How to know the wild flowers

Stem.—Twining and climbing, nearly smooth. Leaves.—Opposite, somewhat triangular-heart-shaped, pointed, toothed at the base. Flower-heads.—Dull white or flesh-color, composed of four tubular flowers; clustered, resembling boneset.

In late summer one often finds the thickets which line the slow streams nearly covered with the dull white flowers of the climbing hemp-weed. At first sight the likeness to the boneset is so marked that the two plants are often confused, but a second glance discovers the climbing stems and triangular leaves which clearly distinguish this genus.

Ladies’ Tresses.
Spiranthes cernua. Orchis Family (p. 17).

Stem.—Leafy below, leafy-bracted above, six to twenty inches high. Leaves.—Linear-lance-shaped, the lowest elongated. Flowers.—White, fragrant, the lips wavy or crisped; growing in slender spikes.

This pretty little orchid is found in great abundance in September and October. The botany relegates it to “wet places,” but I have seen dry upland pastures as well as low-lying swamps profusely flecked with its slender, fragrant spikes. The braided appearance of these spikes would easily account for the popular name of ladies’ tresses; but we learn that the plant’s English name was formerly “ladies’ traces,” from a fancied resemblance between its twisted clusters and the lacings which played so important a part in the feminine toilet. I am told that in parts of New England the country people have christened the plant “wild hyacinth.”

The flowers of S. gracilis are very small, and grow in a much more slender, one-sided spike than those of S. cernua. They are found in the dry woods and along the sandy hill-sides from July onward.

Stem.—Slender, very leafy to the summit. Leaves.—Very narrow, from three to six in a whorl. Flowers.—Greenish-white, in small clusters at the summit and along the sides of the stem. Fruit.—Two erect pods, one often stunted.

This species is one commonly found on dry uplands, especially southward, with flowers resembling in structure those of the other milkweeds. (Pl.  .)

Groundsel Tree.
Baccharis halimifolia. Composite Family (p. 13).

A shrub from six to twelve feet high. Leaves.—Somewhat ovate and wedge-shaped, coarsely toothed on the upper entire. Flower-heads.—Whitish or yellowish, composed of unisexual tubular flowers, the stamens and pistils occurring on different plants.

Some October day, as we pick our way through the salt marshes which lie back of the beach, we may spy in the distance a thicket which looks as though composed of such white-flowered shrubs as belong to June. Hastening to the spot we discover that the silky-tufted seeds of the female groundsel tree are responsible for our surprise. The shrub is much more noticeable and effective at this season than when—a few weeks previous—it was covered with its small white or yellowish flower-heads.

Grass of Parnassus.
Parnassia Caroliniana. Saxifrage Family.

Stem.—Scape-like, nine inches to two feet high, with usually one small rounded leaf clasping it below; bearing at its summit a single flower. Leaves.—Thickish, rounded, often heart-shaped, from the root. Flower.—White or cream-color, veiny. Calyx.—Of five slightly united sepals. Corolla.—Of five veiny petals. True Stamens.—Five, alternate with the petals, and with clusters of sterile gland-tipped filaments. Pistil.—One, with four stigmas.

Gerarde indignantly declares that this plant has been described by blind men, not “such as are blinde in their eyes, but in their understandings, for if this plant be a kind of grasse then may the Butter-burre or Colte’s-foote be reckoned for grasses—as also all other plants whatsoever.” But if it covered Parnassus with its delicate veiny blossoms as abundantly as it does some moist New England meadows each autumn, the ancients may have reasoned that a plant almost as common as grass must somehow partake of its nature. The slender-stemmed, creamy flowers are never seen to better advantage than when disputing with the fringed gentian the possession of some luxurious swamp.

Pearly Everlasting.
Anaphilis margaritacea. Composite Family (p. 13).

Stem.—Erect, one or two feet high, leafy. Leaves.—Broadly linear to lance-shaped. Flower-heads.—Composed entirely of tubular flowers with very numerous pearly white involucral scales.

