margins curl under somewhat, their texture is thin and waxen, and their
surface is smooth to the touch; color, white, inclined to ivory. The
10 white stamens have curious 2-horned, dull-yellow tips,--they lie
back, with a quick curve, in the hollows of the petals; the bright
green pistil bends, or curves downward; the flat 5-parted calyx is very
small. The single flower is set on the crook-like tip of the pale-green
flower-stem, which bears one or two tiny pale bracts.
This boldly curved crook of the flower-stem is completely straightened
when the petals fall,--the seed-box is held upright. Like most of its
tribe this is a gregarious little plant, and grows in plantations.
[Illustration: ONE-FLOWERED PYROLA: Moneses grandiflora.]
*Prince’s Pine.* _Chimaphila umbellata._
*Pipsissewa.*
Found in dry woods during July.
The simple leafy stalk varies from 4 to 10 inches in height, and is
round, tough-fibred, and woody at the base. Color, green.
The oblong leaf is widest toward the tip, and tapering toward the base;
the margin is notched, the texture is fine, firm, and thick, with a
smooth and shining surface. The color is dark green, lighter beneath;
it is evergreen. The leaves, on very short stems, grow in whorls of 5
(generally speaking), about the stalk.
The flower has 5 rounded, concave, white petals, with a rose colored
ring marked in its center; the 10 pinkish stamens are set around the
large, conical, green pistil, whose summit is flat and sticky; the
small 5-parted calyx is green. Several flowers, on short curving stems,
grow in a cluster, from the top of the flower-stem.
Pipsissewa’s seed-cases are interesting; they are round and brown, and,
borne upright on the end of the slender stems, are truly decorative in
aspect, and with the shining green leaves remain unchanged by winter’s
cold. In Maine the plant is called “Love-in-winter.”
[Illustration: PRINCE’S PINE: Chimaphila umbellata.]
*Spotted Wintergreen.* _Chimaphila maculata._
Found in dry woods, commonly under evergreen trees, in July.
The dull red, tough stem, 5 or 6 inches in height, bears one or two
whorls of leaves.
The leaves, about 2 inches long, are tapering at the tip, with a few
small notches on the margin; they are thick, and leathery, with a
smooth surface, and are set in whorls of 4 or 5 on short foot-stems. In
color, dark green, with the ribs marked out by broad lines of light.
In general form, the flower is much like that of the Pipsissewa. The
petals are white, the stamens pale cream, and the pistil green.
This form of the Pipsissewa is less common in the New England than in
the Middle States. Its variegated leaves are a pleasing, somewhat rare
note in our winter leafage.
[Illustration: SPOTTED WINTERGREEN: C. maculata.]
*Wintergreen.* _Gaultheria procumbens._
Found during July in woods, and along the edges of woods.
The creeping stalk sends up an erect stem, leafy at the top, about 4
or 5 inches high, woody-fibred and tough, and smooth to the touch. Its
color is green,--red toward the root.
The leaf is a broad oval, with a rounded tip, an obscurely notched
margin, of a tough and thick fibre, and smooth, polished surface. It
is evergreen: when old a dark green, often bronzy; more yellow-green,
tinged with dull red, when young. The alternate leaves, on very short
stems, are clustered at the top of the stalk.
The small bell-shaped flower is minutely 5-parted, and all white. The
flowers, on short curving stems, grow singly from the angles of the
leaves, hanging their bells downward.
The fruit is round and small, a bright cherry red in color; it ripens
in the fall and remains throughout snow-time, always ready to lend
its glowing color, with the bronzy leaves that surround it, to a
winter bouquet from the woods. The new shoots put forth from the
ground in June, and are called “youngsters” in the country; they have
an aromatic, pungent flavor, and going “youngstering” is a favorite
diversion of childhood. The plant is a great colonist, and year after
year its plantations thrive in the same localities.
[Illustration: WINTERGREEN: Gaultheria procumbens.]
