506 BUSH-FRUITS 



nearly circular in outline, and the fruit ripens from June to Sep- 

 tember, according to location. It is dark blue, or sometimes 

 nearly black, covered with a glaucous bloom, very sweet and 

 juicy, and is said to reach from half an inch to nearly an inch in 

 diameter. The species is widely distributed over the western half 

 of the continent, extending eastward as far as the western shores 

 of Lake Superior and the northern peninsula of Michigan. It is 

 one of the most promising species as a fruit-producing plant. Its 

 great productiveness and the large size and good quality of its 

 fruit are likely to place it in the lead for the western half of the 

 country, at least. 



THE TREE CRANBERRY (Fig. 113) 



The so-called tree cranberry or cranberry-tree is not a cran- 

 berry in any sense of the word. It has received this name owing 

 to a superficial resemblance of its fruit to that of the cranberry. 

 Though round and red like the cranberry, in structure and flavor 

 it is entirely different. The plant belongs to the Honeysuckle 

 family, the species being Viburnum opulus, Linn. It is a tall and 

 nearly smooth shrub, with gray bark, scaly buds and large, three 

 to five-lobed leaves, the lobes pointed and commonly few- toothed. 

 The flowers are white, borne in broad, flat clusters, and are fol- 

 lowed by the bright-colored fruit which is carried on the tips of 

 the branches, well above the leaves. The species is much better 

 known in the modified form in which it commonly appears in 

 cultivation, which is the guelder rose or snowball tree so fre- 

 quently planted upon lawns. In that form it has become entirely 

 sterile, by the culture adopted to bring out the spherical head of 

 bloom. In the wild type only the marginal florets are neutral. 



The species is found wild in the northern parts of Europe, Asia 

 and North America, and is in many respects a more desirable 

 ornamental plant than its modified descendant. Although pleas- 

 ing in habit and foliage, it is especially attractive in fruit. About 

 the last of July the berries take on a greenish yellow or orange 

 hue, tinged with bright red on the side toward the sun. From 

 that time until spring, unless taken by the birds, which com- 

 monly do not molest it when other food is abundant, the fruit is 

 always attractive. When ripe in autumn it becomes a brilliant 



