feet in height, is sharp-angled, somewhat twisted, and smooth to the
touch. In color it is a cool, pleasing green.
The lower leaves are sometimes 6 inches long and about 2 wide, above
they are small and narrow; the shape is a long-pointed oblong, deeply
indented on the strong midrib; with an entire margin, and a smooth
shining surface. The color is a cool dark green, silvery with bloom
underneath.
The flower is large and beautiful. The lower petal, or lip, is widely
spreading and deeply 3-cleft with a fine fringed margin, and a long
and slender, curving spur; the other petals are sharp-pointed, their
outer margins notched; two of the calyx-parts flare like wings at
either side, while the third part is erect between the upper petals;
the texture is very fine, and delicate. The color is an exquisite pale
lilac, the lip being slightly darker, and fading to a pure waxen white
at the throat; the spur is pale pink, or nearly white. The flowers, on
fine, twisted and curved, green foot-stems, are arranged alternately,
and close together, in a large feathery spire, each foot-stem springing
from the angle of a small leaf or bract.
The blossoms are slightly odorous, as though no gift had been refused
to this lovely Orchid. Not least among its delightsome qualities is the
rich toned green of its leaf, contrasting with the fairy lightness of
its blossoming spire.
[Illustration: EARLY PURPLE FRINGED ORCHID: Habenaria fimbriata.]
*Small Purple Fringed Orchid.* _Habenaria psycodes._
Found by roadside springs, or in low damp meadows, during July and
August.
The stalk is sparingly leafy, round and smooth, and varies in height
from 1 to 8 feet; light green in color.
The long leaf is sharp-pointed at the tip, thin but tough in texture,
and smooth; in color yellow-green, not dark. The leaves are few in
number, clasping, and near the top somewhat sheath-like; they are
placed alternately.
The flower is small; the lip fan-shaped, 3-cleft, and fringed; the
other petals erect and fringy; the slender spur is curving, and longer
than the foot-stem; the calyx-parts are small and rounded, one being
erect and the two others spreading at the sides. The texture is fine,
and the color is a clear light lilac, the spur being purplish-green.
The curious little foot-stem looks like a rolled leaf; it is green,
or slightly tinted pink. The flowers are placed in a terminal spire,
springing from the angles of small pale green leaves (bracts).
Green at first, the lilac flush overspreads the buds as they swell
before the blossoms expand. It is an odorous flower, and fortunately
not uncommon. The spur is more curving than that of the Large Purple
Fringed, and the whole plant is more slender and less perfect in its
details, yet it is sufficiently like its early sister to be taken for a
belated specimen of the _fimbriata_ when first espied amongst the tall
grasses.
[Illustration: SMALL PURPLE FRINGED ORCHID: H. psycodes.]
*----* _Habenaria Hookeri._
Found along swamps, or in woods, in June.
The angular, somewhat twisted, green flower-stem rises from between two
leaves, to the height of 8 or 12 inches.
The large and rounding leaf is 3 or 4 inches broad, and not greatly
longer; it has many parallel ribs marking it underneath, a thick and
leathery texture, and a smooth, very glossy surface. The color is a
strong dark green, the underside being covered with a pale bloom. The
two leaves are opposite each other, lying upon the ground.
The flower is rather noticeable in shape, for the lip is wide at the
base, with a pointed and much curving tip; the upright petals are very
sharp-pointed (like a scimetar), and their needle-like tips cross
each other; the spur is a trifle longer than the foot-stem, and very
slender; the broad upright part of the calyx behind the upper petals
curves forward over them, and nearly meets the upward curve of the
lip (thus increasing a resemblance to a pair of nippers); the side
calyx-parts are oblong, with fine tips, which turn back. In color
all parts of the flower are green, the lip tending somewhat toward
yellow. The flowers are set, on twisted foot-stems, alternately, and
a certain space apart, in a spike; they each spring from the angle
of a sharp-pointed little leaf (or bract) which is longer than the
foot-stems.
One of the most interesting features of this Orchid is the peculiar
varnished appearance of the underside of the foot-leaf.
[Illustration: ---- H. Hookeri.]
*Fringed Green Orchid.* _Habenaria lacera._
*Ragged Orchis.*
Found, during July and August, on moist banks, and beside running water.
The round smooth stalk grows to be 8 or 12 inches high; it is nearly
white at the foot, gaining to a dull, but pale, green near the flowers.
The few leaves are lance-shaped, large near the ground and lessening
to a mere sheath above, of a tough texture, and smooth surface. They
are alternately placed, and clasp the stalk with a marked fold on the
midrib. The color is a faded yellow-green.
