resemblance to a fern leaf; the texture is fine, and the surface soft,
and downy; in color light green. The leaves are placed upon the stalk
in pairs.
The tubular large corolla spreads into 5 rounded, slightly irregular
lobes, and is a little hairy in the throat; color, a pure clear yellow;
the pistil is a thread of green, and the stamens are 4 in number;
the green calyx is unequally 5-parted. The flowers, on short curving
foot-stems, are usually arranged in pairs, springing from the angles of
the upper leaves.
A fragrance, slightly suggestive of Sweet-Fern belongs to the leaves.
This plant is noticeable for the fine texture of its parts; the pointed
green seed-pod rising from the frill of the calyx has also a decorative
value. All the Gerardias bear the stigma of being “clandestine root
parasites,”--they do not therefore seem worthy namesakes of the honest,
nature-loving old Herbalist, Gerarde, who lived in the days when
botanists wrote plain English. According to Gray the suckers of the
roots of these plants not only fasten upon other growths, but upon
their own, thus preying upon themselves.
[Illustration: YELLOW GERARDIA: G. pedicularia.]
*Slender Gerardia.* _Gerardia tenuifolia._
*Little Gerardia.*
Found, during August and September, on dry banks.
The erect, branching, and sparingly leafy stalk grows from 4 to
10 inches high; it is slender, and smooth. Green, tinged with
reddish-brown.
The leaves are long and narrow, almost needle-like; in color green.
They are set alternately upon the stalk.
The corolla is an irregular bell-shape with 5 rounded lobes, 2 being
smaller than the others, and folded over to cover the pistil and
stamens; its color is a pale magenta. The 4 stamens are woolly, and
yellow-tinted; the calyx is small and 5-toothed, and green. The flowers
grow on slender foot-stems along the sides of the stalk and branches.
As the fruit ripens the stems and seed-boxes turn reddish-brown. This
is a common flower along roadsides.
[Illustration: SLENDER GERARDIA: G. tenuifolia.]
*Butter-and-Eggs.* _Linaria vulgaris._
*Jacob’s Ladder.*
*Ramsted.*
Found from July to September in fields, meadows, and roadsides.
The very leafy, and slightly branching, stalk varies in height from
1 to 2 or 3 feet; it is slender, round, of a firm close fibre, and
smooth. Light gray-green in color.
The narrow long leaf is like a grass-blade, with an entire margin, fine
texture, and smooth surface. It is pale gray-green, lighter underneath.
The leaves are set close on the stalk, the arrangement being alternate,
and near together.
The flower is 2-lipped; the lower lip is 3-lobed, the middle lobe
being short and small, with a swelling above, which nearly closes the
throat of the corolla; the base of the lip is prolonged into a slender,
pointed spur; the upper lip is 2-lobed, the divisions bend outward and
over the lower lip; the texture is fine, and smooth, the throat being
lined with a glossy plush-like down; the color is a pure lemon yellow,
the protuberance on the lower lip golden-orange. The 4 stamens are pale
with cheese-colored tips; the pistil is tipped with green. The small
calyx is 5-parted, and green. The flowers, on short small foot-stems,
are arranged alternately, and close, in a terminal spike, the spurs
turning downward.
A charming feature of the blossom is the arch of the meeting tips
of the long pair of stamens above the shorter pair and the little
pistil; the two rows of orange velvet that run down the inside of the
corolla are also highly ornamental. This plant is a prime favorite with
children, but few among grown observers stop to consider the admirable
clarity of its lemon and orange hues. It is gregarious and grows in
colonies.
[Illustration: BUTTER-AND-EGGS: Linaria vulgaris.]
*Wild Toad Flax.* _Linaria Canadensis._
Found on sandy barrens during August and September.
The very slender and delicate stalk (from 10 to 12 inches in height)
branches a little; its leafage is sparse, and it is very smooth and
shining. In color light green.
The small leaf is narrow and fine-pointed, with an entire margin; the
texture is rather thick, and the surface is smooth; light green. The
leaves are set upon the stalk alternately, and at regular intervals.
The small flower is 2-lipped, with a spur; the upper lip is divided
into 2 sharp little points, the lower lip is larger and cut into 3
rounding scallops,--it presses against the upper with a prominent
swelling near the throat of the corolla, the curving spur is
thread-like; the texture is thin, and the color is a delicate lavender,
with a white spot on the under lip; the calyx is 5-parted, and green.
The flowers are set on short fine stems in a dainty terminal spire.
The stalk springs from a little mat of very leafy shoots, which
lie on the ground, spreading outwards from the root. In color and
general trigness of bearing this pretty plant presents a superficial
resemblance to the Lobelias.
