[Illustration: VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS WESTERN VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS]
Juice usually milky; leaves alternate; calyx tube joined to ovary,
3-10-lobed; corolla tubular or bell-shaped, sepals and petals usually 5;
stamens 5; ovary inferior, 2-10-celled.
Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia perfoliata_) is a very common American
plant blooming in Texas in the early spring. Like the later flowers of
many violets, the first flowers never open and are self-fertilized. The
later flowers have a showy 5-lobed purple corolla about an inch long.
The seeds are dispersed from a small opening in the lower part of the
capsule. The leaves are small and clasping, usually broader than long.
Western Venus’ Looking-Glass (_Specularia leptocarpa_) has flowers very
much like the preceding, but the stamens and calyx lobes are longer. The
long, slender capsules have the opening pore near the top. The showy
flowers appear in late April and May. This plant is abundant on the
northern prairies of Texas and ranges to Missouri and Montana.
[Illustration: PRAIRIE LOBELIA TEXAS HAREBELL]
Texas Harebell. Bluebell (_Campanula reverchonii_) is one of the rarer
plants in the state, and care should be taken to preserve it. It is
lovely against the granite rocks and boulders of Central Texas. The
dainty, slender plants are often much branched and have blue flowers
about half an inch long. The bluebell of Scotland is a renowned member
of the group; Canterbury bells and the balloon-flower are well-known in
gardens.