HER FIRST LESSON IN BOTANY

FLOWER GUIDE
REVISED AND WITH NEW ILLUSTRATIONS
WILD FLOWERS EAST OF THE ROCKIES

BY
CHESTER A. REED
Author of “North American Birds’ Eggs,” “Bird Guide,” Etc.

With 320 Flowers in Color, Painted by the Author

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1927

[[Preface]] [[Introductory]] [[FLOWER GUIDE]] [[Color Key]] [[Index]]

Copyrighted, 1907
CHAS. K. REED
Worcester, Mass.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.

PREFACE

Whose heart is not gladdened at the sight of the first [Mayflower or Arbutus] in the spring? Who can pass a body of water, its surface glistening with the beauty of the [Water Lily], without appreciation? In the fall who can traverse a field blind to the brilliancy of the seas of [Purple Asters] and gleams of the [Goldenrod]? Yet it is only within a very few years that there has been any real, concerted interest shown by the masses in Nature Study. To be sure, botany has long been taught in some of the higher schools, but it was of advantage only to comparatively few. Now the call for knowledge, or at least the name, of what is seen in their daily rambles is voiced by tens of thousands.

Since the publication, early in 1906, of the first edition of Bird Guide, the author has been besieged by requests from all parts of the country, and from people in every walk and station of life, to continue the idea and bring out similar volumes on flowers, butterflies, fish, animals, etc. The present volume has been carefully prepared with two objects always in view—to serve the greatest number of persons in the best possible way—and still have a volume that can be carried in the pocket with little or no discomfort. The great majority of the colored paintings have been made directly from living plants, and the balance, with few exceptions, from herbarium specimens. They represent normal specimens and have been so chosen as to include those of the conspicuous flowering plants found from the Atlantic seaboard west to the States of the Mississippi Valley. Using my 25 years, devoted largely to the study of living things, as a criterion, I have endeavored to incorporate in the text and in the pictures just those points that will best serve to identify a flower that the reader may find. The introductory pages give the life cycle of a plant from seed to seed and many curious facts concerning curious plants.

Should this volume identify some of the flowers that the reader may discover, and give him a clearer idea of the appearance and beauty of the growing things that may be found, the author’s purpose will have been fully accomplished.

CHESTER A. REED.

Worcester, Mass., 1907.

INTRODUCTORY

A plant is a wonderful organism, yet how few of us realize it as we casually glance at the flowers growing by the wayside. We see a beautiful flower; we know that in the course of time it withers and fades away; and we know that the next year the plant grows up again, sends forth its buds, which at the proper time unfold their petals, and so the cycle continues year after year, while we give little thought to the change that occurs, the cause and its effect. Volumes might be written, and a great many have been since the time of Darwin, upon the many interesting processes by which various flowers are propagated. As this book is confined chiefly to the identification of flowers, we will give but a few illustrations between flowering seasons. We see in most flowers a thing of beauty; their real and, to them, most important function is to produce seeds to perpetuate the species.

The parts of a flower that are necessary to produce seeds are the pistil, with its stigma at the top and ovule at the base, and the stamens with their pollen-laden anthers. A flower that has these organs is known as a perfect flower; if, in addition, it has a corolla and calyx, or petals and sepals, it is known as a complete flower. On the opposite page are shown a number of flowers with their parts named.

PARTS OF FLOWERS

In order that seed may be set, it is necessary that ripened pollen from the anthers should come in contact with the usually sticky stigma, whence it will be transmitted down the style and germinate the ovule. As is well known to be the case with the higher animals, cross-fertilization is necessary in order to insure a good, vigorous species. It is also evident that should the pollen continue to fertilize the ovule in the same flower, the plants in successive generations might become weakened and finally die out and the species be lost. To avoid such a calamity, flowers are constructed so as to facilitate cross-fertilization and the means that some of them adopt towards insuring that end are remarkable. The stamens on most of the simple flowers usually curve outwards, so that the pollen-laden anthers are far enough removed so that there is little danger of the pollen falling on the stigma, at least until after cross-fertilization has already taken place. Others have either the anthers or stigma ripen first, so that it must necessarily be pollen from another blossom that quickens the seed.

We all marvel at the industry of the honey bee; how tirelessly it buzzes from flower to flower, from each gathering a drop of the nectar, with which it fills its cells; but we do not always realize the double duty it is doing, for it is a most reliable and active agent for the propagations of a great many plants. Many butterflies, bees, and even beetles unconsciously accomplish the same result, and it is now conceded that each has special colors that are attractive to them. For instance, the bumblebee has a strong preference for blues and purples. The observer will also notice that a bee makes the rounds from flower to flower, taking all of one kind and passing by other species. While this habit undoubtedly avoids some complications, even should he mix his drinks and visit in succession flowers of widely different species, confusion would not be apt to result, for the stigma of one species is usually not responsive to pollen brought from blossoms of another family.

Botanists go a step further; not content with the discovery that certain insects like certain colors, they claim (and apparently with good reason) that the bright and showy petals are for the sole purpose of attracting insects; they are, in fact, bill boards advertising the fact that there is a store of honey there ready for the asking. On the other hand, those flowers that are self-fertilized or wind-fertilized have inconspicuous blossoms.

The stigma always partially obstructs the entrance to the food supply, so that the visiting bee must brush against it, and in doing so will leave some of the pollen that he has brought from the last flower visited on its sticky surface. The pollen-dust is attached to the insect in various ways, usually simply by his brushing against the anthers with his hairy body, for it is found that nearly all the useful insects have downy or hairy bodies; other flowers set a sort of spring gun and when the insect steps on the trigger he is showered with the germs ([Laurel] for example); still others have clefts to catch the legs of visitors, releasing them only if they are strong enough to tear away the pollen masses (such a flower is well illustrated in the [Milkweed]). Besides having bright colored petals, many of the flowers also have a pleasing odor, this also serving to attract certain kinds of insects; others have very unpleasant odors, like the [skunk-cabbage] or even like that of putrid meat, as in the carrion flower and the [purple trillium], these odors being apparently for the purpose of attracting certain scavenger insects. There are also some flowers, like the [evening primrose], that are seen at their best after dusk, when the light-colored petals are widespread and a delicate perfume given off to attract the moths and sphinges that visit them.

It is evident that a flower secreting honey may be visited by unwelcome guests, ones that will accept of the nectar, but will make no useful return. Any insect with a shiny, smooth body whether winged or not, is of little use in fertilizing a plant, for even should it receive pollen, it will in all probability have fallen off before the next flower is visited. Ants being particularly fond of sweet things and so small that they can enter a flower without disturbing the anthers, frequently drain the nectar cups so no useful insect will visit them, and they fail to reproduce their kind. Nature has a number of quite effective ways of preventing thefts of this kind, one of the most common ways being to provide the plant stem with bristly hairs, forming a very difficult barrier for any crawling insect to overcome; others have a tuft of hair at the very entrance to the honey cells which bar the way for unwelcome guests, but readily allow the bee to insert its tongue; still others are protected by recurved leaves or by sticky stems, or as in the [toadflax] by a two-lipped flower, which will open under the weight of a bumblebee, but is effectively closed to any lighter insect.

The seeds, having been set, are enclosed in a capsule composed of the closed and dried sepals, the petals having fallen off; in a pod as in the peas and beans; or in fruit, as inside an apple, which is formed by the base of the flower enlarging about the seeds with the calyx remaining at the top of the ripened fruit, or in the strawberry, where the seeds are on the outside of the berry and the calyx at the bottom of the fruit. It is plain that should these seeds simply fall to the ground, plants of a single species would soon become so crowded in a small area that the earth could not support them. Consequently various means are furnished different plants for the dispersion of their seeds. A great number, like the [thistles], [milkweeds] and [dandelions], have plume-like parachutes provided for each seed, so they can float away on the breeze to new fields; those that have their seeds embedded in fruit are entrusted to birds to be carried where fate wills it; others, like [beggar-ticks], [burdock], etc., have spines to attach themselves to the clothing of people or to the coats of animals that brush against them.

