CREEPING SNOWBERRY
(Chiogenes hispidula) Huckleberry family
Flowers - Very small, white, few, solitary, nodding on short,
curved peduncles from the leaf axils. Calyx 2-bracted, 4-cleft;
corolla a short 4-cleft bell; 8 short stamens, each anther sac
opening by a slit to the middle; 1 pistil,
the ovary 4-celled.
Stem: Creeping along the ground, the slender, leafy, hairy
branches 3 to 12 in. long. Leaves: Evergreen, alternate,
2-ranked, oval, very small, dark and glossy above, coated with
stiff, rusty hairs underneath, the edges curled. Fruit: A
snow-white, round or oval, mealy, aromatic berry; ripe
August-September.
Preferred Habitat - Cool bogs; low, moist, mossy woods.
Flowering Season - May-June.
Distribution - North Carolina and Michigan northward to the
British Possessions.
Allied on the one hand to the cranberry, so often found with it
in the cool northern peat bogs, and on the other to the delicious
blueberries, this "snow-born" berry, which appears on no dining
table, nevertheless furnishes many a good meal to hungry birds
and fagged pedestrians. Both the pretty foliage and the fruit
have the refreshing flavor of sweet birch.
Previous: HUCKLEBERRY]
Next: PYXIE FLOWERING MOSS PINEBARREN BEAUTY
|
|
| SHARE | |
 |
|
| ADD TO EBOOK |
