PHYSOCARPUS 127 



villous above, velvety beneath, 3-10 cm. long, 1.5-4 cm. wide; flowers 

 in racemes, lowermost ones leafy-bracted, 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, petals narrow- 

 ly obovate, 4-12 mm. long; fruit mostly subcylindric, 1-2 cm. long, drupe- 

 lets numerous, rather small : allegheniensis, referring to the Al- 

 legheny mountains. 



In dry open thickets, roadsides etc., common throughout the state ex- 

 cept southwest and extreme northeast. Distributed from New England 

 to Fla., west to Minn, and Ark. Flowers in June, fruit ripe in July-Aug. 



Various garden blackberries have been derived from this species. 



Physocarpus Maximowicz 1879 Ninebark 



(Gr. p h y s a, bladder, carpos, fruit, referring to the swollen 



carpels) 



Shrubs with shreddy bark and alternate, simple, palmately lobed 

 leaves; flowers white, numerous, in umbel-like corymbs; calyx bell- 

 shaped, 5-lobed, 5-6 mm. long; petals 5, rounded, inserted on the throat 

 of the calyx, 4-5 mm. long; stamens numerous; carpels 1-5, short- 

 stalked; fruit 1-5 inflated follicles. 



A. genus of about 5 species; one occurs in eastern North America, 3 in 

 the Rocky mountains, one on the Pacific Coast, and one in Manchuria. 



Physocarpus opulifolius (Linne) Maximowicz 1879 Ninebark 

 Spiraea opulifolia Linne 1753 

 Opulaster opulifolius Kuntze 1893 



A shrub, 1-2 meters (3-6 ft.) high, with long, more or less recurved 

 branches ; old bark peeling off in numerous layers or strips ; leaves round- 

 ed, somewhat 3-lobed, cordate or truncate at the base, 2.5-5 cm. long, or 

 larger on young shoots; follicles glabrate, purplish, membranous, showy: 

 opulifolius, leaves as in Viburnum Opulus, the snowball or guelder 

 rose. 



Banks of streams and edges of woods, apparently rare ; collected from 

 the north shore of Lake Superior. Distributed from Quebec to Fla. west 

 to 111. and Manitoba. 



