simple, irregularly alternate, often apparently whorled when clustered
at the ends of the shoots, 2-5 inches long, one-half as wide; at first
bright green beneath, dullish-green above, becoming dark glossy green
above, paler beneath, obovate or oblanceolate to oval; entire, few or
obscurely toothed, or wavy-margined above the center; apex more or less
abruptly acute; base acutish; firm, smooth, finely sub-veined; stem
short, flat, grooved, minutely ciliate, at least when young; stipules
none.
=Inflorescence.=--May or early June. Appearing with the leaves in
axillary clusters of small greenish flowers, sterile and fertile usually
on separate trees, sometimes on the same tree,--sterile flowers in
simple or compound clusters; calyx minutely 5-parted, petals 5, small or
wanting; stamens 5-12, inserted on the outside of a disk; pistil none:
fertile flowers larger, solitary, or several sessile in a bracted
cluster; petals 5, small or wanting; calyx minutely 5-toothed.
=Fruit.=--Drupes 1-several, ovoid, blue black, about 1/2 inch long,
sour: stone striated lengthwise.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; adapts itself
readily to most situations but prefers deep soil near water. Seldom
offered in nurseries and difficult to transplant unless frequently
root-pruned or moved; collected plants do not thrive well; seedlings are
raised with little difficulty. Few trees are of greater ornamental
value.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXI.--Nyssa sylvatica.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3-4. Sterile flowers.
5. Branch with fertile flowers.
6. Fertile flower.
7. Fruiting branch.
EBENACEÆ. EBONY FAMILY.
=Diospyros Virginiana, L.=
PERSIMMON.
=Habitat and Range.=--Rhode Island,--occasional but doubtfully native;
Connecticut,--at Lighthouse Point, New Haven, near the East Haven
boundary line, there is a grove consisting of about one hundred
twenty-five small trees not more than a hundred feet from the water's
edge, in sandy soil just above the beach grass, exposed to the
buffeting of fierce winds and the incursions of salt water, which comes
up around them during the heavy winter storms. These trees are not in
thriving condition; several are dead or dying, and no new plants are
springing up to take their places. A cross-section of the trunk of a
dead tree, as large as any of those living, shows about fifty annual
rings. There is no reason to suppose that the survivors are older. This
station is said to have been known as early as 1846, at which date the
ground where they stand was grassy and fertile. These trees, if standing
at that time, must assuredly have been in their infancy. The
encroachment of the sea and subsequent change of conditions account well
enough for the present decrepitude, but their general similarity in size
and apparent age point rather to introduction than native growth.
South to Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana; west to Iowa, Kansas, and
Texas.
=Habit.=--One of the Rhode Island trees measured 3 feet 11 inches girth
at the base, and gradually tapered to a height of more than 40 feet (L.
W. Russell). The trees at New Haven are 15-20 feet in height, with a
trunk diameter of 6-10 inches, trunk and limbs much twisted by the
winds. Their branches, beginning to put out at a height of 6-8 feet, lie
in almost horizontal planes, forming a roundish, open head.
=Bark.=--Trunk in old trees dark, rough, deeply furrowed, separating
into small, firm sections; large limbs dark reddish-brown; season's
shoots green, turning to brown.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds oblong, conical, short. Leaves simple,
alternate, 3-6 inches long, about half as wide, dark green and mostly
glossy above, somewhat lighter and minutely downy (at least when young)
beneath, ovate to oval, entire; apex acute to acuminate; base acute,
rounded or truncate; leafstalk short; stipules none.
=Inflorescence.=--June. Sterile and fertile flowers on separate or on
the same trees; not conspicuous, axillary; sterile often in clusters,
fertile solitary; calyx 4-6-parted; corolla 4-6-parted; about 1/2 inch
long, pale yellow, thickish, urn-shaped, constricted at the mouth and
somewhat smaller in the sterile flowers; stamens 16 in the sterile
flowers, in fertile flowers 8 or less, imperfect; styles 4, ovary
8-celled.
=Fruit.=--A berry, ripe in late fall, roundish, about an inch in
diameter, larger farther south, with thick, spreading, persistent calyx,
yellow to yellowish-brown, very astringent when immature, edible and
agreeable to the taste after exposure to the frost; several-seeded.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy along the south shore of New England;
prefers well-drained soil in open situations; free from disfiguring
enemies; occasionally cultivated in nurseries but difficult to
transplant. Propagated from seed.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXII.--Diospyros Virginiana.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3. Vertical section of sterile flower.
4. Branch with fertile flowers.
5. Section of fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.
OLEACEÆ. OLIVE FAMILY.
