5--6. Ovary 1-celled, with a single suspended ovule; stigmas 2, long and
pointed, recurved. Fruit a globular drupe. Embryo curved, nearly
enclosing a little gelatinous albumen; cotyledons folded and
crumpled.--Leaves pointed, petioled, inequilateral. Stipules caducous.
Flowers greenish, axillary, the fertile solitary or in pairs, peduncled,
appearing with the leaves, the lower usually staminate only, fascicled
or racemose along the base of the branches of the season. (A name of
Pliny's for an African species of Lotus.)
1. C. occidentalis, L. (SUGARBERRY. HACKBERRY.) _Leaves reticulated_,
ovate, cordate-ovate and ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, usually
conspicuously and sharply so, more or less oblique at base, _sharply
serrate_, sometimes sparingly so or only toward the apex, scabrous but
mostly glabrous above, usually soft-pubescent beneath, at least when
young; fruit reddish or yellowish, turning dark purple at maturity, its
peduncle once or twice the length of the petiole.--Woods and
river-banks, N. Eng. to Minn., and southward. April, May.--A small or
sometimes large tree, with the aspect of an Elm, bearing sweet and
edible fruits as large as bird-cherries, at first obovate, ripe in
autumn; the flesh thin. Very variable in the form, texture, etc., of the
leaves.--Var. PUMILA, Gray. Low and straggling (4--10 deg. high); leaves
thin when mature, and smooth, _slightly acuminate_. River-banks, on
rocks, from Maryland southward.
2. C. Mississippiensis, Bosc. _Leaves entire_ (rarely few-toothed),
_very long taper-pointed_, rounded at base, mostly oblique, thin, and
smooth; fruit small.--Ill. to Tenn., and southward. A small tree with
warty bark. (Addendum)--Celtis Mississippiensis. Common in low
river-bottoms of W. Mo. (_F. Bush_); described as having a very smooth
trunk, like a sycamore, and soft yellowish brittle wood, not
coarse-grained as in C. occidentalis.
4. CANNABIS, Tourn. HEMP.
Flowers dioecious; the sterile in axillary compound racemes or panicles,
with 5 sepals and 5 drooping stamens. Fertile flowers spiked-clustered,
1-bracted; the calyx of a single sepal enlarging at the base and folded
round the ovary. Achene crustaceous. Embryo simply curved.--A tall
roughish annual, with digitate leaves of 5--7 linear-lanceolate coarsely
toothed leaflets, the upper alternate; the inner bark of very tough
fibres. (The ancient Greek name, of obscure etymology.)
C. SATIVA, L. (HEMP.) Stem 4--8 deg. high; leaves 4--8' broad; flowers
green.--Waste and cultivated ground. (Adv. from Eu.)
5. HUMULUS, L. HOP.
Flowers dioecious; the sterile in loose axillary panicles, with 5 sepals
and 5 erect stamens. Fertile flowers in short axillary and solitary
spikes or catkins; bracts foliaceous, imbricated, each 2-flowered, in
fruit forming a sort of membranaceous strobile. Calyx of a single sepal,
embracing the ovary. Achene invested with the enlarged scale-like calyx.
Embryo coiled in a flat spiral.--Twining rough perennials, with stems
almost prickly downward, and mostly opposite heart-shaped and palmately
3--7-lobed leaves, with persistent ovate stipules between the petioles.
(A late Latin name, of Teutonic origin.)
1. H. Lupulus, L. (COMMON HOP.) Leaves mostly 3--5-lobed, commonly
longer than the petioles; bracts, etc., smoothish; the fruiting calyx,
achene, etc., sprinkled with yellow resinous grains, which give the
bitterness and aroma to the hop.--Alluvial banks, N. Eng. to western
N. Y., the Great Lakes and westward, and south in the mountains to Ga.
July. (Eu., Asia.)
6. MACLURA, Nutt. OSAGE ORANGE. BOIS D'ARC.
Flowers dioecious; the staminate in loose short racemes, with 4-parted
calyx, and 4 stamens inflexed in the bud; the pistillate in a dense
globose head, with a 4-cleft calyx enclosing the ovary. Style filiform,
long-exserted; ovule pendulous. Fruit an achene, buried in the greatly
enlarged fleshy calyx. Albumen none. Embryo recurved.--Trees with milky
juice, alternate entire pinnately veined leaves, caducous stipules,
axillary peduncles, and stout axillary spines. (Named for the early
American geologist, _William Maclure_.)
