About two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, long and narrow, pale green, with silky hairs. Flowers.—Rose-purple, large, long-stalked. Calyx-lobes.—Five, long and slender, exceeding the petals. Corolla.—Of five broad petals. Stamens.—Ten. Pistil.—One, with five styles.

In many countries some of the most beautiful and noticeable flowers are commonly found in grain-fields. England’s scarlet poppies flood her farm-lands with glorious color in early summer; while the bluets lighten the corn-fields of France. Our grain-fields seem to have no native flower peculiar to them; but often we find a trespasser of foreign descent hiding among the wheat or straying to the roadsides in early summer, whose deep-tinted blossoms secure an instant welcome from the flower-lover if not from the farmer. “What hurte it doeth among corne! the spoyle unto bread, as well in colour, taste, and unwholesomeness, is better known than desired,” wrote Gerarde. The large dark seeds fill the ground wheat with black specks, and might be injurious if existing in any great quantity. Its former generic name was Agrostemma, signifying crown of the fields. Its present one of Lychnis, signifies a light or lamp.

Blue Vervain. Simpler’s Joy.
Verbena hastata. Vervain Family.

Four to six feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, somewhat lance-shaped, the lower often lobed and sometimes halberd-shaped at base. Flowers.—Purple, small, in slender erect spikes. Calyx.—Five-toothed. Corolla.—Tubular, somewhat unequally five-cleft. Stamens.—Two, in pairs. Pistil.—One.

Along the roadsides in midsummer we notice these slender purple spikes, the appearance of which would be vastly improved if the tiny blossoms would only consent to open simultaneously.

In earlier times the vervain was beset with classic associations. It was claimed as the plant which Virgil and other poets mention as being used for altar-decorations and for the garlands of sacrificial beasts. It was believed to be the herba sacra of the ancients, until it was understood that the generic title Verbena was a word which was applied to branches of any description which were used in religious rites. It certainly seems, however, to have been applied to some especial plant in the time of Pliny, for he writes that no plant was more honored among the Romans than the sacred Verbena. In more modern times as well the vervain has been regarded as an “herb of grace,” and has been gathered with various ceremonies and with the invocation of a blessing, which began as follows:

It was then supposed to be endued with especial virtue, and was worn on the person to avert disaster.

The time-honored title of Simpler’s joy arose from the remuneration which this popular plant brought to the “Simplers”—as the gatherers of medicinal herbs were entitled.

Beard-tongue.
Pentstemon pubescens. Figwort Family.

Stem.—One or two feet high, clammy above. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong to lance-shaped. Flowers.—Dull purple or partly whitish, showy, in a slender open cluster. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Tubular, slightly dilated, the throat nearly closed by a bearded palate; two-lipped, the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-cleft. Stamens.—Four, one densely bearded sterile filament besides. Pistil.—One.

These handsome, showy flowers are found in summer in dry or rocky places. They are especially plentiful somewhat southward.

The white beard-tongue of more western localities is P. digitalis. This is a very effective plant, which sometimes reaches a height of five feet, having large inflated white flowers.

Self-heal. Heal-all.
Brunella vulgaris. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stems.—Low. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong. Flowers.—Bluish-purple, in a spike or head. Calyx.—Two-lipped, upper lip with three short teeth, the lower two-cleft. Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip arched, entire, the lower spreading, three-cleft. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, two-lobed at the apex.

Throughout the length and breadth of the country, from June until September, the short, close spikes of the self-heal can be found along the roadsides. The botanical name, Brunella, is a corruption from Prunella, which is taken from the German for quinsy, for which this plant was considered a certain cure. It was also used in England as an application to the wounds received by rustic laborers, as its common names, carpenter’s herb, hook-heal, and sicklewort, imply. That the French had a similar practice is proved by an old proverb of theirs to the effect that “No one wants a surgeon who keeps Prunelle.”

Wild Bergamot.
Monarda fistulosa. Mint Family (p. 16).