Fraxinus Americana, L.
WHITE ASH.
=Habitat and Range.=--Rich or moist woods, fields and pastures, near
streams.
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to Ontario.
Maine,--very common, often forming large forest areas; in the other New
England states, widely distributed, but seldom occurring in large
masses.
South to Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas.
=Habit.=--A tall forest tree, 50-75 feet high, with a trunk diameter of
2-3 feet; rising in the rich bottom lands of the Ohio river 100 feet or
more, often in the forest half its height without a limb. In open
ground the trunk, separating at a height of a few feet, throws off two
or three large limbs, and is soon lost amid the slender, often gently
curving branches, forming a rather open, rounded head widest at or near
the base, with light and graceful foliage, and a stout, rather sparse,
glabrous, and sometimes flattish spray.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in mature trees easily distinguishable at some
distance by the characteristic gray color and uniform striation; ridges
prominent, narrow, flattish, firm, without surface scales but with fine
transverse seams; furrows fine and strong, sinuous, parallel or
connecting at intervals; large limbs more or less furrowed; smaller
branches smooth and grayish-green; season's shoots polished olive green;
leaf-scars prominent.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds short, rather prominent, smooth, dark or
pale rusty brown. Leaves pinnately compound, opposite, 6-12 inches long;
petiole smooth and grooved; leaflets 5-9, 2-5 inches long, deep green
and smooth above, paler and smooth, or slightly pubescent (at least when
young) beneath; ovate to lance-oblong, entire or somewhat toothed; apex
pointed; base obtuse, rounded or sometimes acute; leaflet stalks short,
smooth; stipules and stipels none.
=Inflorescence.=--May. In loose panicles from lateral or terminal buds
of the previous season's shoots, sterile and fertile flowers for the
most part on separate trees, numerous, inconspicuous; calyx in sterile
flowers 4-toothed, petals none, stamens 2-4, anthers oblong; calyx in
fertile flowers unequally 4-toothed or nearly entire, persistent; petals
none, stamens none, pistil 1, style 1, stigma 2-cleft.
=Fruit.=--Ripening in early fall, and hanging in clusters into the
winter; a samara or key 1-2 inches long, body nearly terete, marginless
below, dilating from near the tip into a wing two or three times as long
as the body.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich,
moist, loamy soil, but grows in any well-drained situation; easily
transplanted, usually obtainable in nurseries, and can be collected
successfully. It is one of the most desirable native trees for landscape
and street plantations, on account of its rapid and clean growth,
freedom from disease, moderate shade, and richly colored autumn foliage.
As the leaves appear late in spring and fall early in autumn, it is
desirable to plant with other trees of different habit. Propagated from
seed.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIII.--Fraxinus Americana.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3. Sterile flowers.
4. Branch with fertile flowers.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.
=Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, Marsh.=
_Fraxinus pubescens, Lam._
RED ASH. BROWN ASH. RIVER ASH.
=Habitat and Range.=--River banks, swampy lowlands, margins of streams
and ponds.
New Brunswick to Manitoba.
Maine,--infrequent; New Hampshire,--occasional, extending as far north
as Boscawen in the Merrimac valley; Vermont,--common along Lake
Champlain and its tributaries (_Flora of Vermont_, 1900); occasional in
other sections; Massachusetts and Rhode Island,--sparingly scattered
throughout; Connecticut,--reported from East Hartford, Westville,
Canaan, and Lisbon (J. N. Bishop).
South to Florida and Alabama; west to Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and
Missouri.
=Habit.=--Medium-sized to large tree, 30-70 feet high, with trunk 1-3
feet in diameter; erect, branches spreading, broad-headed; in general
appearance resembling the white ash.
=Bark.=--Trunk dark gray or brown, smooth in young trees, furrowed in
old, furrows rather shallower than in the white ash; branches grayish;
young shoots greenish-gray with a rusty-velvety or scurfy pubescence
lasting often into the second year.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds rounded, dark reddish-brown, more or
less downy, smaller than those of the white ash, partially covered by
the swollen petiole. Leaves pinnately compound, opposite, 9-15 inches
long; petiole short, downy, enlarged at base; leaflets 7-9, opposite,
3-5 inches long, about one half as wide, light green and smooth above,
paler and more or less downy beneath; outline extremely variable, ovate,
narrow-oblong, elliptical or sometimes obovate, entire or slightly
toothed; apex acute to acuminate; base acute or rounded; leaflet stalks
short, grooved, downy; stipules and stipels none.
