Trees of North Carolina 91 



the well known fruits, which are quite variable in 

 nearly all characters. Contrary to popular belief, 

 some trees ripen their fruit well before frost, and in 

 some the fruit is nearly or quite seedless, as in the 

 tree on the north side of Battle's Grove. Dates of 

 flowering: May 17, 1903; 'May 12, 1909; May 16, 

 1915; May 16, 1916. 



STORAX FAMILY 

 (STYRACACEAE) 



151. Symplocos tinctoria (L.) L'Her. Sweet Leaf, 



Horse Sugar. 



This small tree or shrub is abundant around bays 

 and flats in the coastal plain, rare and mostly along 

 bluffs in the Piedmont, and less rare, but not common 

 in the lower mountains. Leaves thick, long-ovate, 

 pointed, edges slightly toothed, taste sweet; flowers 

 light yellow, fragrant, borne in bunches along the 

 twigs; fruits small, dry, eylindric, containing one 

 seed. The leaves are greedily eaten by cattle and 

 horses, and are noticeably sweet and partly evergreen. 

 The leaves and bark are the source of a fine yellow 

 dye, and from this the plant is often called Yellow- 

 wood. Near Chapel Hill it is found only on the bluffs 

 of New Hope Creek at "The Caves." 



152. Halesia tetraptera L. Snowdrop Tree. 



A tree found along streams from Surry, Mecklen- 

 burg and Davidson Counties west into the mountains. 

 It is usually small, but is said by Ayres and Ashe to 



