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Wild flowers of the north-eastern states

Chapter 43: CONVOLVULUS FAMILY. CONVOLVULACEÆ.
By Ellen Miller
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Nature/Gardening/Animals

About This Book

This illustrated manual gathers 308 common wildflowers of the northeastern United States, each drawn life-size and accompanied by plain-language descriptions emphasizing habit, color, and growth rather than technical dissection. Organized by floral families in the sequence of Gray's Manual and arranged for seasonal bloom, entries include leaves, stems, and often whole growth, with occasional shrubs, vines, and fruit shown where notable. Aimed at amateur naturalists, it favors recognizable traits and folk names to ease identification, offers practical notes on variations and habitat, and pairs accurate botanical classification with accessible, pictorial presentation.

CONVOLVULUS FAMILY.
CONVOLVULACEÆ.

Upright Convolvulus.Convolvulus spithamæus.

Found in June, growing on dry and sandy places, in the open.

The stalk is seldom over 10 inches in height, single, leafy, and erect; it is round, and downy with small hairs. Pale green in color, but red near the foot.

The leaf is between 1 and 2 inches in length, oblong, with taper tip, and a narrow heart-shaped base; it is folded slightly on the midrib; all the ribs show plainly, the margin is entire, and the surface is roughened by hairs; in color a full green, somewhat lighter underneath, with a pinkish tint along the edge and the midrib. It is set on a short, downy, reddish stem. The arrangement is alternate.

The flower is large; the corolla a beautiful vase shape with a rolling, slightly 5-angled rim, in texture fine and thin, the outside of the throat shining; within the vase, at the bottom, may be seen 5 deep pits; it is of a pure and exquisite white, toned to creamy-green near the calyx; the 5 stamens are cream colored while the 2-tipped pistil is white. The greenish calyx is 5-parted with small pointed divisions which are almost concealed by the 2 longer, pale green bracts that clasp together closely about its throat. The flower is set on a rather large, flat, downy, pale stem which rises from the angle of a leaf. The plant bears but few flowers.

Far less common than the Bindweed this flower must be reckoned a treasure-trove by its finder. Its texture is so thin that the calyx-color glows within the throat of the vase with a golden green effulgence.