PLATE VIII
PAINTED TRILLIUM.—T. erythrocarpum.
Wild Sarsaparilla.
Aralia nudicaulis. Ginseng Family.
Stem.—Bearing a single large, long-stalked, much-divided leaf, and a shorter naked scape which bears the rounded flower-clusters. Flowers.—Greenish-white, in umbels. Calyx.—With short or obsolete teeth. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Five. Fruit.—Black or dark purple, berry-like.
In the June woods the much-divided leaf and rounded flower-clusters of the wild sarsaparilla are frequently noticed, as well as the dark berries of the later year. The long aromatic roots of this plant are sold as a substitute for the genuine sarsaparilla. The rice-paper plant of China is a member of this genus.
Spikenard.
Aralia racemosa. Ginseng Family.
Root.—Large and aromatic. Stem.—Often tall and widely branched, leafy. Leaves.—Divided into many leaflets. Flowers.—Greenish-white, in clusters which are racemed. Fruit.—Dark purple, berry-like.
Canada Violet.
Viola Canadensis. Violet Family.
Stem.—Leafy, upright, one to two feet high. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, pointed, toothed. Flowers.—White, veined with purple, violet beneath, otherwise greatly resembling the common blue violet.
We associate the violet with the early year, but I have found the delicate fragrant flowers of this species blossoming high up on the Catskill Mountains late into September; and have known them to continue to appear in a New York city-garden into November. They are among the loveliest of the family, having a certain sprightly self-assertion which is peculiarly charming, perhaps because so unexpected.