[*][*] Leaves serrate or entire, not spiny; shrubs.

2. I. Cassìne, L. (Cassena. Yaupon.) Leaves lance-ovate or elliptical, crenate (1–1½´ long); flower-clusters nearly sessile, smooth; calyx-teeth obtuse.—Virginia and southward along the coast. May.—Leaves used for tea by the people along the coast, as they were to make the celebrated black drink of the North Carolina Indians.

3. I. Dahòon, Walt. (Dahoon Holly.) Leaves oblanceolate or oblong, entire, or sharply serrate toward the apex, with revolute margins (2–3´ long), the midrib and peduncles pubescent; calyx-teeth acute.—Swamps, coast of Va. and southward. May, June.

Var. myrtifòlia, Chapm. Leaves smaller (1´ long or less) and narrower. (I. myrtifolia, Walt.)—Same habitat. May.

§ 2. PRINOÌDES. Parts of the (polygamous or diœcious) flowers in fours or fives (rarely in sixes); drupe red or purple, the nutlets striate-many-ribbed on the back; leaves deciduous; shrubs.

4. I. decídua, Walt. Leaves wedge-oblong or lance-obovate, obtusely serrate, downy on the midrib beneath, shining above, becoming thickish; peduncles of the sterile flowers longer than the petioles, of the fertile short; calyx-teeth smooth, acute.—Wet grounds, Va. to Mo., Kan., and southward. May.

5. I. montícola, Gray. Leaves ovate or lance-oblong, ample (3–5´ long), taper-pointed, thin-membranaceous, smooth, sharply serrate; fertile flowers very short-peduncled; calyx ciliate.—Damp woods, Taconic and Catskill Mountains, and Cattarangus Co., N. Y., through Penn. (east to Northampton Co.), and southward along the Alleghanies. May.

6. I. móllis, Gray. Leaves soft downy beneath, oval, ovate, or oblong, taper-pointed at both ends, especially at the apex, thin-membranaceous, sharply serrulate; sterile flowers very numerous in umbel-like clusters, the pedicels shorter than the petiole and (with the calyx) soft-downy, the fertile peduncles very short.—Burgoon's Gap, Alleghanies of Penn. (J. R. Lowrie, Porter), and along the mountains in the Southern States.—Resembles the last.

§ 3. PRÌNOS. Parts of the sterile flowers commonly in fours, fives, or sixes, those of the fertile flowers commonly in sixes (rarely in fives, sevens, or eights); nutlets smooth and even; shrubs.

[*] Leaves deciduous; flowers in sessile clusters, or the fertile solitary; fruit bright red.

7. I. verticillàta, Gray. (Black Alder. Winterberry.) Leaves oval, obovate, or wedge-lanceolate, pointed, acute at base, serrate, downy on the veins beneath; flowers all very short-peduncled.—Low grounds; common. May, June.

8. I. lævigàta, Gray. (Smooth Winterberry.) Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, pointed at both ends, appressed-serrulate, shining above, beneath mostly glabrous; sterile flowers long-peduncled.—Wet grounds, Maine to the mountains of Va. June.—Fruit larger than in the last, ripening earlier in the autumn.

[*][*] Leaves coriaceous, evergreen and shining, often black-dotted beneath; fruit black.

9. I. glàbra, Gray. (Inkberry.) Leaves wedge-lanceolate or oblong, sparingly toothed toward the apex, smooth; peduncles (½´ long) of the sterile flowers 3–6-flowered, of the fertile 1-flowered; calyx-teeth rather blunt.—Sandy grounds, Cape Ann, Mass., to Va., and southward near the coast. June.—Shrub 2–3° high.

2. NEMOPÁNTHES, Raf. Mountain Holly.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious. Calyx in the sterile flowers of 4–5 minute deciduous teeth, in the fertile ones obsolete. Petals 4–5, oblong-linear, spreading, distinct. Stamens 4–5; filaments slender. Drupe with 4–5 bony nutlets, light red.—A much-branched shrub, with ash-gray bark, alternate and oblong deciduous leaves on slender petioles, entire or slightly toothed, smooth. Flowers on long slender axillary peduncles, solitary or sparingly clustered. (Name said by the author to mean "flower with a filiform peduncle," therefore probably composed of νῆμα, a thread, πούς, foot, and ἄνθος, flower.)

1. N. fasciculàris, Raf. (N. Canadensis, DC.)—Damp cold woods, from the mountains of Va. to Maine, Ind., Wisc., and northward. May.

Order 26. CELASTRÀCEÆ. (Staff-tree Family.)

Shrubs with simple leaves, and small regular flowers, the sepals and the petals both imbricated in the bud, the 4 or 5 perigynous stamens as many as the petals and alternate with them, inserted on a disk which fills the bottom of the calyx and sometimes covers the ovary. Seeds arilled.—Ovules one or few (erect or pendulous) in each cell, anatropous; styles united into one. Fruit 2–5-celled, free from the calyx. Embryo large, in fleshy albumen; cotyledons broad and thin. Stipules minute and fugacious. Pedicels jointed.

[*] Leaves alternate. Flowers in terminal racemes.

1. Celastrus. A shrubby climber. Fruit globose, orange, 3-valved. Aril scarlet.

[*][*] Leaves opposite. Flowers in axillary cymes or solitary.

2. Euonymus. Erect shrubs. Leaves deciduous. Fruit 3–5-lobed. 3–5-valved. Aril red.

3. Pachystima. Dwarf evergreen shrub. Flowers very small. Fruit oblong, 2-valved. Aril white.

1. CELÁSTRUS, L. Staff-tree. Shrubby Bitter-sweet.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious. Petals (crenulate) and stamens 5, inserted on the margin of a cup-shaped disk which lines the base of the calyx. Pod globose (orange-color and berry-like), 3-celled, 3-valved, loculicidal. Seeds 1 or 2 in each cell, erect, enclosed in a pulpy scarlet aril.—Leaves alternate. Flowers small, greenish, in raceme-like clusters terminating the branches. (An ancient Greek name for some evergreen, which our plant is not.)

1. C. scándens, L. (Wax-work. Climbing Bitter-sweet.) Twining shrub; leaves ovate-oblong, finely serrate, pointed.—Along streams and thickets. June.—The opening orange-colored pods, displaying the scarlet covering of the seeds, are very ornamental in autumn.

2. EUÓNYMUS, Tourn. Spindle-tree.

Flowers perfect. Sepals 4 or 5, united at the base, forming a short and flat calyx. Petals 4–5, rounded, spreading. Stamens very short, inserted on the edge or face of a broad and flat 4–5-angled disk, which coheres with the calyx and is stretched over the ovary, adhering to it more or less. Style short or none. Pod 3–5-lobed, 3–5-valved, loculicidal. Seeds 1–4 in each cell, enclosed in a red aril.—Shrubs, with 4-sided branchlets, opposite serrate leaves, and loose cymes of small flowers on axillary peduncles. (Derivation from εὖ, good, and ὄνομα, name, because it has the bad reputation of poisoning cattle. Tourn.)

1. E. atropurpùreus, Jacq. (Burning-bush. Waahoo.) Shrub tall (6–14° high) and upright; leaves petioled, oval-oblong, pointed; parts of the (dark-purple) flower commonly in fours; pods smooth, deeply lobed.—N. Y. to Wisc., Neb., and southward; also cultivated. June.—Ornamental in autumn, by its copious crimson fruit, drooping on long peduncles.

2. E. Americànus, L. (Strawberry Bush.) Shrub low, upright or straggling (2–5° high); leaves almost sessile, thickish, bright green, varying from ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acute or pointed; parts of the greenish-purple flowers mostly in fives; pods rough-warty, depressed, crimson when ripe; the aril and dissepiments scarlet.—Wooded river-banks, N. Y. to Ill., and southward. June.

Var. obovàtus, Torr. & Gray. Trailing, with rooting branches; flowering stems 1–2° high; leaves thin and dull, obovate or oblong.—Low or wet places; the commoner form.

