WILD SENNA: Cassia Marilandica.

Wild Flowers
of the
North-Eastern States

BEING THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHT INDIVIDUALS COMMON TO THE NORTH-EASTERN UNITED STATES, DRAWN AND DESCRIBED FROM LIFE BY

ELLEN MILLER
AND
MARGARET CHRISTINE WHITING

WITH THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS THE SIZE OF LIFE

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

NEW YORK
27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET

LONDON
24 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND

The Knickerbocker Press
1895

Copyright, 1895
BY
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

The Knickerbocker Press, New York

Dedicated
TO
MARY GOODRICH WHITING
AND
MARY ESTHER MILLER

INTRODUCTION.

It was with no desire to compete with scientific botanies that this collection of flowers was gathered together, but with the hope of making their acquaintance more easy to non-scientific folk than the much condensed manuals of our flora are able to do. The opportunity of introducing a plant, with that graceful amplitude which forestalls human meetings, is denied to the scientific botanist by the needful restrictions of his formulæ, and there remain unnoted by him (because beyond the scope of a special terminology) numberless traits of race-habit, and personal details of growth belonging to the plants, to which the unlearned observer will attach a degree of significance, incommensurate, perhaps, to their scientific value. To the simple Nature-lover each growth possesses a personal quality more desirable than the catalogued facts of its existence, and which offers an invitation to his thought beyond the knowledge he may gain from books.

Supplementary, then, to the scientific classification, there is a place for the mere lover and observer, who shall display the results of his study in the most direct terms, that require no glossaries of explanation, nor, if it may be avoided, any dissection of flower-growths. Too often the amateur is dismayed, in his effort to name a plant, by the botanical need of a microscopic analysis, which calls for a preliminary training, and in its process destroys the flower he seeks to know. If it were possible for a pictorial botany to be prepared for English readers in the common vocabulary, the destructive element which, at present, occupies a painfully large place in the study of all popular science, might be confined to the needs of the higher student, and no longer pursued by children, or the merely curious observers of our common forms of life. The effort to verify what has already been established, which, in some intellectually alert localities, threatens the more delicate of our annuals and biennials with extermination, might be avoided, if we were able to recognize the commoner sorts of plants by their general character, their gesture, color, and habits, leaving scientific analysis for serious study.

The present collection of flowers common to the North-eastern United States, which was started as a personal pastime, has taken its present shape under the belief that it were well to make a beginning towards a floral portrait-gallery; it is from this point of view, rather than from the purely botanical, that the drawings have been made and the descriptions written. Days have been pleasantly spent in searching for a specimen which would show most typically the particular trick of growth, the characteristic gesture which individualized it from all other plants; often a flower has been drawn and described as it grew, surprised in its familiar haunt. Effort has been made to gather within the prescribed limits as great a diversity of growths, and as many variations of types in each family, as was feasible. Because of the desire to localize the collection, somewhat, the flowers of the seaboard have been excluded. A few shrubs, and even one small tree, the Witch Hazel, have been included, because their flowers or fruit form such essential features in the floral calendar, or possess so strong a hold upon the wayfarers’ affections, that their presence has seemed inevitable. In the case of two vines, the Carrion Flower and the Virginia Creeper, the drawings were made from the fruit (companioned by the figure of the single flower) for the obvious reason that the blossoms of the one are inconspicuous, and of the other so malodorous, they offer small temptations to a near acquaintance, while both are recompensed with highly decorative berry-clusters. The drawings of the flowers are the size of life; in every possible instance the growth also is given without reduction.

That every flower-lover will find some favorites omitted, is altogether probable, in a selection of three hundred individuals from among the hosts which invite representation. The extreme dry weather of the previous season must be held accountable for several noteworthy, and much regretted, blanks in the list.

The choice of botanical terms has been intentionally confined to those which long usage has so wrought into the common speech that they have practically ceased to belong to strictly scientific nomenclature. The floral families have been arranged in the order employed in Gray’s Manual; the individual members of a genus, and of a family, have been placed in their usual sequence of bloom, that the flower-gatherer may know when to reasonably expect the successive blossoming of any special set of plants. It is impossible however to be arbitrarily definite in any such classification of Nature’s methods. Nor are we able to do more than to approximate accuracy in describing color; modifications, even direct contradictions, of the normal or usual type are constantly discovered, which we may impute to variations in soil or temperature, but whose appearance follows laws we dimly apprehend. Of one thing only may we be sure: Nature tunes her seemingly fickle choice to harmony, whatever the key; always there remains a perfect adjustment of color between stalk and stem and leaf and blossom.

By the generosity of Mrs. Fanny D. Bergen, of Cambridge, Mass., the lists of folk-names for many flowers have been greatly enriched. Recognition is due also to Dr. B. F. Robinson, and to his assistants of the Harvard Herbarium, for very kind aid in the botanical classification of specimens.

Deerfield, Mass.,
April 3d, 1895.

CONTENTS.

The Cover-Design by E. M.: Derived from the Green Dragon (Arisæma Dracontium) Plant.

Wild Flowers
OF THE
North-Eastern States.

CROWFOOT FAMILY.
RANUNCULACEÆ.

Found in April and May, on hillsides, along the edge of woods, and in rocky ground.