1. M. aurantiaca, Nutt. A tree 30--50 deg. high; leaves ovate to
oblong-lanceolate, pointed, mostly rounded at base, green and shining;
syncarp globose, yellowish green, 2--3' in diameter.--E. Kan. and Mo. to
N. Tex.; extensively used for hedges. Wood bright orange.
7. MORUS, Tourn. MULBERRY.
Flowers monoecious or dioecious; the two kinds in separate axillary and
catkin-like spikes. Calyx 4-parted; lobes ovate. Stamens 4; filaments
elastically expanding. Ovary 2-celled, one of the cells smaller and
disappearing; styles 2, thread-form, stigmatic down the inside. Achene
ovate, compressed, covered by the succulent berry-like calyx, the whole
spike thus becoming a thickened oblong and juicy (edible) aggregate
fruit.--Trees with milky juice and broad leaves; sterile spikes rather
slender. (The classical Latin name.)
1. M. rubra, L. (RED MULBERRY.) _Leaves_ heart-ovate, serrate, _rough
above, downy beneath_, pointed (on young shoots often lobed); flowers
frequently dioecious; _fruit dark purple_, long.--Rich woods, W. New
Eng. to S. Ont., Dak., E. Kan., and southward. May.--Large tree,
ripening its blackberry-like fruit in July.
M. ALBA, L. (WHITE MULBERRY.) _Leaves_ obliquely heart-ovate,
acute, serrate, sometimes lobed, _smooth and shining; fruit
whitish_.--Spontaneous near houses. (Adv. from Eu.)
8. URTICA, Tourn. NETTLE.
Flowers monoecious, or rarely dioecious, clustered, the clusters mostly
in racemes, spikes, or loose heads. _Ster. Fl._ Sepals 4. Stamens 4,
inserted around the cup-shaped rudiment of a pistil. _Fert. Fl._ Sepals
4, in pairs; the 2 outer smaller and spreading; the 2 inner flat
or concave, in fruit membranaceous and enclosing the straight
and erect ovate flattened achene. Stigma sessile, capitate and
pencil-tufted.--Herbs, armed with stinging hairs. Leaves opposite;
stipules in our species distinct. Flowers greenish; in summer. (The
classical Latin name; from _uro_, to burn.)
[*] _Perennials; flower-clusters in branching panicled spikes, often
dioecious._
1. U. gracilis, Ait. _Sparingly bristly_, slender (2--6 deg. high); _leaves
ovate-lanceolate_, pointed, serrate, 3--5-nerved from the rounded or
scarcely heart-shaped base, _almost glabrous, the elongated slender
petioles sparingly bristly_; spikes slender and loosely
panicled.--Fence-rows and moist ground, common. Stings few.
U. DIOICA, L. _Very bristly and stinging_ (2--3 deg. high); _leaves ovate,
heart-shaped_, pointed, _very deeply serrate, downy beneath_ as well as
the upper part of the stem; _spikes much branched_.--Waste places and
roadsides, rather rare. Canada and N. Eng. to S. C., west to Minn. and
Mo. (Nat. from Eu.)
[*][*] _Annuals; flower-clusters chiefly axillary and shorter than the
petiole, androgynous._
U. URENS, L. _Leaves elliptical or ovate_, very coarsely and deeply
serrate with long spreading teeth, the terminal teeth not longer than
the lateral ones; _flower-clusters 2 in each axil, small and
loose_.--Waste grounds, near dwellings, eastward; scarce. Plant 8--12'
high, with sparse stings. (Nat. from Eu.)
2. U. chamaedryoides, Pursh. _Leaves ovate and mostly heart-shaped_, the
upper ovate-lanceolate, coarsely serrate-toothed; _flower-clusters
globular_, 1--2 in each axil, and spiked at the summit.--Alluvial shaded
soil, from Ky. to the Gulf States. Slender, 6--30' high, sparsely beset
with stings.
9. LAPORTEA, Gaudichaud. WOOD-NETTLE.
Flowers monoecious or dioecious, clustered, in loose cymes; the upper
widely spreading and chiefly or entirely fertile; the lower mostly
sterile. _Ster. Fl._ Sepals and stamens 5, with a rudiment of an ovary.
