Part 14

The corolla is rather large, somewhat unequally 5-parted with rounded lobes, it is of a fine texture and smooth; in color, a clear pale yellow. The tips of the 5 stamens are orange; the pistil is green, and so is the 5-parted, woolly calyx. The flowers are set closely and numerously in a long, compact, club-shaped, terminal spike.

When the flower-stalk shoots up the foot-tuffet withers, and loses the richer color which, in spring, belongs to its leafage. The rosette forms in the fall,--if potted and wintered in the house, free from the choking dust of the highway, it develops a superfine quality of wool.

[Illustration: MULLEIN: Verbascum Thapsus.]

*Moth Mullein.* _Verbascum Blattaria._

Found, during July and August, on sand-banks, pastures, and waysides.

The leafy, large, round stalk grows to be 2 or 3 feet high; it is tough-fibred, and the surface is ridgy and smooth; light green.

The large leaf is oblong in shape with an irregularly notched and toothed margin; its stout midrib is flattened above, all the ribs and veins show plainly, the texture being thin and smooth, the upper surface somewhat glossy. The lowest leaves are on short stems, the others are somewhat clasping; they are placed alternately, and near together. The color is a pleasing green.

The corolla is like the common Mullein in shape and texture; in color either yellow, or white, tinted with lavender. The 5 stamens, with curiously shaped, red-orange tips, are fringed with a double row of dull crimson, woolly threads; the pistil, also, is orange-tipped; the calyx is 5-parted, with slender tips. The flowers, on slender stems, are placed alternately, in long, leafy spires. All the calices, little leaves, and foot-stems are covered with fine woolly hairs.

The bud is 5-sided, and the seed-box is a good deal inflated. The peculiar orange of the stamen tips resembles a flowering moss,--their woolly fringe, of course, occasions the name. This elegantly growing plant, with its interesting leaf, is common only in certain localities.

[Illustration: MOTH MULLEIN: V. Blattaria.]

*Downy False Foxglove.* _Gerardia flava._ *Downy Gerardia.*

Found in the shade of woods, in July.

The single, leafy stalk, which grows to be 3 or 4 feet high, is square, and hollow; of a stiff, strong fibre, downy with soft hairs. Dull rusty green in color.

The long narrow leaf is broadest at the base, with a tapering tip, the margin is entire or slightly toothed near the base (the edge of the lower leaves being somewhat wavy), the texture is rather thick, and the surface is downy, and like velvet to the touch; the color is yellow-green, slightly pinkish on the midrib. The leaves, on short, downy, purple tinted stems, are set in pairs, at right angles to each other.

The corolla is shaped like an urn, with 5 spreading, rounded lobes, their edges curving or even curling in toward the center; the texture is very fine and thin, showing the veins; the large throat is downy on the inside; sometimes the margin is crinkled; the color is a pure yellow. The 4 yellow stamens are divided into a long and a short pair; the pistil is green. The calyx is 5-parted with a noticeable rounded cleft between the divisions; it is half as long as the corolla, very downy, and green. The flowers, on short stems, are placed in pairs in the angles of the leaves forming a terminal spike.

Since the buds all incline to one side there is literally a back view to the spike. The flowers remain some days in the fullness of bloom, and as many as a dozen may be observed together on a single stalk; long after they have fallen the pistil lingers. The bud is very round at the tip, and exceptionally shining with a gloss that is lost to the opened blossom.

[Illustration: DOWNY FALSE FOXGLOVE: Gerardia flava.]

*Yellow Gerardia.* _Gerardia pedicularia._ *False Foxglove.*

Found on the edges of dry woods through August and September.

The stalk (from 2 to 8 feet in height) is branching, and very leafy, round, and soft to the touch, being covered with fine down. Its color is light green.

The leaf is long, much cut into rounded lobes, and bearing a general resemblance to a fern leaf; the texture is fine, and the surface soft, and downy; in color light green. The leaves are placed upon the stalk in pairs.

The tubular large corolla spreads into 5 rounded, slightly irregular lobes, and is a little hairy in the throat; color, a pure clear yellow; the pistil is a thread of green, and the stamens are 4 in number; the green calyx is unequally 5-parted. The flowers, on short curving foot-stems, are usually arranged in pairs, springing from the angles of the upper leaves.

