THE GUELDEE-EOSB. 



Viiur'num Oyulus L. 



Though necessarily both possessing those structural 

 characters of flower and fruit which indicate to the 

 botanist a generic identity, two trees in one genus are 

 in few cases so unlike to the general observer as are 

 the Guelder-rose and the Wayfaring-tree (p. 89). Not 

 only do they differ in general habit of growth, in the 

 forms of their leaves, and in the appearance of their 

 flower-clusters ; but even in such minutise as the form- 

 ation of their bark and the arrangement of their buds 

 they present characters widely at variance. The one 

 rigid, the other graceful ; the former densely pubescent, 

 the latter smooth in surface ; the Wayfaring-tree with 

 unlobed leaf, naked buds, and all its flowers alike, 

 whilst the Guelder-rose has a divided leaf that has 

 provoked comparisons with various other types, and 

 some of its flowers are so conspicuously modified as 

 to distinguish it at once from all other native trees 

 and shrubs. 



In attempting an explanation of some of these 

 differences, Lord Avebury has called attention to the 

 geographical distribution of the two species Whilst 

 the whole Order CaprifoUa'ceoe belongs mainly to the 

 temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the 

 genus Vibv/rnum, comprising, as it does, more species 

 than any other genus in the Order, extends to the 

 Andes and into other sub- tropical regions. Viburnum 

 to . '3 