This species is common throughout our Northern woods and pastures, blossoming in August. Thoreau writes of it in September: “The pearly everlasting is an interesting white at present. Though the stems and leaves are still green, it is dry and unwithering like an artificial flower; its white, flexuous stem and branches, too, like wire wound with cotton. Neither is there any scent to betray it. Its amaranthine quality is instead of high color. Its very brown centre now affects me as a fresh and original color. It monopolizes small circles in the midst of sweet fern, perchance, on a dry hill-side.”

Fragrant Life-everlasting.
Gnaphalium polycephalum. Composite Family (p. 13).

Stem.—Erect, one to three feet high, woolly. Leaves.—Lance-shaped. Flower-heads.—Yellowish-white, clustered at the summit of the branches, composed of many tubular flowers.

This is the “fragrant life-everlasting,” as Thoreau calls it, of late summer. It abounds in rocky pastures and throughout the somewhat open woods.

Note.—Flowers so faintly tinged with color as to give a white effect in the mass or at a distance are placed in the White section: greenish or greenish-white flowers are also found here. The Moth Mullein (p. 152) and Bouncing Bet (p. 196) are found frequently bearing white flowers: indeed, white varieties of flowers which are usually colored, need never surprise one.

Marsh Marigold.
Caltha palustris. Crowfoot Family.

Stem.—Hollow, furrowed. Leaves.—Rounded, somewhat kidney-shaped. Flowers.—Golden-yellow. Calyx.—Of five to nine petal-like sepals. Corolla.—None. Stamens.—Numerous. Pistils.—Five to ten, almost without styles.

We claim—and not without authority—that these “winking Mary-buds” are identical with the gay marsh marigolds which border our springs and gladden our wet meadows every April. There are those who assert that the poet had in mind the garden marigold—Calendula—but surely no cultivated flower could harmonize with the spirit of the song as do these gleaming swamp blossoms. We will yield to the garden if necessary—

of the “Winter’s Tale,” but insist on retaining for that larger, lovelier garden in which we all feel a certain sense of possession—even if we are not taxed on real estate in any part of the country—the “golden eyes” of the Mary-buds, and we feel strengthened in our position by the statement in Mr. Robinson’s “Wild Garden” that the marsh marigold is so abundant along certain English rivers as to cause the ground to look as though paved with gold at those seasons when they overflow their banks.

These flowers are peddled about our streets every spring under the name of cowslips—a title to which they have no claim, and which is the result of that reckless fashion of christening unrecognized flowers which is so prevalent, and which is responsible for so much confusion about their English names.

The derivation of marigold is somewhat obscure. In the “Grete Herball” of the sixteenth century the flower is spoken of as Mary Gowles, and by the early English poets as gold simply. As the first part of the word might be derived from the Anglo-Saxon mere—a marsh, it seems possible that the entire name may signify marsh-gold, which would be an appropriate and poetic title for this shining flower of the marshes.

Spice-bush. Benjamin-bush. Fever-bush.
Lindera Benzoin. Laurel Family.

An aromatic shrub from six to fifteen feet high. Leaves.—Oblong, pale underneath. Flowers.—Appearing before the leaves in March or April, honey-yellow, borne in clusters which are composed of smaller clusters, surrounded by an involucre of four early falling scales. Fruit.—Red, berry-like, somewhat pear-shaped.

These are among the very earliest blossoms to be found in the moist woods of spring. During the Revolution the powdered berries were used as a substitute for allspice; while at the time of the Rebellion the leaves served as a substitute for tea.

Yellow Adder’s Tongue. Dog’s Tooth Violet.
Erythronium Americanum. Lily Family.

Scape.—Six to nine inches high, one-flowered. Leaves.—Two, oblong-lance-shaped, pale green mottled with purple and white. Flower.—Rather large, pale yellow marked with purple, nodding. Perianth.—Of six recurved or spreading sepals. Stamens.—Six. Pistil.—One.

