The common Skunk Cabbage (_Symplocarpus fœtidus_) although regarded by
many only with disgust, has one claim that cannot be disputed, that of
being our first flower to bloom each year. It is not uncommon to find
them with the shell-like spathe above ground and the pollen fully ripened
even in January, although from the latter part of February to the first
of May is the usual flowering season.
The flower spathes show a great diversity of coloring according to their
age, ranging from a pale green sparingly streaked with brown to an almost
solid purple tone.
The flowers are small, perfect, and closely crowded on the thick fleshy
spadix, concealed or partially so by the large, thick purple and green
stained hood. The leaves appear after the flower has withered or
commenced to do so; they are bright green, large, cabbage-like and
strongly veined; quite handsome, in fact. These plants range from N. S.
to Minn., and southward, chiefly in boggy ground.
[Illustration: ]
SPIDERWORT FAMILY
(_Commelinaceæ_)
(A) Day-flower (_Commelina communis_) is one of a very few of our native
plants having pure blue flowers. Each blossom lasts but a single day.
The stem is rather weak, much jointed, and attains heights of one to two
feet. Two petals are large, rounded and blue, while the third is tiny and
colorless; the whole flower peeps out from a clasping, cordate,
heart-shaped leaf or spathe. Found from southern Mass. to Mich. and
southward, blooming in rich woods or dooryards from June to Sept.
(B) Spiderwort; Job’s Tears (_Tradescantia virginiana_), like the Day
Flower, remains open for but part of a day, after which the petals
contract into glutinous drops.
The stem is hairy and sticky; from one to two feet high. Three purple
petals, three brown, hairy sepals and six orange-tipped stamens compose
the flowers. They may be found in rich soil from Me. to Mich. and
southward, flowering from June to August.
[Illustration: ]
PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY
(_Pontederiaceæ_)
(A) Pickerel-weed (_Pontederia cordata_) is an exceedingly abundant water
plant, growing profusely in shallow ponds or along the edges of
fresh-water streams, and flowering from June to August.
The flowers grow on a spike that proceeds from a small, green, leaf-like
spathe; the 3 upper divisions of the 6-parted perianth are partially
united, but the 3 lower ones are spreading; they are a light violet-blue
with two yellow spots at the base of the upper united parts. A single
heart-shaped, cordate leaf clasps the stem about midway, while others on
long petioles grow from the rootstalk. Commonly found from N. S. to
Manitoba and southward.
(B) Mud Plantain (_Heteranthera reniformis_) has a slender, few-flowered
spike proceeding from a small sheath-like spathe. The perianth is blue
and regularly 6-parted. The leaves are round-lobed, kidney-shaped,
floating on long stalks from the root. Found from Ct. to Neb. and
southward.
[Illustration: ]
LILY FAMILY
(_Liliaceæ_)
This is an exceedingly large family containing more than 80 species in
our range, divided into 33 genera.
(A) Bellwort (_Uvularia perfoliata_) is common in rich woods. The stem,
reaching a length of 6 to 18 in., rises from a short rootstalk. A single,
straw-colored flower is pendent from the end of each drooping branch; it
is long, bell-shaped, and has six narrow divisions. The leaves are light
green, lance-shaped, and pierced by the stem. The slightly fragrant
flowers are so concealed by their drooping position as to be invisible
from above. They blossom in May and June throughout the U. S.
(B) Oakesia; Wild Oats (_Oakesia sessifolia_) has an angular stem from 6
to 14 in. long. The ovate-lanceolate leaves are seated on the stem and
not pierced by it. The one or two flowers are similar in size and
coloring to those of Bellwort but the interior is smooth while the latter
has rough ridges. This species is common from Me. to Minn. and southward.
[Illustration: ]
ONION; GARLIC
Genus (_Allium_)
The various species belonging to this genus are very strongly scented,
pungent herbs growing from a coated bulb.
(A) Wild Leek; Wild Onion (_Allium tricoccum_) is a woodland plant
blooming in May and June. The flowers are in an umbel at the top of a
scape 6 to 20 in. high. The flower perianth is divided into six
greenish-white sepals. The leaves are oblong-lance-shaped, pointed at
both ends, on long petioles from the bulbous root, but usually withering
before the flowers appear. Found from N. B. to Minn. and southward.
(B) Wild Garlic (_Allium canadense_) has few purplish 6-parted flowers on
slender pedicels from a cluster of bulblets at the top of a scape 10 to
24 in. high. The leaves are grass-like, sheathing the stem above the
fibrous bulb. Flowers in May and June in moist meadows, from N. B. to
Mich. and southward.
[Illustration: ]
Day Lily (_Hemerocallis fulva_) (European) will, we think, prove a
welcome addition to our flora. It is now locally abundant in R. I.,
Conn., and N. Y. It flourishes best near salt water and spreads rapidly
by means of its running roots as well as by seed. The flower stalk is
tall, 2 to 5 feet, and at its summit bears eight or nine buds which open
one or two a day into large showy flowers.