*False Beech Drops.* _Monotropa Hypopitys._
*Pine Sap.*
Found growing upon the roots of pine or oak trees, from June to
September.
The single and erect stalk is about 6 or 8 inches high; thick,
fleshy, and smooth, or downy. It is pale at the foot, deepening to a
crimson-red near the flowers.
The small and sheath-like bracts are indeterminate in shape, thin and
dry. In color yellow-red, turning blackish when withered. A few only
occur upon the stalk.
The small flowers are irregularly vase-shaped, and composed of 8 or 10
narrow fleshy parts with crinkled tips; they are set on short stems,
in the clasp of a bract, and arranged in terminal groups of 2 to 5 in
number. The color is rosy-red, with yellow tips,--flowers, bracts, and
the top of the stalk following the same scheme of color.
A parasite, growing upon the roots, and, though not unpleasing in
general aspect when perfectly fresh, betraying the base quality of its
nature when mature, for an unwholesome mould spreads over its parts as
it grows old. When first opened the flowers turn down, but become erect
with age.
[Illustration: FALSE BEECH DROPS: Monotropa Hypopitys.]
*Indian Pipe.* _Monotropa uniflora._
*Corpse Plant.*
Found in dark, damp woods, from June to August.
The thick, round, flower-stem varies from 3 to 8 inches in height,
and is fleshy, smooth, and clammy. Its color is white, or faintly
flesh-tinted.
The small, scaly bracts, which serve for leaves, are white.
The large bell-shaped flower is formed of 5 long, narrow, fleshy white
parts, whose tips flare a little. The 10 stamens are dull tawny. The
flowers are nodding, usually solitary, though sometimes 2 or even 3 are
grouped on one stem.
A parasitic growth on roots and decaying vegetable matter, speedily
turning black when gathered, the Indian Pipe displays none of the
pleasing attributes commonly associated with healthful sun-loving
vegetation. It is, by nature, designed for the semi-twilight of the
dark forest, and illy bears transportation into the brighter light of
the open; even in the shadows of the woods, it is often found covered
by dead leaves.
[Illustration: INDIAN PIPE: M. uniflora.]
PRIMROSE FAMILY.
PRIMULACEÆ.
*Star-flower.* _Trientalis Americana._
*Star Anemone.*
*Star-of-Bethlehem.*
*Chickweed Wintergreen.*
Found in moist shade during May.
This very slender and smooth little stalk grows from 3 to 5 inches
in height, bears one or two sheath-like leaves near the root, and
terminates in a whorl of leaves at the top. It is green, slightly
reddish at the foot.
The long leaf is sharp-pointed at both ends, with an entire margin, a
thin and delicate texture which shows plainly the pattern-like tracery
of the ribs and veins, and a shining surface; the color is a full
green. 6, or more, leaves, of unequal size, spread in a whorl upon the
summit of the stalk.
The flower has 7 nearly diamond-shaped parts, of a thin texture, and
pure white color; they spread flat, their edges just overlapping in
a 7-pointed star, the 7 long, and narrow, greenish divisions of the
calyx alternating with them; the 10 thread-like stamens are white, with
orange tips. A single flower, borne on a slender stem, rises from the
whorl of leaves.
The number of the corolla-divisions sometimes varies, but 7 is the
usual measure. It is noticeable that the flower-stem is set a trifle
underneath the lap of the leaves, causing an inclination of the star
to one side. A tiny leaf is found sitting on the stalk just under the
leafy canopy.
[Illustration: STAR FLOWER: Trientalis Americana.]
*Loosestrife.* _Lysimachia quadrifolia._
Found in moist grounds, and woods, in June and July.
The single stalk, from 12 to 18 inches in height, is hairy and faintly
ridgy, and light green in color.
The leaf is oval and pointed at both ends; from 2 to 3 inches long,
with a strong midrib; the upper surface smooth to the touch, the lower
hairy, and the color yellow-green. The leaves are set close on the
stalk in whorls of fours and fives, with a single pair occurring near
the foot of the stalk.
