ORDER Cin. LAURACE^E. 491 



long, acute, undulate, attenuate at the base. Floicers in crowded whorls, 

 pedicellate. Leaves of the perianth large, cordate, entire, bearing grains. 

 — U- May — June. Introduced. 1 — 2 feet. Curled Dock. 



6. R. persic abioi'des, (Pursh.) Stem erect, much branched, smooth, 

 often colored. Leaves on short petioles, lanceolate, undulate, entire. 

 Floicers in whorls. Leaves of the perianth with 3 long teeth on each 

 side, each leaf bearing a grain. — 2£ . July. Wet shady places. 6 — 12 

 inches. Golden Dock. P. maritimus. 



7. R. divarica'tus, (L.) Stem erect. Leaves cordate, oblong, pubes- 

 cent, undulate. Flowers in whorls, forming a long, slender spike. 

 Leaves of the perianth 4 or 5 toothed at the base. — 2£. June — Aug. 

 Marshes. 1 — 2 feet. 



S. R. acetosel'la, (L.) Flowers dicecious. Stem erect, furrowed. 

 Leaves lanceolate, entire, hastate, on rather long petioles, not auricled. 

 Flowers in fasciculate racemes. — If. April — June. Dry sandy soils. 

 Very common. 1 — 2 feet. Sorrel. 



9. R. hastat'ulus, (Bald.) Flowers dicecious. Stem erect. Leaves 

 petiolate, oblong, hastate, with obtuse entire auricles. Perianth per- 

 sistent, becoming red by age. — If. April. Poor dry soils. 1 — 3 feet. 



Order CIIL— LAURA'CEJE. (Laurel Family.) 



Flowers perfect, polygamous and dioecious. Perianth 4 — 6- 

 cleft. Stamens perigynous, usually 9, the 3 inner ones sterile. 

 Anthers adnate, 2 — 4-celled, with thick connectivum. Ovary 

 superior, single. Style simple, obtuse. Fruit a one-seeded 

 drupe. Shrubs or small trees, with alternate leaves. 



Genus I.— LAU'RUS. Pliny, 9—1. 

 (From the Celtic laur, green.) 



Genus the same as the Order. 



1. L. Carolixen'sis, (Mich.) A large shrub, or small tree. Leaves 

 oval-lance%late, coriaceous, perennial, glaucous beneath, entire, rigid. 

 Flowers in small clusters, polygamous, pale yellow ; exterior segments 

 of the perianth half as long as the interior. — ^ . May — June. Swamps. 

 4—30 feet. Bay Galls. 



2. L. Catesbeya'na, (Mich.) A middle-sized shrub. Leaves peren- 

 nial, broad-lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers in panicles, on short pedun- 

 cles ; segments of the perianth oblong, obtuse, deciduous, white. Nec- 

 tary 3-cleft. Berry ovate, black. — *> . May— June. On the sea-coast. 

 6—9 feet. 



3. L. benzo'ix, (L.) A shrub with virgate branches. Leaves obovate, 

 lanceolate, deciduous, pubescent beneath, cuneate at the base. Flowers 

 dicecious, in clustered umbels, on short pedicels, pale yellow. Fruit 

 red. — Feb. — March. Margins of rivulets. 4 — 10 feet. 



Spice-wood. Fever-bush. Benzoin odoriferum, Xees. 



4. L. gemccla'ta, (Walt.) A small tree, much branched, with the 

 branches regularly bent. Leaves small, oval, glabrous, obtuse. Flow 



