282. CORAL HONEYSUCKLE or TRUMPET HONEYSUCKLE (_Lonicera sempervirens_
L.) an evergreen vine, rare except in cultivation; common in East Texas;
low woods and thickets. Leaves: oblong, smooth, upper pairs united or
encircling stem. Flowers: Trumpet-shaped, light red, yellowish inside, 1
to 1½ inches long, in clusters. Fruit: scarlet, fleshy.
[Illustration: 282 coral honeysuckle]
283. BUSH HONEYSUCKLE (_Lonicera albiflora_ T. & G.) not very common; on
limestone bluffs, upland meadows and thickets. Leaves: opposite, upper
pair usually united or encircling stem, not evergreen. Stems: stiff and
upright or sometimes long and trailing, both usually to be found on one
bush; this habit is the best point of distinction between this species
and the rarer trumpet honeysuckle when there are no flowers present.
Fruit: scarlet, fleshy. Flowers: whitish or yellowish, small. K (p.
382).
[Illustration: 283 bush honeysuckle]
284. INDIAN CURRANT (_Symphoricarpos orbiculatus_ Moench.) or
coralberry, the last name also used for other plants, locally well known
as buckbrush or partridge brush. This 1 to 3-foot shrub is abundant in
woodlands, especially in rich soil. Leaves: simple, opposite, entire or
nearly, 1 to 1½ inches long, usually blunt at tip, darker above. Twigs:
wiry, brown. Flowers: white, small, in dense clusters at leaf-axils.
Fruit: magenta red, in dense clusters encircling stems, remaining
through winter. The much smaller size of bush, leaves and fruit clusters
prevents confusion with French mulberry. B (Vol. III, p. 277).
[Illustration: 284 Indian current]
285. BLACK HAW (_Viburnum rufidulum_ Raf.) or possum haw: a shrub or
more often a small tree; in woods, preferring lowlands. Leaves: thick,
glossy, finely serrate, about 3 inches long and half as wide; a rusty
fuzz at the base of the veins beneath; simple, opposite, red in autumn.
Twigs: sometimes coated with rusty fuzz as the buds always are. Bark:
dark reddish brown, with small, roundish scales. Flowers: late March or
early April, white, in flat clusters about 5 or 6 inches across. Fruit:
oval, about one-half inch long, blue with a bloom, containing a single
stony seed; especially attractive in autumn, turning from red to blue.
Wood: ill-scented.
[Illustration: 285 black haw]
286. ELDERBERRY or common elder (_Sambucus canadensis_ L.) usually a
tall shrub; common in low, rich woods. Leaves: pinnately compound, of 5
to 11 oblong, or oval, smooth leaflets, 2 to 4 inches long, the lower
often 3-parted; sharply serrate, opposite. Twigs: with thin woody layer
surrounding thick white pith. Flowers: small, white, in large, compound,
flat clusters; sweet-scented. Fruit: purplish black, glossy, juicy,
popular with birds, ripe in late summer. K (p. 381).
[Illustration: 286 elderberry]