LightNovesOnl.com

The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 159

The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States - LightNovelsOnl.com

You're reading novel online at LightNovelsOnl.com. Please use the follow button to get notifications about your favorite novels and its latest chapters so you can come back anytime and won't miss anything.

[*][*] _Cones terminal; leaves long and slender, in twos or threes._

8. P. resinsa, Ait. (RED PINE.) Leaves _in twos_ from long sheaths, elongated (_5--6' long_), dark green; cones ovate-conical, smooth _(about 2' long), their scales slightly thickened, pointless_; sterile flowers oblong-linear (6--9" long), subtended by about 6 involucral scales which are early deciduous by an articulation above the base.--Dry woods, Ma.s.s. to N. Penn., Mich., and Minn., and northward.--A tall tree, with reddish, rather smooth bark and hard wood, not very resinous.

9. P. pal.u.s.tris, Mill. (LONG-LEAVED, YELLOW, or GEORGIA PINE.) Leaves _in threes_ from long sheaths, _very long_ (10--15'), crowded at the summit of very scaly branches; sterile flowers 2--3' long, rose-purple; _cones large_, cylindrical or conical-oblong _(6--10' long), the thick scales armed with a short recurved spine_. (P. australis, _Michx._)--Sandy soil, S. Va. to Fla. and Tex. A large tree, with thin-scaled bark and exceedingly hard and resinous wood.

(Addendum) 10. P. pondersa, Dougl., var. scopulrum, Engelm. Leaves in twos or usually threes from long sheaths, 3--6' long, rather rigid; staminate flowers 1' long; cones subterminal, 2--3' long, oval, often 3--5 together, the prominent summit of the thick scales bearing a stout straight or incurved p.r.i.c.kle.--Central Neb. and westward in the Rocky Mountains.--A large tree with very thick bark.

2. PCEA, Link. SPRUCE.

Sterile flowers axillary (or sometimes terminal) on branchlets of the preceding year; anthers tipped with a rounded recurved appendage, their cells opening lengthwise. Fertile catkins and cones terminal; cones maturing the first year, pendulous; their scales thin, not thickened nor p.r.i.c.kly-tipped, persistent. Leaves scattered, needle-shaped and keeled above and below (4-sided), pointing every way. Otherwise nearly as in Pinus. (The cla.s.sical Latin name.)

1. P. ngra, Link. (BLACK SPRUCE.) _Branchlets p.u.b.escent_; leaves short (usually 4--8" long), either dark green or glaucous-whitish; _cones ovate or ovate-oblong_ (10--20" long), _mostly recurved, persistent_, the _rigid scales_ with a thin denticulate edge. (Abies nigra, _Poir._)--Swamps and cold mountain woods, New Eng. to Penn., central Mich., Minn., and northward, and south in the mountains to Ga. A tree 40--70 high.--Var. RuBRA, Engelm. Leaves larger and darker; cones larger, bright red-brown, more readily deciduous.

2. P. alba, Link. (WHITE SPRUCE.) _Branchlets glabrous_; leaves more slender, pale or glaucous; _cones nodding, cylindrical_ (about 2' long), pale, _deciduous_, the thinner scales with an entire edge. (Abies alba, _Michx._)--Northern New Eng. and N. Y. to L. Superior, and northward.--A handsomer tree than n. 1, 50--150 high, in aspect more like a Balsam Fir.

3. TSuGA, Carriere. HEMLOCK.

Sterile flowers a subglobose cl.u.s.ter of stamens, from the axils of last year's leaves, the long stipe surrounded by numerous bud-scales; anthers tipped with a short spur or k.n.o.b, their confluent cells opening transversely; pollen-grains simple. Fertile catkins and cones on the end of last year's branchlets; cones maturing the first year, pendulous; their scales thin, persistent. Leaves scattered, flat, whitened beneath, appearing 2-ranked. (The j.a.panese name of one of the species.)

1. T. Canadensis, Carr. Leaves petioled, short-linear, obtuse (' long); cones oval (6--8" long), of few thin scales much longer than the bracts. (Abies Canadensis, _Michx._)--Mostly hilly or rocky woods, N.

Scotia to Del., and along the mountains to Ala., west to Mich. and Minn.--A tall tree, with light and spreading spray and delicate foliage, bright green above, silvery beneath.

4. aBIES, Link. FIR.

Sterile flowers from the axils of last year's leaves; anthers tipped with a k.n.o.b, their cells bursting transversely; pollen as in Pinus.