3. PACHÝSTIMA, Raf.

Flowers perfect. Sepals and petals 4. Stamens 4, on the edge of the broad disk lining the calyx-tube. Ovary free; style very short. Pod small, oblong, 2-celled, loculicidally 2-valved. Seeds 1 or 2, enclosed in a white membranaceous many-cleft aril.—Low evergreen shrubs, with smooth serrulate coriaceous opposite leaves and very small green flowers solitary or fascicled in the axils. (Derivation obscure.)

1. P. Cánbyi, Gray. Leaves linear to linear-oblong or oblong-obovate, obtuse, 3´´–1´ long; pedicels very slender, often solitary, shorter than the leaves; fruit 2´´ long.—Mountains of S. W. Va.

Order 27. RHAMNÀCEÆ. (Buckthorn Family.)

Shrubs or small trees, with simple leaves, small and regular flowers (sometimes apetalous), with the 4 or 5 perigynous stamens as many as the valvate sepals and alternate with them, accordingly opposite the petals! Drupe or pod with only one erect seed in each cell, not arilled.—Petals folded inwards in the bud, hooded or concave, inserted along with the stamens into the edge of the fleshy disk which lines the short tube of the calyx and sometimes unites it to the lower part of the 2–5-celled ovary. Ovules solitary, anatropous. Stigmas 2–5. Embryo large, with broad cotyledons, in sparing fleshy albumen.—Flowers often polygamous, sometimes diœcious. Leaves mostly alternate; stipules small or obsolete. Branches often thorny. (Slightly bitter and astringent; the fruit often mucilaginous, commonly rather nauseous or drastic.)

[*] Calyx and disk free from the ovary.

1. Berchemia. Petals sessile, entire, as long as the calyx. Drupe with thin flesh and a 2-celled bony putamen.

2. Rhamnus. Petals small, short-clawed, notched, or none. Drupe berry-like, with 2–4 separate seed-like nutlets.

[*][*] Calyx with the disk adherent to the base of the ovary.

3. Ceanothus. Petals long-clawed, hooded. Fruit dry, at length dehiscent.

1. BERCHÈMI, Necker. Supple-Jack.

Calyx with a very short and roundish tube; its lobes equalling the 5 oblong sessile acute petals, longer than the stamens. Disk very thick and flat, filling the calyx-tube and covering the ovary. Drupe oblong, with thin flesh and a bony 2-celled putamen.—Woody high-climbing twiners, with the pinnate veins of the leaves straight and parallel, the small greenish-white flowers in small panicles. (Name unexplained, probably personal.)

1. B. volùbilis, DC. Glabrous; leaves oblong-ovate, acute, scarcely serrulate; style short.—Damp soils, Va. to Ky. and Mo., and southward. June.—Ascending tall trees. Stems tough and very lithe, whence the popular name.

2. RHÁMNUS, Tourn. Buckthorn.

Calyx 4–5-cleft; the tube campanulate, lined with the disk. Petals small, short-clawed, notched at the end, wrapped around the short stamens, or sometimes none. Ovary free, 2–4-celled. Drupe berry-like (black), containing 2–4 separate seed-like nutlets, of cartilaginous texture.—Shrubs or small trees, with loosely pinnately veined leaves, and greenish polygamous or diœcious flowers, in axillary clusters. (The ancient Greek name.)

§ 1. RHAMNUS proper. Flowers usually diœcious; nutlets and seeds deeply grooved on the back; rhaphe dorsal; cotyledons foliaceous, the margins revolute.

[*] Calyx-lobes and stamens 5; petals wanting.

1. R. alnifòlia, L'Her. A low shrub; leaves oval, acute, serrate, nearly straight-veined; fruit 3-seeded.—Swamps, Maine to Penn., Neb., and northward. June.

[*][*] Calyx-lobes, petals, and stamens 4.

R. cathártica, L. (Common Buckthorn.) Leaves ovate, minutely serrate; fruit 3–4-seeded; branchlets thorny.—Cultivated for hedges; sparingly naturalized eastward. May, June. (Nat. from Eu.)

2. R. lanceolàta, Pursh. Leaves oblong-lanceolate and acute, or on flowering shoots oblong and obtuse, finely serrulate, smooth or minutely downy beneath; petals deeply notched; fruit 2-seeded.—Hills and river-banks, Penn. (Mercersburg, Green) to Ill., Tenn., and westward. May.—Shrub tall, not thorny; the yellowish-green flowers of two forms on distinct plants, both perfect; one with short pedicels clustered in the axils and with a short included style; the other with pedicels oftener solitary, the style longer and exserted.

§ 2. FRÁNGULA. Flowers perfect; nutlets and seeds not furrowed; cotyledons flat, thick; rhaphe lateral.

3. R. Caroliniàna, Walt. Thornless shrub or small tree; leaves (3–5´ long) oblong, obscurely serrulate, nearly glabrous, deciduous; flowers 5-merous, in one form umbelled, in another solitary in the axils, short peduncled; drupe globose, 3-seeded. (Frangula Caroliniana, Gray.)—Swamps and river banks, N. J., Va. to Ky., and southward. June.

3. CEANOTHUS, L. New Jersey Tea. Red-root.

Calyx 5-lobed, incurved; the lower part cohering with the thick disk to the ovary, the upper separating across in fruit. Petals hooded, spreading, on slender claws longer than the calyx. Filaments elongated. Fruit 3-lobed, dry and splitting into its 3 carpels when ripe. Seed as in § Frangula.—Shrubby plants; flowers in little umbel-like clusters, forming dense panicles or corymbs at the summit of naked flower-branches; calyx and pedicels colored like the petals. (An obscure name in Theophrastus, probably misspelled.)

1. C. Americànus, L. (New Jersey Tea.) Leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, 3-ribbed, serrate, more or less pubescent, often slightly heart-shaped at base; common peduncles elongated.—Dry woodlands. July.—Stems 1–3° high from a dark red root; branches downy. Flowers in pretty white clusters, on leafy shoots of the same year. The leaves were used for tea during the American Revolution.

2. C. ovàtus, Desf. Leaves narrowly oval or elliptical-lanceolate, finely glandular-serrate, glabrous or nearly so, as well as the short common peduncles. (C. ovalis, Bigel.)—Dry rocks, W. Vt. and Mass. to Minn., Ill., and southwestward; rare eastward. May.

Order 28. VITÀCEÆ. (Vine Family.)

Shrubs with watery juice, usually climbing by tendrils, with small regular flowers, a minute or truncated calyx, its limb mostly obsolete, and the stamens as many as the valvate petals and opposite them! Berry 2-celled, usually 4-seeded.—Petals 4–5, very deciduous, hypogynous or perigynous. Filaments slender; anthers introrse. Pistil with a short style or none, and a slightly 2-lobed stigma; ovary 2-celled, with 2 erect anatropous ovules from the base of each cell. Seeds bony, with a minute embryo at the base of the hard albumen, which is grooved on one side.—Stipules deciduous. Leaves alternate, palmately veined or compound; tendrils and flower-clusters opposite the leaves. Flowers small, greenish, commonly polygamous. (Young shoots, foliage, etc., acid.)

[*] Ovary surrounded by a nectariferous or glanduliferous disk; plants climbing by the coiling of naked-tipped tendrils.

1. Vitis. Corolla caducous without expanding. Hypogynous glands 5, alternate with the stamens. Fruit pulpy. Leaves simple.

2. Cissus. Corolla expanding. Disk cupular. Berry with scanty pulp, inedible. Leaves simple or pinnately compound.

[*][*] No distinct hypogynous disk; plants climbing by the adhesion of the dilated tips of the tendril-branches.

