Norttt (Earnlina S^talr fflnllrgp This book was presented by Edward S. King Ci!K125 L89 cop. 2 ■-v,..i^^'*^i^f^ NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES S011 42368 P THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB- JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION DESK. I OCT 14 1981 j&H Oil loq-i '°°Wfr 1 1 1984 JUN - 3 199,9 .^. jii,#™ SEP 1 i SOUTHERN WILD FLOWERS AND TREES PLATE CXIX, FLAME AZALEA. Azalea lutea. II, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PRINTED IN AMERICA SOUTHERN WILD FLOWERS AND TREES Together with SHRUBS, VINES AND VARIOUS FORMS OF GROWTH FOUND THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS, THE MIDDLE DISTRICT AND THE LOW COUNTRY OF THE SOUTH ALICE LOUNSBERRY Author of'A Guide to the IVild Flowers " and "A Guide to the Trees " WITH SIXTEEN COLOURED AND ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE BLACK-AND-WHITE PLATES AND EIGHTY-EIGHT VIGNETTES AND DIAGRAMS BY MRS. ELLIS ROWAN Illustrator of "A Guide to the IV ild Flowers " and "A Guide to the Trees'*' WitJi an Introduction BY CHAUNC EY D. BEADLE OF THE BILTMORE HERBARIUM » NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1901, By Frederick A. Stokes Company, Published in September^ 1901. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi INTRODUCTION xvii EXPLANATION OF TERMS . xix The Cycas Family . i The Pine Family 2 The Yew Family 20 The Water-Plantain Family 23 The Palm Family 26 The Arum Family 32 The Pine-Apple Family 37 The Spiderwort Family 38 The Pickerel-Weed Family 41 The Stemona Family . 44 The Bunch Flower Family 45 The Lily Family . . . 50 The Lily-of-the-valley Family 58 The Smilax Family 62 The Amaryllis Family 66 The Yam Family 69 The Iris Family . . .69 The Canna Family 71 The Arrowroot Family 72 The Orchid Family 72 The Lizard's Tail Family .97 The Walnut Family 99 The Bayberry Family , ... 105 The Cork-Wood Family 109 The Willow Family 109 The Birch Family 115 The Beech Family 119 The Elm Family 139 The Mulberry Family 143 vi CONTENTS. PAc;e The Mistletoe Family 144 The Sandalwood Family *. . . 145 The Birthwort Family 149 The Buckwheat Family 152 The Purslane Family 157 The Pink Family 158 The Water Lily Family 162 The Magnolia Family 164 The Custard Apple Family 169 The Crowfoot Family 171 The Barberry Family 187 The Strawberry-Shrub Family 190 The Laurel Family 191 The Poppy Family 194 The Mustard Family 198 The Caper Family 205 The Pitcher-Plant Family 205 The Sundew Family 208 The Orpine Family 211 The Saxifrage Family 214 The Gooseberry Family 225 The Witch-Hazel Family 227 The Plane-Tree Family 232 The Rose Family 233 The Apple Family 245 The Plum Family 251 The Mimosa Family 257 The Senna Family 258 The Pea Family 264 The Geranium Family 284 The Wood-Sorrel Family 285 The Flax Family 288 The Caltrop Family 289 The Rue Family 290 The AiLANTHUs Family 292 The Mahogany Family 293 The Milkwort Family 294 The Spurge Family 299 The Crowberry Family 304 The Box Family 304 CONTENTS. vii PAGE The Sumac Family 306 The Cyrilla Family .. o ..... . 310 The Holly Family 312 The Staff-Tree Family 317 The Bladder-Nut Family 319 The Maple Family 320 The Buckeye Family 324 The Jewel-Weed Family 326 The Buckthorn Family . 328 The Grape Family 330 The Linden Family 332 The Mallow Family 335 The Tea Family 337 The St. John's-Wort Family -339 The Rock-Rose Family 345 The Violet Family 346 The Passion-Flower Family .352 The Loosestrife Family '. . 354 The Meadow-Beauty Family .356 The Evening-Primrose Family 359 The Ginseng Family 362 The Carrot Family 364 The Dogwood Family 372 The White-Alder Family 374 The Indian-Pipe Family 375 The Heath Family 376 The Huckleberry Family 396 The Diapensia Family 401 The Primrose Family 407 The Plumbago Family „ 411 The Sapodilla Family 412 The Ebony Family 414 The Sweet Leaf Family . .415 The Storax Family 415 The Olive Family . . . , 419 The Logania Family 423 The Gentian Family 425 The Buckbean Family ......... 403 The Dogbane Family 431 The Milkweed Family ,,,,,»,,. 435 viii CONTENTS. PAGE The Morning-Glory Family 438 The Dodder Family 440 The Phlox Family 441 The Water-Leaf Family 443 The Borage Family 444 The Vervain Family 446 The Mint Family 448 The Potato Family =458 The Figwort Family . 460 The Bladderwort Family . . . . . . . . 468 The Broom-Rape Family 470 The Trumpet-Creeper Family 471 The Acanthus Family 472 The Madder Family 473 The Honeysuckle Family 478 The Bellflower Family 481 The Chicory Family 486 The Thistle Family 494 KEY TO THE FAMILIES 536 INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES 543 INDEX TO LATIN NAMES 558 PREFACE. The reason to hope that Southern " Wild Flowers and Trees " will find a field of usefulness is that it is the first book written to treat in a popular way of the beauty and interest attached to plant-life through this great region. Sometimes we hear it said by those with no knowledge of botany that they "simply enjoy the flowers," thus implying that the smallest technical acquaintance with them would put them beyond the pale of such pleasure. But this is not enough. To learn of the kinship between plants ; the characteristics on which their family trees are founded ; their individual pe- culiarities and their keen desire to continue their race cannot, it would seem, but quicken our desire to know them well and enhance our wonder concern- ing their beauty. There is a time when the green things of the earth appeal strongly to those that live busy lives in the cities to go out and partake of the refreshment offered in a close walk with nature. The present book is one that explains itself. It is simply written, and the plan of arrangement is in accordance with the leading scientific botanical works of the day. Beginning with the simplest forms of growth, the plants are entered until those most complicated in construction are reached. In all instances an effort has been made to present the scientific names as recognised under the laws of the new nomenclature, while many of the Eng- lish names herein given have been learned directly from the people. The botanical terms that it has been found necessary to use in the analyses of the plants have a chapter devoted to their explanation and are further made clear by illustrations. Rather than use for this book, which makes mention of over a thousand plants, some popular classification such as that of soil or colour, a simplified key to the plant families has been arranged. By its use the individuals may be located in the book with greater accuracy than by other means, and the satisfaction may be had of entering upon the study of plants in the right way. The book will thus be a better beginning ; a better stepping-stone to those purely scientific. To learn something of the history, the folk-lore and the uses of southern plants and to see rare ones growing in their natural surroundings, Mrs. Rowan and I travelled