KINDS OF LEAVES

As certain insects prey upon plants or rob them of their nectar, so certain plants prey upon insects, literally eating them or absorbing them into their system. Best known among these are the [pitcher plants], a swamp species, whose leaves are pitcher-like and with a hood or awning over the top to keep out the rain; these leaves are half filled with a sweet fluid that attracts insects, makes them tipsy and causes their death in the watery grave, the plant feeding largely upon the resulting broth. Of another type is the [round-leaved sundew], also a common plant; its leaves are covered with short bristly hairs, a drop of gum glistening at the end of each. A fly investigating these is soon caught in the sticky gum and the leaf slowly folds together, enveloping the victim in what might be termed the stomach of the plant. Perhaps the most interesting and surely the most peculiar plant is the Venus fly-trap, which is found only in eastern North Carolina. At the end of each leaf is apparently a smaller one, perhaps an inch in diameter; this is fringed around the edge and rather bristly in the centre. These central bristles are very sensitive and if touched or an insect lights upon the leaf, the two parts of the leaf instantly clasp together on the central stem as a hinge. If nothing is caught, in a short time the trap opens again; if, however, the attempt has been successful it will remain closed for several days or a week, until the victim is entirely absorbed by the glands on the inner surface of the leaf.

As in the animal world, so in the plant world; always a struggle for existence, the strong surviving and the weak falling by the wayside. The old adage that “In union there is strength” is amply proved by many of the composite flowers, such as the [asters] and [goldenrods], whose stalks are not only capped with numerous flower-heads, but each flower-head is composed of hundreds of little perfect florets, so closely set together that even should an insect but crawl across the flower-head he will fertilize a number of them. That their plan is a good one is seen by the steady increase in the numbers of these flowers and the rapid strides with which they occupy new territory. On the other hand, compare such flowers as the [lady’s slippers], [fringed gentian] and numbers of others that are yearly becoming less common.

FLOWER GUIDE

WILD FLOWERS EAST OF THE ROCKIES

Grouped in their Natural Order as in the Latest Edition of Gray’s Botany

[CAT-TAIL FAMILY]
(Typhaceæ)

The members of this family are very abundant aquatic herbs with perennial roots. We have two species with differences as noted below. Both have staminate yellow flowers in a spike above pistillate brown ones; the former soon fall or blow away, while the latter develop into the large, familiar, brown cat-tail that is often used for decorative purposes.

(A) Common Cat-tail (Typha latifolia) has yellowish staminate flowers encircling the upper end of the flower stalk, and immediately below a long cylindrical mass of brownish pistillate ones. The pollen grains are arranged in fours. Leaves three to eight feet long, sheathing at the base. Found in marshes throughout the United States and southern Canada, flowering in June and July.

(B) Narrow-leaved Cat-tail (Typha angustifolia) has narrower leaves, averaging less than ¾ in. broad. The two kinds of flowers are separated by a bare space of stalk and the pollen grains are simple.

BUR REED FAMILY
(Sparganiaceæ)

The Bur Reeds are marsh-inhabitating plants, some growing along the muddy shores of ponds or streams, while other species are strictly aquatic, growing in the water with floating leaves. Like the [Cat-tails] they are not in the least dependent upon insects for fertilization. The two kinds of flowers, staminate and pistillate, are always in separate spherical clusters usually alternately arranged along the stem.

(A) Great Bur Reed (Sparganium eurycarpum) is stout and erect, two to three feet in height. The mature heads, or fruit, about one inch across; composed of wedge-shaped nutlets arranged in the form of a sphere. The basal leaves are similar to those of the [Cat-tail] and clasp the stems. These plants are found in the whole of the U.S. and southern Canada, flowering from June to August.

(B) Branching Bur Reed (S. androcladum) throws off several weak flower-bearing branches from the angles of the upper leaves.

WATER PLANTAIN FAMILY
(Alismaceæ)

Genus Arrow-head (Sagittaria). Arrow-heads or Sagittarias are among our most beautiful water plants. The leaves vary greatly in shape but are always graceful in appearance. All species have three pure white petals with a golden centre formed by the large anthers. They usually grow in the water but sometimes on the muddy shores, and flower in June.

(A) Broad-leaved Arrow-head (Sagittaria latifolia) has broad, arrow-shaped leaves on long petioles from the root. The 3-petalled white flowers grow in whorls of three, the upper ones being staminate and the lower pistillate. Seed, winged on both edges and with a twisted horizontal beak. This species is smooth, but a variety (pubescens) has the stem quite wooly. Common in the whole of our range.

(B) Narrow-leaved Arrow-head (S. Engelmanniana) has very narrow leaves with linear sagittate bases. The seeds are winged but the beak points upward instead of being bent at an angle as in the last.

ARUM FAMILY
(Araceæ)

This is quite a large family of plants containing six genera. All have acrid or pungent juices; flowers closely crowded on a spadix, usually surrounded by a spathe; leaves either simple or compound and of various shapes.

Genus (Arisæma)

Jack-in-the-Pulpit or Indian Turnip (Arisæma triphyllum) is the most abundant and the best-known representative of this genus. In moist woods you will find Jack, represented by the spadix, looking out at you from his pulpit, represented by the spathe of the flower. The spathe is light green, more or less striped with brown, especially on the inside; the spadix is also green and has the tiny flowers clustered about its base. The large solid roots are very acrid and fiery to the taste, but are said to have been relished by the Indians. Usually two, thrice-compounded leaves spread shelteringly on long stems over the flower spathe. Large clusters of bright berries remain after the leaves have withered. Flowers throughout U. S. from April to July.

(A) Water Arum (Calla palustris) is our only representative of its genus. It is quite a common plant in cool bogs, where it grows from six inches to a foot in height. The beautiful dark green heart-shaped leaves stand above the water on long petioles. A beautiful, waxy-white, spreading spathe is often mistaken for the flower. The true flowers are small and perfect, clustered at the end of a yellow spadix. The flowering season is in June. You may find this plant commonly in cool bogs from N. J. and Mo. northward.

(B) Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum) is also our only member of its genus. As you will see by the opposite picture, there is no protective spathe for the golden floral club.

The florets are complete, having six sepals and stamens; they are set closely on the swollen spadix and attract many flies and even water snails that cross-fertilize them simply by crawling over the clubs.

The leaves of the Golden Club are pointed oblong in shape, floating on the surface of the water by means of long stems from the perennial rootstalk. Flowers in May from Mass. to Fla. and westward.

Genus (Symplocarpus)

The common Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus fœtidus) although regarded by many only with disgust, has one claim that cannot be disputed, that of being our first flower to bloom each year. It is not uncommon to find them with the shell-like spathe above ground and the pollen fully ripened even in January, although from the latter part of February to the first of May is the usual flowering season.

The flower spathes show a great diversity of coloring according to their age, ranging from a pale green sparingly streaked with brown to an almost solid purple tone.

The flowers are small, perfect, and closely crowded on the thick fleshy spadix, concealed or partially so by the large, thick purple and green stained hood. The leaves appear after the flower has withered or commenced to do so; they are bright green, large, cabbage-like and strongly veined; quite handsome, in fact. These plants range from N. S. to Minn., and southward, chiefly in boggy ground.

SPIDERWORT FAMILY
(Commelinaceæ)

(A) Day-flower (Commelina communis) is one of a very few of our native plants having pure blue flowers. Each blossom lasts but a single day.

The stem is rather weak, much jointed, and attains heights of one to two feet. Two petals are large, rounded and blue, while the third is tiny and colorless; the whole flower peeps out from a clasping, cordate, heart-shaped leaf or spathe. Found from southern Mass. to Mich. and southward, blooming in rich woods or dooryards from June to Sept.

(B) Spiderwort; Job’s Tears (Tradescantia virginiana), like the Day Flower, remains open for but part of a day, after which the petals contract into glutinous drops.

The stem is hairy and sticky; from one to two feet high. Three purple petals, three brown, hairy sepals and six orange-tipped stamens compose the flowers. They may be found in rich soil from Me. to Mich. and southward, flowering from June to August.

PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY
(Pontederiaceæ)

(A) Pickerel-weed (Pontederia cordata) is an exceedingly abundant water plant, growing profusely in shallow ponds or along the edges of fresh-water streams, and flowering from June to August.

The flowers grow on a spike that proceeds from a small, green, leaf-like spathe; the 3 upper divisions of the 6-parted perianth are partially united, but the 3 lower ones are spreading; they are a light violet-blue with two yellow spots at the base of the upper united parts. A single heart-shaped, cordate leaf clasps the stem about midway, while others on long petioles grow from the rootstalk. Commonly found from N. S. to Manitoba and southward.

(B) Mud Plantain (Heteranthera reniformis) has a slender, few-flowered spike proceeding from a small sheath-like spathe. The perianth is blue and regularly 6-parted. The leaves are round-lobed, kidney-shaped, floating on long stalks from the root. Found from Ct. to Neb. and southward.

