XX. 1. THE DANGLEBERRY. 399 



olate, colored bracts near the base of the stalks. Calyx yel- 

 lowish green from the resinous dots ; segments acute ; corolla 

 small, five-angled, ovate, conic, contracted at the mouth, of a 

 dark, dull red, with sometimes a tinge of pale yellow below. 

 Stamens shorter than the corolla. Style projecting beyond the 

 corolla. Stigma capitate. The berries are globular, of a shin- 

 ing black color, and sweet. A horizontal section shows them 

 to have ten cells, in each of which is one hard, stony seed ; 

 only two or three of the whole number coming to perfection. 

 This fruit is more firm than that of any other species, and is 

 more valued in market. 



The common variety has black, shining berries, and leaves 

 green on both surfaces. 



A second variety has similar leaves and berries covered with 

 a blackish or brownish bloom, and very sweet. 



A third variety has somewhat glaucous leaves, and berries 

 covered with a glaucous bloom. 



A fourth variety has larger berries, of a bluish color, with 

 a bluish bloom, and very rich to the taste. 



There are other varieties, differing in color as in fruit. Those 

 I have mentioned are the most strongly marked. 



In consequence, apparently, of the sting of some insect, the 

 flower of this whortleberry sometimes expands to twenty or 

 thirty times its natural size, and becomes of a fleshy texture, 

 resembling the fungus-like excrescence common on the Swamp 

 Pink, Rhododendron viscbsum. All the leaves on the end of a 

 branch are sometimes affected in the same manner. 



This whortleberry is found on rocky hills, and flowers in 

 May. It occurs from Canada, and the shores of Lake Huron, 

 to the mountains of Georgia. 



Sp. 2. The Dangleberry. V. frondbsnm. L. 



This is easily distinguished by its loose mode of flowering, 

 and its large, pale leaves, which are glaucous beneath. It is a 

 spreading bush, three or four feet high, with a crooked, much 

 branched, light ash-colored stem. The recent shoots and fruit- 

 stalks are of a light, pale green, or of a pale reddish yellow ; 

 the branches and stem of a mahogany or bronze color, unequally 



