wide-spread Mayflower was indeed the first blossom noted and christened
by our forefathers, it seems as though the problem of a national flower
must be solved by one so lovely and historic as to silence all dispute.
And when we read the following prophetic stanzas which close the poem,
showing that during another dark period in our nation’s history these
brave little blossoms, struggling through the withered leaves, brought a
message of hope and courage to the heroic heart of the Quaker poet, our
feeling that they are peculiarly identified with our country’s perilous
moments is intensified:
The Pilgrim’s wild and wintry day
At shadow round us draws;
The Mayflower of his stormy bay
Our Freedom’s struggling cause.
But warmer suns erelong shall bring
To life the frozen sod;
And, through dead leaves of hope shall spring
Afresh the flowers of God!
[Illustration:
PLATE LXI
TRAILING ARBUTUS.—_E. repens._
TWIN-FLOWER.—_L. borealis._
]
TWIN-FLOWER.
_Linnæa borealis._ Honeysuckle Family.
_Stem._—Slender, creeping and trailing. _Leaves._—Rounded, shining and
evergreen. _Flowers._—Growing in pairs, delicate pink, fragrant,
nodding on thread-like, upright flower-stalks. _Calyx._—Five-toothed.
_Corolla._—Narrowly bell-shaped, five-lobed, hairy within.
_Stamens._—Four, two shorter than the others. _Pistil._—One.
Whoever has seen
—beneath dim aisles, in odorous beds,
The slight Linnæa hang its twin-born heads,[5]
will not soon forget the exquisite carpeting made by its nodding pink
flowers and dark shining leaves; or the delicious perfume which actually
filled the air and drew one’s attention to the spot from which it was
exhaled, tempting one to exclaim with Richard Jefferies, “Sweetest of
all things is wild-flower air!” That this little plant should have been
selected as “the monument of the man of flowers” by the great Linnæus
himself, bears testimony to his possession of that appreciation of the
beautiful which is supposed to be lacking in men of long scientific
training. I believe that there is extant at least one contemporary
portrait of Linnæus in which he wears the tiny flowers in his
buttonhole. The rosy twin-blossoms are borne on thread-like, forking
flower-stalks, and appear in June in the deep, cool, mossy woods of the
North.
SHOWY ORCHIS.
_Orchis spectabilis._ Orchis Family (p. 17).
_Stem._—Four-angled, with leaf-like bracts, rising from fleshy,
fibrous roots. _Leaves._—Two, oblong, shining, three to six inches
long. _Flowers._—In a loose spike, purple-pink, the lower lip white.
This flower not only charms us with its beauty when its clusters begin
to dot the rich May woods, but interests us as being usually the first
member of the Orchis family to appear upon the scene; although it is
claimed in certain localities that the beautiful Calypso always, and the
Indian moccason occasionally, precedes it.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXII
SHOWY ORCHIS.—_O. spectabilis._
]
A certain fascination attends the very name of orchid. Botanist and
unscientific flower-lover alike pause with unwonted interest when the
discovery of one is announced. With the former there is always the
possibility of finding some rare species, while the excitement of the
latter is apt to be whetted with the hope of beholding a marvellous
imitation of bee or butterfly fluttering from a mossy branch with roots
that draw their nourishment from the air! While this little plant is
sure to fail of satisfying the hopes of either, it is far prettier if
less rare than many of its brethren, and its interesting mechanism will
repay our patient study. It is said closely to resemble the “long
purples,” _O. mascula_, which grew near the scene of Ophelia’s tragic
death.
TWISTED STALK.
_Streptopus roseus._ Lily Family.
_Stems._—Rather stout and zigzag, forking and diverging.
_Leaves._—Taper-pointed, slightly clasping. _Flowers._—Dull
purplish-pink, hanging on thread-like flower-stalks from the axils of
the leaves. _Perianth._—Somewhat bell-shaped, of six distinct sepals.
_Stamens._—Six. _Pistil._—One, with a three-cleft stigma.
This plant presents a graceful group of forking branches and pointed
leaves. No blossom is seen from above, but on picking a branch one finds
beneath each of its outspread leaves one or two slender, bent stalks
from which hang the pink, bell-like flowers. In general aspect the plant
somewhat resembles its relations, the Solomon’s seal, with which it is
found blossoming in the woods of May or June. The English title is a
translation of the generic name, _Streptopus_.
WILD PINK.
_Silene Pennsylvanica._ Pink Family.
_Stems._—Four to eight inches high. _Leaves._—Those from the root
narrowly wedge-shaped, those on the stem lance-shaped, opposite.
