47 
Sambucus canadensis. As the flowers of the Laurel {Kalmia latifolia) 
begin to fade those of the Elder of the eastern states (Sambucus can- 
adensis) begin to open. This, Cornus amomum, and Rosa virginiana 
(or lucida) are the last of the native shrubs to make a conspicuous 
display of flowers in the Arboretum. Plants of the Elder which have 
sprung up naturally along Bussey Brook are now in bloom, and flower- 
ing plants are conspicuous by the small ponds near the junction of the 
Meadow and Forest Hills Roads. Few native shrubs make a greater 
show than this Elder with its broad heads of white flowers and lus- 
trous black fruits. In low half swampy ground close to the shore of 
Massachusetts the Elder and the wild Rose [R. virginiana) often grow 
and flower together, and it is hard to believe that a more beautiful ar- 
rangement of summer flowers can be made in New England. In the 
Shrub Collection there is a form with dull yellow fruit (var. chlorocarpa), 
one with the leaflets deeply divided into narrow segments (var. acuti- 
folia), and one with the flower-clusters four or five times larger than 
those of the wild plant and such large, heavy clusters of fruit that the 
branches barely support them (var. maxima). 
Spiraea Veitchii. This Chinese species, introduced by Wilson from 
western China, is the last of the white-flowered Spiraeas in the Arbor- 
etum collection to bloom and one of the handsomest plants of the genus. 
It is a shrub seven or eight feet high with numerous erect stems, 
remarkably slender for the stems of such a large plant, and gracefully 
arching branches which are covered from end to end with broad flow- 
er-clusters raised on erect stems. For this climate this Spiraea ranks 
with the very best plants introduced from China in recent years. 
Cornus amomum. Attention is called again to the Silky Cornel be- 
cause it is one of the best of all shrubs to plant in this climate near 
the banks of streams and ponds where a large mass of foliage to 
spread out over the surface of water is desired. Examples of this use 
of this shrub can now be seen at two of the small ponds near the end 
of the Meadow Road where this Cornel is now covered with flowers. 
These will be followed in autumn by bright blue fruit; in the winter 
the purple stems are attractive. The Silky Cornel is a good plant, too, 
to place in front of groups of trees and shrubs, but it must have room 
for the free growth of its wide-spreading branches, for when crowded 
by other plants the branches become erect, and all the character and 
beauty of the plant is lost. A space of not less than twenty feet in 
diameter is necessary for the development of a handsome plant of the 
Silky Cornel. 
Cornus arnoldiana. This plant, evidently a natural hybrid between 
two American species, Cornus obliqua and C. racemosa, which appeared 
several years ago in the Arboretum, is a large shrub with erect stems 
and characters intermediate between those of its parents; flowering a 
little later than C. racemosa, it has been covered with flowers this year. 
The fruit, which is usually less abundant than the flowers, is white or 
bluish white. Interesting to students of plants, as are all natural hy- 
brids, Cornus arnoldiana is not superior as a garden plant to C. race- 
mosa except perhaps in its greater size. 
