of a fern leaf; the taper-pointed leaflets have strongly notched
margins, and noticeable ribs; the texture is thin, and the color green.
The small flower has 5 somewhat unequal, heart-shaped, white petals, 5
stamens, and a long calyx.
The anise-like flavor of the large root renders it attractive to the
palate of the herb-browser. The long seeds are armed with backward
pointing prickles, and snatch rides on the wayfarer’s garments after
the manner of the plebeian Beggar-ticks. Cicely is sweet, tall, and
graceful in gesture, fine in the finish of its leaf joints, and
distinguished by a few fern-like leaves; apparently a plant of good
breeding. Where could its seeds have learned such a beggarly trick!
[Illustration: SWEET CICELY: Osmorrhiza longistylis.]
*Meadow Parsnip.* _Zizia aurea._
Found in meadow grass lands, in May and June.
The sparingly branched stalk, from 2 to 3 feet high, is tough-fibred,
and smooth, though channeled with many fine grooves; it is hollow, with
an aromatic smell, and usually tends to a dull red color.
The 2- or 3-times divided leaf has narrow leaflets, tapering to the
tip, and sharply toothed on the edge; the surface is smooth, and the
texture firm; the color a strong, full-toned green. The leaves are
few, at long intervals, on short foot-stems that widen into a leafly
membrane, partly clasping the main stalk.
The minute yellow flower has 5 petals, turned in toward the center; the
stamens and pistil are small, and the calyx is of a pale yellow-green
color; the flowers grow in flat-topped clusters, from 2 to 3 inches
broad, or larger.
In the hand, the Meadow Parsnip seems a little coarse in color and
texture, but its aspect is pleasing when seen lifting its bright yellow
green-ribbed parasols above the meadow grass.
[Illustration: MEADOW PARSNIP: Zizia aurea.]
*Sanicle.* _Sanicula Marylandica._
*Black Snake-root.*
Found in woods, and light shrubbery, in June.
The simple, sparingly branched stalk grows from 2 to 3 feet high, and
is round, smooth, slightly grooved, and hollow; it is green in color.
The leaf is deeply cut, or divided, from the base, (“palmate”) into
from 3 to 6 long-pointed divisions, sharply notched on the edge; in
color rather dark green. The leaves clasp the stalk by a very short,
leafy sheath, and appear clustered at the top, and alternate below,
while the root-leaves are on long stems.
The small, greenish-yellow flower has 5 petals with the tips turned
inward and tucked down into the center of the flower; under the petals
are concealed the stamens (which emerge at length, however). The
flowers are on very short foot-stems arranged in hemispherical heads,
three or four heads usually in a cluster, on the end of the stem. Two
kinds, stamen-bearing and pistil-bearing, are found in the same head;
the former dry up brown, while the latter develop burs armed with
little hooked spines.
Though the flower is not conspicuous in color, the plant claims notice
for its rather graceful, swaying gesture.
[Illustration: SANICLE: Sanicula Marylandica.]
*Cow Parsnip.* _Heracleum lanatum._
Found in moist rich grounds, often on the edge of shade, in blossom in
June.
The stalk grows very tall, sometimes 7 or 8 feet high; it is large,
round, and grooved--though not deeply so; it is hollow, with a strong
parsnip smell; and grass-green in color.
The leaf is compound, in three divisions, and large, the lower leaves
being sometimes a foot or more in length; each leaflet is more or less
deeply lobed, and sharply notched on the edge, and set on a short
foot-stem; the ribs are large, the upper surface almost smooth, while
the lower surface is soft and woolly; coarse in texture, and of a
strong dark green color. The main foot-stem of the leaf, widens into a
leafy membrane that partly clasps the stalk. The few large leaves are
alternate.
The flower is small, and 5-petalled, the petals heart-shaped, or deeply
notched; the outer flowers are larger than the inner ones, and their
petals are quite unequal in size. In color white. They grow in wide
spreading, flat-topped clusters, sometimes 10 or 12 inches across.
