green, solid-looking spears which have just appeared above the ground.
If we handle one of these we are impressed with its firmness and
rigidity. When the increasing warmth and sunshine have tempted the
veiny, many-plaited leaves of the false hellebore to unfold themselves
it is difficult to realize that they composed that sturdy tool which so
effectively tunnelled its way upward to the earth’s surface. The tall
stems and large bright leaves of this plant are very noticeable in the
early year, forming conspicuous masses of foliage while the trees and
shrubs are still almost leafless. The dingy flowers which appear later
rarely attract attention.
CARRION-FLOWER. CAT-BRIER.
_Smilax herbacea._ Lily Family.
_Stem._—Climbing, three to fifteen feet high. _Leaves._—Ovate, or
rounded heart-shaped, or abruptly cut off at base, shining.
_Flowers._—Greenish or yellowish, small, clustered, unisexual.
_Perianth._—Six-parted. _Stamens._—six. _Pistil._—One, with three
spreading stigmas. (Stamens and pistils occurring on different
plants.) _Fruit._—A bluish-black berry.
One whiff of the foul breath of the carrion flower suffices for its
identification. Thoreau likens its odor to that of “a dead rat in the
wall.” It seems unfortunate that this strikingly handsome plant which
clambers so ornamentally over the luxuriant thickets which border our
lanes and streams, should be so handicapped each June. Happily with the
disappearance of the blossoms, it takes its place as one of the most
attractive of our climbers.
The common green-brier, _S. rotundifolia_, is a near relation which is
easily distinguished by its prickly stem.
The dark berries and deeply tinted leaves of this genus add greatly to
the glorious autumnal display along our roadsides and in the woods and
meadows.
LARGER WHITE TRILLIUM.
_Trillium grandiflorum._ Lily Family.
_Stem._—Stout, from a tuber-like rootstock. _Leaves._—Ovate, three in
a whorl, a short distance below the flower. _Flower._—Single,
terminal, large, white, turning pink or marked with green. _Calyx._—Of
three green, spreading sepals. _Corolla._—Of three long pointed
petals. _Stamens._—Six. _Pistil._—One, with three spreading stigmas.
_Fruit._—A large ovate, somewhat angled, red berry.
This very beautiful and decorative flower must be sought far from the
highway in the cool rich woods of April and May. Mr. Ellwanger speaks of
the “chaste pure triangles of the white wood lily,” and says that it
often attains a height of nearly two feet.
_T. cernuum_ has no English title. Its smaller white or pinkish blossom
is borne on a stalk which is so much curved as to sometimes quite
conceal the flower beneath the leaves. It may be sought in the moist
places in the woods.
The painted trillium, _T. erythrocarpum_, is also less large and showy
than the great white trillium, but it is quite as pleasing. Its white
petals are painted at their base with red stripes. This species is very
plentiful in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains.
GROUND-NUT. DWARF GINSENG.
_Aralia trifolia._ Ginseng Family.
_Stem._—Four to eight inches high. _Leaves._—Three in a whorl, divided
into from three to five leaflets. _Flowers._—White, in an umbel.
_Fruit._—Yellowish, berry-like. _Root._—A globular tuber.
The tiny white flowers of the dwarf ginseng are so closely clustered as
to make “one feathery ball of bloom,” to quote Mr. Hamilton Gibson. This
little plant resembles its larger relative, the true ginseng. It
blossoms in our rich open woods early in spring, and hides its small
round tuber so deep in the earth that it requires no little care to
uproot it without breaking the slender stem. This tuber is edible and
pungent-tasting, giving the plant its name of ground-nut.
GINSENG.
_Aralia quinquefolia._ Ginseng Family.
_Root._—Large and spindle-shaped, often forked. _Stem._—About one foot
high. _Leaves._—Three in a whorl, divided into leaflets.
_Flowers._—Greenish-white, in a simple umbel. _Fruit._—Bright red,
berry-like.
This plant is well known by name, but is yearly becoming more scarce.