_Flowers._—Bright pink, clustered. _Calyx._—Five-toothed.
_Corolla._—Of five petals. _Stamens._—Ten. _Pistil._—One, with three
styles.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXIII
TWISTED STALK.—_S. roseus._
]
When a vivid cluster of wild pinks gleams from some rocky opening in the
May woods, it is difficult to restrain one’s eagerness, for there is
something peculiarly enticing in these fresh, vigorous-looking flowers.
They are quite unlike most of their fragile contemporaries, for they
seem to be already imbued with the glowing warmth of summer, and to have
no memory of that snowy past which appears to leave its imprint on so
many blossoms of the early year.
In waste places, from June until September or later, we find the small
clustered pink flowers, which open transiently in the sunshine of the
sleepy catchfly, _S. antirrhina_.
PINK LADY’S SLIPPER. MOCCASON-FLOWER.
_Cypripedium acaule._ Orchis Family (p. 17).
_Scape._—Eight to twelve inches high, two-leaved at base, downy,
one-flowered. _Leaves._—Two, large, many-nerved and plaited, sheathing
at the base. _Flower._—Solitary, purple-pink. _Perianth._—Of three
greenish spreading sepals, the two lateral petals narrow, spreading,
greenish, the pink lip in the shape of a large inflated pouch.
_Stamens._—Two, the short filaments each bearing a two-celled anther.
_Stigma._—Broad, obscurely three-lobed, moist and roughish.
Graceful and tall the slender, drooping stem,
With two broad leaves below,
Shapely the flower so lightly poised between,
And warm her rosy glow,
writes Elaine Goodale of the moccason-flower. This is a blossom whose
charm never wanes. It seems to be touched with the spirit of the deep
woods, and there is a certain fitness in its Indian name, for it looks
as though it came direct from the home of the red man. All who have
found it in its secluded haunts will sympathize with Mr. Higginson’s
feeling that each specimen is a rarity, even though he should find a
hundred to an acre. Gray assigns it to “dry or moist woods,” while Mr.
Baldwin writes: “The finest specimens I ever saw sprang out of cushions
of crisp reindeer moss high up among the rocks of an exposed hill-side,
and again I have found it growing vigorously in almost open swamps, but
nearly colorless from excessive moisture.” The same writer quotes a lady
who is familiar with it in the Adirondacks. She says: “It seems to have
a great fondness for decaying wood, and I often see a whole row perched
like birds along a crumbling log.” While I recall a mountain lake where
the steep cliffs rise from the water’s edge, here and there, on a tiny
shelf strewn with pine-needles, can be seen a pair of large veiny
leaves, above which, in early June, the pink balloon-like blossom floats
from its slender scape.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXIV
PINK LADY’S SLIPPER.—_C. acaule._
]
——— ———
_Calopogon pulchellus._ Orchis Family (p. 17).
_Scape._—Rising about one foot from a small solid bulb.
_Leaf._—Linear, grass-like. _Flowers._—Two to six on each scape,
purple-pink, about one inch broad, the lip as if hinged at its
insertion, bearded toward the summit with white, yellow, and purple
hairs. The peculiarity of this orchid is that the ovary is not
twisted, and consequently the lip is on the upper instead of the lower
side of the flower.
One may hope to find these bright flowers growing side by side with the
glistening sundew in the rich bogs of early summer. Mr. Baldwin assigns
still another constant companion to the _Calopogon_, an orchid which
staggers under the terrifying title of _Pogonia ophioglossoides_. The
generic name of _Calopogon_ is from two Greek words signifying
_beautiful beard_ and has reference to the delicately bearded lip.
PINK AZALEA. WILD HONEYSUCKLE. PINXTER FLOWER. SWAMP PINK.
_Rhododendron nudiflorum._ Heath Family.
A shrub from two to six feet high. _Leaves._—Narrowly oblong, downy
underneath, usually appearing somewhat later than the flowers.
_Flowers._—Pink, clustered. _Calyx._—Minute. _Corolla._—Funnel-shaped,
with five long recurved lobes. _Stamens._—Five or ten, long,
protruding noticeably. _Pistil._—One, long, protruding.
