132 



BUI^LETIN 145 



Mountain 

 Holly, X %. 



ries which are about one-fourth inch in dia- 

 meter, ripening in mid-August to a beautiful 

 dark crimson and making the bushes very 

 showy. They are easily distinguished from the al- 

 lied winter-berry by the fact that each berry 

 is borne on a stalk an inch or more long, which 

 is crimson like the fruit. The berries though 

 not poisonous are more or less bitter and re- 

 pugnant. It deserves a place in ornamental 

 planting. 



STAFF TREE FAMILY. CELASTRACEAE 



CLIMBING BITTERSWEET. STAFF-VINE. Celastrus scandeus L. ' 



This is the only representative in Vermont of its family. It 1 



is the most elegant of the native vines, frequently found climb- \ 



ing over rocks and bushes and even ascending small trees to 1 



fifteen or twenty feet. Often it twines about other stems so ■ 



closely as to deform them in 1 

 curious ways. It prefers moist , 

 shady situations but it will ; 

 grow almost anywhere. The ; 

 leaf characters are shown in ; 

 the drawing. The fruits are \ 

 bright orange, nearly one-half j 

 inch in diameter anrl when j 

 mature in late autumn the 

 'outer part bursts to disclose 

 the still brighter scarlet berry- \ 

 like contents. These are \ 

 in small cluster which, per- j 

 sisting into the winter, give a ' 

 unique charm to this vine for ] 

 ornamental planting as a cover for rockeries, arbors and piazzas, j 

 They may be cut in autumn and brought into the house for dry \ 



Climbing Bitteesweet. 

 Fruiting branch, X %. 



