Chapter VIII: Introduction (8)

The large leaf is nearly round, and somewhat heart-shaped at the base; it has an entire edge, and strongly marked parallel ribs; though thin, it is tough, and has a smooth, shining surface, and a bright green color. The leaves are alternate at short intervals, almost crowded. The tendrils spring from the angles of the leaves.

The small flower has its parts in threes, with twice three stamens; it is dull light green in color. Very many flowers, some 20 to 40, on short flower-stems, are gathered together in a round head; this head is on the end of a stem from 4 to 6 or more inches long. The flowers exhale a disagreeable odor which gives rise to its folk-name.

The fruit is a round blue-black berry; as it has not the objectionable odor of the flower, the vine becomes more attractive in its fruiting than in its blossoming season.

*False Hellebore.* _Veratrum viride._
*Indian Poke.*
*Poor Annie.*

Found blossoming in June, in wet hollows, and along the borders of upland streams.

Its simple, erect stalk, growing from 2 to 4 feet high, is very leafy; it is round, and stout, an inch or more in diameter at the base; smooth, and green.

The very large leaf, from 10 to 12 inches long, is broadly oval, tapering at the tip, and deeply pleated on its many parallel ribs; the surface is finely downy, especially beneath; in color a bright grass green.

The flower is about three fourths of an inch across; the 6 spreading petal-like parts are leaf-like in texture, and of a yellowish-green color. The flowers, growing on very short foot-stems, with a narrow leaf (or bract) to each one, are thickly set in a pyramidal cluster, on the top of the leafy stalk.

The juice, particularly that of the root, is said to be a strong acrid poison. It is a plant of splendid vigor, and curves; in early spring, before the twiggery shows any green, it pushes up from the dark earth a large, lush, green bud, charged to the full with the impulse of growth; later its leafage becomes more or less mingled with that of its neighbors, and so does not receive the recognition it deserves for its striking qualities.

*Indian Cucumber-root.* _Medeola Virginiana._

Found in moist rich woods, during June.

The slender, smooth, green stalk varies from 1 to 3 feet in height; a light fleecy wool is loosely caught around it.

The oblong leaf tapers at both ends, it is 3-ribbed, and the margin is entire; its color is a fresh full green. The leaves clasp the stalk, and are set in two whorls, of 3 to 9 in number.

The flower is inconspicuous on account of its light greenish color; its 3 petals and 3 calyx-parts are long, narrow, and much recurved; the 6 stamens are colored a dark crimson-red, with brown tips, and the 3 divisions of the pistil are long and spreading. Three or four blossoms on their slender stems hang beneath the upper whorl of leaves.

The green, spidery flower of the Medeola is curious rather than pretty,--the charm of the plant lies in the slender stalk, with its two whorls of fine green leaves lightly poised about it. When the dark blue-black berry is ripe its stem takes on an upward curve, and at about the same time a crimson-red spot appears at the base of the leaves.

*Great Solomon’s Seal.* _Polygonatum giganteum._
*Giant Solomon’s Seal.*

Found on rich banks, in partial shade, during June.

The single leafy stalk grows from 3 to 8 feet high; at first it stands erect, but later the tip curves over and downward; it is tough-fibred, smooth and fine in surface, and green.

The large broadly oval leaf is sometimes 6 inches long and 3 broad; it is pointed at the tip, and partly clasps the stalk at its base; the margin is entire, the ribs parallel and deeply marked, and the texture is fine, while the surface is smooth. In color it is a cool dark green. The leaves occur alternately along the stalk.

The tubular flower is from ½ an inch to about ¾ of an inch long, and spreads into 6 divisions. The color is pale green, the tips of the 6 stamens which first show in the opening of the flower are pale straw-color. The flowers swing on slender stems, from the angles of the leaves, in clusters of two or three (or sometimes singly,) forming a row upon the curving stalk.

Following the flower-bells come the globular blue-black berries, about the size of a pea; they are fully as charming as the blossoms, but seldom remain long on the stalk, since they are fully appreciated by the birds who devour them quickly. This is a plant of fine gesture, and splendid curves, too large to be figured full-size upon the accompanying plate.

