_Leaves._—Opposite, the lower oval, the upper ovate—lance-shaped,
clasping by the heart-shaped base. _Flowers._—Blue and white,
long-stalked, appearing whorled in the axils of the upper leaves.
_Calyx._—Deeply five-cleft. _Corolla._—Deeply two-lipped, the upper
lip two-cleft, the lower three-cleft. _Stamens._—Four. _Pistil._—One.
Unfortunately these dainty flowers are not found farther east than
Western New York. From there they spread south and westward, abounding
so plentifully in the vicinity of Cincinnati that the moist meadows are
blue with their blossoms in spring or early summer.
FORGET-ME-NOT.
_Myosotis laxa._ Borage Family.
_Stems._—Slender. _Leaves._—Alternate, lance-oblong.
_Flowers._—Blue, small, growing in a raceme. _Calyx._—Five-lobed.
_Corolla._—Salver-shaped, five-toothed. _Stamens._—Five.
_Pistil._—One.
Along the banks of the stream, and in low wet places, we may look for
these exquisite little flowers. This plant is smaller and less luxuriant
than the European species, blossoming in early summer.
WILD PHLOX.
_Phlox divaricata._ Polemonium Family.
Nine to eighteen inches high. _Stems._—Spreading or ascending.
_Leaves._—Opposite, oblong or lance-oblong, _Flowers._—Pale
lilac-purple, in a loose, spreading cluster. _Calyx._—With five
slender teeth. _Corolla._—With a five-parted border, salver-shaped,
with a long tube. _Stamens._—Five, unequally inserted in the tube of
the corolla. _Pistil._—One, with a three-lobed style.
We may search for these graceful, delicately tinted flowers in the rocky
woods of April and May.
Nearly allied to them is the wild sweet William, _P. maculata_, the
pink-purple blossoms of which are found along the streams and in the
rich woods of somewhat southern localities.
The beautiful moss pink, _P. subulata_, is also a member of this genus.
This little evergreen heath-like plant clothes the dry hill-sides with a
glowing mantle of purple-pink every spring, Southern New York being
probably its most northerly range in our Eastern States. Great masses of
these flowers may be seen covering the rocks in the Central Park in May.
The pink or whitish clusters of _P. glaberrima_ are found in the open
woods and prairies somewhat westward in July.
ROBIN’S PLANTAIN. BLUE SPRING-DAISY.
_Erigeron bellidifolius._ Composite Family (p. 13).
_Stem._—Simple, hairy, producing offsets from the base.
_Root-leaves._—Somewhat rounded or wedge-shaped.
_Stem-leaves._—Somewhat oblong, lance-shaped, partly clasping.
_Flower-heads._—Rather large, on slender flower-stalks, composed of
both strap-shaped and tubular flowers, the former (ray-flowers)
bluish-purple, the latter (disk-flowers) yellow.
This is one of the earliest members of the Composite family to make its
appearance, that great tribe being usually associated with the late
summer months. The flower might easily be taken for a purple aster which
had mistaken the season, or for a blue daisy, as one of its common names
suggests. _E. Philadelphicus_ is a later very similar species with
smaller flower-heads.
ONE-FLOWERED CANCER-ROOT.
_Aphyllon uniflorum._ Broom-Rape Family.
_Scape._—Slender, fleshy, three to five inches high, one-flowered.
_Leaves._—None. _Flower._—Pale purple, solitary, one inch long, with a
delicate fragrance. _Calyx._—Five-cleft. _Corolla._—Somewhat
two-lipped, with two yellow bearded folds in the throat.
_Stamens._—Four. _Pistil._—One.
In April or May the odd pretty flower of the parasitic one-flowered
cancer-root is found in the damp woodlands.
VIOLET WOOD SORREL.
_Oxalis violacea._ Geranium Family.
_Scape._—Five to nine inches high, several-flowered. _Leaves._—Divided
into three clover-like leaflets. _Flowers._—Violet-colored, clustered
on the scape. _Calyx._—Of five sepals. _Corolla._—Of five petals.