_Fert. Fl._ Calyx of 4 sepals, the two outer or one of them usually
minute, and the two inner much larger. Stigma elongated awl-shaped,
hairy down one side, persistent. Achene ovate, flat, extremely oblique,
reflexed on the winged or margined pedicel, nearly naked.--Perennial
herbs, with stinging hairs, large alternate serrate leaves, and axillary
stipules. (Named for _M. Laporte_.)
1. L. Canadensis, Gaudichaud. Stem 2--3 deg. high; leaves ovate, pointed,
strongly feather-veined (3--7' long), long-petioled; fertile cymes
divergent; stipule single, 2-cleft.--Moist rich woods. July--Sept.
10. PILEA, Lindl. RICHWEED. CLEARWEED.
Flowers monoecious or dioecious. _Ster. Fl._ Sepals and stamens 3--4.
_Fert. Fl._ Sepals 3, oblong, more or less unequal; a rudiment of a
stamen commonly before each in the form of a hooded scale. Stigma
sessile, pencil-tufted. Achene ovate, compressed, erect, partly or
nearly naked.--Stingless, mostly glabrous and low herbs, with opposite
leaves and united stipules; the staminate flowers often mixed with the
fertile. (Named from the shape of the larger sepal of the fertile flower
in the original species, which partly covers the achene, like the
_pileus_, or felt cap, of the Romans.)
1. P. pumila, Gray. (RICHWEED. CLEARWEED.) Low (3--18' high); stems
smooth and shining, pellucid; leaves ovate, coarsely toothed, pointed,
3-ribbed and veiny; flower-clusters much shorter than the petioles;
sepals of the fertile flowers lanceolate, scarcely unequal.--Cool and
moist shaded places. July--Sept.
11. BOEHMERIA, Jacq. FALSE NETTLE.
Flowers monoecious or dioecious, clustered; the sterile much as in
Urtica; the fertile with a tubular or urn-shaped entire or 2--4-toothed
calyx enclosing the ovary. Style elongated awl-shaped, stigmatic and
papillose down one side. Achene elliptical, closely invested by the dry
and persistent compressed calyx.--No stings. (Named after _G. R.
Boehmer_, Professor at Wittenberg in the last century.)
1. B. cylindrica, Willd. Perennial, smoothish or pubescent and more or
less scabrous; stem (1--3 deg. high) simple; leaves chiefly opposite (rarely
all alternate), ovate to ovate- or oblong-lanceolate, pointed, serrate,
3-nerved; stipules distinct; petioles short or elongated; flowers
dioecious, or the two kinds intermixed, the small clusters densely
aggregated in simple and elongated axillary spikes, the sterile
interrupted, the fertile often continuous, frequently leaf-bearing at
the apex.--Moist or shady ground, common. Very variable.
12. PARIETARIA, Tourn. PELLITORY.
Flowers monoeciously polygamous; the staminate, pistillate, and perfect
intermixed in the same involucrate-bracted cymose axillary clusters; the
sterile much as in the last; the fertile with a tubular or bell-shaped
4-lobed and nerved calyx, enclosing the ovary and the ovoid achene.
Style slender or none; stigma pencil-tufted.--Homely, diffuse or tufted
herbs, not stinging, with alternate entire 3-ribbed leaves, and no
stipules. (The ancient Latin name, because growing on old walls.)
1. P. Pennsylvanica, Muhl. Low, annual, simple or sparingly branched,
minutely downy; leaves oblong-lanceolate, thin, veiny, roughish with
opaque dots; flowers shorter than the involucre; stigma sessile.--Shaded
rocky banks, E. Mass. and Vt. to Minn., and southward. June--Aug.
ORDER 100. PLATANACEAE. (PLANE-TREE FAMILY.)
_Trees, with watery juice, alternate palmately-lobed leaves, sheathing
stipules, and monoecious flowers in separate and naked spherical heads,
destitute of calyx or corolla; the fruit merely club-shaped 1-seeded
nutlets, furnished with a ring of bristly hairs about the base_;
consists only of the following genus (of uncertain relationship).
1. PLATANUS, L. SYCAMORE. BUTTONWOOD.
Sterile flowers of numerous stamens, with club-shaped little scales
intermixed, filaments very short. Fertile flowers in separate catkins,
consisting of inversely pyramidal ovaries mixed with little scales.
