VACCINIUM 



VALERIANA 



3425 



Section IV. Vms-In^EA. Corolla from ovate to globular 

 and more or less urceolate, 4-o-toothed, rose-color 

 or nearly white; filaments hairy; anthers awnless on 

 the back: ovary and berry 4-5-celled, with no false 

 partitions: Ivs. coriaceous and persistent: fls. in short 

 racemes or clusters from separate buds, bracteate 

 and 2-bracteolate. 



A. Corolla 5-lobed; stamens 10. 



B. Branchlets pubescent: plant erect. ... 19. ovatum 

 BB. Branchlets glabrous: plant procum- 

 bent 20. crassif olium 



AA. Corolla. 4-toothed; stamens 8 21. Vitis-Idaea 



19. ovatum, Pursh. An erect, rigid, evergreen shrub, 

 2-8 ft. high, with pubescent branchlets: Ivs. J^-l in. 

 long, thick and firm, very numerous, shining, ovate to 

 oblong-lanceolate, acute, minutely and acutely ser- 

 rulate, glabrous or nearly so, bright green both sides: 

 fls. in short and close axillary clusters; deciduous bracts 

 usually red; corolla campanula te, M m - long) rose-color 

 or nearly white; calyx-lobes acute, red: berries black, 

 acid, with or without bloom. Moist woods, Vancouver 

 to Monterey, Calif. B.R. 1354. J.F. 4:424 "A dis- 

 tinctly western species, and one of California's most 

 beautiful hedge-plants, but not well known. It is very 

 tenacious of life and bears pruning well. It is prop, 

 from suckers, cuttings, and seeds, which last it bears 

 freely." 



20. crassif dlium, Andr. Slender trailing shrub: sts. 

 2-3 ft. long: twigs pubescent: Ivs. small, J4-J<j in. long, 

 leathery and shining, oval to narrowly oblong or ovate 

 or obovate, obtuse, sparsely serrulate or entire: fls. 

 few, almost sessile, in small axillary clusters; corolla 

 globose-campanulate, small (J^in. long), rose-red, 

 rarely whitish: berries black. Sandy moist pine lands, 

 N. C. to Ga. B.M. 1152. "Useful for the shrubbery 

 border South." 



21. Vitis-Idafea, Linn. (VMis-Idsea Vitis-Idsea, Brit.). 

 MOUNTAIN CRANBERRY. COWBERRY. PARTRIDGE 

 BERRY in the N. FOXBERRY. Fig. 3895. Plants low, 

 6-10 in. long, creeping, glabrous: Ivs. coriaceous, ever- 

 green, obovate or oval, J^-%in. long, obtuse, dark 

 green and shining above, with blackish bristly points 

 beneath: fls. in short subterminal racemes; corolla 

 bell-shaped, white or rose-colored, 4-cleft: berries dark 

 red, acid. Arctic region, to the coast and mountains 

 of New England, Minn., and Brit. Col. L.B.C. 7:616 

 (as var. major) ; 11:1023 (as var. minor). "The frs., 

 which are rather larger than currants, acid and some- 

 what bitter when uncooked, are largely used in the 

 more northern regions for tarts, jellies, and preserves, 

 or as a substitute for the common cranberry. Accord- 

 ing to Macoun, the fishermen's families along the 

 Gasp coast and the north shore of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence gather the fr. of this species in large quan- 

 tities for their own use and for sale, calling it 'low-bush 

 cranberry.' Throughout the whole of N. Canada, 

 hunters and trappers, as well as the native Indians, 

 have frequently to depend upon it for food. It is 

 valuable for the shrubbery border, where the strong 

 contrast of the dark green foliage and the bright col- 

 ored persistent fr. is very striking." 



Section V. OXYCOCCUS. Corolla deeply 4-cleft or 4-parted ; 

 the lobes linear or lanceolate-oblong and reflexed; 

 anthers exserted, awnless on the back, with very 

 long terminal tubes: ovary and berry 4-celled, 

 destitute of false partitions: fls. axillary and terminal, 

 nodding, on long filiform pedicels, appearing in early 

 summer: fr. maturing in autumn. 



A. Shrubs erect: hs. deciduous, 1^4-2 in. 



long 22. erythro- 



AA. Shrubs trailing: hs. xery small, ever- [carpum 



green. 



