Trees of the Northern United States Part 23

3. =Cornus mascula=, Dur. (CORNELIAN CHERRY.) Leaves opposite, oval-ac.u.minate, rather p.u.b.escent on both surfaces. Flowers small, yellow, in umbels from a 4-leaved involucre, blooming before the leaves are out in spring. Fruit oval, in. long, cornelian-colored, ripe in autumn, rather sweet, used in confectionery. A large shrub or low tree, 8 to 15 ft. high, with hard, tough, flexible wood, sometimes cultivated for its early flowers and late, beautiful fruit.

[Ill.u.s.tration: C. alterniflia.]

4. =Cornus alterniflia=, L. f. (ALTERNATE-LEAVED CORNEL.) Leaves alternate, cl.u.s.tered at the ends of the branches, ovate or oval-ac.u.minate, tapering at base, whitish with minute p.u.b.escence beneath. Cymes of flowers and fruit broad and open. Fruit deep blue on reddish stalks. Shrub, though occasionally tree-like, 8 to 25 ft. high; on hillsides throughout; rarely cultivated.

GENUS =46. NSSA.=

Trees with deciduous, alternate, exstipulate, usually entire leaves, mostly acute at both ends. Flowers somewhat dioecious, i.e. staminate and pistillate flowers on separate trees. The staminate flowers are quite conspicuous because so densely cl.u.s.tered. April and May. Fruit on but a portion of the trees, consisting of one or two small ( to in.), drupes in the axils of the leaves. Stone roughened with grooves. Ripe in autumn.

* Fruit usually cl.u.s.tered 1, 2.

* Fruit solitary 3.

[Ill.u.s.tration: N. sylvatica.]

1. =Nssa sylvatica=, Marsh. (PEPPERIDGE. BLACK OR SOUR GUM.) Leaves oval to obovate, pointed, entire (sometimes angulate-toothed beyond the middle), rather thick, shining above when old, 2 to 5 in. long. The leaves are crowded near the ends of the branches and flattened so as to appear 2-ranked, like the Beech; turning bright crimson in the autumn.

Fruit ovoid, bluish-black, about in. long, sour. Medium-sized tree with mainly an excurrent trunk and horizontal branches. Wood firm, close-grained and hard to split. Rich soil, lat.i.tude of Albany and southward. Difficult to transplant, so it is rarely cultivated.

2. =Nssa biflra=, Walt. (SOUR GUM.) Leaves 1 to 3 in. long, smaller than in N. sylvatica; fertile flowers and fruit 1 to 3, in the axils; stone decidedly flattened and more strongly furrowed. New Jersey to Tennessee and southward. Too nearly like the last to need a drawing. All the species of Nyssa may have the margin of the leaves somewhat angulated, as shown in the next.

[Ill.u.s.tration: N. uniflra.]

3. =Nssa uniflra=, w.a.n.g. (LARGE TUPELO.) Leaves much larger, 4 to 12 in. long, sometimes slightly cordate at base, entire or angularly toothed, downy beneath. Fruit solitary, oblong, blue, 1 in. or more in length. Wood soft, that of the roots light and spongy and used for corks. In water or wet swamps; Virginia, Kentucky, and southward.

ORDER =XXIII. CAPRIFOLIaCEae.=

(HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.)

Shrubs (rarely herb or tree-like plants) of temperate regions.

GENUS =47. VIBuRNUM.=

Shrubs or small trees with opposite, simple, petioled leaves. Flowers light-colored, small but in large, conspicuous, flat-topped cl.u.s.ters at the ends of the branches; blooming in early summer. Fruit small, 1-seeded drupes with flattened stones; ripe in autumn.

* Leaves distinctly palmately lobed 1.

* Leaves pinnately veined and not lobed. (=A.=)

=A.= Coa.r.s.ely dentated 2.

=A.= Finely serrated. (=B.=)

=B.= Leaves long-ac.u.minated 3.

=B.= Obtuse or slightly pointed 4.

[Ill.u.s.tration: V. opulus.]

1. =Viburnum opulus=, L. (CRANBERRY-TREE.) Leaves palmately veined and strongly 3-lobed, broadly wedge-shaped or truncate at base, the spreading lobes mostly toothed on the sides and entire in the notches; petiole with 2 glands at the apex. Fruit in peduncled cl.u.s.ters, light red and quite sour (whence the name "Cranberry-tree"). A nearly smooth, small tree or shrub, 4 to 12 ft. high; wild along streams, and cultivated under the name of s...o...b..ll-tree or Guelder Rose. In this variety the flowers have all become sterile and enlarged. =Viburnum aceriflium= (ARROW-WOOD) has also lobed leaves, and is much more common. This species never forms a tree, and has dark-colored berries.

[Ill.u.s.tration: V. dentatum.]

2. =Viburnum dentatum=, L. (ARROW-WOOD.) Leaves, pale green, broadly ovate, somewhat heart-shaped at base, coa.r.s.ely and sharply dentated, strongly veined and often with hairy tufts in the axils; petioles rather long and slender. Fruit in. long, in peduncled cl.u.s.ters, blue or purple; a cross-section of the stone between kidney-and horseshoe-shaped. A shrub or small tree, 5 to 15 ft. high, with ash-colored bark; in wet places.

[Ill.u.s.tration: V. Lentago.]

3. =Viburnum Lentago=, L. (SWEET VIBURNUM OR SHEEP-BERRY.) Leaves broad, ovate, long-pointed, 2 to 3 in. long, closely and sharply serrated; petioles long and with narrow, curled margins; entire plant smooth.

Fruit in sessile cl.u.s.ters of 3 to 5 rays, oval, large, in. long, blue-black, edible, sweet; ripe in autumn. A small tree, 10 to 30 ft.

high; found wild throughout, in woods and along streams.

[Ill.u.s.tration: V. pruniflium.]

4. =Viburnum pruniflium=, L. (BLACK HAW.) Leaves oval, obtuse or slightly pointed, 1 to 2 in. long, finely and sharply serrated. Blooming early, May to June. Fruit oval, large ( in. long), in sessile cl.u.s.ters of 3 to 5 rays, black or blue-black, sweet. A tall shrub or small tree, 6 to 12 ft. high; in dry soil or along streams; New York, south and west.

GENUS =48. LONiCERA.=

Leaves entire, opposite; corolla 5-lobed; berry several-seeded.

[Ill.u.s.tration: L. Tartarica.]

=Lonicera Tartarica=. (TARTARIAN HONEY-SUCKLE.) Leaves deciduous, oval, heart-shaped; flowers in pairs, showy, pink to rose-red; in spring; berries formed of the two ovaries, bright red; ripe in summer. A shrub, often planted and occasionally trimmed to a tree-like form, and growing to the height of nearly 20 ft.

ORDER =XXIV. COMPoSITae.=

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. BaCCHARIS.=

Leaves simple, deciduous; heads of flowers small, many-flowered; receptacle naked; pappus of hairs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: B. halimiflia.]

=Baccharis halimiflia=, 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, Ma.s.sachusetts and south, and occasionally cultivated. The plant is dioecious; the fertile specimens are rendered quite conspicuous in autumn by their very long, white pappus.

ORDER =XXV. ERICaCEae.= (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. OXYDeNDRUM.=