Two to five feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, fragrant, toothed. Flowers.—Purple or purplish, dotted, growing in a solitary, terminal head. Calyx.—Tubular, elongated, five-toothed. Corolla.—Elongated, two-lipped. Stamens.—Two, elongated. Pistil.—One, with style two-lobed at apex.

Although the wild bergamot is occasionally found in our eastern woods, it is far more abundant westward, where it is found in rocky places in summer. This is a near relative of the bee balm (Pl. LXXXII.), which it closely resembles in its manner of growth.

Day-flower.
Commelina Virginica. Spiderwort Family.

Stem.—Slender, branching. Leaves.—Lance-shaped to linear, the floral ones heart-shaped and clasping, folding so as to enclose the flowers. Flowers.—Blue. Calyx.—Of three unequal somewhat colored sepals, the two lateral ones partly united. Corolla.—Of three petals, two large, rounded, pale blue, one small, whitish, and inconspicuous. Stamens.—Six, unequal in size, three small and sterile, with yellow cross-shaped anthers, three fertile, one of which is bent inward. Pistil.—One.

The odd day-flower is so named because its delicate blossoms only expand for a single morning. At the first glance there seem to be but two petals which are large, rounded, and of a delicate shade of blue. A closer examination, however, discovers still another, so inconspicuous in form and color as to escape the notice of the casual observer. This inequality recalls the quaint tradition as to the origin of the plant’s generic name. There were three brothers Commelin, natives of Holland. Two of them were botanists of repute, while the tastes of the third had a less marked botanical tendency. The genus was dedicated to the trio: the two large bright petals commemorating the brother botanists, while the small and unpretentious one perpetuates the memory of him who was so unwise as to take little or no interest in so noble a science. These flowers appear throughout the summer in cool woods and on moist banks.

Blue Linaria. Blue Toadflax.
Linaria Canadensis. Figwort Family.

Stems.—Slender, six to thirty inches high. Leaves.—Linear. Flowers.—Pale blue or purple, small, in a long terminal raceme. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Two-lipped, with a slender spur, closed in the throat. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One.

The slender spikes of the blue linaria flank the sandy roadsides nearly all summer, and even in November we find a few delicate blossoms still left upon the elongated stems. These flowers have a certain spirituality which is lacking in their handsome, self-assertive relation, butter-and-eggs.

Spiderwort.
Tradescantia Virginica. Spiderwort Family.

Stems.—Mucilaginous, leafy, mostly upright. Leaves.—Linear, keeled. Flowers.—Blue, clustered, with floral leaves as in the day-flower. Calyx.—Of three sepals. Corolla.—Of three petals. Stamens.—Six, with bearded filaments. Pistil.—One.

The flowers of the spiderwort, like those of the day-flower, to which they are nearly allied, are very perishable, lasting only a few hours. They are found throughout the summer, somewhat south and westward. The genus is named in honor of Tradescant, gardener to Charles I. of England.

Pickerel-weed.
Pontedaria cordata. Pickerel-weed Family.

Stem.—Stout, usually one-leaved. Leaves.—Arrow or heart-shaped. Flowers.—Blue, fading quickly, with an unpleasant odor, growing in a dense spike. Perianth.—Two-lipped, the upper lip three-lobed and marked with a double greenish-yellow spot, the lower of three spreading divisions. Stamens.—Six, three long and protruding, the three others, which are often imperfect, very short and inserted lower down. Pistil.—One.

The pickerel-weed grows in such shallow water as the pickerel seek, or else in moist, wet places along the shores of streams and rivers. We can look for the blue, closely spiked flowers from late July until some time in September. They are often found near the delicate arrow-head.

Blueweed. Viper’s Bugloss.
Echium vulgare. Borage Family.

Stem.—Rough, bristly, erect, about two feet high. Leaves.—Alternate, lance-shaped, set close to the stem. Flowers.—Bright blue, spiked on one side of the branches, which are at first rolled up from the end, straightening as the blossoms expand. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Of five somewhat unequal, spreading lobes. Stamens.—Five, protruding, red. Pistil.—One.

