1. =Nýssa sylvática=, Marsh. (PEPPERIDGE. BLACK OR SOUR GUM.) Leaves oval to obovate, pointed, entire (sometimes angulate-toothed beyond the middle), rather thick, shining above when old, 2 to 5 in. long. The leaves are crowded near the ends of the branches and flattened so as to appear 2-ranked, like the Beech; turning bright crimson in the autumn. Fruit ovoid, bluish-black, about ½ in. long, sour. Medium-sized tree with mainly an excurrent trunk and horizontal branches. Wood firm, close-grained and hard to split. Rich soil, latitude of Albany and southward. Difficult to transplant, so it is rarely cultivated. 2. =Nýssa biflòra=, Walt. (SOUR GUM.) Leaves 1 to 3 in. long, smaller than in N. sylvatica; fertile flowers and fruit 1 to 3, in the axils; stone decidedly flattened and more strongly furrowed. New Jersey to Tennessee and southward. Too nearly like the last to need a drawing. All the species of Nyssa may have the margin of the leaves somewhat angulated, as shown in the next. [Illustration: N. uniflòra.] 3. =Nýssa uniflòra=, Wang. (LARGE TUPELO.) Leaves much larger, 4 to 12 in. long, sometimes slightly cordate at base, entire or angularly toothed, downy beneath. Fruit solitary, oblong, blue, 1 in. or more in length. Wood soft, that of the roots light and spongy and used for corks. In water or wet swamps; Virginia, Kentucky, and southward. ORDER =XXIII. CAPRIFOLIÀCEÆ.= (HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.) Shrubs (rarely herb or tree-like plants) of temperate regions. GENUS =47. VIBÚRNUM.= Shrubs or small trees with opposite, simple, petioled leaves. Flowers light-colored, small but in large, conspicuous, flat-topped clusters at the ends of the branches; blooming in early summer. Fruit small, 1-seeded drupes with flattened stones; ripe in autumn. * Leaves distinctly palmately lobed 1. * Leaves pinnately veined and not lobed. (=A.=) =A.= Coarsely dentated 2. =A.= Finely serrated. (=B.=) =B.= Leaves long-acuminated 3. =B.= Obtuse or slightly pointed 4. [Illustration: V. Ópulus.] 1. =Vibúrnum Ópulus=, L. (CRANBERRY-TREE.) Leaves palmately veined and strongly 3-lobed, broadly wedge-shaped or truncate at base, the spreading lobes mostly toothed on the sides and entire in the notches; petiole with 2 glands at the apex. Fruit in peduncled clusters, light red and quite sour (whence the name "Cranberry-tree"). A nearly smooth, small tree or shrub, 4 to 12 ft. high; wild along streams, and cultivated under the name of Snowball-tree or Guelder Rose. In this variety the flowers have all become sterile and enlarged. =Vibúrnum acerifòlium= (ARROW-WOOD) has also lobed leaves, and is much more common. This species never forms a tree, and has dark-colored berries. [Illustration: V. dentàtum.]