= eae soe baad ge eps atest ‘ornell University Libra Flowers of field, hill, and swamp; * ¥ Taam ah, «MORE rue 7. en, LIVER-LEAF (Hepatica triloba) (See page 304) FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP BY CAROLINE A. CREEVEY AUTHOR OF ‘‘RECREATIONS IN BOTANY” ILLUSTRATED BY BENJAMIN LANDER “To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language” Bryant’s ‘ Thanatopsis ” NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 1899 e a Quis CS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. RECREATIONS IN BOTANY. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1 50. The book teems with instruction. . . . All who wish to begin botanical studies will find its pages attractive avenues along which to travel. Its information is con- cisely and accurately expressed, its illustrations are truly helpful, and its range of treatment comprehensive. —N Y. Observer. PusLisHeD By HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. Copyright, 1897, by Carotine A. CREEVEY. All rights reserved, CHAP. I. II. III. IV. Vv. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. 1 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. . 2. 1. 1. we ee RIVER Banks — Brooks— RUNNING STREAMS . Swamps, Bocs, AND MARSHES AT THE SEA-SIDE— NEAR THE COAST AQUATICS WetT MEADows AND Low GrounDs . Dry FIetps — WASTE PLACES — WAYSIDES WEEDS EscAPED FROM GARDENS. . ..... HILLS AND Rocky Woops ....... Oren Woops ah a re ee ee Deep, Coot, Moisr Woops. . .... SANDY SOIL 4 «© « % 4 « 2 @ @ wa @ VINESi a ie Spas, ORS, RS A ole SHRUBS: so 65 wey 91 Ga Se 8 es Se a GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS. . ...... INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . .. 6. 4. 4 6 INDEX To ENGLISH NAMES. INDEX TO LATIN AND GREEK NAMES . « 135 + 175 + 229 + +259 + 275 - 299 + 353 « 409 - 441 - 467 - 535 « 541 + 545 7 INTRODUCTION A Groupinc of plants upon the natural basis of environ- ment, including soil, shade, moisture, etc., has long seemed to me possible. This book is the outcome of that thought. The influence of surroundings is especially noticeable in the vege- table world. A plant born to wet soil will not flourish in dry. One adapted to open fields will not bury its seeds in the cool mould of deep woods. Or if it survives a change of locality, its type is changed, and in this way it is quite possible for new varieties to arise. , For this reason, if the soil be changed an army of new seeds will spring up. Weeds follow the trail of the farmer’s plough. The felling of forest trees destroys shade-loving plants, giving room to those which prefer sunshine and drier ground. Wherever a new road is introduced, certain wayside plants will appear along the border. Some plants are called “ fire- weeds,” from their tendency to cover burnt-over districts. Whether the seeds -of foreign plants lie always in the soil, - responding to the touch of different conditions, has not been satisfactorily determined. The “alternation of crops,” which farmers find so profitable to their soil and harvests, may have its suggestive prototype in nature. On the other hand, there are some plants which, democratic and Bohemian in their nature, refuse to be restricted, and drop their seeds with equal success in sand or mould. Where vi INTRODUCTION shall I place such “ Wandering Jews” as the dandelion and whiteweed? I can only allow them their vagaries, giving them a place outside the pale of law-abiding plants, among weeds. A plant whose encroachment upon our fields and roadsides has fallen within general observation is the Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum)—a rose-tinted, more generous copy of the common white clover. Sometimes in certain localities this pretty clover will spring up everywhere. An explanation which seems plausible is that seeds are dropped from hay- wagons which pass along the country roads—seeds not only of the Alsike clover, but of other flowers. The multiplicity of books in recent years on flowers, birds, insects, etc., shows an extraordinary revival of interest in such subjects. Especially are works on plants called for, with the aid of which our common flowers may be recognized by those who have neither time nor the wish to analyze them by dis- secting their minuter parts. And with the pleasure of recog- nition it is not difficult to become acquainted with facts in their life-history and manner of growth. The sundew, for example, becomes invested with peculiar interest once we know that its red, hairy stems and leaves are traps for the imprisonment of small insects on which this plant makes its normal diet. The beautiful colors and strange shapes of orchids are devices for securing visits from insects which make themselves useful as pollen-carriers. Homely, cleistog- amous blossoms of other plants are special devices for self- fertilization. Certain plants cannot bear too great radiation of heat and moisture from their leaf-surfaces at night. They therefore fold their leaves together, greatly diminishing the exposed surface. Such “sleeping” plants are in every door- yard. In fact, many strange stories are told constantly all around us if our ears are only attuned to listen. Few people dream of the number of plants which grow in their immediate neighborhood. In going a short half-mile from the railway INTRODUCTION vii station to a friend’s house, forty-one different flowers were gathered. This book is designed to enable any one to identify any flower by its habitat, its usual place of growth. The only botanical knowledge required is that contained in the glossary at the end of the book. Even to those who are accustomed to botanical study, it is hoped that old truths in new dress may not be unwelcome. Flowering plants of the Atlantic seaboard, New England, the Middle States, as far south as Florida, are described. It is interesting to note the wide latitudinal range of some plants along the entire Atlantic coast. As the climate grows warmer the flowers ascend tothe mountains of the Southern States, and New England vegetation reappears two thousand feet high in. Virginia. The first six chapters of this book group flowers usually found on (I.) Banks of Streams; (II.) in Swamps; (III.) near the Seacoast; (1V.) in Water; (V.) in Low Meadows; (VI.) along Waysides and in Dry Fields. Chapter VII. includes Weeds. Chapter VIII. brings together -plants which origi- nally were cultivated and, escaping from gardens, have be- come wild. Chapter IX. describes those found in Rocky, Wooded Hillsides; X., those in Open, Dry Woods; XI., those of Deep, Cool, Moist Woods. Plants found every- where in Sandy and Sterile Soil form Chapter XII. Vines compose the XIIIth, Shrubs the XI Vth chapters. Because it was necessary to adopt. some method, the order of families.and genera as given in Gray's Manual of Botany (edition 1890) has been followed. This is not, however, the natural order, which by the law of evolution or progressive development places the simplest first, the most complex last. Thus monocotyledones, such as lilies and orchids, should be- gin the list; the simplest forms of dicotyledones, like the lizard’s-tail, which is destitute of calyx and corolla, coming viii INTRODUCTION next; higher orders following ; the most complex, the compo sites, coming last. But these gradations are not visible in the flowers themselves, a lily appearing to be a nobler plant than a daisy. And it seemed to me advisable in a popular work to keep to the familiar order of Gray’s choosing, till the natural order has generally superseded the old arrangement in works on botany. Where possible, English names have been given to plants. The spelling, use of capitals, compound words, Latin or Greek botanical names, are given according to the latest authorities. Initials and abbreviations of authors’ or botanists’ names affixed to the names of flowers are omitted, as being of no interest to popular readers. The accents over Latin names are placed over the accented syllables. The grave accent signifies a long vowel; the acute a short vowel. In the descriptions of species, the color of the flower is first given, then the shape, size, and outline of leaves, and the time of blossoming are indicated. These are three obvious tests which can be applied to any plant. The second para- graph describes the flower, fruit, height of plant, inflorescence, etc. In the separate chapter indexes, the color of each species is mentioned. If it is desired to identify a flower, after de- termining by its locality the chapter to which it should be re- ferred, select through the index those descriptions which agree in color, and further apply the tests which appear in the first paragraph, then those in the second. A rapid reading will determine whether the flower in hand agrees or not with the description in the text. I wish to mention the realistic and artistic drawings from natural