When the blueweed first came to us from across the sea it secured a foothold in Virginia. Since then it has gradually worked its way northward, lining the Hudson’s shores, overrunning many of the dry fields in its vicinity, and making itself at home in parts of New England. We should be obliged to rank it among the “pestiferous” weeds were it not that, as a rule, it only seeks to monopolize land which is not good for very much else. The pinkish buds and bright blue blossoms with their red protruding stamens make a valuable addition, from the æsthetic point of view, to the bunch of midsummer field-flowers in which hitherto the various shades of red and yellow have predominated.

Nightshade.
Solanum Dulcamara. Nightshade Family.

Stem.—Usually somewhat climbing or twining. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, the upper halberd-shaped or with ear-like lobes or leaflets at the base. Flowers.—Purple, in small clusters. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Five-parted, wheel-shaped. Stamens.—Five, yellow, protruding. Pistil.—One. Fruit.—A red berry.

The purple flowers, which at once betray their kinship with the potato plant, and, in late summer, the bright red berries of the nightshade, cluster about the fences and clamber over the moist banks which line the highway. This plant, which was imported from Europe, usually indicates the presence of civilization. It is not poisonous to the touch, as is often supposed, and it is doubtful if the berries have the baneful power attributed to them. Thoreau writes regarding them: “The Solanum Dulcamara berries are another kind which grow in drooping clusters. I do not know any clusters more graceful and beautiful than these drooping cymes of scented or translucent, cherry-colored elliptical berries.... They hang more gracefully over the river’s brim than any pendant in a lady’s ear. Yet they are considered poisonous; not to look at surely.... But why should they not be poisonous? Would it not be bad taste to eat these berries which are ready to feed another sense?”

Great Lobelia.
Lobelia syphilitica. Lobelia Family.

Stem.—Leafy, somewhat hairy, one to three feet high. Leaves.—Alternate, ovate to lance-shaped, thin, irregularly toothed. Flowers.—Rather large, light blue, spiked. Calyx.—Five-cleft, with a short tube. Corolla.—Somewhat two-lipped, the upper lip of two rather erect lobes, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Pistil.—One, with a fringed stigma.

The great lobelia is a striking plant which grows in low ground, flowering in midsummer. In some places it is called “High-Belia,” a pun which is supposed to reflect upon the less tall and conspicuous species, such as the Indian tobacco, L. inflata, which are found flowering at the same season.

If one of its blossoms is examined, the pistil is seen to be enclosed by the united stamens in such a fashion as to secure self-fertilization, one would suppose. But it is hardly probable that a flower as noticeable as this, and wearing a color as popular as blue, should have adorned itself so lavishly to no purpose. Consequently we are led to inquire more closely into its domestic arrangements. Our curiosity is rewarded by the discovery that the lobes of the stigma are so tightly pressed together that they can at first receive no pollen upon their sensitive surfaces. We also find that the anthers open only by a pore at their tips, and when irritated by the jar of a visiting bee, discharge their pollen upon its body through these outlets. This being accomplished the fringed stigma pushes forward, brushing aside whatever pollen may have fallen within the tube. When it finally projects beyond the anthers, it opens, and is ready to receive its pollen from the next insect-visitor.

The genus is named after an early Flemish herbalist, de l’Obel.

Indian Tobacco.
Lobelia inflata. Lobelia Family.

One to two feet high. Stem.—Branching from the root. Leaves.—Alternate, ovate, or oblong, somewhat toothed. Flowers.—Blue or purple, small, growing in a loose raceme, resembling in structure those of the great lobelia. Pod.—Much inflated.

During the summer we note in the dry, open fields the blue racemes of the Indian tobacco, and in the later year the inflated pods which give it its specific name. The plant is said to be poisonous if taken internally, and yields a “quack-medicine” of some notoriety. The Indians smoked its dried leaves, which impart to the tongue a peculiar tobacco-like sensation.

