The Shrubs of North Carolina 9 



4. Bristly Huckleberry. (V. hirsutum, Buckley.) — Dis- 

 covered in the Cherokee Mountains by Mr. Buckley, and easily 

 recognized by its bristly branches, leaves, flowers and fruit. 



5. Deerberry. Gooseberry. (V. stamineum, Linn.) — Very 

 common all over the State in dry woods, 1 to 4 feet high, and very 

 pretty when in blossom. The berries -are greenish-white, sour 

 and astringent, larger than any other of our Huckleberries. 



6. (V. erythrocarpon, Michx.) — A shrub 2 to 4 feet high, 

 found upon Grandfather, Flat Top and Roan Mountains. The 

 leaves are rather hairy and with small teeth on the edges. The 

 flowers have long divisions that are rolled backwards precisely 

 like those of the Cranberry. The fruit is small, reddish or pur- 

 plish, and insipid, somewhat like that of the Bearberry. 



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 October. 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 wet savannas of the Lower District. The leaves are 

 small, Vi to 14 i ncft 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 sometimes so much of a nuisance on plantations, 

 on account of its creeping tangled roots, as to have gained the 

 uncouth name of Devil's shoe-strings. 



Bermuda or French Mulberry. (Callicarpa Americana, 

 Linn.)— Quite common in light soils and dry, open woods of the 

 Lower District, especially along fence-rows and the borders of 

 settlements. It is 3 to 6 feet high, with coarse, rough, grayish 