flowers with which the text is illustrated, and which will aid in identifying species. They were drawn by Mr. Ben- jamin Lander, the eminent painter-etcher of New York, whose art productions are so well known in this country and Europe. Trees are omitted from this book, also grasses, sedges, rushes, and pond weeds, together with non-flowering plants, such as horse-tails and ferns. CHAPTER I RIVER BANKS—BROOKS—RUNNING STREAMS To an observant person nothing ts more evident than the change of plant life, often abrupt, with change of sotl. For miles along the dusty road the same datstes and asters repeat themselves. Then an unusually verdant spot, with specifically different growths, appears, and unerringly indicates wetter sotl, a spring, a running brook, or a river. In its wake tts own beloved flowers tread, hugging tts banks, refusing to stray back into the drier fields or woods. The banks of streams are often marshy, with overflowing and stagnant water. The dividing line, therefore, between vegetation peculiar to river banks and swamp plants zs sometimes dificult to trace. A flower of wet sotl- not found in this chapter should be sought tn the next. Says Thoreau, “ Rivers and lakes are the great protectors of plants against the aggresston of the forest, by thetr annual rise and fall, keeping open a narrow strip where these more delicate plants have light and space in which to grow.” RIVER BANKS—BROOKS—RUNNING STREAMS 1. Small-flowered Crowfoot Randnculus abortivus (a little frog, referring to the aquatic habits of some species).—Famdly, Crowfoot. Color, pale yel- low. Leaves, from the root, of 2 kinds, all with long petioles. Those appearing first, roundish, kidney-shaped, with rounded teeth ; the later are 3-lobed. Stem-leaves divided mostly into threes, the divisions toothed. Zime, April to June. Sepals, 5, turned back. etals, 5, inconspicuous, shorter than the sepals. ower, small, on a smooth, erect, and branching stem, growing 2 feet high or less. It is fond of wet places, near small streams. 2. Wild Monkshood Aconitum uncinatum.— Family, Crowfoot. Color, blue- purple. eaves, with petioles, 3 to 5-lobed, coarsely toothed. Time, all summer. Sepals, 5, irregular; 1, the upper, shaped like a helmet or hood. efads, 2, small, standing on long claws and hidden un- der the hood of the sepal. istz/s, 3 to 5. The singular flowers are showy, the “helmet” being promi- nent, obtusely rounded above. They hang loosely from the sum- mits of weak, often climbing stems. A native of Virginia, found northward as far as New Jersey. It loves the banks of small streams. The aconitum of our pharmacies is A. xapellus. All the species are highly poisonous, 4 FLOWERS OF FIELD. HILL, AND SWAMP 3. Worm-seed Mustard Erysimum cheiranthoides.—Family, Mustard. Color, yel- low. eaves, alternate, entire, lance-shaped. No stipules. Zime, June to August. The mustard family is composed of herbs, with a pungent, watery, never poisonous juice; flower sepals and petals in fours, the latter equal and spreading; stamens, 6, 2 being shorter than the other 4. Stigmas,2. Pod, two-celled; when long, narrow, and roundish, called a s¢digue, and when very short, a sz/icle. Flowers in terminal racemes. ‘The leaves are simple, opposite or alternate, in many species much dissected. The cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, and horse-radish belong to this family. Many of the species are originally from Europe, and have become common weeds with us. This species has a four-sided, long pod, with a mid-rib on each of its four valves. Flowers small, on slender, diverging stems. Minute, split hairs, as seen through the microscope, cover the plant and give it a roughish appearance. 1 to 2 feet high. 4. Cut-leaved Toothwort Dentaria laciniata.—Family, Mustard. Color, pale purple or nearly white. eaves, in 2 or 3 whorls, on the stem, 3 in each whorl, long-petioled, each leaf 3-parted, into linear or lance-shaped leaflets, which are irregularly and deeply toothed. Similar root leaves, or none. ime, April, May, as early as March in the South. 10 to 15 inches high. A short raceme of flowers terminates the unbranched stem. A pretty species, with graceful foliage, found from New England to Minnesota and southward. 5. Great St.-John’s-wort Hypéricum Ascyron.—Family, St-John’s-wort. Color, yel- low. eaves, opposite, dotted, 3 to 5 inches long, clasping or sessile. Zime,July. Height, 2 to 5 feet. f UME f (LEZ WSS Umpatiens pallida.) BALSAM. TOUCH-ME-NOT. JEWEL-WEED. (See page 6) 6 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP Sepals and petals, each 5. Many stamens, 5 styles, and a 5-celled red fod. This is one of the tallest of the St. John’s-worts, reaching 5 feet, bearing large, showy blossoms, 2 inches across, and large pods. Flowers, in cymose bunches. The dots in the leaves can best be seen by holding them to the light. 6. Jewel-weed. Balsam. Touch-me-not Impatiens péllida.— Family, Geranium. Color, yellow, somewhat spotted with brown. eaves, alternate, oval, with petioles, toothed. Zime, July-September. flower, irregular. Calyx, yellowish, like a corolla, of 4 sepals. One of the sepals forms a broad sac ending in a curved spur, which is the prominent feature of the flower. efa/s, 2, each 2-lobed. Stamens,5. od, 5-valved. When ripe, the pod bursts, each valve curling upward and throwing the seeds to some distance. The plant bears also smaller and more fertile flowers, which are fertilized in the bud. The larger ones seldom bear fruit. A similar species is deeper yellow, more spotted, with a longer, narrower sac ‘and spur (/. fulva). The two are often found growing together. This plant loves wet soil, along roadsides, near running streams, or springs, or in wet dells, where it masses itself. It is sometimes quite tall, 4 to 6 feet. Scarcely any plant by its numerous common names proves it- self dearer to the common people. Lady’s eardrops, silver-leaf, touch-me-not, lady’s slipper, refer to the pendent blossom, or the silvery appearance of the leaf when held under water, or the seeming touchiness of the pod, which, when ripe, goes off with the slightest handling. 7. Ditch Stone-crop Pénthorum sedoides. — Family, Orpine. Color, greenish. Leaves, scattered, lance-shaped, pointed, not fleshy. Zime, July to October. RIVER BANKS—BROOKS—RUNNING STREAMS 7 Sepals, 5, green or greenish yellow. No fetals. Stamens, . 10. istils, 5. 4 to 2 feet high. The fruit is made up of the 5 united pistils, and is at length a capsule with 5 beaks, The flowers grow on the upper side of a leafless stem, the terminal blossoming first. 8. Tillaea Tillaza simplex.— Family, Orpine. Color, greenish white. Leaves, on the stem, opposite; at the root, clustered, entire, fleshy. Zime, summer. A symmetrical flower; fetals, sepals, stamens, and pistils, 3 or 4. A queer little mud-loving plant. The tiny 2-inch-high stem bears very small, single flowers in the leaf-axils. 9. Meadow Parsnip Thaspium barbinéde. — Family, Parsley. Color, yellow. Leaves, twice or thrice compound, alternate; those near the base less divided than those higher up on the stem. Leaflets, long, narrow, somewhat ovate, coarsely toothed. Zime, May June. The flowers of plants belonging to this family grow in wméels which are frequently compound, forming uméellets. They pos- sess oil-tubes—minute canals running lengthwise of the fruit— containing aromatic oil, which can only be seen with a strong microscope. ; The style and its stigma develop in advance of the stamens, thus preventing self-fertilization. Insects carry the pollen of one flower to the stigma of another, both of which happen to be ripe at the same time. The stems are generally hollow. * The plants vary in size and color, but nearly all have the umbel form of blossom and the compound leaves. The flowers are so minute they are difficult to study. A professional botanist said that he had found life too short to spend over the parsleys. The fruit is single-seeded, like the familiar fennel and caraway- 8 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP seeds, which our grandmothers used to take to church in order tc while away the long minutes of dreary sermons. The vegetables parsnip, carrot, celery, and parsley are useful members of this family. Here, too, belong the anise and cumin, though not the mint, whose tithing has stood for punctilious observance of unimportant “matters of the law” ever since the days of the Pharisees. Many of the roots and seeds of parsleys, when wild, are very poisonous, and acquaintance with them is desirable for this if for no other reason than that one may warn children and igno- rant persons against them. None is poisonous to touch. The meadow parsnip is tall, with yellow umbels of flowers and rather large seeds. Soft, fine hairs grow along the joints of the stem and among the flowers. 2 to 4 feet high. 1o. Great Angelica Angélica atropurpirea.