On close approach the Cow Parsnip appears coarse in general make-up;
seen from a distance however it looks a plant of splendid swing and
unbounded vigor, a veritable Hercules of the fields!
[Illustration: COW PARSNIP: Heracleum lanatum--⅓ life size.]
*Water Pennywort.* _Hydrocotyle Americana._
A close observation will show that this may be found in blossom in
July, on moist, shady ground.
The weak-fibred, smooth, pale green stalk creeps over the ground, and
takes root, occasionally, at the joints.
It has a pretty, round, heart-shaped leaf, doubly scalloped on the
edge, and of a thin texture, with a smooth, shining surface; of a pale
green color. The leaves are alternate, on foot-stems about an inch long.
The minute white flowers are set close in the angles of the leaves and
are hardly noticeable.
The Pennywort grows gracefully amongst the grass in moist places. One
would hardly suspect, at a casual glance, that this weak-fibred vine
could belong to the same family with the mighty Cow Parsnip.
[Illustration: WATER PENNYWORT: Hydrocotyle Americana.]
*Field Parsnip.* _Pastinaca sativa._
Found in roadside thickets, along meadow walls and fences, during July
and August.
The large, widely branching stalk reaches the height of 4 or 5 feet;
it is 4-, or occasionally 5-angled, very tough and woody-fibred,
noticeably grooved, and its surface is coarse; dull green.
The compound irregular leaf is large: the root-leaves are cut into 7
to 11 divisions, each part again cleft into 3 or 5 parts,--the upper
leaves are less compound; the leaflets are long oval, broadest at the
base, the margins closely notched, the texture thin, but coarse, the
surface smooth, the underside of the upper leaves shining. The color
is a dull dark green. The root-leaves are on long stems, while the
upper leaves are on shorter stems which clasp the stalk with wing-like
membranes; these are grooved, and large, their edges roll together, and
meet and lap about the stalk. The leaves are placed alternately, at
considerable intervals apart.
The tiny flowers are yellow, they spread flat, to show the undeveloped
seed-boxes, and are set on thread foot-stems in small, flat-topped,
round clusters; these, on long, up-curving stems, form a large
spreading cluster, upon a stout stem; they are terminal and from the
angles of the leaves; several of these large clusters occur on a plant.
“’Twill raise a blister, if you touch it when the dew’s on’t!” says the
farmer’s son. It has a strongly acrid odor when broken, a thing which
is well-nigh impossible to accomplish. The seeds, shining and very flat
discs, add to the decorative qualities of this conspicuous plant.
[Illustration: FIELD PARSNIP: Pastinaca sativa.]
*Wild Carrot.* _Daucus Carota._
*Queen Ann’s Lace.*
Very common by the wayside and in dry fields, blossoming from July
through September.
The round stalk, from 2 to 3 feet high, coarse in fibre, and roughened
by short hairs, is light yellow-green in color.
The leaf has a very fringy effect, being much cut up into long narrow
lobes; the surface is roughened; and the short foot-stem widens into a
leafy, clasping sheath. The yellowish-green, alternate leaves are few,
and far between.
The petal-like parts of the small clustered flowers are unequal in
size and number,--three or four of the outer flowers in each cluster
are larger than the rest; the color is white, with tiny yellow-tipped
stamens. The flowers have pale green foot-stems, and grow in
flat-topped clusters, each cluster being set around at the foot with
a green leafy fringe. In the center of the cluster is often found a
single dark purple flower.
Though the growth is sprangly, and the stem coarse, yet the flower is
delicate with a lace-like quality. The seed-stems, curling inward, form
a hollow, nest-like cup, from which characteristic it is often called
the “Bird’s-nest plant.” It is deemed a great pest by farmers.
[Illustration: WILD CARROT: Daucus Carota.]
GINSENG FAMILY.