A fragrance, slightly suggestive of Sweet-Fern belongs to the leaves. This plant is noticeable for the fine texture of its parts; the pointed green seed-pod rising from the frill of the calyx has also a decorative value. All the Gerardias bear the stigma of being “clandestine root parasites,”--they do not therefore seem worthy namesakes of the honest, nature-loving old Herbalist, Gerarde, who lived in the days when botanists wrote plain English. According to Gray the suckers of the roots of these plants not only fasten upon other growths, but upon their own, thus preying upon themselves.

[Illustration: YELLOW GERARDIA: G. pedicularia.]

*Slender Gerardia.* _Gerardia tenuifolia._ *Little Gerardia.*

Found, during August and September, on dry banks.

The erect, branching, and sparingly leafy stalk grows from 4 to 10 inches high; it is slender, and smooth. Green, tinged with reddish-brown.

The leaves are long and narrow, almost needle-like; in color green. They are set alternately upon the stalk.

The corolla is an irregular bell-shape with 5 rounded lobes, 2 being smaller than the others, and folded over to cover the pistil and stamens; its color is a pale magenta. The 4 stamens are woolly, and yellow-tinted; the calyx is small and 5-toothed, and green. The flowers grow on slender foot-stems along the sides of the stalk and branches.

As the fruit ripens the stems and seed-boxes turn reddish-brown. This is a common flower along roadsides.

[Illustration: SLENDER GERARDIA: G. tenuifolia.]

*Butter-and-Eggs.* _Linaria vulgaris._ *Jacob’s Ladder.* *Ramsted.*

Found from July to September in fields, meadows, and roadsides.

The very leafy, and slightly branching, stalk varies in height from 1 to 2 or 3 feet; it is slender, round, of a firm close fibre, and smooth. Light gray-green in color.

The narrow long leaf is like a grass-blade, with an entire margin, fine texture, and smooth surface. It is pale gray-green, lighter underneath. The leaves are set close on the stalk, the arrangement being alternate, and near together.

The flower is 2-lipped; the lower lip is 3-lobed, the middle lobe being short and small, with a swelling above, which nearly closes the throat of the corolla; the base of the lip is prolonged into a slender, pointed spur; the upper lip is 2-lobed, the divisions bend outward and over the lower lip; the texture is fine, and smooth, the throat being lined with a glossy plush-like down; the color is a pure lemon yellow, the protuberance on the lower lip golden-orange. The 4 stamens are pale with cheese-colored tips; the pistil is tipped with green. The small calyx is 5-parted, and green. The flowers, on short small foot-stems, are arranged alternately, and close, in a terminal spike, the spurs turning downward.

A charming feature of the blossom is the arch of the meeting tips of the long pair of stamens above the shorter pair and the little pistil; the two rows of orange velvet that run down the inside of the corolla are also highly ornamental. This plant is a prime favorite with children, but few among grown observers stop to consider the admirable clarity of its lemon and orange hues. It is gregarious and grows in colonies.

[Illustration: BUTTER-AND-EGGS: Linaria vulgaris.]

*Wild Toad Flax.* _Linaria Canadensis._

Found on sandy barrens during August and September.

The very slender and delicate stalk (from 10 to 12 inches in height) branches a little; its leafage is sparse, and it is very smooth and shining. In color light green.

The small leaf is narrow and fine-pointed, with an entire margin; the texture is rather thick, and the surface is smooth; light green. The leaves are set upon the stalk alternately, and at regular intervals.

The small flower is 2-lipped, with a spur; the upper lip is divided into 2 sharp little points, the lower lip is larger and cut into 3 rounding scallops,--it presses against the upper with a prominent swelling near the throat of the corolla, the curving spur is thread-like; the texture is thin, and the color is a delicate lavender, with a white spot on the under lip; the calyx is 5-parted, and green. The flowers are set on short fine stems in a dainty terminal spire.

The stalk springs from a little mat of very leafy shoots, which lie on the ground, spreading outwards from the root. In color and general trigness of bearing this pretty plant presents a superficial resemblance to the Lobelias.

[Illustration: WILD TOAD FLAX: L. Canadensis.]

*Cow Wheat.* _Melampyrum Americanum._

Found on the borders of light woods from July to September.

The stalk is 4 to 6 inches,--or perhaps more,--high; it is branching, leafy, woody-fibred, and slightly rough to the touch. In color, reddish-gray.

