HEATH FAMILY. Ericaceae. 



clusters and are succeeded by smooth, round, red berries. 

 This is common in the mountains, across the continent, 

 reaching an altitude of ten thousand feet. The Indians 

 use it medicinally and in the curing of animal skins. There 

 is a picture of this in Schuyler Mathews' Field Book. 



There are a great many kinds of Vaccinium, widely 

 distributed; branching shrubs, with alternate leaves and 

 small flowers, usually in clusters; the ovary inferior, the 

 fruit a many-seeded berry, crowned with the remains of 

 the calyx-teeth. This is the classic Latin name. These 

 plants include Blueberry, Huckleberry, and Bilberry. 



_ ... . An attractive shrub, from four to eight 



California , 



Huckleberry * eet m S n > Wltn beautiful, glossy, evergreen 

 Vaccinium ovatum foliage, which is very ornamental and 

 White, pink much used in household decoration. The 



er lder leaV6S are rich dark green ' contrast - 

 ing finely with the younger, apple-green 



leaves and, in the spring, with the charming little red ones, 

 with which the twigs are tipped. They are leathery in 

 texture and very neatly arranged along the branches, which 

 are ornamented with pretty clusters of waxy, white or pink 

 flowers, a quarter of an inch long, or with purple berries, 

 without a "bloom," which are edible and make excellent 

 preserves. This grows on hills near the coast, especially 

 among the redwoods. 



There is one kind of Azaleastrum; resembling Rhodo- 

 dendron, but with deciduous leaves; and resembling 

 Azalea, but the flowers developing from lateral instead of 

 terminal buds, the corolla with five, regular lobes, and the 

 stamens shorter. 



An attractive shrub, from two to six 



Small Azalea feet hj h and loosely branching, with 



Azaleastrum albi- 

 fldrum grayish-brown bark and rich-green leaves, 



(Rhododendron) glossy, but not stiff or leathery. The 

 White flowers are about an inch across, with a 



Summer sticky, aromatic, pale green calyx and 



waxy-white corolla, the style and stamens 

 pale yellow or white. They have no scent and are not 

 so handsome as the last, but are very beautiful, growing 

 in high mountains, often close to the snow line. 



348 