The lip of the small flower is fan-shaped, with a very narrow base,
3-cleft, and spreading; the other petals are erect and fringy; the spur
is long and curved; the calyx is small, the side-parts flaring, the
third part erect behind the petals; it is colored a pale yellow-green.
The foot-stem is slightly twisted, as long as the spur, and pale.
The blossoms are placed alternately, rising from the angles of small
enfolding leaves (bracts), in a scattering terminal spike.
There is a monotony of hue about this plant, and a general dinginess
of aspect, that render it rather uninteresting; the lip more nearly
approaches clarity of tone than any other part of the flower.
[Illustration: FRINGED GREEN ORCHID: H. lacera.]
*----* _Habenaria hyperborea._
Found in cold dark bogs, and deep woods, in July and August.
The rigidly erect stalk, in height 10 to 18 inches, is round and smooth
at the foot, but becomes angular or grooved, and twisted, above; pale
green in color.
The lower leaves are oblong, and round-pointed, the upper leaves longer
and sharp-pointed; they are folded on the midrib, and leathery in
texture; in color dark green, the underside pale, shining, and moist.
They are placed alternately, and clasp the stalk like a sheath. Three
or 4 large leaves occur at the foot; the change to the pointed shape is
very abrupt.
The flower is small; the lip is sharp-pointed and flaring, the other
petals smaller and narrow, their tips overlapping, under the erect
calyx-part, while the two side calyx-parts curve downwards; the spur is
blunt, short, and curved. The seed-box is very noticeable, shaped like
a large dangled bag, with a very small neck, from which the blossom
spreads. All parts of the flowers are tinted alike, a dull green. They
are set tight to the stalk each in the clasp of a small sharp-tipped
pale-green leafy bract, in a close club-shaped spike.
The stamens just show their brown tips under the hooded petals, thus
increasing the fantastic likeness to a little old woman which is given
to the flower by its big seed-box. Reports from Iceland and Greenland
show that this Orchid ventures far into the arctic regions.
[Illustration: ---- H. hyperborea.]
*Rattlesnake Plantain.* _Goodyera pubescens._
Found in rich woods, usually near evergreens, and blossoming in July
and August.
This leaf is oval, with a short, wide foot-stem; its entire margin
is ruffled a little, it is thick, silky-soft to the touch, and of a
gray-green color finely netted with whitey-green markings. The leaves
are set in a cluster, close to the ground.
The small greenish-white flower has a lip like a short pouch, with a
sharp, narrow tip, the outer parts being folded loosely about it; it is
waxen in texture, and placed on the top of the green, downy seed-box.
The flowers are set closely in a spike, whose stem rises from the
middle of the leaf-tuft to the height of 6 or more inches.
The foliage of this Orchid is more striking than its flower, and
usually lasts very late into the fall.
[Illustration: RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN: Goodyera pubescens.]
*Lady’s Tresses.* _Spiranthes Romanzoffiana._
Found during July and August beside meadow runnels, and on moist banks.
The round little flower-stem is twisted and smooth; about 8 or 10
inches high; and of a pale green color, pink at the foot.
The long narrow leaf, with its sharp-pointed tip, is not large, and
contracts to a mere sheath near the flower; its texture is thick, and
surface smooth; it clasps the stem. The arrangement is alternate, and
the color is a dull, but pale, green.
The small flower is indeterminate in shape, with an oblong down-bent
lip, all the other parts being erect and holding their tips together;
the throat is round and hollow; the texture is waxen and the color
white, or sometimes tinged with faint dull yellow. The flowers, set
down in the hold of enfolding, green sheath-like bracts whose pointed
tips curve over the blossoms, are arranged in rows to form a close
spike.
The twisting of the flower-stem causes the ranks of blossoms to appear
to be placed in a spiral arrangement. The flowers have a cloying
perfume.
[Illustration: LADY’S TRESSES: Spiranthes Romanzoffiana.]
*Lady’s Tresses.* _Spiranthes præcox._
Found in moist meadows and waysides during September and October.
The erect stalk varies in height from 4 to 12 inches; it is round and
smooth; light green or pale in color.
The long slender root-leaves (one or two), which rise from the ground,
are tapering at the base, firm and thick of fibre, and smooth to the
touch; the color is yellowish-green. A few sheathing little leaves
occur along the stalk.
The small flower is very like _S. Romanzoffiana_, with a curving lip,
and crinkled margins; in color it is pearly white. It is enfolded in an
oval, small, green leafy bract. The flowers are oddly arranged, in a
single much twisted row, forming a spiral spike.