[Illustration: WILD TOAD FLAX: L. Canadensis.]
*Cow Wheat.* _Melampyrum Americanum._
Found on the borders of light woods from July to September.
The stalk is 4 to 6 inches,--or perhaps more,--high; it is branching,
leafy, woody-fibred, and slightly rough to the touch. In color,
reddish-gray.
The lower leaves are long and narrow, with entire margins; the upper
are broader and cut at the base into long spine-like notches; the
surface is slightly rough. Color, yellow-green, growing lighter toward
the flowers. They are set on the stalk in pairs.
The inconspicuous flowers are tubular and 2-lipped; greenish white, the
lower lip being pale yellow; their calices 4-cleft, small, and green.
They grow singly from the angles of the upper leaves.
The shadowy stamens, seen under the arch of the upper lip, are vaguely
suggestive of an eye. This is a tidy little plant, with no pretensions
to beauty.
[Illustration: COW WHEAT: Melampyrum Americanum.]
*Monkey Flower.* _Mimulus ringens._
Found in the wet grounds of waysides and meadows, from July to
September.
The branching and leafy stalk, from 1 to 2 feet in height, is square,
slightly grooved, fine-fibred, and smooth. In color green.
The leaf is a narrow, oblong shape, tapering to the tip, with obscure
notches, fine texture, and smooth surface; color, green. The leaves
grow opposite to each other, partly clasping the stalk.
The corolla is 2-lipped, the upper lip being erect and 2-lobed, the
lower 3-lobed, with 2 small swellings near the tightly-closed throat;
the color is a clear light violet, with 2 yellowish patches near the
throat. The pistil, and 4 stamens, which are divided into a long and a
short pair, are all whitish. The 5-angled, and 5-pointed, green calyx
is tinged with dull violet color. The flowers are set on short stems
that spring singly from the angles of the upper leaves.
Only a few flowers open at one time, and the plants themselves grow
sparsely, by twos and threes, among the sedgy grasses of damp hollows,
where its clear color and neat leafage render it attractive to the
sauntering observer.
[Illustration: MONKEY FLOWER: Mimulus ringens.]
*Turtle-head.* _Chelone glabra._
*Snake-head.*
Found, in low and swampy ground, during August and September.
The single stalk (from 1 to 2 or 3 feet high) is large, and square,
and grooved on the two opposite sides; it is tough-fibred, and hollow;
rigid in gesture. In color, a light yellowish-green.
The long, narrow, oval leaf tapers gradually to a long tip, has a
sharply toothed margin, and strongly marked ribs; it is of a coarse
tough fibre although its surface is smooth. Its color is dark green,
lighter underneath. The leaves, on very short stems, occur in pairs.
This curious flower is 2-lipped; the upper lip is arched, and folded
together with a slight notch in the middle of its margin, the lower lip
is 3-lobed; the throat is compressed and filled within by woolly hairs.
In texture the corolla is smooth and leathery; in color it is dull
white, or sometimes tinged faintly with pink. Under the arched upper
lip the tips of the dark, wool-covered stamens show. The calyx, formed
of 5, distinct, oval, pale green parts, is surrounded by broader leafy
bracts. The flowers grow in short, crowded, terminal clusters.
The resemblance to the turtle or snake is most apparent in the bud
where the reptile-like mouth is quite pronounced. The plant lurks among
the sedges of swampy lands, and is generally unattractive, for its
foliage is almost always so eaten by insects that a perfect leaf is
rarely to be found.
[Illustration: TURTLE-HEAD: Chelone glabra.]
BROOM-RAPE FAMILY.
OROBANCHACEÆ.
*Beech-drops.* _Epiphegus Virginiana._
Found growing from the roots of beech trees, in August, through October.
The tough, branching stalk, from 6 to 12 inches high, is brown,
inclining to reddish.
There are no leaves, and only a few dry, and unnoticeable scales occur
occasionally on the stalk.
The flowers are of two kinds, the upper sterile ones have long, small,
4-notched tubes, and are dull purplish and yellowish-brown in color;
the lower seed-bearing flowers appear always as small buds. They are
set on short foot-stems, and are irregularly scattered along the
branches.
This is a parasite, drawing its life from the root of the beech; where
it looks like a dry or dead twig sticking up from the ground. It emits
a most unpleasant odor.
[Illustration: BEECH-DROPS: Epiphegus Virginiana.]
VERVAIN FAMILY.
VERBENACEÆ.
*Blue Vervain.* _Verbena hastata._
Found in dry grounds, waysides and fields, in July and August.