The white blossoms of the shad-bush gleam from the thicket, and the sheltered hill-side is already starred with the blood-root and anemone when we go to seek the yellow adder’s tongue. We direct our steps toward one of those hollows in the wood which is watered by such a clear gurgling brook as must appeal to every country-loving heart; and there where the pale April sunlight filters through the leafless branches, nod myriads of these lilies, each one guarded by a pair of mottled, erect, sentinel-like leaves.

The two English names of this plant are unsatisfactory and inappropriate. If the marking of its leaves resembles the skin of an adder why name it after its tongue? And there is equally little reason for calling a lily a violet. Mr. Burroughs has suggested two pretty and significant names. “Fawn lily,” he thinks, would be appropriate, because a fawn is also mottled, and because the two leaves stand up with the alert, startled look of a fawn’s ears. The speckled foliage and perhaps its flowering season are indicated in the title “trout-lily,” which has a spring-like flavor not without charm. It is said that the early settlers of Pennsylvania named the flower “yellow snowdrop,” in memory of their own “harbinger-of-spring.”

The white adder’s tongue, E. albidum, is a species which is usually found somewhat westward.

Celandine.
Chelidonium majus. Poppy Family.

Stem.—Brittle, with saffron-colored, acrid juice. Leaves.—Compound or divided, toothed or cut. Flowers.—Yellow, clustered. Calyx.—Of two sepals falling early. Corolla.—Of four petals. Stamens.—Sixteen to twenty-four. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed stigma. Pod.—Slender, linear.

The name of celandine must always suggest the poet who never seemed to weary of writing in its honor:

And when certain yellow flowers which frequent the village roadside are pointed out to us as those of the celandine, we feel a sense of disappointment that the favorite theme of Wordsworth should arouse within us so little enthusiasm. So perhaps we are rather relieved than otherwise to realize that the botanical name of this plant signifies greater celandine; for we remember that the poet never failed to specify the small celandine as the object of his praise. The small celandine is Ranunculus ficaria, one of the Crowfoot family, and is only found in this country as an escape from gardens.

Gray tells us that the generic name, Chelidonium, from the ancient Greek for swallow, was given “because its flowers appear with the swallows;” but if we turn to Gerarde we read that the title was not bestowed “because it first springeth at the coming in of the swallowes, or dieth when they go away, for as we have saide, it may be founde all the yeare; but because some holde opinion, that with this herbe the dams restore sight to their young ones, when their eies be put out.”

Celandine Poppy.
Stylophorum diphyllum. Poppy Family.

Stem.—Low, two-leaved. Stem-leaves.—Opposite, deeply incised. Root-leaves.—Incised or divided. Flowers.—Deep yellow, large, one or more at the summit of the stem. Calyx.—Of two hairy sepals. Corolla.—Of four petals. Stamens.—Many. Pistil.—One, with a two to four-lobed stigma.

In April or May, somewhat south and westward, the woods are brightened, and occasionally the hill-sides are painted yellow, by this handsome flower. In both flower and foliage the plant suggests the celandine.

Downy Yellow Violet.
Viola pubescens. Violet Family.

Stems.—Leafy above, erect. Leaves.—Broadly heart-shaped, toothed. Flowers.—Yellow, veined with purple, otherwise much like those of the common blue violet.

sings Bryant, in his charming, but not strictly accurate poem, for the chances are that the “beechen buds” have almost burst into foliage, and that the “bluebird’s warble” has been heard for some time when these pretty flowers begin to dot the woods.

The lines which run:

would seem to apply more correctly to the round-leaved, V. rotundifolia, than to the downy violet, for although its large, flat shining leaves are somewhat conspicuous, its flowers are borne singly on a low scape, which would be less apt to attract notice than the tall, leafy flowering stems of the other.

