Stars, which in earth’s firmament do shine.
The plant grows abundantly in open woods and meadows, flowering in early summer.
PLATE XLVIII
YELLOW STAR-GRASS.—H. erecta.
Wild Indigo.
Baptisia tinctoria. Pulse Family (p. [16]).
Two or three feet high. Stems.—Smooth and slender. Leaves.—Divided into three rounded leaflets, somewhat pale with a whitish bloom, turning black in drying. Flowers.—Papilionaceous, yellow, clustered in many short, loose racemes.
This rather bushy-looking, bright-flowered plant is constantly encountered in our rambles throughout the somewhat dry and sandy parts of the country in midsummer. It is said that it is found in nearly every State in the Union, and that it has been used as a homœopathic remedy for typhoid fever. Its young shoots are eaten at times in place of asparagus. Both the botanical and common names refer to its having yielded an economical but unsuccessful substitute for indigo.
Yellow Clover. Hop Clover.
Trifolium agrarium. Pulse Family (p. [16]).
Six to twelve inches high. Leaves.—Divided into three oblong leaflets. Flowers.—Papilionaceous, yellow, small, in close heads.
Although this little plant is found in such abundance along our New England roadsides and in many other parts of the country as well, comparatively few people seem to recognize it as a member of the clover group, despite a marked likeness in the leaves and blossoms to others of the same family.