Symplocos. 145 



small, white, and borne in panicles about five inches in 

 length. They are followed by an abundance of bright 

 ultramarine-blue fruit which ripens in September and con- 

 stitutes one of the chief attractions. The plant is certain 

 to become a favorite wherever it can be grown, and 

 deservedly so. It is a native of Japan, and is also found 

 growing freely among the Himalayas. 



,51 tinctoria is a native of the southern United States, 

 where it is popularly called sweet-leaf, because of the 

 fragrance of its foliage ; and for the same reason it is 

 sometimes known as horse-sugar. In its favorite haunts 

 it is to be classed as an evergreen, but it may not be 

 found such when carried to the extreme limit of its north- 

 ern endurance. The flowers are yellow, borne in clusters 

 of from six to fourteen, and exhale an agreeable odor. 

 The leaves are long and narrow, from three to five inches, 

 somewhat coriaceous and sharply toothed. The symplo- 

 cos grows from three to five feet in height, and is one of 

 our prettiest American shrubs. It can scarcely be planted 

 successfully in the North, but has a field of its own in 

 the lower tiers of States. Treated as is the hydrangea 

 hortensis and cared for in winter, it may be grown in 

 the same latitudes. 



S. decora is peculiarly adapted to southern cultivation. 

 It comes from China, and is a small camellia-like tree w^ith 

 thick, leathery foliage of considerable beauty. Its flowers 

 are small but abundant, produced in axillary clusters along 

 the young branches. Mr. A. B. Westland says in Garden 

 and Forest, in calling attention to this plant : " The petals 

 are white and sometimes tinged with a delicate shade of 