—family, Parsley. Color, green- ish white. Leaves, large, twice or thrice compound; leaflets very sharply serrate. Zime, June, into July. The stem of this plant is stout and smooth, 4 to 6 feet tall, of a deep purple color. Although coarse and large, it possesses a certain virile attractiveness. 11. Northern Bedstraw Galium boreale.—Family, Madder. Color, white. Leaves, narrow, lance-shaped, in whorls of fours, three-nerved. Time, July. Corolla, 4-parted and wheel-shaped. 4 stamens. 2 styles, and a twin, round, somewhat bristly or smoothish fruit. owers, small, compact, panicled. Szems,square,smooth. 1to2 feethigh. All the galiums are weak-stemmed plants; some rough; otherg, like this, smooth. All have leaves in whorls and small flowers, white or purplish, in cymes or cymose panicles. All have the twin fruit, which separates, when ripe, into two one-seeded car- pels. RIVER BANKS—BROOKS—RUNNING STREAMS 9 THE COMPOSITE FAMILY The largest of all the botanical families is the Composite. It contains one-tenth of all the known species of flowering plants, one-eighth of which are indigenous to North America, The Composites were called compound flowers by older bot- anists. They are, in reality, many small flowers united in a close head, called a disk, upon a flat or conical receptacle, either with or without petal-like vays, and all surrounded by an zz- volucre of calyx-like leaves. The disk of the daisy contains from two hundred to five hundred forvets. Examined under the magnifying-glass, each floret is seen to have its own tiny calyx, whose tube is joined to the one-celled ovary containing a single dry achene for a seed. The top of the calyx takes different forms, and is of assistance in classifying the flower. In the daisy it is cut off abruptly; in the chicory, it is cup- shaped ; in the sunflower, a pair of rabbit-like ears; in the sneezeweed, five scales; in thistles, tufts of hairs; in the dan- delion, such tufts raised on a long handle, etc. These devel- opments of the calyx-top are called pappus. A single bract grows outside the calyx, called chaf The corolla is tubular, with five points at the summit. The five stamens form a ring with their anthers, which open on the inside and discharge their pollen upon a pistil yet unripe. This, with its two-cleft style, as it grows, carries the pollen with it, and the visiting insect collects it on its body and conducts it to another flower, whose pistil is ripe, bringing about cross-fertilization. This great family is divided into two series—Zubuliflore, or tubular flowers, and Lzgudiflore, or strap-shaped flowers. In the first series all the flowers of the disk are tubular. In many, but not all of these, there are ray-flowers arranged along the margin, which, upon examination, will be found to contain a pistil only, or neither pistil nor stamens. The daisy is an example of tubuliflorz. The liguliflore have strap-shaped, flat corollas in the disk- 10 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP flowers and no ray-flowers. The dandelion is an example. A glance will determine to which of these divisions a Com- posite belongs. There are nearly a hundred genera, and many more species, of Composites. The superficial features, as leaves, size, color, etc., will be given here, and the microscopic study of pappus, chaff, etc., will be relegated to the specialist. GOLDEN-RODS Golden-rods need no general description. They are as well known, common, and admired as daisies. As the blue hepat- ica is the sign of coming spring, so the golden-rod predicts the fall. During the early summer, green stems arising from the perennial roats spring up everywhere. No ground is so hard and dry as to forbid them. Towards the last of July and first of August, flecks of yellow appear on the tips of the branches. ‘These spread downward, till, by September, the fields are aflame. This plant is one of bright, generous bloom. Sometimes it is tall and straight—a poplar among flowers, a rod of gold. Again it is a graceful, falling fountain of color, or a long, wavy, showy, pampas-like plume. Graceful or stiff, it is a flower to be proud of—a truly national flower, strictly indigenous. We may understand its worth when we try to imagine what our fields, roadsides, and woods would be if be- reft of golden-rods. Certainly our American autumn would lose one chief element of beauty. The golden-rods cannot be cultivated —at least, florists have been successful with only a few species out of the hun- dred or so growing in North America. Forty-two species, with several varieties, are classified in Gray’s botany (ed. 1890) as found east of the Mississippi. They have no common names, except as we translate their botanical titles. They -belong to the genus Soédago. Their leaves are generally ses- sile, long, and narrow. The flowers have rays, and all grow together in racemes or corymbs, or in clusters along the stem, S\y/3 b Wy i yr QuyG Oy x : > (Rs ‘ \ \ . , , \\ | aby ORES | DN. yo er age LANCE-LEAVED GOLDEN-ROD (Solzdago lanceolata) (See page 12) 12 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP All are yellow except dicolor, a white species found on the edges of dry woods. Our roadsides are lined with them. ‘They are communistic, or found singly. They are weeds, of course, but not troublesome like wild carrot and daisy. I never heard a farmer exclaim against the golden-rod, while I have seen his wife’s vases and fireplaces filled with its masses of yellow bloom. “«A worthless plant, a flaunting weed! Abundant splendors are too cheap.’ Neighbor, not so! unless, indeed, You would from heaven the sunsets sweep, And count as mean the common day. Meseems the world has not so much Superfluous beauty that we may Blight anything with scornful touch. “In times long past the harebell’s grace I blent with this resplendent spray ; And one I loved would lean her face Toward their contrasted hues, and say, ‘The sun-like gold, the heavenly blue, I know not which delights me most!’ Sacred are both, dear heart, to you: They lit your feet from earth’s dim coast.” Lucy LaRcom. 12, Lance-leaved Golden-rod Solidago /anceolata is one of the two species whose flower- heads are massed in flat corymbs. The leaves have 3 or 4 veins reaching the entire length of the leaf. The veins and edges of the leaf are rough to the touch; largest leaves, 4 or 5 inches long. 2 to 3 feet high. 13. Great Ragweed Ambrosia trifida. — Family, Composite. Color, green. Leaves, with margined petioles, quite large and 3-divided. Time, summer, RIVER BANKS—BROOKS—RUNNING STREAMS 13 This tall growth resembles the smaller, well-known weed of the dooryard. It reaches the height of 12 feet, but is usually about 6. The stem is coarse and hairy. Flowers in green- ish panicles, looking like, as a child once said, flower cande- labra. 14. Ten-rayed Sunflower Helianthus decapétalus.—Family, Composite. Color, rays and disk, yellow. Leaves, thin, ovate, pointed at apex, broader at base, with margined petioles, coarsely toothed. eight, 2 to 5 feet. Number of rays, about 10. Blossom, not large. The green involucral scales project beyond the flower rays. Smooth-stemmed, branching. Most of the sunflowers are perennials. The tall, garden sun- flower, 1. annuus, is an exception. It is an annual, cultivated ex- tensively, not only for the sake of its broad, bright flowers, but also for its seed, which is fed to chickens, parrots, and tame squir- rels, New and pretty varieties of the cultivated sunflower are constantly being introduced, from the great ‘‘ Oscar Wilde” to small, button-like blossoms. Of the wild sunflowers, which bring a late brightness into the copses and fields, there are 22 species given by Gray. 15. Autumn Sneezeweed Helénium autumnale.—Family, Composite. Color, yellow. Leaves, toothed, oblong to lance-shaped, alternate, following downward on the stem below insertion. Zime, August to Sep- tember. Both ray and disk flowers present the rays from 3 to 5 cleft. The plant is erect, t to 6 feet, and in general appearance like a sunflower, but the blossom is smaller, being about half an inch across. Branches and broad stem are angled and smooth. Heads of flowers single, or a few in corymb-like clusters. The ray-flow- ers bear pistils. 14 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 16. Coltsfoot Tussilago Fdrfara.— Family, Composite. Color, yellow. Leaves, of two sorts, the earlier, accompanying the flower, merely scales. These are followed by angled or toothed leaves, with heart-shaped bases, woolly when young. Z7me, spring. A low plant, springing from a rootstock. The small flowers have both disk and ray flowers, the former sterile, the latter, in three or four rows, fertile. The plant is used as a cough rem- edy. Dr. Gray says, ‘thoroughly wild.” 17. Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinélis.—Family, Lobelia. Color, deep, velvety red. Leaves, alternate, 2 or 3 inches long, ovate to lance- shaped, toothed ; among the flowers, bract-like. Z7me, August. Flowers in a raceme. The calyx is divided into 5 long, narrow points, united below. The corolla, a long and narrow tube, breaks above and spreads into 5 divisions. Three of these are more united and stand apart from the other two, which, one on each side, are quite narrow. Through a split down the entire length of the corolla the stamens stand, tall and stiff, their red filaments and blue-gray anthers united into a tube. The anthers are slightly fringed with white. Over- topping all, peeping through the stamens’ tube, and hanging down, is the red double stigma, tipping a long style. There is a touch of brown on the base of the middle petal lobes, otherwise the color of the flower is an intense, vivid scarlet. 2 to 4 feet high, This queenly flower is fortunately quite common. It loves the shady banks of rivers, crouching under bridges. Or it comes out boldly and rears its splendid spikes on broad and sunny banks, where the cows come to drink, among bur-reeds, sagittarias, tall rushes, and brookweeds. It cannot hide, if it would, any more than the scarlet tanager can conceal itself in the trees. It isa CARDINAL FLOWER (Lobelia cardinalis) 16 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP flower clothed with stateliness as well as beauty, and if quickly placed in water will keep fresh for many days. It is pleasant to think that this is one of our own plants, it being strictly indigenous to America. 18. Water- Lobelia Lobélia Dortmanna.— Family, Lobelia. Color, pale blue to whitish. Leaves, fleshy, all clustered at the root, hollow- stemmed, long, and narrow. Zime, summer, Smooth and slender stemmed, from 1 to 4 feet high. A few pale-blue flowers are arranged along the simple stem. Often growing in water, or upon the wet banks. 19 L. Cénbyi is a plant found in New Jersey and southward. Stem, straight, 1 to 2 feet tall, bearing deep-blue flowers about half an inch long on short pedicels in a loose raceme. Corolla bearded inside. 20. Brookweed. Water Pimpernel Sdmolus Valerdndi.— Family, Primrose. Color, white. Leaves, alternate, entire, broader above, narrower at the base. Zime, summer and early fall. A delicate white flower in racemes on slender, smooth stems, Round pods form below and the blossoms continue above. The monopetalous corolla is a tiny bell divided into fives, with 5 stamens standing in the clefts. Plant about 6 or 8 inches tall. Found growing on the edge of, or quite in, water, throughout the United States. 21. Forget-me-not Myosotis laxa.—Family, Borage. Color, light blue. Leaves, small, pointed, broader at base, sessile. Zime, June, July. Corolla, salver-shaped. Stamens, 5. (Samolus Valerand?.) BROOKWEED. WATER PIMPERNEL. 18 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP Every one knows the little forget-me-nots, and where to find them in the wet, grassy banks of brooks. “The sweet forget-me-nots That grow for happy lovers.” TENNYSON, They nestle modestly among mosses and galiums, peeping with mild eyes around clumps of onoclea fern. The flowers bloom in long, thin, leafless spikes. The stems and leaves, when rubbed upward, are somewhat rough. The cultivated forget-me-not is JZ. palustrzs, and is found sometimes wild, escaped from cultivation. Those who have seen the blue forget-me-not in shady, wet places in Europe, with its large, bright-blue corolla and its full spikeof blossoms, will say that we do not know this flower. Our blossoms are few and scanty, buds and fruit occupying the most of the flowering raceme. There is a white species (JZ. verna) with bristly calyx and stem. The flower of this is very small, and it prefers dry ground. 22. Water Speedwell Verbnica Anagallis.—Family, Figwort. Color, pale blue, lined with darker blue. Leaves, opposite, entire, or serrate, acute, narrow. Base clasping, heart-shaped. Zzme, summer. Corolla, 4-parted and spreading, wheel-shaped. Ca/yx, 4-parted. Stamens, 2. The small, delicate flowers grow in spikes, which start from the axils of the upper leaves, and are thus in pairs. A plant whose stem creeps and roots along the earth, with the tip and flowering branches standing erect. American Brooklime (V. Americana) differs in having petioled leaves. 23. Mudwort Limosella aquatica, var. tenuifolia.—Family, Figwort. Col- or, white or purplish. Leaves, fleshy, thread-like, in clusters, at the base of the flowering stem. ax Carp SPEARMINT (Mentha viridzs) (See page 20) 20 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP Corolla and calyx 5-divided, open, spreading. The flowers are single on naked stems. The plants grow in mud, lying flat, except the flower-stems, which are erect. Very small, found on wet, muddy river banks. Leaves like fleshy pine needles. 24. Herpéstis amplexicatlis Family, Figwort. Color, blue. Leaves, clasping the stem, egg-shaped, opposite, entire, giving forth a pleasant fragrance when crushed. Zzme, summer. Calyx, 5-parted, the upper sepal heart-shaped. Corol/a, 2- lipped, the upper lip notched, the under 3-lobed. Stamens, 4. Style, 2-parted at the top. Low and creeping, rather fleshy plants, with single small flow- ers in the leaf-axils. Growing around ponds in pine barrens in New Jersey, to Louisiana. 25. Fog-fruit Lippia lanceolata.——Family, Vervain. Color, bluish white. Leaves, broad at apex, inverted lance-shaped, toothed above the middle. Zzme, July to September. Calyx and corolla, 2-lipped. The upper corolla-lobe notched ; the lower, large, 3-divided. The single flower is surrounded by a close circle of roughish bracts. Flower-stalk long, slen- der, springing from the leaf-axils. A creeping plant, with range from Pennsylvania southward and westward. 26. Spearmint Méntha viridis.—Family, Mint. Color, pale blue. eaves, oblong, toothed. Ztme, summer. The Mint family is large and important. It includes 136 gen- era and 2600 species. The general characteristics of the family are square stems, opposite or whorled leaves, a fragrance given out by numerous oily glands, and a fruit of four achene-like nut- Ade LS MAD-DOG SKULL-CaP (Scutellarta galericulata) (See page 24) 22 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP lets, in each of 4 visibly distinct divisions of the ovary, from the centre of which arises the style. The corolla is a tube with 2 lips, each lip, or sometimes the upper one only, divided into lobes. A square-stemmed, herbaceous plant, with the well-known minty odor and the 4-lobed ovary, is quickly relegated to this family. Many of the housekeeper’s best flavorings—lavender, marjo- ram, thyme, sage, rosemary-—belong here, as well as the hore- hound, catnip, pennyroyal, and peppermint which used to hang drying in our grandmothers’ attics, the most prized belongings of the home pharmacy. Whether the drugs which have super- seded these simple herb drinks are, on the whole, more condu- cive to long life is a question for life-insurance companies to consider. Spearmint makes the mint-sauce used with meats. Its leaves are wrinkled, serrate, short-stemmed or sessile. Flowers small, crowded around the stems in whorls, 27. Peppermint (M. piperita) has leaves broader, darker green, purple- veined, with narrower spikes of flowers. Sometimes the stem is hairy and purplish. Corolla purple, and calyx streaked with purple. 28. Water-mint (AZ, agudtica) is a somewhat hairy species, with the flow- ers more compactly arranged, tending to heads rather than 29. Wild Mint (AL, Canadénsis) has more of the pennyroyal than mint odor. Leaves, upper ones, lance-shaped. spikes. 30. Mad-dog Skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora.—Family, Mint. Color, light blue. Leaves, ovate, lance-shaped, much toothed, pointed, round at base. Zime, summer, WATER-PLANTAIN (Alzsma plantago) (See page 26) 24 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP The genus skullcap may be known by its hooded calyx. The upper sepal enlarged, concave, helmet-shaped, makes a singular appendage, By pressing it open the 4 seed-like nutlets at its base are disclosed. This species is a smooth-stemmed plant, with small (4-inch- long) flowers, forming terminal and axillary, one-sided racemes, an inch or two long, pretty and delicate. The common name in- dicates that it was considered a cure for hydrophobia. 1 to 2 feet high. 31 S. galericuldta may often be found growing near the other, with much larger flowers and much the same habit of growth. The blue corolla is nearly an inch long. Leaves heart-shaped at base. 1 to 2 feet high. 32, Mild Water-pepper or Smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides (many-kneed, alluding to joint- ed stem).