PLATE LXXXII
OSWEGO TEA.—M. didyma.
Stems.—Low, spreading. Leaves.—Opposite, ovate, set close to the stem. Flowers.—Red, occasionally blue or white, growing singly from the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Five-parted, wheel-shaped. Stamens.—Five, with bearded filaments. Pistil.—One.
This flower is found in sandy fields, being noted for its sensitiveness to the weather. It folds its petals at the approach of rain, and fails to open at all on a wet or cloudy day. Even in fine weather it closes in the early afternoon and “sleeps” till the next morning. Its ripened seeds are of value as food for many songbirds. It was thought at one time to be serviceable in liver complaints, which reputed virtue may have given rise to the old couplet:
Stem.—From two to four feet high. Leaves.—Alternate, narrowly oblong, slightly toothed. Flowers.—Bright red, growing in a raceme. Calyx.—Five-cleft. Corolla.—Somewhat two-lipped, the upper lip of two rather erect lobes, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Stamens.—Five, united into a tube. Pistil.—One, with a fringed stigma.
We have no flower which can vie with this in vivid coloring. In late summer its brilliant red gleams from the marshes or is reflected from the shadowy water’s edge with unequalled intensity——
The early French Canadians were so struck with its beauty that they sent the plant to France as a specimen of what the wilds of the New World could yield. Perhaps at that time it received its English name which likens it to the gorgeously attired dignitaries of the Roman Church.
PLATE LXXXIII
CARDINAL-FLOWER.—L. cardinalis.
A twining shrub. Leaves.—Entire, opposite, oblong, the upper pairs united around the stem. Flowers.—Deep red without, yellowish within; in close clusters from the axils of the upper leaves. Calyx.—With very short teeth. Corolla.—Trumpet-shaped, five-lobed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One. Fruit.—A red or orange berry.
Many of us are so familiar with these flowers in our gardens that we have, perhaps, considered them “escapes” when we found them brightening the pasture thicket where really they are most at home, appearing at any time from May till October.
The fragrant woodbine, L. grata, is also frequently cultivated. Its natural home is the rocky woodlands, where its sweet-scented whitish or yellowish flowers appear in May. Its stamens and style protrude conspicuously beyond the corolla-tube, which is an inch in length.
The greenish or yellowish flowers of the fly honeysuckle, L. ciliata, grow in pairs. They are found in the rocky woods of May, on an erect, bushy shrub, the leaves of which are all distinct, never meeting about the stem.
Scape.—Fuzzy, one-flowered. Leaves.—Rounded, three-lobed, from the root. Flowers.—Blue, white, or pinkish. Calyx.—Of six to twelve petal-like sepals; easily taken for a corolla, because directly underneath are three little leaves which resemble a calyx. Corolla.—None. Stamens.—Usually numerous. Pistils.—Several.
soon after the late snows have melted. Indeed these fragile-looking, enamel-like flowers are sometimes found actually beneath the snow, and form one of the many instances which we encounter among flowers, as among their human contemporaries, where the frail and delicate-looking withstand storm and stress far better than their more robust-appearing brethren. We welcome these tiny newcomers with especial joy, not alone for their delicate beauty, but because they are usually the first of all the flowers upon the scene of action, if we rule out the never-tardy skunk-cabbage. The rusty leaves of last summer are obliged to suffice for the plant’s foliage until some little time after the blossoms have appeared, when the young fresh leaves begin to uncurl themselves. Some one has suggested that the fuzzy little buds look as though they were still wearing their furs as a protection against the wintry weather which so often stretches late into our spring. The flowers vary in color from a lovely blue to pink or white. They are found chiefly in the woods, but occasionally on the sunny hill-sides as well.
The generic name, Hepatica, is from the Greek for liver, and was probably given to the plant on account of the shape of its leaf. Dr. Prior says that “in consequence of this fancied likeness it was used as a remedy for liver complaints, the common people having long labored under the belief that nature indicated in some such fashion the uses to which her creations might be applied.”
Scape.—Slender, one-flowered. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, all from the root. Flowers.—Varying from a pale blue to deep purple, borne singly on a scape. Calyx.—Of five sepals extended into ears at the base. Corolla.—Of five somewhat unequal petals, the lower one spurred at the base. Stamens.—Short and broad, somewhat united around the pistil. Pistil.—One with a club-shaped style and bent stigma.