Fertile catkins and cones erect on the upper side of spreading branches; cones maturing the first year; their thin scales and mostly exserted bracts deciduous at maturity. Seeds and bark with balsam-bearing vesicles. Leaves scattered, sessile, flat, with the midrib prominent on the whitened lower surface, on horizontal branches appearing 2-ranked.

(The cla.s.sical Latin name.)

1. A. balsamea, Miller. (BALSAM or BALM-OF-GILEAD FIR.) Leaves narrowly linear (6--10" long); _cones cylindrical_ (2--4' long, 1' thick), violet-colored; _the bracts obovate_, serrulate, tipped with an abrupt slender point, _shorter than the scales_.--Damp woods and mountain swamps, Newf. to Penn., along the mountains to Va., west to Minn., and northward. A slender tree or at high elevations a low or prostrate shrub.

5. LaRIX, Tourn. LARCH.

Catkins lateral, terminating short spurs on branches of a year's growth or more, short or globular, developed in early spring; the sterile from leafless buds; the fertile mostly with leaves below. Anther-cells opening transversely. Pollen-grains simple, globular. Cones as in Spruce, the scales persistent.--Leaves needle-shaped, soft, deciduous, all foliaceous, very many in a fascicle developed in early spring from lateral scaly and globular buds, and scattered along the developed shoots of the season. Fertile catkins crimson or red in flower. (The ancient name.)

1. L. Americana, Michx. (AMERICAN OR BLACK LARCH. TAMARACK.

HACKMATACK.) Leaves short; cones ovoid (6--9" long), of few rounded scales, arranged in {2/5} order.--Chiefly in cold swamps, N. Penn. to N.

Ind. and central Minn., and far northward. A slender tree, 30--100 high, with hard and very resinous wood.

6. TAXDIUM, Richard. BALD CYPRESS.

Flowers moncious, the two kinds on the same branches. Sterile flowers spiked-panicled, of few stamens; filaments scale-like, s.h.i.+eld-shaped, bearing 2--5 anther-cells. Fertile catkins ovoid, in small cl.u.s.ters, scaly, with a pair of ovules at the base of each scale. Cone globular, closed, composed of very thick and angular somewhat s.h.i.+eld-shaped scales, bearing 2 angled seeds at the base. Cotyledons 6--9.--Trees, with narrow linear 2-ranked light and deciduous leaves; a part of the slender leafy branchlets of the season also deciduous in autumn. (Name compounded of t????, _the yew_, and e?d??, _resemblance_, the leaves being Yew-like.)

1. T. distichum, Richard. (AMERICAN BALD CYPRESS.) Leaves linear and spreading; also some awl-shaped and imbricated on flowering branchlets.--Swamps, S. Del. to S. Ill. and Mo., and southward, where it is a very large and valuable tree. March, April.

7. CHAMaeCPARIS, s.p.a.ch. WHITE CEDAR. CYPRESS.

Flowers moncious on different branches, in terminal small catkins.

Sterile flowers composed of s.h.i.+eld-shaped scale-like filaments bearing 2--4 anther-cells under the lower margin. Fertile catkins globular, of s.h.i.+eld-shaped scales decussate in pairs, bearing few (1--4) erect bottle-shaped ovules at base. Cone globular, firmly closed, but opening at maturity; the scales thick, pointed or bossed in the middle; the few angled or somewhat winged seeds attached to their contracted base or stalk. Cotyledons 2 or 3.--Strong-scented evergreen trees, with very small and scale-like or some awl-shaped closely appressed-imbricated leaves, distichous branchlets, and exceedingly durable wood. (From ?aa?, _on the ground_, and ??p???ss??, _cypress_.)

1. C. sphaeroidea, s.p.a.ch. (WHITE CEDAR.) Leaves minute, pale, ovate or triangular-awl-shaped, often with a small gland on the back, closely imbricated in 4 rows; anther-cells 2 under each scale; cones small (3--5" in diameter) of about 3 pairs of scales; seeds slightly winged.

(Cupressus thyoides, _L._)--Swamps, S. Maine to Fla. and Miss. A tree 30--90 high, the wood and fibrous shreddy bark, as well as foliage, much as in Arbor Vitae.

8. THuYA, Tourn. ARBOR VITae.

Flowers mostly moncious on different branches, in very small terminal ovoid catkins. Stamens with a scale-like filament or connective, bearing 4 anther-cells. Fertile catkins of few imbricated scales, fixed by the base, each bearing 2 erect ovules, dry and spreading at maturity.

Cotyledons 2.--Small evergreen trees, with very flat 2-ranked spray, and closely imbricated, small, appressed, persistent leaves; these of two sorts, on different or successive branchlets; one awl-shaped; the other scale-like, blunt, short, and adnate to the branch. (T??a or T?a, the ancient name of some resin-bearing evergreen.)