—Family, Buckwheat. Color, pale pink, sometimes almost white. Leaves, narrow and lance-shaped, surrounding the stem with slender, hairy sheaths. Zime, summer. Several species of the smartweeds grow in wet places, in or near running water or stagnant pools. Slender, erect spikes, 2 inches long, of pale-pink flowers, and hairy, bristly, fringed sheaths mark this species. If tasted, the juice is acid and pungent. 1 to 3 feet high. 33 Common Smartweed (P. hydrépiper) has a lower growth, with smooth, dotted, narrow leaves, and greenish flowers in nodding spikes. 8 inches to 2 feet high. 34 Water Smartweed (P. acre) is taller, with limit of 5 feet. It has larger and longer leaves, with white or purplish flowers in stiff, upright spikes. From the base of the stem, which rests upon the ground, rootlets spring. ARROW-HEAD (Sagzttarza variabzlis) (See page 26) 26 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 35. Great Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum giganteum. — Family, Lily- of - the - Valley. Color, greenish yellow. Leaves, clasping or sessile, many- nerved, broad. Zime, June. A late species and tall. Its best growth is from 5 to 7 feet. The stem is stout, bearing leaves and flowers above, naked below. Rootstock creeping, broad. Flowers roundish, bell-shaped, pro- ducing blue-black berries in September. Not so common as the smaller Solomon's Seal. 36. Sweet Flag Acorus Célamus.—Family, Arum. Color, yellowish green. Leaves, ribbon-like, sharp on both edges. Zéme, June. Every boy knows that sweet-flag root is good to eat, especially when boiled, cut in slices, and dried in sugar. It is the creeping rootstock which is edible. The flowers are borne on a sfadéx which emerges from one side of a leaf-like scape. They consist of stamens and pistils, with 6 sepals. The scape is much prolonged beyond the flowers, and answers to the spate in our jack-in-the-pulpit. 37. Water-plantain Alisma Plantago.— Family, Arum. Color, white, sometimes light pink. eaves, all from the root, resembling common plan- tain, broad, with petioles, smooth, many-nerved, often heart- shaped at base. Zime, July-September. A plant growing sometimes in water, more often in mud on banks, and especially in the soft, boggy ground made by cows in their passing to and from water. 6 inches to 2 feet high. The minute flowers grow in a pretty, spreading, compound panicle. 38. Arrow-head Sagittaria varidbilis (Sagitta, an arrow, from shape of leaves).—Family, Water-plantain. Color, white. Leaves, on RIVER BANKS—BROOKS—RUNNING STREAMS 27 long petioles, strongly arrow-shaped, with deep, pointed lobes. Time, July, August. flowers in whorls of 3 about the leafless scape. ‘The upper whorls are staminate, with 3 large, rounded white petals and numerous stamens. The lower one or two whorls are of smaller, inconspicuous, and fertile flowers, with 3 sepals. 18 inches to 3 feet high. A familiar plant, noticeable quite as much for its handsome dark-gieen arrow-shaped leaves, as for its pretty spike of broad white blossoms. Sometimes it grows entirely in water. More often it stands up on the wet banks of slowly moving streams. There are many species and varieties of Sagittaria, marked by variability of leaves, some of which lose the arrow-shape and become long and narrow, 39. Lungwort. Virginia Cowslips Merténsia Virginica.—Family, Borage. Color, deep-blue. Leaves, alternate, entire, quite veiny. Those near the root 5 or 6 inches long, with petioles. Zzme, May. Coro/la, trumpet-shaped, about 1 inch long. Calyx, short, deeply 5-parted. Stamens, 5, inserted on the calyx-tube, with somewhat arrow-shaped anthers. Flowers in loose panicles or clusters, the lower ones with leafy bracts, all on slender pedicels. 1 to 2 feet high. New York to South Carolina and westward. Often cultivated. oO 10. IL. 12, 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. . Jewel-weed. INDEX TO . Small-flowered Crowfoot (fa- nunculus abortivus), pale yel- low. . Wild Monkshood (Aconitum uncinatum), blue-purple. . Worm-seed Mustard (Z7ystmum chetranthoides), yellow. . Cut-leaved Toothwort (Dentavia /aciniata), pale purple or near- ly white. . Great St. John’s-wort (Aypert- cum Ascyron), yellow. Balsam. Touch- me-not (Jmpatiens pallida), yellow. Jmpatiens fulva. . Ditch Stone-crop (Penthorum sedoides), yellow. . Tillaea simplex, greenish white. . Meadow Parsnip (Thaspium barbinode), yellow, Great Angelica (Angelica atro- purpurea), greenish white. Northern Bedstraw (Galium bo- reale), white. Lance-leaved Golden-rod (So/- dago lanceolata), yellow. Great Ragweed (Ambrosia tri- Jida), green. Ten-rayed Sunflower (Helan- thus decapetalus), yellow. Autumn Sneezeweed (/elenium autumnale), yellow. Coltsfoot ( 7ussilago Farfara), yellow, Cardinal Flower (Lodelia cardt- nalis), red. Water- Lobelia (Lobelia Dort- manna), pale blue. CHAPTER I 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33- 34. 35. 36. 37- 38. Lobelia Canbyi, deep blue. Brookweed. Water, Pimpernel (Samolus Valerandi), white. Forget-me-not (JZyosotis laxa), blue. JAZ. palustris. M. ver- na, Water Speedwell ( Veronica ana- gallis); blue. American Brooklime (V7. Americana). Mudwort (Limosella aquatica), white or purplish. Herpestis Amplexicaulis, blue. Fog - fruit (Lippia lanceolata), bluish white. Spearmint (AZentha viridis), pale blue, Peppermint (AZentha piperita), Water-mint (Wentha aquatica). Wild Mint (Mentha Canaden- sts). Mad-dog Skullcap (Scztellaria laterifiora), light blue. Scutellaria galericulata, Mild Water-pepper (Polygonum hydropiperoides), pale pink. Common Smartweed ( Polygo- num hydropiper), greenish. Water Smartweed (Polygonum acre), white or purplish. Great Solomon's Seal (Polygona- tum giganteum), greenish yel- low. Sweet - flag (Acorus Calamus), yellowish green. Water-plantain (A/isma Planta- go), white. Arrow -head (Sagittaria varia- bilis), white. 39. Virginia Cowslip (Afertensia Virginica), deep blue. CHAPTER II SWAMPS, BOGS, AND MARSHES “ Where will-o'-the-wisps and glowworms shine In bulrush and tn brake; Where waving mosses shroud the pine, And the cedar grows, and the potsonous vine Is spotted like the snake.” LONGFELLOW. “ Hope and the future for me are not tn lawns and cultivated fields, not in towns and cities, but in the impervious and quaking swamps. When, formerly, I have analyzed my partiality for some farm which I had contemplated purchasing, [ have frequently found that I was attracted solely by a few square rods of tmperme- able and unfathomable bog—a natural sink tn one corner of tt. That was the jewel which dazzled me. Tf derive more of my subsistence from the swamps which surround my native town than from the culttvated gardens in the village. There are no richer parterres zo my eyes than the dense beds of dwarf andromeda (Cassandra calyculata) whzch cover these tender places on the earth's surface. Botany cannot go farther than tell me the names of the shrubs which grow there—the high blueberry, panicled andromeda, lamb- kill, azalea, and rhodora—all standing in the quaking sphagnum. ... Why not put my house, my parlor, behind this plot instead of behind that meagre assemblage of curzositzes, that poor apology for Nature and Art which I call my front yard?” from Thoreau's “ Excursions.” SWAMPS, BOGS, AND MARSHES © 1. Marsh Marigold Caltha palastris.— Family, Crowfoot. Color, yellow. Leaves, mostly from the root. A fewon the flowerstems. All large, rounded, or kidney-shaped on fleshy petioles. Ztme, April, May. Petals, none. Calyx, petal-like, of 5 to 9 golden-yellow, broad, roundish sepals. Stamens, many. Pistils, 5 to 10, making many-seeded pods. 1 to 2 feet high. Low, small, thickish herbs, among our earliest flowers to ap- pear. The stenis are furrowed and hollow. Under the incorrect name of cowslips, these plants are eaten as “greens.” The dish is wholesome and agreeable. The true cowslip is a species of ‘ primrose. Caltha means golden cup—a suitable name for this bright, pretty flower that borders our marshes with gold. 2. Water Plantain Spearwort Ranénculus dmbigens.— Family, Crowfoot. Color, deep yellow. eaves, 4 to 5 inches long, narrow: or oblong, alter- nate, distantly toothed, on long, half-clasping stems. Zime, June to August. Sepals, 5, very small. eta/s, small, 5 to 7, less than $ inch long. They fall easily. Stamens, indefinite. P7sti/s, numer- ous in a small round head. A smooth plant, 1 to 2 feet high, sometimes with roots spring- 32 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP ing from the lower joints. The resemblance of the spearworts to buttercups indicates the near kinship of these flowers. 3 R. pusillus is a small, weak-stemmed plant, growing from 6 to 20 inches high. Mowers, minute, with yellowish petals. Leaves small, $ inch long, roundish or heart-shaped, the upper ones inclining to lance-shaped. This modest spearwort will escape our notice, hidden under larger and more aggressive growths, unless we are determined to find every treasure which the marshy ground contains. 4. Spreading Globe-flower Troflius laxus.