The large stalk, from 4 to 6 feet in height, is 4-angled and grooved
down the sides; it is stout, roughish, and green.
The short-stemmed leaf is long, narrow, and tapering, with a sharply
toothed margin, a strongly curved midrib, and a coarse texture, with
a roughish surface; in color dark green. The lower leaves are more or
less 3-cleft. The arrangement is opposite.
The small tubular corolla is 5-parted, and colored a rich dark
blue-purple; the green of the calyx is also tinged with purple. The
flowers grow in slender spires, which are grouped in an open pyramidal
cluster on the top of the stalk.
The flowers at the foot of the cluster open first, only a few at
a time; as the flowering continues upward there is left behind an
ever-lengthening line of purple tinged calices which add greatly to
the beauty of the bloom, and supply the unifying color in the general
scheme of purple and green. Seen in masses, illumined by the sunlight,
the color is rarely dark and rich. The bumble bee is a devoted friend
to the Vervain, and may often be seen in the early evening, sleepily
clinging to the flowery spire he has chosen for his night’s lodging.
[Illustration: BLUE VERVAIN: Verbena hastata.]
*White Vervain.* _Verbena urticæfolia._
*Nettle-leaved Vervain.*
Found in waste places and roadsides, from July to September.
The branching stalk grows from 1 to 2 feet high, and is 4-sided,
each side being grooved down its middle; it is strong-fibred, and
rough-hairy, and green.
The oval leaf tapers to the tip, is coarsely toothed, and loose-fibred;
its surface is hairy, and its color dark green. The leaves, on short
stems, are placed upon the stalk in pairs.
The small, inconspicuous, white flower is 5-pointed. They are clustered
in long slender spires, from the top of the stalk, and the angles of
the upper leaves.
The leafage of the White Vervain bears a resemblance to the noxious
Nettle, that at first sight would lead us to condemn the plant as
unworthy; a closer observation bestowed upon the graceful gesture of
its flowering spires will rescue its name from the limbo of “weeds.”
[Illustration: WHITE VERVAIN: V. urticæfolia.]
*Lop-seed.* _Phryma Leptostachya._
Found in light woods in July.
The large stout stalk bears slender branches, grows from 3 to 4 feet
in height, and is square, hollow, and woody-fibred; it is smooth, or
covered sparsely with small hairs, and grooved at the joints. Green,
dashed with bronze, the branches sometimes purplish.
The lower leaves are large, broadly oval, and tapering to a sharp
point, and sit on long trough-like stems; the upper are small and
narrow. They have irregularly toothed margins, are thin in texture,
and hairy; green in color. They are set on the stalk in pairs with
a noticeable joint, the pairs occurring at right angles, and at a
considerable distance apart.
The very small corolla is 2-lipped; the lower lip is 3-parted, the
upper and smaller being 2-parted, and their color is light crimson
with a violet tint; the long, dull green calyx is 2-divided, the upper
division being longer, with 3 curving crimson tips. The flowers are
arranged in pairs, at right angles to each other, in slender spikes,
whose long stems bear one or two pairs of little leaves midway their
length.
The blackish seed-pod is the oddest feature of this plant; it is
grooved, and sharply turns down upon the stem, its little curved hooks
bristling with expectation of getting a clutch upon a wayfarer.
[Illustration: LOP-SEED: Phryma Leptostachya.]
MINT FAMILY.
LABIATÆ.
*Gill-over-the-Ground.* _Nepeta Glechoma._
*Ground Ivy.*
*Robin-run-away.*
*Creeping Charlie.*
Found in dooryards and roadsides, amidst grass, in May.
The trailing stalk is leafy, square, and somewhat hairy; pale green in
color.
The leaf is nearly round, with a heart-shaped base, the margin cut in
large rounded scallops, and the surface soft hairy to the touch; the
color is green, often sprinkled with lighter, mouldy-looking patches.
The leaves, on curved stems, grow in pairs.
The flower is 2-lipped; the upper lip slightly parted, the lower being
more broad and spreading, and 3-cleft,--the middle lobe notched. The
color varies from light to darker blue-violet, the lower lip and throat
being spotted with small specks of reddish-violet. The tubular calyx
is 5-parted, and green. The flowers, on short stems, spring from the
angles of the leaves.
Introduced from England into our gardens, the one desire of this
“natural born” rover seems to be that of escaping from bounds,--to
run away riot on the green sward, under the hedge, and so out on the
highway.
[Illustration: GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND: Nepeta Glechoma.]
*Catnip.* _Nepeta Cataria._
Found from July to September, on the roadsides, and about dwellings.