_Stamens._—Ten. _Pistil._—One, with five styles.
This little plant is found in somewhat open or rocky woods, its lovely
delicate flower-clusters appearing in May or June. This species is more
common southward, while the pink-veined wood sorrel (Pl. XVII.) abounds
in the cool woods of the North.
PITCHER-PLANT. SIDE-SADDLE FLOWER. HUNTSMAN’S CUP.
_Sarracenia purpurea._ Pitcher-plant Family.
_Scape._—Naked, one-flowered, about one foot high.
_Leaves._—Pitcher-shaped, broadly winged, hooded.
_Flower._—Red-purple, large, nodding. _Calyx._—Of five colored sepals,
with three bractlets at the base. _Corolla._—Of five fiddle-shaped
petals which are arched over the greenish-yellow style.
_Stamens._—Numerous. _Pistil._—One, with a short style which expands
at the summit into a petal-like umbrella-shaped body, with five small
hooked stigmas.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXXVI
ROBIN’S PLANTAIN.—_E. bellidifolius._
]
The large nodding flower of the pitcher-plant may be found during June
in the peat-bogs of New England as well as farther south and west. It is
less familiar to most people than the curious pitcher-like leaves, which
are usually partially filled with water and drowned insects; part of
their inner surface being covered with a sugary exudation, below which,
for a space, they are highly polished, while on the lower portion grow
the stiff bristles which point downward. Insects attracted by the sugary
secretion find themselves prisoners, as they can seldom fight their way
through the opposing bristles, neither can they usually escape by such a
perpendicular flight as would be necessary from the form of the cavity.
The decomposed bodies of these unfortunates are supposed to contribute
to the nourishment of the plant, as it is hardly probable that this
elaborate contrivance answers no special purpose.
WILD GERANIUM. WILD CRANESBILL.
_Geranium maculatum._ Geranium Family.
_Stem._—Erect, hairy. _Leaves._—About five-parted, the divisions lobed
and cut. _Flowers._—Pale pink-purple, rather large. _Calyx._—Of five
sepals. _Corolla._—Of five petals. _Stamens._—Ten. _Pistil._—With five
styles, which split apart at maturity so elastically as to discharge
the seeds to some distance.
In spring and early summer the open woods and shaded roadsides are
abundantly brightened with these graceful flowers. They are of peculiar
interest because of their close kinship with the species, _G. pratense_,
which first attracted the attention of the German scholar, Sprengel, to
the close relations existing between flowers and insects. The beak-like
appearance of its fruit give the plant both its popular and scientific
names, for _geranium_ is from the Greek for crane. The specific title,
_maculatum_, refers to the somewhat blotched appearance of the older
leaves.
GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND. GROUND IVY.
_Nepeta Glechoma._ Mint Family (p. 16).
_Stems._—Creeping and trailing. _Leaves._—Small and kidney-shaped.
_Flowers._—Bluish-purple, loosely clustered in the axils of the
leaves. _Calyx._—Five-toothed. _Corolla._—Two-lipped, the upper lip
erect and two-cleft, the lower spreading and three-cleft.
_Stamens._—Four. _Pistil._—One, two-lobed at the apex.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXXVII
WILD GERANIUM.—_G. maculatum._
]
As the pleasant aroma of its leaves suggest, this little plant is
closely allied to the catnip. Its common title of Gill-over-the-ground,
appeals to one who is sufficiently without interest in pasture-land (for
it is obnoxious to cattle) to appreciate the pleasant fashion in which
this little immigrant from Europe has made itself at home here,
brightening the earth with such a generous profusion of blossoms every
May. But it is somewhat of a disappointment to learn that this name is
derived from the French _guiller_, and refers to its former use in the
fermentation of beer. Oddly enough the name of alehoof, which the plant
has borne in England and which naturally has been supposed to refer to
this same custom, is said by a competent authority (Professor Earle, of
Oxford) to have no connection with it, but to signify _another sort of
hofe_, _hofe_ being the early English name for the violet, which
resembles these flowers in color.
