THE BURNING BUSH A little tree, not at all related to the holly, but truly a cousin of the bitter-sweet, has a rather surprising name. In summer it looks like a wild plum tree, except for its fluted, ash-grey bark. The flowers have purple petals, and look somewhat like potato blossoms. They would never attract your attention as you pass the tree.
In the autumn the leaves turn yellow, and gradually the purple husks that cover the scarlet berries split open, and curl back. Watch the gradual opening of these husks, and notice, from some little distance, the gradual reddening of the tree top, as the$Tellow leaves fall, and more and more of the scarlet berries are revealed, as the husks curl and shrink away from them. It is
in this seed and its husk that the resemblance and relationship of the burning bush and the bitter-sweet vine is revealed.
The European spindle tree, and a number of Japanese and Chinese species, are now planted in American gardens, and called by their genus name, Evonymus. The red-fruited sorts all come under the common name, burning bush, and they do burn with a steady flame when winter has robbed the gardens of colour. Evergreens form a beautiful background for these ruddy little trees.