The leaf-stems and flower-stems rise from the ground to the height of 4 or 6 inches.

The leaf is heart-shaped, and 3-lobed, of a tough, strong fibre that often survives the winter. Its color is dark green above and dull violet beneath.

The beautiful flower is composed of 6 to 9 petal-like calyx-parts, of an oval shape, and thin texture, whose color varies from light to dark violet, and from lavender-tinted white to a very pink-lavender, or lilac; the stamens are many, and thread-like, and of a pale straw color. Close beneath the flower are 3 reddish-brown, downy little leaves, bearing the semblance of a calyx. The flower is set on a slender, very downy stem, which springs from amidst the leaves.

The harmony of color in this plant as seen in the flower and leaf is striking, a preponderance of violet showing throughout. It is very downy, the young leaves being covered with long silky hairs. The numerous half-opened flowers and buds are slightly nodding, but become more erect when fully spread in the sunlight. The Hepatica is often frequented by small lavender butterflies, in size and color resembling the blossoms,—when they rise and flutter in the soft spring air, it is as though the flowers themselves are taking flight.

HEPATICA: Hepatica triloba.

Found in late April and early May, in swamps or wet meadows, with its roots in the water.

The branching stalk, from 6 to 10 inches in height, is thick, stout, hollow and juicy, and grooved at the joints; its color is a shining light green.

The leaf is very broad, almost round, with a heart-shaped base, the margin finely cut in slight scallops; the texture is thin but leathery, while the surface is smooth and glossy; the color is dark green. The leaf is set at the junction of the flower-stem with the stalk.

The flower has 5 (or more) rounded petal-like calyx-parts, of a delicate texture that shows a few veins on the inside; it is shaped like a shallow cup and colored a beautiful polished yellow, tinged with green; the many stamens are yellow; the pistils form a conspicuous fringy center. Two or three flowers, on simple, or sometimes leafy foot-stems, form a terminal group.

The buds are round and quite green, turning yellow as they grow; the blossom opens very wide, and is slightly odorous,—it is in marked contrast to the coarser stem and leaf, which have a sprangly gesture. The first sunshine flower of spring.

MARSH MARIGOLD: Caltha palustris.

Found in thickets that yet are open to the sun, in early May or perhaps late in April.

The single stem, about 6 inches in height, is round and smooth and green, showing purple at the foot. It bears a whorl of leaves about midway its height, and a single flower upon its summit.

The compound leaf has from 8 to 9 wedge-shaped leaflets, that are sightly creased on their midribs, and irregularly notched on the edges; the texture is delicately thin, and the color a lovely green. Three leaves on their short reddish stems are placed in a whorl.

The flower is like a shallow cup formed of 5 oval, petal-like calyx-parts that curve like shells; it is of a very thin texture and slightly veined, and its color is pure white, often rosy tinted on the outside; the many dainty stamens are a pale straw color, and the pistils are gathered into a light green center.

A more charming plant could hardly be imagined,—stem, leaf, and blossom are alike perfect in growth and harmony of hue. Its bud nods, but the fully open flower lifts itself lightly atop the slender swaying stem. The Wind Flower is social in habit, and gathers in lovely fellowship with its kind upon a favorable hillside.

WIND FLOWER: Anemone nemorosa.

Found during July and August in meadows, roadsides, and woods.

The single stalk usually forks midway for the flowers; it grows between 2 and 3 feet high, and is slender and slightly rough to the touch. In color it is light green.

The compound leaf is 3-divided, the middle leaflet being 3-parted, and the side leaflets 2-parted; the margins are notched, and the fibre is tough, while the surface is rough-hairy; the color is green. The leaves grow in a whorl of 3 about the stalk.

The flower is a shallow cup, composed of 5 petal-like calyx-parts, hollowed like shells, of a greenish-white color; the pistils are many, rising in a cylindrical greenish head in the center; the stamens are numerous, and pale. The flowers are set on long slender stems which rise from the whorl of leaves; these stems often fork again at half their length, where in that case, they bear a pair of small leaves, from which the 2, or more, secondary flower-bearing stems arise.

Less gregarious than its early sister, the Tall Anemone grows solitary, or in twos and threes,—frequently beside an old stump. The cylindrical or elongated head turns brown and becomes cottony when the seeds are ripe. The tall elegance of this plant is noteworthy; it bears its leaves, flowers and seeds with an air of distinction, and the long wand-like stems suggest the strings of some musical instrument on which the wind may play, according to the old tradition that the Anemones love to bloom when the wind blows.

TALL ANEMONE: A. Virginiana.

Found in rocky woods and hillsides during April and May.

The branching leafy stalk grows from 1 to 2 feet high; smooth, round, and fine of fibre though strong; in color, green.

The leaf is 3 or 4 times divided, terminating in groups of 3 leaflets on short slender stems; the leaflets are small, rounding, slightly heart-shaped at the base, and their margins are notched in rounded scallops; the texture is exceptionally fine and thin, the surface smooth; the color, a fine cool green.

The flower is small and composed of 3 or 4 or 5 little, petal-like, pale green calyx-parts. Different plants bear the pistils and stamens; the flowers of the former are inconspicuous and sparse in comparison with those of the stamen-bearing plant: from these the many stamens, pale green faintly touched with tawny at the tips, droop on slender threads like little tassels. The flowers grow in loose clusters, on branching stems that spring from the leaf-joints.