The divisions of the flower are 5, long-pointed, fine in texture, and
light yellow, with a few tiny red streaks, and a bright red marking at
their base; the 5 erect, pale yellow stamens, tipped with tawny, are
united at the foot in a collar; the calyx-parts are 5, narrow, pointed,
and light green. The flowers, set on thread-like stems spring from the
angles of the leaves,--a flower for each leaf.
As many as six or seven whorls of leaves, four often accompanied by
flowers, are found on a single stalk.
[Illustration: LOOSESTRIFE: Lysimachia quadrifolia.]
*Spike Loosestrife.* _Lysimachia stricta._
Found in moist lands and fields, in July.
The stalk, from 12 to 18 inches in height, is branching near the top,
leafy, and smooth, but grooved beneath the branches; it is hollow, and
has a stiff fibre; pale yellow-green.
The long and narrow oval leaf is sometimes 2 and 3 inches long and only
½ an inch in width; its texture is thin, its surface very smooth, and
the margin entire. The color is a light yellow-green. The leaves clasp
the stalk in pairs, which occur at right angles to each other, and are
near together.
The flowers are about half an inch across, otherwise in color and shape
exactly resembling _L. quadrifolia_; they are set on inch long stems,
and arranged in irregular rings about the stalk, forming a noticeable
feathery spike, 5 or 6 inches in length.
The blossoms open first at the bottom of the spike, several rings
flowering at one time. The branches occur in pairs, symmetrically.
[Illustration: SPIKE LOOSESTRIFE: L. stricta.]
*----* _Steironema ciliatum._
Found in low places, and among shrubby growths, in July.
The single, smooth, 4-angled stalk is from 2 to 3 feet in height, and a
shining, light green color, sometimes bronzy.
The leaf is long oval, blunt or very slightly heart-shaped at the base,
tapering to a long and very sharp tip; the margin is entire, the ribs
noticeable, and the upper surface is velvety to the touch; the color
light green. The leaves are set on short stems, which are fringed with
erect hairs along their upper edges, and arranged in pairs, the pairs
being at right angles to each other.
The rather large corolla has 5 divisions of a rounded oval shape with
an abrupt little tip; their outer margin is somewhat puckered, the
texture thin, and the color a pure light yellow,--about their bases
is a reddish marking that makes a ring in the center of the flower;
the 5 erect stamens are straw-color, and the long pistil is green; the
calyx is 5-parted, and full green in color. The flowers, on slender
foot-stems, are placed by twos and fours on leafy stems, that spring
terminally, and from the angles of the leaves.
This handsome plant takes kindly to garden cultivation.
[Illustration: ---- Steironema ciliatum.]
*Common Pimpernel.* _Anagallis arvensis._
*Poor Man’s Weather Glass.*
Found in waste places and sandy soil, from June to September.
The several stems of this spreading plant lie upon the ground in a
close mat; they are square, the sides being twisted; smooth, shining,
and light green. They are commonly about 6 inches in length, but vary
somewhat.
The small oval leaf is widest at the base, entire, weak and loose in
texture, and dull green, the under side speckled with faint purple
dots. The leaves occur in pairs at regular intervals.
The pretty little flower is very variable in color; its 5-parted
and round-pointed corolla is purple, blue or white sometimes, but
most commonly is orange-red with a violet ring in the center, while
the collar which unites the 5 white stamens (they have yellow tips)
is red-violet--a curious color combination. The calyx is 5-parted,
shallow, and green. The flowers, on thread-like stems, occur in pairs,
springing from the angles of the leaves along the stalk.
The lowest buds open first; the blossoms last but a day,--they do not
often spread in overcast weather, nor open until the sun is shining
full, and they close by four o’clock in the afternoon. This habit
causes the folk-name, which is more surely applicable to the plant when
it grows by the sea, for though it is found inland in a flourishing
condition, it is never acclimated thoroughly enough to adjust its
reckoning with the weather, and is continually making false forecasts
in its calculations.