The perianth is funnel-form, with six spreading orange limbs and six long
stamens with large brown anthers. The blossoms appear in July and August,
each remaining open for but a single day; this habit makes them very
popular for vase flowers as the number of buds on each stalk insures
fresh flowers every day for a week or more. The leaves are long and
linear, similar to those of the Cat-tail, appearing from a fleshy
perennial rootstalk at the base of the tall flower scape.
In the absence of any odor, the beautiful flower cup serves to attract
the bees that are necessary for the setting of its seed.
[Illustration: ]
LILIES
Genus (_Lilium_)
All the members of this genus are among our most beautiful flowers. In
our range it includes eight species, of which seven are natives. The two
species of Red Lily can readily be recognized because their perianth, or
flower funnel, always opens upward.
Wood Lily; Wild Orange-red Lily (_Lilium philadelphicum_) has a leafy
stem 1 to 3 feet high, at its summit bearing one to four erect (not
pendulous) flowers; the divisions of the perianth are deep orange-red,
lightening in color at the stem-like bases and profusely spotted with
dark brown; the outside of the perianth is dull whitish green. The leaves
are lanceolate, sharply pointed at each end and whorled about the stem in
groups of from three to seven. Its name is rather misleading for, while
it is sometimes found in woods, it will be found blooming most profusely
in sandy or brush-covered land. Blooms in July and August in sandy soil
from N. E. to Mich. and southward.
[Illustration: ]
Turk’s-cap Lily (_Lilium superbum_) is a most beautiful plant, prolific
in bloom almost beyond belief, sometimes containing from thirty to forty
brilliant orange flowers. The bright sepals are always reflexed,
sometimes so much so that they remind one of a coiled spring. One has but
to touch the large pendent anthers to get a practical demonstration of
how the pollen is attached to the body of a bee and carried to another
flower, there to be deposited on the sticky stigma of the mature style.
Naturally a species so prolific of flower and so capable of being
cross-fertilized by foreign agency is in little danger of having its
numbers lessened.
The flowers, nodding at the top of a stem ranging from 2 to 7 feet in
height, have a six-parted perianth, orange-red, thickly spotted with
purplish brown. The lanceolate leaves are crowded along the upper stem
and whorled about its lower portion. Blooms abundantly in rich soil,
during July and August, from N. B. to Minn. and southward.
[Illustration: ]
Field, Wild, Meadow, Yellow or Canada Lily (_Lilium canadense_) is one of
the most abundant of the genus. Imagine a rich meadow, surrounded by deep
green woods and covered with thousands of these lilies, their heads
hanging and nodding invitingly and seeming fairly to tinkle in the bright
sunlight. On the whole, this flower may be regarded as more graceful in
form than is the Turk’s-cap, but it cannot compare with the latter flower
for beauty of coloring. The regular whorled leaves and graceful bending
peduncles supporting the hanging “bells” make a conventional design that
often appeals to the artistic eye.
The flowers are in terminal clusters of one to twelve blossoms, nodding
on long peduncles from the summit of tall leafy stems. The leaves are
lanceolate, arranged about the stem at intervals in whorls of three to
eight. Flowers during June and July in moist meadows from Quebec to Minn.
and southward to Ga. and Mo.
[Illustration: ]
(A) Dog-tooth Violet; Yellow Adder’s Tongue (_Erythronium americanum_).
These flowers are familiar and welcome ones to all who wander beside
woodland brooks in the spring. The name “Violet” is of course a misnomer.
It is often locally known as the “Trout Lily” or the “Fawn Lily,” both of
which names are far more appropriate than those given it generally.
The single 6-parted flower grows at the top of a scape from 5 to 10 in.
high. Two elliptical-lanceolate leaves clasp the scape at its base, near
the scaly bulb; they are pale green, mottled with purple and white. This
species blooms in April and May in moist woods or swamps, from N. B. to
Minn. and southward.
(B) Clintonia (_Clintonia borealis_) is a beautiful species, its leaves
resembling those of the Lily-of-the-Valley. The three to six pendulous,
bell-shaped flowers are cream-colored within and greenish outside. Three
large, oblong, pointed leaves clasp the flower scape at its base. The
plant is about 6 to 16 in. high; it flowers during June in damp woods
from Labrador to Man. and southward.
[Illustration: ]
Wild Spikenard (_Smilacina racemosa_) is quite an imposing plant, with
its long, curving, zigzag stem, its many light-green, deeply ribbed
leaves and its feathery terminal flower clusters.
The white flowers are tiny but perfect, with a 6-parted perianth, six
slender stamens, and a short, thick style. The stem is rather angular and
attains a length of from 1 to 3 feet; alternating along it are the large,
oval, sharply pointed leaves, with parallel ribs and wavy edge. The
perennial rootstalk is thick and fleshy. Spikenard is quite abundant in
moist rich, uncleared ground, flowering in May and June, from Me. to
Minn. southward.
False Solomon’s Seal (_Smilacina stellata_) bears some resemblance to the
last species, but the flowers are much larger and few in number, usually
only six or eight terminating the zigzag stem. The leaves are broader at
the bases and slightly clasp the stem, whereas those of the last species
have very short stems. It grows commonly, but not as much so as the last,
on moist banks and in meadows, from Me. to Minn. and southward.