Style rather lateral, awl-shaped or thread-like, simple. Nutlets
coriaceous, small, tawny-hairy below, containing a single orthotropous
pendulous seed. Embryo in the axis of thin albumen.--Large trees, with
the bark deciduous in broad thin brittle plates; dilated base of the
petiole enclosing the bud of the next season. (The ancient name, from
[Greek: platy/s], _broad_.)
1. P. occidentalis, L. Leaves mostly truncate at base, angularly
sinuate-lobed or toothed, the short lobes sharp-pointed; fertile heads
solitary, hanging on a long peduncle.--Alluvial banks, S. Maine to N.
Vt., Ont., S. E. Minn., E. Kan., and southward. Our largest tree, often
90--130 deg. high, with a trunk 6--14 deg. in diameter.
ORDER 101. JUGLANDACEAE. (WALNUT FAMILY.)
_Trees, with alternate pinnate leaves, and no stipules; flowers
monoecious, the sterile in catkins (aments) with an irregular calyx
adnate to the bract; the fertile solitary or in a small cluster or
spike, with a regular 3--5-lobed calyx adherent to the incompletely
2--4-celled but only 1-ovuled ovary. Fruit a kind of dry drupe, with a
crustaceous or bony nut-shell, containing a large 4-lobed orthotropous
seed._ Albumen none. Cotyledons fleshy and oily, sinuous or corrugated,
2-lobed; radicle short, superior. Petals sometimes present in the
fertile flowers.--A small family of important trees, consisting chiefly
of the two following genera.
1. JUGLANS, L. WALNUT.
Sterile flowers in long and simple lateral catkins from the wood of the
preceding year; the calyx adherent to the entire bracts or scales,
unequally 3--6-cleft. Stamens 12--40; filaments free, very short.
Fertile flowers solitary or several together on a peduncle at the end of
the branches, with a 4-toothed calyx, bearing 4 small petals at the
sinuses. Styles 2, very short; stigmas 2, somewhat club-shaped and
fringed. Fruit with a fibrous-fleshy indehiscent epicarp, and a mostly
rough irregularly furrowed endocarp or nut-shell.--Trees, with
strong-scented or resinous-aromatic bark, few-scaled or almost naked
buds (3 or 4 superposed, and the uppermost far above the axil),
odd-pinnate leaves of many serrate leaflets, and the embryo sweet and
edible. Pith in plates. (Name contracted from _Jovis glans_, the nut of
Jupiter.)
1. J. cinerea, L. (BUTTERNUT. WHITE WALNUT.) Leaflets 5--8 pairs,
oblong-lanceolate, pointed, rounded at base, downy, especially beneath,
the _petioles and branchlets downy with clammy hairs; fruit oblong,
clammy_, pointed, the nut deeply sculptured and rough with ragged
ridges, 2-celled at the base.--Rich woods, N. Eng. to the mountains of
Ga., west to Minn., E. Kan., and Ark. Tree 50--75 deg. high, with gray bark,
widely spreading branches, and lighter brown wood than in the next.
2. J. nigra, L. (BLACK WALNUT.) Leaflets 7--11 pairs, ovate-lanceolate,
taper-pointed, somewhat heart-shaped or unequal at base, smooth above,
the lower surface and the _petioles minutely downy; fruit spherical_,
roughly dotted, the nut corrugated, 4-celled at top and bottom.--Rich
woods, W. Mass. and Conn. to Fla., west to Minn., E. Neb., E. Kan., and
southward. A large and handsome tree (often 90--150 deg. high), with rough
brown bark, and valuable purplish-brown wood turning blackish with age.
2. CARYA, Nutt. HICKORY.
Sterile flowers in slender lateral and clustered catkins; calyx naked,
adherent to the bract, unequally 2--3-parted. Stamens 3--10; filaments
short or none, free. Fertile flowers 2--5 in a cluster or short spike,
on a peduncle terminating the shoot of the season; calyx 4-toothed;
petals none. Stigmas sessile, 2 or 4, large, papillose, persistent.
Fruit with a 4-valved, firm and at length dry exocarp (involucre),
falling away from the smooth and crustaceous or bony endocarp or
nut-shell, which is incompletely 2-celled, and at the base mostly
4-celled.--Fine timber-trees, with hard and very tough wood, and scaly
buds, from which in spring are put forth usually both kinds of flowers,
the sterile below and the fertile above the leaves. Nuts ripen and fall
in October. ([Greek: Kary/a], an ancient name of the Walnut.)