[Illustration: COMMON PIMPERNEL: Anagallis arvensis.]
DOGBANE FAMILY.
APOCYNACEÆ.
*Spreading Dogbane.* _Apocynum androsæmifolium._
Found along the borders of wayside thickets in June and July.
The branching, woody-fibred stalk grows from 2 to 3 feet in height; it
has a sticky, milky juice, and is smooth; dull-red on the upper side,
greenish on the under.
The entire, smooth leaves are slightly pointed at the ends; dull green;
they are set on extremely short stems in pairs.
The small bell-shaped flowers have 5 recurved points, and are white,
striped on the inside with hair lines of pink; their 5 yellowish
stamens are arranged in a short, pointed cone. They hang on short
stems, in small clusters from the ends of the branches and the angles
of the leaves.
Taken by itself the Dogbane’s flower is pretty, but the plant is
sprangly in growth and awkward in gesture; its branches spread at an
unpleasing angle, and the leaves are stiffly set. It is seen at its
best among tall grasses, where only the pink bells of the flowering
tips arise above the neighboring growths. The plant is much visited by
a small iridescent green beetle.
[Illustration: SPREADING DOGBANE: Apocynum androsæmifolium.]
*Indian Hemp.* _Apocynum cannabinum._
Found on river banks during July and August.
This branching plant, from 2 to 3 feet in height, has milky juice,
smooth and exceedingly tough bark, and is dull red in color.
The tip of the oval leaf is abruptly sharp-pointed; the margin is
entire, the surface is smooth, and the color is dark green. The leaves
are set on short stems, and placed in pairs.
The small and inconspicuous flowers are 5-pointed, and greenish white.
They form small flat clusters on the ends of the branches.
The leaves and flowers have a faint pleasant odor. The plant is
extremely awkward in gesture, without the redeeming grace of bloom
belonging to its next of kin, the Dogbane.
[Illustration: INDIAN HEMP: A. cannabinum.]
MILKWEED FAMILY.
ASCLEPIADACEÆ.
*Four-leaved Milkweed.* _Asclepias quadrifolia._
Found during June and July, in shady places, on dry uplands.
The stalk is leafy and slender, round, and tough fibred, and 1 or 2
feet high; it is downy with soft hairs; in color light green, with an
indication of pink at the joints.
The oval leaf has a broad base and a sharp-tapering point; the margin
is entire or slightly scalloped and wavy or ruffled, the ribs are
prominent and hairy underneath, the texture is thin, and the surface is
downy above; light green, with a whitey bloom,--pale underneath. The
leaves, on slender short stems, are arranged in pairs, or in whorls of
4 of which 2 are smaller than the others; they occur at a considerable
distance apart.
The flower is small and delicate in form and texture; its crown, of 5
tubes and 5 little horns, is tinted pale lilac, the 5 lobes are small,
down-bent, and creamy pink; the calyx is light green; the foot-stem
is long, and pale lilac color. The flowers are gathered in small
globe-shaped clusters, set upon terminal pink stems.
Only a few flower-clusters occur on the plant, and the 4-leaved whorls
are found midway the height of the stalk. The details of the whole
plant are delicately perfected, and the quality of its leafage is
pleasing.
[Illustration: FOUR-LEAVED MILKWEED: Asclepias quadrifolia.]
*Sand Milkweed.* _Asclepias obtusifolia._
Found on sandy barrens and fields in July.
The stalk, which grows from 2 to 3 feet in height, is very leafy in its
middle part, and is round, or sometimes a little flattened beneath the
leaves; its fibre is strong, and surface smooth. Color, pale green,
frequently toned with bronze, or brown.