The aromatic root is so greatly valued in China for its supposed power
of combating fatigue and old age that it can only be gathered by order
of the emperor. The forked specimens are believed to be the most
powerful, and their fancied likeness to the human form has obtained for
the plant the Chinese title of _Jin-chen_ (from which ginseng is a
corruption), and the Indian one of _Garan-toguen_, both of which,
strangely enough, are said to signify, _like a man_. The Canadian
Jesuits first began to ship the roots of the American species to China,
where they sold at about five dollars a pound. At present they are said
to command about one-fifth of that price in the home market.
[Illustration:
PLATE VIII
PAINTED TRILLIUM.—_T. erythrocarpum._
]
WILD SARSAPARILLA.
_Aralia nudicaulis._ Ginseng Family.
_Stem._—Bearing a single large, long-stalked, much-divided leaf, and a
shorter naked scape which bears the rounded flower-clusters.
_Flowers._—Greenish-white, in umbels. _Calyx._—With short or obsolete
teeth. _Corolla._—Of five petals. _Stamens._—Five. _Fruit._—Black or
dark purple, berry-like.
In the June woods the much-divided leaf and rounded flower-clusters of
the wild sarsaparilla are frequently noticed, as well as the dark
berries of the later year. The long aromatic roots of this plant are
sold as a substitute for the genuine sarsaparilla. The rice-paper plant
of China is a member of this genus.
SPIKENARD.
_Aralia racemosa._ Ginseng Family.
_Root._—Large and aromatic. _Stem._—Often tall and widely
branched, leafy. _Leaves._—Divided into many leaflets.
_Flowers._—Greenish-white, in clusters which are racemed.
_Fruit._—Dark purple, berry-like.
CANADA VIOLET.
_Viola Canadensis._ Violet Family.
_Stem._—Leafy, upright, one to two feet high. _Leaves._—Heart-shaped,
pointed, toothed. _Flowers._—White, veined with purple, violet
beneath, otherwise greatly resembling the common blue violet.
We associate the violet with the early year, but I have found the
delicate fragrant flowers of this species blossoming high up on the
Catskill Mountains late into September; and have known them to continue
to appear in a New York city-garden into November. They are among the
loveliest of the family, having a certain sprightly self-assertion which
is peculiarly charming, perhaps because so unexpected.
The tiny sweet white violet, _V. blanda_, with brown or purple veins,
which is found in nearly all low, wet, woody places in spring, is
perhaps the only uniformly fragrant member of the family, and its scent,
though sweet, is faint and elusive.
[Illustration:
PLATE IX
WILD SARSAPARILLA.—_A. nudicaulis._
]
The lance-leaved violet, _V. lanceolata_, is another white species which
is easily distinguished by its smooth lance-shaped leaves, quite unlike
those of the common violet. It is found in damp soil, especially
eastward.
SOLOMON’S SEAL.
_Polygonatum biflorum._ Lily Family.
_Stem._—Slender, curving, one to three feet long. _Leaves._—Alternate,
oval, set close to the stem. _Flowers._—Greenish-white or
straw-colored, bell-shaped, nodding from the axils of the leaves.
_Perianth._—Six-lobed at the summit. _Stamens._—Six. _Pistil._—One.
_Fruit._—A dark blue berry.
The graceful leafy stems of the Solomon’s seal are among the most
decorative features of our spring woods. The small blossoms which appear
in May grow either singly or in clusters on a flower-stalk which is so
fastened into the axil of each leaf that they droop beneath, forming a
curve of singular grace which is sustained in later summer by the dark
blue berries.
The larger species, _P. giganteum_, grows to a height of from two to
seven feet, blossoming in the meadows and along the streams in June.
The common name was suggested by the rootstocks, which are marked with
large round scars left by the death and separation of the base of the
stout stalks of the previous years. These scars somewhat resemble the
impression of a seal upon wax.
The generic name is from two Greek words signifying _many_, and _knee_,
alluding to the numerous joints of the rootstock.
CHOKE-BERRY.
_Pyrus arbutifolia._ Rose Family.