=Inflorescence.=--May. Similar to that of the white ash.
=Fruit.=--Ripening in early fall, and hanging in clusters into the
winter; samara or key about 1-1/2 inches long; body of the fruit
narrowly cylindrical, the edges gradually widening from about the center
into linear or spatulate wings, obtuse or rounded at the ends, sometimes
mucronate.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows readily in
any good soil, but prefers a wet or moist, rich loam; almost as rapid
growing when young as the white ash, and is not seriously affected by
insects or fungous diseases; worthy of a place in landscape plantations
and on streets, but not often found in nurseries; propagated from seed.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIV.--Fraxinus Pennsylvanica.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3. Sterile flowers.
4. Branch with fertile flowers.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.
7. Mature leaf.
=Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, var. lanceolata, Sarg.=
_Fraxinus viridis, Michx. f. Fraxinus lanceolata, Borkh._
GREEN ASH.
River valleys and wet woods.
Ontario to Saskatchewan.
Maine,--common along the Penobscot river from Oldtown to Bangor;
Vermont,--along Lake Champlain; Gardner's island, and the north end of
South Hero; Rhode Island (Bailey); Connecticut,--frequent (J. N. Bishop,
_Report of Connecticut Board of Agriculture_, 1895).
South along the mountains to Florida; west to the Rocky mountains.
The claims to specific distinction rest mainly upon the usual absence of
pubescence from the young shoots, leaves and petioles, the color of the
leaves (which is bright green above and scarcely less so beneath), the
usually more distinct serratures above the center, and a rather more
acuminate apex.
Apparently an extreme form of _F. pubescens_, connected with it by
numerous intermediate forms through the entire range of the species.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXV.--Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, var.
lanceolata.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Fruiting branch.
=Fraxinus nigra, Marsh.=
_Fraxinus sambucifolia, Lam._
BLACK ASH. SWAMP ASH. BASKET ASH. HOOP ASH. BROWN ASH.
=Habitat and Range.=--Wet woods, river bottoms, and swamps.
Anticosti through Ontario.
Maine,--common; New Hampshire,--south of the White mountains;
Vermont,--common; Massachusetts,--more common in central and western
sections; Rhode Island,--infrequent; Connecticut,--occasional
throughout.
South to Delaware and Virginia; west to Arkansas and Missouri.
=Habit.=--A tall tree reaching a height of 60-80 feet, with a trunk
diameter of 1-2 feet; attaining greater dimensions southward. In swamps,
when shut in by other trees, the trunk is straight, very slender,
scarcely tapering to point of branching, in open situations under
favorable conditions forming a large, round, open head. Easily
distinguished from the other ashes by its sessile leaflets.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk a soft ash-gray, in old trees marked by parallel
ridges separating into fine, thin, close flakes; limbs light gray,
rough-warted, the smaller with conspicuous leaf-scars; season's shoots
olive green, stout; flattened at apex, with small, black, vertical dots.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds roundish, pointed, very dark, the
terminal 1/8 inch long. Leaves compound, opposite, 12-15 inches long;
stipules none; stem grooved and smooth; leaflets 7-11, more frequently
9, 3-5 inches long, 1-1/2-2 inches wide, green on both sides, lighter
beneath and more or less hairy on the veins; outline variable, more
usually oblong-lanceolate, sharply serrate; apex acuminate; base obtuse
to rounded, sessile except the odd leaflets; stipels none.
=Inflorescence.=--May. Appearing before the leaves in loose panicles
from lateral or terminal buds of the preceding season, sterile and
fertile flowers on different trees; bracted; calyx none; petals none.
=Fruit.=--August to September. Samaras, in panicles, rather more than 1
inch long, rounded at both ends: body entirely surrounded by the wing.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in any good
soil, but prefers swamp or wet land. Its very tall, slender habit makes
it a useful tree in some positions, but it is not readily obtainable in
nurseries and is seldom used. Propagated from the seed.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVI.--Fraxinus nigra.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3. Sterile flower.
4. Branch with fertile flowers.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.
7. Fruit.
CAPRIFOLIACEÆ. HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.
=Viburnum Lentago, L.=
SHEEP BERRY. SWEET VIBURNUM. NANNY PLUM.
=Habitat and Range.=--Rich woods, thickets, river valleys, along fences.
Province of Quebec to Saskatchewan.
Frequent throughout New England.
South along the mountains to Georgia and Kentucky; west to
Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri.
=Habit.=--A shrub or small tree, 10-25 feet in height with numerous
branches forming a wide-spreading, compact rounded head; conspicuous by
rich foliage, profuse, fragrant yellowish-white flowers, and long,
drooping clusters of crimson fruit which deepen to a rich purple when
fully ripe.