The leaf is long, square-pointed with a sharp little tip, and
heart-shaped at its partly clasping base; its margin is entire, the
blade being much ruffled by the tautness of the strong midrib, and
its edge is slightly thickened; the texture is thick and tough, and
the surface is smooth and soft to the touch; the color is a strong
full green, showing purplish at the edge and ribs, and pale silvery
underneath where the mid-rib is white. The leaves occur in pairs which
grow at right angles to each other.
The crown tubes are short, broad, and slightly toothed, with noticeable
sharp little horns; the lobes are long, pointed, and curving. All
these parts are pale greenish-purple, while the small calyx is green.
The foot-stems are rather long and slender, and the flower-cluster is
large, loose, and terminal.
At about a third of the height of the stalk the leaves begin to
crowd together,--sometimes as many as five or six pairs will occur
with barely an inch of space between them; they overlap their bases
about the stalk, and describe fine curves with their wavy blades.
Occasionally a second cluster of flowers is borne at the base of the
stem which supports the usual cluster. The juice is very little milky.
[Illustration: SAND MILKWEED: A. obtusifolia.]
*Swamp Milkweed.* _Asclepias incarnata, var. pulchra._
Found in damp hollows and swamps, in July.
The leafy stalk is commonly 2 or 3 feet high, woody-fibred and hollow,
with slight ridges on its surface, and downy to the touch. Green in
color, modified by pale crimson.
The large leaf (7 inches long sometimes) is sharp-pointed at the
tip and slightly heart-shaped at the base; the ribs are prominent
underneath, and the margin is entire, the edge being thickened; the
texture is thick, the surface downy and hairy underneath; in color a
strong yellow-green. The leaves are set on short, stout stems, which
partly clasp the stalk, and grow in pairs, that occur at right angles
to each other.
The flower is small; the crown is reared high upon its little neck,
the horns very slender and pointed, the lobes narrow and curving; the
texture of the corolla is fine, and its color is a rich crimson, toned
to violet, the calyx parts are half as long as the lobes, and are
pale green with a crimson tint. The flowers are set on short, small
foot-stems, which are downy, and crimson toned; they form rather large
loose clusters, on stout green stems, and grow in a terminal group, or
singly from the angles of the upper leaves.
The buds are oval in shape, and of a noticeably richer hue than belongs
to the opened flower; they form flat-topped clusters before they reach
maturity.
This variety varies from the typical _incarnata_ chiefly in being more
downy, and shorter of leaf-stem.
[Illustration: SWAMP MILKWEED: A. incarnata, var. pulchra.]
*Purple Milkweed.* _Asclepias purpurascens._
Found along dry roadsides in July.
The generally single stalk varies from 1 to 3 feet in height, is
tough-fibred, slightly grooved, and a trifle downy to the touch; it is
very milky. The color is light green, crimson at the joints.
The long, oval leaf is sharp-pointed at the tip and blunt at the
base; its midrib is very flat on the top but round beneath, and the
cross-veins show plainly; the margin is entire, the edge curling under,
and the upper surface is smooth while the underside is velvety; the
color is yellow-green, with a crimson midrib that is purple underneath.
The leaves, on short, thick purple stems, are placed in pairs, at
alternate angles with one another.
The tubes belonging to the crown of this rather large flower are
long and oval in shape, their horns being short and broad with
suddenly-straight tips; the lobes are long, oval, and widely flaring;
all these parts are colored a strong, dark glowing crimson. The flowers
are set on foot-stems that are twice their own length, and pale green
in color; they are arranged in a loose cluster upon a short, stout
purplish stem, and grow terminally, and from the angles of the upper
leaves.
This plant is inappropriately designated _purpurascens_, since its full
and beautiful crimson flowers are unusually pure in tone.
[Illustration: PURPLE MILKWEED: A. purpurascens.]
*Poke Milkweed.* _Asclepias phytolaccoides._
Found in moist and shady banks in July.
The leafy stalk is not hollow, but very milky, of a close, firm fibre;
it is smooth or slightly downy--especially when young; from 2 to 5 feet
in height; clear green.