A shrub from one to three feet high. _Leaves._—Oblong or somewhat
lance-shaped, finely toothed, downy beneath. _Flowers._—White or
reddish, small, clustered. _Calyx._—Five-cleft. _Corolla._—Of five
petals. _Stamens._—Numerous. _Pistil._—One, with two to five styles.
_Fruit._—Small, pear-shaped or globular, berry-like, dark red or
blackish.
This low shrub is common in swamps and moist thickets all along the
Atlantic coast, as well as farther inland. Its flowers appear in May or
June; its fruit in late summer or autumn.
[Illustration:
PLATE X
SOLOMON’S SEAL.—_P. biflorum._
]
CREEPING SNOWBERRY.
_Chiogenes serpyllifolia._ Heath Family.
_Stem._—Slender, trailing and creeping. _Leaves._—Evergreen, small,
ovate, pointed. _Flowers._—Small, white, solitary from the axils of
the leaves. _Calyx._—Four-parted, with four large bracelets beneath.
_Corolla._—Deeply four-parted. _Stamens._—Eight. _Pistil._—One.
_Fruit._—A pure white berry.
This pretty little creeper is found blossoming in May in the peat-bogs
and mossy woods of the North. It is only conspicuous when hung with its
snow-white berries in late summer. It has the aromatic flavor of the
wintergreen.
BEARBERRY.
_Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi._ Heath Family.
A trailing shrub. _Leaves._—Thick and evergreen, smooth, somewhat
wedge-shaped. _Flowers._—Whitish, clustered. _Calyx._—Small.
_Corolla._—Urn-shaped, five-toothed. _Stamens._—Ten. _Pistil._—One.
_Fruit._—Red, berry-like.
This plant blossoms in May, and is found on rocky hill-sides. Its name
refers to the relish with which bears are supposed to devour its fruit.
FALSE SOLOMON’S SEAL.
_Smilacina racemosa._ Lily Family.
_Stem._—Usually curving, one to three feet long. _Leaves._—Oblong,
veiny. _Flowers._—Greenish-white, small, in a terminal raceme.
_Perianth._—Six-parted. _Stamens._—Six. _Pistil._—One. _Fruit._—A pale
red berry speckled with purple.
A singular lack of imagination is betrayed in the common name of this
plant. Despite a general resemblance to the true Solomon’s seal, and the
close proximity in which the two are constantly found, _S. racemosa_,
has enough originality to deserve an individual title. The position of
the much smaller flowers is markedly different. Instead of drooping
beneath the stem they terminate it, having frequently a pleasant
fragrance, while the berries of late summer are pale red, flecked with
purple. It puzzles one to understand why these two plants should so
constantly be found growing side by side—so close at times that they
almost appear to spring from one point. The generic name is from
_smilax_, on account of a supposed resemblance between the leaves of
this plant and those which belong to that genus.
[Illustration:
PLATE XI
FALSE SOLOMON’S SEAL.—_S. racemosa._
]
MAPLE-LEAVED VIBURNUM. DOCKMACKIE. ARROW-WOOD.
_Viburnum acerifolium._ Honeysuckle Family.
A shrub from three to six feet high. _Leaves._—Somewhat three-lobed,
resembling those of the maple, downy underneath. _Flowers._—White,
small, in flat-topped clusters. _Calyx._—Five-toothed.
_Corolla._—Spreading, five-lobed. _Stamens._—Five. _Pistil._—One.
_Fruit._—Berry-like, crimson, turning purple.
Perhaps our flowering shrubs contribute even more to the beauty of the
early summer woods and fields than the smaller plants. Along many of the
lanes which intersect the woodlands the viburnums are conspicuous in
June. When the blossoms of the dockmackie have passed away we need not
be surprised if we are informed that this shrub is a young maple. There
is certainly a resemblance between its leaves and those of the maple, as
the specific name indicates. To be sure, the first red, then purple
berries, can scarcely be accounted for, but such a trifling incongruity
would fail to daunt the would-be wiseacre of field and forest. With
Napoleonic audacity he will give you the name of almost any shrub or
flower about which you may inquire. Seizing upon some feature he has
observed in another plant, he will immediately christen the one in
question with the same title—somewhat modified, perhaps—and in all
probability his authority will remain unquestioned. There is a
marvellous amount of inaccuracy afloat in regard to the names of even
the commonest plants, owing to this wide-spread habit of guessing at the
truth and stating a conjecture as a fact.
