The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 74

ORDER 49. ARALIaCEae. (GINSENG FAMILY.)

_Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with much the same characters as_ Umbelliferae, _but with usually more than 2 styles, and the fruit a few--several-celled drupe._--Alb.u.men mostly fleshy. Petals not inflexed.

1. ARaLIA, Tourn. GINSENG. WILD SARSAPARILLA.

Flowers more or less polygamous. Calyx-tube coherent with the ovary, the teeth very short or almost obsolete. Petals 5, epigynous, oblong or obovate, lightly imbricated in the bud, deciduous. Stamens 5, epigynous, alternate with the petals. Styles 2--5, mostly distinct and slender, or in the sterile flowers short and united. Ovary 2--5-celled, with a single anatropous ovule suspended from the top of each cell, ripening into a berry-like drupe, with as many seeds as cells. Embryo minute.--Leaves compound or decompound. Flowers white or greenish, in umbels. Roots (perennial), bark, fruit, etc., warm and aromatic.

(Derivation obscure.)

-- 1. ARALIA. _Flowers monciously polygamous or perfect, the umbels usually in corymbs or panicles; styles and cells of the (black or dark purple) fruit 5; stems herbaceous or woody; ultimate divisions of the leaves pinnate._

[*] _Umbels numerous in a large compound panicle; leaves very large, decompound._

1. A. spinsa, L. (ANGELICA-TREE. HERCULES' CLUB.) _Shrub, or a low tree; the stout stem and stalks p.r.i.c.kly_; leaflets ovate, pointed, serrate, pale beneath.--River-banks, Penn. to Ind., and south to the Gulf. July, Aug.

2. A. racemsa, L. (SPIKENARD.) _Herbaceous; stem widely branched; leaflets heart-ovate_, pointed, doubly serrate, slightly downy; umbels racemose; _styles united_.--Rich woodlands, N. Brunswick to Minn., south to the mountains of Ga. July. Well known for its spicy-aromatic large roots.

[*][*] _Umbels 2--7, corymbed; stem short, somewhat woody._

3. A. hispida, Vent. (BRISTLY SARSAPARILLA. WILD ELDER.) _Stem_ (1--2 high) _bristly, leafy_, terminating in a peduncle bearing several umbels; leaves twice pinnate; leaflets oblong-ovate, acute, cut-serrate.--Rocky and sandy places, Newf. to Dak., south to the mountains of N. C. June.

4. A. nudicaulis, L. (WILD SARSAPARILLA.) _Stem scarcely rising out of the ground, smooth, bearing a single long-stalked leaf_ (1 high) _and a shorter naked scape_, with 2--7 umbels; leaflets oblong-ovate or oval, pointed, serrate, 5 on each of the 3 divisions.--Moist woodlands; range of n. 3. May, June. The long horizontal aromatic roots a subst.i.tute for officinal Sarsaparilla.

-- 2. GiNSENG. _Flowers diciously polygamous; styles and cells of the red or reddish fruit 2 or 3; stem herbaceous, low, simple, bearing a whorl of 3 palmately 3--7-foliolate leaves, and a simple umbel on a slender peduncle._

5. A. quinqueflia, Decsne. & Planch. (GINSENG.) _Root large and spindle-shaped, often forked_ (4--9' long, aromatic); stem 1 high; _leaflets long-stalked_, mostly 5, large and thin, obovate-oblong, pointed; styles mostly 2; _fruit bright red_.--Rich and cool woods, Vt.

and W. Conn. to Minn., south to the mountains of Ga. July.

6. A. triflia, Decsne. & Planch. (DWARF GINSENG. GROUND-NUT.) _Root or tuber globular_, deep in the ground (pungent to the taste, not aromatic); stems 4--8' high; _leaflets 3--5, sessile_ at the summit of the leafstalk, narrowly oblong, obtuse; styles usually 3; _fruit yellowish_.--Rich woods, N. Scotia to Minn., south to Ga. April, May.

ORDER 50. CORNaCEae. (DOGWOOD FAMILY.)