[Illustration: ]
(A) Canada Mayflower; False Lily-of-the-Valley (_Maianthemum canadense_)
is a very abundant woodland plant, growing in colonies, thousands of them
sometimes carpeting pine woods with their dark-green glossy leaves. The
two, or three broad, ovate-lanceolate, shiny green leaves are rather
heart-shaped at the base, seated on the stem or very nearly so. The
flower perianth has four divisions. After the flowering season both of
these plants have berries; at first a creamy white, spotted with brown,
and later turning to a dull ruby-red.
(B) Three-leaved False Solomon’s Seal (_Smilacina trifolia_), the
smallest member of the genus Smilacina is found rather commonly in bogs
and wet woods. The stem, straight and slender, from 2 to 6 in. high,
usually has three leaves, shining green, oblong-pointed, and sheathing at
the base, arranged at regular intervals along it. The flowers are white,
few in number, on short peduncles in an open raceme and have six petals.
It is found from Labrador to Manitoba and southward to N. J. and Mo.,
flowering during May and June.
[Illustration: ]
Purple Twisted-stalk (_Streptopus roseus_) has, as would be judged from
its name, a very angular or twisted stem. At each angle or joint appears
an ovate-lanceolate, cordately ribbed, shining green leaf, seated on the
stem. From the axils of the terminal leaves appear small flowers on
slender, thread-like peduncles; these flowers are sometimes single or,
again, in pairs; they have a bell-shaped base and the perianth is divided
into six lanceolate, spreading dull purple sepals. The stem, which is
rather sparingly bristly hairy, reaches heights of 1 to 2½ feet. This
rosy species blooms in May and June in cold moist woods from Newfoundland
to Manitoba and southward to the Gulf of Mexico.
Common Twisted-stalk (_Streptopus amplexifolius_) is similar but has
greenish-white flowers, the six sepals of which are very strongly
reflexed. The plant is somewhat larger, the smooth stem being from 2 to 3
feet in length. It is found throughout northern United States and the
southern half of Canada.
[Illustration: ]
Solomon’s Seal (_Polygonatum biflorum_) has small greenish, bell-shaped
flowers about one half inch in length, hanging in pairs on slender
peduncles from the axils of the leaves. The stem is 1 to 2 feet in
height. The oblong-lanceolate leaves alternate along, and are partly
seated on, the stem; deep green above and glaucous or whitish below. Very
common in woods from N. B. to Ont. and southward, flowering from April to
June.
These plants receive their name from the thick, fleshy, and knotted
rootstalks. They are perennials, each year throwing up new stalks; after
flowering these wither away and leave pronounced scars on the roots.
These scars suggested the name of Solomon’s Seal and the number of them
probably accurately denotes the ages of the plants. Both the large and
the small species grow in the same localities. They can readily be
distinguished by comparison, for commutatum is always larger in all its
parts; while it may be but a foot and a half tall it will be stouter and
have comparatively larger flowers than its relative. Often it assumes
truly gigantic size and may tower above a tall man’s head.
[Illustration: ]
(A) Common Green Brier (_Smilax rotundifolia_) is a woody climbing vine
with scattered sharp prickles; it climbs by means of pairs of tendrils
from the axils of the leaves. Leaves alternating along the stem;
round-ovate, sharply pointed at the tip and somewhat heart-shaped at the
base. Flowers, few on slender peduncles from the angles of the leaves;
perianth bell-shaped, with six short, spreading lobes, pale greenish in
color. Common in moist thickets from N. S. to Minn. and southward,
flowering in May and June.
(B) Lily-of-the-Valley (_Convallaria majalis_). As a garden flower, this
species is probably familiar to nearly everyone. While, as a native, it
is only found in some of the southeastern mountain ranges, it is
sometimes found in the North as an escape from cultivation. It is a
delicately beautiful species, very rich in fragrance and very hardy. The
bell-shaped, white flowers grow in a one-sided raceme at the top of a
scape, the base of which is sheathed by the two large, broad,
oblong-pointed, parallel-veined leaves. It flowers in May and June in the
mountains from Va. to S. C.
[Illustration: ]
Indian Cucumber-root (_Medeola virginiana_) is a common woodland plant,
but the flowers are so inconspicuous that they are often overlooked; in
fact they are often nodding below the upper leaves so as to be invisible.
The stem is tall and slender, ranging from 1 to 3 feet in height; it
rises from a thick horizontal rootstalk, having a taste similar to that
of the cucumber. A whorl of from five to nine ovate-lanceolate, pointed
leaves is located midway on the stem; at the top, three smaller but
similarly shaped leaves radiate. Above these, or it may be below, because
of the curving pedicels, are three flowers. They are pale
greenish-yellow; the three sepals and three petals composing the perianth
are very much reflexed or curled; they have six stamens each, and one
style dividing into three purplish-brown, recurved stigmas.
It is said that the Indians formerly used the roots for food; at the
present time they are used for various medicinal preparations.
Cucumber-root is found from N. B. to Manitoba and southward to the Gulf,
flowering in rich woods during May and June.
[Illustration: ]