YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 27 



(white) %$*„ A (Pink) 



3i 



ELDERBERRY BUCKBRUSH 



Elderberry (Sambuous). The elder is found only 

 in shaded, fairly moist locations, mostly at the lower 

 elevations. It is not so tall a shrub as the common 

 elder of the East; six feet represents a rather ex- 

 treme height. The stems are smooth, stout and hol- 

 low, with brown pith. The compound leaves have 

 each from five to eleven narrowly lance-shaped leaflets, 

 with finely toothed edges. The plumy white flower- 

 cluster is shaped like a blunt pyramid, instead of be- 

 ing flat like the common elder, and the berries when 

 ripe are red instead of black. 



Buckbrush (Symphoricarpos) . This shrub has 

 several common names, being known also as snowberry 

 and wolfberry, and a form with red fruits bears the 

 name coralberry. In the Park it has about the same 

 distribution and choice of habitat as the elder. The 

 bush is of only medium height, seldom exceeding three 

 feet. The leaves are from one inch to two and one- 

 half inches in length, smooth and thickish, with smooth 

 margins, oval and somewhat pointed. The small, cup- 

 shaped flowers are pink, a cluster appearing above 

 each leaf along the stem. The berries are waxy-white, 

 a quarter of an inch or more in diameter. During the 

 fall they make the bush very conspicuous. 



