SOME PLANTS FLOWERING 
EARLY IN APRIL 
In the native wild flower section of the Garden there are only 
a few of the native American plants that bloom in early April. 
These are shrubs and trees bearing inconspicuous flowers in 
catkins, in the case of the willows, alders, and birches; and more 
showy flowers on some of the shrubs. 
Among the alders, which are just north of the bog, there are 
two species, Abuts iuca/ta, which is the more common alder along 
our northern water courses, and A. ritgosa, which is more com- 
mon on the coastal plain than inland. Both of these produce 
rather inconspicuous catkins very early in April, or sometimes 
in March. Often the}’ become tree-like, but usually they are 
shrubby. 
Among the willows, Salix lucida , as yet too small to flower, 
S. discolor , 5". sericea and S. tristis are all to be found near the 
bog. The first three will ultimately become very large shrubs, 
but S. tristis (the sage-willow) is a dwarf plant, rarely exceeding 
one and a half feet. Unlike most willows, it grows naturally in 
dry soil, and its ashy, grey-colored stems make effective land- 
scape material in masses. 
The shrubs with more attractive colored flowers, blooming 
in April, include the spice-bush ( Benzoin aestivate ), now covered 
by a mass of yellow flowers, which appear some time before the 
leaves unfold. In the bog, and with tiny, white, cup-shaped 
flowers, is the leather leaf ( Chamaedaphne caiycnlata), with a 
natural range from the Arctic tundra to the warm bogs of 
Georgia. It thrives most successfully in bogs, but can be grown 
also on dry hillsides, if the soil conditions are suitable. The 
leatherwood ( Dirca paluslris), a plant with a somewhat similar 
common name, but inhabiting uplands, is found in the shrubbery 
planting along the Flatbush Avenue side of the local flora valley. 
It has light yellow flowers, and is, perhaps, more brittle than any 
other native shrub. 
The herbs flowering in April include, among others the blood- 
root ( Sanquinaria canadensis) , which sends up numerous white 