The lower leaves are long and narrow, with entire margins; the upper are broader and cut at the base into long spine-like notches; the surface is slightly rough. Color, yellow-green, growing lighter toward the flowers. They are set on the stalk in pairs.

The inconspicuous flowers are tubular and 2-lipped; greenish white, the lower lip being pale yellow; their calices 4-cleft, small, and green. They grow singly from the angles of the upper leaves.

The shadowy stamens, seen under the arch of the upper lip, are vaguely suggestive of an eye. This is a tidy little plant, with no pretensions to beauty.

[Illustration: COW WHEAT: Melampyrum Americanum.]

*Monkey Flower.* _Mimulus ringens._

Found in the wet grounds of waysides and meadows, from July to September.

The branching and leafy stalk, from 1 to 2 feet in height, is square, slightly grooved, fine-fibred, and smooth. In color green.

The leaf is a narrow, oblong shape, tapering to the tip, with obscure notches, fine texture, and smooth surface; color, green. The leaves grow opposite to each other, partly clasping the stalk.

The corolla is 2-lipped, the upper lip being erect and 2-lobed, the lower 3-lobed, with 2 small swellings near the tightly-closed throat; the color is a clear light violet, with 2 yellowish patches near the throat. The pistil, and 4 stamens, which are divided into a long and a short pair, are all whitish. The 5-angled, and 5-pointed, green calyx is tinged with dull violet color. The flowers are set on short stems that spring singly from the angles of the upper leaves.

Only a few flowers open at one time, and the plants themselves grow sparsely, by twos and threes, among the sedgy grasses of damp hollows, where its clear color and neat leafage render it attractive to the sauntering observer.

[Illustration: MONKEY FLOWER: Mimulus ringens.]

*Turtle-head.* _Chelone glabra._ *Snake-head.*

Found, in low and swampy ground, during August and September.

The single stalk (from 1 to 2 or 3 feet high) is large, and square, and grooved on the two opposite sides; it is tough-fibred, and hollow; rigid in gesture. In color, a light yellowish-green.

The long, narrow, oval leaf tapers gradually to a long tip, has a sharply toothed margin, and strongly marked ribs; it is of a coarse tough fibre although its surface is smooth. Its color is dark green, lighter underneath. The leaves, on very short stems, occur in pairs.

This curious flower is 2-lipped; the upper lip is arched, and folded together with a slight notch in the middle of its margin, the lower lip is 3-lobed; the throat is compressed and filled within by woolly hairs. In texture the corolla is smooth and leathery; in color it is dull white, or sometimes tinged faintly with pink. Under the arched upper lip the tips of the dark, wool-covered stamens show. The calyx, formed of 5, distinct, oval, pale green parts, is surrounded by broader leafy bracts. The flowers grow in short, crowded, terminal clusters.

The resemblance to the turtle or snake is most apparent in the bud where the reptile-like mouth is quite pronounced. The plant lurks among the sedges of swampy lands, and is generally unattractive, for its foliage is almost always so eaten by insects that a perfect leaf is rarely to be found.

[Illustration: TURTLE-HEAD: Chelone glabra.]

BROOM-RAPE FAMILY.

OROBANCHACEÆ.

*Beech-drops.* _Epiphegus Virginiana._

Found growing from the roots of beech trees, in August, through October.

The tough, branching stalk, from 6 to 12 inches high, is brown, inclining to reddish.

There are no leaves, and only a few dry, and unnoticeable scales occur occasionally on the stalk.

The flowers are of two kinds, the upper sterile ones have long, small, 4-notched tubes, and are dull purplish and yellowish-brown in color; the lower seed-bearing flowers appear always as small buds. They are set on short foot-stems, and are irregularly scattered along the branches.

This is a parasite, drawing its life from the root of the beech; where it looks like a dry or dead twig sticking up from the ground. It emits a most unpleasant odor.

[Illustration: BEECH-DROPS: Epiphegus Virginiana.]

VERVAIN FAMILY.

VERBENACEÆ.

*Blue Vervain.* _Verbena hastata._

Found in dry grounds, waysides and fields, in July and August.

The large stalk, from 4 to 6 feet in height, is 4-angled and grooved down the sides; it is stout, roughish, and green.

