8 4 



BRITISH FLOWERING PLANTS 



for making " elder wine," which was drunk hot, 

 as a cure for colds ; but of late years this, like 

 many other household remedies, has gone con- 

 siderably out of fashion. 



The Mealy Viburnum {Viburnum Lantana) is 

 not an uncommon hedgerow bush in England, 

 chiefly on chalk and limestone. The leaves are 

 downy, dentated at the edges, but not lobate. 

 The flowers grow in cymes, they are white, all 

 fertile, and the corolla forms a tube with five 

 divisions. The fruit is at first red, but turns 

 black as it ripens. 



The Guelder Rose, or Snowball Tree ( Viburnum 

 Opulus), has trilobate leaves, which are smooth 

 above and downy below. The middle flowers of 

 the cymes are small, sometimes yellowish, and 

 fertile ; but the outer flowers are large, white, and 

 sterile. The ripe berries are dark red. It is 

 much grown in shrubberies, and the flowers of the 

 cultivated shrub are all large, white, and barren, 

 forming a round cluster. 



The Honeysuckle {Lonicera Peridy??ienuni) is 

 a common climbing plant in woods and hedges. 



The leaves are ovate or entire, slightly downy 

 beneath ; and the flowers are terminal, and grow 

 several together. They are white or yellow, and 

 form a long tube, from which the stamens project 

 conspicuously. The odour of the flowers is very 

 sweet and strong. The berries are red, and about 

 the size of large peas. 



The Snowberry Tree (Symfthoricarftus racemosus), 

 which is common in shrubberies, and is sometimes 

 met with half-naturalised in hedges, also belongs 

 to this Order. It is a slender shrub, with rounded 

 and entire leaves, bluish green beneath. The 

 flowers are small, pink, and downy within. The 

 fruit consists of snow-white berries, rather larger 

 than those of the mistletoe, which they considerably 

 resemble, except for their purer white colour. It 

 is a North American plant. 



The large flower-heads of the Elder are very 

 attractive to insects. So are also those of the 

 Honeysuckle, from their powerful scent ; and 

 many of the large Hawk-moths may be found 

 from time to time hovering over the tubular flowers. 

 Several caterpillars likewise feed on Honeysuckle, 



