CL. v.] 



10. VIBURNUM OPULUS. 



363 



Gueldrey Pain hlaiic, Pomrne de niege. — Ital. Sambuco 

 aquatico, Maggio, — Engl. Common Guelder-Rose, Water- 

 Elder — Swed. Olvon, Hals-bdr. 



This is a shrub, which grows from the size of a man in 

 height to twice that size : its stems, which are about the 

 thickness of an arm, having a grey, rifted, but, in other re- 

 spects, smooth bark, and white spongy pith. The branches 

 stand opposite to one another. The sulcated smooth leaf- 

 stalks, an inch in length, are also placed opposite to one ano- 

 ther, and have from four to six kidney-shaped knobs. At 

 the base of each leaf-stalk there are two deciduous pointed sti- 

 pulae. The leaves are about four inches long and broad, ha- 

 ving three short lobes, somewhat round at the base, cunei- 

 form, with sharply dentated margins, smooth, and having 

 deep nerves and veins on the upper surface, and slightly fur- 

 nished with hairs on the under surface. The flowers grow 

 on a stalked false umbel,*at the top of the branch. 



The calyx is very small, and has five teeth. The corollas 

 are not uniform. At the circumference of the flov^^ers we ob- 

 serve large, white, wheel-shaped, five-lobed corollae, without 

 ovaria, commonly without anthers, although sometimes these 

 last parts are seen. The central flowers are yellowish, and 

 also divided into five parts. Five filaments, longer than the 

 corolla, are united with its base, and carry yellow anthers, 

 consisting of two parts. The germen stands below the calyx, 

 and is surmounted by three reddish stigmata. Its upper- 

 most part is also the nectarium. It passes into a red, edible, 

 one-seeded berry. The embryon stands in a small hole of 

 the albuminous matter, with the radicle turned upwards. 



In the wild state, the marginal flowers alone are unfruit- 

 ful, because the sexual parts are abortive, (181.) and the co- 

 rolla is unfolded instead of them. Luxuriant growth in gar- 

 dens makes the abortion general, all the flowers become un- 

 fruitful, and the false umbel is contracted into a ball. 