The blossoms are sweet scented.
[Illustration: LADY’S TRESSES: S. præcox.]
IRIS FAMILY.
IRIDACEÆ.
*Wild Iris.* _Iris versicolor._
*Larger Blue Flag.*
Found by runlets and in moist meadows, in June.
The rootstock sends up several leaves ensheathing the flower-stem.
The leaf is sword-shaped, long, narrow, and pointed, with a narrow,
light, ribbon-like finish to its edge; the inconspicuous ribs are
grass-like. Its color is a cool, light green, with traces of dull
violet near the foot. Several leaves overlap one another at the base.
The flower is large, with 9 petal-like parts, growing in sets of
threes; the 3 outer parts are broad, spreading, and curving downwards
more or less,--in color violet, marked with white and yellow, and
delicately lined with dark violet; the 3 parts that alternate with
these are smaller, erect, and taper to a narrow foot at the base,--in
color they are violet; the pistil is in 8 petal-like parts, which curve
back, over the broad outer divisions, with a fine arch (under which the
stamens may be found),---they are cleft at the tips, and in color are
violet, darker at the tips, and reddish on the arch. The texture of the
flower is exceedingly fine and delicate. It grows from the summit of
the 3-angled green seed-case, which is borne on a tall, leafy, green
stem; this stem is slightly flattened on opposite sides, and is smooth
and polished of surface.
The ancients, who named this flower Iris, had a true appreciation of
its rainbow-like qualities; its texture is so ethereal that it seems
to float in the grass, and to fade before our eyes like its evanescent
namesake. It however replaces one day’s bloom by another flowering, and
keeps up a prolonged succession of blossoms from day to day.
“The fleur-de-lys, which is the flower of chivalry, has a sword for its
leaf, and a lily for its heart.”--Ruskin.
[Illustration: WILD IRIS: Iris versicolor.]
*Blue-eyed Grass.* _Sisyrinchium angustifolium._
*Blue-eyed Mary.*
Found, during June and July, in moist meadows and pastures amidst
grasses.
A few leaves and the flower-stem, from 4 to 8 inches in height, rise
from the root.
The leaf is like a grass-blade, fine-pointed, flat, and very thin,
especially along the margins; it is slightly ridged with veins, and is
smooth. In color, a strong green with a hint of blue.
The 6 petal-like parts of the flower are oblong and blunt-pointed, with
an abrupt sharp tip; their texture is thin, and they spread widely. The
coloring is charming, a pale or dark blue, with purple markings, and
a central design in yellow daintily outlined in purple; the prominent
pistil is yellow at the base, and purple above, while its 3-cleft
tip is orange. Two or three flowers are closely grouped on a little
foot-stem which rises from betwixt two sheath-like leaves set on the
summit of the rigidly upright flower-stem. This stem is furnished with
thin sword-like margins.
Though not found in abundance generally, this is not an uncommon plant,
and occasionally a meadow may be found which every June morning is
turned to a sea of blue, like a flax field for fullness of coloring,
and every succeeding afternoon becomes green again, because this little
Iris shuts her blue eye by mid-day. But one flower blooms on a plant at
a time.
[Illustration: BLUE-EYED GRASS: Sisyrinchium angustifolium.]
AMARYLLIS FAMILY.
AMARYLLIDACEÆ.
*Star Grass.* _Hypoxis erecta._
Found in grassy pastures and fields from May to the end of June.
The leaves and flower-stems, from 6 to 8 inches in height, rise
together from the ground.
The long, narrow leaf is slightly grooved, with a marked midrib, and
a strong fibre; in color, as well as shape, it resembles the grass it
grows amidst.
The 6 petal-like, pointed parts of the flower are smooth on the inside
and downy without; they spread flat to show the 6 yellow stamens; the
inside of the flower is bright yellow, the outside tinged with green.
Three or four flowers grow on the summit of the slender shining green
stem.
The swing of the curving leaf-blades is admirably graceful.
[Illustration: STAR GRASS: Hypoxis erecta.]
LILY FAMILY.
LILIACEÆ.
*Adder’s-tongue.* _Erythronium Americanum._
*Dog-tooth Violet.*
*Trout Lily.*
Found in early May on springy slopes or in moist meadow-lands.
Two leaves and the single flower-stem, which is about 6 or 8 inches in
height, rise from the root.
The leaves are long and oval, tapering at the tip, with an entire
margin, of a thick and juicy texture, and a smooth surface that is cool
to the touch. The color is green with a bloom upon it, and mottled and
streaked with dull red, which appears very strongly in the midrib and
near the base of the leaf.