Our May swamps and moist woods are made rosy by masses of the pink
azalea which is often known as the wild honeysuckle, although not even a
member of the Honeysuckle family. It is in the height of its beauty
before the blooming of the laurel, and heralds the still lovelier
pageant which is even then in rapid course of preparation.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXV
PINK AZALEA.—_R. nudiflorum._
]
In the last century the name of Mayflower was given to the shrub by
the Swedes in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. Peter Kalm, the pupil
of Linnæus, after whom our laurel, _Kalmia_, is named, writes the
following description of the shrub in his “Travels,” which were
published in English in 1771, and which explain the origin of one of
its titles: “Some of the Swedes and Dutch call them Pinxter-bloem
(Whitsunday-flower) as they really are in bloom about Whitsuntide; and
at a distance they have some similarity to the Honeysuckle or
‘Lonicera.’... Its flowers were now open and added a new ornament to
the woods.... They sit in a circle round the stem’s extremity and have
either a dark red or a lively red color; but by standing for some time
the sun bleaches them, and at last they get to a whitish hue.... They
have some smell, but I cannot say it is very pleasant. However, the
beauty of the flower entitles them to a place in every flower-garden.”
While our pink azalea could hardly be called “dark red” under any
circumstances, it varies greatly in the color of its flowers.
The azalea is the national flower of Flanders.
——— ———
_Rhododendron Rhodora._ Heath Family.
A shrub from one to two feet high. _Leaves._—Oblong, pale.
_Flowers._—Purplish-pink. _Calyx._—Small. _Corolla._—Two-lipped,
almost without any tube. _Stamens._—Ten, not protruding.
_Pistil._—One, not protruding.
In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The purple petals, fallen in the pool,
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,
And court the flower that cheapens his array.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being;
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never thought to ask, I never knew;
But in my simple ignorance, suppose
The self-same Power that brought me there, brought you.[6]
SHEEP LAUREL. LAMBKILL.
_Kalmia angustifolia._ Heath Family.
A shrub from one to three feet high. _Leaves._—Narrowly oblong,
light green. _Flowers._—Deep pink, in lateral clusters.
_Calyx._—Five-parted. _Corolla._—Five-lobed, between wheel and
bell-shaped, with stamens caught in its depressions as in the
mountain laurel. _Stamens._—Ten. _Pistil._—One.
This low shrub grows abundantly with the mountain laurel, bearing
smaller deep pink flowers at the same season, and narrower, paler
leaves. It is said to be the most poisonous of the genus, and to be
especially deadly to sheep, while deer are supposed to feed upon its
leaves with impunity.
AMERICAN CRANBERRY.
_Vaccinium macrocarpon._ Heath Family.
_Stems._—Slender, trailing, one to four feet long. _Leaves._—Oblong,
obtuse. _Flowers._—Pale pink, nodding. _Calyx._—With short teeth.
_Corolla._—Four-parted. _Stamens._—Eight or ten, protruding.
_Fruit._—A large, acid, red berry.
In the peat-bogs of our Northeastern States we may look in June for the
pink nodding flowers, and in late summer for the large red berries of
this well-known plant.
ADDER’S MOUTH.
_Pogonia ophioglossoides._ Orchis Family (p. 17).
_Stem._—Six to nine inches high, from a fibrous root. _Leaves._—An
oval or lance-oblong one near the middle of the stem, and a smaller or
bract-like one near the terminal flower, occasionally one or two
others, with a flower in their axils. _Flower._—Pale pink, sometimes
white, sweet-scented, one inch long, lip bearded and fringed.
Mr. Baldwin maintains that there is no wild flower of as pure a pink as
this unless it be the _Sabbatia._ Its color has also been described as a
“peach-blossom red.” As already mentioned, the plant is found blossoming
in bogs during the early summer in company with the Calopogons and
sundews. Its violet-like fragrance greatly enhances its charm.
COMMON MILKWORT.
_Polygala sanguinea._ Milkwort Family.
_Stem._—Six inches to a foot high, sparingly branched above, leafy to
the top. _Leaves._—Oblong-linear. _Flowers._—Growing in round or
oblong heads which are somewhat clover-like in appearance, bright pink
or almost red, occasionally paler. _Calyx._—Of five sepals, three of
which are small and often greenish, while the two inner ones are much
larger and colored like the petals. _Corolla._—Of three petals
connected with each other, the lower one keel-shaped. _Stamens._—Six
or eight. _Pistil._—One. (Flowers too difficult to be analyzed by the
non-botanist.)
This pretty little plant abounds in moist and also sandy places, growing
on mountain heights as well as in the salt meadows which skirt the sea.
In late summer its bright flower-heads gleam vividly through the
grasses, and from their form and color might almost be mistaken for pink
clover. Occasionally they are comparatively pale and inconspicuous.
——— ———
_Polygala polygama._ Milkwort Family.