The short-stemmed leaf is long, narrow, and tapering, with a sharply toothed margin, a strongly curved midrib, and a coarse texture, with a roughish surface; in color dark green. The lower leaves are more or less 3-cleft. The arrangement is opposite.

The small tubular corolla is 5-parted, and colored a rich dark blue-purple; the green of the calyx is also tinged with purple. The flowers grow in slender spires, which are grouped in an open pyramidal cluster on the top of the stalk.

The flowers at the foot of the cluster open first, only a few at a time; as the flowering continues upward there is left behind an ever-lengthening line of purple tinged calices which add greatly to the beauty of the bloom, and supply the unifying color in the general scheme of purple and green. Seen in masses, illumined by the sunlight, the color is rarely dark and rich. The bumble bee is a devoted friend to the Vervain, and may often be seen in the early evening, sleepily clinging to the flowery spire he has chosen for his night’s lodging.

[Illustration: BLUE VERVAIN: Verbena hastata.]

*White Vervain.* _Verbena urticæfolia._ *Nettle-leaved Vervain.*

Found in waste places and roadsides, from July to September.

The branching stalk grows from 1 to 2 feet high, and is 4-sided, each side being grooved down its middle; it is strong-fibred, and rough-hairy, and green.

The oval leaf tapers to the tip, is coarsely toothed, and loose-fibred; its surface is hairy, and its color dark green. The leaves, on short stems, are placed upon the stalk in pairs.

The small, inconspicuous, white flower is 5-pointed. They are clustered in long slender spires, from the top of the stalk, and the angles of the upper leaves.

The leafage of the White Vervain bears a resemblance to the noxious Nettle, that at first sight would lead us to condemn the plant as unworthy; a closer observation bestowed upon the graceful gesture of its flowering spires will rescue its name from the limbo of “weeds.”

[Illustration: WHITE VERVAIN: V. urticæfolia.]

*Lop-seed.* _Phryma Leptostachya._

Found in light woods in July.

The large stout stalk bears slender branches, grows from 3 to 4 feet in height, and is square, hollow, and woody-fibred; it is smooth, or covered sparsely with small hairs, and grooved at the joints. Green, dashed with bronze, the branches sometimes purplish.

The lower leaves are large, broadly oval, and tapering to a sharp point, and sit on long trough-like stems; the upper are small and narrow. They have irregularly toothed margins, are thin in texture, and hairy; green in color. They are set on the stalk in pairs with a noticeable joint, the pairs occurring at right angles, and at a considerable distance apart.

The very small corolla is 2-lipped; the lower lip is 3-parted, the upper and smaller being 2-parted, and their color is light crimson with a violet tint; the long, dull green calyx is 2-divided, the upper division being longer, with 3 curving crimson tips. The flowers are arranged in pairs, at right angles to each other, in slender spikes, whose long stems bear one or two pairs of little leaves midway their length.

The blackish seed-pod is the oddest feature of this plant; it is grooved, and sharply turns down upon the stem, its little curved hooks bristling with expectation of getting a clutch upon a wayfarer.

[Illustration: LOP-SEED: Phryma Leptostachya.]

MINT FAMILY.

LABIATÆ.

*Gill-over-the-Ground.* _Nepeta Glechoma._ *Ground Ivy.* *Robin-run-away.* *Creeping Charlie.*

Found in dooryards and roadsides, amidst grass, in May.

The trailing stalk is leafy, square, and somewhat hairy; pale green in color.

The leaf is nearly round, with a heart-shaped base, the margin cut in large rounded scallops, and the surface soft hairy to the touch; the color is green, often sprinkled with lighter, mouldy-looking patches. The leaves, on curved stems, grow in pairs.

The flower is 2-lipped; the upper lip slightly parted, the lower being more broad and spreading, and 3-cleft,--the middle lobe notched. The color varies from light to darker blue-violet, the lower lip and throat being spotted with small specks of reddish-violet. The tubular calyx is 5-parted, and green. The flowers, on short stems, spring from the angles of the leaves.

Introduced from England into our gardens, the one desire of this “natural born” rover seems to be that of escaping from bounds,--to run away riot on the green sward, under the hedge, and so out on the highway.

[Illustration: GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND: Nepeta Glechoma.]

*Catnip.* _Nepeta Cataria._

Found from July to September, on the roadsides, and about dwellings.