Common Cinquefoil. Five Finger.
Potentilla Canadensis. Rose Family.

Stem.—Slender, prostrate, or sometimes erect. Leaves.—Divided really into three leaflets, but apparently into five by the parting of the lateral leaflets. Flowers.—Yellow, growing singly from the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Deeply five-cleft, with bracts between each tooth, thus appearing ten-cleft. Corolla.—Of five rounded petals. Stamens.—Many. Pistils.—Many in a head.

From spring to nearly midsummer the roads are bordered and the fields carpeted with the bright flowers of the common cinquefoil. The passer-by unconsciously betrays his recognition of some of the prominent features of the Rose family by often assuming that the plant is a yellow-flowered wild strawberry. Both of the English names refer to the pretty foliage, cinquefoil being derived from the French cinque feuilles. The generic name, Potentilla, has reference to the powerful medicinal properties formerly attributed to the genus.

Shrubby Cinquefoil. Five Finger.
Potentilla fruticosa. Rose Family.

Stem.—Erect, shrubby, one to four feet high. Leaves.—Divided into five to seven narrow leaflets. Flowers.—Yellow, resembling those of the common cinquefoil.

Of all the cinquefoils perhaps this one most truly merits the title five finger. Certainly its slender leaflets are much more finger-like than those of the common cinquefoil. It is not a common plant in most localities, but is very abundant among the Berkshire Hills.

Silvery Cinquefoil.
Potentilla argentea. Rose Family.

Stems.—Ascending, branched at the summit, white, woolly. Leaves.—Divided into five wedge-oblong, deeply incised leaflets, which are green above, white with silvery wool, beneath.

The silvery cinquefoil has rather large yellow flowers which are found in dry fields throughout the summer as far south as New Jersey.

Golden Ragwort. Squaw-weed.
Senecio aureus. Composite Family (p. 13).

Stem.—One to three feet high. Root-leaves.—Rounded, the larger ones mostly heart-shaped, toothed, and long-stalked. Stem-leaves.—The lower lyre-shaped, the upper lance-shaped, incised, set close to the stem. Flower-heads.—Yellow, clustered, composed of both ray and disk-flowers.

A child would perhaps liken the flower of the golden ragwort to a yellow daisy. Stain yellow the white rays of the daisy, diminish the size of the whole head somewhat, and you have a pretty good likeness of the ragwort. There need be little difficulty in the identification of this plant—although there are several marked varieties—for its flowers are abundant in the early year, at which season but few members of the Composite family are abroad.

The generic name is from senex—an old man—alluding to the silky down of the seeds, which is supposed to suggest the silvery hairs of age.

Closely allied to the golden ragwort is the common groundsel, S. vulgaris, which is given as food to caged birds. The flower-heads of this species are without rays.

——— ———
Clintonia borealis. Lily Family.

Scape.—Five to eight inches high, sheathed at its base by the stalks of two to four large, oblong, conspicuous leaves. Flowers.—Greenish-yellow, rather large, rarely solitary. Perianth.—Of six sepals. Stamens.—Six, protruding. Pistil.—One, protruding. Fruit.—A blue berry.

When rambling through the cool, moist woods our attention is often attracted by patches of great dark, shining, leaves; and if it be late in the year we long to know the flower of which this rich foliage is the setting. To satisfy our curiosity we must return the following May or June, when we shall probably find that a slender scape rises from its midst bearing at its summit several bell-shaped flowers, which, without either high color or fragrance, are peculiarly charming. It is hard to understand why this beautiful plant has received no English name. As to its generic title we cannot but sympathize with Thoreau. “Gray should not have named it from the Governor of New York,” he complains; “what is he to the lovers of flowers in Massachusetts? If named after a man, it must be a man of flowers.... Name your canals and railroads after Clinton, if you please, but his name is not associated with flowers.”