ARALIACEÆ.
*Wild Sarsaparilla.* _Aralia nudicaulis._
Found on moist hillsides, and along thickets, in May.
The root sends up one tall leaf-bearing stem, from 12 to 15 inches in
height, and beside it a short flower-stem.
The leaf is compound, sometimes doubly so, its leaflets long, oval,
and sharp-pointed at the tip, with noticeable ribs, finely notched
margins, and, when young, a very glossy surface; the foot-stems are 3,
and of equal length, forking from the summit of the round, hard-fibred,
shining stem. The leaf, when young, is strongly bronze-tinted; as it
matures this fades, and leaves it a pleasing light green color; the
stem is reddish at the joints, and near the foot.
The greenish-white flower is very small, its 5 petals are turned down
on the little calyx, and the 5 long stamens are erect and alternate
with them. The flowers are set on foot-stems in 3 flat-topped clusters,
that are borne on round stems forking from the top of the main
flower-stem.
The bronzy hue of the leaves companions the unopened buds,--by the time
the flower-clusters are fully abloom the dark shining color has changed
to green, the leaflets have grown much larger, and spread like a canopy
ever the blossoms.
[Illustration: WILD SARSAPARILLA: Aralia nudicaulis.]
*Spikenard.* _Aralia racemosa._
*Spignet (Vt.).*
Found along rich woods and wayside thickets, in blossom in August.
A widely branching plant, from 3 to 6 feet high, with a large, strong,
round stem; dull gray-black, not unlike willow charcoal in appearance.
The very large compound leaf is divided into 3 clusters, each one
of which has from 5 to 7 leaflets, on short, curved foot stems; the
leaflets are broad, of an irregular oblong shape, with a finely notched
margin, and a slightly downy surface. In color a strong full green;
with dark stems.
The very small flower has its parts in fives, and is greenish white;
the flowers are on pale foot-stems and arranged in little round
clusters; many small clusters together form the large compound group on
the ends of the branches, and from the angles of the upper leaves.
In September the plant ripens a small red berry, of a spicy, resinous
taste, agreeable to a confirmed wayfarer. The large joints are fitted
together with excellent workmanship. This striking plant, with its
wide-spreading, vigorous leafage, and dark stems, possesses highly
decorative qualities; it is cherished by country folk, however, for the
medicinal use they find for the root which is “good for a cough.”
[Illustration: SPIKENARD: A. racemosa--½ life size.]
DOGWOOD FAMILY.
CORNACEÆ.
*Bunch-berry.* _Cornus Canadensis._
*Dwarf Cornel.*
Found in moist woods in May and June.
A small plant from 5 to 7 inches high, with a strong fibred, 4-angled,
and deeply grooved, pale green stalk.
The broad oval leaf, tapering at both ends, has many deeply-marked
ribs; it has a smooth surface, and is of a yellowish-green color. The
leaves are set close on the stalk, in a whorl-like cluster of 4 or 6;
occasionally a second group occurs below this.
The real flowers are small, and many; bunched together in a close, flat
cluster, which is surrounded by 4 large, greenish-white, petal-like
leaves, giving the semblance of a single large flower, rising, on a
small foot-stem, above the leaves.
The seeds of this little plant take the form of a bunch of brilliant
sealing-wax-red berries, set in the center of the greenery, and nodding
on the stem with their own weight.
[Illustration: BUNCHBERRY: Cornus Canadensis.]
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.
CAPRIFOLIACEÆ.
*Smooth-leaved Honeysuckle.* _Lonicera glauca._
Found in rocky grounds and uplands during May.
A bushy, and somewhat twining shrub, leafy and tough, which grows from
3 to 5 feet high, with a gray bark, that is green when young.
The rather large leaf is oval, and broadest at the base, with a rounded
tip, and an entire margin; the fibre is firm and the surface is smooth;
in color it is green, silvery underneath. The leaves occur opposite
each other, the upper ones growing completely together around the
stalk, the lower being only partly united.