The large square stalk is branching, and rather leafy; it grows between
2 or 3 feet high, and is strong-fibred, downy, and grooved down the
middle of each side; its color is light gray-green.
The broad oval leaf is heart-shaped at the base, the edge is cut into
large rounded scallops, and the surface is downy. In color it is a
grayish-green. The leaves, on very short stems, grow in pairs.
The small flower is 2-lipped; the upper lip is erect, and notched in
the middle of the margin, the larger lower lip is 3-lobed, the middle
lobe being much the largest. Its color is a lavender tinted white,
spotted with lavender dots. The small, tubular, 5-pointed calyx is
green. The flowers grow upon the stalk in short spike-like clusters.
The Catnip has a pungent, mint-like odor. It is somewhat sprangling in
growth, and only a few flowers open together; but the heart shaped leaf
is most pleasing to the touch, because of its fine silky texture.
[Illustration: CATNIP: N. Cataria.]
*Bee Balm.* _Monarda didyma._
*Oswego Tea.*
Found in July (but occasionally later in the season also), in the shade
of moist woods, frequently near water.
The stalk grows from 1 to 2 feet high, and is noticeably square; it is
juicy, hairy and rough to the touch. In color, light green, with a red
ring at the joints.
The leaf is oval, broad at the base, and tapering to a long, sharp
point, many ribbed, with its margin coarsely notched, and rough with
hairs; green in color. The leaves, on short, hairy, red stems, grow in
pairs, which are at alternate angles with each other.
The conspicuous flower is tubular, very small at the base, spreading
wide in the throat, and 2-lipped; the upper lip is very narrow,
sharp-pointed, and curving, the lower lip is larger, spreading, and
often 2-cleft; the texture is fine and delicate. The pistil and 2 long,
slender stamens protrude from under the tip of the upper lip, and,
like the corolla, are colored a full, glowing red. The small calyx,
with its round, narrow-throated, and 5-pointed tube, is of a papery
texture, and finely grooved; in color it is a duller and darker red
than the corolla. The flowers are set in a large terminal head, that is
surrounded by a row of drooping, oval, smooth, red leaf-like bracts.
These bracts, while bright in color, do not possess the rich fullness
of hue which belongs to the flowers themselves; just beneath them a
pair of stalk-leaves crowd up close, and are each adorned with a dash
of scarlet, as though the dye had spilled over from the blossoms. The
buds open in the center of the head first, and continue blooming in
rings, outward. Not even the Cardinal Flower produces a more vivid
effect than a group of these brilliant flowers, standing beside a pool
of dark water, in the heavy shade of forest trees.
[Illustration: BEE BALM: Monarda didyma.]
*Wild Bergamot.* _Monarda fistulosa._
Found in the dry soil of roadsides and pastures during July and August.
The smooth square stalk is slightly grooved, and somewhat slender,
though strong in fibre; it grows from 2 to 5 feet in height, and
branches only for the flowers. Color, green tinged with dull violet.
The leaf is oval, broad at the base, and tapering to the point; its
margin is sparingly notched, the texture is exceedingly fine, and the
surface is soft to the touch. It is aromatic in odor. The color is
grayish-green, the midrib being lighter.
The flower is 2-lipped, with a long slender tube, and the pistil and
2 stamens project beyond the upper lip; they are colored like the
corolla, a clear fine lavender. The small, tubular calyx is minutely
5-pointed; of a green color that is tinted with dull violet. The
flowers grow in large terminal heads, which are set about by a row of
small, light green leaves (bracts).
The flowering begins at the center of the head, and continues in
ever-widening whorls, leaving behind them a slightly rounded disc of
small tubular calices, resembling a honeycomb,--the intermingled green
and lavender in this disc form a pleasing note in the color-scheme of
the plant, whose leafage is unusually fine in texture, as well as tone.
[Illustration: WILD BERGAMOT: M. fistulosa.]
*Hyssop.* _Hyssopus officinalis._
Found along roadside banks, near human habitations, during July and
August.
The stalk is 8 or 12 inches high with many leaves and trig little
branches; it is square, tough-fibred, slender, and smooth. The color is
light green, inclining to a blue-green,--reddish near the foot.
The long and narrow leaf has a blunt-pointed tip, an entire margin, and
shows only its midrib; the texture is thick and a little stiff, and the
surface is very slightly rough. In color it is a fine gray-green, with
a hint of the rich color of the flower. The leaves grow upon the stem
in clustered pairs, which occur at right angles to each other.