*Nodding Lily.* _Lilium Canadense._
*Field Lily.*

Found in grass fields, and moist meadows, during July.

The single, leafy, and smooth stalk is 2 or 3, or more, feet high. In color it is green, often inclined to take on a dull reddish-brown hue near the flowers.

The leaf is long, pointed at the tip, and clasping the stalk at the base; it is of strong fibre; in color a vigorous green. The leaves are inclined to grow in whorls about the stalk, but are often placed irregularly near the top.

The large and spreading, bell-shaped flower is formed of 6 petal-like parts, whose tips are pointed, and curved a trifle,--3 of the parts have prominent ribs down the middle; it is orange-yellow in color, on the inside speckled with many small reddish-brown dots. The 6 stamens and the club-shaped pistil have dull tawny-orange or reddish-brown tips. From 1 to 3, or more, flowers swing nodding on their short stems from the top of the stalk.

When the orange bells of the Field Lily may be seen gaily nodding here and there just above the feathers of the red-top grass in level meadows, midsummer has come in.

*Flame Lily.* _Lilium Philadelphicum._
*Wood Lily.*

Found in upland meadows, woods, and along copse-borders in July.

The stalk grows from 1 to 2 feet high; it is single, leafy, and strong-fibred and smooth; in color a purplish-green.

The leaf is long, narrow, and pointed, of a firm strong texture, and smooth surface. The color is a fall-toned green. The leaves are placed upon the stalk, in whorls of 5 or more, with an occasional one, escaping regularity, lodged between.

The 6 petal-like parts of the large flower-bell are narrowed at their bases into little stems; 3 of the parts have pronounced midribs. The color of this Lily is orange-red, or flame, irregularly marked on the inside with large spots of reddish brown; the 6 stamens, and the pistil, have reddish-brown tips. Usually a single flower, but sometimes two, on slender stems, are erect upon the top of the stalk.

While the general direction of the stalk is upright the flower sways from side to side with a free grace of movement. Sometimes a single plant will stray into some little open clearing of a lonely wood where its flame warms the whole space; or again its bell swings out from the rocky slope of a mountain pasture. Near the seaboard it grows in communities, where its color, intensified by the sea air, gives it the folk-name of “Flame Lily.” The plant is said to be especially indifferent to drought.

PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY.

PONTEDERIACEÆ.

*Pickerel-weed.* _Pontederia cordata._

Found in shallow water from July to September.

The height is variable, from 4 to 6 inches or more. The stalk is stout, round, smooth, and green; it grows with sharp-angled turns below the water.

The leaf is large and arrow-shaped, with a blunt tip; the margin is entire, the fibre tough and leathery, the surface extremely smooth, and the color a dark strong green. The stem is round, large, and sheathes the stalk.

The irregularly 4-parted flower has a short tube; the upper division is erect, broad, and 3-lobed; the 3 lower divisions are long, narrow, and spreading; it has 6 stamens. In color it is a dull bluish violet, the broad division marked with two round greenish-yellow spots. The flowers grow in a thick blunt spike, and bloom spirally; the stem is enfolded about midway by a small sheathing, green leaf.

The flowers are fleeting with the day. In general lines the Pickerel-weed is full of vigor, and strong swinging curves, but there is a primitive lack of finish in its growth.

CAT-TAIL FAMILY.

TYPHACEÆ.

*Bur-reed.* _Sparganium simplex._

Found along the borders of ponds, blossoming in June, July and August.

The erect, simple, stalk is round, smooth, strong, and fine in fibre; of a bright yellow-green.

The leaf is a long, narrow, green ribbon, pointed at the tip, and growing thick toward the base where it sheathes the stalk; it has a smooth surface, and exceedingly fine texture; of a beautiful grass-green color.

The small flowers are of 2 kinds in densely crowded, round heads which are threaded on a long curving flower-stem; the lower ones are the seed-bearing heads, and develop into green burs about 1 inch in diameter, the upper, stamen-bearing ones, are light and fluffy with many fine thread-like stamens, of a dull white color, tipped with gray.