The Early Meadow Rue is unobtrusive in color and form, but most graceful in gesture, and fine in the texture and finish of all its parts; the leafage has a fern-like delicacy, and the flower tassels of the stamen-bearing plant are airily poised.

EARLY MEADOW RUE: Thalictrum dioicum.

Found in June in wet meadows, both in the shade of thickets and in unsheltered fields.

The stalk, usually 3 or 4 feet high, attains, it is said, to even 9 feet sometimes; it is branching, and somewhat zigzag in growth; round, slightly ribbed, and smooth; green or purple, especially near the joints.

The leaf is highly compound, being composed of 3 long-stemmed divisions which are parted into 3 or 5 short-stemmed groups of 3 leaflets each; these leaflets are rounding in shape, entire,—save for the 1 to 3 round scallops at the tips,—of a fine and thin texture, and smooth surface; a network of delicate veins shows underneath; the color is a beautiful, cool, dark green, lighter underneath. The arrangement is alternate.

The flower is without petals; the numerous thread-like, white stamens, with their green tips, spread into feathery tufts, and are set on tiny stems in loose terminal clusters, and also in lesser groups on stems from the angles of the upper leaves.

An elegant plant, beautiful at all seasons with its distinguished-bearing, charming flower clusters, and quaint lavender-hued seed-heads; and especially attractive at the turn of the leaf, when its foliage takes on a delicate crimson tint toned by a grayish bloom.

TALL MEADOW RUE: T. polygamum.

Found in woods and on shady banks, in May.

The slender, erect stalk, 5 or 6 inches in height, is fine and smooth; in color, a light reddish-tinged green.

The leaf is compound, each part being set on a slender, rather long stem; the leaflets are small, broad, heart-shaped at the base, and 2- or 3-lobed near the tip; the texture is exceedingly fine, and smooth to the touch; the color is a dark grayish-green. The leaves form a whorl about the summit of the stalk, from which the flower-stems rise.

The flower is formed of 5 to 8 petal-like calyx-parts, which are oval, slightly convex, of a fine and delicate texture; in color, white, tinged with pale pink. The stamens are many, small, and orange yellow; the several pistils gathered in the center are green. The flowers are poised on slender stems, in groups, generally of 3, springing from the leaf-whorl.

The flowers and leaves rise from the earth together, the undeveloped flower, with bowed head, enfolded by the leaflets; as the plant pushes upward the blossoms grow, the central one developing first, the side ones later. At first the stamens and pistils are gathered together in a close green ball in the middle,—when the central flower has shaken out its yellow-tipped stamens fully, the side flowers begin to grow; thus the plant stays in bloom a long time—nearly two weeks.

RUE ANEMONE: Anemonella thalictroides.

Found during May in moist woods.

The root sends up flowers and leaves on stems from 3 to 5 inches high.

The leaf is compound with 3 small leaflets that are wedge-shaped, with notched margins, tough texture, and smooth, shining surface; it is set on a long slender stem. Evergreen, and of a dark green color.

The flower is small; of 5 or 7 narrow, tapering calyx-parts that are a fine silvery-white color. The true petals are inconspicuous and easily confused with the numerous stamens and pistils. The flower-stem is long and slender.

This has a shining flower and leaf. The bright yellow thread-like roots give it its common name.

GOLDTHREAD: Coptis trifolia.

Found in the woods during May.

The small round smooth stalk branches near the top, and grows about 2 feet high. It is green, with a cool gray-white bloom.

The leaf is rather large, and compound, being 2 or 3 times divided; the leaflets are oval, taper-pointed, and set on long, grooved, shining foot-stems; the margin is prettily toothed, with an occasional deep notch, the ribs and veins show like a fine network, the texture is loose, with a noticeable softness to the touch, the surface is shining; the color green. The leaf is set immediately upon the stalk.

The flower is very small; 4 to 10 white petals with oval tips and very slender bases; the many delicate, white stamens, with yellow tips, are longer than the petals. The flowers are arranged in a large, loose, round or club-shaped spike, on a long smooth stem, that springs from the junction of the leaf.

The calyx drops as the flowers open, and the petals soon fall also, leaving the stamens, which remain some time; these are succeeded by the ripening berries that are to be seen frequently during August in deep woods; they are oval in shape and of a shining coral red. The plant seldom bears more than a single spike of flowers.

The White Baneberry, A. alba, is very like the Red, but its berries (called “Dolls’ Eyes” in Massachusetts) are shining white with a black dot, and their foot-stems are noticeably larger.

COHOSH: Actæa spicata, var. rubra.

Found growing in the clefts of rocks, on sunlit heights, and along banks, during May or June.

The height of the stalk varies from 6 to 18 inches, and it branches widely; it is small, slightly enlarged at the joints, and somewhat square in shape, sometimes rough to the touch; the color is green, strongly tinged with purple-red.

The lower leaves are compound, with 3 leaflets, their margins round-toothed; the upper leaves are oval, or sometimes divided, their margins frequently entire; the texture is very thin and fine; the color light green. They are set on long, slender stems, or at the junction of the branches.

