4. I. decidua, 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. monticola, 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. mollis, 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 cl.u.s.ters, 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. PRNOS. _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 cl.u.s.ters, or the fertile solitary; fruit bright red._

7. I. verticillata, 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. laevigata, 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. glabra, Gray. (INKBERRY.) Leaves wedge-lanceolate or oblong, sparingly toothed toward the apex, smooth; peduncles (' long) of the sterile flowers 3--6-flowered, of the fertile 1-flowered; calyx-teeth rather blunt.--Sandy grounds, Cape Ann, Ma.s.s., to Va., and southward near the coast. June.--Shrub 2--3 high.

2. NEMOPaNTHES, Raf. MOUNTAIN HOLLY.

Flowers polygamo-dicious. 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 cl.u.s.tered. (Name said by the author to mean "flower with a filiform peduncle," therefore probably composed of ??a, _a thread_, p???, _foot_, and ?????, _flower_.)

1. N. fascicularis, Raf. (N. Canadensis, _DC._)--Damp cold woods, from the mountains of Va. to Maine, Ind., Wisc., and northward. May.

ORDER 26. CELASTRaCEae. (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 alb.u.men; 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. CELaSTRUS, L. STAFF-TREE. SHRUBBY BITTER-SWEET.

Flowers polygamo-dicious. 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 cl.u.s.ters terminating the branches. (An ancient Greek name for some evergreen, which our plant is not.)

1. C. scandens, 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. EUoNYMUS, 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 e?, _good_, and ???a, _name_, because it has the bad reputation of poisoning cattle.

_Tourn._)

1. E. atropurpureus, 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. America.n.u.s, 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. obovatus, 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. PACHSTIMA, 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. Canbyi, 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. RHAMNaCEae. (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 alb.u.men.--Flowers often polygamous, sometimes dicious. Leaves mostly alternate; stipules small or obsolete. Branches often th.o.r.n.y. (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. BERCHeMI, 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. volubilis, 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.