Why so elegant a plant as this species should bear the disagreeable name
of Hobble-Bush is apparent only when we become entangled by walking over
a bed of it. I have seen it frequently in Maine, where it is called
Moosewood, but seldom in Massachusetts. It is never entirely erect; its
principal branches spread upon the ground, while the smaller ones that
bear the leaves and fruit are erect. The leaves are very large, some
lobed and others heart-shaped or nearly oval. Notwithstanding its
procumbent growth, it is not a homely shrub. The numerous small and
erect branches that spring from the creeping boughs resemble a bed of
dense low shrubbery. And when we see it in an old, dark-shaded wood,
crimsoned by the tinting of autumn, and full of bright scarlet fruit, we
cannot but admire it.