LILY FAMILY
(Liliaceæ)

This is an exceedingly large family containing more than 80 species in our range, divided into 33 genera.

(A) Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) is common in rich woods. The stem, reaching a length of 6 to 18 in., rises from a short rootstalk. A single, straw-colored flower is pendent from the end of each drooping branch; it is long, bell-shaped, and has six narrow divisions. The leaves are light green, lance-shaped, and pierced by the stem. The slightly fragrant flowers are so concealed by their drooping position as to be invisible from above. They blossom in May and June throughout the U. S.

(B) Oakesia; Wild Oats (Oakesia sessifolia) has an angular stem from 6 to 14 in. long. The ovate-lanceolate leaves are seated on the stem and not pierced by it. The one or two flowers are similar in size and coloring to those of Bellwort but the interior is smooth while the latter has rough ridges. This species is common from Me. to Minn. and southward.

ONION; GARLIC
Genus (Allium)

The various species belonging to this genus are very strongly scented, pungent herbs growing from a coated bulb.

(A) Wild Leek; Wild Onion (Allium tricoccum) is a woodland plant blooming in May and June. The flowers are in an umbel at the top of a scape 6 to 20 in. high. The flower perianth is divided into six greenish-white sepals. The leaves are oblong-lance-shaped, pointed at both ends, on long petioles from the bulbous root, but usually withering before the flowers appear. Found from N. B. to Minn. and southward.

(B) Wild Garlic (Allium canadense) has few purplish 6-parted flowers on slender pedicels from a cluster of bulblets at the top of a scape 10 to 24 in. high. The leaves are grass-like, sheathing the stem above the fibrous bulb. Flowers in May and June in moist meadows, from N. B. to Mich. and southward.

Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva) (European) will, we think, prove a welcome addition to our flora. It is now locally abundant in R. I., Conn., and N. Y. It flourishes best near salt water and spreads rapidly by means of its running roots as well as by seed. The flower stalk is tall, 2 to 5 feet, and at its summit bears eight or nine buds which open one or two a day into large showy flowers.

The perianth is funnel-form, with six spreading orange limbs and six long stamens with large brown anthers. The blossoms appear in July and August, each remaining open for but a single day; this habit makes them very popular for vase flowers as the number of buds on each stalk insures fresh flowers every day for a week or more. The leaves are long and linear, similar to those of the [Cat-tail], appearing from a fleshy perennial rootstalk at the base of the tall flower scape.

In the absence of any odor, the beautiful flower cup serves to attract the bees that are necessary for the setting of its seed.

LILIES
Genus (Lilium)

All the members of this genus are among our most beautiful flowers. In our range it includes eight species, of which seven are natives. The two species of Red Lily can readily be recognized because their perianth, or flower funnel, always opens upward.

Wood Lily; Wild Orange-red Lily (Lilium philadelphicum) has a leafy stem 1 to 3 feet high, at its summit bearing one to four erect (not pendulous) flowers; the divisions of the perianth are deep orange-red, lightening in color at the stem-like bases and profusely spotted with dark brown; the outside of the perianth is dull whitish green. The leaves are lanceolate, sharply pointed at each end and whorled about the stem in groups of from three to seven. Its name is rather misleading for, while it is sometimes found in woods, it will be found blooming most profusely in sandy or brush-covered land. Blooms in July and August in sandy soil from N. E. to Mich. and southward.

Turk’s-cap Lily (Lilium superbum) is a most beautiful plant, prolific in bloom almost beyond belief, sometimes containing from thirty to forty brilliant orange flowers. The bright sepals are always reflexed, sometimes so much so that they remind one of a coiled spring. One has but to touch the large pendent anthers to get a practical demonstration of how the pollen is attached to the body of a bee and carried to another flower, there to be deposited on the sticky stigma of the mature style. Naturally a species so prolific of flower and so capable of being cross-fertilized by foreign agency is in little danger of having its numbers lessened.

The flowers, nodding at the top of a stem ranging from 2 to 7 feet in height, have a six-parted perianth, orange-red, thickly spotted with purplish brown. The lanceolate leaves are crowded along the upper stem and whorled about its lower portion. Blooms abundantly in rich soil, during July and August, from N. B. to Minn. and southward.

Field, Wild, Meadow, Yellow or Canada Lily (Lilium canadense) is one of the most abundant of the genus. Imagine a rich meadow, surrounded by deep green woods and covered with thousands of these lilies, their heads hanging and nodding invitingly and seeming fairly to tinkle in the bright sunlight. On the whole, this flower may be regarded as more graceful in form than is the [Turk’s-cap], but it cannot compare with the latter flower for beauty of coloring. The regular whorled leaves and graceful bending peduncles supporting the hanging “bells” make a conventional design that often appeals to the artistic eye.

The flowers are in terminal clusters of one to twelve blossoms, nodding on long peduncles from the summit of tall leafy stems. The leaves are lanceolate, arranged about the stem at intervals in whorls of three to eight. Flowers during June and July in moist meadows from Quebec to Minn. and southward to Ga. and Mo.

(A) Dog-tooth Violet; Yellow Adder’s Tongue (Erythronium americanum). These flowers are familiar and welcome ones to all who wander beside woodland brooks in the spring. The name “Violet” is of course a misnomer. It is often locally known as the “Trout Lily” or the “Fawn Lily,” both of which names are far more appropriate than those given it generally.

The single 6-parted flower grows at the top of a scape from 5 to 10 in. high. Two elliptical-lanceolate leaves clasp the scape at its base, near the scaly bulb; they are pale green, mottled with purple and white. This species blooms in April and May in moist woods or swamps, from N. B. to Minn. and southward.

(B) Clintonia (Clintonia borealis) is a beautiful species, its leaves resembling those of the [Lily-of-the-Valley]. The three to six pendulous, bell-shaped flowers are cream-colored within and greenish outside. Three large, oblong, pointed leaves clasp the flower scape at its base. The plant is about 6 to 16 in. high; it flowers during June in damp woods from Labrador to Man. and southward.

Wild Spikenard (Smilacina racemosa) is quite an imposing plant, with its long, curving, zigzag stem, its many light-green, deeply ribbed leaves and its feathery terminal flower clusters.

The white flowers are tiny but perfect, with a 6-parted perianth, six slender stamens, and a short, thick style. The stem is rather angular and attains a length of from 1 to 3 feet; alternating along it are the large, oval, sharply pointed leaves, with parallel ribs and wavy edge. The perennial rootstalk is thick and fleshy. Spikenard is quite abundant in moist rich, uncleared ground, flowering in May and June, from Me. to Minn. southward.

False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina stellata) bears some resemblance to the last species, but the flowers are much larger and few in number, usually only six or eight terminating the zigzag stem. The leaves are broader at the bases and slightly clasp the stem, whereas those of the last species have very short stems. It grows commonly, but not as much so as the last, on moist banks and in meadows, from Me. to Minn. and southward.

(A) Canada Mayflower; False Lily-of-the-Valley (Maianthemum canadense) is a very abundant woodland plant, growing in colonies, thousands of them sometimes carpeting pine woods with their dark-green glossy leaves. The two, or three broad, ovate-lanceolate, shiny green leaves are rather heart-shaped at the base, seated on the stem or very nearly so. The flower perianth has four divisions. After the flowering season both of these plants have berries; at first a creamy white, spotted with brown, and later turning to a dull ruby-red.

(B) Three-leaved False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina trifolia), the smallest member of the genus Smilacina is found rather commonly in bogs and wet woods. The stem, straight and slender, from 2 to 6 in. high, usually has three leaves, shining green, oblong-pointed, and sheathing at the base, arranged at regular intervals along it. The flowers are white, few in number, on short peduncles in an open raceme and have six petals. It is found from Labrador to Manitoba and southward to N. J. and Mo., flowering during May and June.

Purple Twisted-stalk (Streptopus roseus) has, as would be judged from its name, a very angular or twisted stem. At each angle or joint appears an ovate-lanceolate, cordately ribbed, shining green leaf, seated on the stem. From the axils of the terminal leaves appear small flowers on slender, thread-like peduncles; these flowers are sometimes single or, again, in pairs; they have a bell-shaped base and the perianth is divided into six lanceolate, spreading dull purple sepals. The stem, which is rather sparingly bristly hairy, reaches heights of 1 to 2½ feet. This rosy species blooms in May and June in cold moist woods from Newfoundland to Manitoba and southward to the Gulf of Mexico.

