282 NATURAL HISTORY. 



THIRTY-THIRD FAMILY. CAPRIFOLEACEJE. Hox- 

 EYSUCKLES. Shrubs or rarely herbaceous, with round 

 branches, sometimes twining, sometimes slightly knobbed. 

 Flowers axillary; do not bloom in regularly arranged 

 umbels, but in terminal verticils or whorls. Fruit, a 

 berry. The first representative of this genus is 



The Garden or Chinese Honeysuckle (Lonicera ca- 

 prifolium), a twining shrub; stem ten to fifteen feet 

 long ; branching, upper branches often hairy. Leaves 

 connate, or perfoliate, flowers verticillate, or arranged 

 around the stem at the axil of the leaf, with tubes taper- 

 ing at the base, resembling a Cornucopia. Berries, at 

 maturity, reddish-orange. Honeysuckles, with their 

 beautiful flowers, varied, white, yellow, and pink, to- 

 gether with the delightful odor they send forth, have 

 always been favorite plants for decorating arbors and 

 porticoes, and are much frequented by humming-birds on 

 account of the honey they contain. Several varieties 

 American Woodbine grows wild; Lon. Grata (Ever- 

 green Honeysuckle), Lon. Sempervirens (Trumpet Hon- 

 eysuckle), etc. *?. 



The Elder Bush (Sambucus nigra). A high shrub, 

 with leaves downy and in pairs, usually three and an 

 odd one. Grows everywhere in shady places, along 

 hedge-rows and fences; rather troublesome. Branches 

 filled with soft white pith. The greener portion of this 

 shrub, rubbed between the fingers, has an unpleasant 

 odor, which, inhaled to any extent, produces dizziness ; 

 taste, pungent and bitter. Nevertheless it is a useful 

 plant ; the leaves are employed in poultices to disperse 

 swelling; a decoction of the flowers, fresh or dried, 

 proves a powerful sudorific, and wine is made from the 

 juice of the black berries. The berries themselves are 