There are other species of lobelia which may be distinguished by their narrower leaves and uninflated pods, and by their choice of moist localities.

Hog Pea-nut.
Amphicarpæa monoica. Pulse Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Climbing and twining over plants and shrubs. Leaves.—Divided into three somewhat four-sided leaflets. Flowers.—Papilionaceous, pale lilac, or purplish, in nodding racemes. Pod.—One inch long.

Along the shadowy lanes which wind through the woods the climbing members of the Pulse family are very abundant. During the late summer and autumn the lonely wayside is skirted by

And in and out among this luxuriant growth twist the slender stems of the ill-named hog pea-nut, its delicate lilac blossoms nodding from the coarse stalks of the golden-rods and iron-weeds or blending with the purple asters.

This plant bears flowers of two kinds: the upper ones are perfect, but apparently useless, as they seldom ripen fruit; while the lower or subterranean ones are without petals or attractiveness of appearance, but yield eventually at least one large ripe seed.

About one foot high, or more. Stem.—Stout. Leaves.—Divided into from three to five pairs of thick oblong leaflets. Flowers.—Papilionaceous, large, purple, clustered.

The deep-hued flowers of this stout plant are commonly found along the sand-hills of the seashore, and also on the shores of the Great Lakes, blooming in early summer. Both flowers and leaves are at once recognized as belonging to the Pulse family.

——— ———
Strophostyles angulosa. Pulse Family (p. 16).

Stems.—Branched, one to six feet long, prostrate or climbing. Leaves.—Divided into three leaflets, which are more or less prominently lobed toward the base, the terminal two-lobed; or some or all without lobes. Flowers.—Purplish or greenish, on long flower-stalks. Pod.—Linear, straight, or nearly so.

This somewhat inconspicuous plant is found back of the sand-hills along the coast, often in the neighborhood of the beach pea, and climbing over river-banks, thickets, and fences as well. It can usually be identified by its oddly lobed leaflets.

Blue Vetch.
Vicia cracca. Pulse Family (p. 16).

Leaves.—Divided into twenty to twenty-four leaflets, with slender tips. Flowers.—Papilionaceous, blue turning purple, growing in close, many-flowered, one-sided spikes.

This is an emigrant from Europe which is found in some of our eastern fields and thickets as far south as New Jersey. It usually climbs more or less by means of the tendril at the tip of its divided leaves, and sometimes forms bright patches of vivid blue over the meadows.

Another member of this genus is V. sativa, the common vetch or tare, with purplish or pinkish flowers, growing singly or in pairs from the axils of the leaves, which leaves are divided into fewer and narrower leaflets than those of the blue vetch. This species also takes possession of cultivated fields as well as of waste places along the roadside.

Stems.—Branching. Leaves.—The lower oblong or lance-shaped, partly clasping, sometimes sharply incised, the floral ones minute. Flower-heads.—Blue, set close to the stem, composed entirely of strap-shaped flowers; opening at different times.

This roadside weed blossoms in late summer. It is extensively cultivated in France, where the leaves are blanched and used in a salad which is called “Barbe des Capucins.” The roots are roasted and mixed with coffee both there and in England.

Horace mentions its leaves as part of his frugal fare, and Pliny remarks upon the importance of the plant to the Egyptians, who formerly used it in great quantities, and of whose diet it is still a staple article.

Blue and Purple Asters.
Aster. Composite Family (p. 13).

Flower-heads.—Composed of blue or purple ray-flowers, with a centre of yellow disk-flowers.

As about one hundred and twenty different species of aster are native to the United States, and as fifty-four of these are found in Northeastern America, all but a dozen being purple or blue (i.e., with purple or blue ray-flowers), and as even botanists find that it requires patient application to distinguish these many species, only a brief description of the more conspicuous and common ones is here attempted.