in many parts of the south, exercising always our best blandishments to get the people of the section to talk with us. Through X PREFACE. the mountainous region we drove from cabin to cabin, and nowhere could we have met with greater kindness and hospitality. At the present time, however, there seems to be little country-lore con- cerning numbers of southern plants. In years to come, when they are better known, more tales of wonder will, no doubt, be woven about them. But for variety and beautiful, luxuriant growth the southern field is perhaps un- rivalled. Of our trips to different places, seeking flowers, the sixteen wash-drawings scattered through the book are in commemoration. The coloured plates show us as many more famous beauties. Without continual reinforcement my courage would perhaps have met its Waterloo. I might never have written " Southern Wild Flowers and Trees." With much gratitude, therefore, I acknowledge the privilege accorded me of using the files of the Biltmore Herbarium and of receiving the advice and assistance of the associates of that institution, all of whom helped me in securing specimens and in seaching out references. Dr. Carl Mohr, of Asheville, N. C, helped me out of some difificulties ; Miss Harrison of Washington, Mr. McEhvee of Philadelphia and numbers of people whom I met at various places — and whose faces I remember better than their names — were most kind in their assistance in my work. Alice Lounsberry. List of Illustrations. The mark * * * which appears in the list designates the plates that in colour. The number of the page given for each of these coloured of the printed ^?igt faced hy the coloured plate in each case. PLATE. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. Xi. XII. XIII. PINES ON THE ROAD TO HIGHLANDS, N. C. CAROLINA HEMLOCK. Tsiiga Caroliniana, SILVER FIR, Abies Fraseri, .... THE SILVER FIR ON ROAN MOUNTAIN. BALD CYPRESS. Taxodium. distichum, SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. Chaincecyparis thyoides, FLORIDA PENCIL CEDAR. Junipertcs barbadensis, TORREY-TREE. Tuviion Taxifolium^ LANCE-LEAVED SAGITTARIA. Sagittaria lanci/olia, SAW PALMETTO. Serenoa serrttlata, GREEN DRAGON. Arisceuta Dracontiiini^ WATER LETTUCE. Pistia spathuliita^ VIRGINIA DAY-FLOWER. Commelina Virginica, XIV. WATER-HYACINTH. Piaropus crassipes, . XV. WATER-HYACINTHS ON THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER • XVI, SOUTHERN RED LILY. Lilium Catesba-i, . XVII. ASA GRAY'S LILY. Liliiun Gray!, , XVIII. YELLOW COLIC-ROOT. Aletris azirea, XIX. SPANISH BAYONET. Vucca aloifolia, XX. ATAMASCO LILY. Aiamosco Atamasco, XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. ST. JOHN'S RIVER. SHOWY LADY'S SLIPPER. Cyprzpedium regince, . YELLOW FRINGED ORCHID. Habenaria ciliaris, RAGGED ORCHID. Habenaria lacera, LARGE PURPLE FRINGED ORCHID. Habenaria grandifiora, FRINGELESS PURPLE ORCHID. Habenaria per amasna, WHORLED POGONIA. Pogonia verticillata,. NODDING POGONIA, Pogonia trianthophora. are produced plates is that PAGE. facing 4 9 *** lO facing 12 13 15 19 21 24 29 33 35 39 43 facing 44 * * * 50 53 55 57 65 facing 68 *** 74 75 77 79 81 83 8S LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, PLATE, XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII, XXXVIII. XXXIX. XL. XLI. XLII. XLIII. XLIV, XLV, XLVI. XLVII. XLVIIl. XLIX. L. LI. Lll. Llll. LIV. LV. LVI. LVII. LVIII. LIX. LX. LXI. LXII. LXIII. LXIV. LXV. LXVI. LXVII. LXVIII. LXIX. NODDING LADY'S TRESSES. Gyrosiachys cernua, TWISTED ORCHID. Gyrosiachys brevifolia, DOWNY RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN. Peratiiium pubescens KIDNEY-LEAF TWAYBLADE, Listera Smalli, LARGE TWAYBLADE. Leptorchis liliifolia, LARGE CORAL-ROOT. Corallorhiza muliiflora CRANE FLY ORCHID. Tipularia uni/oHn, lizard's TAIL. Saiiruriis cernuus^ NUTMEG HICKORY, Hicoria viyy-isticcpfortnis^ WOOLLY PIGNUT. Hicoria villosa, CANDLE BERRY- Myrica cerifera, SWEET FERN. Coviptonia peregrina, CORK-WOOD. Leitneria Floridana, COTTONWOOD. Populus deltoides, AMERICAN BEECH. Fagus Americana, TEXAN RED OAK. Quercus Texana, GEORGIA OAK. Querciis Georgiana, SHINGLE OAK. Quercus inibricaria, LAUREL OAK. Quercus lauri folia, OVER CUP OAK. Quercus lyrata, LIVE OAK. Quercus Virginiana, SPREADING ELM. Ulmus Serotiria, . BUCKLEYA. Buckleya distichophylla, DUTCHMAN'S PIPE. Aristoiochia 7uacropkyila, ERIOGONUM. Eriogofiu7n toinentosuin, PINE-BARREN SANDWORT. Arcnaria Caroliniana, GREAT FLOWERED MAGNOLIA. Magnolia foetida CUSTARD APPLE. Asimina speciosa, LAKE SAPPHIRE. .... CAROLINA ANEMONE. Anemone Caroliniana, LEATHER -FLOWER. Clematis viorna, WILD BLEEDING HEART. Bicuculla eximia, TWO-LEAVED TOOTHWORT. Dcntaria diphylla. yy;^R£A_ IVarea aniplexifolia, TRUMPETS. Sarracenia Drutntnondi, VENUS'S FLY-TRAP. Dioncea muscipula, . WIDOW'S CROSS. Sedum pulchellum, MICHAUX'S SAXIFRAGE. Saxi/raga Michauxii, HAIRY HEUCHERA. Heuchera villosa, DECUNARIA. Decunaria Barbara, ROUGH SYRINGA. Philadelphus hirsutus, DROOPING GOOSEBERRY. Ribes curvatum, FOTHERGILLA. Fothergilla major. PAGE. 86 86 170 facing 172 178 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xiu PLATE. LXX. LXXI. LXXII. LXXIII. LXXIV. LXXV. LXXVI. LXXVII. LXXVIII. LXXIX. LXXX. LXXXI. LXXXII. LXXXlll. LXXXIV. LXXXV. LXXXVI. LXXXVII. LXXXVIII. LXXXIX. XC. XCI. XCII. XCIll. XCIV. XCV. XCVI. XCVII. XCVIM. XCIX. c. CI. Cll. cm. CIV. cv. CVI. evil. CVIII. CIX. ex. CXI. CXII. SWEET GUM. Liquidavibar styracijlua^ Nevitisia Aladamensisy .... CHEROKEE ROSE. ^''•f« Icevigata, . NARROW-LEAVED CRAB-APPLE. Malus angustifolia, POMETTE BLEUE. Cratcegus brachyacantha^ MISS VAIL'S HAW. Cratagus VailicB, Prutius Alabainensis^ ..... Prunus injiicunday ..... LARGE SENSITIVE PLANT. Cassia ChamcBcrista^ WATER LOCUST, deditsia aquatica^ Baptisia J>erfoliata^ ..... LEAD PLANT. Aviorpha virgata^ PRAIRIE CLOVER. Petaiostemon Gattingeri^ AMERICAN WISTARIA. Kraunhia /rutescens, \J\E\N FROM THE PATH UP GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN. BOYNTON'S ROBINIA. Pobitua Boyntoni, . POINTED-LEAVED TICK-TREFOIL. Meibomia grandiflora, Erythrina herbacea, ..... GREAT YELLOW WOOD-SORREL. Oxalis grandis, LIGNUM-VIT/E. Guaiacuvi sanctum^ TOOTHACHE-TREE. XantJioxyluin Clava-Herculis^ TALL PINE-BARREN MILKWORT. Polygala cyvtosa, LARGE FLOWERED MILKWORT. Polygala grandiflora^ ALABAMA CROTON. Croto?t Alabaviensis, TREAD SOFTLY. Jatropha stimitlosa, Ceratiola ericoides, ..... Rhus Michauxi, ...... AMERICAN SMOKE-TREE. Cotinus Cotinoides, SOUTHERN LEATHERWOOD. Cyrilla raceinijlora, BUCKWHEAT TREE. Cli/tonia tnonophylla, YAUPON. Jlex vojftiforia, .... CANBY'S MOUNTAIN LOVER. Pachystima Canbyi, A cer leucodenne^ ..... INDIAN CHERRY. Rhantnus Caroliniana, . p£pp£F{_Vlf>j£_ Ampelopsis arborea^ WHITE BASSWOOD- Tilia heterophylla, . SCARLET HIBISCUS ON ST. JOHN'S RIVER. LOBLOLLY BAY. Gordonia lasianthus^ FRANKLINIA. Gordonia altajuaha^ . ST. JOHN'S-WORT. Hypericum aureujn, . ARROW-LEAVED VIOLET. I'iola sagittata, HALBERD-LEAVED YELLOW VIOLET, ^"iola hastata, PASSION-FLOWER. Passiflora incarnata, PAGE. 231 242 facing 244 247 * * * * * * facing facing:. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE. CXIII. SWAMP LOOSESTRIFE. Decodon verticillatus, . CXIV. MARYLAND MEADOW-BEAUTY. Rhexia Mariana^ CXV. FLOATING JUSSI/EA. Ji^ssicea repens grandiflora. CXVI. FIVE-LEAVED GINSENG. Panax quinquefolium, CXVII. BUTTON SNAKEROOT. Eryngium aquaticutn, CXVIII. CAROLINA BEECH-DROPS. Monotrofisis odorata, CXIX. FLAME AZALEA. Azalea lutea, CXX, PURPLE LAUREL. Rhododendron Cataiubiense^ CXXI. HEMLOCKS AND RHODODENDRONS. CXXII. SAND MYRTLE. Dendriu7n buxi/oliu7n prostratu CXXIII. TAR-FLOWER. Bejaria raceviosa, . CXXIV. EUioitia racemosa, .... CXXV. WICKY. Kabnia cuneaia, CXXVI. HAIRY LAUREL. Kabnia hirsuta, CXXVII. CATESBY'S LEUCOTHOE. Leucothoe Catcsbcei, CXXVIII. MOUNTAIN LEUCOTHOE. Leucothoe recurva CXXIX, BUCKBERRY. Gaylussacia ursina, . CXXX. HAIRY HUCKLEBERRY. Vacciniuvi hirsntum^ CXXXI. SHORTIA. Shortia galaci/olia, CXXXII. GALAX. Galax a/>hylla, ... CXXXIII. LOOSESTRIFE. Lysimachia Frasert, CXXXIV. AMERICAN FEATHERFOIL. Hottonia injlata, CXXKV. WOOLLY BUCKTHORN. Bumelia lanuginosa^ CXXXVI. FOUR-WINGED SNOWDROP TREE. Mohrodendron Carolinum CXXXVII. STACK ROCK. ..... CXXXVIII, LARGE-LEAVED STORAX. Siorax grandi/olia, CXXXIX. GREEN ASH. Fraxi?ius lanceolata, . CXL. YELLOW JESSAMINE. Gelsemium sempervirens, CXLI. ELLIOTT'S SABBATIA. Sabbatia Ellioitii, CXLII. BOYKIN'S MARSH PINK. Sabbatia Boykinii, CXLIII. STIFF GENTIAN. Gentiana guinguejlora, . CXLIV. FLOATING-HEART. Limnanthernum aquaticum^ CXLV. Anisonia angusti/olia, .... CXLVI. WHITE MILKWEED. Asclepias variegata, . CXLVII. C/ESAR'S HEAD. .... CXLVIII. RAVEN-FOOTED GILIA. Gilia rubra, CXLIX. Scutellaria vtontana, .... CL. NARROW-LEAVED SAGE. Salvia azurea, . CLI, HORSE-NETTLE. Solanuiti Carolinense, CLII. FROM THE SUMMIT OF SATULA MOUNTAIN. CLIII. LARGE PURPLE GERARDIA. Gerardia purpurea, CLIV. SCARLET PAINTED-CUP. Castilleja coccinea, CLV. YELLOW PINGUICULA, Pinguecula lutea, . PAGE. 355 . 357 360 . 365 368 • 377 Front isp iece. 380 facing 382 383 * * * 384 385 . 387 . 388 . 390 392 • 397 399 * * * 402 • 403 408 • 410 . 413 . 417 facing 418 . 418 . 420 * * * 424 . 426 * * * 426 • 429 432 . 434 436 facing 438 * * * 442 . 451 • 454 . 459 facing 462 466 * * * 466 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XV PLATE. CLVI, TRUMPET VINE AND COTTON FIELD. CLVII. THYME-LEAVED BLUETS. Houstotiia serpyllifolia, CLVIII. GEORGIA BARK. Pinckneya pubens, . CLXIX. HONEYSUCKLE. Diervilla sessilifolia, CLX. GLANDULAR LOBELIA. Lobelia glatididosa, CLXI. GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN. • CLXII. CYNTHIA. Adopogon Virginzcum, . CLXIII. RATTLESNAKE-WEED. Hieracium venosum, CLXIV. BLUE STOKESIA. Stokesia lril. trunk slender. feet. ivard to Texas. Bark: orange-brown, separating into thin scaly plates. Leaves: ten to fifteen inches long; dark bluish green ; growing closely in bunches of three, and forming tliick tufts at the ends of the branches ; sheaths from one to one and a quarter inches long; slender; flexible. Cones: six to ten inches long; light brown ; cylindrical. Scales : thick, with small, blunt spines at their ends, and at maturity spreading at right angles to the axis. This remarkable tree of the lower district is well known throughout its localit\^ Indeed, its beauty when young, and the horizontal spread of its great branches, would make it a notable figure in any landscape. Its very long leaves also, tufted as they are at the ends of the branches, produce a soft plume-like and startling effect when stirred by a strong breeze. Every year an abundance of these leaves is shed by the tree and from their fibre a certain sort of matting is made as well as a material for bags which are used to cover cotton bales. In fact, the fibre of these pine needles is in 6 THE PINE FAMILY. some places known as an excellent disinfectant and native surgeons make use of it when dressing wounds. And in the field of vital usefulness this tree is more prominent than any other one of the pitch pines, as it is also the most beautiful. There is very little sap-wood in its timber and the re- sinous matter is well distributed. Besides, therefore, having its timber used for various constructions, it supplies the greater part of our turpentine, tar and pitch. The tree is, however, greatly effected by the quality of the soil in which it grows and becomes, in very rich mould, considerably less resinous. In passing along on the railway from North Carolina to Florida, acres and acres are to be seen covered with this tree. But there the greater number of individuals have lost their beauty through the process of boxing, which is employed to obtain their products, and often but a tuft of green at their summits proclaims that they are still alive. A melancholy, solemn air pervades these gaunt creatures so mercilessly given over to commerce. It is only lightened by the beauty of many soft young ones cropping up through their midst. P. TcBda, old field, or loblolly pine, grows up, as one of its common names implies, in old fields and clearings and although it affords considerable turpentine it is not much worked. The wood, on account of its coarse grain, is usually sawed into large pieces. From Texas and Florida it occurs, in dry or moist soil, northeastward to New Jersey and is very common in North Carolina. It is a large, rugged tree, often one hundred and fifty feet high, and bears its leaves, which are from six to eight inches long, in groups of three. They are tine and flexible and highly coloured. The young cones when growing at the base of the new growth look as though their scales were unevenly set and very sharp-pointed. In fact, as long as they remain closed they present something of this appearance. But when the scales are let widely loose, that the seeds may escape, they are extremely pretty and are tipped with a soft fawn colour. By many this tree is known as the frankincense pine, and when growing in swampy ground, the North Car- olina woodsmen call it rosemary pine. P. Strobus, white pine or Weymouth pine, a marked and well known figure among our silva, can be distinguished from the often grotesque pitch pines by the graceful growth of its great whorled branches ; the smooth bark clothing the young trunks ; and by the fact that its leaves, with their soft, silky sheen, grow five in a group. They are three-sided and quite rough along their margins. This white bloom which covers their un- der surfaces produces as they are waved upward by the wind swift and en- chanting changes of light against masses of bluish green. The resinous cones are slender, cylindrical and slightly curved. Their scales are thin, \ THE PINE FAMILY. 