The slender spikes of the blue linaria flank the sandy roadsides nearly all summer, and even in November we find a few delicate blossoms still left upon the elongated stems. These flowers have a certain spirituality which is lacking in their handsome, self-assertive relation, butter-and-eggs.
Spiderwort.
Tradescantia Virginica. Spiderwort Family.
Stems.—Mucilaginous, leafy, mostly upright. Leaves.—Linear, keeled. Flowers.—Blue, clustered, with floral leaves as in the day-flower. Calyx.—Of three sepals. Corolla.—Of three petals. Stamens.—Six, with bearded filaments. Pistil.—One.
The flowers of the spiderwort, like those of the day-flower, to which they are nearly allied, are very perishable, lasting only a few hours. They are found throughout the summer, somewhat south and westward. The genus is named in honor of Tradescant, gardener to Charles I. of England.
Pickerel-weed.
Pontedaria cordata. Pickerel-weed Family.
Stem.—Stout, usually one-leaved. Leaves.—Arrow or heart-shaped. Flowers.—Blue, fading quickly, with an unpleasant odor, growing in a dense spike. Perianth.—Two-lipped, the upper lip three-lobed and marked with a double greenish-yellow spot, the lower of three spreading divisions. Stamens.—Six, three long and protruding, the three others, which are often imperfect, very short and inserted lower down. Pistil.—One.
The pickerel-weed grows in such shallow water as the pickerel seek, or else in moist, wet places along the shores of streams and rivers. We can look for the blue, closely spiked flowers from late July until some time in September. They are often found near the delicate arrow-head.
Blueweed. Viper’s Bugloss.
Echium vulgare. Borage Family.
Stem.—Rough, bristly, erect, about two feet high. Leaves.—Alternate, lance-shaped, set close to the stem. Flowers.—Bright blue, spiked on one side of the branches, which are at first rolled up from the end, straightening as the blossoms expand. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Of five somewhat unequal, spreading lobes. Stamens.—Five, protruding, red. Pistil.—One.
When the blueweed first came to us from across the sea it secured a foothold in Virginia. Since then it has gradually worked its way northward, lining the Hudson’s shores, overrunning many of the dry fields in its vicinity, and making itself at home in parts of New England. We should be obliged to rank it among the “pestiferous” weeds were it not that, as a rule, it only seeks to monopolize land which is not good for very much else. The pinkish buds and bright blue blossoms with their red protruding stamens make a valuable addition, from the æsthetic point of view, to the bunch of midsummer field-flowers in which hitherto the various shades of red and yellow have predominated.