C. umbellata is a more Southern species, with smaller white flowers, which are speckled with green or purplish dots.

Yellow Lady’s Slipper. Whip-poor-Will’s Shoe.
Cypripedium pubescens. Orchis Family (p. 17).

Stem.—About two feet high, downy, leafy to the top, one to three-flowered. Leaves.—Alternate, broadly oval, many-nerved and plaited. Flowers.—Large, yellow. Perianth.—Two of the three brownish, elongated sepals united into one under the lip; the lateral petals linear, wavy-twisted, brownish; the pale yellow lip an inflated pouch. Stamens.—Two, the short filaments of each bearing a two-celled anther. Stigma.—Broad, obscurely three-lobed, moist and roughish.

The yellow lady’s slipper usually blossoms in May or June, a few days later than its pink sister, C. acaule. Regarding its favorite haunts, Mr. Baldwin^[3] says: “Its preference is for maples, beeches, and particularly butternuts, and for sloping or hilly ground, and I always look with glad suspicion at a knoll covered with ferns, cohoshes, and trilliums, expecting to see a clump of this plant among them. Its sentinel-like habit of choosing ‘sightly places’ leads it to venture well up on mountain sides.”

The long, wavy, brownish petals give the flower an alert, startled look when surprised in its lonely hiding-places.

C. parviflorum, the small yellow lady’s slipper, differs from C. pubescens in the superior richness of its color as well as in its size. It also has the charm of fragrance.

Early Meadow Parsnip.
Zizia aurea. Parsley Family (p. 15).

One to three feet high. Leaves.—Twice or thrice-compound, leaflets oblong to lance-shaped, toothed. Flowers.—Yellow, small, in compound umbels.

This is one of the earliest members of the Parsley family to appear. Its golden flower-clusters brighten the damp meadows and the borders of streams in May or June and closely resemble the meadow parsnip, Thaspium aureum, of which this species was formerly considered a variety, of the later year.

The tall, stout, common wild parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, is another yellow representative of this family in which white flowers prevail, the three plants here mentioned being the only yellow species commonly encountered. The common parsnip may be identified by its grooved stem and simply compound leaves. Its roots have been utilized for food at least since the reign of Tiberius, for Pliny tells us that that Emperor brought them to Rome from the banks of the Rhine, where they were successfully cultivated.

Golden Club.
Orontium aquaticum. Arum Family.

Scape.—Slender, elongated. Leaves.—Long-stalked, oblong, floating. Flowers.—Small, yellow, crowded over the narrow spike or spadix.

When we go to the bogs in May to hunt for the purple flower of the pitcher-plant we are likely to chance upon the well-named golden club. This curious-looking club-shaped object, which is found along the borders of ponds, indicates its relationship to the jack-in-the-pulpit, and still more to the calla lily, but unlike them its tiny flowers are shielded by no protecting spathe.

Kalm tells us in his “Travels,” “that the Indians called the plant Taw-Kee, and used its dried seeds as food.”

Stems.—One to two feet high. Leaves.—Oblong or lance-shaped, mostly toothed, contracted into a half-clasping leaf-stalk. Flowers.—Bright yellow, solitary or clustered. Calyx.—Of five sepals. Corolla.—Of five to seven oblong petals. Stamens.—Indefinite in number, occasionally few. Pistils.—Numerous in a head.

Many weeks after the marsh marigolds have passed away, just such marshy places as they affected are brightly flecked with gold. Wondering, perhaps, if they can be flowering for the second time in the season, we wade recklessly into the bog to rescue, not the marsh marigold, but its near relation, the spearwort, which is still more closely related to the buttercup, as a little comparison of the two flowers will show. This plant is especially common at the North.

Indian Cucumber-root.
Medeola Virginica. Lily Family.

