WAFER ASH 



downy beneath. Autiunnal tints arc scarlet touched witli yel- 

 low. Two stout prickles are on the stem just below the clusters 

 of leaves and flowers. 



Floivcrs. — April, May, before or with the leaves. Diiccious, 

 small, greenish white, borne in short umbels in the axils of the 

 leaves. Sepals four to five or obsolete ; petals five ; stamens 

 four to five; ])istils two to five, with slender styles slightly 

 united. C'apsules ellipsoid, thick and fleshy, on short stalks, 

 two-valved, one to two-seeded ; seeds black, smooth, shining. 



The common name of Prickly Ash explains itself; 

 the stem of the shrnb is prickly and its leaves resem- 

 ble those of the ashes. There the likeness ceases. 

 The small greenish flowers are inconspicuous and 

 appear early. All parts of the shrub are pung-ent 

 and aromatic ; when the leaves are crushed they yield 

 a strong lemon-like odor. 



WAFER ASH. HOP-TREE 



Ptclla trifoliata. 



Ptella, the Greek name of the elm-tree, transferred to this 

 genus because of the similarity of the fruits. Wafer refers 

 to the size and shape of the fruit. Hop re- 

 calls the fact that the leaves have been sub- 

 stituted for hops in the making of beer. 



The Wafer Ash, though small, is 

 arborescent in habit and properlv de- 

 scribed as a tree; but it consorts with 

 the shrubs and is grouped with them samams of the wafer 

 for landscape effects. The green dow- 

 ers, though abundant, are inconspicuous and the ])lant 

 does not become noticeable before midsummer ; then 

 the winged seed vessels mature and form great green- 



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