Perhaps this is the best-beloved as well as the best known of the early wild flowers. Whose heart has not been gladdened at one time or another by a glimpse of some fresh green nook in early May where
It seems as if no other flower were so suggestive of the dawning year, so associated with the days when life was full of promise. Although I believe that more than a hundred species of violets have been recorded, only about thirty are found in our country; of these perhaps twenty are native to the Northeastern States. Unfortunately we have no strongly sweet-scented species, none
as Shakespeare found the English blossom. Prophets and warriors as well as poets have favored the violet; Mahomet preferred it to all other flowers, and it was chosen by the Bonapartes as their emblem.
Perhaps its frequent mention by ancient writers is explained by the discovery that the name was one applied somewhat indiscriminately to sweet-scented blossoms.
PLATE LXXXIV
LIVERWORT.—H. triloba.
The bird-foot violet, V. pedata, unlike other members of the family, has leaves which are divided into linear lobes. Its flower is peculiarly lovely, being large and velvety. The variety, V. bicolor, is especially striking and pansy-like, its two upper petals being of a deeper hue than the others. It is found in the neighborhood of Washington in abundance, and on the shaly soil of New Jersey.
An interesting feature of many of these plants is their cleistogamous flowers. These are small and inconspicuous blossoms, which never open (thus guarding their pollen against all depredations), but which are self-fertilized, ripening their seeds in the dark. They are usually found near or beneath the ground, and are often taken for immature buds.
Three to eight inches high. Stems.—Leafy. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, wavy-toothed. Flowers.—Pale violet.
This is the commonest blue species of the leafy-stemmed violets. It is found in wet, shady places from May till July.
Stem.—Erect, three to five inches high. Leaves.—Very small, opposite. Flowers.—Small, delicate blue, lilac, or nearly white, with a yellowish eye. Calyx.—Four-lobed. Corolla.—Salver-shaped, four-lobed, corolla-tube long and slender. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, with two stigmas.
No one who has been in the Berkshire Hills during the month of May can forget the loveliness of the bluets. The roadsides, meadows, and even the lawns, are thickly carpeted with the dainty enamel-like blossoms which are always pretty, but which seem to flourish with especial vigor and in great profusion in this lovely region. Less plentiful, perhaps, but still common is the little plant in grassy places far south and west, blossoming in early spring.
PLATE LXXXV
BLUETS.—H. cærulea.
The flowers are among those which botanists term “dimorphous.” This word signifies occurring in two forms, and refers to the stamens and pistils, which vary in size, some flowers having a tall pistil and short stamens, others tall stamens and a short pistil. Darwin has proved, not only that one of these flowers can seldom fully fertilize itself, but that usually the blossoms with tall pistils must be fertilized with pollen from the tall stamens, and that the short pistils are only acted upon by the short stamens. With a good magnifier and a needle these two forms can easily be studied. This is one of the many interesting safeguards against close-fertilization.
One to two feet high. Stem.—Smooth, pale, erect. Leaves.—Oblong, veiny. Flowers.—Blue, pinkish in bud, in raceme-like clusters which are rolled up from the end and straighten as the flowers expand. Calyx.—Five-cleft. Corolla.—Trumpet-shaped, one inch long, spreading. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One.
These very lovely blossoms are found in moist places during April and May in parts of New York as well as south and westward. The English naturalist, Mr. Alfred Wallace, seeing them, for the first time, in the vicinity of Cincinnati, writes in the Fortnightly Review: “In a damp river-bottom, the exquisite blue Mertensia Virginica was found. It is called here the ‘Virginian cowslip,’ its drooping porcelain-blue bells being somewhat of the size and form of those of the true cowslip.”
Six to twenty inches high. Stems.—Branching, slender. Leaves.—Opposite, the lower oval, the upper ovate—lance-shaped, clasping by the heart-shaped base. Flowers.—Blue and white, long-stalked, appearing whorled in the axils of the upper leaves. Calyx.—Deeply five-cleft. Corolla.—Deeply two-lipped, the upper lip two-cleft, the lower three-cleft. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One.
Unfortunately these dainty flowers are not found farther east than Western New York. From there they spread south and westward, abounding so plentifully in the vicinity of Cincinnati that the moist meadows are blue with their blossoms in spring or early summer.
Stems.—Slender. Leaves.—Alternate, lance-oblong. Flowers.—Blue, small, growing in a raceme. Calyx.—Five-lobed. Corolla.—Salver-shaped, five-toothed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One.
Along the banks of the stream, and in low wet places, we may look for these exquisite little flowers. This plant is smaller and less luxuriant than the European species, blossoming in early summer.