HOBBLE-BUSH. AMERICAN WAYFARING-TREE.
_Viburnum lantanoides._ Honeysuckle Family.
_Leaves._—Rounded, pointed, closely toothed, heart-shaped at the base,
the veins beneath as well as the stalks and small branches being
covered with a rusty scurf. _Fruit._—Coral-red, berry-like.
The marginal flowers of the flat-topped clusters of the hobble-bush,
like those of the hydrangea, are much larger than the inner ones, and
are without either stamens or pistils; their only part in the economy of
the shrub being to form an attractive setting for the cluster, and thus
to allure the insect-visitors that are usually so necessary to the
future well-being of the species. The shrub is a common one in our
northern woods and mountains. Its straggling growth, and its reclining
branches, which often take root in the ground, have suggested the
popular names of hobble-bush, and wayfaring-tree.
ROUND-LEAVED DOGWOOD.
_Cornus circinata._ Dogwood Family.
A shrub six to ten feet high. _Leaves._—Rounded, abruptly pointed.
_Flowers._—Small, white, in flat, spreading clusters.
_Calyx._—Minutely four-toothed. _Corolla._—Of four white, oblong,
spreading petals. _Stamens._—Four. _Pistil._—One. _Fruit._—Light blue,
berry-like.
The different members of the Dogwood family are important factors in the
lovely pageant which delights our eyes along the country lanes every
spring. Oddly enough, only the smallest and largest representative of
the tribe (the little bunch-berry, and the flowering-dogwood, which is
sometimes a tree of goodly dimensions), have in common the showy
involucre which is usually taken for the blossom itself; but which
instead only surrounds the close cluster of inconspicuous greenish
flowers.
The other members of the genus are all comprised in the shrubby
dogwoods; many of these are very similar in appearance, bearing their
white flowers in flat, spreading clusters, and differing chiefly in
their leaves and fruit.
The branches of the round-leaved dogwood are greenish and warty-dotted.
Its fruit is light blue, and berry-like.
The panicled dogwood, _C. paniculata_, may be distinguished by its white
fruit and smooth, gray branches.
The red-osier dogwood, _C. stolonifera_, is common in wet places. Its
young shoots and branches are a bright purplish-red. Its flower-clusters
are small; its fruit, white or lead-color.
The bark of this genus has been considered a powerful tonic, and an
extract entitled “cornine,” is said to possess the properties of quinine
less strongly marked. The Chinese peel its twigs, and use them for
whitening their teeth. It is said that the Creoles also owe the dazzling
beauty of their teeth to this same practice.
BELLWORT.
_Oakesia sessilifolia._ Lily Family.
_Stem._—Acutely angled, rather low. _Leaves._—Set close to or clasping
the stem, pale, lance-oblong. _Flower._—Yellowish-white or
straw-color. _Perianth._—Narrowly bell-shaped, divided into six
distinct sepals. _Stamens._—Six. _Pistil._—One, with a deeply
three-cleft style.
In spring this little plant is very abundant in the woods. It bears one
or two small lily-like blossoms which droop modestly beneath the curving
stems.
With the same common name and near of kin is _Uvularia perfoliata_, with
leaves which seem pierced by the stem, but otherwise of a strikingly
similar aspect.
HAWTHORN. WHITE-THORN.
_Cratægus coccinea._ Rose Family.
A shrub or small tree, with spreading branches, and stout thorns or
spines. _Leaves._—On slender leaf-stalks, thin, rounded, toothed,
sometimes lobed. _Flowers._—White or sometimes reddish, rather large,
clustered, with a somewhat disagreeable odor. _Calyx._—Urn-shaped,
five-cleft. _Corolla._—Of five broad, rounded petals. _Stamens._—Five
to ten, or many. _Pistil._—One, with one to five styles.