The small tubular flower is 2-lipped; the narrow upper lip being
2-cleft, while the wider lower lip is 8-cleft, with its middle and
largest lobe cut into 2 scallops. In texture the corolla is fine and
thin, and in color it is a deep and strong purple-blue. The 4 stamens,
and the pistil, are long, and curve out from the hollow of the upper
lip,--they are bright blue, and their tips, at first a rich red, become
white as they mature. The small 5-pointed calyx is reddish, with a fine
green bloom. The flowers grow in close groups of 3 or 5, in the angles
of the leaves, and form an irregular one-sided terminal spike.
This plant affords a perfect example of color-harmony, with its
contrasting absolute purplish-blue corolla, and deep red stamens,
brought into unity by the purple-toned green of its leaves. It has a
strong and pungent scent.
[Illustration: HYSSOP: Hyssopus officinalis.]
*Self Heal.* _Brunella vulgaris._
*Heal All.*
*Thimble-flower (Vt.)*
Found everywhere, among short grass, from July to September.
The stalk (from 6 to 12 inches high) is more or less reclining in
habit; it is leafy, and branching slightly, thick, square, with grooves
on its two opposite sides, tough-fibred, and smooth. In color, light
green.
The leaf is long, oval with a tapering tip, a sparsely notched, or
entire margin, and a smooth surface. Its growth, on short stems, is in
pairs. Green in color.
The flower is irregularly 2-lipped, the upper lip hoodlike, and the
lower 3-lobed, the middle lobe being largest and fringed on its edge.
The color is violet, the hooded lip is generally darker than the other
parts of the corolla; the buds are much deeper in color than the
blossoms. The lower division of the 2-parted calyx has 2 long points; a
broad heart-shaped bract supports its base; in color it is green with a
violet tinge. The flowers grow in an elongated, or thimble-shaped head,
on the end of the stalk, and from the angles of the upper leaves.
The clear violet of the corolla is brought into harmony with the
leaf-green, through the violet tinted calyx which supplies the unifying
color. The plant’s habit of growth is sprangling, for the stem,
which seems strong-fibred in itself, is given to lopping weakly upon
surrounding vegetation.
[Illustration: SELF HEAL: Brunella vulgaris.]
*Motherwort.* _Leonurus Cardiaca._
Found in blossom through July and August, on waste grounds around
dwellings.
The large, stout, square stalk grows from 3 to 4 feet high; it
branches, is very leafy, and of a dull purplish color.
The upper leaves, long and taper-pointed, are sharply notched, with 3
strong ribs; the lower leaves are more deeply cut, and broader than the
upper ones, and are set on longer foot-stems. The texture is coarse,
the surface soft-hairy, and the color dark green. The leaves grow near
together, and point out in all directions, around the stalk.
The small 2-lipped flower has the upper lip slightly arched, and the
lower one 3-lobed; there are 4 stamens under the hood of the upper lip;
the outside of the corolla is covered with silky hairs; the color is a
dull pink. The 5-pointed, green calyx becomes rigid, and bristling with
age, and is persistent on the stalk after the flowers have disappeared.
They grow in close whorls around the stalk at short intervals.
Motherwort is effective from the distance, with its many alert leaves,
and close flower-whorls threaded on its long stalk; it is a favorite
with the bees, and is cherished for their sakes by the beekeeper. It
has been naturalized in this country from Europe--perhaps purely for
the profit of the bee?
[Illustration: MOTHERWORT: Leonurus Cardiaca.]
*Wild Mint.* _Mentha Canadensis._
Found on moist banks, beside running water, commonly in the shade, from
July to September.
The branching, leafy stalk is square, coarse-fibred, hairy, and about 1
or 2 feet in height. In color it is pale green, sometimes bronzy.
The long leaves are pointed at both ends (except the upper leaves,
which are wider at the base), with notched margins, midribs prominent
underneath, and a coarse texture, the upper surface being rough, while
the underside is hairy; green. They are set on short stems, and grow in
pairs, at opposite angles to each other.
The corolla of the very small flower is shaped like a 4-divided tube,
the upper division being notched at its tip: it is white, or faintly
tinged with pink or lavender; the hairy calyx is pale green, or pinky.
The flowers are arranged in close rings about the stalk, in the angles
of the upper leaves.
The scent of this plant resembles Pennyroyal, though less strong.
[Illustration: WILD MINT: Mentha Canadensis.]
*Spearmint.* _Mentha virides._
Found in old orchards and in upland pastures, by runnels, or wet
hollows, during August.
The stalk (from 1 to 2 feet in height) bears branches in pairs; it is
square, firm-fibred, and smooth. The color is green, with a purple tone.