URTICACE^E. (NETTLE FAMILY.) 443 



4 U. al&ta, Michx. (Whahoo or Winged Elm.) Bud-scales and branch- 

 lets nearly glabrous ; bianchs corky-winged, at least some of them; leaves downy 

 beneath, ovate-oblong and oblong-lanceolate, acute, thickish, small (i'-2|' long); 

 calyx-lobes obovatc ; fruit downy on the face, at least wben young. — Virginia 

 to Illinois, and southward. March. — Wood fine-grained, valuable. 



2. PLAIERA, Guielin. Planer-tree. 



Flowers monceciously polygamous. Calyx 4 - 5-cleft. Stamens 4-5. Ovary 

 ovoid, 1-celled, 1-ovuled, crowned with 2 spreading styles which are stigmato^e 

 down the inner side, in fruit becoming coriaceous and nut-like, not winged. Al- 

 bumen none: embryo straight. — Trees with small leaves, like those of Elms, 

 the flowers appearing with them, in small axillary clusters. (Named for J. J- 

 Planer, a German botanist.) 



1. P. aquatica, Gmel. Nearly glabrous ; leaves ovate-oblong, small ; fruit 

 stalked in the calyx, beset with irregular rough projections. — Wet banks, Ken- 

 tucky (Michaux) and southward. April. 



3. CELTIS, Tourn. Nettle-tree. Hackberrt. 



Flowers monceciously polygamous. Calyx 5 - 6-parted, persistent. Stamens 

 d-6. Ovary 1-celled, with a single suspended ovule: stigmas 2, long and 

 pointed, recurved. Fruit a globular drupe. Embryo curved, nearly enclosing 

 a little gelatinous albumen : cotyledons folded and crumpled. — Leaves pointed, 

 petioled. Stipules caducous. Flowers greenish, axillary, the fertile solitary or 

 in pairs, pedunclcd, appearing with the leaves ; the lower usually staminate 

 only, in little fascicles, or racemose along the base of the branches of the season. 

 {An ancient Greek name for the Lotus ; the fruit of the European Nettle-tree 

 supposed to have been the food of the Lotophagi.) 



1. C. OCCidentaiis, L. (Sugarberry. Hackberry.) Leaves reticu- 

 lated, ovate, cordate-ovate and ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, usually conspicu- 

 ously and sharply so, more or less oblique at the base, sharply serrate, sometimes 

 sparingly so or only towards the apex, scabrous but mostly glabrous above, 

 usually sofi-pubescent beneath, at least when young ; fruit reddish or yellowish, 

 turning dark purple at maturity, its peduncle once or twice the length of the 

 petiole. (Also C. Audibertiana, Spach., &c.) — Woods and river-banks, New 

 England to Wisconsin and southward. April, May. — A small or middle-sized 

 tree, with the aspect of an Elm, bearing sweet and edible fruits as large as bird- 

 cherries, at first obovate, ripe in autumn ; the flesh thin. — Var. ptraiiLA. Low 

 and straggling (4° -10° high) ; leaves thin when mature, and smooth, slightly 

 acuminate. (C. pumila, Pursh.) River -banks, on rocks, from Maryland south- 

 ward. — Var. crassif6lia. A tall or low tree; leaves thicker, usually serrate 

 all round, and with a long tapering point, dull above, pale beneath. (C. cras- 

 sifolia, Lam.) — Common southward and westward. 



2. C. Mississippiensis, Bosc. Leaves entire, very long taper-pointed, 

 rounded at the base, mostly oblique, thin, and smooth; fruit small. (C. integri- 

 folia, Nutt.) — W. Kentucky, Illinois? and south west ward. — Even this proba- 

 bly runs into the last. 