—Family, Crowfoot. Color, white or green- ish yellow. Leaves, alternate, palmately divided. Zzme, May. Sepals, 5 to 6, petal-like, with a whitish or yellowish color. fetais, small, numerous, shorter than the many stamens, in- dented near the base. rut, several sessile pods. low- ers, single, terminal, about 2 inches across, not globe-shaped, as its name implies. Stems weak, slender, 1 to 2 feet long. 5. Three-leaved Gold-thread Coptis trifolia (“to cut,” alluding to the divided leaves). — family, Crowfoot. Color, white. Leaves, from the root, 3-lobed, the leaflets sharply toothed, shining, evergreen. Time, May. eight, 3 to 5 inches. Sepals, 5 to 7, falling early. Petals, same number, club- shaped, small, brought together, and hollow at apex. Sfa- mens, numerous. f%stils, 3 to 7, stalked. Flowers on leafless scapes, not conspicuous. The beauty of the plant lies in the leaves, which nestle among bog-mosses, and are bright and shining the summer through. The “gold-thread” appears when we dig up the root and find it composed of long, yellow fibres. MARSH MARIGOLD (Caltha palustrés) (See page 31) 34 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 6. Umbrella-leaf Diphylléia cymésa.— Family, Barberry. Color, white. Leaf, 1, very large, 1 to 2 feet across, 2-cleft, the general outline round, the thick stalk attached to the centre under- neath, No flowers attend this leaf. When the flowers appear, 2 smaller leaves grow alternately on the stem, also 2-cleft, with stalks attached near their margins. All with rounded and toothed lobes. A singular, smooth plant, found on the moun- tains of Virginia and southward. 1 to 2 feet high. Sepals, petals, and stamens, 6. Fruit, round, blue berries. Rootstocks thick, sending up each year a flower-stalk or a large leaf. The /Zowers grow in flat clusters. May, June: 7. Pitcher-plant. Sidesaddle-lower. Huntsman’s- cup Sarracénia purpirea.—Family, Pitcher-plant. Color, pur- ple, pink, or greenish yellow. eaves, from the root, hollow, pitcher-shaped, hooded, striped with purple. Zime, June. Sepals, 5, colored, with 3 bractlets underneath. eta/s, 5, arched, broad above, narrow below, fiddle-shaped. Stamens, numerous. fZowers, single, nodding on scapes about 1 to 2 feet tall. A large round ovary in the middle of the flower is tipped with a greenish yellow style, expanded into a 5-rayed, umbrella- shaped body, terminating in hooked stzgmas. The hollow leaves hold water, in which insects are drowned. Bristles pointing downward on the inner surface prevent an inséct which has crawled in from escaping. The leaves are usually pur- ple-veined. I have found this plant in great numbers, from the most tiny to very large, in marshy land by the side of railroads. Taken up by the roots and placed in water it makes a veranda ornament that will keep fresh a long time, 20 e SN) i WZ SA W ¢ WH R Wg WD y MARSH ST, JOHN’S-wWORT (Elodes campanulata) (See page 38) 36 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP The pitcher-plant is carnivorous, the drowned insects being digested and appropriated as food. In Virginia and southward a larger pitcher-plant is found, with leaves sometimes 3 feet long. It is 7rumpets (Sarracenta flava), with a large, drooping, yellow flower. The Darlingtonza of California is the only other member of this order in the United States. 8. Marsh-cress Nastirtium palastre.— Family, Mustard. Color, yellowish. Leaves, alternate, pinnately cleft or parted, the upper being slashed or cut into very fine pieces, the lower divided or cleft. Time, summer. Sepals, 4. etals, 4, very minute. Plant, 1 to 4 feet high. As in all this family, the leaves are pungent to the taste. The name nasturtium means “twisted nose,” alluding to the effect on the nose of the pungent leaves when eaten. g. Table Water-cress LV. officinale. — Family, Mustard. Color, white. Leaves, alternate, pinnately divided, with a large round lobe termi- nating the mid-rib. Zzme, May, June. Sepals, 4. Petals, 4, twice the length of the sepals. Pods, short, on spreading pedicles, A plant known over all Europe, and to the Pacific coast in our own country. After flowering, the leaves become bitter, and are not good eating. It is cultivated in wet ditches. 10. Swamp Starwort or Marsh Chickweed Stellaria uligindsa.—Family, Pink. Color, white. Leaves, lance-shaped. Zzme, summer. Sepals and petals, 4 or 5. Stamens, twice as many. Styles, 3. lowers, in sessile, broad, flat clusters. This is not a common plant. It may be distinguished by the prolongation of the stem beyond the flowers, leaving the cyme of blossoms lateral instead of terminal, as in other chickweeds. It is weak-stemmed, reclining. 6 to 16 inches long. wie 42 Gp | 4 } NY) Wy Up NT X Y a LOS Hypericum mutelum (See page 38) 38 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 11. Short-stalked Chickweed Cerastium natans.—Family, Pink. Color, white. Leaves, lance-shaped to oblong. Zime, May to July. Sepals and petals, 5, the latter divided. Small fowers, borne on long peduncles. The plant sends up straight, slender stems, much branched, 18 inches high, or less. The large pods curve upward at the apex. 12, Marsh St. John’s-wort Elades campanulata.— Family, St. John’s-wort. Color, pink. Leaves, opposite, dotted, broad, blunt, not tapering at either end, almost clasping around the stem, pale green, entire. Zime, July, August. : Sepals and petals, 5. Stamens, 9g, every 3 stamens separated by yellow glands. A common plant, found in cranberry bogs and swamps, the stem simple or profusely branching, about a foot high. The pretty pink flowers, less than half an inch broad, grow often singly or in pairs, or sometimes in clusters in the leaf-axils or ter- minating the branch. They quickly fade, and deep-red pods take their place. Late in the season the stems and leaves turn a dark crimson. 13 - Hypéricum matilum isa plant of the marshes, with opposite, spreading, 5-nerved leaves; few small, yellow blossoms on leafy branches ; weak in stem, 6 to 20 inches high. 14. Marsh-mallow Althtea officinalis (to cure, in allusion to healing proper- ties).—Family, Mallow. Color, pale rose. Leaves, alternate, broad, petioled, ovate or heart-shaped, palmately veined, cov- ered with velvety down. Zime, August and September. Sadt marshes. SN WS WS ow Ws aN \ NAY SENN SY Nv) BMY SSS NY SKS SS IRRASSS RI AIMMAAS ~S " i ROSSI Qo SS Av i eS SAGE IIAG Se SSK > SS ROSE-MALLOW (Aizbdscus Moscheutos) (See page 40) 40 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP Sepals, 5, united at base. Outside are 6 to 9 long, narrow, green bractlets. Corolla of 5 petals about 1 inch across. Stamens, many, united at their base. %st/s form a ring around a central axis. Plant bushy, leafy, 2 to 4 feet high. Its root, full of mucilage, is used by confectioners for marsh-mallows. 15. Rose-mallow Hibiscus Moscheatos.—Family, Mallow. Color, rose, or sometimes white. eaves, alternate, pointed, toothed, the lower 3-divided, smooth above, softly downy beneath. Zzme, August. Calyx, 5-divided, surrounded by bracts. Corol/a of 5 petals, measuring 6 inches across, bell-shaped, withering at the close of oneday. Stamens unitedintoalongcolumn. od, 5-celled, many-seeded. Taller than the preceding, and flowers larger and richer in color. In August the Newark meadows to far down on the New Jersey coast, also the dunes of Long Island, are crimsoned with this splendid flower. The bushes form dense, hedge-like borders; or grow in clumps back from the edge of the water. Aezght, 4 to 8 feet. Asmaller pant belonging to this family, also found in marshes along the coast, is Kostelétzkya Virgtnica, with flowers of rose color, 2 inches across. The plant is from 2 to 4 feet high, rough, hairy. The leaves are halberd and heart shaped. FZ, Syriacus is the althaea of our gardens. It is a tall, tree-like shrub, with pointed and cut leaves. The flower is large, rose- color or white, with brown spots. 16. Yellow Flax Linum striatum. — Family, Flax. Color, yellow. Leaves, opposite below, alternate above ; oblong, rather broad. They are joined to the stem with four sharp angles. Zime, summer. Sepals, short, 5. Petals, stamens, and pistils, 5. A perfect MOSS MILKWORT (Polygala sanguénea) (See page 143) 42 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP and symmetrical flower. Stamens united at base. Stipudes, none, but often glands in their place. Flowers, small, rather crowded on viscid, clustered stems, creeping at base. They last only a day, and produce a round- ish, brown pod. 1 to 2 feet high. Linum means a thread. Flax is an Anglo-Saxon word, signify- ing to plait or weave. The use of flax for linen cloth, cordage, etc., is as ancient as are the Egyptian mummies, many of which were wrapped in fine linen. Of its history we read that “in the Temple of Minerva at Lindus there was kept a linen corselet of fine workmanship, which hag been worn by Amasis, an Egyptian king who reigned 600 years before Christ, each thread of which was composed of 360 filaments.” The flax used in making Brussels lace sells for from $5 to $9 per ton. 17. Moss Milkwort Poljgala cruciata (“much milk,” an inappropriate name). — Family, Milkwort. Color, pink or greenish. eaves, in whorls of fours, on angled stems, long, narrow. Z7me, late summer. Sepals, 5, 3 green, and 2, colored like petals, called wings, larger than the others. etads, 3, of unequal size. Stamens, 6 or 8. flowers massed in clover-like heads or spikes on low plants. When found growing together they have a moss-like appear- ance. 4 to 15 inches high. 18 L. brevifolia is slenderer, with scattered, narrow leaves. Its flowers are much like the above. Stem shorter and slenderer. 