DECIDUOUS SHRUBS. 477 



growing alone, or on the border of a mass of shrubs, its branches, 

 with age, bend gracefully to the ground, though for some years after 

 it is planted the habit is erect. 



THE PURPLE BERBERRY. B. atropurpurea. This is a variety 

 of the common berberry, with leaves and young twigs of a pure 

 purple color. A beautiful and indispensable shrub in every collec- 

 tion, on this account, as well as for its gracefully spreading habit. 

 Flowers like the preceding. A spreading bush, five to seven feet 

 broad and high, ordinarily, but may be grown much larger. 



THE CALYCANTHUS, OR SWEET-SCENTED SHRUB. 



Calycanthus floridus. 



A spreading bush, native of the southern States, with fragrant 

 flowers and camphor-scented wood. The flowers, produced from 

 May to August, are small and inconspicuous, but of a peculiar and 

 delicious perfume. Color, a deep dull purple. The leaves are 

 dull in color. At the south it is a handsome shrub, but is not so 

 well worth planting in the northern States, except for the peculiar- 

 ity of the perfume. It does best in a rich, warm, sandy soil, and 

 a shady place. The C. glaucus is a variety very similar to the 

 above, with glossier leaves, and less odorous but brighter-colored 

 flowers. Height at the south six to eight feet. The C. prunifolius 

 is a variety highly recommended for its good habit and fragrance. 



THE CARAGANA. Caragana. 



An Asiatic species of leguminacecz, mostly shrubs. The follow- 

 ing are the best known : 



THE SIBERIAN PEA-TREE. Caragana arborescens. A fastig- 

 iate shrubby tree, with numerous yellow twigs and very small 

 pinnate leaves of the same character as those of the acacias, but 

 much smaller and of a rare golden-green color. Flowers small, 

 yellow, in April or May. Seeds borne in pods, ripe in August. A 

 tree of marked beauty in early summer, by the contrast it presents 