Root.—Tuberous, shaped somewhat like a cucumber, with a suggestion of its flavor. Stem.—Slender, from one to three feet high, at first clothed with wool. Leaves.—In two whorls on the flowering plants, the lower of five to nine oblong, pointed leaves set close to the stem, the upper usually of three or four much smaller ones. Flowers.—Greenish-yellow, small, clustered, recurved, set close to the upper leaves. Perianth.—Of three sepals and three petals, oblong and alike. Stamens.—Six, reddish-brown. Pistil.—With three stigmas, long, recurved, and reddish-brown. Fruit.—A purple berry.

One is more apt to pause in September to note the brilliant foliage and purple berries of this little plant than to gather the drooping inconspicuous blossoms for his bunch of wood-flowers in June. The generic name is after the sorceress Medea, on account of its supposed medicinal virtues, of which, however, there seems to be no record.

The tuberous rootstock has the flavor, and something the shape, of the cucumber, and was probably used as food by the Indians. It would not be an uninteresting study to discover which of our common wild plants are able to afford pleasant and nutritious food; in such a pursuit many of the otherwise unattractive popular names would prove suggestive.

Common Bladderwort.
Utricularia vulgaris. Bladderwort Family.

Stems.—Immersed, one to three feet long. Leaves.—Many-parted, hair-like, bearing numerous bladders. Scape.—Six to twelve inches long. Flowers.—Yellow, five to twelve on each scape. Calyx.—Two-lipped. Corolla.—Two-lipped, spurred at the base. Stamens.—Two. Pistil.—One.

This curious water-plant may or may not have roots; in either case it is not fastened to the ground, but is floated by means of the many bladders which are borne on its finely dissected leaves. It is commonly found in ponds and slow streams, flowering throughout the summer. Thoreau calls it “a dirty-conditioned flower, like a sluttish woman with a gaudy yellow bonnet.”

The horned bladderwort, U. cornuta, roots in the peat-bogs and sandy swamps. Its large yellow helmet-shaped flowers are very fragrant, less than half a dozen being borne on each scape.

Yellow Pond-lily. Spatter Dock.
Nuphar advena. Water-lily Family.

Leaves.—Floating or erect, roundish to oblong, with a deep cleft at their base. Flowers.—Yellow, sometimes purplish, large, somewhat globular. Calyx.—Of five or six sepals or more, yellow or green without. Corolla.—Of numerous small, thick, fleshy petals which are shorter than the stamens and resemble them. Stamens.—Very numerous. Pistil.—One, with a disk-like, many-rayed stigma.

Bordering the slow streams and stagnant ponds from May till August may be seen the yellow pond-lilies. These flowers lack the delicate beauty and fragrance of the white water-lilies; having, indeed, either from their odor, or appearance, or the form of their fruit, won for themselves in England the unpoetic title of “brandy-bottle.” Owing to their love of mud they have also been called “frog-lilies.” The Indians used their roots for food.

Stem.—Smooth. Leaves.—The lower lyre-shaped; the upper ovate, toothed or deeply incised at their base. Flowers.—Yellow, growing in racemes. Pod.—Linear, erect or slightly spreading.

As early as May we find the bright flowers of the winter-cress along the roadside. This is probably the first of the yellow mustards to appear.

Black Mustard.
Brassica nigra. Mustard Family (p. 17).

Often several feet high. Stem.—Branching. Leaves.—The lower with a large terminal lobe and a few small lateral ones. Flowers.—Yellow, rather small, growing in a raceme. Pods.—Smooth, erect, appressed, about half an inch long.

Many are familiar with the appearance of this plant who are ignorant of its name. The pale yellow flowers spring from the waste places along the roadside and border the dry fields throughout the summer. The tall spreading branches recall the biblical description: “It groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.”

This plant is extensively cultivated in Europe, its ground seeds forming the well-known condiment. The ancients used it for medicinal purposes. It has come across the water to us, and is a troublesome weed in many parts of the country.

Wild Radish.
Raphanus Raphanistrum. Mustard Family (p. 17).

