PLATE XL
SMALLER YELLOW LADY’S SLIPPER.—C. parviflorum.
C. parviflorum, the small yellow lady’s slipper, differs from C. pubescens in the superior richness of its color as well as in its size. It also has the charm of fragrance.
Early Meadow Parsnip.
Zizia aurea. Parsley Family (p. [15]).
One to three feet high. Leaves.—Twice or thrice-compound, leaflets oblong to lance-shaped, toothed. Flowers.—Yellow, small, in compound umbels.
This is one of the earliest members of the Parsley family to appear. Its golden flower-clusters brighten the damp meadows and the borders of streams in May or June and closely resemble the meadow parsnip, Thaspium aureum, of which this species was formerly considered a variety, of the later year.
The tall, stout, common wild parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, is another yellow representative of this family in which white flowers prevail, the three plants here mentioned being the only yellow species commonly encountered. The common parsnip may be identified by its grooved stem and simply compound leaves. Its roots have been utilized for food at least since the reign of Tiberius, for Pliny tells us that that Emperor brought them to Rome from the banks of the Rhine, where they were successfully cultivated.
Golden Club.
Orontium aquaticum. Arum Family.
Scape.—Slender, elongated. Leaves.—Long-stalked, oblong, floating. Flowers.—Small, yellow, crowded over the narrow spike or spadix.
When we go to the bogs in May to hunt for the purple flower of the pitcher-plant we are likely to chance upon the well-named golden club. This curious-looking club-shaped object, which is found along the borders of ponds, indicates its relationship to the jack-in-the-pulpit, and still more to the calla lily, but unlike them its tiny flowers are shielded by no protecting spathe.