Along the dry roadsides in early August we may look for the bright blue-purple flowers of A. patens. This is a low-growing species, with rough, narrowly oblong, clasping leaves, and widely spreading branches, whose slender branchlets are usually terminated by a solitary flower-head.

Probably no member of the group is more striking than the New England aster, A. Novæ Angliæ, whose stout hairy stem (sometimes eight feet high), numerous lance-shaped leaves, and large violet-purple or sometimes pinkish flower-heads, are conspicuous in the swamps of late summer.

A. puniceus is another tall swamp-species, with long showy pale lavender ray-flowers.

One of the most commonly encountered asters is A. cordifolius, which is far from being the only heart-leaved species, despite its title. Its many small, pale blue or almost white flower-heads mass themselves abundantly along the wood-borders and shaded roadsides.

Perhaps the loveliest of all the tribe is the seaside purple aster, A. spectabilis, a low plant with narrowly oblong leaves and large bright heads, the violet-purple ray-flowers of which are nearly an inch long. This grows in sandy soil near the coast and may be found putting forth its royal, daisy-like blossoms into November.

Great Britain can claim but one native aster, A. Trifolium, or sea-starwort as it is called. Many American species are cultivated in English gardens under the general title of Michaelmas daisies. The starwort of Italy is A. amellus. The Swiss species is A. Alpinum.

This beautiful genus, like that of the golden-rod, is one of the peculiar glories of our country. Every autumn these two kinds of flowers clothe our roadsides and meadows with so regal a mantle of purple and gold that we cannot but wonder if the flowers of any other region combine in such a radiant display.

Stem.—Leafy, usually tall. Leaves.—Alternate, somewhat lance-oblong. Flower-heads.—An intense red-purple, loosely clustered, composed entirely of tubular flowers.

Along the roadsides and low meadows near the coast the iron-weed adds its deep purple hues to the color-pageant of late August. By the uninitiated the plant is often mistaken for an aster, but a moment’s inspection will discover that the minute flowers which compose each flower-head are all tubular in shape, and that the ray or strap-shaped blossoms which an aster must have are wanting. These flower-heads are surrounded by an involucre composed of small scales which are tipped with a tiny point and are usually of a purplish color also.

Blue Curls. Bastard Pennyroyal.
Trichostema dichotomum. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Rather low, branching, clammy. Leaves.—Opposite, narrowly oblong or lance-shaped, glutinous, with a balsamic odor. Flowers.—Purple, occasionally pinkish, not usually clustered. Calyx.—Five-cleft, two-lipped. Corolla.—Five-lobed, the three lower lobes more or less united. Stamens.—Four, very long and curved, protruding. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.

In the sandy fields of late summer this little plant attracts notice by its many purple flowers. Its corolla soon falls and exposes to view the four little nutlets of the ovary lying within the enlarged calyx like tiny eggs in their nest. Its aromatic odor is very perceptible, and the little glands with which it is covered may be seen with the aid of a magnifier. The generic name, Trichostema, signifies hairy stamens and alludes to the curved hair-like filaments.

Sea Lavender. Marsh Rosemary.
Statice Caroliniana. Leadwort Family.

Stems.—Leafless, branching. Leaves.—From the root, somewhat oblong, thick. Flowers.—Lavender-color or pale purple, tiny, scattered or loosely spiked along one side of the branches. Calyx.—Dry, funnel-form. Corolla.—Small, with five petals. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One, with five, rarely three, styles.

In August many of the salt marshes are blue with the tiny flowers of the sea lavender. The spray-like appearance of the little plant would seem to account for its name of rosemary, which is derived from the Latin for sea-spray, but Dr. Prior states that this name was given it on account of “its usually growing on the sea-coast, and its odor.”

Blossoming with the lavender we often find the great rose mallows and the dainty sea pinks. The marsh St. John’s-wort as well is frequently a neighbor, and, a little later in the season, the salt marsh fleabane.

