The flower has 5 rounded petals with pointed bases; its texture is thin; pure white in color; the stamens many and orange-yellow. The petals are set daintily around the base of the little green cone, that later becomes the berry, showing the 5 broad divisions of the calyx between; just beneath the calyx, and alternate with its tips, occur 5 narrow bracts which lie so tightly underneath as to appear to belong to it. The flowers, on short foot-stems, are placed in groups on larger leafy stems, these forming a loose terminal cluster set on the hairy stem which rises from the roots.
After the petals fall, the calyx turns up its tips to protect the fruit, which droops, as it reddens and becomes pulpy. The young leaf, as it rises from the ground, is close-folded like a delightful little green fan; the first leaves often lie flat upon the ground, and are rusty in color. The Strawberry has a pleasant way of bursting into a flurry of bloom late in August; along wood-paths and unfrequented lanes one comes upon it as a belated bit of spring. He who has smelled the exquisite fragrance of the field strawberry fruit will not soon forget its wild charm.
WILD STRAWBERRY: Fragaria Virginiana.
| Sweet-briar. | Rosa rubiginosa. |
Found in pastures during June.
This lovely, branching, leafy bush grows to be 7 or 8 feet high under favoring conditions, but is most often about 3 or 5 feet in height; its stalks and branches are large and strong, round, firm-fibred, and smooth, with frequent slender thorns which curve backward. In color, a full clear green when young, only dashed with red-bronze, but becoming red-brown when old. The thorns are highly polished, and of a strong red color when old.
The little leaflets, of the 3- to 7-divided leaf, are oval, with a prominent midrib (upon which they are occasionally creased); the margin is doubly notched, the ribs and foot-stems hairy with little prickles; the upper surface is soft to the touch, while the under is slightly sticky with a resinous gum, which yields a delicious aromatic perfume. The color is a cool and beautiful green. The leaves clasp the stalk with a pair of small fine-pointed wings (“stipules”); they are placed alternately, either singly or in groups, and close together.
The flower is composed of 5 heart-shaped petals, curving like a shell, of an exquisitely delicate texture and smoothness; their color a lovely creamy-rose tint. The stamens are many, curling, and pale straw color. The calyx is 5-parted, the spreading tips notched 3 or 5 times; they are smooth, with a velvet lining which is tinted a very pale creamy-green, while the outside of the calyx is bright green. The flowers are set in groups on little twigs, and scattered profusely along the stalks.
When the flower opens, the calyx-tips turn back. The haws are large, and of a brilliant coral-red color which they retain through the winter. The sturdy young shoots, which grow rapidly, are thickly protected by long bristles of a rusty red color. An element of beauty, in the growth of this most perfect rose, exists in the free curve with which its branches bend downward their wreaths of bloom. The odor of the leaves is like that of green apples.