93 



WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



Moist low grounds ; swampy woodlands : Canada to Florida. Fl. March - April. Fr. 

 September. 



Ohs. The variety with yellowish or tawny flowers is quite common 

 m Pennsylvania, — and in a pretty extensive examination, I find those 

 flowers generally staminate and sterile (rarely perfect) ; while the bright 

 purple flowers are constantly perfect. The wood of the Red Maple — ■ 

 especially that variety or form of it, known as Curled Maple — is much 

 used in the manufacture of various articles of furniture, &c., and the 

 refuse timber makes excellent fuel. The bark afibrds a dark purplish- 

 blue dye, and makes a pretty good bluish-black ink. The sap of all 

 the species is more or less saccharine. 



2. NEGUN'DO, Moench. Box-elder. 



[Origin of the name obscure.] 



DicBcious. Calyx minute, 4 - 5-cleft. Petals none. Staminate Fl. 

 mostly with 5 stamens on capillary clustered pedicels. Pistillate 

 Fl. in simple slender pendulous racemes. Frw't as in Acer. Leaves 

 pinnate. 



1. N. aceroi'des, Moench. Leaves pinnate in threes or fives ; leaflets 

 rhombic-ovate, coarsely cut-toothed. 



Acer-like Negundo. Box-elder. Ash-leaved Maple. 



stem 20-40 feet high, branched ; young branches with a yellowish -green bark. Leaflets 

 mostly 3, sometimes odd-pinnate in fives, 3-5 inches long ; common petioles 3-4 inche's in 

 length. Flowers yellowish-green, from lateral buds ; ovaries hairy ; fruit diverging. 



Low grounds : Middle and Southern and Western States. April. 



Obs. A handsome little tree, more abundant in the South and West 

 than in the Eastern states. 



Order XXIV. POLTGALA'CE^. (Milkwort Family.) 



Herbs with mostly alternate simple and entire leaves, without stipules, and irregular some- 

 what papillionaceous powers. Stamens 4:-8, diadelphous ; anthers 1-celled, opening by a 

 pore at the summit. Style curved, often hooded. Fruit a 2-celied 2-seeded capsule. 



1. POLYGA'LA, Tournef. Milkwort. 



[Greek, Poly, much, and Gala, milk ; from its supposed influence on the lacteal secretion.] 



Sepals 5, persistent ; the upper and two lower ones small, greenish ; the 

 two lateral ones (called wings) much larger and petal-lil?e. Petals 3, 

 hypogynous, connected with each other and with the stamen-tube ; the 

 middle or lower one keeled, often crested. Capsule compressed con- 

 trary to the narrow partition, loculicidal. Seeds with a caruncle or 

 variously shaped appendage at the hilum. 



1. P. Sen'eg^a, L- Perennial, stems simple, terete ; leaves alternate, 

 elliptic-lanceolate, the upper ones acuminate ; raceme terminal, spike- 