Nine to eighteen inches high. Stems.—Spreading or ascending. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong or lance-oblong, Flowers.—Pale lilac-purple, in a loose, spreading cluster. Calyx.—With five slender teeth. Corolla.—With a five-parted border, salver-shaped, with a long tube. Stamens.—Five, unequally inserted in the tube of the corolla. Pistil.—One, with a three-lobed style.
We may search for these graceful, delicately tinted flowers in the rocky woods of April and May.
Nearly allied to them is the wild sweet William, P. maculata, the pink-purple blossoms of which are found along the streams and in the rich woods of somewhat southern localities.
The beautiful moss pink, P. subulata, is also a member of this genus. This little evergreen heath-like plant clothes the dry hill-sides with a glowing mantle of purple-pink every spring, Southern New York being probably its most northerly range in our Eastern States. Great masses of these flowers may be seen covering the rocks in the Central Park in May.
The pink or whitish clusters of P. glaberrima are found in the open woods and prairies somewhat westward in July.
Stem.—Simple, hairy, producing offsets from the base. Root-leaves.—Somewhat rounded or wedge-shaped. Stem-leaves.—Somewhat oblong, lance-shaped, partly clasping. Flower-heads.—Rather large, on slender flower-stalks, composed of both strap-shaped and tubular flowers, the former (ray-flowers) bluish-purple, the latter (disk-flowers) yellow.
This is one of the earliest members of the Composite family to make its appearance, that great tribe being usually associated with the late summer months. The flower might easily be taken for a purple aster which had mistaken the season, or for a blue daisy, as one of its common names suggests. E. Philadelphicus is a later very similar species with smaller flower-heads.
Scape.—Slender, fleshy, three to five inches high, one-flowered. Leaves.—None. Flower.—Pale purple, solitary, one inch long, with a delicate fragrance. Calyx.—Five-cleft. Corolla.—Somewhat two-lipped, with two yellow bearded folds in the throat. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One.
In April or May the odd pretty flower of the parasitic one-flowered cancer-root is found in the damp woodlands.
Scape.—Five to nine inches high, several-flowered. Leaves.—Divided into three clover-like leaflets. Flowers.—Violet-colored, clustered on the scape. Calyx.—Of five sepals. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Ten. Pistil.—One, with five styles.
This little plant is found in somewhat open or rocky woods, its lovely delicate flower-clusters appearing in May or June. This species is more common southward, while the pink-veined wood sorrel (Pl. XVII.) abounds in the cool woods of the North.
Scape.—Naked, one-flowered, about one foot high. Leaves.—Pitcher-shaped, broadly winged, hooded. Flower.—Red-purple, large, nodding. Calyx.—Of five colored sepals, with three bractlets at the base. Corolla.—Of five fiddle-shaped petals which are arched over the greenish-yellow style. Stamens.—Numerous. Pistil.—One, with a short style which expands at the summit into a petal-like umbrella-shaped body, with five small hooked stigmas.
PLATE LXXXVI
ROBIN’S PLANTAIN.—E. bellidifolius.
The large nodding flower of the pitcher-plant may be found during June in the peat-bogs of New England as well as farther south and west. It is less familiar to most people than the curious pitcher-like leaves, which are usually partially filled with water and drowned insects; part of their inner surface being covered with a sugary exudation, below which, for a space, they are highly polished, while on the lower portion grow the stiff bristles which point downward. Insects attracted by the sugary secretion find themselves prisoners, as they can seldom fight their way through the opposing bristles, neither can they usually escape by such a perpendicular flight as would be necessary from the form of the cavity. The decomposed bodies of these unfortunates are supposed to contribute to the nourishment of the plant, as it is hardly probable that this elaborate contrivance answers no special purpose.
Stem.—Erect, hairy. Leaves.—About five-parted, the divisions lobed and cut. Flowers.—Pale pink-purple, rather large. Calyx.—Of five sepals. Corolla.—Of five petals. Stamens.—Ten. Pistil.—With five styles, which split apart at maturity so elastically as to discharge the seeds to some distance.
In spring and early summer the open woods and shaded roadsides are abundantly brightened with these graceful flowers. They are of peculiar interest because of their close kinship with the species, G. pratense, which first attracted the attention of the German scholar, Sprengel, to the close relations existing between flowers and insects. The beak-like appearance of its fruit give the plant both its popular and scientific names, for geranium is from the Greek for crane. The specific title, maculatum, refers to the somewhat blotched appearance of the older leaves.
