Choke-berry.
Pyrus arbutifolia. Rose Family.
A shrub from one to three feet high. Leaves.—Oblong or somewhat lance-shaped, finely toothed, downy beneath. Flowers.—White or reddish, small, clustered. Calyx.—Five-cleft. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Numerous. Pistil.—One, with two to five styles. Fruit.—Small, pear-shaped or globular, berry-like, dark red or blackish.
This low shrub is common in swamps and moist thickets all along the Atlantic coast, as well as farther inland. Its flowers appear in May or June; its fruit in late summer or autumn.
PLATE X
SOLOMON’S SEAL.—P. biflorum.
Creeping Snowberry.
Chiogenes serpyllifolia. Heath Family.
Stem.—Slender, trailing and creeping. Leaves.—Evergreen, small, ovate, pointed. Flowers.—Small, white, solitary from the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Four-parted, with four large bracelets beneath. Corolla.—Deeply four-parted. Stamens.—Eight. Pistil.—One. Fruit.—A pure white berry.
This pretty little creeper is found blossoming in May in the peat-bogs and mossy woods of the North. It is only conspicuous when hung with its snow-white berries in late summer. It has the aromatic flavor of the wintergreen.
Bearberry.
Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi. Heath Family.
A trailing shrub. Leaves.—Thick and evergreen, smooth, somewhat wedge-shaped. Flowers.—Whitish, clustered. Calyx.—Small. Corolla.—Urn-shaped, five-toothed. Stamens.—Ten. Pistil.—One. Fruit.—Red, berry-like.