Common Twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius) is similar but has greenish-white flowers, the six sepals of which are very strongly reflexed. The plant is somewhat larger, the smooth stem being from 2 to 3 feet in length. It is found throughout northern United States and the southern half of Canada.

Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) has small greenish, bell-shaped flowers about one half inch in length, hanging in pairs on slender peduncles from the axils of the leaves. The stem is 1 to 2 feet in height. The oblong-lanceolate leaves alternate along, and are partly seated on, the stem; deep green above and glaucous or whitish below. Very common in woods from N. B. to Ont. and southward, flowering from April to June.

These plants receive their name from the thick, fleshy, and knotted rootstalks. They are perennials, each year throwing up new stalks; after flowering these wither away and leave pronounced scars on the roots. These scars suggested the name of Solomon’s Seal and the number of them probably accurately denotes the ages of the plants. Both the large and the small species grow in the same localities. They can readily be distinguished by comparison, for commutatum is always larger in all its parts; while it may be but a foot and a half tall it will be stouter and have comparatively larger flowers than its relative. Often it assumes truly gigantic size and may tower above a tall man’s head.

(A) Common Green Brier (Smilax rotundifolia) is a woody climbing vine with scattered sharp prickles; it climbs by means of pairs of tendrils from the axils of the leaves. Leaves alternating along the stem; round-ovate, sharply pointed at the tip and somewhat heart-shaped at the base. Flowers, few on slender peduncles from the angles of the leaves; perianth bell-shaped, with six short, spreading lobes, pale greenish in color. Common in moist thickets from N. S. to Minn. and southward, flowering in May and June.

(B) Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis). As a garden flower, this species is probably familiar to nearly everyone. While, as a native, it is only found in some of the southeastern mountain ranges, it is sometimes found in the North as an escape from cultivation. It is a delicately beautiful species, very rich in fragrance and very hardy. The bell-shaped, white flowers grow in a one-sided raceme at the top of a scape, the base of which is sheathed by the two large, broad, oblong-pointed, parallel-veined leaves. It flowers in May and June in the mountains from Va. to S. C.

Indian Cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana) is a common woodland plant, but the flowers are so inconspicuous that they are often overlooked; in fact they are often nodding below the upper leaves so as to be invisible. The stem is tall and slender, ranging from 1 to 3 feet in height; it rises from a thick horizontal rootstalk, having a taste similar to that of the cucumber. A whorl of from five to nine ovate-lanceolate, pointed leaves is located midway on the stem; at the top, three smaller but similarly shaped leaves radiate. Above these, or it may be below, because of the curving pedicels, are three flowers. They are pale greenish-yellow; the three sepals and three petals composing the perianth are very much reflexed or curled; they have six stamens each, and one style dividing into three purplish-brown, recurved stigmas.

It is said that the Indians formerly used the roots for food; at the present time they are used for various medicinal preparations. Cucumber-root is found from N. B. to Manitoba and southward to the Gulf, flowering in rich woods during May and June.

Genus (Trillium)

Trilliums derive their generic name from the fact that all their parts are arranged in threes; three leaves, three petals, three sepals, and a three-parted stigma. The common name of Wake Robin was probably early given because these flowers appear at an early date. As a matter of fact they do not bloom until weeks after the robins have returned to the Northern States. All the purple trilliums have an unpleasant odor resembling that of putrid meat; as they are largely dependent for fertilization upon certain carrion flies, it is very probable that their peculiar color is for the purpose of an added lure for these insects.

Purple Trillium; Birthroot; Ill-scented Wake Robin (Trillium erectum) has three purplish-brown petals and three sepals; six stamens exceeding in length the stout spreading stigma. Flower solitary, rising on a short pedicel above the whorl of broad, ovate, pointed, and short petioled leaves. This trillium ranges in height from 6 to 15 inches. It flowers in April and May, in rich woods from Quebec to Ont. and southward.

(A) Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) is the largest of the genus in all respects and is one of the best known and most common species. It can be looked for in any damp, rich woods during May or June. Usually they grow in colonies and it is an exception when one finds a single plant without others being in sight. The stem of this species is from 10 to 18 inches in height; the waxy-white petals are from 1½ to 2 in. in length; as they grow older the color changes to a delicate pink and they curve gracefully backward.

The flower is on a short pedicel above the whorl of broad, ovate-pointed, and short petioled leaves. Found from Vt. to Minn. and southward to N. C. and Mo.

(B) Nodding Trillium (T. Cernuum) is quite similar to, but smaller than, the last species. Its blossom is either white or pink and is on a curved pedicel that often bends so as to place the flower beneath the whorl of leaves; the edges of the petals are quite wavy. This demure, bashful little trillium is found from Newfoundland and Man. south to Pa. and Mich.

Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) has sharply pointed, wavy-edged, waxy-white petals with crimson V-shaped marks at the bases. The ovate leaves are sharply pointed and petioled. It is a common species from Quebec to Ontario and southward.

The Painted Trillium is usually regarded as the most beautiful of the genus. Certainly it is the most abundant. It is more gregarious than others, and we often find large beds of them with their dainty, waxy-white, wavy-edged flowers swaying above the deep green background formed by their broad, whorled leaves. They grow most profusely along the banks of woodland brooks and in cool, moist glens. You will find them most abundant during the latter part of May soon after the wood thrush, that frequents the same locality, makes his appearance from the South. They are always associated in my mind with these birds and with water thrushes that I have often watched as they daintily threaded their way among the numerous plant stalks, entirely concealed above by the numerous leaves, and visible only by placing the head close to the ground.

(A) Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) (European).

The scape, rising from a coated bulb, is from 6 to 12 in. high; at the top is a loose, terminal cluster of from four to eight blossoms. The perianth is divided into six waxy-white sepals, rather greenish on the outside, and with three to seven green nerves; six stamens and a three-sided stigma. The leaves are long, linear, and channeled. Found as an escape, from Me. to Va.

AMARYLLIS FAMILY
(Amaryllidaceæ)

A family of bulbous and scape-bearing herbs with flat, grass-like leaves and regular six-parted flowers.

(B) Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasco) is an exceedingly beautiful species with pure, waxy-white flowers, only one to a plant, erect at the summit of a scape from 6 to 12 in. high. Perianth funnel-form, with six spreading lobes, a short pistil, and six stamens with large yellow anthers. Leaves long, linear, and channeled. Quite common in moist places or swamps, from Del. to Fla., flowering from April to July.

Yellow Star Grass (Hypoxis hirsuta) is the most widely distributed of any of the members of the Amaryllis family. It is very appropriately named. From April until July and more sparingly until September we may see these bright shining golden stars peering at us from a background of green grass. So closely do the leaves of this little plant correspond to the grass leaves, among which they grow, that sharp scrutiny is required to distinguish them. The blossoms are visited by several of the smaller bees for pollen; some of this is often unwittingly carried to the sticky stigma of the next flower visited and cross-fertilization effected.

The flowers are in a loose umbel at the top of a scape from 3 to 8 in. in height; perianth widespread and divided into six shining, golden-yellow sepals, paler and slightly greenish on the outside; the six stamens tipped with large, golden-orange anthers. The slender, narrow, grass-like leaves come from a small bulb together with the flower scape. This species is common from Me. to Manitoba and southward to the Gulf of Mexico.

IRIS FAMILY
(Iridaceæ)

This family is composed of perennial herbs growing in moist places and having long linear or sword-shaped leaves and large showy flowers. Iris is named from the Greek meaning, rainbow, and it certainly is no misnomer as applied to the Blue Flag or Iris which is the most common of the genus. The perpetuation of this species in healthy condition is insured by the formation of the flower, which is such that self-pollenization is practically impossible. The stamens are directly under the strap-like divisions of the style and the stigma is on the upper surface at the rolled-up tip. Bees are the most frequent visitors.

Larger Blue Flag; Blue Iris; Fleur-de-Lis (Iris versicolor). Flower solitary, from a green spathe at the end of a long peduncle; sepals, neither bearded nor crested, but broad, violet, and handsomely veined; petals erect, flat, and spatulate. Leaves sword-shaped, glaucous-green, folded into flat clusters at the base. Very common from Newfoundland to Manitoba and southward, flowering from May to July.

(A) Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), as one would suspect from the name, has grass-like leaves and flowers that make one think of bright little blue eyes as they peep out of the meadow grass in which you will find them.