3. Ampelopsis. Corolla expanding. Leaves digitate.

1. VÌTIS, Tourn. Grape.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious (some plants with perfect flowers, others staminate with at most a rudimentary ovary), 5-merous. Calyx very short, usually with a nearly entire border or none at all. Petals separating only at base and falling off without expanding. Hypogynous disk of 5 nectariferous glands alternate with the stamens. Berry pulpy. Seeds pyriform, with beak-like base.—Plants climbing by the coiling of naked-tipped tendrils. Flowers in a compound thyrse, very fragrant; pedicels mostly umbellate-clustered. Leaves simple, rounded and heart-shaped. (The classical Latin name.)

§ 1. VITIS proper. Bark loose and shreddy; tendrils forked; nodes solid.

[+] A tendril (or inflorescence) opposite each leaf.

1. V. Labrúsca, L. (Northern Fox-Grape.) Branchlets and young leaves very woolly; leaves large, entire or deeply lobed, slightly dentate, continuing rusty-woolly beneath; fertile panicles compact; berries large.—Moist thickets, N. Eng. to the Alleghany Mountains, and south to S. Car. June. Fruit ripe in Sept. or Oct., dark purple or amber-color, with a tough musky pulp. Improved by cultivation, it has given rise to the Isabella, Catawba, Concord and other varieties.

[+][+] Tendrils intermittent (none opposite each third leaf).

[++] Leaves pubescent and floccose, especially beneath and when young.

2. V. æstivàlis, Michx. (Summer Grape.) Branchlets terete; leaves large, entire or more or less deeply and obtusely 3–5-lobed, with short broad teeth, very woolly and mostly red or rusty when young; berries middle-sized, black with a bloom, in compact bunches.—Thickets; common. May, June. Berries pleasant, ripe in Sept.—V. bicolor, LeConte, has its leaves smoothish when old and pale or glaucous beneath; common north and westward.

3. V. cinèrea, Engelm. (Downy Grape.) Branchlets angular; pubescence whitish or grayish, persistent; leaves entire or slightly 3-lobed; inflorescence large and loose; berries small, black without bloom.—Central Ill. to Kan. and Tex.

[++][++] Leaves glabrous and mostly shining, or short-hairy especially on the ribs beneath, incisely lobed or undivided.

4. V. cordifòlia, Michx. (Frost or Chicken Grape.) Leaves 3–4´ wide, not lobed or slightly 3-lobed, cordate with a deep acute sinus, acuminate, coarsely and sharply toothed; stipules small; inflorescence ample, loose; berries small, black and shining, very acerb, ripening after frosts; seeds 1 or 2, rather large, with a prominent rhaphe.—Thickets and stream-banks, New Eng. to central Ill., Mo., Neb., and southward. May, June.

5. V. ripària, Michx. Differing from the last in the larger and more persistent stipules (2–3´´ long), more shining and more usually 3-lobed leaves with a broad rounded or truncate sinus and large acute or acuminate teeth, smaller compact inflorescence, and berries (4–5´´ broad) with a bloom, sweet and very juicy, ripening from July to Sept.; seeds very small; rhaphe indistinct. (V. cordifolia, var. riparia, Gray.)—Stream-banks or near water, W. New Eng. to Penn., west to Minn. and Kan. Eastward the berries are sour and ripen late.

6. V. palmàta, Vahl. Branches bright red; leaves dark green and dull, 3–5-lobed, with a broad sinus, the lobes usually long-acuminate; inflorescence large and loose; berries black, without bloom, ripening late; seeds very large and rounded; otherwise like n. 5. (V. rubra, Michx.)—Ill. and Mo.

7. V. rupéstris, Scheele. (Sand or Sugar Grape.) Usually low and bushy, often without tendrils; leaves rather small, shining, broadly cordate, abruptly pointed, with broad coarse teeth, rarely slightly lobed; berries rather small, sweet, in very small close bunches, ripe in Aug.—Mo. to Tex.; also found in Tenn., and reported from banks of the Potomac, near Washington.

§ 2. MUSCADÍNIA. Bark closely adherent on the branches; pith continuous through the nodes; tendrils simple, intermittent; seeds with transverse wrinkles on both sides.

8. V. rotundifòlia, Michx. (Muscadine, Bullace, or Southern Fox-Grape.) Leaves shining both sides, small, rounded with a heart-shaped base, very coarsely toothed with broad and bluntish teeth, seldom lobed; panicles small, densely flowered; berries large (½–¾´ in diameter), musky, purplish without a bloom, with a thick and tough skin, ripe early in autumn. (V. vulpina, Man., not L.?)—River-banks, Md. to Ky., Mo., Kan., and southward. May.—Branchlets minutely warty. This is the original of the Scuppernong Grape, etc.

2. CÍSSUS, L.

Flowers perfect or sometimes polygamous, 4-merous or (in ours) 5-merous. Petals expanding. Disk cup-shaped, surrounding the base of the ovary. Berry inedible, with scanty pulp. Seeds usually triangular-obovate.—Tendrils in our species few and mostly in the inflorescence. A vast genus, mainly tropical. (Greek name of the Ivy.)

1. C. Ampelópsis, Pers. Nearly glabrous; leaves heart-shaped or truncate at the base, coarsely and sharply toothed, acuminate, not lobed; panicle small and loose; style slender; berries of the size of a pea, 1–3-seeded, bluish or greenish. (Vitis indivisa, Willd.)—River-banks, Va. to Ill., and southward. June.

2. C. stans, Pers. Nearly glabrous, bushy and rather upright; leaves twice pinnate or ternate, the leaflets cut-toothed; flowers cymose; calyx 5-toothed; disk very thick, adherent to the ovary; berries black, obovate. (Vitis bipinnata, Torr. & Gray.)—Rich soils, Va. to Mo., and southward.

3. AMPELÓPSIS, Michx. Virginian Creeper.

Calyx slightly 5-toothed. Petals concave, thick, expanding before they fall. Disk none.—Leaves digitate, with 5 (3–7) oblong-lanceolate sparingly serrate leaflets. Flower-clusters cymose. Tendrils fixing themselves to trunks or walls by dilated sucker-like disks at their tips. (Name from ἄμπελος, a vine, and ὄψις, appearance.)

1. A. quinquefòlia, Michx. A common woody vine, in low or rich grounds, climbing extensively, sometimes by rootlets as well as by its disk-bearing tendrils, blossoming in July, ripening its small blackish berries in October. Also called American Ivy, and still less appropriately, Woodbine. Leaves turning bright crimson in autumn.

Order 29. SAPINDÀCEÆ. (Soapberry Family.)

Trees or shrubs, with simple or compound leaves, mostly unsymmetrical and often irregular flowers; the 4–5 sepals and petals imbricated in æstivation; the 5–10 stamens inserted on a fleshy (perigynous or hypogynous) disk; a 2–3-celled and -lobed ovary, with 1–2 (rarely more) ovules in each cell; and the embryo (except Staphylea) curved or convolute, without albumen.—A large and diverse order.

Suborder I. Sapindeæ. Flowers (often polygamous) mostly unsymmetrical and irregular. Stamens commonly more numerous than the petals, rarely twice as many. Ovules 1 or 2 in each cell. Embryo curved or convolute, rarely straight; cotyledons thick and fleshy.—Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite, without stipules, mostly compound.

1. Æsculus. Flowers irregular. Calyx 5-lobed. Petals 4 or 5. Stamens commonly 7. Fruit a leathery 3-valved pod. Leaves opposite, digitate.

2. Sapindus. Flowers regular. Sepals 4–5, in two rows. Petals 4–5. Stamens 8–10. Fruit a globose or 2–3-lobed berry. Leaves alternate, pinnate.

Suborder II. Acerineæ. (Maple Family.) Flowers (polygamous or diœcious) small, regular, but usually unsymmetrical. Petals often wanting. Ovary 2-lobed and 2-celled, with a pair of ovules in each cell. Fruits winged, 1-seeded. Embryo coiled or folded; the cotyledons long and thin.—Leaves opposite, simple or compound.