=Bark.=--Trunk and larger branches dark purplish or reddish brown,
separating in old trees into small, firm sections; branchlets
grayish-brown; season's shoots reddish-brown, dotted, more or less
scurfy.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds long, narrow, covered with scurfy,
brown, leaf-like scales; flower-buds much longer, swollen at the base,
with two leaf-like scales extended into a long, spire-like point. Leaves
simple, opposite, 2-4 inches long, upper surface bright green, lower
paler and set with rusty scales, ovate to oblong-ovate or orbicular,
sharply and finely serrate, smooth, tapered or abruptly pointed; base
acute to rounded or truncate; stem slender, wavy-margined, channeled
above; stipules none.
=Inflorescence.=--May or early June. Terminal, in broad, flat-topped,
compound, sessile cymes; calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, 5-toothed;
corolla white, salver-shaped, segments 5, oval, reflexed; stamens 5,
projecting, anthers yellow; pistil truncate.
=Fruit.=--Profuse, in clusters; drupes 1/2 inch long, oval, crimson when
ripening, deep purple when fully ripe, edible, sweet: stone flat, oval,
rough, obscurely striate lengthwise.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich
soil in open places or in light shade. Its showy flowers, healthy
foliage, and vigorous growth make it a desirable plant for high shrub
plantations, and as an undergrowth in open woods. Offered for sale by
collectors and occasionally by nurserymen; easily transplanted;
propagated from seed or from cuttings.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVII.--Viburnum Lentago.]
1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Flower.
4. Flower, side view.
5. Flower with petals and stamens removed.
6. Fruiting branch.
APPENDIX.
The range of several trees as given in the text has been extended by
discoveries made during the summer of 1901, but reported too late for
incorporation in its proper place.
_Populus balsamifera_, L., var. _candicans_, Gray.--One of the commonest
and stateliest trees in the alluvium of the Connecticut and the Cold
rivers; with negundo, river maple, and white and slippery elm, forming a
tall and dense forest along the Connecticut at the foot of Fall
mountain, and opposite Bellows Falls. The densely pubescent petioles and
the ciliate margins of the broad cordate leaves at once distinguish this
tree from the usually smaller but more common _P. balsamifera_ ("Some
Trees and Shrubs of Western Cheshire County, N. H." Mr. M. L. Fernald,
in _Rhodora_, III, 233).
The above is the _Populus candicans_, Ait., of the text.
_Salix discolor_, Muhl.--There are many fine trees at Fort Kent, Maine,
one with trunk 13 inches in diameter. (M. L. Fernald _in lit._,
September, 1901.)
_Salix balsamifera_, Barrett.--A handsome tree at Fort Kent, 25-30 feet
high, with trunk 4-6 inches in diameter. (M. L. Fernald _in lit._,
September, 1901.)
_Cratægus Crus-Galli_, L.--Nantucket, Massachusetts. Young trees were
set out in 1830, enclosing an oblong of about an acre and a half. The
most flourishing of these have obtained a height of about 30 feet and a
trunk diameter near the ground of 10-12 inches. Now established,
probably through the agency of birds, along swamps and upon
hill-slopes. (L. L. D.)
_Prunus Americana_, Marsh.--One clump of small trees in a thicket at
Alstead Centre, N. H., has the characteristic spherical fruit of this
species. _P. nigra_, Ait., with oblong, laterally flattened fruit, is
abundant. (_Rhodora_, III, 234.)
_Acer Saccharum_, Marsh., var. _barbatum_, Trelease.--Characteristic
trees (Cheshire County, N. H.), with small, firm, deep green,
three-lobed leaves, appear very distinct, but many transitions are noted
between this and the typical _Acer Saccharum_. (_Rhodora_, III, 234.)
_Acer Saccharum_, Marsh., var. _nigrum_, Britton.--Occasional in
alluvium of the Cold river (Cheshire county, N. H.). The large, dark
green, "flabby" leaves, with closed sinuses and with densely pubescent
petioles and lower surfaces, quickly distinguish this tree from the
ordinary forms of the sugar maple. (_Rhodora_, III. 234.)
_Fraxinus Pennsylvanica_. Marsh., var. _lanceolata_, Sarg.--Common along
the Connecticut at Walpole, N. H. (M. L. Fernald _in lit._, September,
1901.)
GLOSSARY.
=Abortive.= Defective or barren, through non-development of a part.
=Acuminate.= Long-pointed.