The Blue-eyed Grasses have recently been separated into thirteen species, differing chiefly in the comparative lengths of the flower spathes, or the lengths of the leaves as compared to the flower stem. The six divisions of the flower are regular, violet, with a yellow or white star-shaped centre; each sepal is blunt, with a thorn-like tip. Common from N. B. to B. C. and southward.

(B) Crested Dwarf Iris (Iris cristata). Flowers usually solitary, very delicate in form, and of a light violet color; the sepals have a central crested rib of a bright orange color; the smaller petals are also crested. The tube is long and thread-like. Leaves lanceolate, about 5 to 7 in. long; those forming the spathe are ovate-lanceolate. This attractive little Iris is found on rich wooded hillsides and along streams, from Md. and Ind. southward, flowering in April and May.

ORCHIS FAMILY
(Orchidaceæ)

This is a large family composed of herbaceous perennials with tuberoid roots or corms. The perianth is composed of six divisions, the three outer being sepals (two of which are often united) and the three inner ones petals, the lower one of which, termed the lip, differs in form from the others.

Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) has usually one, but sometimes three, flowers at the summit of a leafy stem 7 to 20 in. high. The inflated lip is bright yellow, slipper-shaped, and with a rounded orifice open near the base. The two lateral petals are brownish; exceedingly twisted. The broad, bright-green leaves are very prominently ribbed lengthwise, pointed and alternately sheathing the stem. This is one of the northerly species, being found along the northern border of the United States and southern Canada. It grows in colonies and flowers from May to July, in rich woods or bogs.

Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium hirsutum) is a magnificent orchid, usually regarded as the most beautiful of the genus. It is of imposing dimensions and has large, fragrant flowers.

The inflated lip is large and balloon-like, about 2 in. in length; white, with crimson-magenta blotches and streaks on the front edge; the sepals are round-ovate and the petals oblong, both pointed and both greenish-white in color. The leafy stem, that bears at its summit the solitary blossom, is from 1 to 2 feet in height. Found locally from Newfoundland to Minn. and southward to Ga. and Mo., flowering in rich woods during June and July.

Small White Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium candidum). The flower of this species is of the same size and shape as that of the yellow variety, but the lip is pure white outside and striped with purple inside at the base; the two lateral sepals and the two petals are ovate-lanceolate, greenish, spotted with brown. It is a single-flowered species with numerous leaves. It is found in swamps from N. Y. to Minn. southward.

Pink Lady’s Slipper; Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) has solitary flowers surmounting a scape from 8 to 12 in. high; lip large, drooping pink, with a slit in front, instead of a circular opening as in the others. It frequents dry woods and may be found from southern Canada southward.

Although this is the most common of the Lady’s Slippers, it is no less beautiful than the others. The flower of the present species is a very ingenious contrivance; it is fertilized by the common bumblebee. The only entrance is through the fissure in the front; it requires considerable pressure to force his burly frame through, but at length he succeeds and the aperture closes behind him. After eating his fill he takes the easiest way out, toward the base where he can see two spots of light. As he forces his way through the narrow passage he comes in contact with a sticky stigma, armed with incurving hairs which remove any pollen he may have on his back; as he continues his struggle out he reaches an anther blocking the passage and waiting to clap its load of pollen on his back.

(A) Green Wood Orchis (Habenaria clavellata) has from three to sixteen inconspicuous greenish flowers in a loose spike at the top of a stem from 6 to 18 in. high; lip oblong and with three teeth; spur long, slender, and curved upward and to one side. One or two oblong-lanceolate leaves with obtuse tips clasp the stem near the base while several small bracts alternate along it. Grows in bogs from Newfoundland to Minn. and southward.

(B) Green-fringed Orchis (Habenaria flava) is a common green orchis (formerly virescens). The lower leaves are oblong-lanceolate, while the upper ones are linear, diminishing in size and passing into the flower bracts. The flower lip is square-ended and toothed; spur slender and about the length of the flower. In the whole U. S. and southern Canada we may find this species growing in bogs.

Habenaria bracteata is similar to flava, but the flower bracts are large, being from two to four times the length of the flowers. N. S. to Alaska and south through the U. S.

(A) Yellow-fringed Orchis (Habenaria ciliaris) is an attractive and rather common orchis with a tall leafy stem from 12 to 24 in. high. The spike is very closely set with flowers having rounded petals, fringed lips, and slender spurs about an inch in length. The leaves are lanceolate, gradually diminishing in size as they approach the spike and passing into the flower bracts. Found from Me. to Mich. and southward.

(B) Hooker’s Orchis (H. Hookeri) has a leafless scape from 6 to 12 in. high, at the base of which are two broad, oval, shining, deep-green leaves. The ten to twenty flowers are yellowish-green; lip lanceolate and sharply pointed, less than half an inch long; slender spur about one inch long. Flowers during June and July in woods from Me. to Minn. and south to N.C.

Round-leaved Orchis (H. orbiculata) is similar to Hookeri; the lip is oblong, obtuse, and about the same length as the spur. The two basal leaves are almost round. It is common in rich woods from Labrador to Alaska and southward.

(A) Ragged-fringed Orchis (Habenaria lacera) does not attract our attention because of its beauty, for its flowers are rather inconspicuous in color. They are, however, remarkable for the peculiarly cut and slashed lip, it being divided apparently with no regard for method or symmetry. The greenish-white flowers are in a dense many-flowered raceme at the summit of a leafy stem from 10 to 20 inches high. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, diminishing in size to the flower bracts as they reach the raceme. This species is not uncommon in swamps from Newfoundland to Minn. and southward.

(B) White-fringed Orchis (H. blephariglottis) has a densely flowered raceme or spike similar to that of the yellow-fringed species, but the flowers are pure white; the lip is not divided but is copiously fringed; lateral sepals rounded, upper ones elliptical and concave; spur nearly an inch long. Leaves lanceolate and gradually diminishing in size as they alternate to the top of the stem. In July and August you may find this species flowering throughout the United States.

(A) Large Purple-fringed Orchis (Habenaria fimbriata) is the largest and perhaps the most beautiful of the genus. The pale purple flowers are nearly twice as large as those of the last species; the lip is more deeply fringed. The densely flowered spike is about two inches in diameter and often is twelve inches long. The leafy stem attains heights of from 1 to 5 feet. It is a magnificent plant, the sight of which is well worth the inconveniences necessary to visit its haunts. It grows in swamps throughout the U. S. and southern Canada.

(B) Small Purple-fringed Orchis (H. psycodes) has pale purplish flowers in a dense cylindrical spike terminating in a leafy stem, about 1 or 1½ feet tall. The spreading flower-tip is 3-parted and fringed; sepals rounded, petals spatulate and slightly toothed. The leaves are lanceolate and, like those of the fringed orchids, grow smaller as they approach the top of the stem. Flowers in July and August in wet meadows or swamps, from Newfoundland to Manitoba and southward.

(A) Calopogon; Grass Pink (Calopogon pulchellus) is an exquisite orchid with a loose raceme of four to twelve delicate pink flowers at the top of a scrape ranging from 6 to 15 in. long. The flowers are apparently upside down as the lip is at the top; it is narrow at the base but broadens into a broad hooked tip, crested on the underside. A single grass-like leaf sheathes the flower scape near its base, as it rises from the solid bulb. It grows in deep swamps and bogs, from Newfoundland to Minn. and south to the Gulf, flowering in June and July.

(B) Arethusa; Indian Pink (Arethusa bulbosa) has a solitary magenta-pink blossom topping its slender scape that rises from 5 to 10 in. in height. The petals and sepals are similar in shape and in their proper positions at the top of the flower; the lip rises, then abruptly turns downward, broadens and is adorned with three to five yellow and white crests; margin of lip wavy and sometimes spotted with crimson. From Newfoundland to Minn. and south to Pa. and Mo., Arethusa has been found blooming in swamps during May and June.

(A) Pogonia; Snake-mouth (Pogonia ophioglossoides). Snake-mouth is delicate, pure pink in color, and slightly fragrant. Its pollen is not in stemmed masses but is showered on the back of a visiting insect as he backs out of the flower. The stem is from 8 to 13 inches high, bearing at its top a single flower; sepals and petals are similar in shape; the lip is spatulate, prominently crested with yellow and white, and toothed and lacerated. About midway of the flower stem is a single oval leaf and just below the flower is a smaller bract-like one. Pogonia grows in swamps from Newfoundland to Minn. and southward to the Gulf of Mexico, flowering during June and July.