The flower is nodding and lily like in its general character; formed
of 6 long taper-pointed petal-like calyx-parts. A ridge runs down the
middle of each of the 3 inner parts. The flower is yellow; dark reddish
on the outside of the outer divisions, and spotted with minute reddish
dots on the inside of the inner divisions. The 6 stamens are large
and yellow, and the pale greenish-yellow pistil is club-shaped, with
3 grooves. The flower-stem is round, smooth, and pale; it grows from
between the two leaves.
In the sun the flower opens wide, its three outer divisions rolling
back, and exhales a fragrant smell like that of new lilac shoots; the
markings on the leaves are richer in color when the plant grows in more
shaded places. It is a communistic plant, and exceeding capricious in
withholding its bloom when transplanted.
[Illustration: ADDER’S-TONGUE: Erythronium Americanum.]
*Red Trillium.* _Trillium erectum._
*Purple Trillium.*
*Red Benjamin.*
*Bumble-bee-root.*
*Squaw-root.*
*Wake Robin.*
Found in the shade of damp woods, in May.
The simple stalk, varying from 6 to 12 inches in height, bears a whorl
of leaves on its summit (from which springs the flower); it is large,
round, juicy and smooth, and a deep or purplish-red color at the foot,
but light green near the top.
The large and handsome leaf is a diamond shape, of about equal width
and length, pointed at both ends; its ribs and veins form a stout and
important framework, the margin is entire, texture loose, and the
surface is shining underneath though not above; the color is a full
green, tinged with pink at the base. Three leaves are set in a whorl.
The flower also is rather large; its 3 long oval petals are thin and
close in texture, and colored a rich deep maroon-red, the underside
inclining to purple, with parallel veins marked with a darker color.
The calyx is 3-parted, the divisions shorter and more pointed than
the petals; of a green color, edged and veined with red. The petals
and calyx-parts spread alternately around the base of the prominent,
3-parted, conical, dark crimson pistil, and the 6 erect stamens, with
their pale yellow or white tips. The single flower, on a square or
round stem, springs from the whorl of leaves.
Though not strong in odor, its quality is rather rank. The flower-stem
usually inclines to one side. When the plant first rises from the
ground the leaves are close folded about the sharply-conical flower
bud. White or greenish flowers are sometimes found instead of deep red.
[Illustration: RED TRILLIUM: Trillium erectum.]
*Nodding Trillium.* _Trillium cernuum._
*Wake Robin.*
*White Benjamin.*
Found in moist woods and on shaded banks in May.
The single, rather large and smooth stalk grows from 8 to 14 or 15
inches in height. It is light green, or reddish near the foot.
The leaf is large, a broad diamond-shape with long-pointed tip; it has
3 strong ribs, a fine texture, and smooth surface; and it grows in a
whorl of 3 upon the summit of the stalk. The color is a full, juicy
green.
The flower is rather large; the 3 petals are tapering, recurved, and
white; the alternating calyx-parts are light green; the 6 stamens are
dull lavender,--the pistil 3-parted. The single flower, on its short
stem, hangs under the leaves, which almost conceal it.
[Illustration: NODDING TRILLIUM: T. cernuum.]
*Bellwort.* _Uvularia perfoliata._
*Wild Oat.*
*Straw Bell.*
Found in damp woods, during May.
The slender stalk forks at the top into 2 (or sometimes more) branches;
it reaches the height of 10 or 15 inches, is hard and round, grooved
a little, and shining. The color is a cool light green, tinted with
purple-brown at the foot. Two or three sheath-like leaves enfold it
near the foot.
The oblong leaf grows together about the stalk, with an appearance of
being strung upon it; it is deeply creased upon the midrib, the margin
is entire, and its texture is firm and thin, most pleasant to the
touch. The color is a cool fine green, underneath pale with bloom. The
leaves are alternate, and occur only upon the branches.
The flower is shaped like a slender deep bell, whose pointed tips
slightly curve outwards but never spread wide apart; its 6 calyx-parts
are petal-like, long and narrow, each grooved down the middle; the
texture is thin and fine, and smooth on the outside, while the inner
surface is rough as though spread with fine meal of a slightly richer
hue than the pale straw-yellow bell with its faint tinge of green. The
flower hangs singly on a short, slender, terminal green stem.
After the fall of the flower the stems prolong themselves with a
further succession of leaves; thus the rather conspicuous seed-pod is
left hanging near the middle of the branch.
[Illustration: BELLWORT: Uvularia perfoliata.]
*Wild Oat.* _Oakesia sessilifolia._
Found in May, in moist shade; in frequent neighborhood with the
Bellwort.