_Fruit._—Coral-red, berry-like.
The flowers of the white-thorn appear in spring, at the same time with
those of the dogwoods. Its scarlet fruit gleams from the thicket in
September.
WHITE BANEBERRY.
_Actæa alba._ Crowfoot Family.
_Stem._—About two feet high. _Leaves._—Twice or thrice-compound,
leaflets incised and sharply toothed. _Flowers._—Small, white, in a
thick, oblong, terminal raceme. _Calyx._—Of four to five tiny sepals
which fall as the flower expands. _Corolla._—Of four to ten small flat
petals with slender claws. _Stamens._—Numerous, with slender white
filaments. _Pistil._—One, with a depressed, two-lobed stigma.
_Fruit._—An oval white berry, with a dark spot, on a _thick red
stalk_.
[Illustration:
PLATE XII
BELLWORT.
]
The feathery clusters of the white baneberry may be gathered when we go
to the woods for the columbine, the wild ginger, the Jack-in-the-pulpit,
and Solomon’s seal. These flowers are very nearly contemporaneous and
seek the same cool shaded nooks, all often being found within a few feet
of one another.
The red baneberry, _A. rubra_, is a somewhat more Northern plant and
usually blossoms a week or two earlier. Its cherry-red (occasionally
white) berries on their _slender stalks_ are easily distinguished from
the white ones of _A. alba_, which look strikingly like the china eyes
that small children occasionally manage to gouge from their dolls’
heads.
MOUNTAIN HOLLY.
_Nemopanthes fascicularis._ Holly Family.
A much branched shrub, with ash-gray bark. _Leaves._—Alternate,
oblong, smooth, on slender leaf-stalks. _Flowers._—White, some
perfect, others unisexual; solitary or clustered in the axils of the
leaves on long, slender flower-stalks. _Calyx._—Minute or obsolete.
_Corolla._—Of four or five spreading petals. _Stamens._—Four or five.
_Pistil._—One. _Fruit._—Coral-red, berry-like.
The flowers of this shrub appear in the damp woods of May. Its light red
berries on their slender stalks are noticed in late summer when its near
relation, the black alder or winterberry is also conspicuous. Its
generic name signifies _flower with a thread-like stalk_.
WINTERBERRY. BLACK ALDER.
_Ilex verticillata._ Holly Family.
A shrub, common in low grounds. _Leaves._—Oval or lance-shaped,
pointed at apex and base, toothed. _Flowers._—White; some perfect,
others unisexual; clustered on very short flower-stalks in the axils
of the leaves; appearing in May or June. _Calyx._—Minute.
_Corolla._—Of four to six petals. _Stamens._—Four to six.
_Pistil._—One. _Fruit._—Coral-red, berry-like.
The year may draw nearly to its close without our attention being
arrested by this shrub. But in September it is well nigh impossible to
stroll through the country lanes without pausing to admire the bright
red berries clustered so thickly among the leaves of the black alder.
The American holly, _I. opaca_, is closely related to this shrub, whose
generic name is the ancient Latin title for the holly-oak.
[Illustration:
PLATE XIII
WHITE BANEBERRY.—_A. alba._
]
RED-BERRIED ELDER.
_Sambucus racemosa._ Honeysuckle Family.
_Stems._—Woody, two to twelve feet high. _Leaves._—Divided into
leaflets. _Flowers._—White, resembling those of the Common Elder (p.
78), but borne in pyramidal instead of in flat-topped clusters.
_Fruit._—Bright red, berry-like.
The white clusters of the red-berried elder are found in the rocky woods
of May; its scarlet fruit, like that of the shad-bush, appearing in
June.
BUNCH-BERRY. DWARF CORNEL.
_Cornus Canadensis._ Dogwood Family.
_Stem._—Five to seven inches high. _Leaves._—Ovate, pointed, the upper
crowded into an apparent whorl of four to six. _Flowers._—Greenish,
small, in a cluster which is surrounded by a large and showy
four-leaved, petal-like, white or pinkish involucre. _Calyx._—Minutely
four-toothed. _Corolla._—Of four spreading petals. _Stamens._—Four.
