Order XXIV. COMPÓSITÆ.
This, the largest order of flowering plants, is made up almost exclusively of herbaceous plants, but contains one shrub or low tree which is hardy from Boston southward near the Atlantic coast.
Genus 49. BÁCCHARIS.
Leaves simple, deciduous; heads of flowers small, many-flowered; receptacle naked; pappus of hairs.
B. halimifòlia.
Báccharis halimifòlia, L. (Groundsel-Tree.) Leaves obovate, wedge-shaped, crenately notched at end, light grayish in color, with whitish powder; branches angled; flowers white with a tint of purple, blooming in the autumn. A broad, loose-headed, light-colored bush rather than a tree, 8 to 15 ft. high; wild on sea-beaches, Massachusetts and south, and occasionally cultivated. The plant is diœcious; the fertile specimens are rendered quite conspicuous in autumn by their very long, white pappus.
Order XXV. ERICÀCEÆ. (Heath Family.)
A large order, mainly of shrubs, though a few species are herbs, and fewer still are tall enough to be considered trees.
Genus 50. OXYDÉNDRUM.