_Belamcanda chinensis_ (_Pardanthus chinensis_)
_Flowers_--Deep orange color, speckled irregularly with crimson and
purple within _(Pardos_ = leopard; _anthos_ = flower); borne in
terminal, forked clusters. Perianth of 6 oblong, petal-like, spreading
divisions; 6 stamens with linear anthers; style thickest above, with 3
branches. _Stem:_ 1-1/2 to 4 ft. tall, leafy. _Leaves:_ Like the iris;
erect, folded blades, 8 to 10 in. long. _Fruit:_ Resembling a
blackberry; an erect mass of round, black, fleshy seeds, at first
concealed in a fig-shaped capsule, whose 3 valves curve backward, and
finally drop off.
_Preferred Habitat_--Roadsides and hills.
_Flowering Season_--June-July.
_Distribution_--Connecticut to Georgia, westward to Indiana and
Missouri.
How many beautiful foreign flowers, commonly grown in our gardens here,
might soon become naturalized Americans were we only generous enough to
lift a few plants, scatter a few seeds over our fences into the fields
and roadsides--to raise the bars of their prison, as it were, and let
them free! Many have run away, to be sure. Once across the wide
Atlantic, or wider Pacific, their passage paid (not sneaking in among
the ballast like the more fortunate weeds), some are doomed to stay in
prim, rigidly cultivated flower beds forever; others, only until a
chance to bolt for freedom presents itself, and away they go. Lucky are
they if every flower they produce is not picked before a single seed
can be set.
This Blackberry Lily of gorgeous hue originally came from China.
Escaping from gardens here and there, it was first reported as a wild
flower at East Rock, Connecticut; other groups of vagabonds were met
marching along the roadsides on Long Island; near Suffern, New York;
then farther southward and westward, until it has already attained a
very respectable range. Every plant has some good device for sending its
offspring away from home to found new colonies, if man would but let it
alone. Better still, give the eager travellers a lift!