_Shrubs or trees (rarely herbaceous), with opposite or alternate simple leaves, the calyx-tube coherent with the 1--2-celled ovary, its limb minute, the petals (valvate in the bud) and as many stamens borne on the margin of an epigynous disk in the perfect flowers; style one; a single anatropous ovule hanging from the top of the cell; the fruit a 1--2-seeded drupe; embryo nearly as long as the alb.u.men, with large foliaceous cotyledons._--Including two genera, of which Nyssa is partly apetalous. Bark bitter and tonic.

1. Cornus. Flowers perfect, 4-merous. Leaves mostly opposite.

2. Nyssa. Flowers diciously polygamous, 5-merous. Leaves alternate.

1. CoRNUS, Tourn. CORNEL. DOGWOOD.

Flowers perfect (or in some foreign species dicious). Calyx minutely 4-toothed. Petals 4, oblong, spreading. Stamens 4; filaments slender.

Style slender; stigma terminal, flat or capitate. Drupe small, with a 2-celled and 2-seeded stone.--Leaves opposite (except in one species), entire. Flowers small, in open naked cymes, or in close heads surrounded by a corolla-like involucre. (Name from _cornu_, a horn; alluding to the hardness of the wood.)

-- 1. _Flowers greenish, in a head or close cl.u.s.ter, surrounded by a large and showy, 4-leaved, corolla-like, white or rarely pinkish involucre; fruit bright red._

1. C. Canadensis, L. (DWARF CORNEL. BUNCH-BERRY.) _Stems low and simple_ (5--7' high) from a slender creeping and subterranean rather woody trunk; leaves scarcely petioled, the lower scale-like, the upper crowded into an apparent whorl in sixes or fours, ovate or oval, pointed; _leaves of the involucre ovate_; fruit globular.--Damp cold woods, N. J.

to Ind. and Minn., and the far north and west. June.

2. C. florida, L. (FLOWERING DOGWOOD.) _Tree_ 12--40 high; leaves ovate, pointed, acutish at the base; _leaves of the involucre obcordate_ (1' long); _fruit oval_.--Dry woods, from S. New Eng. to Ont. and S.

Minn., south to Fla. and Tex. May, June. Very showy in flower, scarcely less so in fruit.

-- 2. _Flowers white, in open flat spreading cymes; involucre none; fruit spherical; leaves all opposite (except in n. 9)._

[*] _p.u.b.escence woolly and more or less spreading._

3. C. circinata, L'Her. (ROUND-LEAVED CORNEL or DOGWOOD.) Shrub 6--10 high; _branches greenish_, warty-dotted; _leaves round-oval, abruptly pointed, woolly beneath_ (2--5' broad); cymes flat; _fruit light blue_.--Copses, in rich or sandy soil, or on rocks, N. Scotia to Dak., south to Va. and Mo. June.

4. C. sericea, L. (SILKY CORNEL. KINNIKINNIK.) Shrub 3--10 high; _branches purplish; the branchlets, stalks, and lower surface of the narrowly ovate or elliptical pointed leaves silky-downy_ (often rusty), pale and dull; cymes flat, close; calyx-teeth lanceolate; _fruit pale blue_.--Wet places, Canada to Dak., south to Fla. and La. June.

5. C. asperiflia, Michx. _Branches brownish; the branchlets, etc., rough-p.u.b.escent; leaves oblong or ovate_, on short petioles, pointed, _rough_ with a harsh p.u.b.escence _above, and downy beneath_; calyx-teeth minute; fruit white. (C. Drummondii, _Mey._)--Dry or sandy soil, N.

sh.o.r.e of L. Erie to Minn. and the Gulf. May, June. A rather tall shrub.

[*][*] _p.u.b.escence closely appressed, straight and silky, or none._

6. C. stolonifera, Michx. (RED-OSIER DOGWOOD.) _Branches, especially the osier-like shoots_ of the season, _bright red-purple, smooth; leaves ovate_, rounded at base, abruptly short-pointed, roughish with a minute close p.u.b.escence on both sides, _whitish underneath_; cymes small and flat, rather few-flowered, smooth; _fruit white or lead-color_.--Wet places; common, especially northward. Multiplies freely by prostrate or subterranean suckers, and forms broad clumps, 3--6 high. June.