3. Acer. Flowers polygamous. Leaves simple.

4. Negundo. Flowers diœcious. Leaves pinnate, with 3–5 leaflets.

Suborder III. Staphyleæ. (Bladder-Nut Family.) Flowers (perfect) regular; stamens as many as the petals. Ovules 1–8 in each cell. Seeds bony, with a straight embryo in scanty albumen.—Shrubs with opposite pinnately compound leaves, both stipulate and stipellate.

5. Staphylea. Lobes of the colored calyx and petals 5, erect. Stamens 5. Fruit a 3-celled bladdery-inflated pod.

1. ǼSCULUS, L. Horse-chestnut. Buckeye.

Calyx tubular, 5-lobed, often oblique or gibbous at base. Petals 4–5, more or less unequal, with claws, nearly hypogynous. Stamens 7 (rarely 6 or 8); filaments long, slender, often unequal. Style 1; ovary 3-celled, with 2 ovules in each cell. Fruit a leathery pod, 3-celled and 3-seeded, or usually by abortion 1-celled and 1-seeded, loculicidally 3-valved. Seed very large, with thick shining coat, and a large round pale scar. Cotyledons very thick and fleshy, their contiguous faces coherent, remaining under ground in germination; plumule 2-leaved; radicle curved.—Trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite, digitate; leaflets serrate, straight-veined, like a Chestnut-leaf. Flowers in a terminal thyrse or dense panicle, often polygamous, most of them with imperfect pistils and sterile; pedicels jointed. Seeds farinaceous, but imbued with a bitter and narcotic principle. (The ancient name of some Oak or other mast-bearing tree.)

§ 1. ÆSCULUS proper. Fruit covered with prickles when young.

Æ. Hippocàstanum, L. (Common Horse-chestnut.) Corolla spreading, white spotted with purple and yellow, of 5 petals; stamens declined; leaflets 7.—Commonly planted. (Adv. from Asia via Eu.)

1. Æ. glàbra, Willd. (Fetid or Ohio Buckeye.) Stamens curved, longer than the pale yellow corolla of 4 upright petals; leaflets usually 5.—River-banks, W. Penn. to Mich., Mo., Kan., and southward. June.—A large tree; the bark exhaling an unpleasant odor, as in the rest of the genus. Flowers small, not showy.

§ 2. PÀVIA. Fruit smooth; petals 4, conniving; the 2 upper smaller and longer than the others, with a small rounded blade on a very long claw.

2. Æ. flàva, Ait. (Sweet Buckeye.) Stamens included in the yellow corolla; calyx oblong-campanulate; leaflets 5, sometimes 7, glabrous, or often minutely downy underneath.—Rich woods, Va. to Ohio, Mo., and southward. May. A large tree or a shrub.

Var. purpuráscens, Gray. Calyx and corolla tinged with flesh-color or dull purple; leaflets commonly downy beneath.—From W. Va., south and westward.

3. Æ. Pàvia, L. (Red Buckeye.) Stamens not longer than the corolla, which is bright red, as well as the tubular calyx; leaflets glabrous or soft-downy beneath.—Fertile valleys, Va., Ky., Mo., and southward. May. A shrub or small tree.

2. SAPÌNDUS, L. Soap-berry.

Flowers regular, polygamous. Sepals 4–5, imbricated in 2 rows. Petals 4–5, with a scale at the base. Stamens 8–10, upon the hypogynous disk. Ovary 3-celled, with an ascending ovule in each cell. Fruit a globose or 2–3-lobed berry, 1–3-seeded. Seed crustaceous, globose.—Trees or shrubs, with alternate abruptly pinnate leaves, and small flowers in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles. (Name a contraction of Sapo Indicus, Indian soap, having reference to the saponaceous character of the berries.)

1. S. acuminàtus, Raf. A tree 20–60° high; leaflets 4–9 pairs, obliquely lanceolate, sharply acuminate, entire, 1½–3´ long; the rhachis of the leaf not winged; flowers white, in a large panicle, fruit mostly globose, 6´´ broad. (S. marginatus of authors, not Willd.)—S. Kan. to La., Fla., and Mex.

3. ÀCER, Tourn. Maple.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious. Calyx colored, 5- (rarely 4–12-) lobed or parted. Petals either none or as many as the lobes of the calyx, equal, with short claws if any, inserted on the margin of the lobed disk, which is either perigynous or hypogynous. Stamens 3–12. Ovary 2-celled, with a pair of ovules in each cell; styles 2, long and slender, united only below, stigmatic down the inside. From the back of each carpel grows a wing, converting the fruit into two 1-seeded, at length separable samaras or keys. Embryo variously coiled or folded, with large and thin cotyledons.—Trees, or sometimes shrubs, with opposite palmately-lobed leaves, and small flowers. Pedicels not jointed. (The classical name, from the Celtic ac, hard.)

[*] Flowers in terminal racemes, greenish, appearing after the leaves; stamens 6–8.

1. A. Pennsylvánicum, L. (Striped Maple.) Leaves 3-lobed at the apex, finely and sharply doubly serrate, the short lobes taper-pointed and also serrate; racemes drooping, loose; petals obovate; fruit with large diverging wings.—Rich woods, Maine to Minn., and southward to Va., Ky., and Mo. June.—A small and slender tree, with light-green bark striped with dark lines, and greenish flowers and fruit. Also called Striped Dogwood and Moose-Wood.

2. A. spicàtum, Lam. (Mountain M.) Leaves downy beneath, 3- (or slightly 5-) lobed, coarsely serrate, the lobes taper-pointed; racemes upright, dense, somewhat compound; petals linear-spatulate; fruit with small erect or divergent wings.—Moist woods, with the same range as n. 1. June.—A tall shrub, forming clumps.

[*][*] Flowers in nearly sessile terminal and lateral umbellate-corymbs, greenish-yellow, appearing with the leaves.

3. A. saccharìnum, Wang. (Sugar or Rock M.) Leaves 3–5-lobed, with rounded sinuses and pointed sparingly sinuate toothed lobes, either heart-shaped or nearly truncate at the base, whitish and smooth or a little downy on the veins beneath; flowers from terminal leaf-bearing and lateral leafless buds, drooping on very slender hairy pedicels; calyx hairy at the apex; petals none; wings of the fruit broad, usually slightly diverging.—Rich woods, especially northward and along the mountains southward. April, May.—A large and handsome tree.

Var. nìgrum, Torr. & Gray. (Black Sugar-M.) Leaves scarcely paler beneath, but often minutely downy, the lobes wider, often shorter and entire, the sinus at the base often closed.—With the ordinary form; quite variable, sometimes appearing distinct.

[*][*][*] Flowers in umbel-like clusters arising from separate lateral buds, and much preceding the leaves; stamens 3–6.

4. A. dasycárpum, Ehrh. (White or Silver M.) Leaves very deeply 5-lobed with the sinuses rather acute, silvery-white (and when young downy) underneath, the divisions narrow, cut-lobed and toothed; flowers (greenish-yellow) on short pedicels; petals none; fruit woolly when young, with large divergent wings.—River-banks; most common southward and westward. March–April.—A fine ornamental tree.

5. A. rùbrum, L. (Red or Swamp M.) Leaves 3–5 lobed, with acute sinuses, whitish underneath; the lobes irregularly serrate and notched, acute, the middle one usually longest; petals linear-oblong; flowers (scarlet, crimson, or sometimes yellowish) on very short pedicels; but the smooth fruit on prolonged drooping pedicels.—Swamps and wet woods. April.—A small tree, with reddish twigs; the leaves varying greatly in shape, turning bright crimson in early autumn.

4. NEGÚNDO, Moench. Ash-leaved Maple. Box-Elder.

Flowers diœcious. Calyx minute, 4–5-cleft. Petals none. Stamens 4–5. Disk none.—Sterile flowers in clusters on capillary pedicels, the fertile in drooping racemes, from lateral buds. Leaves pinnate, with 3 or 5 leaflets. Fruit as in Acer. (Name unmeaning.)