The plant was highly prized formerly as a domestic medicine. Gerarde
claims that “boiled in mutton-broth it helpeth weake and akeing backs.”
LARKSPUR.
_Delphinium._ Crowfoot Family.
Six inches to five feet high. _Leaves._—Divided or cut.
_Flowers._—Blue or purplish, growing in terminal racemes. _Calyx._—Of
five irregular petal-like sepals, the upper one prolonged into a spur.
_Corolla._—Of four irregular petals, the upper pair continued backward
in long spurs which are enclosed in the spur of the calyx, the lower
pair with short claws. _Stamens._—Indefinite in number. _Pistils._—One
to five, forming pods in fruit.
In April and May the bright blue clusters of the dwarf larkspur, _D.
tricorne_, are noticeable in parts of the country. Unfortunately they
are not found east of Western Pennsylvania.
The tall wand-like purplish racemes of the tall larkspur, _D.
exaltatum_, are found in July in the rich soil of Pennsylvania, and much
farther south and west as well.
WILD LUPINE.
_Lupinus perennis._ Pulse Family (p. 16).
_Stem._—Erect, one to two feet high. _Leaves._—Divided into seven to
eleven leaflets. _Flowers._—Blue, papilionaceous, showy, in a long
raceme. _Pod._—Broad, hairy.
In June and July the long bright clusters of the wild lupine are very
noticeable in many of our sandy fields. Its pea-like blossoms serve to
easily identify it. Under date of June 8th, Thoreau writes: “The lupine
is now in its glory.... It paints a whole hill-side with its blue,
making such a field (if not meadow) as Proserpine might have wandered
in. Its leaf was made to be covered with dewdrops. I am quite excited by
this prospect of blue flowers in clumps, with narrow intervals, such a
profusion of the heavenly, the Elysian color, as if these were the
Elysian fields.... That is the value of the lupine. The earth is blued
with it.”
HAREBELL.
_Campanula rotundifolia._ Campanula Family.
_Stem._—Slender, branching, from five to twelve inches high.
_Root-leaves._—Heart-shaped or ovate, early withering.
_Stem-leaves._—Numerous, long and narrow. _Flowers._—Bright blue,
nodding from hair-like stalks. _Calyx._—Five-cleft, the lobes
awl-shaped. _Corolla._—Bell-shaped, five-lobed. _Stamens._—Five.
_Pistil._—One, with three stigmas.
This slender, pretty plant, hung with its tremulous flowers, springs
from the rocky cliffs which buttress the river as well as from those
which crown the mountain. I have seen the west shore of the Hudson
bright with its delicate bloom in June, and the summits of the Catskills
tinged with its azure in September. The drooping posture of these
flowers protect their pollen from rain or dew. They have come to us from
Europe, and are identical, I believe, with the celebrated Scotch
bluebells.
BLUE-EYED GRASS.
_Sisyrinchium angustifolium._ Iris Family.
Four to twelve inches high. _Leaves._—Narrow and grass-like.
_Flowers._—Blue or purple, with a yellow centre.
_Perianth._—Six-parted, the divisions bristle-pointed.
_Stamens._—Three, united. _Pistil._—One, with three thread-like
stigmas.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat,
But it withereth the grass,
And the flower thereof falleth,
And the grace of the fashion of it perisheth.
So reads the passage in the Epistle of James, which seems so graphically
to describe the brief life of this little flower, that we might almost
believe the Apostle had had it in mind, were it to be found in the East.
The blue-eyed grass belongs to the same family as the showy fleur-de-lis
and blossoms during the summer, being especially plentiful in moist
meadows. It is sometimes called “eye-bright,” which name belongs by
rights to _Euphrasia officinalis._
VENUS’S LOOKING-GLASS.
_Specularia perfoliata._ Campanula Family.
_Stem._—Somewhat hairy, three to twenty inches high.