The small flower has a slender tubular corolla spreading into 2 unequal
divisions, the upper broad, and 4-cleft, the lower entire, long, and
narrow; in color a pale, dull tawny or red; the 5 long stamens, with
their very distinct tips, are pale greenish-yellow; the long pistil is
tipped with a green disc; the round calyx is minutely 5-parted, and
green. The flowers, on the ends of the branches, are set close around
the stalk in whorls, usually of 6, after the Honeysuckle habit.
What charm the flowers lack in fragrance, the plant makes up in the
graceful curves of its partly twining stems, and in its attractive
leafage.
[Illustration: SMOOTH-LEAVED HONEYSUCKLE: Lonicera glauca.]
*Maple-leaved Arrow-wood.* _Viburnum acerifolium._
*Dockmackie.*
Found in light, rocky woods, in May and June.
The tough, woody stalk, growing from 2 to 3 feet high, is branching,
and covered with a smooth brown bark.
The broad, 3-lobed leaf much resembles a maple leaf in outline; it has,
however, a soft downy surface, especially beneath,--the upper side is
sometimes smooth. The leaves are set in pairs, on short foot-stems.
Color green.
The small, 5-parted flower has 5 stamens, alternating with its rounded
divisions. The flowers are white, and the buds pink-tinted; they grow
in a flat-topped cluster, on a foot-stem springing from between the
terminal pair of leaves.
In the softly diffused light of the autumn woods, its clusters of black
berries, and mulberry colored leafage prove attractive to the æsthetic
eye. Its habit of growth also is pleasing.
[Illustration: MAPLE-LEAVED ARROW-WOOD: Viburnum acerifolium.]
*Linnæa.* _Linnæa borealis._
*Twin-flower.*
Found in cool, mossy woods, and cold damp bogs; blossoming in early
June.
A trailing vine with a round, rough, and woody-fibred, reddish stem,
running over the ground.
The pretty, rounding leaf has a few scallops on its edge, a slightly
rough surface, and a dry texture; it is evergreen, of a rich, dark
green color. The leaves are in pairs, on short foot-stems.
The little bell-shaped corolla is about ½ an inch long, narrowing
into a small tube at the bottom, and widening at the top where it is
5-parted; it is fine in texture, fragrant, and in color white, tinged
with pink. The tiny green calyx has 5 thread-like divisions. The
slender flower-stems, rising erect from the creeping stalk to a height
of 3 or 4 inches, fork near the top to bear the nodding twin flowers.
[Illustration: LINNÆA: Linnæa borealis.]
*Bush Honeysuckle.* _Diervilla trifida._
Found in light woods, and rocky uplands, in blossom during June and
July.
A shrub, with round, woody-fibred, smooth stems; the old growth is of a
light gray color, while the new shoots are green, and dull red.
The oval leaf, wide at the bottom, is very tapering at the tip;
the closely and finely toothed edges are more or less ruffled; the
surface is smooth, and the texture like silk; the color is a strong,
warm green, often showing traces of red on the margin, and in the
midrib. The leaves are in pairs, on short, stout, and partly clasping
foot-stems.
The corolla of the small flower has a tube about ½ of an inch long,
spreading at the top, and parted into 5 irregular recurving divisions,
of a pale yellow color, marked with dull tawny-orange; the five long
stamens are yellow, and the flat, disc-like tip of the pistil is
green; the slender, pale green calyx is vase-shape, with 5 thread-like
divisions. A few flowers grow from the end of the branches, and from
the angles of the upper leaves.
This Honeysuckle has a vigorous leafage, and is full of strong curves,
but it lacks the spicy fragrance associated with its name. On some
plants the leaves are all opposite at the same angle, while on others
the alternate pairs are set on at right angles to each other.
[Illustration: BUSH HONEYSUCKLE: Diervilla trifida.]