1. T. occidentalis, L. (ARBOR VITae. WHITE CEDAR.) Leaves appressed-imbricated in 4 rows on the 2-edged branchlets; scales of the cones pointless; seeds broadly winged all round.--Swamps and cool rocky banks, N. Brunswick to Penn., along the mountains to N. C., west to Minn. A tree 20--50 high, with pale shreddy bark, and light, soft, but very durable wood.

9. JUNiPERUS, L. JUNIPER.

Flowers dicious, or occasionally moncious, in very small lateral catkins. Anther-cells 3--6, attached to the lower edge of the s.h.i.+eld-shaped scale. Fertile catkins ovoid, of 3--6 fleshy coalescent scales, each 1-ovuled, in fruit forming a sort of berry, which is scaly-bracted underneath, bluish-black with white bloom. Seeds 1--3, ovate, wingless, bony. Cotyledons 2.--Evergreen trees or shrubs, with awl-shaped or scale-like rigid leaves, often of two shapes in -- 2. (The cla.s.sical name.)

-- 1. OXYCeDRUS. _Aments axillary; leaves in whorls of 3, free and jointed at base, linear-subulate, p.r.i.c.kly-pointed, channelled and white glaucous above._

1. J. communis, L. (COMMON JUNIPER.) Shrub or small tree, with spreading or pendulous branches; leaves rigid, more or less spreading (5--9"

long); berry dark blue (3" or more in diameter).--Dry sterile hills, common.

Var. alpna, Gaud., is a dec.u.mbent or prostrate form, with shorter (2--4" long) less spreading leaves.--Maine to Minn., and northward.

-- 2. SABNA. _Aments terminal; leaves mostly opposite, of two forms, i.e., awl-shaped and loose, and scale-shaped, appressed-imbricated and crowded, the latter with a resiniferous gland on the back._

2. J. Sabna, L., var. proc.u.mbens, Pursh. _A proc.u.mbent, prostrate or sometimes creeping shrub_; scale-like leaves acute; _berry on short recurved peduncles_, 3--5" in diameter.--Rocky banks, borders of swamps, etc., N. Eng. to N. Minn., and northward.

3. J. Virginiana, L. (RED CEDAR or SAVIN.) _From a shrub to a tree 60--90 high_, pyramidal in form; scale-like leaves obtuse or acutish, entire; _berries on straight peduncles_, about 3" in diameter.--Dry hills or deep swamps, common. Bark shreddy, and heart-wood red and aromatic.

10. TaXUS, Tourn. YEW.

Flowers mostly dicious, or sometimes moncious, axillary from scaly buds; the sterile small and globular, formed of a few naked stamens; anther-cells 3--8 under a s.h.i.+eld-like somewhat lobed connective. Fertile flowers solitary, scaly-bracted at base, consisting merely of an erect sessile ovule, with an annular disk, which becomes cup-shaped around its base and at length pulpy and berry-like, globular and red, nearly enclosing the nut-like seed. Cotyledons 2.--Leaves evergreen, flat, mucronate, rigid, scattered, 2-ranked. (The cla.s.sical name, probably from t????, _a bow_; the wood anciently used for bows.)

1. T. Canadensis, Willd. (AMERICAN YEW. GROUND HEMLOCK.) A low straggling bush, the stems diffusely spreading; leaves linear, green both sides. (T. baccata, var. Canadensis, _Willd._)--Moist banks and hills, especially under evergreens; Newf. to N. J., Iowa, Minn., and northward.

CLa.s.s II. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS OR ENDOGENOUS PLANTS.

Stems with no manifest distinction into bark, wood, and pith, but the woody fibre and vessels in bundles or threads which are irregularly imbedded in the cellular tissue; perennial trunks dest.i.tute of annual layers. Leaves mostly parallel-veined (nerved) and sheathing at the base, seldom separating by an articulation, almost always alternate or scattered and not toothed. Parts of the flower commonly in threes.

Embryo with a single cotyledon, and the leaves of the plumule alternate.

ORDER 108. HYDROCHARIDaCEae. (FROG'S-BIT FAMILY.)

Click Like and comment to support us!

RECENTLY UPDATED NOVELS

About The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 159 novel

You're reading The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States by Author(s): Asa Gray. This novel has been translated and updated at LightNovelsOnl.com and has already 491 views. And it would be great if you choose to read and follow your favorite novel on our website. We promise you that we'll bring you the latest novels, a novel list updates everyday and free. LightNovelsOnl.com is a very smart website for reading novels online, friendly on mobile. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or just simply leave your comment so we'll know how to make you happy.