=Acute.= Ending with a sharp but not prolonged point.
=Adherent.= Growing fast to; adnate anther, attached for its whole
length to the ovary.
=Adnate.= Essentially same as adherent, with the added idea of
congenital adhesion.
=Aggregate fruits.= Formed by crowding together all the carpels of the
same flower; as in the blackberry.
=Ament.= Name given to such flower-clusters as those of the willow,
birch, poplar, etc.
=Anther.= The part of the stamen which bears the pollen.
=Appressed.= Lying close against another organ.
=Ascending.= Rising upward, or obliquely upward.
=Axil.= Angle formed on the upper side between the leaf stem or flower
stem and the branch from which it springs.
=Bract.= Reduced leaf subtending a flower or flower-cluster.
=Branches, primary.= The leading or main branches thrown out directly
from the trunk, giving a general shape to the head.
=Branches, secondary.= Never directly from the trunk but from other
branches.
=Buttressed.= Supported against strain in any direction by a conspicuous
ridge-like enlargement of the trunk vertically to the roots. Several of
these buttresses often give a tree a square appearance.
=Caducous.= Dropping off very early after development.
=Calyx.= The outer set of the leaves of the flower.
=Campanulate.= Bell-shaped.
=Capitate.= Head-shaped or collected in a head.
=Capsule.= A dry compound fruit.
=Carpel.= A simple pistil.
=Catkin.= See ament.
=Ciliate.= Margin with hairs or bristles.
=Coherent.= One organ uniting with another.
=Compound.= See leaf, ovary, etc.
=Connate.= Similar organs, more or less grown together.
=Connective.= The part of the anther connecting its two cells.
=Coriaceous.= Thick, leathery in texture.
=Corolla.= Leaves of the flower within the calyx.
=Corymb.= That sort of flower-cluster in which the flower stems arranged
along the central axis elongate, forming a broad convex or level top,
the flowers opening successively from the outer edge towards the center.
=Crenate.= Edge with rounded teeth.
=Crenulate.= Edge with small rounded teeth.
=Cyme.= Flat-topped or convex flower-cluster, the central flower opening
first; blossoming outward.
=Deciduous.= Falling off, as leaves in autumn, or calyx and corolla
before fruit grows.
=Declining.= Bent downwards.
=Decurrent.= Leaves prolonged on the stem beneath the insertion:
branchlets springing out beneath the point of furcation, as the
feathering along the trunk of elms, etc.
=Dentate.= With teeth pointing outwards.
=Disk.= Central part of a head of flowers; fleshy expansion of the
receptacle of a flower; any rounded, flat surface.
=Drupe.= A stone fruit; soft externally with a stone at the center, as
the cherry and peach.
=Erose.= Eroded, as if gnawed.
=Exserted.= Protruding, projecting out of.
=Falcate.= Scythe-shaped.
=Fertile.= Flowers containing the pistil, capable of producing fruit.
Anthers in such blossoms, if any, are generally abortive.
=Fibrovascular.= Bundle or tissue, formed of wood fibers, ducts, etc.
=Filament.= Part of stamen supporting anther.
=Fungus.= A division of cryptogamous plants, including mushrooms, etc.
=Furcation.= Branching.
=Glabrous.= Smooth without hairiness or roughness.
=Glandular.= Bearing glands or appendages having the appearance of
glands.
=Glaucous.= Covered with a bloom: bluish hoary.
=Globose= or =globous.= Spherical or nearly so.
=Habit.= The general appearance of a plant.
=Habitat.= The place where a plant naturally grows, as in swamps, in
water, upon dry hillsides, etc.
=Hybrid.= A cross between two species.
=Imbricated.= Overlapping.
=Inflorescence.= Mode of disposition of flowers; sometimes applied to
the flower-cluster itself.
=Involucre.= Bracts subtending a flower or a cluster of flowers.
=Keeled.= Having a central dorsal ridge like the keel of a boat.
=Key.= A winged fruit; a samara.
=Lacerate.= Irregularly cleft, as if torn.
=Lanceolate.= Lance-shaped, broadest above the base, gradually narrowing
to the apex.
=Leaf.= Consisting when botanically complete of a blade, usually flat, a
footstalk and two appendages at base of the footstalk; often consisting
of blade only.
=Leaf, compound.= Having two to many distinct blades on a common
leafstalk or rachis. These blades may be sessile or have leafstalks of
their own.
=Leaf, pinnately compound.= With the leaflets arranged along the sides
of the rachis.
=Leaf, palmately compound.= With leaflets all standing on summit of
petiole.