7 broad and rounded at their apices. Undoubtedly the tree is among our most beautiful ones and is well known from Georgia to Manitoba. In 1705 it was planted by Lord Weymouth on his grounds at Chelsea, in England, and soon became known under his name as one of the first American trees which throve well in Europe, although there a good deal of damage is wreaked upon its young leaves and bark by the nibbling of deer. Throughout New England and Canada its timber is largely used for various purposes, but in those localities, as in Michigan it has been, through the un- remitigating stride of the axe, considerably exhausted. New tracts of it, however, are being opened up southward. In Mitchell County, N. C, and extending into adjoining territory, there has lately been purchased a tract containing 210,000,000 feet, the largest forest of this noble tree in the south. The contract under which it was sold demanded that the land should be cleared within ten years. It is therefore being steadily felled. One day when near enough their neighbourhood for the people to be willing to relate stories concerning these trees, Mrs. Rowan and I had rather anamusingexperience. Although previously warned against its perversity and danger we were to ride from Cranberry to Montezuma on the little railway originally constructed to carry out the lumber, and the charter of which compelled it to carry a passenger coach. We had so determined on account of the superb scenery through which it was reputed to pass. As best we could, therefore, having come on from Roan mountain, we spent the morning at Cranberry waiting for the train to be ready. It was to start at one o'clock. That hour then found us in our places. The engine gave its farewell salute. We were fairly off and had run up to a high ridge, when the train stopped. In such a place there were surely no passengers to take on, nor had we broken down. A wire had simply caught us, the conductor explained, stating that the car was to be held for the train from Johnston City which carried the all powerful person of the road's super- intendent. " How long shall we be detained ? ''we asked meekly. "W-aal, till 'bout five or six o'clock, providin' she's not late," the cor., ductor answered. This appalling piece of information and the prospect of sitting in that dismal place for so long a time kindled us with a mighty indignation. " Can nothing be done ? " we asked, and were told " I reckon you-uns kin sit thar."' Leaving the train with the languid protestation ringing in our ears. " Ef y'll believe me, you-uns kin go down thar, but 'twon't do you'uns no good," we made as quickly as possible for the ticket office. Here, fortunately, sat a man of sense, who, when we informed him that the train should go on 8 THE PINE FAMILY. even if we had to push it ourselves, realised that the case was desperate. In a few minutes he liad telegraphed to the superintendent at Johnston City, taken down his answer and turning to us said, not without a shade of grace : " We've got that train to go on for you, ladies." " Let us take the word back," 1 said, grasping at the opportunity for re- venge on the conductor. When again we reached the ridge, it was a long, stiff walk, this personage with the passengers sat complacently on the bank. Perhaps they thought that time was made for slaves. " The train is to go on," I said, handing him the yellow missive. He made an effort, opened wide his eyes, arose and shook out his great frame as he read slowly : "Have Justice run to Montezuma and return for me, (Signed) Hamlin." " That 'ere means to go on," he said with deliberation. " I obey's orders." And on we did go. Slowly we crept over the high trestle work, as the little engine puffed and blew. On every side were mountains and deep gorges. It was a wonderfully beautiful ride. When it was over we were full of regret. BLACK SPRUCE. HE BALSAM. Picea Mariana. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pine. Trunk straight : t,o-<^o-\oo feet. North Carolina March-June, branches drooping. to Canada. Bark: greyish brown; slightly rough. Branc/ilets: greenish wlien young and pubescent. Leaves: seldom over two-thirds of an inch long; dark l)lue-green ; simple; growing thickly all along and on every side of the brown twigs; needle- shaped ; four-sided; curved or straight; rigid. Cones: one-half to one and a half inches long; rich purple, and turning later to reddish brown or tan colour; ovate or ovoid; solitary, and drooping near the ends of the branches; often persistent for many years. Scales: rounded; persistent; thin, with entire or scalloped borders. It is a strange conceit of the mountaineers in the Alleghanies to call this tree the " He Balsam," a name indiscriminately applied by them to both the black spruce and the red spruce, P. riibens, which grows in southern Virginia. And thinking perhaps that it should have a mate of their choosing they call the beautiful silver fir, the " She Balsam.'' The spruces bear, however, on the same tree both staminate and pistillate flowers, a fact per- haps not appreciated when these vernaculor names were bestowed. The general name of " Black Spruce " is in reference to the dark green foliage of the tree which in certain lights appears sombre and black. The species is very variable, some perplexing forms of it being presented. The slender form which occurs in the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia is possibly the individual that Dr. Chapman calls, in his Flora, Picea alba, the Picea Canadensis of later botanists, a tree, however, which is not known PLATE II. CAROLINA HEMLOCK. Tsiiga CaroHuiana. (9) 10 THE PIxNE FAMILY. in the South. When growing in the open Picea Mariana is usually an im- posing spectacle, especially when its boughs extend to the ground. In swamps and bogs, or other moist soil it is found while it attains to its best development in high altitudes. In the northern states the pale red timber of the black spruce is used in ship building. Long ago, also, the Indians taught the Europeans to boil the young twigs with honey and use the extract in a brew which produces spruce beer. CAROLINA HEMLOCK. {Plate II) Tsiiga Ca7'oliniana. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pine. Pyraviidal. ■20-^0 feet. Virginia to northern Georgia. April, iMay. Bark: reddish, or grey; scaly, and becoming more rough and furrowed with age. Twigs: brownish, or grey; pubescent; lower branches, pendulous. Leaves : about one half inch long; scattered along the branchlets; needle-shaped with tiny petioles; blunt at the apex, flat, grooved on the upper side, entire, glabrous above and covered with a white bloom underneath; persistent. Cones : one to one and a half inches long; solitary; drooping at, or near the ends of the branchlets; ovate- oblong. Scales: ovate, rounded at the apex, widely divergent. Wings : long, nar- row. Along the Blue Ridge Mountains in groves and on the sides of the steep ravines, which contribute so much to the rugged effect of their unusual scenery, there is found not infrequently the Carolina hemlock. At Cassar's Head, an outlying and elevated spur in Greenville County, S. C, I first saw it growing. It appeared a most beautiful tree with so full and brilliant a spray that it quickly attracted the attention. T. Ca7iadensis, common hemlock, or spruce pine, attains in the moun- tain ravines to the very fulness of development. Its tall, collumlar trunk, sometimes one hundred feet high, and its wide-spreading, declined branches produce a strong and light, fern-like effect among the other abundant and heavier foliage. The leaves it bears are smaller than those of the preceding species, as are also the scales of its cones. These latter do not diverge very widely when the seeds are ripe and anxious to effect an escape. Both of the hemlocks have a lithe, fine beauty, but as this one grows through the Alleghanies, it attains such splendid proportions and has so dignified an air that it appeared to me to be quite unrivalled by any of the other coniferous trees. Its frequent companion is Magnolia Fraseri. Should, however, two hemlocks of equal size be placed together, the verdict would probably be given to the Carolina one as being the more beautiful. The common hemlock appears to be well known by the mountain people who take some pride in their acquaintance with it. They ascribe to it the merit of revealing the points of the compass by leaning always its top to the east. Few of them could tell me anything concerning the uses of its timber, all declaring that they hadn't "heard on anything." Through their ?!-: PLATE III. SILVER FIR. .-lin-s Fraseri. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PRINTED IN AMERICA THE PINE FAMILV. it region, however, it is true that the trees, although remote and inaccessible, are much sought by lumbermen and tanners. Their timber is very valuable, as its durability is great and it has a strong capacity for holding nails. For framing and in various constructions, it is used, and tannin abounds in the bark in considerable quantities. From Nova Scotia and Quebec the tree grows also westward to Wisconsin and southward to Georgia and Alabama. The oil of hemlock is obtained by the distillation of its twigs. SHE BALSAM, SILVER FIR. FRASER'S BALSAM FIR. {Plate III.) Abies Fj-ase?-/. FAMILY SHAPE Fine. Pyramidal. HEIGHT RANGE ■y:>--]o feet. Vi^-ginia to North Carolina and Tennessee. TIME OF BLOOM May^June. Bark: dark brown ; smooth and marked horizontally with resinous blisters. Leaves : slightly over one half inch long; scattered thickly along the iij^per side of the branches; linear, blunt at the apex, flat, grooved through the middle and ^^.g^-:^ ^>i^ having a raised ridge "-;=;>' on the lower side; ..,-. - ^-'- bright green and lus- trous above ; silvery be- low because covered w i t h a bluish-white bloom; fragrant; ever- green. Cojtes : one to one and a half inches long; erect; oblong, sessile, their scales broad and shorter than the inner bracts which ^ are toothed at their apices and project short, reflexed prickles. This must beautiful of the firs inhabits only the higher mountains of the Alleghanies, sel- dom crowning a peak that has not an altitude of 4,000 feet above the sea level. " She Bal- sam " it is called by the mountaineers, and the extensive forest it forms in proximity to the dark masses of foliage of the " He Balsam," Picea Mariana, has probably been the cause of Mount Mitchell being so generally known as the black mountain. When glowing with its cones in the autumn, which grow often at the tops of the trees, it is a most attractive sight. Surrounding Roan's fair summit as a ring and at the elevation where other abun- r.^f^ 12 THE PINE FAMILY. dant verdure must cease, it, with the rhododendrons, forms a distinctive verdure. Here in its best loved haunt it was a great pleasure to see it grow- ing. On Grandfather Mountain we found it not nearly so abundant nor did it so crown the mountain as it does on Roan, perhaps the most beautiful peak of the Alleghany chain. At a little station called Balsam in N. C. we saw a few of these trees which had been planted, but with that exception their home is on the very high mountains. When leaving Roan Mountain I took with me a great meal bag filled with the foliage of this fir, as I wished for a pillow. And all those that met us on the way down, when seeing it, called out, " no need to tell, you'uns hev' bin up the mountin." The clear and thin liquid, balsam, as it is called, which exudes from the blisters on the trunk and tips of the branches, is regarded as useful by the natives to cure cuts and sores, their natural hardiness aiding them to stand up under its severe application. They also use the wood occasionally for the construction of their cabins and gather its foliage abundantly for pillows. From the ordinary standpoint of commerce it is not thought to be very valuable and in any case its remote habitat would make it inaccessible. BALD CYPRESS. CYPRESS. i^Plate V.) TaxbdiiDH distichum. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pine. Conical ; branches 6o-\'^o feet. Mississippi valley., Gulf April, spreading^. and Coast region io Delaware. Bark : reddish brown ; fissured, scaly and fibrous in age. Branchlets : slender, distichously forked. Z^^^z/^j; light green ; simple; growing closely in two ranks along the branches; half an inch long; needle-shaped; pointed; also occurring awl-shaped and overlapping each other; deciduous. FUnvers : nioncecious; yel- lowish; appearing some time before the leaves. Stamitiate floiuers : growing comjjactly in terminal, drooping panicled s])ike.s. Pistillate ones: growing in small clusters. Co}ies : usually less than one inch in diameter; light brown when ripe; pendulous at, or near the ends of the branches; globular; the several angu- lar scales forming a closed ball until mature. By Dr. Charles Mohr, who has made an exhaustive study of the conifer- ous trees of America, the bald cypress is regarded as being the most won- derful individual of them all ; and considerably over a hundred years ago Bartram wrote of it : " This cypress is in the first order of North American trees. Its majestic stature is surprising. On approaching it we are struck with a kind of awe at beholding the stateliness of its trunk lifting its cum- brous top towards the sJ-:y and casting a wide shadow on the ground as a dark, intervening cloud, which from time to time excludes the rays of the sun. The delicacy of its colour and the texture of its leaves exceed every- thing in vegetation." And so he continues to speak about it enthusiasti- cally. Among its peculiarities it has a ready means of adapting itself to Oil Roan Mountain, t/ie highest human habitation east of the Rockies, the elouds play an important part in inaiis exist- eiice. JJWien they float high and the sky is e/ear, he has a smi/e for every one ; Jie