_Leaves._—Toothed, rounded, clasping by the heart-shaped base.
_Flowers._—Blue. _Calyx._—Three, four, or five-lobed.
_Corolla._—Wheel-shaped, five-lobed. _Stamens._—Five. _Pistil._—One,
with three stigmas.
We borrow from Mr. Burroughs’s “Bunch of Herbs” a description of this
little plant, which blossoms from May till August. “A pretty and curious
little weed, sometimes found growing in the edge of the garden, is the
clasping specularia, a relative of the harebell and of the European
Venus’s looking-glass. Its leaves are shell-shaped, and clasp the stalk
so as to form little shallow cups. In the bottom of each cup three buds
appear that never expand into flowers, but when the top of the stalk is
reached, one and sometimes two buds open a large, delicate purple-blue
corolla. All the first-born of this plant are still-born as it were;
only the latest, which spring from its summit, attain to perfect bloom.”
SKULL-CAP.
_Scutellaria._ Mint Family (p. 16).
_Stem._—Square, usually one or two feet high. _Leaves._—Opposite,
oblong, lance-shaped or linear. _Flowers._—Blue. _Calyx._—Two-lipped,
the upper lip with a small, helmet-like appendage which at once
identifies this genus. _Corolla._—Two-lipped, the upper lip arched,
the lateral lobes mostly connected with the upper lip, the lower lip
spreading and notched at the apex. _Stamens._—Four, in pairs.
_Pistil._—One, with a two-lobed style.
The prettiest and most striking of this genus is the larger skull-cap,
_S. integrifolia_, whose bright blue flowers are about one inch long,
growing in terminal racemes. In June and July they may be found among
the long grass of the roadsides and meadows. They are easily identified
by the curious little appendage on the upper part of the calyx, which
gives to this genus its common name.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXXVIII
BLUE-EYED GRASS.—_S. angustifolium._
]
Perhaps the best-known member of the group is the mad-dog skull-cap, _S.
lateriflora_, which delights in wet places, bearing small, inconspicuous
flowers in one-sided racemes. This plant is quite smooth, while that of
_S. integrifolia_ is rather downy. It was formerly believed to be a sure
cure for hydrophobia.
_S. galericulata_ is usually found somewhat northward. Its flowers are
much larger than those of _S. lateriflora_, but smaller than those of
_S. integrifolia._ They grow singly from the axils of the upper leaves.
FLEUR-DE-LIS. LARGER BLUE FLAG.
_Iris versicolor._ Iris Family.
_Stem._—Stout, angled on one side, leafy, one to three feet high.
_Leaves._—Flat and sword-shaped, with their inner surfaces coherent
for about half of their length. _Flowers._—Large and showy,
violet-blue, variegated with green, yellow, or white; purple-veined.
_Perianth._—Six-cleft, the three outer divisions recurved, the three
inner smaller and erect. _Stamens._—Three, covered by the three
overarching, petal-like divisions of the style. _Pistil._—One, with
its style cleft into three petal-like divisions, each of which bears
its stigma on its inner surface.
Born in the purple, born to joy and pleasance,
Thou dost not toil nor spin,
But makest glad and radiant with thy presence
The meadow and the lin.[11]