The flower varies a good deal in size; it consists of 5 tubular petals that are prolonged into slender spurs with rounded tips; the calyx is 5-parted, the divisions of a long oval shape, which curve closely between the spurs, alternating with the tubes. The color of the tubes is a pure and lovely yellow, which becomes, by a beautiful gradation, a deep red in the spurs, their tips even tending toward crimson; the calyx is orange-red, running to yellow-green at the stem; the many long stamens hanging in a central tassel are very yellow. The flower nods on the end of a curved stem, with its spurs uppermost.

In early spring the plant consists of a thick tuft of leaves. While still very small the bud begins to turn from pale green to reddish. In maturity the seed-pods become erect. The singular elegance of this plant is only too well appreciated, for human greed plucks it in reckless handfuls, without regard to its possible extinction.

COLUMBINE: Aquilegia Canadensis.

Found during May and June growing in moist meadows, beside runlets.

The large, round, hollow stalk grows between 1 and 2 feet high; it branches, and often lies somewhat upon the ground; it is finely grooved, and light green in color.

The compound leaves are 3-divided; each of the leaflets of the lower leaves is provided with a short foot-stem, they are wedge-shaped, broad, and the margins are cut and notched; those of the upper leaves are long and narrow, of unequal size, with entire margins. The texture is loose, the upper surface very hairy, the underside shining; color, a mottled green, lighter underneath.

The large flower is like a shallow cup formed of 5 oval petals, of fine texture and shining with an exceeding gloss; their color a full orange-tinted yellow. The stamens are many, and orange-yellow; the numerous pistils are gathered into a round green center. The calyx is 5-parted, shorter than the petals; greenish-yellow. The flowers are set on short stems, in terminal groups.

After flowering, the plant throws out from the root long, thick, pale runners; these bear an occasional leaf, at the joint of which a new root forms.

MARSH CROWFOOT: Ranunculus septentrionalis.

Found during June and July in meadows and fields.

The stalk, which grows from 2 to 3 feet high, is branching, round, tough-fibred, and hairy; a strong, bright green color.

The large leaf is cleft into 3 or 5 divisions, these again being cut into 3 narrow parts, their tips thus covering the points of a pentagon; the margin is deeply and sharply notched, the ribs are noticeable, and the surface is downy with soft hairs. In color the leaves are dark green, lighter underneath. The lower leaves are set on long grooved stems, the upper clasp the stalk with a pale, silvery and hairy sheath.

The flower cup is formed of 5 broad petals with pointed bases; its inner surface is very shining, the outer is dull; the color is a pure full yellow. The numerous stamens are also yellow, and the many pistils are bunched in a green center. The calyx is 5-parted, the divisions being narrow and pointed, and spreading very wide; it is a pale yellow-green. The flowers are set on long slender stems.

Though the wealth of bloom occurs in June when the meadow-grasses tassel, the burnished golden cups stray through all the season till frost-time. The bud is very round and small, and the flower grows perceptibly after it has opened.

BUTTERCUPS: R. acris.

Found in moist ground, in June and July.

The stalk (about 2 feet high) is very leafy, stout, round, and hollow, of a coarse fibre, and exceedingly hairy; light green.

The large compound leaf is divided into 3 parts (they are set on hairy stems) that are divided twice again; the parts are sharp-pointed and deeply notched, with the ribs and veins showing plainly, of a coarse, loose texture, and very hairy both above and beneath. The arrangement is alternate, and clasping. The color is light yellowish-green.

The flower is small: a few little round yellow petals and a fringe of yellow stamens surround the base of the long thimble-shaped green head formed by the pistils. The flowers are set on hairy stems in loose leafy groups.

The admirable curve of the stalk is forgotten in the stinging sensation its prickly hairs produce upon the touch; it is very like plucking a nettle to try to gather this Crowfoot, though the effect is comparatively transient.

BRISTLY CROWFOOT: R. Pennsylvanicus.

Found festooning rocks and walls on uplands and mountains in early May.

This handsome vine is sparingly leafy, somewhat branching, and not perfectly round; it is woody-fibred and breaks easily, smooth to the touch, and slightly shining; the color is a light brown of a golden hue.

The leaf is 3-parted, each leaflet upon a slender foot-stem; the leaflets are oval or wedge-shaped, the margin either irregularly cut, or deeply notched, or nearly entire; the many ribs and netted veins show; the texture is somewhat thin, and the surface is sparingly covered—particularly on the underside—by soft hairs. The color is light green, frequently running into red- or purple-bronze hues, especially when young. The leaves are set on long purplish or reddish stems, and arranged in pairs, at a considerable distance apart, along the lithe curving stalk.

The flower is large; its 4 calyx-parts look like petals: they are long oval, with pointed tips, of a particularly thin, loose texture, and have a very downy surface both inside and out; the many veins show distinctly; the color is a light purple of a broken tint, sometimes nearly white on the inner side. The stamens are many and crowded into a close central tuft, the outer row of them shaped like slender oblong petals; in color, green-white with light green-yellow tips. The single blossom is set on a slender green stem which springs from between the leaves.

