THE VIBURNUM.
Over all the land, save where excessive cultivation and dressing of the grounds have stripped the earth of its native garniture, the roadsides are adorned with the different species of Viburnum. We detect them in winter by their many colored branches and their finely divided spray. May clothes them with a profusion of delicate and sweet-scented flowers; lastly, autumn dyes their foliage purple and crimson, and hangs from their branches clusters of variegated fruit; so that as native ornaments of the borders of old fields and roads they are surpassed by no other shrubs. The Viburnum constitutes a great part of the underwood of our forests, thriving and bearing fruit under the deep shade of trees, but assuming a handsome shape only outside of the wood. The flowers, in circular clusters, or cymes, resemble those of the elder, but have less fragrance.
THE AMERICAN WAYFARING-TREE.
The largest and most conspicuous of this genus, and the one that seems to me to bear the most resemblance to the English Wayfaring-tree, is the Sweet Viburnum. It is a tall and wide-spreading shrub, with numerous branches and dense and elegant foliage, making a compact and well-rounded head. The leaves are single and opposite, finely serrate, and with prominent veins. Many of our shrubs produce more showy flowers, but few surpass it in the beauty of its fruit. The berries are of the size of damsons, hanging profusely from the branches like clusters of grapes. They are dark purple when ripe, with a lustre that is not seen in the grape. Just before they ripen they are crimson, and berries of this color are often blended with the ripened fruit. Like the English Wayfaring-tree, the office of this shrub seems to be to overshadow the unfrequented byways, and afford coolness and refreshment to the traveller.
THE GUELDER ROSE.
This species is common to both continents. In Europe it is cultivated under the name of Guelder Rose. In America it is known as the Snowball-tree of our gardens, and it seems to be identical with the Maple-leaved Viburnum of our woods. In the garden variety the clusters are nearly globular, consisting entirely of barren flowers, and differing from those of the wild plant in the enlargement of the florets. In the wild tree some barren florets with enlarged petals may be seen mingled with others in the cyme, chiefly encircling the disk. The fruit of this species is of a bright scarlet, and bears a superficial resemblance to cranberries, having also a similar acid taste, but a different internal structure.
THE HOBBLE-BUSH.
Why so elegant a plant as this species should bear the disagreeable name of Hobble-Bush is apparent only when we become entangled by walking over a bed of it. I have seen it frequently in Maine, where it is called Moosewood, but seldom in Massachusetts. It is never entirely erect; its principal branches spread upon the ground, while the smaller ones that bear the leaves and fruit are erect. The leaves are very large, some lobed and others heart-shaped or nearly oval. Notwithstanding its procumbent growth, it is not a homely shrub. The numerous small and erect branches that spring from the creeping boughs resemble a bed of dense low shrubbery. And when we see it in an old, dark-shaded wood, crimsoned by the tinting of autumn, and full of bright scarlet fruit, we cannot but admire it.
THE ARROW-WOOD.
Among the several species which I shall not attempt to describe, one of the most common and familiar is the Arrow-Wood, so called from the general employment of its long, straight, and slender branches by the Indians for the manufacture of their arrows. This tree seldom rises above eight or ten feet in height, and is more common in the borders of fields which are low and wet than any other species. Its fruit is of a bluish slate-color. These peculiar shrubs are often seen in the damp forest, and in the borders of wood-paths, bearing conspicuous fruit and tempting us to gather and eat, while we refrain on account of the suspicions we naturally feel when we discover the fruit of a strange plant.