In both form and color this is one of the most regal of our wild
flowers, and it is easy to understand why the fleur-de-lis was chosen as
the emblem of a royal house, although the especial flower which Louis
VII. of France selected as his badge was probably white.
It will surprise most of us to learn that the common name which we have
borrowed from the French does not signify “flower-of-the-lily,” as it
would if literally translated, but “flower of Louis,” _lis_ being a
corruption of the name of the king who first adopted it as his badge.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXXIX
FLEUR-DE-LIS.—_I. versicolor._
]
For the botanist the blue-flag possesses special interest. It is a
conspicuous example of a flower which has guarded itself against
self-fertilization, and which is beautifully calculated to secure the
opposite result. The position of the stamens is such that their pollen
could not easily reach the stigmas of the same flower, for these are
borne on the inner surface of the petal-like, overarching styles. There
is no prospect here of any seed being set unless the pollen of another
flower is secured. Now what are the chances in favor of this? They are
many: In the first place the blossom is unusually large and showy, from
its size and shape alone almost certain to arrest the attention of the
passing bee; next, the color is not only conspicuous, but it is also one
which has been found to be especially attractive to bees; blue and
purple flowers being particularly sought by these insects. When the bee
reaches the flower he alights on the only convenient landing-place, one
of the recurved sepals; following the deep purple veins which experience
has taught him lead to the hidden nectar, he thrusts his head below the
anther, brushing off its pollen, which he carries to another flower.
The rootstocks of the Florentine species of iris yield the familiar
“orris-root.”
The family name is from the Greek for _rainbow_, on account of the rich
and varied hues of its different members.
The plant abounds in wet meadows, the blossoms appearing in June.
AMERICAN BROOKLIME.
_Veronica Americana._ Figwort Family.
_Stem._—Smooth, reclining at base, then erect, eight to fifteen inches
high. _Leaves._—Mostly opposite, oblong, toothed. _Flowers._—Blue,
clustered in the axils of the leaves. _Calyx._—Four-parted.
_Corolla._—Wheel-shaped, four-parted. _Stamens._—Two. _Pistil._—One.
Perhaps the prettiest of the blue _Veronicas_ is the American brooklime.
Its clustered flowers make bright patches in moist ground which might,
at a little distance, be mistaken for beds of forget-me-nots. It
blossoms from June till August, and is almost as common in wet ditches
and meadows as its sister, the common speedwell, is in dry and open
places. Some of the members of this genus were once believed to possess
great medicinal virtues, and won for themselves in Europe the laudatory
names of Honor and Praise.
[Illustration:
PLATE XC
AMERICAN BROOKLIME.—_V. Americana._
]
COMMON SPEEDWELL.
_Veronica officinalis._ Figwort Family.
The little speedwell’s darling blue
is noticeable during June and July, when clusters of these tiny flowers
brighten many a waste spot along the sunny roadsides. This is a hairy
little plant, with a stem which lies upon the ground and takes root,
thus spreading itself quickly over the country.
ARETHUSA.
_Arethusa bulbosa._ Orchis Family (p. 17).
_Scape._—Sheathed, from a globular bulb, usually one-flowered.
_Leaf._—“Solitary, linear, nerved, hidden in the sheaths of the scape,
protruding after flowering.” (Gray.) _Flower._—Rose-purple, large,
with a bearded lip.
In some localities this beautiful flower is very plentiful. Every June
will find certain New England marshes tinged with its rose-purple
blossoms, while in other near and promising bogs it may be sought vainly
for years. At least it may be hoped for in wet places as far south as
North Carolina, its most favorite haunt being perhaps a cranberry-swamp.
Concerning it, Mr. Burroughs writes: “Arethusa was one of the nymphs who
attended Diana, and was by that goddess turned into a fountain, that she
might escape the god of the river Alpheus, who became desperately in
love with her on seeing her at her bath. Our Arethusa is one of the
prettiest of the orchids, and has been pursued through many a marsh and
quaking-bog by her lovers. She is a bright pink-purple flower an inch or
more long, with the odor of sweet violets. The sepals and petals rise up
and arch over the column, which we may call the heart of the flower, as
if shielding it. In Plymouth County, Mass., where the Arethusa seems
common, I have heard it called Indian pink.”
PURPLE FRINGED ORCHISES.
Orchis Family (p. 17).
_Habenaria fimbriata._
_Leaves._—Oval or oblong; the upper, few, passing into lance-shaped
bracts. _Flowers._—Purple, rather large; with a fan-shaped,
three-parted lip, its divisions fringed; with a long curving spur;
growing in a spike.
_Habenaria psycodes._
_Leaves._—Oblong or lance-shaped, the upper passing into linear
bracts. _Flowers._—Purple, fragrant, resembling those of _H.
fimbriata_, but much smaller, with a less fringed lip; growing in a
spike.
