34 



WEEDS AXD USEFUL PLA^'TS. 



I. C. racemo'sa, Ell. Racemes very long ; carpels mostly solitaryj 

 ovoid, obliquely beaked by the short thick style. 



Racemose Cimicifuga. Tall Snake-root. Black Snake-root. 



Root large, branching. Stem 4-6 feet high, slender, smooth, leafy near the middle^ 

 naked above and below, with one or two radical leaves on long erect petioles. Leaves 

 ternately decompound, petiolate ; leaflets 2-4 inches long, acute or acuminate, unequal]? 

 incised-dentate, the terminal one larger and often 3-lobed. Racemes terminal, branching 

 6-12 inches long. Sepals 4, orbicular, concave, greenish white. Seeds compressed 

 and angular. 



Rich woodlands. Fl. June. Fr. September. 



Obs. The white terminal racemes of this plant, when in flower, are 

 quite conspicuous in the woodlands. The stem and leaves, when bruised, 

 emit a disagreeable odor. The root is somewhat mucilaginous and 

 astringent. Although a plant of no agricultural value, — and probably 

 over-rated as a medicine, — the infusion of the bruised root is so gener- 

 ally regarded as a sort of Panacea for stock (especially for sick cows), 

 that every farmer ought to know it, and be able with certainty to desig- 

 nate it. 



Order II. MAGNOLIA' CEJE. (Magnolia Family.) 



Trees or shrubs with the leaf-buds sheathed by membranous stipules ; large, solitary, hypo- 

 gynous, polyandrous, polygamous^ow-'ers ; both sepals and petals colored and arranged in 

 series of threes, imbricated in the bud. Leaves alternate, entire or lobed (never serrate). 

 Stamens in several rows ; anthers adnate. FistUs mostly packed together and covering 

 the prolonged receptacle. Seeds 1-2 in each carpel ; albumen fleshy ; embryo minute. 

 A small but superb family, more ornamental, however, than important in agriculture. 



1. MAGNO'LIA, L. Magnolia. 



[Named in honor of Prof. FieiTe Magnol, a French botanist.] 



Sepals 3. Petals 6-9. Stamens with very short filaments and anthers 

 opening inwards. Pistils crowded on the long receptacle, coherent in a 

 mass, and forming a fleshy and rather woody cone-like fruit ; each carpel 

 opening by its dorsal suture. Seeds berry-like, 1 - 2 in each carpel, from 

 ■v^^hich they are suspended when mature by a long thread or funiculus. 

 Buds conical, the coverings formed of successive pairs of stipules. 



1. M. glan'ca, L. Leaves lance-oblong, obtuse, white beneath ; petals 

 roundish-obovate ; cones small, oblong. 



Glaucous Magnolia. Laurel' or Small Magnolia. Sweet Bay. 



Shrub or small tree 4-20, or even 30 feet high, branching ; with a smooth, glaucous, aro- 

 matic &arfc. iectfes thickish, 4-8 inches long, deciduous at the North but persistent at 

 the South. Flowers white, on thick, club-shaped peduncles, 2-3 inches broad, very 

 fragrant. 



Swamps from Massachusetts southward, mostly near the coast. June -Aug. 



Obs. This charming little tree is well worthy the attention of those 

 who wish to surround their dwellings with attractive objects ; it 13. yar 

 fectly hardy, and in cultivation attains a respectable size. 



