ROSACEA. (rose family.) 149 



short and close ; petals roundish ; fruit red turning to dark crimson ; stone 

 smooth. — River-banks : common, especially northward. May. — A tall shrub, 

 seldom a tree, with grayish bark ; the fruit very austere and astringent till per- 

 fectly ripe. (P. obovata, Bigelow. . P. serotina, of several authors.) 



8. P. serbtina, Ehrhart. (Wild Black Cherry.) Leaves oblong or 

 lanceolate-oblong, taper-pointed, serrate with incurved short and callous teeth, thickish, 

 shining above ; racemes elongated ; petals obovate ; fruit purplish-black. — 

 Woods : common. June. — A fine large tree, with reddish-brown branches, 

 furnishing valuable timber to the cabinet-maker : also abounding eastward as a 

 shrub. Fruit slightly bitter, but with a pleasant vinous flavor. 



2. SPIRJEA, L. Meadow-Sweet. 



Calyx 5-cleft, short, persistent. Petals 5, obovate, equal, imbricated in the 

 bud (except in No. 6). Stamens 10-50. Pods (follicles) 2- 12, several- (2- 

 15-) seeded. — Flowers white or rose-color, sometimes dioecious : rarely the parts 

 are 4 instead of 5. (Name probably from (nrtipdaj, to wind, alluding to the fit- 

 ness of the plants to be formed into garlands. ) 



§ 1. PHYSQCARPOS, Camb. (Neillia, Don.) Shrubs with simple pat- 

 mately-hbed leaves and umbel-like corymbs: pods inflated and diverging when 

 grown, 2 - 4-seeded : seeds pretty large, roundish, bitter, with a thick crustaceous 

 seed-coat, and rather copious albumen ! 



1. S. opulifdlia, L. (Nine-Bark.) Leaves roundish, somewhat 3-lobe \ 

 and heart-shaped ; pods 2-5. — Rocky river-banks, especially westward. June. 



— Shrub 4° -10° high, with long recurved branches, and white flowers, suc- 

 ceeded by membranaceous purplish pods : the old bark loose and separating in 

 numerous thin layers. 



§2. SPIRiEA proper. Shrubs, with simple leaves; the stipules obsolete: pods 

 (mostly 5) not inflated, several-seeded: seeds mostly linear and with a thin or 

 loose coat and no albumen, in this and the fallowing sections. 



2. S. coryrnfodsa, Raf. Nearly smooth (l°-2° high); leaves oval or 

 ovate, cut-toothed towards the apex ; corymbs large, flat, several times compound ; 

 flowers white. — Alleghanies of Pennsylvania to Virginia and Kentucky. June. 



— A form of S. betulsefolia, Pallas. 



3. S. salicifolia, L. (Common Meadow-Sweet.) Nearly smooth (2° - 

 3° high) ; leaves wedge-lanceolate, simply or doubly serrate ; flowers in a crowded 

 ptnide, white or flesh-color ; pods smooth. — Wet or low grounds : also culti- 

 vited. July. (Eu.) 



4. S. tOIXientdsa, L. (Hardhack. Steeple-Bosh.) Stems and lower 

 surface of the ovate or oblong serrate leaves very woolly; flowers in short racemes 

 crowded in a dense panicle ; pods woolly. —Low grounds : commonest in New 

 England. July. — Flowers rose-color, rarely white. 



§ 3. lTLMARIA, Mcench. Perennial herbs, with pinnate haves and panicled 

 cymose flowers: calyx reflexed : pods 5-8 in number, l-2-seeded. 



5. S. lobata, Murr. (Quekn of the Prairie ) Glabrous (2° - 8° high) ; 

 leaves interruptedly pinnate ; the terminal leaflet very large, 7 - 9-parted, the 

 lobes incised and toothed ; stipules kidney -form ; panicle compound-clustered. 



