Part 15

_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.

FLEUR-DE-LIS. LARGER BLUE FLAG. _Iris versicolor._ Iris Family.

_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.

Born in the purple, born to joy and pleasance, Thou dost not toil nor spin, But makest glad and radiant with thy presence The meadow and the lin.[11]

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.

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.

AMERICAN BROOKLIME. _Veronica Americana._ Figwort Family.

_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.

COMMON SPEEDWELL. _Veronica officinalis._ Figwort Family.

The little speedwell’s darling blue

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.

ARETHUSA. _Arethusa bulbosa._ Orchis Family (p. 17).

_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.”

PURPLE FRINGED ORCHISES. Orchis Family (p. 17).

_Habenaria fimbriata._

_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.

_Habenaria psycodes._

_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.”

AMERICAN PENNYROYAL. _Hedeoma pulegioides._ Mint Family (p. 16).

_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.

MONKEY-FLOWER. _Mimulus ringens._ Figwort Family.

_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.

COMMON MOTHERWORT. _Leonurus cardiaca._ Mint Family (p. 16).

_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.

CORN COCKLE. _Lychnis Githago._ Pink Family.

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:

Hallowed be thou, Vervain, As thou growest on the ground, For in the Mount of Calvary There thou was first found.

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.