1g f. lutea is a pretty species, with yellow heads of blossoms, common in New Jersey and southward. 6 to 12 inches high. All these grow in swamps. * SILVERWEED (Potentzlla Anserina) ° (See page. 44) 44 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 20. Marsh-fivefinger, Purple Cinquefoil Potentilla paldstris.— Family, Rose. Color, dark purple. Leaves, pinnate, with 5 to 7 oblong, toothed leaflets, light green above, downy beneath. ime, summer. Calyx, open, 1 inch broad, 5-cleft, purple inside; bractlets between the divisions. Corod/a, of 5 purple petals, shorter than the calyx. Stamens, numerous. Fruit, of several achenes in a roundish head on a large and spongy receptacle. //Zowers, few, clustered in a flat cyme from a smooth stem which roots at the base. 21, Silverweed L. Anserina.—Family, Rose. Color, yellow. Leaves, all from root, pinnate, with 7 to 21 toothed leaflets, and smaller ones between, dark green above, silky white beneath. Zime, June to September. Calyx and corolla, 5-divided. Five bractlets, often cut, lie between the sepals. Stamens and fruit, like the last. The broad, open, yellow flower grows on a scape from a bed of beautifully cut, handsomely colored leaves which are green above, conspicuously white beneath. Like a strawberry plant, the silver- weed spreads by jointed runners. Along the dunes bordering Long Island bays I have found this pretty potentilla, its leaves lapping the water. 2 or 3 feet long. 22, Shrubby Cinquefoil (P. fruticbsa) is another member of this group, growing in marshy places; tall, 1 to 4 feet high, with pinnate leaves, a woody, much-branched stem, and yellow flowers terminal on the branches. 23. Swamp Saxifrage Saxifraga Pennsylvanica (‘“rock-breakers,” because some species grow in clefts of rocks).—Fumily, Saxifrage. Color, RRA \ 3 SPATULATE-LEAVED SUNDEW (Drosera intermedia) (See page 48) 46 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP greenish, sometimes reddish. Leaves, large, 4 to 8 inches long, obscurely toothed, upon short and broad petioles. me, May, June. Calyx, 5-parted, its lobes recurved. Petals, 5, greenish, Stamens, 10. Styles, 2. Flowers, small, in a clustered, spread- ing panicle or cyme. For this genus, a large growth, 1 to 2 feet high. Rather com- mon, and not pretty. 24. Golden Saxifrage. Water Carpet Chrysosplénium Americanum.—Family, Saxifrage. Color, greenish and yellowish, or purplish. eaves, mostly opposite, small, thick, round or heart-shaped, slightly lobed. Zime, April, May. Petals, none. Calyx, with 4 or 5 lobes, green outside, yel- low within. Stamens, 8 to to, on a large disk. Styles, 2. Flowers, small, scattered, with short stalks or none, in leafy clusters. Stems 3 to 8 inches long. The true plant stems lie along the ground. The name is mis- leading, for yellow is not the predominant color of the flower. 25. Mermaid-weed Proserpinaca palustris. — Family, Water-milfoil. Color, greenish. JZeaves, lance-shaped, alternate, sharply toothed. When the lower are under water they are cut into comb-like divisions. Zime, summer. Calyx, tubular, 3-sided, its border 3-divided; no petals. Stamens and stigmas,2. Fruit,angled. Flowers, small, incon- spicuous, 1 to 4, sessile in the axils. Stems, low, creeping at base. 8 to 20 inches high. New England to. Florida and westward. 26. Round-leaved Sundew Droséra rotundifolia. — Family, Sundew. Color, white. Nile DEER-GRASS. MEADOW-BEAUTY. (Rhexia Virginica.) (See page 48) 48 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP Leaves, clustered at the root, round or oblong, on long stems, glandular, hairy. Zzme, July, August. Petals, sepals, and stamens, 5, or sometimes 6. Styles, 3 to 5, so deeply divided as to seem like twice the number. Flowers are borne on prolonged leafless stems, on one side. They open only in sunshine, and must be pressed for the herba- rium as soon as gathered. The curious leaves resemble in shape a long-handled frying-pan. They are covered with reddish hairs tipped with purple glands. 4 to Io inches high. Our pretty, bejewelled bog-herb is carnivorous. It craves ani- mal food, and employs wily means for obtaining it. An insect alighting upon the open leaves instantly arouses the glands to activity, as food in the stomach excites the gastric juices. Red tentacles close upon and hold fast the prisoner, pouring the con- tents of the glands upon it, and the process of digestion and ab- sorption begins at once. Only very small insects can thus be en- trapped, because of the smallness of the leaves. A cranberry marsh near my summer cottage on Long Island is almost carpeted with this sundew, so as to give it a reddish hue. The young leaves are rolled up, like ferns, from apex to base. 27. Spatulate-leaved Sunderd D. intermédia (variety, Americana) has white flowers also, and oblong rather than round leaves, with leaf-stalks from which the glandular hairs are wanting. It is rarer than the last, and also grows in bogs, or even in water. 3 to 8 inches high. 28. Deer-grass. Meadow-beauty Rhéxia Virginica.—Family, Melastoma. Color, deep rose- pink. eaves, opposite, stemless, lance-shaped, pointed, bristly around the edges. Zzme, August. Calyx tube, long and narrow, 4-divided, purplish and hairy outside at the top. tals, 4, joined to the rim of the calyx tube. Stamens, 8, large, prominent. The anthers open by a hole in the top. ‘They bear a tiny spur where they are joined to the filaments. Ni PURPLE-SPIKED LOOSESTRIFE (Lythrum Salicaria) (See page 50) 5° FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP As the petals take slight hold and drop soon after flowering, and almost as soon as plucked, the flower then appears, from its large stamens, to be yellow. Style and stzgma, 1. The stem is square, with distinct angles. Flowers, single or several, in loose clusters. A pretty species, growing in wet sand or marshy borders of streams, from 4 to Io inches high. I have ‘seen them in beds showing their pink color in masses for quite a distance. 29 R. Mariana, with paler petals and narrower leaves, grows in New Jersey and farther south. Other members of the family are tropical. 30. Purple-spiked Loosestrife Lythrum Salicaria.— Family, Loosestrife. Color, deep, beautiful purple. Leaves, lance-shaped, heart-shaped at base, often whorled in threes. Zime, late summer. Calyx, a tube with 5 to 7 teeth, and small projections be- tween. Corolla, of about 6 long, often twisted petals. Sta- mens, 12, 6 longer, 6 shorter. /owers, in a spike, crowded. Plant tall and soft-downy. 2 to 3 feet high. A beautiful importation from England, found plentifully in swamps in Orange County, New York, and elsewhere. It is re- markable as an example of trimorphism, the two sets of stamens and pistil being of different lengths in the same flower. Every pistil, in order to effect fertilization, must receive the pollen from a stamen of the same length in another flower. Professor Darwin experimented with these flowers, and wrote about them to Doc- tor Gray: “I am almost stark, staring mad over lythrum. If I can prove what I really believe, it is a grand case of trimorphism, with three different pollens and three stigmas. I have fertilized above ninety flowers, trying all the eighteen distinct crosses which are possible within the limits of this one species. For the love of Heaven, have a look at some of your species, and if you can get me some seed, do.” SWAMPS, BOGS, AND MARSHES 51 31. Hyssop-leaved Loosestrife L. hyssopifélia. — Color, light purple. Leaves, opposite, scattered, oblong to linear, obtuse. ZZme, summer. Calyx, a tube with 5 to 7 teeth, and as many more—often longer teeth—between the regular divisions. Pea/s, 5 to 7. Stamens, 4, 5, or 6. Fruit, a 2-celled pod. Plant low, 2 feet tall or less. The leaves are scattered on the upper part of the stem. F/Zowers small, single, growing in the upper leaf-axils. 32 L. linedre has white flowers, and is a large and bushy plant, 3 or 4 feet high. On the stem are opposite, margined angles. Flowers with 6 stamens. Leaves long and narrow. 