1. N. aceroìdes, Moench. Leaflets smoothish when old, very veiny, ovate, pointed, toothed; fruit smooth, with large rather incurved wings.—River-banks, W. New Eng. to Dak., south and westward. April.—A small but handsome tree, with light-green twigs, and very delicate drooping clusters of small greenish flowers, rather earlier than the leaves.

5. STAPHYLÈA, L. Bladder-Nut.

Calyx deeply 5-parted, the lobes erect, whitish. Petals 5, erect, spatulate, inserted on the margin of the thick perigynous disk which lines the base of the calyx. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals. Pistil of 3 several-ovuled carpels, united in the axis, their long styles lightly cohering. Pod large, membranaceous, inflated, 3-lobed, 3-celled, at length bursting at the summit; the cells containing 1–4 bony anatropous seeds. Aril none. Embryo large and straight, in scanty albumen, cotyledons broad and thin.—Upright shrubs, with opposite pinnate leaves of 3 or 5 serrate leaflets, and white flowers in drooping raceme-like clusters, terminating the branchlets. Stipules and stipels deciduous. (Name from σταφυλή, a cluster.)

1. S. trifòlia, L. (American Bladder-nut.) Leaflets 3, ovate, pointed.—Thickets, in moist soil. May.—Shrub 10° high, with greenish striped branches.

Order 30. ANACARDIÀCEÆ. (Cashew Family.)

Trees or shrubs, with resinous or milky acrid juice, dotless alternate leaves, and small, often polygamous, regular, 5-merous flowers, but the ovary 1-celled and 1-ovuled, with 3 styles or stigmas.—Petals imbricated in the bud. Fruit mostly drupaceous. Seed without albumen, borne on a curved stalk that rises from the base of the cell. Stipules none. Juice or exhalations often poisonous.

1. RHÚS, L. Sumach.

Calyx small, 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens 5, inserted under the edge or between the lobes of a flattened disk in the bottom of the calyx. Fruit small and indehiscent, a sort of dry drupe.—Leaves usually compound. Flowers greenish-white or yellowish. (The old Greek and Latin name.)

§ 1. RHUS proper. Fruit symmetrical, with the styles terminal.

[*] Flowers polygamous, in a terminal thyrsoid panicle; fruit globular, clothed with acid crimson hairs; stone smooth; leaves odd-pinnate. (Not poisonous.)—(§ Sumac, DC.)

1. R. týphina, L. (Staghorn Sumach.) Branches and stalks densely velvety-hairy; leaflets 11–31, pale beneath, oblong-lanceolate, pointed, serrate, rarely laciniate.—Hillsides. June.—Shrub or tree 10–30° high, with orange-colored wood. Apparently hybridizes with the next.

2. R. glàbra, L. (Smooth S.) Smooth, somewhat glaucous; leaflets 11–31, whitened beneath, lanceolate-oblong, pointed, serrate.—Rocky or barren soil. June, July.—Shrub 2–12° high. A var. has laciniate leaflets.

3. R. copallìna, L. (Dwarf S.) Branches and stalks downy; petioles wing-margined between the 9–21 oblong or ovate-lanceolate (often entire) leaflets, which are oblique or unequal at the base, smooth and shining above.—Rocky hills. July.—Shrub 1–7° high, with running roots.

[*][*] Flowers polygamous, in loose and slender axillary panicles; fruit globular, glabrous, whitish or dun-colored; the stone striate; leaves odd-pinnate or 3-foliolate, thin. (Poisonous.)—(§ Toxicodendron, DC.)

4. R. venenàta, DC. (Poison S. or Dogwood.) Smooth, or nearly so; leaflets 7–13, obovate-oblong, entire.—Swamps. June.—Shrub 6–18° high. The most poisonous species; also called Poison Elder.

5. R. Toxicodéndron, L. (Poison Ivy. Poison Oak.) Climbing by rootlets over rocks, etc., or ascending trees, or sometimes low and erect; leaflets 3, rhombic-ovate, mostly pointed, and rather downy beneath, variously notched, sinuate, or cut-lobed,—high-climbing plants (R. radìcans, L.) having usually more entire leaves.—Thickets, low grounds, etc. June.

[*][*][*] Flowers polygamo-diœcious, in small solitary or clustered spikes or heads which develop in spring before the leaves; leaves 3-foliolate; fruit as in first group. (Not poisonous).—(§ Lobadium, Torr. & Gray.)

6. R. Canadénsis, Marsh. Leaves soft-pubescent when young, becoming glabrate; leaflets rhombic-obovate or ovate, unequally cut-toothed, 1–3´ long, the terminal one cuneate at base and sometimes 3-cleft; flowers pale yellow. (R. aromatica, Ait.)—Dry rocky banks, W. Vt. to Minn., and southward.—A straggling bush, 3–7° high; the crushed leaves not unpleasantly scented.

Var. trilobàta, Gray. With smaller leaflets (½–1´ long), crenately few-lobed or incised toward the summit.—Long Pine, Neb., and common westward. Unpleasantly scented.

§ 2. CÒTINUS. Ovary becoming very gibbous in fruit, with the remains of the styles lateral; flowers in loose ample panicles, the pedicels elongating and becoming plumose; leaves simple, entire.

7. R. cotinoìdes, Nutt. Glabrous or nearly so; leaves thin, oval, 3–6´ long; flowers and fruit as in the cultivated Smoke-tree (R. Cotinus).—Mo. to Tenn., and southward.—A tree, 25–40° high.

Order 31. POLYGALÀCEÆ. (Milkwort Family.)

Plants with irregular hypogynous flowers, 4–8 diadelphous or monadelphous stamens, their 1-celled anthers opening at the top by a pore or chink, the fruit a 2-celled and 2-seeded pod.

1. POLÝGALA, Tourn. Milkwort.

Flower very irregular. Calyx persistent, of 5 sepals, of which 3 (the upper and the 2 lower) are small and often greenish, while the two lateral or inner (called wings) are much larger, and colored like the petals. Petals 3, hypogynous, connected with each other and with the stamen-tube, the middle (lower) one keel-shaped and often crested on the back. Stamens 6 or 8; their filaments united below into a split sheath, or into 2 sets, cohering more or less with the petals, free above; anthers 1-celled, often cup-shaped, opening by a hole or broad chink at the apex. Ovary 2-celled, with a single anatropous ovule pendulous in each cell; style prolonged and curved; stigma various. Fruit a small, loculicidal 2-seeded pod, usually rounded and notched at the apex, much flattened contrary to the very narrow partition. Seeds carunculate. Embryo large, straight, with flat and broad cotyledons, in scanty albumen.—Bitter plants (low herbs in temperate regions), with simple entire often dotted leaves, and no stipules; sometimes (as in the first two species) bearing cleistogamous flowers next the ground. (An old name composed of πολύς, much, and γάλα, milk, from a fancied property of its increasing this secretion.)

[*] Perennial or biennial; flowers purple or white; leaves alternate.

[+] Flowers showy, rose-purple, conspicuously crested; also bearing inconspicuous colorless cleistogamous flowers on subterranean branches.

1. P. paucifòlia, Willd. Perennial; flowering stems short (3–4´ high), from long slender prostrate or subterranean shoots, which also bear concealed fertile flowers; lower leaves small and scale-like, scattered, the upper ovate, petioled, crowded at the summit; flowers 1–3, large, peduncled; wings obovate, rather shorter than the fringe-crested keel; stamens 6; caruncle of 2 or 3 awl-shaped lobes longer than the seed.—Woods, in light soil, N. Eng. to Minn., Ill., and southward along the Alleghanies. May.—A delicate plant, with very handsome flowers, 9´´ long, rose-purple, or rarely pure white. Sometimes called Flowering Wintergreen, but more appropriately Fringed Polygala.

2. P. polýgama, Walt. Stems numerous from the biennial root, mostly simple, ascending, very leafy (6–9´ high); leaves oblanceolate or oblong; terminal raceme loosely many-flowered, the broadly obovate wings longer than the keel; stamens 8; radical flowers racemed on short subterranean runners; lobes of the caruncle 2, scale-like, shorter than the seed.—Dry sandy soil; common. July.