We should search the wet meadows in early June if we wish to be surely
in time for the larger of the purple fringed orchises, for _H.
fimbriata_ somewhat antedates _H. psycodes_, which is the commoner
species of the two and appears in July. Under date of June 9th, Thoreau
writes: “Find the great fringed orchis out apparently two or three days,
two are almost fully out, two or three only budded; a large spike of
peculiarly delicate, pale purple flowers growing in the luxuriant and
shady swamp, amid hellebores, ferns, golden senecio, etc.... The village
belle never sees this more delicate belle of the swamp.... A beauty
reared in the shade of a convent, who has never strayed beyond the
convent-bell. Only the skunk or owl, or other inhabitant of the swamp,
beholds it.”
AMERICAN PENNYROYAL.
_Hedeoma pulegioides._ Mint Family (p. 16).
_Stem._—Square, low, erect, branching _Leaves._—Opposite, aromatic,
small. _Flowers._—Purplish, small, whorled in the axils of the leaves.
_Calyx._—Two-lipped, upper lip three-toothed, the lower two-cleft.
_Corolla._—Two-lipped, upper erect, notched at apex, the lower
spreading and three-cleft. _Fertile stamens._—Two. _Pistil._—One, with
a two-lobed style.
This well-known, strong-scented little plant is found throughout the
greater part of the country, blossoming in midsummer. Its taste and odor
nearly resemble that of the true pennyroyal, _Mentha pulegium_, of
Europe.
MONKEY-FLOWER.
_Mimulus ringens._ Figwort Family.
_Stem._—Square, one to two feet high. _Leaves._—Opposite, oblong or
lance-shaped. _Flowers._—Pale violet-purple, rarely white, growing
singly from the axils of the leaves. _Calyx._—Five-angled,
five-toothed, the upper tooth largest. _Corolla._—Tubular, two-lipped,
the upper lip erect or spreading, two-lobed, the lower spreading and
three-lobed, the throat closed. _Stamens._—Four. _Pistil._—One, with a
two-lobed stigma.
From late July onward the monkey-flowers tinge the wet fields and border
the streams and ponds; not growing in the water like the pickerel-weed,
but seeking a hummock in the swamp, or a safe foothold on the brook’s
edge, where they can absorb the moisture requisite to their vigorous
growth.
The name is a diminutive of _mimus_—a buffoon, and refers to the
somewhat grinning blossom. The plant is a common one throughout the
eastern part of the country.
COMMON MOTHERWORT.
_Leonurus cardiaca._ Mint Family (p. 16).
_Stem._—Tall and upright. _Leaves._—Opposite, the lower rounded and
lobed, the floral wedge-shaped at base and three-cleft.
_Flowers._—Pale purple, in close whorls in the axils of the leaves.
_Calyx._—“With five nearly equal teeth, which are awl-shaped, and
when old rather spiny, pointed, and spreading.” (Gray.)
_Corolla._—Two-lipped, the upper lip somewhat arched and bearded,
the lower three-lobed and spreading. _Stamens._—Four, in pairs.
_Pistil._—One, with a two-lobed style.
The tall erect stems, opposite leaves, and regular whorls of closely
clustered pale purple flowers help us to easily identify the motherwort,
if identification be needed, for it seems as though such old-fashioned,
time-honored plants as catnip, tansy, and motherwort, which cling so
persistently to the skirts of the old homestead in whose domestic
economy they once played so important a part, should be familiar to us
all.
[Illustration:
PLATE XCI
MONKEY-FLOWER.—_M. ringens._
]
CORN COCKLE.
_Lychnis Githago._ Pink Family.
About two feet high. _Leaves._—Opposite, long and narrow, pale green,
with silky hairs. _Flowers._—Rose-purple, large, long-stalked.
_Calyx-lobes._—Five, long and slender, exceeding the petals.
_Corolla._—Of five broad petals. _Stamens._—Ten. _Pistil._—One, with
five styles.