The flower seldom spreads wide, its seeming petals curve inward in a deep cup-shape. A noticeable feature is the presence of the brown and dry leaf-stems of the last year’s growth standing out at right angles to the fresh leafage. This is one of the rarer plants, and therefore should be left where it grows, with free curves clinging to the rocks or swinging its violet-tinged greenery and purple bells from the stronger growth of a neighboring shrub.

PURPLE CLEMATIS: Clematis verticillaris.

Found through July and August climbing over wayside thickets and along river banks.

The stalk of this charming vine is leafy, round, tough-fibred, and grooved, and rather slender. It is green in color, tinged more or less with dull bronzy purple.

The large leaf is compound of 3 leaflets, that are oval with a long, tapering point, and a slightly heart-shaped base; the margin is cut into a few large notches, and occasionally is lobed; the ribs are strong, the texture firm, and the surface is smooth. Each leaflet is set on a short curved stem; the leaves, on their long stems, are placed opposite each other. In color they are dark green.

The flowers are of two kinds, the pistil-bearing blossoms and the stamen-bearing occur on separate plants. The flower of both plants has 4 petal-like calyx-parts, of oblong shape with rounded tips; the color is greenish white; the stamens and pistils are pale green. The flowers grow on short light green stems, in branching clusters from the angles of the leaves and the end of the vine.

The Clematis climbs by means of its leaf-stems, which grow in strong deep curves; it sometimes hooks them over a support, and again clasps them more securely by twisting the stem once or twice around. It is what Ruskin calls a “gadding vine,” for it runs riot over stone wall and hedge, stretching out a social hand to every wayside shrub, and swinging its flowery festoons from dry twig to leafy sapling. The green of the leafage is agreeably varied by the purple-bronzy leaves of the new growths; and the silvery feathery seeds, following the pistil-bearing blossoms in September and October, are quite as beautiful as the flower, and have a faint, delightful fragrance of their own.

VIRGIN’S BOWER: C. Virginiana.

BARBERRY FAMILY.
BERBERIDACEÆ.

Found on hilly pastures, in roadside thickets, during May and June.

A shrub, which grows from 3 to 5 or more feet in height, and branches thickly; it is armed with many needle-like spines, and the bark is gray.

The leaf is a small oval with a rounded tip, its edge beset with many short sharp spines; its fibre is tough, and surface very smooth, and the color is a light bluish-green. The arrangement is in rosette-like groups of 5 or more leaves.

The small flower has 6 rounding, concave, yellow petals, a 6-parted calyx, and 6 stamens which curve outward from the circular green pistil and rest their tips in the hollows of the petals. The flowers grow in drooping clusters, hanging from the leafy rosettes all along the ends of the branches with a graceful gesture.

The fruit, ripe in September and October, is an oval red berry, sour and puckering to the taste. The wood is a strong yellow color, and the roots gleam in the freshly turned soil like pieces of gold in the dark earth. In some parts of the country the berries are made into a preserve, and the wood is used for dyeing.

BARBERRY: Berberis vulgaris.

Found in woodlands during May and June.

The single stalk, 14 to 18 inches in height, bears upon its summit a pair of great leaves on forking stems; it is large, round, very hard and fibrous, juicy, smooth, and somewhat glossy; a dry, tough, pale sheath enwraps it at the foot. In color it is a very light green, almost white.

The leaves are almost a foot across and nearly circular in shape, divided into 5 or 9 wedge-shaped radiating parts which are often 2- (or more) lobed, and with as many main ribs as there are divisions; all the lesser ribs and veins are conspicuous in these highly ornamental leaves—they have shallow but sharp-pointed margins, and are rather thin in texture, smooth and glossy, and of a rich dark green color, whitened with bloom underneath. The stems are large and pale.

The flower is formed of several wedge-shaped petals (6 to 9), firm and thick of texture, showing many fine-netted veins, and dull white in color; they spread and curve about the base of the prominent greenish seed-box, the large and conspicuous stamens forming a ring in the center. The flower, on a pale stem, grows from between the leaf-stems with a distinct inclination to one side.

In bud the flower is enfolded by 3 temporary bracts,—the 6 calyx-parts also fall when the petals expand. The long rather oval fruit is found eatable by the uncritical palates of children.

MANDRAKE: Podophyllum peltatum.
Leaf about ⅓ life size.

WATER-LILY FAMILY.
NYMPHÆACEÆ.

Found in still and shallow water from June to September.

The leaves and flowers, on their long, smooth stems, rise to the surface of the water from the submerged root.

The leaf is large (from 6 to 12 inches in length), of a long oval shape, heart-shaped at the base, and blunt-pointed at the tip, with an entire margin; its fibre is tough and leathery, and its surface exceedingly smooth and shining. Its color is a strong light green, lighter underneath. The stem is large and half-cylindrical; the leaf floats on the water, or rises above it.

The large flower is almost spherical in form, with 6 large, rounded, concave, petal-like parts, somewhat unequal in size; the 3 smaller parts are green without, and a dull reddish-orange color within; the other 3 larger parts are yellow, with small green patches at the base. The large pistil is marked on the top with a 12- or 24-pointed star, the rays of which are yellow on an orange-red ground. The stamens are many, like loops of yellow ribbon which curl back and almost entirely fill the hollow flower-cup. The stem is large, round, and green, and the flower rises above the level of the water.