7. C. stricta, Lam. (STIFF CORNEL.) A shrub 8--15 high; branches brownish or reddish, smooth; _leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate_, taper-pointed, acutish at base, _glabrous, of nearly the same hue both sides; cymes loose, flattish_; _anthers and fruit pale blue_.--Swamps, Va. to Ga. and Fla. April, May.

8. C. paniculata, L'Her. (PANICLED CORNEL.) Shrub 4--8 high, much branched; _branches gray, smooth; leaves ovate-lanceolate_, taper-pointed, acute at base, _whitish beneath_ but not downy; _cymes convex, loose_, often panicled; _fruit white_, depressed-globose.--Thickets and river-banks. June.

9. C. alterniflia, L. f. Shrub or tree 8--25 high; _branches greenish streaked with white, the alternate leaves cl.u.s.tered at the ends_, ovate or oval, long-pointed, acute at base, whitish and minutely p.u.b.escent beneath; cymes very broad and open; _fruit deep blue_ on reddish stalks.--Hillsides in copses, N. Brunswick to Minn., south to Ga. and Ala. May, June.

2. NSSA, L. TUPELO. PEPPERIDGE. SOUR-GUM TREE.

Flowers diciously polygamous, cl.u.s.tered or rarely solitary at the summit of axillary peduncles. _Stam. Fl._ numerous in a simple or compound dense cl.u.s.ter of fascicles. Calyx small, 5-parted. Petals as in fertile flower or none. Stamens 5--12, oftener 10, inserted on the outside of a convex disk; filaments slender; anthers short. No pistil.

_Pist. Fl._ solitary, or 2--8, sessile in a bracted cl.u.s.ter, much larger than the staminate flowers. Calyx with a very short repand-truncate or minutely 5-toothed limb. Petals very small and fleshy, deciduous, or often wanting. Stamens 5--10, with perfect or imperfect anthers. Style elongated, revolute, stigmatic down one side. Ovary 1-celled. Drupe ovoid or oblong, with a bony and grooved or striate 1-celled and 1-seeded stone.--Trees with entire or sometimes angulate-toothed leaves, which are alternate, but mostly crowded at the ends of the branchlets, and greenish flowers appearing with the leaves. (The name of a Nymph: "so called because it [the original species] grows in the water.")

1. N. sylvatica, Marsh. (TUPELO. PEPPERIDGE. BLACK or SOUR GUM.) Middle-sized tree, with horizontal branches; leaves oval or obovate, commonly ac.u.minate, glabrous or villous p.u.b.escent when young, at least on the margins and midrib, s.h.i.+ning above when old (2--5' long); _fertile flowers 3--8_, at the summit of a slender peduncle; _fruit ovoid_, acid, _bluish-black_ (about ' long). (N. multiflora, _w.a.n.g._)--Rich soil, either moist or nearly dry, S. Maine and N. Vt. to Mich., south to Fla.

and Tex. April, May. Leaves turning bright crimson in autumn. Wood firm, close-grained and very unwedgeable, on account of the oblique direction and crossing of its fibres.

2. N. uniflra, w.a.n.g. (LARGE TUPELO.) A large tree; leaves oblong or ovate, sometimes slightly cordate at base, long-petioled, entire or angulate-toothed, pale and downy-p.u.b.escent beneath, at least when young (4--12' long); _fertile flower solitary_ on a slender peduncle; _fruit oblong, blue_ (1' or more in length).--Deep swamps, S. Va. to S. Ill.

and Mo., south to Fla. and Tex. April. Wood soft; that of the roots very light and spongy.

DIVISION II. GAMOPETALOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.

Floral envelopes consisting of both calyx and corolla, the latter composed of more or less united petals, that is, gamopetalous.[A]

[Footnote A: In certain families, as in Ericaceae, etc., the petals in some genera are nearly or quite separate. In Compositae and some others, the calyx is mostly reduced to a pappus, or a mere border, or even to nothing more than a covering of the surface of the ovary. The student might look for these in the first or the third division; but the _artificial a.n.a.lysis_ prefixed to the volume provides for such anomalies, and will lead him to the proper order.]

ORDER 51. CAPRIFOLIaCEae. (HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.)