(B) Nodding Pogonia (P. trianthophora) has a leafy stem from 2 to 8 inches high. From two to eight small oval leaves alternately clasp the stem; the flowers, which number from one to six, appear singly from the axils of the upper leaves, nodding on slender peduncles; they are small, magenta-pink, and with ovate, three-lobed lips. It is locally distributed from Me. to Wisc. and southward.

(A) Whorled Pogonia (Pogonia verticillata) has a single flower on a long stem, 8 to 12 in. high; the sepals are greenish-yellow, long, linear, with the edges rolled or folded together; the petals are oblong-lanceolate and purple; the lip is also purple, wedge-shaped, three-lobed and with a hairy crest, down the middle. Five lanceolate and stemless leaves are in a whorl about the stem just below the flower. It is a peculiar, inconspicuous plant found locally in moist woods from Me. to Wisc. and southward.

(B) Showy Orchis (Orchis spectabilis) is a charming early-blooming orchid found in flower from April to June in moist woods, often under hemlock trees. Two broad, ovate, deeply ribbed, beautiful leaves sheath the flower scape at its base. The four to twelve flowers are loosely racemed at the top of the scape which is from 5 to 10 in. high. The magenta-pink petals and sepals are united to form a hood; the lip, curving abruptly downward, is broadly ovate and white; each flower has a short spur and is bracted. This species is found throughout the U.S.

(A) Rattlesnake Plantain (Epipactis pubescens) is a common orchid having beautiful leaves, radiating from the fleshy, creeping rootstalk. The scape is 6 to 15 in. high and carries at its top densely flowered sepals and petals united to form a hood. It is found in the whole of the U. S., flowering in July and August.

(B) Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes cernua) is so named because of the braided arrangement of its flowers. The leaves are few, grass-like, sheathing the scape near its base. The scape is 6 to 15 in. high, has several small bracts, and ends in a 2- or 3-ranked spiral raceme of white or creamy flowers; petals and upper sepal joined, lateral sepals lanceolate; lip ovate-oblong with a rough tip. Common in moist fields or woods from Me. to Minn. and southward.

Slender Ladies Tresses (S. gracilis) is slender, has its flowers in a single-ranked 1-sided or slightly twisted raceme; lip green, with a white wrinkled margin. Leaves small, ovate basal. Found in dry ground from N. S. to Manitoba and southward.

(A) Heart-leaved Twayblade (Listera cordata) belongs to a genus containing five species.

Like most of the orchids, they are largely or wholly dependent upon insect aid for fertilization. The weight or shock of an alighting insect on the broad lip causes a small gland within the flower to rupture and cover the pollen, just below, with a sticky fluid that causes it to adhere to the head or body of the insect and thus be transferred to the next flower.

The stem of this species is from 3 to 10 in. high. At the top is a few-flowered raceme; the sepals and petals are similar and spreading; the lip is drooping, longer, two-cleft and madder-purple in color. This species flowers during June and July in swampy woods from N. J. to Colo. and northward to the Arctic coast.

(B) Twayblade (Liparis lilifolia) although having the same common name, is of a different genus. It is a more attractive plant, having two broad basal leaves and larger flowers with a broad ovate lip. It grows in woodland from Me. to Minn. and southward.

BIRTHWORT FAMILY
(Aristolochiaceæ)

A small family of low herbs or twining vines, with but two genera and few species.

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) may be found flowering in rich woods during April and May, from Me. to Mich. and southward. It has two large, heart-shaped leaves on long petioles from the base; deep green above and lighter below, soft, wooly, and handsomely veined.

The leaves are very beautiful, but it is the solitary flower that makes this plant so interesting. Small, dully colored, on a weak, short stem that barely raises it above ground and often leaves it concealed by the dead leaves that carpet the woods in early spring.

The flower is bell-shaped, with three short, sharply-pointed spreading lobes; six stamens with short anthers and a thick style with six radiating stigmas. Another species (grandiflorum), found in Va. and N. C., has but one leaf and flowers twice as large, or two inches in length.

Pipe Vine; Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla). The Dutchman’s Pipe is chiefly a southern plant or vine, being found from Pa. and Minn. southward. It has a woody, climbing stem that may attain lengths of from 10 to 40 feet. The very large, deep-green, veiny leaves that alternate along the stem are very beautiful. In the dull, greenish-yellow flowers, however, lies the chief interest of the botanist. Its stigma matures and withers away before the ripening of the pollen, thus making the plant dependent upon insects for its perpetuation.

The throat is filled with tiny hairs, all pointing inward, so ingress is easy but egress impossible. Entering insects are held prisoners, living upon the nectar, until the stigma withers and pollen ripens; after this the hairs in the throat lose their rigidity and the pollen-dusted and well-fed prisoners are allowed to escape. Their memories are poor or the pollen feast is well worth the imprisonment, for they usually immediately hie to another blossom and force their way in, of course pollenizing the flower in so doing.

BUCKWHEAT FAMILY
(Polygonaceæ)

This family is divided into seven genera and many of these are further divided. They are all inconspicuous in flower. The genus Rumex, to which our common Sorrels belong, contain seventeen species: that of Polygonum, which contains the Knot-weeds, has 32 species included in its six sub-genera.

(A) Lady’s Thumb; Persicaria; Knotgrass (Polygonum persicaria) (European). This is a very common weed everywhere in damp places, especially about farmhouses. The small, crimson-pink flowers are in dense spikes terminating the branching stems that are from 1 to 3 feet high. The lanceolate pointed leaves, that alternate along the angled and sheathed stem, are rather rough and usually have a dark triangular spot in the middle.

(B) Common Smartweed; Water Pepper (P. hydropiper) has similar shaped flowers of a greenish color. The leaves are lanceolate and very acrid. It is very abundant in wet places throughout our range.

PINK FAMILY
(Caryophyllaceæ)

(A) Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) (European). Although this is an introduced weed, so hardy and prolific is it that probably it now exceeds in numbers any of our indigenous plants. It grows profusely about dooryards and along roadsides everywhere. The corolla consists of five white, very deeply cleft petals, and the calyx of the same number of larger and longer green sepals. The leaves are ovate, small, opposite, on small stems about the length of the leaves. The plant stem is either simple or branched and ranges from 2 to 10 in. in height.

(B) Long-leaved Stitchwort (S. longifolia) has larger flowers than the last, but the petals are very narrow and so deeply cleft as to appear to be ten in number instead of five. The sepals are nearly but not quite as long as the petals. The stem is weak and usually supported by surrounding grasses or vegetation. The leaves are small, linear, and pointed at both ends. Common everywhere in wet places.

(A) Corn Cockle (Agrostemma githago) (European). The Corn Cockle is very closely related to the [Campions] (genus Lychnis). It is an annual with an erect and rather downy stem; it branches but slightly, each branch being terminated by one or two large handsome magenta flowers with an expanse of one to two inches. The calyx is densely hairy, as are also the lanceolate leaves that grow oppositely on the stem. We find it as an escape from gardens or in waste places near grain fields.

(B) Ragged Robin (Lychnis Flos-cuculi) (European). This species, which is also known as Meadow Lychnis, is noteworthy because of the slashed appearance of its five crimson petals. The flower calyx is deeply ribbed and is of a brownish-purple color, as is also the upper part of the flower stem; both are sticky and hairy. It is sometimes found in waste land or moist places where it has escaped from cultivation.

(A) Bladder Campion (Silene latifolia) (European). We have several Campions, some natives and some introduced. The present species was brought to us from Europe. It has very unusual blossoms, in that the calyx is very inflated, almost globular and handsomely marked with darker green, so as to often give it a very similar appearance to that of the citron melon. The five white petals are cleft in twain for nearly their whole length.

It is a common escape from gardens and may be found blooming from June to August along roads or in dry waste places from Quebec to Minn. and south to Va. and Mo.

(B) Evening Lychnis; White Campion (Lychnis alba) (European). This is another attractive species introduced from Europe. The petals are white, deeply cleft, and crowned at the base with little petal-like divisions; the calyx is inflated and often deep pink on the ribs. The leaves are smooth edged and oppositely on the stem that grows from one to two feet high. Escaped from gardens, from Me. to N. J. and west to Ohio.

Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis) (European). This is probably the most hardy and the most widely distributed of our adventive members of the Pink family. It increases very rapidly by means of underground runners as well as by seed. It is very commonly known as “Soapwort,” because of the fact that the mucilaginous juice from the crushed leaves will form a lather if they are shaken in water; it is said that it was, in olden days, used for washing purposes.

The plant stem is quite stout, smooth, erect, and sparingly or not at all branched. At the top is a corymbed or flat-topped cluster containing many flowers; petals, notched or sometimes quite deeply cleft, and with an appendage at the top of the long claws that, bent at right angles, enter the long, tubular, veined, greenish, 5-notched calyx.

From July until September Soapwort blooms profusely in waste places along railroad beds and beside dusty roads where few other flowers are able to flourish. It was one of the first of foreign flowers to be introduced into this country.

(A) Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides) (European). A handsome rose-colored Pink that has become naturalized along the Atlantic Coast and is quite abundant in some localities, in fields and waste places. The flowers grow singly, or in pairs, at the ends of the branching stem; the petals are broad, wedge-shaped, and finely toothed.

(B) Fire Pink; Catchfly (Silene virginica) is one of our most brilliantly colored wild flowers, the petals being either deep crimson or scarlet; the five petals are oblong, 2-cleft, long-limbed, and five in number. The lower leaves are thin and spatulate, the upper ones oblong-lanceolate. Both stem, leaves, and calyx are rather hairy. This species is found in open woods from southern N. J., western N. Y., and Mich. southward.

Wild Pink (Silene pennsylvanica) is another beautiful native species, with bright pink flowers and a low, sticky stem; the upper leaves are small, and the numerous basal ones lance-shaped. It is rather common from Me. to N. Y. and southward.

PURSLANE FAMILY
(Portulacaceæ)

(A) Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), although very delicate in appearance, is among our earliest flowering plants.

The weak stem is usually very crooked and is often prostrate on the ground; two linear-lanceolate leaves clasp it oppositely about halfway up. The opened flowers, somewhat less than an inch across, have five petals, two sepals, and five golden stamens that mature before the stigma. It is found in moist woods from Me. to Mich. and south to the Gulf.

(B) Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) (European) has a prostrate, juicy stem and thick, fleshy leaves; the latter are wedge-shaped with rounded ends. The stem is very branching and spreads or radiates from the root. The flowers are tiny, solitary, and yellowish, seated in the whorls of leaves that terminate the branches. Found in waste places anywhere and possibly indigenous in the Southwest.

WATER LILY FAMILY
(Nymphæceæ)

(A) Cow Lily; Yellow Pond Lily (Nymphæa advena) is not unattractive and is interesting in its makeup. The leaves are thick, rough, ovate, slit or lobed to the stem, which is long and hollow. The flower is raised above the surface of the water on a long, hollow stem. What appear to be six large green and yellow petals are in reality sepals; the real petals are numerous, stamen-like, inserted with the very numerous stamens under the golden-yellow rayed disk that forms the stigma. Very common in still or stagnant water.

(B) Water Lily; Water Nymph (Castalia odorata) needs no introduction to our readers. To my mind, it leads all other flowers in beauty, grace, purity, and fragrance. It is composed of four sepals, greenish on the outside and whitish within, and numerous pure, waxy-white petals. They sometimes are gigantic in size, often spreading five or six inches across. It flowers from June to Sept. in ponds or slow-moving water.

RANUNCULUS FAMILY
(Ranunculaceæ)

(A) Water Plantain (Ranunculus laxicaulis) is a rather common marsh-inhabiting Buttercup, with five to seven narrow yellow petals. The stem is stout but rather weak and angled, at each joint sending out a clasping lanceolate, almost toothless leaf. The flowers, which are about ¾ in. broad, are on long peduncles terminating the branching stem that rises from 1 to 2½ feet. It is found in bogs, ditches, and muddy places from Me. to Minn. and south to the Gulf.

(B) Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) is the very common marsh herb usually, but erroneously, called “Cowslip.” Its leaves are very commonly used and marketed for food. The flowers are perfect, have no petals but from five to nine (usually the former) golden-yellow, shining sepals, and numerous brighter stamens. The stems are hollow and furrowed. The leaves are round, kidney-shaped, usually with scalloped edges. Marsh Marigold is abundant in swamps or wet meadows from Newfoundland to Alaska and southward through the United States, flowering in April and May.

(A) Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens) is, as per its name, a creeping plant. The stem is prostrate, creeping along the ground and striking new roots from the junctions of the leaf and flower stems with the main one. The flowers are large and broad-petalled, both the petals and stamens being a deep shining golden yellow. This species is indigenous in the West, but probably introduced from Europe in the East, where it is found chiefly near the coast, in ditches or along the edges of marshes.

(B) Common Buttercup; Crowfoot (R. acris) (European). Even though we have quantities of native Buttercups, it is this handsome foreigner that is the most abundant; this is the species that is found in fields everywhere, the one that delights the little folks and figures in many of their childish games.

The leaves and stem of the Crowfoots are very acrid, but not poisonous; on this account they are shunned by cattle and horses. This accounts in part for their abundance in most fields and pastures.

(A) Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum polygamum) is one of the characteristic plants of swamps and edges of streams. Should its neighboring plants be three or four feet high, we find the plume-like flowers of this species triumphantly waving above them on stems of five, six, or even seven feet tall.

The stalk is rather stout and grooved, pale-green, stained with maroon. The long-stemmed leaves are many times compounded into small, lobed leaflets of a pale, dull, blue-green color. The flowers are in feathery clusters; each individual flower having numerous white filaments, no petals, but usually four or five early-falling sepals.

From June to September we may find the mist-like flowers of Meadow Rue in swamps, from Labrador to Manitoba and south through the United States.

(B) Pasque Flower (Anemone patens) has a solitary erect flower with five to seven purplish sepals. Leaves divided and cut into narrow, acute lobes. Both stem and leaves covered with silky hairs. This species is found on prairies from Wis. and Montana southward.

(A) Wood Anemone; Wind Flower (Anemone quinquefolia). The stem is slender and from 4 to 8 in. high. Three leaves radiate from a point about two thirds up; each on a long stem and divided into three to five, toothed, ovate leaflets, The solitary flower rises on a slender peduncle from the junction of these three leaves with the stem proper. It has four to seven sepals, most often five; white inside and purplish white on their outer surface. The flower has an expanse of slightly less than one inch, but is rarely seen fully expanded. The Wind Flower is common in woods or thickets from Nova Scotia to the Rockies and southward.

(B) Rue Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides) has four to nine sepals (usually six), numerous orange-tipped stamens and a broad stigma. There are several flowers on exceedingly slender peduncles, rising from the whorl of leaves. The latter are on slender stems, have heart-shaped bases and three-lobed ends; rather small, pale-green above and with a whitish bloom below. It is found in the same localities and the same range as the last species, with which it associates.

(A) Purple Virgin’s Bower (Clematis verticillaris) is probably the most rare species of Clematis. It grows in rocky, hilly, or mountainous woods, most abundantly in northern portions of its range, which is from Quebec to Hudson Bay and south locally to Del. and Pa. It is a climbing woody vine, supporting itself by the bending or clasping of the leaf stalks. The flowers grow singly, on long stems from the axils of the leaves or from the end of the vine. They are large and handsome, the four thin, purple, pointed, translucent sepals spreading from two to four inches when fully expanded. The leaves are divided into three leaflets, ovate, pointed, with a heart-shaped base.

(B) Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana) is a beautiful, graceful, climbing, twining vine found throughout our range. The small greenish-white flowers, with four or five petals, grow in clusters from the leaf axils; staminate and pistillate ones are on separate plants. In fall, the beautiful silky plumes of the seed pods gives this species the name of “Old Man’s Beard.”

(A) Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is one of our typical, early woodland plants, graceful in form and beautiful in flower. It grows in rocky woodland throughout our range, flowering from April to June.

The stem is very slender, wiry, and graceful, quite branching, and attaining heights of one to two feet. The flowers are heavy, which causes them to nod from their slender, thread-like peduncles. A quantity of nectar is secreted in the base of each red spur, serving to attract butterflies, moths, and often the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, for those birds are very partial to red colors.

(B) Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) is a small woodland plant receiving its name from the slender, thread-like, golden-yellow roots. These roots are characteristic and readily identify the species. The leaves are evergreen, deeply shining green in color, 3-parted and notched, on long petioles from the root. The white flower has five or six early-falling sepals; it is usually solitary on a scape from 3 to 6 in. high. Common in rich woods throughout U. S. and Canada.

