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. pnmifolius 

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



THE CARAGANA. Caragana. 



An Asiatic species of leguminacece, 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 