One involuntarily says of this plant, How Japanese! Our Western neighbors have shown in their drawings that they appreciate the long sweeping curves and original gesture found in many water plants. The name of the genus means a fillet, and is derived from the ribbon-like leaf.

ARUM FAMILY.

ARACEÆ.

*Skunk Cabbage.* _Symplocarpus fœtidus._

Found in March or early April, in damp meadows, and moist or swampy woodlands.

The leaves and hooded flower-clusters rise from the ground.

The large and conspicuous leaves, which do not unfold until the flowering season is past, vary from 1 to 2 feet in length; they are oval in shape with a blunt tip and heart-shaped base, have entire margins, firm texture, and smooth surfaces, and resemble the garden Day-Lily because of their many parallel ribs. In color a light clear green.

The unnoticeable 4-parted greenish-yellow flowers are gathered closely on a fleshy round club (that is about an inch in diameter) and enveloped by a protecting hood. This hood is large and sharp-pointed, of a very thick and leathery texture, with a smooth and dull glossy surface; it is a dull brown or mahogany color, mottled or streaked with darker purple or red. From 1 to 3 or 4 of these hood-protected flower-heads are crowded close together, along with the rolled up leaf, in the hold of several dull greenish or slightly purple leaf-like parts which serve as weather blankets wrapped about the whole plant.

After the flowers mature the hood shrivels and falls away, the blankets disappear, and the pointed leaf-bud then unfolds, the leaves pushing forth with fine springing curves. The strong odor of the plant prevents close observation, and denies to it the praise its growth deserves. In habit it is highly gregarious, and favorable meadows are thickly sprinkled with these rich-hued hoods of our earliest spring flower.

*Golden Club.* _Orontium aquaticum._

Found in ponds, or standing water, in early May.

The flower-spike and leaves lie upon the water, or hold themselves just above its surface, springing on long stems from the submerged root.

The oblong, narrow leaf is thick and juicy, with an entire margin, that is conspicuously folded together and joined at the base, and a smooth surface. In color it is a rich-toned green with a bloom above, the under surface being shining and pale and much colored by fine speckles of bronze. The leaf-stem is round, porous, smooth, and bronzy.

The small, flat, indefinite flowers are inset closely upon a round club, in a smooth, curiously patterned mosaic-work of a bright golden-yellow color. This club terminates a smooth porous stem, which becomes large and is flattened on one side beneath the flowers; it is streaked with bronze beneath the water, but clear white above its surface.

“I don’t feel as if I should search for it!” said the farmer when he saw this plant for the first time.

*Green Dragon.* _Arisæma Dracontium._
*Dragon-root.*

Found in moist shade, in May.

The root produces usually one leaf-stem, 1 to 2 feet high, which bears the blossom-stem.

The leaflets of the compound leaf are 5 to 13 in number, in shape oblong, tapering at both ends, and entire; the surface is smooth, and a rich dark green color. The stem is smooth, round, and light green.

The little flowers are borne on the base of a long wand, which projects one or two inches beyond the ensheathing wrapper,--both wand and envelope are green; the stem is round, smooth, and green, and grows from the side of the leaf-stem.

This well-named plant has many marks of the dragon upon it; its solitary leaf spreads, particularly when unfolding, a green claw-like hand above the flowers, and all about the club-shaped root-bulb grow numerous flesh-colored bulblets highly suggestive of his dragon-ship’s toes!

*Jack-in-the-Pulpit.* _Arisæma triphyllum._
*Indian Turnip.*

Found in damp shady nooks, blossoming in May.

The root sends up two or three leaf-bearing stems which vary from 8 to 20 inches in height.

The leaf is compound, and often grows to a considerable size; the 3 leaflets are a broad oval shape, tapering at the tip, the ribs much marked, the fibre fine, and surface smooth; a fall, juicy green. The stem is long, round and smooth, and sheathed at the foot.

The inconspicuous flowers are borne at the base of a green wand, which is wrapped around by a leaf-like sheath, its tip curving over the head of Jack and making the sounding board of his airy green pulpit. This sheath is tougher in texture and more shining than the leaves, and varies in color; on the stamen-bearing plant it is green, striped with greenish-white, while that of the pistil-bearing plant is green, striped with blackish violet. The Jack-in-the-Pulpit is borne on a stout, round, shining stem, which springs from between the sheaths of the leaf-stem.

