SQUIRREL CORN.
_Dicentra Canadensis._
THIS graceful plant belongs to the fumitory family, of which we have
many cultivated varieties in Britain and elsewhere. Here our lovely
flower grows wild in rich black mould in the forest, and in recently
cleared spots within its protecting shadow, where its drooping bells and
rich scent have gained for it the not very inappropriate name of
“Wild Hyacinth.” The common name of “Squirrel-Corn” is
derived from the round orange tubers at the roots, resembling in size
and colour grains of Indian-Corn, and from their being a favourite food
with the ground squirrel.
The blossoms are of a pellucid whiteness, sometimes tinged with reddish
lilac; they form a drooping raceme on a round smooth scape, springing
from a scaly bud; the corolla is heart-shaped, composed of four petals,
in two pairs, flattened and sac-like, the tips united over the stigma,
and slightly projecting; in _D. cucullaria_ assuming the likeness of the
head of a fly, the cream-coloured diverging petals presenting a strong
resemblance to the deer-fly of our lakes. This very charming species is
known by the somewhat vulgar name of “BREECHES FLOWER” and “DUTCHMAN’S
BREECHES.” A more descriptive name would be “FLY-FLOWER.”
All the species flourish under cultivation, and become very ornamental
early border flowers; but care should be taken to plant them in rich
black vegetable mould, the native soil of their forest haunts.
Our artist has chosen the delicate rosy-tinted variety as the subject of
the right hand flower of the plate.
* * * * *
PURPLE TRILLIUM.
(DEATH-FLOWER.—BIRTH-ROOT.)
_Trillium erectum._
“Bring flowers, bring flowers o’er the bier to shed
A crown for the brow of the early dead.
Though they smile in vain for what once was ours,
They are love’s last gift, bring flowers, bring flowers.”
HEMANS.
GRAY and other botanical writers call this striking flower (_T.
erectum_) the “_Purple Trillium_;” it should rather be called RED, its
hue being decidedly more _red_ than purple, and in the New England
States it is called by the country folks, “The Red Death-Flower,” in
contrast to the larger White Trillium, or “WHITE DEATH-FLOWER.” For
further remarks on this singular name we refer the reader to the
description of that flower where all the native varieties of the genus
are dwelt upon, including the one now before us, which forms the central
flower in the present group, and shall merely add that like the rest of
this remarkable family, _T. erectum_ is widely spread over the whole of
Canada. It appears in the middle of May and continues blooming till
June, preferring the soil of rich shady woods.
“Few of our indigenous plants surpass the Trillium in elegance and
beauty, and they are all endowed with valuable medicinal properties. The
root of the Purple Trillium is generally believed to be the most active.
Tannin and Bitter Extract form two of its most remarkable ingredients.”
So says that intelligent writer on the medicinal plants of North
America, Dr. Charles Lee. There are three of the dark flowered Trillium
enumerated by Gray, two of which appear to be common to our Canadian
soil, _T. erectum_ and _T. sessile_. The latter is smaller, and often
the dull chocolate colour of the pointed petals assumes a livid greenish
hue. It is earlier in flowering, appearing at the beginning of May, at
the same time with _T. nivale_, the “Dwarf White” or “SNOWY TRILLIUM.”
Under cultivation the flowers of all the species become very ornamental;
they require black leaf mould and moderate shade, and, if left to grow
undisturbed, increase and continue to flower year after year, in the
borders or shrubbery.
The seeds when ripe are easily obtained; they are hard and bony, several
in each division of the three celled capsule. The roots of these plants
are thick, wrinkled, fleshy, and contain the medicinal principle
described by Dr. Lee.
* * * * *