The large square stalk is branching, and rather leafy; it grows between 2 or 3 feet high, and is strong-fibred, downy, and grooved down the middle of each side; its color is light gray-green.

The broad oval leaf is heart-shaped at the base, the edge is cut into large rounded scallops, and the surface is downy. In color it is a grayish-green. The leaves, on very short stems, grow in pairs.

The small flower is 2-lipped; the upper lip is erect, and notched in the middle of the margin, the larger lower lip is 3-lobed, the middle lobe being much the largest. Its color is a lavender tinted white, spotted with lavender dots. The small, tubular, 5-pointed calyx is green. The flowers grow upon the stalk in short spike-like clusters.

The Catnip has a pungent, mint-like odor. It is somewhat sprangling in growth, and only a few flowers open together; but the heart shaped leaf is most pleasing to the touch, because of its fine silky texture.

[Illustration: CATNIP: N. Cataria.]

*Bee Balm.* _Monarda didyma._ *Oswego Tea.*

Found in July (but occasionally later in the season also), in the shade of moist woods, frequently near water.

The stalk grows from 1 to 2 feet high, and is noticeably square; it is juicy, hairy and rough to the touch. In color, light green, with a red ring at the joints.

The leaf is oval, broad at the base, and tapering to a long, sharp point, many ribbed, with its margin coarsely notched, and rough with hairs; green in color. The leaves, on short, hairy, red stems, grow in pairs, which are at alternate angles with each other.

The conspicuous flower is tubular, very small at the base, spreading wide in the throat, and 2-lipped; the upper lip is very narrow, sharp-pointed, and curving, the lower lip is larger, spreading, and often 2-cleft; the texture is fine and delicate. The pistil and 2 long, slender stamens protrude from under the tip of the upper lip, and, like the corolla, are colored a full, glowing red. The small calyx, with its round, narrow-throated, and 5-pointed tube, is of a papery texture, and finely grooved; in color it is a duller and darker red than the corolla. The flowers are set in a large terminal head, that is surrounded by a row of drooping, oval, smooth, red leaf-like bracts.

These bracts, while bright in color, do not possess the rich fullness of hue which belongs to the flowers themselves; just beneath them a pair of stalk-leaves crowd up close, and are each adorned with a dash of scarlet, as though the dye had spilled over from the blossoms. The buds open in the center of the head first, and continue blooming in rings, outward. Not even the Cardinal Flower produces a more vivid effect than a group of these brilliant flowers, standing beside a pool of dark water, in the heavy shade of forest trees.

[Illustration: BEE BALM: Monarda didyma.]

*Wild Bergamot.* _Monarda fistulosa._

Found in the dry soil of roadsides and pastures during July and August.

The smooth square stalk is slightly grooved, and somewhat slender, though strong in fibre; it grows from 2 to 5 feet in height, and branches only for the flowers. Color, green tinged with dull violet.

The leaf is oval, broad at the base, and tapering to the point; its margin is sparingly notched, the texture is exceedingly fine, and the surface is soft to the touch. It is aromatic in odor. The color is grayish-green, the midrib being lighter.

The flower is 2-lipped, with a long slender tube, and the pistil and 2 stamens project beyond the upper lip; they are colored like the corolla, a clear fine lavender. The small, tubular calyx is minutely 5-pointed; of a green color that is tinted with dull violet. The flowers grow in large terminal heads, which are set about by a row of small, light green leaves (bracts).

The flowering begins at the center of the head, and continues in ever-widening whorls, leaving behind them a slightly rounded disc of small tubular calices, resembling a honeycomb,--the intermingled green and lavender in this disc form a pleasing note in the color-scheme of the plant, whose leafage is unusually fine in texture, as well as tone.

[Illustration: WILD BERGAMOT: M. fistulosa.]

*Hyssop.* _Hyssopus officinalis._

Found along roadside banks, near human habitations, during July and August.

The stalk is 8 or 12 inches high with many leaves and trig little branches; it is square, tough-fibred, slender, and smooth. The color is light green, inclining to a blue-green,--reddish near the foot.

The long and narrow leaf has a blunt-pointed tip, an entire margin, and shows only its midrib; the texture is thick and a little stiff, and the surface is very slightly rough. In color it is a fine gray-green, with a hint of the rich color of the flower. The leaves grow upon the stem in clustered pairs, which occur at right angles to each other.