Sec. 1. _Sterile catkins fascicled (no common peduncle or sometimes a very
short one) from separate lateral scaly buds near the summit of shoots of
the preceding year; bud-scales few; fruit elongated-oblong; the
thin-shelled nut 2-celled below; seed sweet; leaflets short-stalked,
numerous._
1. C. olivaeformis, Nutt. (PECAN-NUT.) Minutely downy, becoming nearly
smooth; leaflets 13--15, oblong-lanceolate, tapering gradually to a
slender point, falcate, serrate; nut olive-shaped.--River bottoms, S.
Ind., S. Ill., and Iowa, to La. and Tex. A large tree (90--160 deg. high),
with delicious nuts.
Sec. 2. _Sterile catkins in threes (rarely more) on a common peduncle from
the axil of the inner scales of the common bud, therefore at the base of
the shoot of the season, which, then bearing 3 or 4 leaves, is
terminated by the fertile flowers; fruit globular or oval; nut 4-celled
at base; leaflets sessile or nearly so._
[*] _Bud-scales numerous, about 10, successively enwrapping, the inner
ones accrescent, becoming thin and membranaceous and rather tardily
deciduous; husk of the fruit splitting promptly into 4 more or less
thick and when dry hard or woody valves; seed sweet and delicious._ (The
_hickory nuts_ of the market.)
2. C. alba, Nutt. (SHELL-BARK or SHAG-BARK HICKORY.) Bark of trunk
shaggy, exfoliating in rough strips or plates; inner bud-scales becoming
large and conspicuous, persistent till the flowers are fully developed;
_leaflets 5--7_, when young minutely downy beneath, finely serrate, the
three upper obovate-lanceolate, the _lower pair much smaller_ and
oblong-lanceolate, all taper-pointed; fruit globular or depressed;
_nut white_, flattish-globular, barely mucronate, the shell
thinnish.--N. Eng. to N. shore of L. Erie and S. E. Minn., south to
Fla., E. Kan., and Tex. Large and handsome tree (70--90 deg. high, or more),
of great economic value. The principal hickory-nut of the markets.
3. C. sulcata, Nutt. (BIG SHELL-BARK. KING-NUT.) Bark, etc., as in n. 1;
_leaflets 7--9_, more downy beneath; _fruit oval or ovate_, 4-ribbed
above the middle, the husk very thick; _nut large_ (11/4--2' long) and
usually angular, _dull white or yellowish, thick-walled, usually
strongly pointed at both ends_.--Central N. Y. and Penn. to S. Ind.,
E. Kan., and Ind. Terr. Tree 70--90 deg. high, or more, in rich soil of
bottom lands.
4. C. tomentosa, Nutt. (MOCKER-NUT. WHITE-HEART HICKORY.) _Bark close_,
rough, but not shaggy and exfoliating on old trunks; catkins, shoots,
and lower surface of the leaves _tomentose_ when young, resinous
scented; _leaflets_ 7--9, lance-obovate or the lower oblong-lanceolate,
pointed; _fruit globular or ovoid_, with a very thick and hard husk;
_nut globular, not compressed, 4-ridged toward the slightly pointed
summit, brownish_, very thick-shelled, 1' in diameter or smaller.--N.
Eng. to N. shore of L. Erie, E. Neb., and south to the Gulf. Tree
70--100 deg. high, usually on rich upland hillsides.
5. C. microcarpa, Nutt. With rough close bark, small ovate buds, and the
glabrous foliage, etc., of n. 6; fruit small, subglobose, with rather
thin husk; nut thin-shelled, not angled.--N. Y. to Del., west to Mich.
and Ill.
[*][*] _Bud-scales numerous or few; husk of the fruit thin and rather
friable at maturity, 4-valved only to the middle or tardily to near the
base; seed more or less bitter; bark of old trunk not exfoliating._
6. C. porcina, Nutt. (PIG-NUT or BROOM H.) Bud-scales nearly as in n. 4,
but smaller, caducous; shoots, catkins, and leaves _glabrous_ or nearly
so; _leaflets_ 5--7, oblong- or obovate-lanceolate and taper-pointed,
serrate; fruit pear-shaped, oblong, or oval; _nut oblong or oval_
(11/2--2' long), with a _thick bony shell_; the oily seed at first sweet
in taste, then bitterish.--S. Maine to Fla., west to Minn., E. Neb., and
Tex. Tree 70--90 deg. high (rarely 120 deg.), on dry hills and uplands.