A flower of primitive type; the combination of yellow and red in the star design of the pistil is suggestive of Egyptian color and design. The half-round leaf-stem with its flat grooved side is an unusual variation on the common form.

YELLOW POND-LILY: Nuphar advena.

Found in still, clear water in July.

The flowers and leaves rise to the water’s level from the submerged root.

The large leaf (4 or more inches long) is nearly round,—swinging out from the true circle at its heart-shaped base into two little points; its margin is entire; the ribs scarcely show on the upper side, radiating in faint lines from a heart-shaped figure outlined on the base of the leaf, but they are strongly marked on the under side; the surface is smooth and shining, and the texture is fine and firm. The color is a dark strong green above, and a fine coppery-red beneath. The leaf floats flat upon the surface of the water, anchored to the root by a long, elastic, round, red stem.

The many petals of the large flower are long, narrow, pointed, and hollowed like a shallow canoe; of a close, firm texture, and usually a pure brilliant white color. The numerous stamens are a pure cadmium-yellow. The 4 calyx-parts are shaped like the petals, dull green on the outside, and often tinged with pink on the edges and inside. The flower on the top of its long red stem floats on the water.

The fragrant Water Nymph is said to open at sunrise, closing about ten o’clock in the morning, and remaining shut during the heat of the day to open again later. The contrast of its brilliant white with the heart of gold is beautiful, with a charm which is partly lost when plucked,—it is seen to its best advantage floating in the midst of its green pads. The decorative design on the leaf is faintly marked and can only be discovered by close inspection; the color of its lower surface is fine. Sometimes the petals are pink-tinted.

POND-LILY: Nymphæa odorata.

PITCHER PLANTS.
SARRACENIACEÆ.

Found in swamps in early June.

The leaves and flower-stems grow directly from the root.

The curious leaf is in the form of a deep cup or pitcher, with a broad wing on one side, and a flaring top which answers to the lip of the pitcher; the outer surface is smooth while the inner surface is set with many short, downward-pointing bristles; the texture, especially of the old pitchers, is tough and leathery, and the color is a strong green more or less veined with dark red. A number of leaf-cups grow in a cluster close to the ground.

The large flower has 5 long dull red petals rounded at the ends, and folded over the large umbrella-like top of the pistil; beneath this spreading green top is the large seed-case encircled by the many yellow stamens; the 5 spreading parts of the calyx are thick and leathery, of a dull reddish-brown on the outside, and green on the inside, with the brown striking through in places. A single nodding flower grows on the top of a long, smooth, light green stem.

The pitchers are often found half filled with water, and sometimes contain the remains of small insects upon which the plant is said to feed. There is no apparent resemblance to a “side-saddle” in the flower unless it lies in the leathery texture of its parts. It might fittingly be called “the Russia-leather flower.”

PITCHER PLANT: Sarracenia purpurea.

POPPY FAMILY.
PAPAVERACEÆ.

Found in April on sunny slopes and meadow-borders.

The leaf and flower rise from the root on short stems, from 3 to 6 inches high.

The large leaf (from 4 to 6 inches wide when fully grown) is rounding in shape, with a heart-shaped base, and irregularly cut into 5 or 7 lobes; the ribs are strong, the texture is close and fine—rather thick,—and the surface is smooth. The color is a cool green, silvery underneath, the short stem and the ribs being reddish. The single leaf grows from the root on a thick juicy stem.

The flower petals, usually 8, but sometimes 12 in number, spread in a square shape; they are long, narrow, and tapering at both ends (4 being slightly broader than the other 4), fine in texture, and of a brilliant white; the stamens are many, orange-yellow or golden, and the single large pale yellow pistil is grooved through the middle; the 2-parted pale greenish calyx falls as the blossom expands. The flower-stem is smooth, round, large, and pale green tinged with red.

The Bloodroot makes a wise provision against the inclement season in which it blooms, and comes up from the ground wrapped closely in its circular leaf-cloak, pushing its bud through the top to open in the sunlight. The leaf slowly unrolls itself and stands, large and broad, close to the ground,—in general effect it is suggestive of a grape leaf. The root is charged with a dark orange-red acrid juice which gives the plant its folk-name. To this plentiful rich color, no doubt, the brilliant quality of the white blossom is due.

BLOODROOT: Sanguinaria Canadensis.

Found from May to August in waste grounds around dwellings, and along hedgerows.

The branching stalk grows from 2 to 3 feet in height; it has a saffron juice, and is covered with scattering, weak hairs; green.

The deeply divided leaf is cut into 5 or more oval irregular lobes which are not quite opposite in their occurrence, the terminal lobe being larger than the others; it is short-stemmed, with a rather weak fibre and smooth surface; the margin is notched in large rounded scallops and the color is yellow-green. The arrangement of the leaves is alternate.

The 4 oval petals of the flower are a lustreless orange-yellow color; the many stamens are yellow, and the pistil is green; the 2-parted calyx falls early.

This weak-fibred plant is of a somewhat sprawling growth; the leaf is more pleasing in shape than in color.

CELANDINE: Cheledonium majus.

FUMITORY FAMILY.
FUMARIACEÆ.

Found in rich, moist woodlands in April.

