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Cotinus americanus is a relative of the European and Asiatic Smoke- 
tree {Cotinus coggygria), an old inhabitant of American gardens where 
it is much better known than the American plant. The “smoke’' of 
the Old World plant, which is its chief beauty, is composed of the large 
clusters of the hairy stems of abortive flowers, differing in color from 
yellow-green to red. The “smoke” of the American plant is much less 
conspicuous, and its value as a garden plant consists in the brilliant 
scarlet and orange tones of its leaves in autumn. The American Cotinus 
is quite hardy in the Arboretum where it has been growing since 1882. 
For many years this tree or shrub was known only in what is now 
eastern Oklahoma; later it was found always in comparatively small 
isolated stations in southern Missouri, western Arkansas, northern 
Alabama, and on the banks of the Ohio River in Davies County, Ohio. 
Its real home, however, is in western Texas where it spreads over 
thousands of acres of mountain canons and high hillsides, growing there 
usually as a low shrub. 
Some Shrubs of the Heath Family. Of all the shrubs in the Arbor¬ 
etum not one surpasses or perhaps equals the High Bush Blueberry 
(Vaccinium corymhosum) in the splendor of the crimson of its leaves 
in autumn. It is handsome, too, in early spring, when its white, bell¬ 
shaped flowers open, and in August and September when the blue- 
black fruit covers the branches. A native of swamps, the High Bush 
Blueberry grows equally well here in dry gravelly soil, and the best 
plants in the Arboretum are on Bussey Hill near the entrance to Azalea 
Path from opposite the Overlook. The autumn color of the leaves of 
the other northern Blueberries and Huckleberries {Gaylussacia) is as 
brilliant as that of the High Bush Blueberry and some of these smaller 
plants, especially Vaccinium pennsylvanicum, the dwarfest of them, 
are invaluable for covering dry ground under Oaks and other hardwood 
trees. The white flowers are attractive; the bluish black berries, which 
are the earliest blueberries to ripen, have a fair flavor, and during a 
month or more in autumn the plants form broad masses of scarlet only 
a few inches high and more brilliant in color than that of the flowers 
of the Heather on the highlands of Scotland. Every encouragement, 
with excellent results, has been given in the Arboretum to the spread 
of these dwarf Blueberries. 
Rhododendrons in autumn. The leaves of some of the American 
species with deciduous leaves (Azalea) are nearly as brilliant in autumn 
as those of the Blueberries, and their autumn colors greatly add to the 
value of these plants for the decoration of parks and gardens. For 
autumn beauty the yellow or flame-colored R. calendulaeeum is the 
most conspicuous this year. But R. dahuricum from Siberia, one of 
the true Rhododendrons with deciduous leaves, growing by Azalea 
Path, is now in its autumn dress one of the conspicuous plants of the 
Arboretum and far more attractive than it was in early spring when 
its small rose-colored flowers were open. 
Enkianthus. The Japanese species of this Asiatic genus of the 
Heath Family all grow well in the Arboretum and the group of these 
plants on the lower side of Azalea Path furnish pleasure to many per¬ 
sons in spring when they are covered with bell-shaped flowers, and in 
