The Trees and Shrubs of Hingham. 151 



stand in various localities, although the injury sustained by the 

 Buttonwoods some fort}' years ago, generally ascribed to the 

 severity of a winter, has caused an apparent feebleness in 

 these trees. For many years they bore no fruit, but of late 

 they have matured the curious spherical balls of seed vessels, 

 which, some inch and a half in diameter, hang from the twigs 

 on stems three to six inches long. One of the finest trees in 

 town stands at the junction of Main and Leavitt streets on the 

 Lower Plain. 



JUGLANDACEiE 



The Hickories are well represented in Hingham. 



The Shagbark (Carya alba, Nutt.) is quite common, being met 

 with in nearly all our woods. Its ragged, shaggy bark gives the 

 species its name, while its rich, meaty nuts have been sought by 

 the schoolboy from time immemorial. The Mockernut (Carya 

 tomentosa, Nutt.) is a fine tree, found everywhere in the woods, as 

 is also the Pignut (Carya porcina, Nutt.), the outline of the husk 

 of the nut of which has a not inapt resemblance to a pig's head. 

 The Bitternut (Carya amara, Nutt.) is more rare. It grows at 

 Crow Point, Planters Hill, and Union Street, possibly elsewhere. 

 Its yellow buds and liner foliage, as well as the thinness of the 

 husk of the nut. distinguish it from the other hickories. 



MYRICACEJE. 



Bayberry, Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera, L.). This beautiful 

 shrub, from two to ten feet high, is very common. The delicious 

 aromatic odor of its crushed leaves, and in the fall the crowded 

 masses of round, small, waxy fruit, clinging to the twigs, are its 

 peculiarities. 



Sweet Fern (Myrica asplenifolia, Endl.). This pretty, low 

 shrub is very common on dry hillsides and in oak woods. It has 

 long, narrow, regularly and deeply cut leaves, resembling the 

 fronds of a fern. These are very aromatic when crushed. 



CUPULIFERiE. 



The Black or Sweet Birch (Betula lenta, L.) grows in all our 

 Hingham woods, being rarely met with in open fields. The bark 

 of its twigs is very aromatic. The leaves are thin and ovate, and 

 sharply serrate. The bark is dark and ragged. 



The Yellow Birch (Betula lufea, Michx. f.) is rare in Hingham. 

 It grows on the border near Cohasset and in Third Division 

 woods. Its leaves are hardly to be distinguished from those of 

 the black birch. The bark of the young shoots is slightly 

 aromatic. The outer bark of the trunk is greenish-yellow, 

 shining, and always peeling off in thin layers. The catkins, or 

 mole blossoms of all the birches are extremely showy and grace- 



