142 THE SHRUBS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



7. Sparkleberry. (V. arboreum, Michx.) — 

 Found from the coast to Cherokee, 8 to 20 feet high, 

 the leaves smooth, rather stiff and shining. They 

 are evergreen, at least in the Lower District. The 

 fruit is black and small, dry, granular and slightly 

 astringent, but of pleasant flavor, ripening in Octo- 

 ber. When in blossom it is quite a showy shrub. 

 The bark of the root is very astringent, and is 

 used in chronic dysentery. 



8. Creeping Huckleberry. (V. crassifolium, 

 Andr.) — A small species with stems (1 to 2 feet 

 long) creeping close upon the earth in Avet savannas 

 of the Lower District. The leaves are small, i to i 

 inch long, evergreen, thick and shining. The fruit 

 is red, becoming black, tasteless. 



9. Cranberry. (V. macrocarpon, Ait.) — A small 

 trailing plant with pale evergreen leaves, common in 

 the mountain swamps of Ashe and Yancey, and also 

 in Pasquotank, Hyde and other counties in the 

 north-eastern part of the State. The fine acid fruit 

 of this plant is well known and universally esteemed. 



Coral Berry. (Symphoricarpus vulgaris, Michx.) 

 — A small shrub, 2 to 3 feet high, frequent in arid 

 gravelly soils, especially by road sides, throughout 

 the Middle District. The leaves are rather stiff, 

 about 1 inch long, downy beneath. The flowers are 

 of no beauty, but the compact clusters of dark red 

 berries in the fork of nearly all the leaves, and which 

 hang on through the Winter, have made it an object 

 of attention among gardeners and florists. This is 