B. LTS. ovate, acute 23. Oxycoccus 



BB. LTS. oblong, obtuse 24. macrocarpon 



22. erythrocirpum, Michx. (Oxycdccus erythrocdrpus, 

 Pers.). An erect, divergently branching shrub, 1-4 ft. 

 high: Ivs. 1^-3 in. long, oblong-lanceolate to ovate, 

 acuminate, finely bristly serrulate, thin, green both 

 sides, paler beneath: pedicels solitary, axillary, shorter 

 than the Ivs., recurved, bractless: corolla flesh-color, 

 J^in. long, 4-cleft, the lobes narrow, acute, revolute: 

 berries globose, Kin. diam., bright red turning darker, 

 acid, scarcely edible. Higher Alleghanies, Va. to Ga. 

 B.M. 7413. 



23. Oxycdccus, Linn. (Oxycdccus Oxycdccus, McM.). 

 SMALL CRANBERRY. CRANBERRY of the Old World. 

 Slender creeping plants with short filiform sts., 4-10 in. 

 long: Ivs. ovate, acute, J^in. long, with strongly revo- 

 lute margins, coriaceous, evergreen, dark green and 

 glossy above, white-glaucous beneath, glabrous: pedi- 

 cels 1-4, terminal: filaments one-half length of anthers: 

 berry red, J^-J^in. diam. Sphagnum swamps in sub- 

 arctic and alpine regions of Old and New Worlds. 

 "Though smaller, its fr. is by many considered superior 

 to that of the next." 



24. macrocarpon, Ait. (Oxycdccus macrocdrpus, Pers.). 

 LARGER AMERICAN CRANBERRY. Sts. slender, creeping, 

 elongated, 1-4 ft. long, somewhat coarser and stouter 

 than in the last, the fl. -branches ascending: Ivs. oblong 

 or oval, obtuse or retuse, ^-Hin. long, in texture and 

 coloration similar to the last, margin less revolute: 

 pedicels several, axillary and lateral: fls. larger; fila- 

 ments shorter than in the last: berry red, larger, J^-l 

 in. long. N. N. Amer. B.M. 2586. Em. 2:456. See 

 Cranberry. 



Section VI (Position of this species doubtful) 

 Anthers muticous: branches red 25. erythrinum 



25. erythrinum, Hook. An erect, glabrous, evergreen 

 shrub, with bright red twigs: Ivs. ovate, obtuse, coria- 

 ceous, entire: fls. in long, 1-sided, terminal racemes; 

 corolla cylindraceous, 5-toothed, Min. long, purple-red; 

 anthers without terminal tubes. Mountains of Java. 

 B.M. 4688. J.H. III. 34:39; III. 51:593. J.F. 4:364. 

 "Sent to England hi 1852, and since grown by 

 various nurserymen as a greenhouse plant. It is a 

 strong plant, furnishing an abundance of bloom in 

 Dec. and Jan. Not remarkable, but worthy of a place 

 in collections. A very distinct type." The position of 

 this species is doubtful. The absence of anther-tubes 

 suggests that it may not belong to the genus Vaccinium. 



K. M. WlEGAND. 



VAGARIA (derivation obscure). Amaryllidaceae. 

 Large tunicate bulbous herb, useful for autumn- 

 flowering: Ivs. strap-shaped, appearing rather late: fls. 

 in many umbels, short-pedicelled, white; perianth nar- 

 rowly funnel-shaped, tube slender, lobes narrow, erect- 

 spreading; stamens affixed to the throat, slightly shorter 

 than the perianth: ovary ovoid-globose, 3-<elled: caps, 

 membranaceous, somewhat valvately dehiscent. One 

 species, Syria. 



parviflora, Herb. Bulb globose, about 1^ in. through: 

 fls. white. Offered by European bulb-growers for out- 

 door planting. p. TRACY HUBBARD. 



VALERIAN: Valeriana. Greek V.: Polemonium. RedV.:Cen- 

 tranthus. 



VALERIANA (Latin valeo, to be strong, in allusion 

 to medicinal uses). Valerianacese. VALERIAN. Gla- 

 brous or rarely pubescent or villous perennial herbs, 

 subshrubs, or shrubs, which are erect or scandent, most 

 of them hardy and showy garden plants. 



Roots strong-smelling: Ivs., especially the radical 

 ones, entire or dentate, or the cauline or all pinnatifid or 

 once-, twice-, or thrice-pinnatisect : cymes sometimes 

 dense, few-fld. and terminal, or clustered in dense or 

 interrupted spikes, sometimes laxly corymbosely or 

 variously panicled: fls. small, white or rose; calyx-limb 