*Elder-flower.* _Sambucus Canadensis._
Found along meadow hedgerows, blossoming in June and July.
A bush, from 5 to 10 feet high; it is woody, and branching, with a
white pith, and gray bark.
The large compound leaf has from 8 to 10 pairs of leaflets, with an
odd one at the end; the taper-pointed leaflet has a notched margin, a
smooth surface, and a rather thin texture; the color is a full green,
lighter beneath.
The small 5-parted flower has 5 stamens and 1 pistil, and a minute
calyx; it is cream-white, and grows in wide, spreading, flat-topped
clusters, on the ends of the branches.
The round, reddish-black berries ripen in August and September; they
were used by our foremothers to make a spicy wine. In the wild hedgerow
the big creamy clusters are most effective, but when picked the little
flower-wheels soon scatter.
[Illustration: ELDER-FLOWER: Sambucus Canadensis.]
*Snowberry.* _Symphoricarpos racemosus._
Found in blossom from June to September.
A shrub about 3 or 4 feet high, with a woody, branching stem, covered
with a smooth bark; that of the old growth gray-brown in color, of the
new growth, golden-brown.
The broadly oval leaf has an entire, somewhat wavy, margin, a smooth
surface, and dry texture. It is in color a dark grayish-green, lighter
beneath. The leaves grow in pairs, on short stems.
The small bell-shaped flower is 5-tipped, and filled within with white
woolly hairs; it is rose-colored, running into white. The corolla sits
on top of the little, round, green calyx, which develops into a large,
juicy, waxen white berry. The flowers and berries grow in a close
terminal spike, gradually weighed down by the enlarging berries.
Both berries and blossoms occur on the same spike. The Snowberry was
largely cultivated by our foremothers in their house yards, and is
still common about old houses.
[Illustration: SNOWBERRY: Symphoricarpos racemosus.]
MADDER FAMILY.
RUBIACEÆ.
*Innocence.* _Houstonia cærulea._
*Quaker Ladies.*
*Bluets.*
Found in grassy meadows, pastures, and waysides during May; generally
in poor soil.
The slender, little, pale green flower-stems, from 2 to 6 inches
in height, sometimes branch, bear but few leaves, and rise from a
foot-tuffet of leaves.
These foot-leaves are very small, with little rounded tips, while the
stem-leaves are still smaller, long, narrow, and clasping in pairs.
They are entire, thin, and light green.
The flower has a tiny 4-parted, green calyx, and a tubular corolla
which spreads at the top into a 4-pointed star; very delicate in
texture, and varying from pure white to a deep china blue, with a
dainty ring of yellow in the center.
A very communistic plant is the Innocence, growing in great patches
along pasture fences and in meadow rifts and hollows, powdering the
greening slopes of early May with its many blossoms like a belated
spring snow-fall. Its buds droop, but the opened flowers lift up their
faces to reflect the sky; its calices hug the corollas, and after they
have fallen still guard the enlarged oval seed-boxes. It is not unusual
to find 3- or 5-pointed stars, and even 6- or 7-pointed variations are
occasionally discoverable. Tufts of seedlings found in the late autumn
will flower all winter, if well-potted and watered and given plenty of
fresh air.
[Illustration: INNOCENCE: Houstonia cærulea.]
*Partridge-berry.* _Mitchella repens._
*Twin-berry.*
*Fox-berry.*
*Box-berry.*
*Two-eye-berry.*
Found in June, in dry woods, about the roots of pine trees.
This little running vine, 4 to 10 inches in length, is smooth and
slender, leafy and occasionally branching. In color, a pale green or
dark bronze-green.
The leaf is small, round-oval, widest at the base, thin but tough of
texture, with a smooth surface that shines when new-grown; the margin
is entire, and the midrib important. The young leaves are a bright
cool green, lighter underneath; the older growths become dark and
bluish green, the ribs and veins marking them with a light tracery. The
leaves, on short stems, are arranged in pairs.
