SNOW-BERRY.
Symphoricarpos racemosus, Michx. Honeysuckle Family.
Shrubs two to four feet high. Leaves.—Opposite; short-petioled; cuneate to oblong; entire or lobed; nine to eighteen lines long. Flowers.—Small; mostly in terminal clusters. Calyx.—Adnate to the ovary; with five-toothed border. Corolla.—Campanulate; five-lobed; three lines long; waxen; pinkish; very hairy within. Stamens.—Five; on the corolla. Ovary.—Four-celled. Berries.—Waxen-white; six lines in diameter. Hab.—Widely distributed.
In early winter the pure-white clusters of the snow-berry, on their almost leafless stems, make flecks of light through the dun woods. At this season of few woodland attractions, these berries, together with the trailing sprays of the fragrant yerba buena and the long graceful leaves of the iris, are about the only trophies to be obtained upon a walk. In early spring, when their slender twigs first begin to leaf out, these little shrubs are among the most delicate and airy of growing things, and make a tender veil of green through the shadowy woodland. The blossoms, which arrive rather late, are inconspicuous.