The large lower leaves (5 or 6 inches long by 3 inches in width) are
oval, pointed at both ends; the upper are narrower; their margins are
entire, midribs strong, and texture very thin and fine, downy and
pleasant to the touch. In color a clear green, paler beneath, the
midrib being pinkish above. They are set on short stems, in pairs,
which grow at alternate angles.
The flower is large; its oval lobes are very much reversed, and colored
a clear light green; the crown tubes are broad, short, and notched at
their tips; the horns are long and needle-pointed, they curve, and meet
together in the center; these parts are all ivory white, while the
little calyx is green. The flowers nod and droop on long, slender, pale
foot-stems that hang in a loose cluster on a stout thick stem, which
springs from the angle of a side leaf.
Sometimes the plant bears more than one of these flower-clusters;
it is the most delicate of our common Milkweeds, exceeding even the
Four-leaved in fineness, and the ivory white of its flower crown is
remarkable for its clarity of hue.
[Illustration: POKE MILKWEED: A. phytolaccoides.]
*Butterfly Weed.* _Asclepias tuberosa._
*Orange Milkweed.*
*Pleurisy Root.*
Found in dry pastures and fields in July.
The stalk branches often for the flowers; it is leafy, and grows from 2
to 3 feet high, with a strong fibre, its surface is hairy and its color
is a strong green, purplish near the foot, and red-orange below the
flower-clusters. The juice is not milky.
The long narrow leaf is somewhat blunt-pointed at the tip and
heart-shaped at the base, with an entire margin, and a strong midrib;
its fibre is strong and coarse, the veins showing, and it is hairy
underneath and downy above; the color is a full green, much toned with
orange. The leaves are set on short stems, and placed near together,
alternately, and with an upward inclination.
The flower is small and long; the crown is set up high on its slender
neck, its hoods short and narrow, and yet somewhat longer than the
fine-pointed straight horns,--in color a splendid glowing orange; the
narrow, fine-pointed lobes are slightly curling, and bright yellow;
the calyx is unobservable. The flowers are set on slender, rather
long, light green foot-stems, forming a loose flat-topped cluster; the
clusters being arranged in a leafy terminal group.
As many as eighteen clusters have been counted upon a single stalk. The
color scheme of this plant is especially good; the green betrays the
same tawny tone which belongs to the gorgeous flowers.
[Illustration: BUTTERFLY WEED: A. tuberosa.]
*Common Milkweed.* _Asclepias Cornuti._
Found in meadows and roadsides, from June to August.
The large, round, and tough-fibred stalk, which grows from 3 to 4 feet
high, has a sticky and milky juice, is minutely downy, and pale green.
The leaf is often very large (from 4 to 8 inches long), oval, rounded
at both ends, with an entire and somewhat wavy margin, and a large
midrib; it is thick in texture, smooth above, but a little downy
beneath, and grayish-green in color, the underside being silvery,--the
wide midrib is light, or often tinged with dull red.
The flower is rather large; the crown is brownish-pink, the lobes
light flesh-pink or pale lilac, and the foot-stems are pinkish. The
flower-clusters are large, round, and drooping; they spring from the
angles of the upper leaves.
Though regarded as a “weed” this Milkweed has many attractive features.
* * * * *
The seed-pods of the Milkweeds are most interesting; rough on the
outside, they are beautifully finished within, with a fine, smooth,
light lining. The silky plumes of the flat-brown seeds are closely
folded together and the seeds lie overlapping like the scales of
a fish. The light green outside of the Butterfly-Weed pod, tinged
with crimson-tawny, becomes with age a fine tree-trunk gray. In some
varieties a likeness to a dove may be found in the inverted pod.
[Illustration: COMMON MILKWEED: A. Cornuti.]
GENTIAN FAMILY.
GENTIANACEÆ.
*Fringed Gentian.* _Gentiana crinita._