In late summer the ripened seeds are found, a thick short club of bright red berries; the leaves of the seed-bearing plants often grow very large and are a rich, dark green color. It will be observed that Jack-in-the-Pulpit is “brother to dragons”!

*Sweet Flag.* _Acorus Calamus._

Found in swamps and on the borders of runlets, in flower in June.

The Sweet Flag has no common stalk; the leaves springing directly from the rootstock; long and narrow (from 3 to 4 feet long), sword-like in shape, thin and even on the edge, and rising to a sharply defined ridge on one side of the center; the surface is like silk, and the texture is firm and fine; of a beautiful grass-green color.

The minute greenish-yellow flowers are closely set in a long club-like spike, growing out abruptly from the middle of a leaf-like stalk.

The large root is sought and eaten for its pungent and aromatic flavor; the tender young flower-club also has the same qualities of flavor and is eaten by children, who in certain localities call it “the grater.”

WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY.

ALISMACEÆ.

*Arrowhead.* _Sagittaria variabilis._

Found in shallow water and low moist grounds, from July to August.

The leaf- and flower-stems rise 1 or 2 feet from the root.

The leaf varies very much in size and proportion; it is arrow-shaped, with strong ribs, a smooth and fine surface, and is borne on a single stem that rises directly from the root. It is green, of a vigorous quality.

The flowers leave 3 rounding petals, concave, and of an exceptionally pure white color. They are of two kinds, sometimes borne on separate stems, sometimes upon the same stem (in which case the stamen-bearing flowers are placed upon its upper part); the stamens are many, and of a pure orange yellow, making a heart of gold in their white blossoms, while the pistil appears in its flower as a beautiful light green ball. The calyx is green and 3-parted. The flowers are arranged in whorls of threes and fours, upon inch long foot-stems, which are placed along a large many-angled, green stem, rising from the root.

The Arrowhead is attractive in all its parts, and in its gesture; it is truly decorative, and suggests the subjects treated by the best Gothic artists.

INDEX.

SCIENTIFIC NAMES.

A

PAGE

Achillea Millefolium, 306

Acorus calamus, 608

Actæa spicata, 18

Agrimonia Eupatoria, 168

ALISMACEÆ, 610

AMARYLLIDACEÆ, 568

Ampelopsis quinquefolia, 110

Amphicarpæa monoica, 124

Anagallis arvensis, 416

Anaphalis margaritacea, 302

Andromeda, ligustrina, 376
polifolia, 374

Anemone, nemorosa, 6
Virginiana, 8

Anemonella thalictroides, 14

Antennaria plantaginifolia, 246

Anthemis Cotula, 258

Apios tuberosa, 142

APOCYNACEÆ, 418

Apocynum, androsæmifolium, 418
cannabinum, 420

Aquilegia Canadensis, 20

ARACEÆ, 600

Aralia, nudicaulis, 220
racemosa, 222

ARALIACEÆ, 220

Arctium, Lappa, 298

Arisæma Dracontium, 604
triphyllum, 606

ARISTOLOCHIACEÆ, 528

Artemisia Absinthium, 274

Asarum Canadense, 528

ASCLEPIADACEÆ, 422

Asclepias, Cornuti, 434
incarnata, 426
obtusifolia, 424
phytolaccoides, 430
purpurascens, 428
quadrifolia, 422
tuberosa, 432

Aster, acuminatus, 344
cordifolius, 354
corymbosus, 336
linariifolius, 348
macrophyllus, 346
multiflorus, 340
Novæ Angliæ, 338
patens, 352
ptarmicoides, 334
puniceus, 342
undulatus, 350

B

Baptisia tinctoria, 120

Barbarea vulgaris, 52

BERBERIDACEÆ, 32

Berberis vulgaris, 32

Bidens, cernua, 312
frondosa, 314

BORRAGINACEÆ, 440

Brassica, nigra, 56
Sinapistrum, 54

Brunella vulgaris, 502

Buda rubra, 82