XL. <?APRIFOL1A V CE, : 



523 



956. K. O'pulus. 



Viorne-Obier, 1'Obier d'Europe, Fr. ; Schwalkenbeer Strauch, Wasserholder, Schneeball, Ger. ; 



Derivation ' Altered from Populus, the poplar, from some supposed resemblance between the 

 leaves of the plant and those of the poplar. The English name, Guelder Rose, is derived from 

 Guelderland, where the double-flowered variety was first originated. 



Engravings. Engl. Bot., t. 332. ; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 39. ; and our/fg. 955. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Quite glabrous in every 

 part. Leaves broad, 3-lobed, acumi- 

 nated, unequally serrated, veiny. Petioles 

 beset with glands towards the top, and 

 several oblong leafy appendages lower 

 down. Cymes pedunculate, white, with 

 linear bracteas; with several of the 

 marginal flowers dilated, flat, radiant, 

 and without stamens or pistils. Seed 

 compressed. (Don's Mill.) A shrub or 

 low tree. Europe, and part of Asia, in 

 moist hedges and swampy thickets ; fre- 

 quent in Britain, and also in Sweden, as 

 far north as lat. 61. Height 6ft. to 

 12 ft. in a wild state, and higher in 

 gardens. Flowers white ; May and 

 June. Fruit elliptical, crowned by the 

 limb of the calyx, bright red, very juicy, 

 but bitter an'd nauseous. Decaying 

 leaves beautiful pink or crimson. Naked young wood smooth, green. 



Varieties. 



& V. O. 2 sterilis Dec. Prod. iv. p. 328., Don's Mill. iii. p. 442. V. O. 

 7'dseum Rcem. et Schult. Syst. vi. p. 635. ; the Snow-ball Tree, or 

 Guelder Rose; Rose de Gueldres, Pellotte de Neige, Boule de 

 Neige, Poire molle, Fr. ; Schneeballe, Ger. The specific name 

 roseum is applied on account of the form of the flowers, and not 

 because of their colour. Layers, sometimes by suckers, or it might 

 be grafted on the species. 



^ V. O. Sfoliig variegdtis Lodd. Cat. ed. 1836 has the leaves variegated 

 with white and yellow. 



at V. O. 4 ndna Hort. A very distinct little plant, scarcely 1 ft. in height. 

 Horticultural Society's Garden. 



The Guelder rose, in a wild state, is not remarkable for the beauty of its 

 flowers ; but its bright red berries, which ripen in September, and which, to- 

 wards the middle of October, assume a beautiful pink, almost compensate for 

 the inferiority of the species to the variety in point of flowers. The leaves of 

 both die off' of a fine red on the first approach of frost. The snow-ball tree, 

 or the Guelder rose ( V. O. 2 sterilis), is one of the most ornamental shrubs, 

 or low trees, that can be planted in a pleasure-ground. 



m 16. V. (O.) ^CERIFO'LIUM L. The Maple-leaved Guelder Rose. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 383. ; Pursh Sept., 1. p. 203. ; Dec. Prod., 



4. p. 327. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 442. 

 Engravings. Vent. Hort. Cels., t.72. ; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 118. ; and 



our fig. 956. 



Spec. Char., &c. Branchlets and petioles pilose. Leaves 

 ovate-cordate, usually 3-lobed, acuminated, sharply 

 and loosely serrated, downy beneath. Petioles gland- 

 less, and, when young, stipulaceous at the base, and 

 rather tomentose. Corymbs terminal, pedunculate, 

 not radiant. (Don's Mill.) A low shrub. New Eng- 

 land to Carolina, in rocky mountainous situations. 

 Height 4ft. to 6ft. Introduced in 1736. Flowers 

 white ; May and June. Fruit black, oval, and com- 

 pressed ; ripe in September. 



