200 



Descriptive Flora 



CAPRIFOLIACEAE. Honeysuckle Family. 

 Sambucus canadensis L. Elder. 



Shrub with pithy stems and branches, large compound 

 leaves, and minute, white flowers in broad flat-topped clusters, 

 2 to 10" across. Leaflets large, 5 to 11, saw-toothed. Corolla flat, 

 14" across, 5-lobed, the lobes blunt and slightly recurved. Stamens 

 5, small, white, inserted on the corolla and falling off with it. 

 Flowers followed by great wide-topped clusters of purplish-black, 

 1-seeded, edible berries smaller than peas. The much branched 

 flower stalk turns bright purple in fruit. The flowers have also 

 a medicinal value when dried carefully in the shade. They are 

 used in the form of a poultice for treatment of tumors and 

 similar afflictions. April and May. River bottoms, generally 

 close to streams. Fruit valuable for making jellies and wines. 

 Larger stems used by boys for making pop guns. Indians make 

 a drink by dipping the blossoms in hot water. Also, an orna- 

 mental plant. 



Viburnum prunifolium L. Black Haw. 



Tall shrubs with shiny green leaves and small, creamy-white 

 flowers in flat-topped clusters, 1 to 2^" across, at the ends of 

 short branches. Leaves simple, opposite. Blades smooth, shiny, 

 oval to rounded, finely saw- toothed, y 2 to 2" long. Corolla 5- 

 lobed, about y± across. Stamens 5, united to the corolla. Fruits 

 1-seeded, oblong, edible, about three-eighths inch long, black and 

 covered with a bloom. May and June. In woods and thickets. 



Viburnum rufotomentosum Small. 



Similar to Black Haw above but the short, stout petioles and 

 veins underneath the leaf are covered with rusty or reddish 

 brown hairs. Drupes are deep blue with a bloom, longer (10- 

 14 mm.), and stone broader and larger. Corolla 7-10 mm. across 

 instead of 5-6 mm. This is the more common of the two species. 