The corolla, in the shape of a slender tube spreading into 4 points,
is covered thickly in the inside with cottony down, while the outside
is smooth; the color is creamy-white, the outside delicately tinted
creamy-pink. The little green calyx is 4-parted. The flowers bloom
in pairs, their seed-boxes united and set on a single stem, placed
terminally. The buds are pink.
Two kinds of flowers are borne on this plant, in one the 4 stamens
protrude from the tube and the pistil does not show, in the other the
2-parted pistil is very noticeable and the stamens are retired. The
delicious fragrance of the blossoms perfumes the whole woods where it
grows. The small oval berry with its two openings is loved by children,
because it is of a light coral-red color, and edible, though rather
tasteless.
[Illustration: PARTRIDGE-BERRY: Mitchella repens.]
*Button-bush.* _Cephalanthus occidentalis._
Found on low, moist ground, and along borders of ponds, in June and
July.
A shrub from 3 to 5 feet high, with a stout, woody stem, covered with a
smooth reddish-brown bark.
The leaf, tapering at both ends, is 3 or 4 inches long, on a short
foot-stem; the surface is usually smooth, and the texture tough; of a
strong green color.
The small, tubular flower is 4-parted at the top, and of a dull, white
color. Many flowers are set together in a dense, round head, with the
pistils radiating in all directions. These sweet-scented flower-balls
grow on foot-stems, 2 or 3 inches long, in clusters of 3 to 5 or 7,
from the ends of the branches.
The Button-balls ripen in October, and are then noticeable among the
plentiful pods and berries of the season. They are dull red and green
in color, turning to a fine brown with the touch of frost. Picked early
in the season they make a pleasing addition to the pod-gatherer’s
winter collection.
[Illustration: BUTTON-BUSH: Cephalanthus occidentalis.]
*Small Bedstraw.* _Galium asprellum._
*Cleavers.*
Found in blossom through August and September, in moist or swampy
tangles and thickets.
The stalk is branching, but very weak-fibred, leaning on sturdier
plants for support, or lopping over; it is square, and closely set
along the angles with many minute downward-pointing prickles, by means
of which it clings or “cleaves” to its neighbors; color, a light green.
The small leaf is rounded at the tip, has an entire margin, and a
smooth upper surface; beneath, the edges and midrib are set with
prickles. The leaves grow in whorls of 4 or 6, close upon the stalk, at
regular intervals. The color is a pretty yellow-green.
The minute white corolla is 4-pointed, or occasionally 3-pointed, with
the same number of stamens; the calyx is green, and the foot-stems are
very small. The flowers grow in branching clusters from the whorls of
leaves.
Though a pretty plant growing, it is not a pickable one, as its weak
stems get themselves inextricably entangled and caught on their own
armor.
[Illustration: SMALL BEDSTRAW: Galium asprellum.]
COMPOSITE FAMILY.
COMPOSITÆ.
*Plantain-leaved Everlasting.* _Antennaria plantaginifolia._
*Spring Everlasting.*
*Pussy-toes.*
Found in light soil, meadows, and uplands, in April and May.
The short, leafy stalk, covered with a silvery wool, runs on the
ground, and is from 3 to 10 inches in height. Pale green in color.
The small, broad-oval leaf is rounded at the tip, 3-ribbed, of a tough
fibre, and, when young, covered with a silky white wool. It is set on a
short, margined stem. In color, light grayish-green.
The flowers are gathered in small heads,--the stamen-bearing and
pistil-bearing flowers growing on different plants. The pistil-bearing
heads are like little bundles of silky threads, silvery white; the
stamen-bearing heads are more rounded in shape, and of a creamy-white
color, the tawny stamens being tipped with orange. The heads are set
in pale green, urn-shaped, small cups, on short foot-stems, forming a
little group on the top of the flower-stem.