[Illustration: _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 LONDON
27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 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.
PAGE
CROWFOOT FAMILY, _Ranunculaceæ_ 1
BARBERRY FAMILY, _Berberidaceæ_ 32
WATER-LILY FAMILY, _Nymphæaceæ_ 36
PITCHER-PLANTS, _Sarraceniaceæ_ 40
POPPY FAMILY, _Papaveraceæ_ 42
FUMITORY FAMILY, _Fumariaceæ_ 46
MUSTARD FAMILY, _Cruciferæ_ 50
ROCK-ROSE FAMILY, _Cistaceæ_ 60
VIOLET FAMILY, _Violaceæ_ 62
PINK FAMILY, _Caryophyllaceæ_ 76
ST. JOHN’S-WORT FAMILY, _Hypericaceæ_ 90
MALLOW FAMILY, _Malvaceæ_ 94
GERANIUM FAMILY, _Geraniaceæ_ 96
HOLLY FAMILY, _Ilicineæ_ 104
STAFF-TREE FAMILY, _Celastraceæ_ 106
BUCKTHORN FAMILY, _Rhamnaceæ_ 108
VINE FAMILY, _Vitaceæ_ 110
MILKWORT FAMILY, _Polygalaceæ_ 112
PULSE FAMILY, _Leguminosæ_ 116
ROSE FAMILY, _Rosaceæ_ 144
SAXIFRAGE FAMILY, _Saxifragaceæ_ 178
ORPINE FAMILY, _Crassulaceæ_ 188
SUNDEW FAMILY, _Droseraceæ_ 190
WITCH-HAZEL FAMILY, _Hamamelideæ_ 192
EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY, _Onagraceæ_ 194
GOURD FAMILY, _Cucurbitaceæ_ 204
PARSLEY FAMILY, _Umbelliferæ_ 206
GINSENG FAMILY, _Araliaceæ_ 220
DOGWOOD FAMILY, _Cornaceæ_ 224
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY, _Caprifoliaceæ_ 226
MADDER FAMILY, _Rubiaceæ_ 238
COMPOSITE FAMILY, _Compositæ_ 246
LOBELIA FAMILY, _Lobeliaceæ_ 356
CAMPANULA FAMILY, _Campanulaceæ_ 364
HEATH FAMILY, _Ericaceæ_ 370
PRIMROSE FAMILY, _Primulaceæ_ 408
DOGBANE FAMILY, _Apocynaceæ_ 418
MILKWEED FAMILY, _Asclepiadaceæ_ 422
GENTIAN FAMILY, _Gentianaceæ_ 436
BORAGE FAMILY, _Borraginaceæ_ 440
CONVOLVULUS FAMILY, _Convolvulaceæ_ 444
NIGHTSHADE FAMILY, _Solanaceæ_ 450
FIGWORT FAMILY, _Scrophulariaceæ_ 452
BROOM-RAPE FAMILY, _Orobanchaceæ_ 484
VERVAIN FAMILY, _Verbenaceæ_ 486
MINT FAMILY, _Labiatæ_ 492
POKEWEED FAMILY, _Phytolaccaceæ_ 518
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY, _Polygonaceæ_ 520
BIRTHWORT FAMILY, _Aristolochiaceæ_ 528
LAUREL FAMILY, _Lauraceæ_ 530
MEZEREUM FAMILY, _Thymelæaceæ_ 532
SWEET-GALE FAMILY, _Myricaceæ_ 534
ORCHIS FAMILY, _Orchidaceæ_ 536
IRIS FAMILY, _Iridaceæ_ 564
AMARYLLIS FAMILY, _Amaryllidaceæ_ 568
LILY FAMILY, _Liliaceæ_ 570
PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY, _Pontederiaceæ_ 596
CAT-TAIL FAMILY, _Typhaceæ_ 598
ARUM FAMILY, _Araceæ_ 600
WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY, _Alismaceæ_ 610
_The Cover-Design by E. M.: Derived from the Green Dragon (Arisæma
Dracontium) Plant._
WILD FLOWERS
OF THE
NORTH-EASTERN STATES.
CROWFOOT FAMILY.
RANUNCULACEÆ.
*Hepatica.* _Hepatica triloba._
*Liverwort.*
*Liver-leaf.*
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.
[Illustration: HEPATICA: Hepatica triloba.]
*Marsh Marigold.* _Caltha palustris._
*Cowslips.*
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.
[Illustration: MARSH MARIGOLD: Caltha palustris.]