regards the universe as a limitless expanse of moulded heights upon which his position allows him to gaze. But when they take his home for their resting plaee, and en- shroud ajid fall far below the mountain, he scowls upon them as his enemy. They limit his sphere and his vision. His other enemy is the snow. About Christmas time it begins to fall. Then he must retire to his cabin, taking the wood for his fireside and provisions with him even as a squirrel carries nuts to his hole. Cut off^ thus from all communication with the outer world, he has still one green and fragrant friend. It is the beautiful silver fir. To the mountaineer who was to remain in the Cloud Land Hotel over the winter, I said: " Do the people about here love this tree ? " ^'' No, Marm," he answered. " Do they love the flowers / " / then asked. "' No, Mann,'' he said. " Do they use any of the plants to cure illnesses ? " f per- sisted. He shook his head. *' What do they do ? " Tasked. " They lets ''em come and go.''' (IV.) PLATE V. BALD CYPRESS. Tcixodium distichinn, (13) 14 THE PINE FAMILY. the various conditions of atmosphere and soil under which it grows. Its foliage is, in fact, little affected by dryness or an excessive amount of mois- ture, for on the same tree different forms of branches and foliage will sometimes be found to exist, and these are capable of either aiding or pre- venting the escape of moisture. There are on the distichously-spreading branchlets leaves which are linear-lanceolate and flat and which favour the escape of moisture. While on the very fine, pendulous or erect branch- lets there are tiny closely-appressed leaves whose mission is just the reverse. The much discussed feature about the tree, however, is the way in which its base is buttressed by great, hollow structures which spring from its roots and are commonly known as " knees.'' When the tree grows in water they are always produced, and in this case they grow high enough to emerge. Sometimes a hundred of them form under the water a great labyrinth which only becomes apparent when the swamp is drained. Should the tree inhabit moist soil they are less conspicuous and often when it occurs in dry soil they arise not at all above the surface of the ground. In the long ago, St. Pierre, in his innocence, put forth the idea that these knees were especially designed to protect the tree against icebergs. But now when the light of a later science has shone upon them, it is thought that they serve it mechanically, by anchoring it with a herculean grasp in an uncertain, yielding soil and by aiding it to resist heavy gales and storms. To gain even greater strength they often wrap themselves, as does a vine, about other forms of growth. The opinion is also held that these knees are of physiological service to the tree in acting as organs of aeration, — that is in facilitating the process of assimilation and thus furthering its nutrition and well being. As a land-builder the tree is one of the greatest, and does this service through a part of the country where swamps and long moss are the principal features of the landscape. Its interlocked roots and knees give support to many sub-aquatic plants which are anxious to grow while they, in their turn, as they die down each year, add deposits of dried leaves which contribute in bringing the marsh to the level of other land. In Louisiana and the Gulf states the cypress wood is sought for all such purposes as interior finish, the panellings of doors, sashes, and for the large j | tanks used in factories. It is especially desirable for the making of shingles, which are said to last upwards of forty years. By lumbermen, the black, white, red, yellow and variegated wood is recognised. From the outward appearance of the tree, however, it is impossible to tell which sort it will yield, although the young trees nearly always produce white wood. Formerly the Indians of Mississippi made their canoes from the tree's hollow trunk. PLATE VI. SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. Chamcccyparis thyoides. (15) i6 THE PINE FAMILY. ■« SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. {Plate VI.) Chamcecy Paris tJiy aides. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Fine. Spire-like ; l>rtinckes 30-90 /tv^. Florida atid M ississippi Aprils May. horizontal. to Maine. Bark : light reddish Ijrown ; very fibrous ; separating into loose scales. Bramh- lets : brown ; their thin bark also separating. Leaves : tiny ; simple ; ovate and awl-shaped; overlapping each other like scales and growing closely together in rows of four, up and down the branchlets. Dull brownish or blue-green ; glaucous. Floivers : monoecious, growing in few flowered terminal aments. Cones : hardly one half an inch wide; globose; sessile on leafy branches ; purplish at maturity; glaucous, and opening to\vards the centre when ripe, not towards the base. Scales : thick; several-pointed and as though fastened at their centres. Seec/s: one or more under each fertile scale ; oval ; winged at the sides. It would seem as though among non-botanists, there were some slight difficulty extant about the distinguishing of this tree from the arbor vita^, the two are so often mistaken, the one for the other. This could hardly be said of the careful observer, and especially when the fruits of the trees are beginning to mature. That of our plant is a round, drupe-like cone, bluish purple, covered densely with a bloom and which turns at maturity to dark, reddish brown. It is always quite different in shape and aspect from the ovate, tan-coloured product of the arbor vitas. In leafage also the trees are dissimilar, the branchlets of this one being quite without the peculiar flatness which characterises the other. In the south, our tree is mostly hidden away in swamps where its life is best known and of the most import to lumbermen. The wood of Chamsecyparis thyoides is valuable and adaptable for many purposes. Its aromatic, pungent odour, among other things, makes it prized by the people for buckets or casques, as the water they hold par- takes somewhat of its flavour. Oils also are well preserved in vessels made of this wood. From the young stalks a considerable amount of char- coal for gun powder is procured. ARBOR VIT/E. WHITE CEDAR. Thiija occidentalis. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pine. Conical: brandies io-(i^feet. Virginia ami JV. Carolina April, May. pendulous. to Hudson Bay. Bark: greyish brown; tinged with orange or red, and separated into narrow, deciduous strips. Leaves: simple; o'pposite ; blunt; scale-like and overlajiping each other as they grow closely together on branchlets that are very flat. Bright green; aromatic; especially so when bruised. LYowers : monoecious, terminal.. Cones: tiny ; yellowish brown when mature, glaucous when young; ovate; nodding .THE PINE FAMILY. 