One to three feet high. Leaves.—Rough, lyre-shaped. Flowers.—Yellow, veiny, turning white or purplish; larger than those of the black mustard, otherwise resembling them. Pod.—Often necklace-form by constriction between the seeds.

This plant is a troublesome weed in many of our fields. It is the stock from which the garden radish has been raised.

Stems.—Several, becoming branched, leafy. Leaves.—Earlier ones roundish; the latter narrower and often cleft. Flower-heads.—Yellow, composed entirely of strap-shaped flowers.

In some parts of the country these flowers are among the earliest to appear. They are found in New England, as well as south and westward.

The flowers of K. amplexicaulis appear later, and their range is a little farther south. Near Philadelphia great masses of the orange-colored blossoms and pale green stems and foliage line the railway embankments in June.

Rattlesnake-weed.
Hieracium venosum. Composite Family (p. 13).

Stem or Scape.—One or two feet high, naked or with a single leaf, smooth, slender, forking above. Leaves.—From the root, oblong, often making a sort of flat rosette, usually conspicuously veined with purple. Flower-heads.—Yellow, composed entirely of strap-shaped flowers.

The loosely clustered yellow flower-heads of the rattlesnake-weed somewhat resemble small dandelions. They abound in the pine-woods and dry, waste places of early summer. The purple-veined leaves, whose curious markings give to the plant its common name, grow close to the ground and are supposed to be efficacious in rattlesnake bites. Here again crops out the old “doctrine of signatures,” for undoubtedly this virtue has been attributed to the species solely on account of the fancied resemblance between its leaves and the markings of the rattlesnake.

H. scabrum is another common species, which may be distinguished from the rattlesnake-weed by its stout, leafy stem and unveined leaves.

Dandelion.
Taraxacum officinale. Composite Family (p. 13).

If Emerson’s definition of a weed, as a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered, be correct, we can hardly place the dandelion in that category, for its young sprouts have been valued as a pot-herb, its fresh leaves enjoyed as a salad, and its dried roots used as a substitute for coffee in various countries and ages. It is said that the Apache Indians so greatly relish it as food, that they scour the country for many days in order to procure enough to appease their appetites, and that the quantity consumed by one individual exceeds belief. The feathery-tufted seeds which form the downy balls beloved as “clocks” by country children, are delicately and beautifully adapted to dissemination by the wind, which ingenious arrangement partly accounts for the plant’s wide range. The common name is a corruption of the French dent de lion. There is a difference of opinion as to which part of the plant is supposed to resemble a lion’s tooth. Some fancy the jagged leaves gave rise to the name, while others claim that it refers to the yellow flowers, which they liken to the golden teeth of the heraldic lion. In nearly every European country the plant bears a name of similar signification.

Poverty-grass.
Hudsonia tomentosa. Rock-rose Family.

“Bushy, heath-like little shrubs, seldom a foot high.” (Gray.) Leaves.—Small, oval or narrowly oblong, pressed close to the stem. Flowers.—Bright yellow, small, numerous, crowded along the upper part of the branches. Calyx.—Of five sepals, the two outer much smaller. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Nine to thirty. Pistil.—One, with a long and slender style.

In early summer many of the sand-hills along the New England coast are bright with the yellow flowers of this hoary little shrub. It is also found as far south as Maryland and near the Great Lakes. Each blossom endures for a single day only. The plant’s popular name is due to its economical habit of utilizing sandy unproductive soil where little else will flourish.

Bush-honeysuckle.
Diervilla trifida. Honeysuckle Family.

An upright shrub from one to four feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong, taper-pointed. Flowers.—Yellow, sometimes much tinged with red, clustered usually in threes, in the axils of the upper leaves and at the summit of the stem. Calyx.—With slender awl-shaped lobes. Corolla.—Funnel-form, five-lobed, the lower lobe larger than the others and of a deeper yellow, with a small nectar-bearing gland at its base. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One.