*Wind Flower.* _Anemone nemorosa._
*Wood Anemone.*
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.
[Illustration: WIND FLOWER: Anemone nemorosa.]
*Tall Anemone.* _Anemone Virginiana._
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.
[Illustration: TALL ANEMONE: A. Virginiana.]
*Early Meadow Rue.* _Thalictrum dioicum._
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.
[Illustration: EARLY MEADOW RUE: Thalictrum dioicum.]
*Tall Meadow Rue.* _Thalictrum polygamum._
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.
[Illustration: TALL MEADOW RUE: T. polygamum.]
*Rue Anemone.* _Anemonella thalictroides._
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.
[Illustration: RUE ANEMONE: Anemonella thalictroides.]
*Goldthread.* _Coptis trifolia._
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.
[Illustration: GOLDTHREAD: Coptis trifolia.]
*Cohosh.* _Actæa spicata, var. rubra._
*Red Baneberry.*
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.
[Illustration: COHOSH: Actæa spicata, var. rubra.]
*Columbine.* _Aquilegia Canadensis._
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.
[Illustration: COLUMBINE: Aquilegia Canadensis.]
*Marsh Crowfoot.* _Ranunculus septentrionalis._
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.
[Illustration: MARSH CROWFOOT: Ranunculus septentrionalis.]
*Buttercups.* _Ranunculus acris._
*Tall Crowfoot.*
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.
[Illustration: BUTTERCUPS: R. acris.]
*Bristly Crowfoot.* _Ranunculus Pennsylvanicus._
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.
[Illustration: BRISTLY CROWFOOT: R. Pennsylvanicus.]
*Purple Clematis.* _Clematis verticillaris._
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.
[Illustration: PURPLE CLEMATIS: Clematis verticillaris.]
*Clematis.* _Clematis Virginiana._
*Virgin’s Bower.*
*Traveller’s Joy.*
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.
[Illustration: VIRGIN’S BOWER: C. Virginiana.]
BARBERRY FAMILY.
BERBERIDACEÆ.
*Barberry.* _Berberis vulgaris._
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.
[Illustration: BARBERRY: Berberis vulgaris.]
*Mandrake.* _Podophyllum peltatum._
*May Apple.*
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.
[Illustration: MANDRAKE: Podophyllum peltatum.
Leaf about ⅓ life size.]
WATER-LILY FAMILY.
NYMPHÆACEÆ.
*Yellow Pond-Lily.* _Nuphar advena._
*Cow Lily.*
*Spatter-dock.*
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.
[Illustration: YELLOW POND-LILY: Nuphar advena.]
*Pond-Lily.* _Nymphæa odorata._
*Water Nymph.*
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.
[Illustration: POND-LILY: Nymphæa odorata.]
PITCHER PLANTS.
SARRACENIACEÆ.
*Pitcher Plant.* _Sarracenia purpurea._
*Huntsman’s Cup.*
*Side-Saddle Flower.*
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.”
[Illustration: PITCHER PLANT: Sarracenia purpurea.]
POPPY FAMILY.
PAPAVERACEÆ.
*Bloodroot.* _Sanguinaria Canadensis._
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.
[Illustration: BLOODROOT: Sanguinaria Canadensis.]
*Celandine.* _Chelidonium majus._
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.
[Illustration: CELANDINE: Cheledonium majus.]
FUMITORY FAMILY.
FUMARIACEÆ.
*Dutchman’s Breeches.* _Dicentra Cucullaria._
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.
[Illustration: DUTCHMAN’S BREECHES: Dicentra Cucullaria.]
*Pale Corydalis.* _Corydalis glauca._
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.
[Illustration: PALE CORYDALIS: Corydalis glauca.]
MUSTARD FAMILY.
CRUCIFERÆ.
*Toothwort.* _Dentaria laciniata._
*Crinkle-root.*
*Pepper-root.*
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.
[Illustration: TOOTHWORT: Dentaria laciniata.]
*Herb of St. Barbara.* _Barbarea vulgaris._
*Yellow Rocket.*
*Winter Cress.*
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.
[Illustration: YELLOW ROCKET: Barbarea vulgaris.]
*Field Mustard.* _Brassica Sinapistrum._
*Charlock.*
*Crowd Weed (W. Va.).*
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.
[Illustration: CHARLOCK: Brassica Sinapistrum.]
*Wild Kale.* _Brassica nigra._
*Black Mustard.*
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.
[Illustration: WILD KALE: B. nigra.]
*Pepper-grass.* _Lepidium Virginicum._
*Birds’ Pepper (Neb.).*
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.