Stems.—Creeping and trailing. Leaves.—Small and kidney-shaped. Flowers.—Bluish-purple, loosely clustered in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Five-toothed. Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip erect and two-cleft, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, two-lobed at the apex.
PLATE LXXXVII
WILD GERANIUM.—G. maculatum.
As the pleasant aroma of its leaves suggest, this little plant is closely allied to the catnip. Its common title of Gill-over-the-ground, appeals to one who is sufficiently without interest in pasture-land (for it is obnoxious to cattle) to appreciate the pleasant fashion in which this little immigrant from Europe has made itself at home here, brightening the earth with such a generous profusion of blossoms every May. But it is somewhat of a disappointment to learn that this name is derived from the French guiller, and refers to its former use in the fermentation of beer. Oddly enough the name of alehoof, which the plant has borne in England and which naturally has been supposed to refer to this same custom, is said by a competent authority (Professor Earle, of Oxford) to have no connection with it, but to signify another sort of hofe, hofe being the early English name for the violet, which resembles these flowers in color.
The plant was highly prized formerly as a domestic medicine. Gerarde claims that “boiled in mutton-broth it helpeth weake and akeing backs.”
Six inches to five feet high. Leaves.—Divided or cut. Flowers.—Blue or purplish, growing in terminal racemes. Calyx.—Of five irregular petal-like sepals, the upper one prolonged into a spur. Corolla.—Of four irregular petals, the upper pair continued backward in long spurs which are enclosed in the spur of the calyx, the lower pair with short claws. Stamens.—Indefinite in number. Pistils.—One to five, forming pods in fruit.
In April and May the bright blue clusters of the dwarf larkspur, D. tricorne, are noticeable in parts of the country. Unfortunately they are not found east of Western Pennsylvania.
The tall wand-like purplish racemes of the tall larkspur, D. exaltatum, are found in July in the rich soil of Pennsylvania, and much farther south and west as well.
Stem.—Erect, one to two feet high. Leaves.—Divided into seven to eleven leaflets. Flowers.—Blue, papilionaceous, showy, in a long raceme. Pod.—Broad, hairy.
In June and July the long bright clusters of the wild lupine are very noticeable in many of our sandy fields. Its pea-like blossoms serve to easily identify it. Under date of June 8th, Thoreau writes: “The lupine is now in its glory.... It paints a whole hill-side with its blue, making such a field (if not meadow) as Proserpine might have wandered in. Its leaf was made to be covered with dewdrops. I am quite excited by this prospect of blue flowers in clumps, with narrow intervals, such a profusion of the heavenly, the Elysian color, as if these were the Elysian fields.... That is the value of the lupine. The earth is blued with it.”
Stem.—Slender, branching, from five to twelve inches high. Root-leaves.—Heart-shaped or ovate, early withering. Stem-leaves.—Numerous, long and narrow. Flowers.—Bright blue, nodding from hair-like stalks. Calyx.—Five-cleft, the lobes awl-shaped. Corolla.—Bell-shaped, five-lobed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One, with three stigmas.
This slender, pretty plant, hung with its tremulous flowers, springs from the rocky cliffs which buttress the river as well as from those which crown the mountain. I have seen the west shore of the Hudson bright with its delicate bloom in June, and the summits of the Catskills tinged with its azure in September. The drooping posture of these flowers protect their pollen from rain or dew. They have come to us from Europe, and are identical, I believe, with the celebrated Scotch bluebells.
Four to twelve inches high. Leaves.—Narrow and grass-like. Flowers.—Blue or purple, with a yellow centre. Perianth.—Six-parted, the divisions bristle-pointed. Stamens.—Three, united. Pistil.—One, with three thread-like stigmas.
So reads the passage in the Epistle of James, which seems so graphically to describe the brief life of this little flower, that we might almost believe the Apostle had had it in mind, were it to be found in the East.
The blue-eyed grass belongs to the same family as the showy fleur-de-lis and blossoms during the summer, being especially plentiful in moist meadows. It is sometimes called “eye-bright,” which name belongs by rights to Euphrasia officinalis.
Stem.—Somewhat hairy, three to twenty inches high. Leaves.—Toothed, rounded, clasping by the heart-shaped base. Flowers.—Blue. Calyx.—Three, four, or five-lobed. Corolla.—Wheel-shaped, five-lobed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One, with three stigmas.
