BERRY-BEARING PLANTS 



765 



plant is desired. The other plant is as often seen as a 

 trailing shrub as a vine, but is useful in either way. It 

 is the matrimony vine (Lyciiim chinensis) and bears two 

 crops of berries a year, one ripening in June or July, 

 and either dropping soon or is eaten by birds, while the 

 other ripens in September and October and holds on 

 most of the winter. The foliage of this is paler green 

 than that of the bittersweet. It is native of the Orient, 

 while the bittersweet is one of our American plants. 



In addition to the bright red winter berries there is a 

 plant with purplish red berries that is native all over 

 the country. This is the coral-berry, some times called 

 "Indian currant," known in the west as buck-bush 

 {Symphoricarpos vulgaris), and is even listed sometimes 

 by nursery men as "red snow-berry." It spreads by the 

 rooting of the tips of the branches and its whole habit 

 of growth is a little less trim and finished than many 

 of the plants mentioned. On the other hand, it holds 

 its berries well into March, even southward into the 

 Carolinas and is a most valuable shrub for winter effects 

 where a plant vmder five feet in height is desired. It is 



SNOW-BERRY 

 {Symphoricarpos racemosus) 



This is an old-fashioned shrub with large pure white berries, 

 growing usually about three feet high. 



JAPANESE TURQUOISE BERRY 

 {Symplocos paniculata) 



Here is indeed something new berries as blue as robins' 

 eggs! It is a rare and lovely shrub and in September and Oc- 

 tober is loaded with berries, which the birds quickly demolish. 



hardy and naturalizes well. 



The Callicarpa, also called sometimes calico bush 

 {Callicarpa purpurea) is another of our native plants that 

 is a valuable ornamental. It has clusters of small berries 

 at the tips of the branches like the coral-berry, but they 

 are regular in size instead of having large ones and 

 small ones all crowded together in a close bunch as 

 does the plant just described. The callicarpa is tender 

 north of Philadelphia except in favored locations, but is 

 a valuable addition to the list of berried shrubs for places 

 farther south. 



Although stress has been laid upon the scarlet and 

 orange-colored berries those plants with black berries 

 also have a useful place in the winter landscape. Of 

 course those berries with more or less of red in their 

 coloring can be seen for greater distances than those of 

 quieter hues and for that reason are approximately more 

 largely considered when planning the winter picture. 

 On the other hand the black berries are also attractive 



