GUELDER ROSE, so called from Guelderland, its supposed source, termed also Marsh Elder, Rose Elder, Water Elder (Germ., Wasserholder, Schneeball ; Fr., Viorne-Obier, l’Obier (T Europe), the Viburnum Opulus of Linnaeus, is a shrub or small tree of the natural order Caprifoliacece, and a native of Britain and other parts of Europe, and of Russian Asia. It is common in Ireland, but rare in Scotland. In height it is from 6 to 12 feet, and it thrives best in moist situations. The leaves are smooth, 2 to 3 inches broad, with 3 to 5 unequal serrate lobes, and glandular adnate stipules. In autumn the leaves change their normal bright green for a pink or crimson hue. The flowers, which appear in June and July, are small, white, and arranged in cymes 2 to 4 inches in diameter. The outer blossoms in the wild plant have an enlarged corolla, f inch in diameter, and are devoid of stamens or pistils; in the common cultivated variety all the flowers are sterile, and the inflorescence is globular, hence the term “Snowball Tree” applied to the plant, the appearance of which at the time of flowering has been prettily described by Cowper in his Winter Walk at Noon. The guelder rose bears juicy, red, elliptical berries, 4 lines in length, which ripen in September, and contain each a single compressed seed. In northern Europe these are eaten, and in Siberia, after fermentation with flour, they are distilled for spirit. The plant has, however, emetic, pur gative, and narcotic properties; and Taylor {Med. Jurisp., vol. i. p. 448, 2d ed., 1873) has recorded an instance of the fatal poisoning of a child by the berries. Both they and the bark contain valerianic acid. The woody shoots of the guelder rose are manufactured into various small articles in Sweden and Russia. See Loudon, ...