33 The Swamp Loosestrife (Décodon verticillatus) has small rose- colored flowers, on short pedicels, clustered in the upper axils of opposite or whorled, long, and narrow leaves. Tall, some- times 8 feet high. These flowers are also trimorphous, with stamens and pistil of different lengths. 34. Water-purslane Ludwigia palustris. — Family, Evening Primrose. Color, greenish or reddish when the plant is wholly terrestrial. Leaves, opposite, small, petioled, oval, or roundish, with curv- ing veins. Zime, July, August. This is at times an aquatic plant, growing wholly in water; or it is found in swamps, its stems lying on the mud, creeping and rooting, Petals, none when in water, small and reddish when out. The lobes of the calyx remain, crowning the fruit, which is a 4-sided capsule full of small seeds. Flowers closely sessile, somewhat fleshy, small, without beauty, green and stiff. Stems 4 to 15 inches long. 52 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 35. False Loosestrife. Seedbox L. alternifolia. — Color, yellow. Leaves, alternate, pointed at both ends, narrow. Zime, August, September. Calyx tube, short, with 4 lance-shaped and leaf-like lobes. Petals, 4. Stamens, 4. Fruit, a square, box-like capsule, with rounded base and wing-angles. A smooth, rather tall plant, with conspicuous flowers on pe- duncles in the leaf-axils. 24 to 40 inches high. 36 A smaller species is Hairy False Loosestrife (L. hirtélla), with blunt leaves. It has clustered roots, often thickened and tuberous. It is found in moist pine barrens of New Jersey to Florida and Texas. 2 feet high or less. Other species of Ludwigia have flowers with greenish petals or none, and may be recognized by runners produced from the base of the stem. The capsules of all are 4-sided and prominent. Three—Ludwigta sphaerocdrpa, L. polycdrpa, L. linearis—are found in swampy places. 37. Willow-herb Epilobium lineare (“upon a little pod”).— Family, Even- ing Primrose. Color, pale magenta. Leaves, lower ones op- posite, numerous, with edges rolled back; upper scattered, all on short stems. Zime, August. Calyx tube, 5-lobed. Petals, 4-notched. Stamens, 8. Stigma, club-shaped. A plant slightly hairy, 1 to 2 feet high, with pods on long stalks, and seeds crowned with fine hairs, by which they are blown about, 38 £. strictum, also a swamp herb, somewhat taller than the last, is covered with minute whitish hairs. It has broader WATER-PARSNIP (Szum cécutaefol’um) : (See page 56) 54 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP leaves, short-stemmed or sessile. The tufts of hairs belong- ing to the seeds are very soft and silky. 39 E. colorétum has numerous flowers on tall stems. Leaves with toothed margins, narrow, long, with stalks. Flowers a pale pink, nodding. Seeds furnished wiih a tuft of drown hairs. 1 to 3 feet high. 40. Mock Bishop-weed Discopledra capillacea. — Family, Parsley. Color, white. Leaves, compound, finely cut into thread-like divisions. Flower- bracts cut. Zzme, June to October. Flowers in compound umbels. A plant smooth-stemmed and branching, usually low, 1 foot high, but at times several feet tall. Its fine, white flowers and hair-like leaves are common among the brackish marshes, wherever the. water keeps their roots per- petually moist. ‘ 41. Hemlock-parsley Conioselinum Canadénse.—Family, Parsley. Color, white. Leaves, 2 to 3 pinnately compound, thin. Zime, August. Tall, slender, and smooth. No involucre, but fine, long, thin. involucels. The plant strongly resembles the poisonous hemlock (contum). 2 to 5 feet high. 42. Cowbane Tiedemannia rigida has tuber- bearing roots, which are poisonous. Its umbels of white flowers bloom in August. It is from 2 to 5 feet tall, with leaves simply pinnate. Leaflets, 3 tog. An involucre of fine bracts lies under the umbel, and smaller zzvo/ucels are at the base of the wmdéellets. 43. Cow-parsnip Heracléum /anatum is a coarse, rough plant, sometimes 8 feet high, with a rank smell about its foliage. The leaves WATER-PENNYWORT (“Hydrocotyle Americana) (See page 56) 56 FLOWERS OF FIELD, AILL, AND SWAMP are large, thrice compound; the flower-umbels broad. Flowers, white, the outer ones larger than the others, with inversely heart-shaped or 2-cleft petals. Involucre and involucels present. 44. Water-hemlock or Spotted Cowbane Cicata maculata may be known by its purple- streaked stems It is a large, coarse plant, with white flowers in large umbels. It grows from 2 to 6 feet high. The lower leaves have long stems. ‘They are twice or thrice pinnate, coarsely serrate, heavily veined. The blossoms appear in August. The root is a deadly poison, perhaps making it the most dan- gerous of our native plants. It has been eaten for sweet cicely, with fatal consequences. 45 C. bulbifera is smaller, 1 to 3 feet high, with leaflets less deeply toothed, and small bublets growing in clusters upon its upper axils. Flowers, white. 46. Water-parsnip Sium_ cicutaefélium. — Family, Parsley. Color, white. Leaves, pinnate. TZime, July, August. Smooth and tall, with a stout, grooved, angled stem. The pinnate (locust-like) leaves are divided into 6 or 8 pairs of sharp- pointed, serrate leaflets. Numerous narrow bracts surround the flowers. If the plant grows in water, the lower leaves may be finely dissected. A poisonous species. 2 to 6 feet high. 47. Water-pennywort Hydrocétyle Americana.—Family, Parsley. Color, white, flowers very small. Leaves, kidney-shaped. Z%me, summer. Sometimes called water-ivy. It has small, thread-like stems, which creep over wet moss and cling to soft mud. The pretty, ROUGH BEDSTRAW (Gadzumz) in fruit 58 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP shiny, roundish or kidney-shaped leaves, crenately lobed, are very common in marshy places. The tiny flowers are clustered in the axils. They are nearly stemless. The outward resemblance to other genera of the parsley family is remote. 48. Small Bedstraw Galium trifidum.—Family, Madder. Color, white. Leaves, in whorls, 4 to 7; small, 1-nerved, with rough mid-ribs. Zzme, summer. No calyx teeth. Corolla lobes and stamens, 3 or more. Fruit, smooth. The fruit, as in all the galiums, is a pair of dry seed-vessels, joined at first, separating when ripe into distinct carpels. The square stems are weak, 5 to 20 inches high. They are covered with bristles turning downward, and by this means the plant at- taches itself to and lifts itself over other vegetation, often form- ing dense tangles. A persistent grower, and a plant that may be met with in almost any swampy ground. Variable. 49 Rough bedstraw (G. aspréllum) has a stronger stem, with more hooked prickles. The leaves terminate in a point, or prickle. They grow in whorls of 6, or fewer, on the small branches. Flower-stems forked 2 or 3 times. 50. Eupatorium Eupatorium leucélepis.—Family, Composite. Color, white. Leaves, opposite, sessile, roughish, long, narrow, finely serrate. Time, summer. Corollas, tubular. About 5 flowers in a head, 1 to 2 feet high. Plant covered with some roughness. Found in sandy bogs; very common. ih TS. Zu ~ PURPLE ASTER (Aster puniceus) (See page 62) 60 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 51. Golden-rod Solidago uligindsa is one of our earliest golden-rods, coming into flower sometimes early in July. The leaves are lance- shaped and pointed. The flowers are small, much crowded into long, narrow panicles. The root-leaves are sometimes nearly a foot long. It grows in peat-bogs. 2 to 3 feet high. 52 S. pétula has angled, smooth stems. Leaves long, smooth underneath, but rough above. This unusual roughness of the upper surface of the leaves will identify the species. The flower-heads are rather large, in short racemes terminating in spreading branches. 2 to 4 feet high. , 53 S. Elliottii and S. Neglécta are swamp species. Both are smooth plants with strong stems, the flowers in showy, spread- ing racemes. 1 to 4 feet high. 54. Asters The asters—distinguished, often handsome, members of the Composite Family—seldom bloom before August. They are essentially a fall flower, mingling their bright purple or blue or white rays tastefully with the golden-rods ‘and sunflowers. They grow with us everywhere, and being, with few excep- tions, perennials, reappear year after year in their own chosen haunts. The disks are yellow, sometimes turning to brown or purple. Asters grow upon the stems and branches variously, sometimes closely, in bunches, or in corymbs or loose pani- cles. Many species are subject to great variations, and they run into each other. They vary in size from small buttons to a silver half-dollar, The name means a star. There are over 50 species given in Gray’s manual. Our commonest will be arranged in the following chapters : Nola TALL SUNFLOWER (Helianthus giganteus) (See page 64) 62 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP Ch. 2. Aster nemoralis, A. puniceus. Ch. 3. A. radula, Ch. 6. A. diffusus, A. Novi-Belgii, A. patens, A. tenuifolius, A. dumosus, A. subulatus. A. umbellatus. Ch. 5. A. Tradescanti, Ch.9.