281. BUTTONBUSH (Cephalanthus occidentalis L.) button willow: usually a large shrub, fairly common in swamps or near water; often cultivated. Leaves: simple, opposite or in whorls of 3 or more, smooth, dark green, with a stout yellow midrib, 2 to 7 inches long, ½ to 3½ wide. Twigs: stout, smooth, with a thick pith, pale reddish-brown and covered with a bloom in their first winter. Bark: dark, rough, with narrow scales; contains tannin; used in treatment of fevers. Flowers: creamy white, fragrant, in dense balls about 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. Fruit: a dark brownish, hard ball, remaining through the winter.
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY
282. CORAL HONEYSUCKLE or TRUMPET HONEYSUCKLE (Lonicera sempervirens L.) an evergreen vine, rare except in cultivation; common in East Texas; low woods and thickets. Leaves: oblong, smooth, upper pairs united or encircling stem. Flowers: Trumpet-shaped, light red, yellowish inside, 1 to 1½ inches long, in clusters. Fruit: scarlet, fleshy.
282 coral honeysuckle
283. BUSH HONEYSUCKLE (Lonicera albiflora T. & G.) not very common; on limestone bluffs, upland meadows and thickets. Leaves: opposite, upper pair usually united or encircling stem, not evergreen. Stems: stiff and upright or sometimes long and trailing, both usually to be found on one bush; this habit is the best point of distinction between this species and the rarer trumpet honeysuckle when there are no flowers present. Fruit: scarlet, fleshy. Flowers: whitish or yellowish, small. [K] (p. 382).
283 bush honeysuckle
284. INDIAN CURRANT (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Moench.) or coralberry, the last name also used for other plants, locally well known as buckbrush or partridge brush. This 1 to 3-foot shrub is abundant in woodlands, especially in rich soil. Leaves: simple, opposite, entire or nearly, 1 to 1½ inches long, usually blunt at tip, darker above. Twigs: wiry, brown. Flowers: white, small, in dense clusters at leaf-axils. Fruit: magenta red, in dense clusters encircling stems, remaining through winter. The much smaller size of bush, leaves and fruit clusters prevents confusion with French mulberry. [B] (Vol. III, p. 277).