The flower-stems and leaves (from 5 to 8 inches in height) spring from the root.

The large feathery leaf is many times divided and sub-divided in groups of threes, the margin being entire. In texture it is thin and delicate, the surface being noticeably cool to the touch; in color, gray-green, bluish underneath. It is borne on a pale, juicy stem, which is tinged with pink or reddish at the foot. Several leaves spring up enclosed by 2 or 3 dry, reddish sheaths.

The petals of this curious flower are 4 in number, one pair being joined together to form a 2-spurred heart-shaped bag, with its spurs spread widely apart; the other 2 petals held within the narrow mouth of the bag are very small, and join their tips over the slightly protruding stamens; the texture is very thin and delicate and slightly ribbed; the color of the petals is a pure white, the spurs being tipped with pure yellow. The 2 divisions of the small calyx hug the bag betwixt the spurs,—it is white, a trifle tinted with green. The foot-stem on which the bag hangs is small and pale; the flowers are set in a nodding row upon the long curving or upright stem, which is pale or tinted red.

In New England this is a less common variety than its sister Squirrel Corn, D. Canadensis, which is very like, though smaller and pink-tinted instead of yellow.

DUTCHMAN’S BREECHES: Dicentra Cucullaria.

Found in woodsy, rocky places during June and July.

The erect and leafy stalk grows from 6 to 15 inches in height, and is slender and smooth, with a slight bloom, which makes its color a pale or whitish-green.

The pretty leaf is not large; it is compound, its 3 leaflets being sub-divided and cut into deep scallops on the entire edges; the ribs are very delicate, the texture thin and fine and smooth; in color, a cool green, the underside whitened by a pale bloom. The lower leaves are on slender, smooth stems, and the upper clasp the stalk; they are placed alternately.

The flower is small, fragile and smooth in texture, and hung upside down; the corolla, like a one-sided flat bag with a round bottom and a 2-lipped mouth, is pale pink, the lips being golden; the 2-parted calyx is pinkish. Three or four flowers hang in terminal groups on slender reddish stems.

The seed-pod is out of all expectation long, frequently over an inch in length, but very slender. The whole plant has a smooth daintiness, and especially is the leaf pretty.

PALE CORYDALIS: Corydalis glauca.

MUSTARD FAMILY.
CRUCIFERÆ.

Found in flower, on the edge of thickets, in May.

A single stalk grows to the height of 6 or 7 inches; it is smooth, round, and juicy; light green.

The compound leaf is very deeply 3 times cut into long, narrow parts, with sharply notched edges; the texture is common (not to say coarse), and the color a full juicy green. Two or three leaves, on short foot-stems, grow in a whorl-like cluster about the stalk, a little below the flower-cluster.

The flower has 4 rounded petals spreading at the top; in texture rather thick, in color white, faintly tinged with violet; the 4-parted calyx is pale green, and the 6 stamens, 2 noticeably shorter than the others, are a dull greenish-yellow.

With the true vigor of its family this plant grows in small communities. It stays in bud a long time before the blossoms finally open. A number of small tubers are strung together on the roots, like beads on a necklace; pungent and peppery to the taste.

TOOTHWORT: Dentaria laciniata.

Found in sunny places, by clear water and in moist meadows during May.

The single stalk, from 12 to 16 inches in height, is branching only for the flowers; it is large, fibrous, and strong, grooved, but very smooth, and of a shining, pure, green color.

The lower leaves are 3 or 4 inches long, lyre-shaped, and cut nearly to the midrib into 5 or 7 irregular lobes, the middle lobe being very round; the upper leaves are cut less deeply, and are small; the margins are entire, the texture strong, and the lower surface rough, the upper being smooth and shining; in color, dark full green. The lowest leaves are on clasping stems, all the rest clasp the stalk with a pair of wings, alternately.

The 4 petals of the small flower are rounding, and arranged in pairs within the small 4-parted green calyx; they are of a charming light yellow color, and so are the 6 stamens. These stamens group themselves oddly about the central pistil,—two pairs stand in front of the pairs of petals, and the single shorter stamens fill the more open spaces left in the opposite angles. The flowers form loose terminal groups.

The stalk springs from a foot-rosette of the rich green leaves, and is one of the earliest risers of the spring, in its chosen home—a marshy meadow.

YELLOW ROCKET: Barbarea vulgaris.

Found in grain fields, and along cultivated lands, from July to September.

The large and branching stalk is zigzag or curved in habit of growth, about 2 or 3 feet high, and ribbed; with occasional hairs; it is bright green in color.

The lower leaves are lyre-shaped and large, the middle lobe wide and curving to a long pointed tip, the side lobes being narrow; the upper leaves are irregularly cut; the margins are notched (the points of the notches often turn toward the stem), the edge curling or wavy; the midribs and netted veins often pucker the surface, which is shining; the color is a clear full green. They are set on short stems, or clasp the stalk, and are alternately arranged.

The flower has 4 shell-shaped petals, with very long and erect bases, of a fine texture, and yellow color with a tinge of green; the calyx is 4-divided, its parts slender and wide-spreading, also yellow but with a marked tendency to green. The flowers form close leafy terminal clusters.