We borrow from Mr. Burroughs’s “Bunch of Herbs” a description of this little plant, which blossoms from May till August. “A pretty and curious little weed, sometimes found growing in the edge of the garden, is the clasping specularia, a relative of the harebell and of the European Venus’s looking-glass. Its leaves are shell-shaped, and clasp the stalk so as to form little shallow cups. In the bottom of each cup three buds appear that never expand into flowers, but when the top of the stalk is reached, one and sometimes two buds open a large, delicate purple-blue corolla. All the first-born of this plant are still-born as it were; only the latest, which spring from its summit, attain to perfect bloom.”
Stem.—Square, usually one or two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong, lance-shaped or linear. Flowers.—Blue. Calyx.—Two-lipped, the upper lip with a small, helmet-like appendage which at once identifies this genus. Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip arched, the lateral lobes mostly connected with the upper lip, the lower lip spreading and notched at the apex. Stamens.—Four, in pairs. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.
The prettiest and most striking of this genus is the larger skull-cap, S. integrifolia, whose bright blue flowers are about one inch long, growing in terminal racemes. In June and July they may be found among the long grass of the roadsides and meadows. They are easily identified by the curious little appendage on the upper part of the calyx, which gives to this genus its common name.
PLATE LXXXVIII
BLUE-EYED GRASS.—S. angustifolium.
Perhaps the best-known member of the group is the mad-dog skull-cap, S. lateriflora, which delights in wet places, bearing small, inconspicuous flowers in one-sided racemes. This plant is quite smooth, while that of S. integrifolia is rather downy. It was formerly believed to be a sure cure for hydrophobia.
S. galericulata is usually found somewhat northward. Its flowers are much larger than those of S. lateriflora, but smaller than those of S. integrifolia. They grow singly from the axils of the upper leaves.
Stem.—Stout, angled on one side, leafy, one to three feet high. Leaves.—Flat and sword-shaped, with their inner surfaces coherent for about half of their length. Flowers.—Large and showy, violet-blue, variegated with green, yellow, or white; purple-veined. Perianth.—Six-cleft, the three outer divisions recurved, the three inner smaller and erect. Stamens.—Three, covered by the three overarching, petal-like divisions of the style. Pistil.—One, with its style cleft into three petal-like divisions, each of which bears its stigma on its inner surface.
In both form and color this is one of the most regal of our wild flowers, and it is easy to understand why the fleur-de-lis was chosen as the emblem of a royal house, although the especial flower which Louis VII. of France selected as his badge was probably white.
It will surprise most of us to learn that the common name which we have borrowed from the French does not signify “flower-of-the-lily,” as it would if literally translated, but “flower of Louis,” lis being a corruption of the name of the king who first adopted it as his badge.
PLATE LXXXIX
FLEUR-DE-LIS.—I. versicolor.
For the botanist the blue-flag possesses special interest. It is a conspicuous example of a flower which has guarded itself against self-fertilization, and which is beautifully calculated to secure the opposite result. The position of the stamens is such that their pollen could not easily reach the stigmas of the same flower, for these are borne on the inner surface of the petal-like, overarching styles. There is no prospect here of any seed being set unless the pollen of another flower is secured. Now what are the chances in favor of this? They are many: In the first place the blossom is unusually large and showy, from its size and shape alone almost certain to arrest the attention of the passing bee; next, the color is not only conspicuous, but it is also one which has been found to be especially attractive to bees; blue and purple flowers being particularly sought by these insects. When the bee reaches the flower he alights on the only convenient landing-place, one of the recurved sepals; following the deep purple veins which experience has taught him lead to the hidden nectar, he thrusts his head below the anther, brushing off its pollen, which he carries to another flower.
The rootstocks of the Florentine species of iris yield the familiar “orris-root.”
The family name is from the Greek for rainbow, on account of the rich and varied hues of its different members.
The plant abounds in wet meadows, the blossoms appearing in June.
Stem.—Smooth, reclining at base, then erect, eight to fifteen inches high. Leaves.—Mostly opposite, oblong, toothed. Flowers.—Blue, clustered in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Four-parted. Corolla.—Wheel-shaped, four-parted. Stamens.—Two. Pistil.—One.
Perhaps the prettiest of the blue Veronicas is the American brooklime. Its clustered flowers make bright patches in moist ground which might, at a little distance, be mistaken for beds of forget-me-nots. It blossoms from June till August, and is almost as common in wet ditches and meadows as its sister, the common speedwell, is in dry and open places. Some of the members of this genus were once believed to possess great medicinal virtues, and won for themselves in Europe the laudatory names of Honor and Praise.
