282 Ornamental Shrubs. 



C. alternifolia is found chiefly in the Middle and 

 Western States. It grows sometimes as a tree twenty to 

 thirty feet high, with branches somewhat in whorls and 

 quite numerous ; but more frequently appears as a shrub 

 eight to ten feet high, and of good form and character. 

 Unlike most of the dogwoods, both its branches and its 

 leaves are alternate. In the case of the former, the bark 

 is of bright, shiny green with splashes of gray varying 

 considerably in size and form. The leaves are borne on 

 long footstalks, are wedge-shaped at the base, and lance- 

 olate toward the apex, terminating in a rather sharp point. 

 They are dark green above and almost glossy, but lighter 

 beneath and slightly pubescent. The flowers, which ap- 

 pear about the first of June, are in somewhat irregular 

 clusters, white, though sometimes tinted with yellow. 

 The fruit is black tinted with blue, and in its abun- 

 dance adds materially to the value of the plant. It is 

 less bitter and astringent than that of some of the other 

 species, and quickly taken by the birds. 



C. stolonifera, the red osier or red-stemmed dogwood, 

 is a well-known shrub found growing freely in wet, marshy 

 lands throughout Canada and most of the Northern 

 States. Its main stem is prostrate, and wholly or par- 

 tially under ground, whence it throws up an abundance of 

 small, straight shoots six or eight or even ten feet in 

 height. These are clothed with a smooth bark, dull green 

 or reddish in summer, but becoming a glowing scarlet in 

 winter. This is, in fact, its chief attraction, as the show 

 of color is in marked contrast with surrounding objects. 

 In some instances a mass of these shrubs at that season 



