a Celtic word signifying the best of trees.) 



Calyx scarcely toothed, small. Petals 4 — 5, spreading, or 

 more generally united at the top, caducous. Ovary usually 2- 

 celled, with 2 ovules in each cell. Fruit a berry, 1 — 3-celied 

 and 1 — 5-seeded. Peduncles usually changed into tendrils. 



1. Y. rotcxdifo'lia, (Mich.) Stem twining, ascending the highest 

 trees, with smooth bark, sometimes not climbing; branches verrucose, 

 Leaves cordate, both surfaces shining, glabrous ; small tufts of hair at 

 the junction of the veins, obscurely 3 lobed, toothed. Flowers in ra 

 cemes, composed of numerous small umbels, polygamous. Fruit lar^e 

 with a coriaceous integument, pleasant to the taste. — Yellow. ^ . May 

 — June. Common in the middle and low country of Georgia and Car 

 olina. V. vulpica, (L.) Bull-grape. Muscadine-grape. Fox-grape, 



2. Y. cordifo'lia, (Mich.) Leaves cordate, acuminate, toothed, gla 

 brous, often slightly 3-lobed. Flowers numerous, in loose racemes 

 Fruit small, sour, nearly black when ripe. — Yellow. *> . Common on 

 the banks of streams. May. Winter-grape. Frost-grape, 



3. Y. eipa'eia, (Mich.) Leaves unequally incised and toothed ; teeth 

 very coarse, acuminate, somewhat 3-lobed ; petioles, margins, and 



