A year among the trees

by Wilson Flagg

THE BUTTON-BUSH.

Not much has been written of the Button-bush. We hear but little of those shrubs that do not readily admit of culture, and are not susceptible of modification by the arts of florists. The Button-bush is confined to wet, solitary places; indeed, it may be considered a true aquatic, as it grows in most cases directly out of the water. It is associated with the complaining song of the blackbird, whose nest is often placed in the forks of its branches, and it accompanies the ruder aspects of nature. It is far from being an elegant plant; and the little beauty it possesses belongs to the perfectly globular shape of its heads of flowers, which are nearly white. It is generally seen bordering the sluggish streams that flow through the level swamps, and often forms little islets of shrubbery in the middle of a sheet of water.