(A) Monkshood; Aconite (Aconitum uncinatum) is an attractive wild flower with a slender, rather weak stem often supporting itself against other species. The flowers are quite large and handsome. The five sepals are very unequal in size and shape; the upper one large and hood-like, concealing two small petals within it. The leaves are firm, three- to five-lobed and notched, on slender petioles. In rich, moist woods from Pa. southward, flowering from June to September.

(B) Hepatica; Liverwort (Hepatica triloba). If we except the [Skunk Cabbage], the beautiful Hepatica is the first of our flowers to appear. Its stems are thickly covered with fuzzy hairs; the three-lobed, smooth-edged leaves are rather thick and coarse, lasting through the winter but turning a ruddy color, while the new ones, that appear with the buds, are light-green and radiate above the older prostrate ones. A single blossom appears at the end of each long fuzzy scape; it is about one inch broad, and has five to ten pale-purple or lilac sepals.

Hepaticas bloom from March to May in open woods from N. S. to Manitoba and southward.

Mandrake; May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum) belongs to the Barberry Family (Berberidaceæ), a small family of shrubs or herbs, divided into five genera of but one or two species each. The present species is quite common in rich woods, or in shady moist ground, from western N. E. to Minn. and southward flowering in May. The bare stalk rises to heights of 10 to 12 inches, then branches into two long-stemmed, light-green, large, spreading leaves; the latter are five- to nine-parted, lobed, notched, and unevenly balanced. From the forked joint of the leaves hangs a solitary white flower on a short, slender, curving peduncle, this is very delicate, nearly two inches across, and of six petals and twice as many stamens.

The fruit is large and lemon-shaped, yellow in color, ripening in July. It is the fruit that gives it the name of May Apple. While the leaves and stem are poisonous, the fruit is not, but has a peculiar, acid, sickish flavor.

(A) Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Closely following on the heels of our handsome Hepatica we find the delicate flowered Bloodroot unfurling its leaves and expanding its flowers in rich, rocky, open woodland. The flowers are very delicate; the petals stay but two or three days anyway, and a breath of wind may blow them off sooner.

After the flower is gone, the leaf develops rapidly and becomes very large and imposing, with many divisions and lobes. The root is reddish and is filled with a bloodlike juice, as is also the stem. Bloodroot is common from N. S. to Minn. and southward. It flowers in April and May.

(B) Prickly Poppy (Argemone mexicana) is a handsome Mexican plant found in the southwestern portions of the United States. It has a prickly stem from one to two feet high. The stemless leaves have sharp lobes, also armed with prickles. The flower is bright yellow, has four petals, and numerous orange-tipped stamens. The flowers give no nectar but plenty of pollen to the bees that visit them.

Celandine (Chelidonium majus) (European) is abundant almost everywhere in the eastern half of our country.

The stem is quite stout and very branching; at the end of each branch is a loose cluster of buds on slender pedicels. These open one or two at a time, so that the plant keeps in bloom for a long time; in fact, the flowering season extends from early in May to the end of September. The flowers are half an inch or more broad, with four golden-yellow petals, a slender, pointed green pistil, and numerous yellow stamens. The seed-pod is long and slender.

The thin, soft leaves are very handsomely divided into three-to seven-lobed leaflets. Both stem and leaves have a bright yellow, very acrid juice, that stains everything it comes in contact with. Celandine is often known in Europe as “Swallow-wort” as it is supposed to commence flowering with the coming of the swallows and to cease with their departure. Its generic name also originated in this belief.

(A) Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra Cucullaria). This peculiarly flowered herb belongs to the Fumitory family, a family of delicate, smooth plants with watery juices and compound, dissected leaves.

The flower stalk, proceeding from the root, attains heights of from 5 to 9 inches and bears a loose raceme of four to eight white, inverted flowers; the four petals are united in pairs, two of them forming a large double-spurred sac, and the other two very small petals forming a protection for the stigma. The double sac is white, stained with yellow. The leaves are on long petioles from the rootstalk; they are pale sage-green in color, 3-parted and finely slashed. Dutchman’s Breeches may be found blooming in April and May in rich, hilly woods from N.S. to Minn. and south to N.C. and Mo.

(B) Squirrel Corn (D. canadensis) is similar, but the white, sac-like petals are stained with purple, the spurs are shorter and rounder, and the flower is slightly fragrant. The roots have little tuberous appendages resembling grains of corn. This species is found in the same range as the last.

MUSTARD FAMILY
(Cruciferæ)

(A) Toothwort; Crinkleroot (Dentaria diphylla). During the latter part of April or in May we will find white, crosslike flowers of Toothwort often growing side by side with [Anemones]. Its stem is stout and smooth, and rises to heights of 8 to 12 inches. Two 3-parted, notched-edged leaves with short stems are set oppositely on the flowering stalk, above the middle; other larger, similar ones are on long petioles from the rootstalk. Its root is crinkled and with toothlike appendages. It is found in rich woods from N. S. to Minn. and southward.

(B) Whitlow Grass (Draba verna) (European) is a weed that we find along roadsides, waste places, or barren fields. The flowers are small, and the four white petals are deeply notched. The scape is from 1 to 5 in. high. The leaves are all basal, lance-shaped, and lobed or toothed.

(A) Common Mustard (Brassica nigra) (European) is extensively cultivated in Europe for the small dark-brown seeds that form a valuable article of commerce, being used for the table condiment and for various medicinal purposes.

In our country Mustard is regarded as a pest; it is a very strong, hardy plant, soon overrunning sections where it gets a foothold. The stem is very branching and grows to heights of from 2 to 7 feet. The four-petalled, light-yellow flowers are in small dense clusters at the ends of the branches; a trail of small, erect seedpods is left in the wake of the flowers as they continue to bloom along the lengthening stem. The leaves have a large, terminal notched lobe and smaller lateral ones.

(B) Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) (European). This common weed has tiny, four-petalled yellow flowers that bloom all summer, along the lengthening stem, and leave numerous tiny pods closely set against the stem. The leaves are more angular and more finely divided than those of the Common Mustard.

PITCHER PLANT FAMILY
(Sarraceniaceæ)

A small family of bog-inhabiting plants having hollow pitcher-formed or trumpet-shaped leaves.

Pitcher Plant; Huntsman’s Cup (Sarracenia purpurea). Few plants are as little known generally as this species. It is one of the most interesting ones that we have. The shapes of both the leaves and blossoms are clearly shown in the opposite picture. The pitchers, or basal leaves, may number from three to a dozen, all radiating from the root and all with the orifice up. An examination shows that each pitcher is partially filled with water. Just below the rim of the leaf, on the inside, is a sticky substance to attract insects; as these enter, they pass downward over countless little hairs, all pointing downward. These make it very difficult for insects to crawl out of the pitcher, and many of them become exhausted and are drowned in the water. As these insects decompose, they are absorbed by the plant.

The Pitcher Plant is local in bogs from Labrador to Manitoba and southward.

SUNDEW FAMILY
(Droseraceæ)

(A) Thread-leaved Sundew (Drosera filiformis) has long, linear film-like, erect, very hairy leaves. The flowers are numerous and loosely racemed at the top of a slender smooth scape; they have five small purple petals, five stamens, and several 2-parted stigmas. This species is found in wet sandy soil from New England to Delaware.

(B) Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) is one of the most common of the Sundews, it is found in moist, sandy, or peaty soil from Labrador to Alaska and south to Pa. and Cal. The leaves are numerous, quite round, and on long stems from the root. The leaves are thickly covered with hairy glands that exude drops of a clear glutinous fluid. These dew-like drops deceive insects into alighting on the leaves. Having caught a victim, the leaf slowly folds about it and digests it.

The flower stalk of this species grows from 5 to 9 in. high, is reddish colored, and often has one or two branches at the top. The one to twenty-five flowers that it has during the flowering season are white.

SAXIFRAGE FAMILY
(Saxifragaceæ)

(A) Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia caroliniana) is a pretty little swamp or meadow plant growing from 8 to 24 inches high. The flowers are a delicate creamy white, finely veined with greenish, and borne singly on long scapes; a single heart-shaped leaf clasps each flower scape a short distance above its base. The basal leaves are long-stemmed, rather thick and coarse in texture, smooth-edged and bluntly pointed.

We find this species in bloom from the latter part of June until the end of September, most abundantly in the latter month. It ranges from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Va. and Mo.