7. C. amara, Nutt. (BITTER-NUT or SWAMP H.) Scales of the small
yellowish buds about 6, valvate in pairs, caducous in leafing; catkins
and young herbage more or less pubescent, soon becoming almost glabrous;
_leaflets_ 7--11, _lanceolate_ or oblong-lanceolate; fruit globular,
narrowly 6-ridged; _nut globular, short-pointed_, white (barely 1'
long), _thin-walled_; seed at first sweet-tasted, soon extremely
bitter.--Moist soil, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., E. Neb., and Tex.
Tree 50--75 deg. high; husk and nut-shell thinner and less hard than in
other species.
ORDER 102. MYRICACEAE. (SWEET-GALE FAMILY.)
_Monoecious or dioecious shrubs, with both kinds of flowers in short
scaly catkins, and resinous-dotted often fragrant leaves_,--differing
from the Birches chiefly in the 1-celled ovary with a single erect
orthotropous ovule, and the drupe-like nut. Involucre and perianth none.
1. MYRICA, L. BAYBERRY. WAX-MYRTLE.
The only genus.--Flowers solitary under a scale-like bract and with a
pair of bractlets, the sterile in oblong or cylindrical, the fertile in
ovoid or globular catkins, from axillary scaly buds; stamens 2--8;
filaments somewhat united below; anthers 2-celled. Ovary with 2--8
scales at its base, and 2 thread-like stigmas. Fruit a small globular or
oblong nut, or dry drupe, coated with resinous grains or wax. ([Greek:
Myri/ke], the ancient name of the Tamarisk or some other shrub; perhaps
from [Greek: myri/zo], _to perfume_.)
[*] _Mostly dioecious; fertile catkins ovoid; ovary with 2--4 scales at
base; nut globular; leaves entire or somewhat serrate._
1. M. Gale, L. (SWEET GALE.) Shrub 3--5 deg. high; _leaves
wedge-lanceolate_, serrate toward the apex, _pale, later than the
flowers; sterile catkins closely clustered_; nuts in imbricated heads,
2-winged by the two thick ovate scales which coalesce with its
base.--Wet borders of ponds, Newf. to N. Eng. and along the Great Lakes
to Minn., south in the mountains to Va.
2. M. cerifera, L. (BAYBERRY. WAX-MYRTLE.) _Leaves oblong-lanceolate_,
narrowed at the base, entire or wavy-toothed toward the apex, _shining
and resinous-dotted both sides, somewhat preceding the flowers,
fragrant; sterile catkins scattered_, oblong; scales wedge-shaped at the
base; nuts scattered and naked, bony, and incrusted with white
wax.--Sandy soil near the coast, from Nova Scotia to Fla. and Ala.; also
on L. Erie. Shrub 3--8 deg. high, but sometimes a tree 35 deg. high; fruit
sometimes persistent for 2 or 3 years.
[*][*] _Frequently monoecious; fertile catkins globular; ovary
surrounded by 8 long linear-awl-shaped persistent scales; nut
ovoid-oblong; leaves pinnatifid with many rounded lobes._
3. M. asplenifolia, Endl. Shrub 1--2 deg. high, with sweet scented fern-like
linear-lanceolate leaves; stipules half heart-shaped; scales of the
sterile catkins kidney-heart-shaped, pointed. (Comptonia asplenifolia,
_Ait._)--Sterile hills, N. Eng. to N. C., west to Minn. and Ind.
ORDER 103. CUPULIFERAE. (OAK FAMILY.)
_Monoecious trees or shrubs, with alternate simple straight-veined
leaves, deciduous stipules, the sterile flowers in catkins (or
capitate-clustered in the_ Beech), _the fertile solitary, clustered,
spiked, or in scaly catkins, the 1-celled and 1-seeded nut with or
without an involucre._ Ovary more or less 2--7-celled, with 1 or 2
pendulous anatropous ovules in each cell; but all the cells and ovules
except one disappearing in the fruit. Seed with no albumen, filled with
the embryo.
Tribe I. BETULEAE. Flowers in scaly catkins, 2 or 3 to each bract.
Sterile catkins pendulous. Stamens 2--4, and calyx usually 2--4-parted.
Fertile flowers with no calyx, and no involucre to the compressed and
often winged small nut. Ovary 2-celled, 2-ovuled.
1. Betula. Stamens 2, bifid. Fertile scales thin, 3-lobed, deciduous
with the nuts.