_Pistil._—One. _Fruit._—Bright red, berry-like.
When one’s eye first falls upon the pretty flowers of the bunch-berry in
the June woods, the impression is received that each low stem bears upon
its summit a single large white blossom. A more searching look discovers
that what appeared like rounded petals are really the showy white leaves
of the involucre which surround the small, closely clustered, greenish
flowers.
The bright red berries which appear in late summer make brilliant
patches in the woods and swamps. Both in flower and fruit this is one of
the prettiest of our smaller plants. It is closely allied to the
well-known flowering-dogwood, which is so ornamental a tree in early
spring.
In the Scotch Highlands it is called the “plant of gluttony,” on account
of its supposed power of increasing the appetite. It is said to form
part of the winter food of the Esquimaux.
[Illustration:
PLATE XIV
Fruit.
BUNCH-BERRY.—_C. Canadensis._
]
SWEET BAY. LAUREL MAGNOLIA.
_Magnolia glauca._ Magnolia Family.
A shrub from four to twenty feet high. _Leaves._—Oval to broadly
lance-shaped, from three to six inches long. _Flowers._—White, two
inches long, growing singly at the ends of the branches. _Calyx._—Of
three sepals. _Corolla._—Globular, with from six to nine broad petals.
_Stamens._—Numerous, with short filaments and long anthers.
_Pistils._—Many, packed so as to make a sort of cone in fruit.
_Fruit._—Cone-like, red, fleshy when ripe; the pistils opening at
maturity and releasing the scarlet seeds which hang by delicate
threads.
The beautiful fragrant blossoms of the sweet bay may be found from June
till August, in swamps along the coast from Cape Ann southward.
LIZARD’S TAIL.
_Saururus cernuus._ Pepper Family.
_Stem._—Jointed, often tall. _Leaves._—Alternate, heart-shaped.
_Flowers._—White, without calyx or corolla, crowded into a slender,
wand-like terminal spike which nods at the end. _Stamens._—Usually six
or seven. _Pistils._—Three or four, united at their base.
The nodding, fragrant spikes of the lizard’s tail abound in certain
swamps from June till August. While the plant is not a common one, it is
occasionally found in great profusion, and is sure to arrest attention
by its odd appearance.
MOONSEED.
_Menispermum Canadense._ Moonseed Family.
_Stem._—Woody, climbing. _Leaves._—Three to seven-angled or lobed,
their stalks fastened near the edge of the lower surface.
_Flowers._—White or yellowish, in small loose clusters, unisexual.
_Calyx._—Of four to eight sepals. _Corolla._—Of six to eight short
petals. _Stamens and Pistils._—Occurring on different plants.
_Fruit._—Berry-like, black, with a bloom.
Clambering over the thickets which line the streams, we notice in
September the lobed or angled leaves and black berries of the moonseed,
the small white or yellowish flowers of which were, perhaps, overlooked
in June.
MOUNTAIN LAUREL. SPOONWOOD. CALICO-BUSH.
_Kalmia latifolia._ Heath Family.
An evergreen shrub. _Leaves._—Oblong, pointed, shining, of a leathery
texture. _Flowers._—White or pink, in terminal clusters.
_Calyx._—Five-parted. _Corolla._—Marked with red, wheel-shaped,
five-lobed, with ten depressions. _Stamens._—Ten, each anther lodged
in one of the depressions of the corolla. _Pistil._—One.
The shining green leaves which surround the white or rose-colored
flowers of the mountain laurel are familiar to all who have skirted the
west shore of the Hudson River, wandered across the hills that lie in
its vicinity, or clambered across the mountains of Pennsylvania, where
the shrub sometimes grows to a height of thirty feet. Not that these
localities limit its range: for it abounds more or less from Canada to
Florida, and far inland, especially along the mountains, whose sides are
often clothed with an apparent mantle of pink snow during the month of
June, and whose waste places are, in very truth, made to blossom like
the rose at this season.