PLATE XC
AMERICAN BROOKLIME.—V. Americana.
is noticeable during June and July, when clusters of these tiny flowers brighten many a waste spot along the sunny roadsides. This is a hairy little plant, with a stem which lies upon the ground and takes root, thus spreading itself quickly over the country.
Scape.—Sheathed, from a globular bulb, usually one-flowered. Leaf.—“Solitary, linear, nerved, hidden in the sheaths of the scape, protruding after flowering.” (Gray.) Flower.—Rose-purple, large, with a bearded lip.
In some localities this beautiful flower is very plentiful. Every June will find certain New England marshes tinged with its rose-purple blossoms, while in other near and promising bogs it may be sought vainly for years. At least it may be hoped for in wet places as far south as North Carolina, its most favorite haunt being perhaps a cranberry-swamp. Concerning it, Mr. Burroughs writes: “Arethusa was one of the nymphs who attended Diana, and was by that goddess turned into a fountain, that she might escape the god of the river Alpheus, who became desperately in love with her on seeing her at her bath. Our Arethusa is one of the prettiest of the orchids, and has been pursued through many a marsh and quaking-bog by her lovers. She is a bright pink-purple flower an inch or more long, with the odor of sweet violets. The sepals and petals rise up and arch over the column, which we may call the heart of the flower, as if shielding it. In Plymouth County, Mass., where the Arethusa seems common, I have heard it called Indian pink.”
Leaves.—Oval or oblong; the upper, few, passing into lance-shaped bracts. Flowers.—Purple, rather large; with a fan-shaped, three-parted lip, its divisions fringed; with a long curving spur; growing in a spike.
Leaves.—Oblong or lance-shaped, the upper passing into linear bracts. Flowers.—Purple, fragrant, resembling those of H. fimbriata, but much smaller, with a less fringed lip; growing in a spike.
We should search the wet meadows in early June if we wish to be surely in time for the larger of the purple fringed orchises, for H. fimbriata somewhat antedates H. psycodes, which is the commoner species of the two and appears in July. Under date of June 9th, Thoreau writes: “Find the great fringed orchis out apparently two or three days, two are almost fully out, two or three only budded; a large spike of peculiarly delicate, pale purple flowers growing in the luxuriant and shady swamp, amid hellebores, ferns, golden senecio, etc.... The village belle never sees this more delicate belle of the swamp.... A beauty reared in the shade of a convent, who has never strayed beyond the convent-bell. Only the skunk or owl, or other inhabitant of the swamp, beholds it.”
Stem.—Square, low, erect, branching Leaves.—Opposite, aromatic, small. Flowers.—Purplish, small, whorled in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Two-lipped, upper lip three-toothed, the lower two-cleft. Corolla.—Two-lipped, upper erect, notched at apex, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Fertile stamens.—Two. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.
This well-known, strong-scented little plant is found throughout the greater part of the country, blossoming in midsummer. Its taste and odor nearly resemble that of the true pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, of Europe.
Stem.—Square, one to two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong or lance-shaped. Flowers.—Pale violet-purple, rarely white, growing singly from the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Five-angled, five-toothed, the upper tooth largest. Corolla.—Tubular, two-lipped, the upper lip erect or spreading, two-lobed, the lower spreading and three-lobed, the throat closed. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed stigma.
From late July onward the monkey-flowers tinge the wet fields and border the streams and ponds; not growing in the water like the pickerel-weed, but seeking a hummock in the swamp, or a safe foothold on the brook’s edge, where they can absorb the moisture requisite to their vigorous growth.
The name is a diminutive of mimus—a buffoon, and refers to the somewhat grinning blossom. The plant is a common one throughout the eastern part of the country.
Stem.—Tall and upright. Leaves.—Opposite, the lower rounded and lobed, the floral wedge-shaped at base and three-cleft. Flowers.—Pale purple, in close whorls in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—“With five nearly equal teeth, which are awl-shaped, and when old rather spiny, pointed, and spreading.” (Gray.) Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip somewhat arched and bearded, the lower three-lobed and spreading. Stamens.—Four, in pairs. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.
The tall erect stems, opposite leaves, and regular whorls of closely clustered pale purple flowers help us to easily identify the motherwort, if identification be needed, for it seems as though such old-fashioned, time-honored plants as catnip, tansy, and motherwort, which cling so persistently to the skirts of the old homestead in whose domestic economy they once played so important a part, should be familiar to us all.