[+][+] Flowers white, in a solitary close spike; none cleistogamous.

3. P. Sénega, L. (Seneca Snakeroot.) Stems several from thick and hard knotty rootstocks, simple (6–12´ high); leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, with rough margins; wings round-obovate, concave; crest short; caruncle nearly as long as the seed.—Rocky soil, W. New Eng. to Minn., and southward. May, June.

Var. latifòlia, Torr. & Gray. Taller, sometimes branched; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 2–4´ long, tapering to each end.—Md. to Mich. and Ky.

4. P. álba, Nutt. Stems several from a hard rootstock, 1° high; leaves narrowly linear, 3–12´´ long, acute; wings oblong-obovate; crest small; lobes of the caruncle half the length of the appressed-silky seed.—Neb. and Kan. to Tex.

[*][*] Annuals, with all the leaves alternate; flowers in terminal spikes, heads or racemes, purple or rose-color, in summer; none subterranean.

[+] Keel conspicuously crested; claws of the true petals united into a long and slender cleft tube much surpassing the wings.

5. P. incarnàta, L. Glaucous; stem slender, sparingly branched; leaves minute and linear-awl-shaped; spike cylindrical; flowers flesh-color; caruncle longer than the narrow stalk of the hairy seed.—Dry soil, Penn. to Wisc., Iowa, Neb., and southward; rather rare.

[+][+] Keel minutely or inconspicuously crested; the true petals not longer but mostly shorter than the wings; seed pear-shaped.

6. P. sanguínea, L. Stem sparingly branched above, leafy to the top; leaves oblong-linear; heads globular, at length oblong, very dense (4–5´´ thick), bright red-purple (rarely paler or even white); pedicels scarcely any; wings broadly ovate, closely sessile, longer than the pod; the 2-parted caruncle almost equalling the seed.—Sandy and moist ground; common.

7. P. fastigiàta, Nutt. Stem slender, at length corymbosely branched; leaves narrowly linear, acute, 3–8´´ long; spikes short and dense (3´´ in diameter); the small rose-purple flowers on pedicels of about the length of the pod; wings obovate- or oval-oblong, narrowed at the base, scarcely exceeding the pod; bracts deciduous with the flowers or fruits, caruncle as long as and nearly enveloping the stalk-like base of the minutely hairy seed.—Pine barrens of N. J. and Del. to Ky., and southward.

8. P. Nuttàllii, Torr. & Gray. Resembles the last, but usually lower; spikes cylindrical, narrow; flowers duller or greenish purple, on very short pedicels; the awl-shaped scaly bracts persistent on the axis after the flowers or fruits fall; seed very hairy, the caruncle smaller.—Dry sandy soil, coast of Mass. to Mo., and southward.—Spike sometimes rather loose.

9. P. Curtíssii, Gray. Slender (9´ high), leaves, etc., as in the two preceding, flowers rose-purple, in usually short racemes; pedicels about equalling or exceeding the persistent bracts; the narrow oblong erect wings fully twice the length of the pod; caruncle small, on one side of the stalk-like base of the very hairy seed, which is conspicuously apiculate at the broader end.—Md. to Ga.—The species was founded upon an abnormal form with elongated racemes and pedicels.

[*][*][*] Annuals with at least the lower stem-leaves whorled in fours, sometimes in fives; spikes terminating the stem and branches; fl. summer and autumn.

[+] Spikes short and thick (4–9´´ in diameter); bracts persisting after the fall of the (middle-sized) rose or greenish purple flowers; crest small.

10. P. cruciàta, L. Stems (3–10´ high) almost winged at the angles, with spreading opposite branches; leaves nearly all in fours, linear and somewhat spatulate or oblanceolate; spikes sessile or nearly so; wings broadly deltoid-ovate, slightly heart-shaped, tapering to a bristly point or rarely pointless; caruncle nearly as long as the seed.—Margin of swamps, Maine to Va. and southward near the coast, and west to Minn. and Neb.

11. P. brevifòlia, Nutt. Rather slender, branched above; leaves scattered on the branches, narrower; spikes peduncled; wings lanceolate-ovate, pointless or barely mucronate.—Margin of sandy bogs, R. I., N. J. and southward.

[+][+] Spikes slender (about 2´´ thick), the bracts falling with the flowers, which are small, greenish-white or barely tinged with purple, the crest of the keel larger.

12. P. verticillàta, L. Slender (6–10´ high), much branched; stem-leaves all whorled, those of the (mostly opposite) branches scattered, linear, acute; spikes peduncled, usually short and dense, acute; wings round, clawed; the 2-lobed caruncle half the length of the seed.—Dry soil; common.

Var. ambígua. Leaves (and branches) all scattered or the lowest in fours; spikes long-peduncled, more slender, the flowers often purplish and scattered. (P. ambigua, Nutt.)—N. Y. to Mo., and southward.

[*][*][*][*] Biennials or annuals, with alternate leaves, and yellow flowers, which are disposed to turn greenish in drying; crest small; flowering all summer.

13. P. lùtea, L. Low; flowers (bright orange-yellow) in solitary ovate or oblong heads (¾´ thick) terminating the stem or simple branches; leaves (1–2´ long) obovate or spatulate; lobes of the caruncle nearly as long as the seed.—Sandy swamps, N. J. and southward, near the coast.

14. P. ramòsa, Ell. Flowers (citron-yellow) in numerous short and dense spike-like racemes collected in a flat-topped compound cyme; leaves oblong-linear, the lowest spatulate or obovate; seeds ovoid, minutely hairy, twice the length of the caruncle.—Damp pine-barrens, Del. and southward.

15. P. cymòsa, Walt. Stem short, naked above, the numerous racemes in a usually nearly simple cyme, leaves narrow, acuminate; seeds globose, without caruncle.—Del. and southward.

Order 32. LEGUMINÒSÆ. (Pulse Family.)

Plants with papilionaceous or sometimes regular flowers, 10 (rarely 5 and sometimes many) monadelphous, diadelphous, or rarely distinct stamens, and a single simple free pistil, becoming a legume in fruit. Seeds mostly without albumen. Leaves alternate, with stipules, usually compound. One of the sepals inferior (i.e. next the bract); one of the petals superior (i.e. next the axis of the inflorescence).—A very large order (nearly free from noxious qualities), of which the principal representatives in northern temperate regions belong to the first of the three suborders it comprises.

Suborder I. Papilionaceæ. Calyx of 5 sepals, more or less united, often unequally so. Corolla inserted into the base of the calyx, of 5 irregular petals (or very rarely fewer), more or less distinctly papilionaceous, i.e. with the upper or odd petal (vexillum or standard) larger than the others and enclosing them in the bud, usually turned backward or spreading; the two lateral ones (wings) oblique and exterior to the two lower, which last are connivent and commonly more or less coherent by their anterior edges, forming the carina or keel, which usually encloses the stamens and pistil. Stamens 10, very rarely 5, inserted with the corolla, monadelphous, diadelphous (mostly with 9 united into a tube which is cleft on the upper side, and the tenth or upper one separate), or occasionally distinct. Ovary 1-celled, sometimes 2-celled by an intrusion of one of the sutures, or transversely 2–many-celled by cross-division into joints; style simple; ovules amphitropous, rarely anatropous. Cotyledons large, thick or thickish; radicle incurved.—Leaves simple or simply compound, the earliest ones in germination usually opposite, the rest alternate; leaflets almost always quite entire. Flowers perfect, solitary and axillary, or in spikes, racemes, or panicles.

I. Stamens (10) distinct.

[*] Leaves palmately 3-foliolate or simple; calyx 4–5-lobed; herbs. (Podalyrieæ.)

1. Baptisia. Pod inflated.

2. Thermopsis. Pod flat, linear.

[*][*] Leaves pinnate; calyx-teeth short. (Sophoreæ.)