_Stems._—Very leafy, six to nine inches high, with cleistogamous
flowers on underground runners. _Leaves._—Lance-shaped or oblong.
_Flowers._—Purple-pink, loosely clustered in a terminal raceme. _Keel
of Corolla._—Crested. _Stamens._—Eight. _Pistil._—One.
Like its more attractive sister, the fringed polygala, this little plant
hides its most useful, albeit unattractive, blossoms in the ground,
where they can fulfil their destiny of perpetuating the species without
danger of molestation by thievish insects or any of the distractions
incidental to a more worldly career. Exactly what purpose the little
above-ground flowers, which appear so plentifully in sandy soil in July,
are intended to serve, it is difficult to understand.
FRINGED POLYGALA.
_Polygala paucifolia._ Milkwort Family.
_Flowering stems._—Three or four inches high, from long, prostrate or
underground shoots which also bear cleistogamous flowers.
_Leaves._—The lower, small and scale-like, scattered, the upper,
ovate, and crowded at the summit. _Flowers._—Purple-pink, rarely
white, rather large. _Keel of Corolla._—Conspicuously fringed and
crested. _Stamens._—Six. _Pistil._—One.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXVI
MILKWORT.
]
“I must not forget to mention that delicate and lovely flower of May,
the fringed polygala. You gather it when you go for the fragrant showy
orchis—that is, if you are lucky enough to find it. It is rather a shy
flower, and is not found in every wood. One day we went up and down
through the woods looking for it—woods of mingled oak, chestnut, pine,
and hemlock,—and were about giving it up when suddenly we came upon a
gay company of them beside an old wood-road. It was as if a flock of
small rose-purple butterflies had alighted there on the ground before
us. The whole plant has a singularly fresh and tender aspect. Its
foliage is of a slightly purple tinge and of very delicate texture. Not
the least interesting feature about the plant is the concealed fertile
flower which it bears on a subterranean stem, keeping, as it were, one
flower for beauty and one for use.”
It seems unnecessary to tempt “odorous comparisons” by endeavoring to
supplement the above description of Mr. Burroughs.
MOSS POLYGALA.
_Polygala cruciata._ Milkwort Family.
_Stems._—Three to ten inches high, almost winged at the angles, with
spreading opposite leaves and branches. _Leaves._—Linear, nearly all
whorled in fours. _Flowers._—Greenish or purplish-pink, growing in
short, thick spikes which terminate the branches.
There is something very moss-like in the appearance of this little plant
which blossoms in late summer. It is found near moist places and salt
marshes along the coast, being very common in parts of New England.
SPREADING DOGBANE. INDIAN HEMP.
_Apocynum androsæmifolium._ Dogbane Family.
_Stems._—Erect, branching, two or three feet high. _Leaves._—Opposite,
oval. _Flowers._—Rose-color veined with deep pink, loosely clustered.
_Calyx._—Five-parted. _Corolla._—Small, bell-shaped, five-cleft.
_Stamens._—Five, slightly adherent to the pistil. _Pistil._—Two
ovaries surmounted by a large, two-lobed stigma. _Fruit._—Two long and
slender pods.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXVII
SPREADING DOGBANE.—_A. androsæmifolium._
]
The flowers of the dogbane, though small and inconspicuous are very
beautiful if closely examined. The deep pink veining of the corolla
suggests nectar, and the insect-visitor is not misled, for at its base
are five nectar-bearing glands. The two long, slender seed-pods which
result from a single blossom seem inappropriately large, often appearing
while the plant is still in flower. Rafinesque states that from the
stems may be obtained a thread similar to hemp which can be woven into
cloth, from the pods, cotton, and from the blossoms, sugar. Its generic
and one of its English titles arose from the belief, which formerly
prevailed, that it was poisonous to dogs. The plant is constantly found
growing in roadside thickets, with bright, pretty foliage, and blossoms
that appear in early summer.
HEDGE BINDWEED.
_Convolvulus Americanus._ Convolvulus Family.
_Stem._—Twining or trailing. _Leaves._—Somewhat arrow-shaped.
_Flowers._—Pink. _Calyx._—Of five sepals enclosed in two broad leafy
bracts. _Corolla._—Five-lobed, bell-shaped. _Stamens._—Five.
_Pistil._—One, with two stigmas.
Many an unsightly heap of rubbish left by the roadside is hidden by the
delicate pink bells of the hedge bindweed, which again will clamber over
the thickets that line the streams and about the tumbled stone-wall that
marks the limit of the pasture. The pretty flowers at once suggest the
morning-glory, to which they are closely allied.