Blazing Star.
Liatris scariosa. Composite Family (p. 13).

Stem.—Simple, stout, hoary, two to five feet high. Leaves.—Alternate, narrowly lance-shaped. Flower-heads.—Racemed along the upper part of the stem, composed entirely of tubular flowers of a beautiful shade of rose-purple.

These showy and beautiful flowers lend still another tint to the many-hued salt marshes and glowing inland meadows of the falling year. Gray assigns them to dry localities from New England to Minnesota and southward, while my own experience of them is limited to the New England coast, where their stout leafy stems and bright-hued blossoms are noticeable among the golden-rods and asters of September. The hasty observer sometimes confuses the plant with the iron-weed, but the two flowers are very different in color and in their manner of growth.

Common Dittany.
Cunila Mariana. Mint Family (p. 16).

About one foot high. Stem.—Much branched, reddish. Leaves.—Opposite, aromatic, dotted, smooth, ovate, rounded or heart-shaped at base, set close to the stem. Flowers.—Small, purple, lilac or white, clustered. Calyx.—Five-toothed. Corolla.—Small, two-lipped, the upper lip erect, usually notched, the lower three-cleft. Stamens.—Two, erect, protruding. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.

In late August or early September the delicate flowers of the dittany brighten the dry, sterile banks which flank so many of our roadsides. At a season when few plants are flowering save the omnipresent members of the great Composite family these dainty though unpretentious blossoms are especially attractive. The plant has a pleasant fragrance.

Stem.—One to two feet high, upright, smooth. Leaves.—Opposite, narrowly oval or lance-shaped. Flowers.—Blue to purple, clustered at the summit of the stem and often in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Four or five-cleft. Corolla.—Closed at the mouth, large, oblong. Stamens.—Four or five. Pistil.—One, with two stigmas.

Few flowers adapt themselves better to the season than the closed gentian. We look for it in September when the early waning days and frost-suggestive nights prove so discouraging to the greater part of the floral world. Then in somewhat moist, shaded places along the roadside we find this vigorous, autumnal-looking plant, with stout stems, leaves that bronze as the days advance, and deep-tinted flowers firmly closed as though to protect the delicate reproductive organs within from the sharp touches of the late year.

To me the closed gentian usually shows a deep blue or even purple countenance, although like the fringed gentian and so many other flowers its color is lighter in the shade than in the sunlight. But Thoreau claims for it a “transcendent blue,” “a splendid blue, light in the shade, turning to purple with age.” “Bluer than the bluest sky, they lurk in the moist and shady recesses of the banks,” he writes. Mr. Burroughs also finds it “intensely blue.”

Five-flowered Gentian.
Gentiana quinqueflora. Gentian Family.

Stem.—Slender, branching, one or two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, ovate, lance-shaped, partly clasping. Flowers.—Pale blue, smaller than those of the closed gentian, in clusters of about five at the summit of stems and branches. Calyx.—Four or five-cleft, small. Corolla.—Funnel-form, four or five-lobed, its lobes bristle-pointed. Stamens.—Four or five. Pistil.—One, with two stigmas.

Although the five-flowered gentian is far less frequently encountered than the closed gentian, it is very common in certain localities. Gray assigns it to “moist hills” and “along the mountains to Florida.” I have found it growing in great abundance on the Shawangunk Mountains in Orange County, N. Y., where it flowers in September.

Stem.—One to two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, lance-shaped or narrowly oval. Flowers.—Blue, large. Calyx.—Four-cleft, the lobes unequal. Corolla.—Funnel-form, with four fringed, spreading lobes. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, with two stigmas.

In late September when we have almost ceased to hope for new flowers we are in luck if we chance upon this

whose

for the fringed gentian is fickle in its habits, and the fact that we have located it one season does not mean that we will find it in the same place the following year; being a biennial, with seeds that are easily washed away, it is apt to change its haunts from time to time. So our search for this plant is always attended with the charm of uncertainty. Once having ferreted out its new abiding-place, however, we can satiate ourselves with its loveliness, which it usually lavishes unstintingly upon the moist meadows which it has elected to honor.