3. Cladrastis. Flowers panicled, white. Pod flat. A tree.

4. Sophora. Flowers racemose, white. Pod terete, moniliform. Herbaceous.

II. Stamens monadelphous, or diadelphous (9 and 1, rarely 5 and 5); nearly distinct in n. 14.

[*] Anthers of two forms; stamens monadelphous; leaves digitate or simple; leaflets entire. (Genisteæ.)

5. Crotalaria. Calyx 5-lobed. Pod inflated. Leaves simple.

6. Genista. Calyx 2-lipped. Pod flat. Seed estrophiolate. Leaves simple. Shrubby.

7. Cytisus. Calyx 2-lipped. Pod flat. Seed strophiolate. Leaves 1–3-foliolate. Shrubby.

8. Lupinus. Calyx deeply 2-lipped. Pod flat. Leaves 7–11-foliolate.

[*][*] Anthers uniform (except in n. 13 and 29).

[+] Leaves digitately (rarely pinnately) 3-foliolate; leaflets denticulate or serrulate; stamens diadelphous, pods small, 1–few-seeded, often enclosed in the calyx or curved or coiled. (Trifolieæ.)

9. Trifolium. Flowers capitate. Pods membranaceous, 1–6-seeded. Petals adherent to the stamen-tube.

10. Melilotus. Flowers racemed. Pod coriaceous, wrinkled, 1–2-seeded.

11. Medicago. Flowers racemed or spiked. Pods curved or coiled, 1–few-seeded.

[+][+] Leaves unequally pinnate (or digitate in n. 13); pod not jointed; not twining nor climbing (except n. 20).

[++] Flowers umbellate (solitary in ours) on axillary peduncles. (Loteæ.)

12. Hosaekia. Leaves 1–3-foliolate. Peduncle leafy-bracteate. Pod linear.

[++][++] Flowers in spikes, racemes, or heads. (Galegeæ.)

[=] Herbage glandular-dotted; stamens mostly monadelphous; pod small, indehiscent, mostly 1-seeded; leaves pinnate (except in n. 13).

13. Psoralea. Corolla truly papilionaceous. Stamens 10, half of the anthers often smaller or less perfect. Leaves mostly palmately 3–5-foliolate.

14. Amorpha. Corolla of one petal! Stamens 10, monadelphous at base.

15. Dalea. Corolla imperfectly papilionaceous. Stamens 9 or 10; the cleft tube of filaments bearing 4 of the petals about its middle.

16. Petalostemon. Corolla scarcely at all papilionaceous. Stamens 5; the cleft tube of filaments bearing 4 of the petals on its summit.

[=][=] Herbage not glandular-dotted (except in n. 23); stamens mostly diadelphous; pod 2-valved, several-seeded; leaves pinnately several-foliolate; flowers racemose.

a. Wings cohering with the keel; pod flat or 4-angled; hoary perennial herbs.

17. Tephrosia. Standard broad. Pod flat. Leaflets pinnately veined.

18. Indigofera. Calyx and standard small. Pod 4-angled. Leaflets obscurely veined.

b. Flowers large and showy; standard broad; wings free; woody; leaflets stipellate.

19. Robinia. Pod flat, thin, margined on one edge. Trees or shrubs.

20. Wistaria. Pod tumid, marginless. Woody twiners; leaflets obscurely stipellate.

c. Standard narrow, erect; pod turgid or inflated; perennial herbs.

21. Astragalus. Keel not tipped with a point or sharp appendage. Pod with one or both the sutures turned in, sometimes dividing the cell lengthwise into two.

22. Oxytropis. Keel tipped with an erect point; otherwise as Astragalus.

23. Glycyrrhiza. Flowers, etc., of Astragalus. Anther-cells confluent. Pod prickly or muricate, short, nearly indehiscent.

[+][+][+] Herbs with pinnate or pinnately 1–3-foliolate leaves; no tendrils; pod transversely 2–several-jointed, the reticulated 1-seeded joints indehiscent, or sometimes reduced to one such joint. (Hedysareæ.)

[=] Leaves pinnate, with several leaflets, not stipellate.

24. Æschynomene. Stamens equally diadelphous (5 and 5). Calyx 2-lipped. Pod several-jointed; joints square.

25. Coronilla. Stamens unequally diadelphous (9 and 1). Calyx 5-toothed. Joints oblong, 4-angled. Flowers umbellate.

26. Hedysarum. Stamens unequally diadelphous (9 and 1). Calyx 5-cleft. Pod several-jointed; joints roundish.

[=][=] Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, rarely 1-foliolate.

27. Desmodium. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1) or monadelphous below. Calyx 2-lipped. Pod several-jointed. Flowers all of one sort and complete. Leaflets stipellate.

28. Lespedeza. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1); anthers uniform. Pod 1–2-jointed. Flowers often of 2 sorts, the more fertile ones apetalous. Leaflets not stipellate.

29. Stylosanthes. Stamens monadelphous; anthers of 2 sorts. Pod 1–2-jointed. Calyx deciduous, the tube narrow and stalk-like. Leaflets not stipellate.

[+][+][+][+] Herbs with abruptly pinnate leaves, terminated by a tendril or bristle; stamens diadelphous; pod continuous, 2-valved, few–several-seeded. (Vicieæ.)

30. Vicia. Wings adherent to the keel. Style filiform, bearded with a tuft or ring of hairs at the apex.

31. Lathyrus. Wings nearly free. Style somewhat dilated and flattened upwards, bearded down the inner face.

[+][+][+][+][+] Twining (sometimes only trailing) herbs, leaves pinnately 3- (rarely 1- or 5–7-) foliolate; no tendrils; peduncles or flowers axillary, pod not jointed, 2-valved. (Phaseoleæ.)

[=] Leaves pinnate.

32. Apios. Herbaceous twiner; leaflets 5–7. Keel slender and much incurved or coiled.

[=][=] Leaves 3-foliolate. Ovules and seeds several. Flowers not yellow.

33. Phaseolus. Keel spirally coiled; standard recurved-spreading. Style bearded lengthwise. Flowers racemose. Seeds round-reniform.

34. Strophostyles. Keel long, strongly incurved. Style bearded lengthwise. Flowers sessile, capitate, few. Seeds oblong, mostly pubescent.

35. Centrosema. Calyx short, 5-cleft. Standard with a spur at the base; keel broad, merely incurved. Style minutely bearded next the stigma.

36. Clitoria. Calyx tubular, 5-lobed. Standard erect, spurless; keel scythe-shaped. Style bearded down the inner face.

37. Amphicarpæa. Calyx tubular, 4–5-toothed. Standard erect; keel almost straight. Style beardless. Some nearly apetalous fertile flowers next the ground.

38. Galactia. Calyx 4 cleft, the upper lobe broadest and entire. Style beardless. Bract and bractlets minute, mostly deciduous.

[=][=][=] Leaves 1–3-foliolate. Ovules and seeds only one or two. Flowers yellow.

39. Rhynchosia. Keel scythe shaped. Calyx 4–5-parted. Pod short.

Suborder II. Cæsalpinieæ. (Brasiletto Family.) Corolla perfectly or not at all papilionaceous, sometimes nearly regular, imbricated in the bud, the upper or odd petal inside and enclosed by the others, Stamens 10 or fewer, commonly distinct, inserted on the calyx. Seeds anatropous, often with albumen. Embryo straight.

[*] Flowers imperfectly papilionaceous, perfect. Trees.

40. Cercis. Calyx campanulate, 5-toothed. Pod flat, wing-margined. Leaves simple.

[*][*] Flowers not at all papilionaceous, perfect. Calyx 5-parted. Herbs.

41. Cassia. Leaves simply and abruptly pinnate, not glandular-punctate.

42. Hoffmanseggia. Leaves bipinnate, glandular-punctate.

[*][*][*] Flowers not at all papilionaceous, polygamous or diœcious. Trees.

43. Gymnocladus. Leaves all doubly pinnate. Calyx-tube elongated, at its summit bearing 5 petals resembling the calyx lobes. Stamens 10.