The common European bindweed, _C. arvensis_, has white or pinkish
flowers, without bracts beneath the calyx, and a low procumbent or
twining stem. It has taken possession of many of our old fields where it
spreads extensively and proves troublesome to farmers.
PURPLE-FLOWERING RASPBERRY.
_Rubus odoratus._ Rose Family.
_Stem._—Shrubby, three to five feet high; branching, branches bristly
and glandular. _Leaves._—Three to five-lobed, the middle lobe
prolonged. _Flowers._—Purplish-pink, large and showy, two inches
broad. _Calyx._—Five-parted. _Corolla._—Of five rounded petals.
_Stamens and Pistils._—Numerous. _Fruit._—Reddish, resembling the
garden raspberry.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXVIII
PURPLE-FLOWERING RASPBERRY.—_R. odoratus._
]
This flower betrays its relationship to the wild rose, and might easily
be mistaken for it, although a glance at the undivided leaves would at
once correct such an error. The plant is a decorative one when covered
with its showy blossoms, constantly arresting our attention along the
wooded roadsides in June and July.
PALE CORYDALIS.
_Corydalis glauca._ Fumitory Family.
_Stem._—Six inches to two feet high. _Leaves._—Pale, divided into
delicate leaflets. _Flowers._—Pink and yellow, in loose clusters.
_Calyx._—Of two small, scale-like sepals. _Corolla._—Pink, tipped with
yellow; closed and flattened, of four petals, with a short spur at the
base of the upper petal. _Stamens._—Six, maturing before the pistil,
thus avoiding self-fertilization. _Pistil._—One.
From the rocky clefts in the summer woods springs the pale corydalis,
its graceful foliage dim with a whitish bloom, and its delicate rosy,
yellow-tipped flowers betraying by their odd flat corollas their kinship
with the Dutchman’s breeches and squirrel corn of the early year, as
well as with the bleeding hearts of the garden. Thoreau assigns them to
the middle of May, and says they are “rarely met with,” which statement
does not coincide with the experience of those who find the rocky
woodlands each summer abundantly decorated with their fragile clusters.
The generic name, _Corydalis_, is the ancient Greek title for the
crested lark, and said to refer to the crested seeds of this genus. The
specific title, _glauca_, refers to the pallor of leaves and stem.
The golden corydalis, _C. aurea_, is found on rocky banks somewhat
westward.
COMMON MILKWEED.
_Asclepias Cornuti._ Milkweed Family.
_Stem._—Tall, stout, downy, with a milky juice. _Leaves._—Generally
opposite or whorled, the upper sometimes scattered, large, oblong,
pale, minutely downy underneath. _Flowers._—Dull, purplish-pink,
clustered at the summit and along the sides of the stem. (These
flowers are too difficult to be successfully analyzed by the
non-botanist.) _Calyx._—Five-parted, the divisions small and reflexed.
_Corolla._—Deeply five-parted, the divisions reflexed; above them a
crown of five hooded nectaries, each containing an incurved horn.
_Stamens._—Five, inserted on the base of the corolla, united with each
other and enclosing the pistils. _Pistils._—Properly two, enclosed by
the stamens, surmounted by a large five-angled disk. _Fruit._—Two
pods, one of which is large and full of silky-tufted seeds, the other
often stunted.
This is probably the commonest representative of this striking and
beautiful native family. The tall, stout stems, large, pale leaves, dull
pink clustered flowers which appear in July, and later the puffy pods
filled with the silky-tufted seeds beloved of imaginative children, are
familiar to nearly everyone who spends a portion of the year in the
country. The young sprouts are said to make an excellent pot-herb; the
silky hairs of the seed-pods have been used for the stuffing of pillows
and mattresses, and can be mixed with flax or wool and woven to
advantage; while paper has been manufactured from the stout stalks.
The four-leaved milkweed, _A. quadrifolia_, is the most delicate member
of the family, with fragrant rose-tinged flowers which appear on the dry
wooded hill-sides quite early in June, and slender stems which are
usually leafless below, and with one or two whorls and one or two pairs
of oval, taper-pointed leaves above.
The swamp milkweed, _A. incarnata_, grows commonly in moist places. Its
very leafy stems are two or three feet high, with narrowly oblong,
pointed leaves. Its intense purple-pink flowers gleam from the wet
meadows nearly all summer. They are smaller than those of the purple
milkweed, _A. purpurascens_, which abounds in dry ground, and which may
be classed among the deep pink or purple flowers according to the eye of
the beholder.
HERB ROBERT.
_Geranium Robertianum._ Geranium Family.