Enchanter’s Nightshade.
Circæa Lutetiana. Evening Primrose Family.
Stem.—One or two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, thin, ovate, slightly toothed. Flowers.—Dull white, small, growing in a raceme. Calyx.—Two-lobed. Corolla.—Of two petals. Stamens.—Two. Pistil.—One.
This insignificant and ordinarily uninteresting plant arrests attention by the frequency with which it is found flowering in the summer woods and along shady roadsides.
C. Alpina is a smaller, less common species, which is found along the mountains and in deep woods. Both species are burdened with the singularly inappropriate name of enchanter’s nightshade. There is nothing in their appearance to suggest an enchanter or any of the nightshades. It seems, however, that the name of a plant called after the enchantress Circe, and described by Dioscorides nearly two thousand years ago, was accidentally transferred to this unpretentious genus.
Thimble-weed.
Anemone Virginiana. Crowfoot Family.
Stem.—Two or three feet high. Leaves.—Twice or thrice cleft, the divisions again toothed or cleft. Flowers.—Greenish or sometimes white, borne on long, upright flower-stalks. Calyx.—Of five sepals. Corolla.—None. Stamens and Pistils.—Indefinite in number.
These greenish flowers, which may be found in the woods and meadows throughout the summer, are only striking by reason of their long, erect flower-stalks. The oblong, thimble-like fruit-head, which is rather noticeable in the later year, gives to the plant its common name.
Cleavers. Goose-grass. Bedstraw.
Galium Aparine. Madder Family.
Stem.—Weak and reclining, bristly. Leaves.—Lance-shaped, about eight in a whorl. Flowers.—White, small, growing from the axils of the leaves. Calyx-teeth.—Obsolete. Corolla.—Usually four-parted, wheel-shaped. Stamens.—Usually four. Pistil.—One with two styles. Fruit.—Globular, bristly, with hooked prickles.
This plant may be found in wooded or shady places throughout the continent. Its flowers, which appear in summer, are rather inconspicuous, one’s attention being chiefly attracted by its many whorls of slender leaves.