44. Gleditschia. Thorny; leaves simply and doubly pinnate. Calyx tube short; its lobes, petals, and the stamens 3–5.

Suborder III. Mimoseæ. (Mimosa Family.) Flower regular, small. Corolla valvate in æstivation, often united into a 4–5-lobed cup, hypogynous, as are the (often very numerous) exserted stamens. Embryo straight. Leaves twice pinnate.

45. Desmanthus. Petals distinct. Stamens 5 or 10. Pod smooth.

46. Schrankia. Petals united below into a cup. Stamens 8 or 10. Pod covered with small prickles or rough projections.

1. BAPTÍSIA, Vent. False Indigo.

Calyx 4–5-toothed. Standard not longer than the wings, its sides reflexed; keel-petals nearly separate, and, like the wings, straight. Stamens 10, distinct. Pod stalked in the persistent calyx, roundish or oblong, inflated, pointed, many seeded.—Perennial herbs, with palmately 3-foliolate (rarely simple) leaves, which generally blacken in drying, and racemed flowers. (Named from βαπτίζω, to dye, from the economical use of some species, which yield a poor indigo.)

[*] Racemes many, short and loose, terminal, often leafy at base, flowers yellow.

1. B. tinctòria, R. Br. (Wild Indigo.) Smooth and slender (2–3° high), rather glaucous; leaves almost sessile, leaflets rounded wedge-obovate (½–1½´ long), stipules and bracts minute and deciduous, pods oval-globose, on a stalk longer than the calyx.—Sandy dry soil, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and La.

[*][*] Racemes fewer, opposite the leaves.

[+] Flowers yellow.

2. B. villòsa, Ell. Sometimes soft-hairy, usually minutely pubescent when young, erect (2–3° high) with divergent branches; leaves almost sessile, leaflets wedge-lanceolate or obovate, lower stipules lanceolate and persistent, on the branchlets often small and subulate, racemes many-flowered; pedicels short; bracts subulate, mostly deciduous; pods ovoid-oblong and taper-pointed, minutely pubescent.—Va. to N. C. and Ark.

[+][+] Flowers white or cream-color.

3. B. leucophæ̀a, Nutt. Hairy, low (1° high), with divergent branches; leaves almost sessile, leaflets narrowly oblong-obovate or spatulate; stipules and bracts large and leafy, persistent; racemes long (often 1°), reclined; flowers on elongated pedicels, cream-color; pods pointed at both ends, hoary.—Mich. to Minn., south to Tex. April, May.

4. B. leucántha, Torr. & Gray. Smooth; stems, leaves, and racemes as in n. 6; stipules early deciduous; flowers white; pods oval-oblong, raised on a stalk fully twice the length of the calyx.—Alluvial soil, Ont. and Ohio to Minn., south to Fla. and La.

5. B. álba, R. Br. Smooth (1–3° high), the branches slender and widely spreading; petioles slender; stipules and bracts minute and deciduous; leaflets oblong or oblanceolate; racemes slender on a long naked peduncle; pods linear-oblong (1–1½´ long), short-stalked.—Dry soil, S. Ind. and Mo., to La., N. C., and Fla. July.

[+][+][+] Flowers indigo-blue.

6. B. austràlis, R. Br. (Blue False-Indigo.) Smooth, tall and stout (4–5°); leaflets oblong-wedge-form, obtuse; stipules lanceolate, as long as the petioles, rather persistent; raceme elongated (1–2°) and many-flowered, erect; bracts deciduous; stalk of the oval-oblong pods about the length of the calyx.—Alluvial soil, Penn. to Ga., west to S. Ind., Mo., and Ark.

2. THERMÓPSIS, R. Br.

Pod sessile or shortly stipitate in the calyx, flat, linear, straight or curved. Otherwise nearly as Baptisia.—Perennial herbs, with palmately 3-foliolate leaves and foliaceous stipules, not blackening in drying, and yellow flowers in terminal racemes. (Name from θέρμος, the lupine, and ὄψις resemblance.)

1. T. móllis, M. A. Curtis. Finely appressed-pubescent, 2–3° high; leaflets rhombic-lanceolate, 1–3´ long; stipules narrow, mostly shorter than the petiole; raceme elongated; pods narrow, short stipitate, somewhat curved, 2–4´ long.—Mountains of S. Va. and N. C.

2. T. rhombifòlia, Nutt. Low, with smaller leaves and broad conspicuous stipules; racemes short, few-flowered; pods broadly linear, spreading, usually strongly curved.—Sask. to E. Col., near or in the mountains, reported from central Kan.

3. CLADRÁSTIS, Raf. Yellow-Wood.

Calyx 5-toothed. Standard large, roundish, reflexed; the distinct keel-petals and wings straight, oblong. Stamens 10, distinct; filaments slender, incurved above. Pod short-stalked above the calyx, linear, flat, thin, marginless, 4–6-seeded, at length 2-valved.—A handsome tree, with yellow wood, smooth bark, nearly smooth pinnate leaves of 7–11 oval or ovate leaflets, and ample panicled racemes (10–20´ long) of showy white flowers drooping from the ends of the branches. Stipules obsolete. Base of the petioles hollow, enclosing the leaf buds of the next year. Bracts minute and fugacious. (Name from κλάδος, a branch, and θραυστός, brittle.)

1. C. tinctòria, Raf. Sometimes 50° high; pods 3–4´ long.—Rich hillsides, central Ky. and Tenn. to N. C. Also in cultivation. The wood yields a yellow dye.

4. SOPHÒRA, L.

Calyx bell-shaped, shortly 5-toothed. Standard rounded; keel nearly straight. Stamens distinct or nearly so. Pod coriaceous, stipitate, terete, more or less constricted between the seeds, indehiscent. Seeds subglobose.—Shrubby or ours an herbaceous perennial, the leaves pinnate with numerous leaflets, and flowers white or yellow in terminal racemes. (Said by Linnæus to be the ancient name of an allied plant.)

1. S. serícea, Nutt. Silky canescent, erect, 1° high or less; leaflets oblong-obovate, 3–6´´ long; flowers white; pods few-seeded.—Central Kan. to Col., Tex., and Ariz.

5. CROTALÀRIA, L. Rattle-box.

Calyx 5-cleft, scarcely 2-lipped. Standard large, heart-shaped; keel scythe-shaped. Sheath of the monadelphous stamens cleft on the upper side; 5 of the anthers smaller and roundish. Pod inflated, oblong, many-seeded.—Herbs with simple leaves. Flowers yellow. (Name from κρόταλον, a rattle; the loose seeds rattling in the coriaceous inflated pods.)

1. C. sagittàlis, L. Annual, hairy (3–6´ high); leaves oval or oblong-lanceolate, scarcely petioled, stipules united and decurrent on the stem, so as to be inversely arrow-shaped; peduncles few-flowered; corolla not longer than the calyx; pod blackish.—Sandy soil; Maine to Ill., Minn., Kan., and southward.

6. GENÍSTA, L. Woad-Waxen. Whin.

Calyx 2-lipped. Standard oblong-oval, spreading; keel oblong, straight, deflexed. Stamens monadelphous, the sheath entire; 5 alternate anthers shorter. Pod mostly flat and several-seeded.—Shrubby plants, with simple leaves, and yellow flowers. (Name from the Celtic gen, a bush.)

G. tinctòria, L. (Dyer's Green-weed.) Low, not thorny, with striate-angled erect branches; leaves lanceolate; flowers in spiked racemes.—Established on sterile hills, eastern N. Y. and Mass. (Adv. from Eu.)

7. CÝTISUS, Tourn. Broom.

Calyx campanulate, with 2 short broad lips. Petals broad, the keel obtuse and slightly incurved. Stamens monadelphous. Pod flat, much longer than the calyx. Seeds several, with a strophiole at the hilum.—Shrubs, with stiff green branches, leaves mostly digitately 3-foliolate, and large bright yellow flowers. (The ancient Roman name of a plant, probably a Medicago.)