As the petals fall early and only two or three flowers are open at once, the seed-pods, green and shining, form a distinctive feature of the plant; when they ripen, and in their turn drop, their little foot-stems are left bristling along the elongating branch. The leaf suggests Gothic ornament with its quaint curves and lines.

CHARLOCK: Brassica Sinapistrum.

Found in fallow fields in August.

The stalk, about 3 feet in height, branches near the top, and is leafy; it is round, but flattened just beneath a joint, smooth, save for an occasional weak bristle-like hair, and of a shining light green color, becoming darker and tinged with purplish-red at the joints.

The lower leaves are deeply cleft into 5 or more lobes, the middle lobe being largest, with irregularly notched margins; the upper leaves are a narrow oblong shape, but slightly toothed; all the leaves are loose-textured, hairy underneath, and green, the lower ones having a yellow tint. They are set on stems, alternately, and at the spring of the branches.

The 4 petals of the small flower have slender bases, and spread their tips in the oblong-cross design which gives the family of Mustards its Latin name; their texture is delicate, and color a pure yellow; the pistil is green, with a yellow tip, and there are 4 yellow stamens; the 4 calyx-divisions are slender, greenish-yellow, and as long as the base of the petals which they hold loosely. The flowers form round club-like clusters, which prolong themselves as the blossoms mature.

The seed-pod is 4-angled, and tipped with the little tenacious pistil. These light and feathery flowers are seen to best advantage when, lifting their slender stems above the thickets that congregate in the lee of old buildings, they show their yellow against the weather-worn gray-lavender timbers. They love old cellar-holes also, and peep airily in at the blank windows of deserted houses.

WILD KALE: B. nigra.

Found blooming inconspicuously from June to October, upon barrens and waste fields.

The often branching stalk is leafy above the first branch, though bare below, and grows from 6 to 24 inches in height according to its opportunities; it is slender but of a woody, tough fibre, and smooth; gray-green in color.

The narrow small leaf, with its tapering base, is only occasionally notched, and is of a dusty-green color. The leaves are set on the stalk alternately, and in little groups.

The very tiny unnoticeable flower has 4 thin, white petals, and 2 little stamens; the green calyx is barely visible. The flowers are set on thread stems, in loose, stiff, club-shaped and long clusters.

The most important feature of this plant is the seed; as the bloom moves upward it leaves behind a long stretch of maturing seed-pods, like little flat discs with a tiny notch at the top; a pungent flavor belongs to these pods, which is found acceptable by the cosmopolitan palate of childhood.

PEPPERGRASS: Lepidium Virginicum.

ROCK-ROSE FAMILY.
CISTACEÆ.

Found in bloom during June on dry open hillsides and pastures.

The slightly branching, leafy stalk, which grows from 12 to 15 inches high, is woody-fibred, and slender, and rough to the touch with short stiff hairs; it is red or tawny in color.

The long narrow oval leaf is pointed at both ends; its edge is slightly rolled under, and the ribs are prominent and rough beneath; the texture is strong-fibred, and the surface is rough; its green is tawny. The leaves are set on short stems, with a pair of wings (“stipules”) at the junction with the stalk, and occur alternately.

The 5-petaled flower is shaped like a shallow cup of very fine and thin texture and a clear vigorous yellow color, which is in good harmony with the many orange-tipped stamens; the 5-pointed calyx is hairy, and its green is toned with tawny.

A very individual trait of this flower is the fact that the stamens almost always gather together to one side of the pistil, lying flat upon a petal, caused by the rude touch of a passing insect, it is said, so sensitive is this charming plant,—a quality further manifested by the swift fall of its petals if plucked. The flower never lasts more than a single day, and but few blossoms are borne on a plant. This is the first flowering of the Rock-Rose; though ripening the seeds now formed, there comes a second bloom in the fall whose blossoms are very small, with few or no petals, clustered in the angles of the leaves, and bearing but a few seeds. “Generally called ‘Beauties of the Sun’ by the ancients,—‘Sun-roses’ by the English folk.”

ROCK-ROSE: Helianthemum Canadense.

VIOLET FAMILY.
VIOLACEÆ.

Found in swamps, by roadside runnels, and in moist meadows, in April.

The leaves and flowers, on stems 4 or 5 inches in height, grow from the root.

The leaf is a round heart-shape, with a toothed margin, fine strong fibre, and smooth surface; in color, a light yellowish-green. The stem is slender.

The flower is small in all parts, the spur not conspicuous, the 5 petals much recurved and white, veined on the lower petal by reddish-violet hair-lines. It is set on a slender pale stem.

This is one of the earliest Violets, sweet-scented and graceful in growth.

SWEET WHITE VIOLET: Viola blanda.

Found in upland pastures in May.

The leaves and flowers, from the roots, are set on very short stems.

The leaf is arrow-shaped, with a blunt tip and slightly heart-shaped base; the margin is minutely notched, the upper surface, particularly, is softly downy, and the color is green, with a slight grayish bloom. The stem is flattened on its upper side and furnished with narrow margins.

The side-petals of the small flower are bearded, and the spur is small; the corolla is violet; the stem is hairy.

A small Violet, which grows close to the ground on high pastures, and puts forth few demands upon our attention.

ARROW-LEAVED VIOLET: V. sagittata.

Found in woods and moist shade, in May.