The stalk, from 6 to 8 inches high, is very like its cousin Bellwort,
but is more slender and bears a leaf beneath the fork of its branches;
it is also greener in hue.
The oval, or long-pointed, entire, leaf is smooth above, and ridgy
beneath. Of a beautiful light green color. The leaves are arranged in
pairs at the flower, and alternately; they are half-clasping, and hang
lightly.
The flower is smaller than the Bellwort blossom, and the 3-parted pale
yellow pistil protrudes conspicuously. The color is pale straw-yellow.
The bell hangs on a slender stem that springs from beneath a leaf, on
the underside of the branch.
Seldom more than one of these shy bells is found hiding under a branch.
Possibly the tips curve outward more than those of the Bellwort’s
flower.
[Illustration: WILD OAT: Oakesia sessilifolia.]
*Two-leaved Solomon’s Seal.* _Smilacina trifolia._
*False little Solomon’s Seal.*
*Two-leaved Smilax.*
Found in the woods during May.
The stalk, which grows from 3 to 6 inches in height, is round, and
grooved, and usually bears 2 leaves. Its color is pale green, sometimes
tinged with dull red.
The oval leaf is heart-shaped at the base where it partly clasps the
stalk; the margin is entire, and the ribs are parallel, the texture
is fine, and the surface is smooth and shining. In color, a light
yellowish-green. Two or three leaves occur on the plant, alternately
placed.
The flower is quite small, and white, with 4 petal-like parts, 4
stamens, and 1 pistil. The flowers are fragrant, and very numerous,
clustered in a short, close terminal spike.
In common with others of the small Smilaxes the strong-fibred stem has
a somewhat zigzag gesture. It looks an honest little plant, not at all
deserving the opprobrious epithet, “false,” that has been given it.
[Illustration: TWO-LEAVED SOLOMON’S SEAL: Smilacina trifolia.]
*Solomon Zigzag.* _Smilacina racemosa._
*False Spikenard.*
Found in June, in moist woods and brookside copses.
The leafy stalk (from 1 to 2 feet high) is oblique and zigzag in
gesture; it has a strong fibre, and a smooth surface, and is light
green.
The leaf is oval--long in proportion to its width,--tapering to a
slender tip, with an entire and much ruffled margin, and 3 noticeable
ribs; the surface is finely downy; the color a strong, vigorous green.
The leaves have almost no stem at all, and are placed alternately along
the stalk.
The flower is small, with 6 petal-like parts and 6 stamens, all
greenish white. Many flowers are gathered in a branching cluster upon
the end of the leafy curving stalk.
The berries are pale red, speckled with dark. Gray’s _Manual_ in
speaking of this genus says its name is a diminution of _Smilax_, “to
which, however, these plants bear little resemblance.” For a similar
reason, perhaps, this plant is called “false” after the true Spikenard!
[Illustration: SOLOMON ZIGZAG: S. racemosa.]
*Carrion Flower.* _Smilax herbacea._
Found in moist meadows, along river banks, and in wayside thickets in
June.
The round, smooth, tough, green stalk grows upward at first, but soon
swings over to one side with a strong curve, leaning on surrounding
plants for support, and further assisting its progress by means of many
small twining tendrils.
The large leaf is nearly round, and somewhat heart-shaped at the base;
it has an entire edge, and strongly marked parallel ribs; though thin,
it is tough, and has a smooth, shining surface, and a bright green
color. The leaves are alternate at short intervals, almost crowded. The
tendrils spring from the angles of the leaves.
The small flower has its parts in threes, with twice three stamens;
it is dull light green in color. Very many flowers, some 20 to 40, on
short flower-stems, are gathered together in a round head; this head
is on the end of a stem from 4 to 6 or more inches long. The flowers
exhale a disagreeable odor which gives rise to its folk-name.
The fruit is a round blue-black berry; as it has not the objectionable
odor of the flower, the vine becomes more attractive in its fruiting
than in its blossoming season.
[Illustration: CARRION FLOWER: Smilax herbacea.]
*False Hellebore.* _Veratrum viride._
*Indian Poke.*
*Poor Annie.*
Found blossoming in June, in wet hollows, and along the borders of
upland streams.
Its simple, erect stalk, growing from 2 to 4 feet high, is very leafy;
it is round, and stout, an inch or more in diameter at the base;
smooth, and green.
The very large leaf, from 10 to 12 inches long, is broadly oval,
tapering at the tip, and deeply pleated on its many parallel ribs; the
surface is finely downy, especially beneath; in color a bright grass
green.