60 FLOWERS OF THE WOODS AND COPSES 
mental work in gardens and for covering buildings, lending a picturesque 
appearance. The berries furnish food for birds at a time when there 
is little else for them to feed upon. Cattle are fond of its foliage. It 
was said to be a remedy for warts. 
EssENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS :— 
34. Hedera Helix, L.—Stem climbing, with rooting fibres, leaves 
cordate, shiny, lobed, on flowering branches, ovate-lanceolate, flowers 
green, in an umbel or raceme, fruit a berry, black. 
Wayfaring Tree (Viburnum Lantana, L.) 
This small tree is represented in early deposits in Interglacial beds 
at West Wittering in Sussex. Its recent distribution is limited to the 
North Temperate Zone from Belgium southwards, and North Africa. 
In Great Britain it is absent from North Devon in the Peninsula 
province, but occurs in the Channel, Thames, Anglia, and Severn 
provinces, except in Stafford and Salop; and only in Glamorgan, 
Carmarthen, and Pembroke in Wales. It is found also in N. Lincs, 
Leicester, Notts, N.E. and S.W. Yorks. It is naturalized elsewhere. 
The Wayfaring Tree is a woodland species especially common on 
chalk or limestone tracts, where it is associated with Alder Buckthorn, 
White Beam, Wild Cherry, and other trees and shrubs. It grows in 
hedges also by the roadside, preferring a habitat well characterized by 
open light conditions and access to the sun. 
The pliability of the twigs of this shrub-like plant is implied in 
both Latin names, which are derived from words meaning to tie. The 
stems are numerous, with white mealy branches. The leaves are 
leathery, entire, heart-shaped, oblong, toothed, wrinkled below when 
young, stellately hairy, and downy beneath. The leaf-stalks, shoots, 
and young leaves are densely covered with down. This may help to 
preserve the plant from the attacks of insects. 
The flowers are creamy-white, in perfect terminal cymes, which 
are flat, with strong rays. There are 2 small bracts or leaf-like 
organs. The corolla is funnel-shaped. The flat, egg-shaped drupe 
or berry-like fruit is black or purple ultimately, at first scarlet. The 
seeds have a ventral groove. 
The tree is usually about 8-10 ft. in height. The flowers, which 
in Our experience are very soon picked, are to be found in May and 
June. The Wayfaring Tree is a deciduous shrub, which can be multi- 
plied by layers, and is worth cultivating. 
In this genus the flower secretes honey, which is concealed or open 