Thoreau describes its color as “such a dark blue! surpassing that of the male bluebird’s back!” My experience has been that the flowers which grow in the shade are of a clear pure azure, “Heaven’s own blue,” as Bryant claims; while those which are found in open, sunny meadows may be justly said to vie with the back of the male bluebird. If the season has been a mild one we shall perhaps find a few blossoms lingering into November, but the plant is probably blighted by a severe frost, although Miss Emily Dickinson’s little poem voices another opinion:

Skunk Cabbage. Swamp Cabbage.
Symplocarpus fœtidus. Arum Family.

Leaves.—Large, becoming one or two feet long; heart-shaped, appearing later than the purple-mottled spathe and hidden flowers. Flowers.—Small and inconspicuous; packed on the fleshy spike which is hidden within the spathe.

If we are bold enough to venture into certain swampy places in the leafless woods and brown cheerless meadows of March, we notice that the sharply pointed spathes of the skunk cabbage have already pierced the surface of the earth. Until I chanced upon a passage in Thoreau’s Journal under date of October 31st, I had supposed that these “hermits of the bog” were only encouraged to make their appearance by the advent of those first balmy, spring-suggestive days which occasionally occur as early as February. But it seems that many of these young buds had pushed their way upward before the winter set in, for Thoreau counsels those who are afflicted with the melancholy of autumn to go to the swamps, “and see the brave spears of skunk-cabbage buds already advanced toward a new year.” “Mortal and human creatures must take a little respite in this fall of the year,” he writes. “Their spirits do flag a little. There is a little questioning of destiny, and thinking to go like cowards to where the weary shall be at rest. But not so with the skunk-cabbage. Its withered leaves fall and are transfixed by a rising bud. Winter and death are ignored. The circle of life is complete. Are these false prophets? Is it a lie or a vain boast underneath the skunk-cabbage bud pushing it upward and lifting the dead leaves with it?”

The purplish shell-like leaf, which curls about the tiny flowers which are thus hidden from view, is a rather grewsome-looking object, suggestive of a great snail when it lifts itself fairly above its muddy bed. When one sees it grouped with brother-cabbages it is easy to understand why a nearly allied species, which abounds along the Italian Riviera, should be entitled “Cappucini” by the neighboring peasants, for the bowed, hooded appearance of these plants might easily suggest the cowled Capuchins.

It seems unfortunate that our earliest spring flower (for such it undoubtedly is) should possess so unpleasant an odor as to win for itself the unpoetic title of skunk cabbage. There is also some incongruity in the heading of the great floral procession of the year by the minute hidden blossoms of this plant. That they are enabled to survive the raw March winds which are rampant when they first appear is probably due to the protection afforded them by the leathery leaf or spathe. When the true leaves unfold they mark the wet woods and meadows with bright patches of rich foliage, which with that of the hellebore, flash constantly into sight as we travel through the country in April.

It is interesting to remember that the skunk cabbage is nearly akin to the spotless calla lily, the purple-mottled spathe of the one answering to the snowy petal-like leaf of the other. Meehan tells us that the name bear-weed was given to the plant by the early Swedish settlers in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. It seems that the bears greatly relished this early green, which Meehan remarks “must have been a hot morsel, as the juice is acrid, and is said to possess some narcotic power, while that of the root, when chewed, causes the eyesight to grow dim.”

Wild Ginger.
Asarum Canadense. Birthwort Family.

Leaves.—One or two on each plant, kidney or heart-shaped, fuzzy, long-stalked. Flower.—Dull purplish-brown, solitary, close to the ground on a short flower-stalk from the fork of the leaves. Calyx.—Three-cleft, bell-shaped. Corolla.—None. Stamens.—Twelve. Pistil.—One, with a thick style and six thick, radiating stigmas.