Part 15

_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 dioecious. 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. 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.

2. RHAMNUS, 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 dioecious flowers, in axillary clusters. (The ancient Greek name.)

Sec. 1. RHAMNUS proper. _Flowers usually dioecious; nutlets and seeds deeply grooved on the back; rhaphe dorsal; cotyledons foliaceous, the margins revolute._

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

1. R. alnifolia, 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. CATHARTICA, 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. lanceolata, 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.

Sec. 2. FRANGULA. _Flowers perfect; nutlets and seeds not furrowed; cotyledons flat, thick; rhaphe lateral._

3. R. Caroliniana, 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 Sec. 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. Americanus, 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 deg. 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. ovatus, 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. VITACEAE. (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. VITIS, Tourn. GRAPE.

Flowers polygamo-dioecious (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.)

Sec. 1. VITIS proper. _Bark loose and shreddy; tendrils forked; nodes solid._

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

1. V. Labrusca, 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. aestivalis, 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. cinerea, 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. cordifolia, 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. riparia, 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. palmata, 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. rupestris, 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.

Sec. 2. MUSCADINIA. _Bark closely adherent on the branches; pith continuous through the nodes; tendrils simple, intermittent; seeds with transverse wrinkles on both sides._

8. V. rotundifolia, 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 (1/2--3/4' 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. CISSUS, 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. Ampelopsis, 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. AMPELOPSIS, 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 [Greek: a)/mpelos], _a vine_, and [Greek: o)/psis], _appearance_.)

1. A. quinquefolia, 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. SAPINDACEAE. (SOAPBERRY FAMILY.)

_Trees or shrubs, with simple or compound leaves, mostly unsymmetrical and often irregular flowers; the 4--5 sepals and petals imbricated in aestivation; 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. Sapindeae. 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. AEsculus. 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. Acerineae. (MAPLE FAMILY.) Flowers (polygamous or dioecious) 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 dioecious. Leaves pinnate, with 3--5 leaflets.

SUBORDER III. Staphyleae. (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. AESCULUS, 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.)

Sec. 1. AESCULUS proper. _Fruit covered with prickles when young._

AE. HIPPOCASTANUM, 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. AE. glabra, 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.

Sec. 2. PAVIA. _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. AE. flava, 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. purpurascens, Gray. Calyx and corolla tinged with flesh-color or dull purple; leaflets commonly downy beneath.--From W. Va., south and westward.

3. AE. Pavia, 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. SAPINDUS, 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. acuminatus, Raf. A tree 20--60 deg. high; leaflets 4--9 pairs, obliquely lanceolate, sharply acuminate, entire, 11/2--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. ACER, Tourn. MAPLE.

Flowers polygamo-dioecious. 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. Pennsylvanicum, 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. spicatum, 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. saccharinum, 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. nigrum, 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. dasycarpum, 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. rubrum, 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. NEGUNDO, Moench. ASH-LEAVED MAPLE. BOX-ELDER.

Flowers dioecious. 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. aceroides, 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. STAPHYLEA, 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 [Greek: staphyle/], _a cluster_.)

1. S. trifolia, L. (AMERICAN BLADDER-NUT.) Leaflets 3, ovate, pointed.--Thickets, in moist soil. May.--Shrub 10 deg. high, with greenish striped branches.

ORDER 30. ANACARDIACEAE. (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. RHUS, 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.)

Sec. 1. RHUS proper. _Fruit symmetrical, with the styles terminal._