17 and opening to the base when ripe. ScaL's : six to ten ; oblong ; without points ; smooth. Scrc/s : one or two, with thin broad wings notched at the apex. While always a tree of distinct and beautiful habit, the arbor vitie does not attain in the south the ample proportions, nor grow as abundantly, as it does northward. In fact, along the mountainous streams of the Alleghanies, where, however, it is only found at high elevations, it is a rather small tree. Perhaps there is none other which in formal gardening has been so great a favourite, and as a result of its constant subjection to cultivation many ex- traordinary varieties are being produced. Besides being used for one of the most compact and lively coloured hedges, the plant is sometimes chosen to cut into fantastic shapes, a hideous fashion, which, however, calls forth a certain amount of wonder, especially if, as one I recently saw, the outline is in imitation of a peacock. As a tree necessary to everyday welfare the arbor vit^e was long known to the Canadian Indians who used it in the construction of their canoes and partly made their baskets from its thick layers of sapwood. The wood is fragrant and in colour a pale, yellowish brown. With the fresh branches brooms are made and a tincture is procured from the young growth through a process known to the " yarb doctors." Another of its benefits is its power of curing warts. FLORIDA PENCIL CEDAR. (F/a/e VII.) Juniperus barbadcnsis. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT . RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pine. Conic, irregular \^-\ofcet Florida to Mississippi Aftil, May. when old. or more. and Texas. Bark: reddish brown, and separating into long shreds. Inner bark : smooth, polished. Branches: greyish; rather smooth. Leaves: tiny; simple ; opposite ; sessile; scale-like, ovate, ]K)inted at the a])ex and overlapping each other as they grow along the four-sided, slender branchlets ; evergreen. F/owers : dioecious ; growing in aments. Cones : fleshy ; berry-like ; blue ; short peduncled, globular, or slightly ovate. It has now been finally settled by American botanists after a long strug- gle that this beautiful plant is a distinct species ; most text books having formerly referred it to the red cedar, [ini/pt-nis J^/ri^/;u\nia. It is found usually near tlie coast and is extremely attractive when its misty tinted, berry-like cones are sprinkled among the soft, sage-green of its foliage. They are somewhat srnaller and inclined to be more ovate than the fruit of the common species. The little branchlets are particularly slender and pli- able. To see the inflorescence of the tree a magnifying power of one hundred degrees is required. For a long time the wood of this tree has been held in the highest esteem i8 THE PINE FAMILY. for making pencils. It is softer and finer than that produced by other species ; but so nearly exhausted has it been for this purpose that man- ufacturers now have to content themselves with the still steady supply of Juniperus Virginiana. J. Virginiana, red cedar, or savin, has perhaps the happiest knack of versatility of all the trees and occurs in various forms from a low shrub to a tree, often one hundred feet high. Throughout North America it is more widely distributed than any other coniferous one, accommodating itself readily to every condition of soil. In Kentucky and Tennessee on the lime- stone hills it forms the " cedar brakes," and grows also luxuriously in swamps and lowlands of the Gulf States. In general appearance its leaves are like those of Juniperus barbadensis. They are ovate, scale-like and grow opposite in pairs, or in rows along the slightly four-sided branchlets. Only when the tree is very young are these leaves needle-shaped and spread out from the then rounded twigs. During the winter they lose their bluish glaucous look and become considerably darker. The drupes sit jauntily on their short peduncle-like branchlets and are produced very abundantly. They appear to be a soft, pastel shade of blue, a tint occasioned by the bloom with which they are covered. The fragrant, bright red wood of the tree is valuable, as it does not decay, and is much used for closets and chests, being objectionable to moths. It is, however, most closely associated with the making of lead pencils. In fact, it is a matter already under consideration to know which tree will step into the breach when its abundant supply shall have been exhausted. From the waste material which occurs in making these pencils a paper is manufactured. It is used under carpets, and quite as extensively for wrapping up furs, for its pungent odour is reputed to keep out moths. By the distillation of the tree tops a volatile oil is obtained known as that of the red cedar. /. nana, low juniper, is also a very widely distributed shrub of the United States and is well known as an inhabitant of Europe. Possibly its specific name will eventually give way to that of Sibirica, an earlier publication, when the plants are better represented in herbaria from their extreme ranges. It is at best a low, sprawling shrub frequenting high mountain tops in the south. Its lanceolate-linear leaves grow in whorls of three and densely clothe the branchlets. They are stout and rigid and as sharply pointed as needles. On their upper sides they are bright green and glaucous and emit when dried a strong fragrance. The berry-like cones are sessile and larger than those of the preceding species. There is something very invigourating and fresh in the aspect of this plant, especially when it grows in its irregular way over the ground. For a long time the North American Indians have used PLATE VII. FLORIDA PENCIL CEDAR. Jiinipcnis barbadensis. (19) THE PINE FAMILY. it and the common juniper medicinally, and it is still a prac tice to flavour gin with its sweet aromatic fruit. On the junipers busy little basket carriers are sometimes seen constructing- their lodgements for the winter ; these they skilfully devise of the material abundantly at hand. THE YEW FAMILY Ta. xacccE. Represented in our range by two species of evergreen trees or shrubs with linear ieai'es, dia'cious, axillary flowers^ and driipe-iiJ^e.Jieshy fruit. TORREY TREE. STINKING CEDAR. {PIa:e VIII.) Tunnon Taxifoliuni. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Yew. />' pendulous. n/u's 10-40 ylY/. U'cstfrn Florida. March. Fruit: S./'t. Bark: l^rownish ^[I'ey and tinged with orange; rough. IVood: lemon-yellow, satiny. Sap7uood: lighter coloured. BraucJilets: olive-green. Leaves: often one and a half inches long; growing two-ranked along the branches; sessile, or with very short ])etioles; linear; sharply and rigidly pointed at the apex and rounded at the base; bright olive-green and lustrous above and having parallel grooves underneath on either side of the midvein; resinous. Staininate flinvers : growing along the branches in short compact clusters and having bracts at their bases. ri.'itillatc fltnocrs: few; solitary, nearly sessile and at the base covered with ini- PLATE VUI. TORREY-TREE. Tuinwii Taxijolium. (21) 22 THE YEW FAMILY. bricated scales. Drupe: a1)out an inch and a quarter long; obovate; purple, witli edible, oily seed. An old settler of confirmed habits is this rare tree which seems to cling, as a last refuge, to the dry, calcareous soil of western Florida in the region of the Chattahoochie river. Here amid a llora of extreme interest it may be looked upon as the type of its genus ; for only widely apart in the forests of western California and in China and Japan can it claim any connections. About its foliage and branches there is an aromatic, foetid odour which first caused the natives to christen it by the name of stinking cedar ; but since they have learned to associate it with John Torrey, and known that many eminent men have travelled to so distant a region to see it, their respect for it has increased and they now more frequently speak of it as the Torrey-tree. Its beautiful wood is hard and strong, much desired in cabinet work and furnishes for fence posts an indestructible material. YEW. Tdxtis Fhrtdana. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Yew. Spreading, bushy. xo-2^ feet. Western Florida. March, April. Fruit: Oct. Bark: purplish brown, smooth. Leaves : one half to three quarters of an inch long* growing along the l^ranches and spreading as though two-ranked; narrowly- linear, short petioled, pointed at the apex and narrowed or rounded at the base; flat" dark green, the upper side lustrous and having as the lower side a raised ridge running through the middle; thin, persistent in drying, not resinous. Stam- inate flo-ivers : growing in globose clusters. Pistillate ones: soWtdivy. Fruit: red, drupe like and enclosing one seed. Growing with Tiimion Taxifoliitm in its restricted district is also found this rare tree which elsewhere is not known. In connection with its fruit a curious incident may be of interest. Not until 1895 ^'^'^ '^^ collected in a ripe state, and then it was only done through the persistence of Dr. Charles Mohr. Even the natives had never noticed that the tree bore fruit, although this is not altogether unusual, for over and over again they will be found to be indifferent to the phenomena about them. At first Dr. Mohr examined the staminate trees, and then turning to one that was pistillate was well nigh discouraged to find upon a superficial glance that it appeared to be equally barren. When he finally, however, lifted up the branchlets, the secret was revealed, for on their under sides, completely hidden from the public gaze the fruit grew in relative abundance. THE WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY. 23 THE WATER PLANTAIN FAMILY. Alis7nacecE. Belonging to this group arc mostly tuater plants with fibrous roots and scape-like, smooth stems. 7 heir lo?ig petioled leaves arise from the base where they are sheathed about the scape. The flowers are perfect, monoecious or dioecious, generally S7nall a fid produced in racemes or pan- icles. WATER PLANTAIN. Alisma plant ago-aqudtica. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Water-Plantain. Rose-ivhite or white. Scentiess. General. Jutte-Septeviber. Flowers: small ; numerous ; growing loosely in a whorled panicle on a scape from six inches to two and a half feet high, and having small, linear bracts at the bases of their pedicels. Calyx: with three persistent sepals. Corolla : with three deciduous petals. Stamens: six. /'/.f///j ; numerous, in a single whorl. Leaves: long, oval, abruptly pointed at the apex and narrowed, or cordate at the base ; en- tire ; thin. Growing in mud or shallow water, this tall and rather unattractive plant is a familiar sight. Its leaves closely resemble those of the common door- yard plantain, which fact, in connection with its loose spray of tiny flushed flowers, makes it readily recognised. The rhizomes have been collected and eaten as articles of food by a number of tribes of North American Indians. LANCE-LEAVED 5AGITTARIA. {Plate IX.) Sagittaria lancifblia. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM IVater-piantain. IVhite. Faintly fragrant. Texas and Florida to Delaware. June-September. Flo7vers: both staminate and pistillate ones growing in whorls of three, or the top ones scattered, and borne on smooth, erect scapes, at times three feet high, the staminate flowers being uppermost. Pedicels: slender, smooth, with ovate bracts at their bases. Calyx: with three ovate, persistent sepals. Corolla: with three white, rounded and early falling petals. Stamens : numerous on the convex re- ceptacle ; filaments, pubescent, with a cobweb-like substance. Pistils: numerous. Achenes : forming a globose head. Leaves : from the base, lanceolate, or oblong- lanceolate ; ])ointed at both ends and tapering at the base into a jietiole sometimes two and a half or three feet high; parallel-veined, entire, glabrous, 11 Uf/ .,f PLATE IX. LANCE-LEAVED SAGITTARIA. SagitUiiui Jaiitifolia. THE WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY. 25 Often we saw these most exquisite blossoms fairly transforming the swamps along the St. John's River into white masses as soft and fleecy as clouds. And there the plants grew to so great a size that the old story of carrying an axe about to chop down the southern tlora was constantly in our minds. Many of the blossoms were fully an inch and a half across, and the petals displayed, as tliey unfolded, a daintily crinkled outline. So large were the leaves, and their great petiole so formidable that although we had bent the strength of' an Amazon to taking up one of the plants, we had afterwards some doubt as to knowing what to do with it. Never before had we seen the species growing to such a size. It appeared calm and upright, placid even beside a slumbering alligator. Although nowhere very common these water plants are readily known by their manner of growth and are among the most graceful of those that deck the muddy ditches or swamps. S. longirostra, long-beaked arrow-head, which is so called from the stout beak which terminates the achenes, has a range extending from Alabama to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Its sagittate leaves are noticeably broad, often measuring four and a half inches or more across their widest part. At their apices they are rounded to an abrupt point while the basal lobes are long and ovate-lanceolate in outline. The flowers closely resemble those of the preceding species. There is, however, no cobweb-like pubescence on their filaments. 5. hit if alia, broad-leaved arrow-head, is perhaps the most generally dis- tributed species that we have, and is mostly a gay inhabitant of ditches. It bears sagittate leaves, very variable, however, in shape and size. On the receptacle the numerous ovules are noticed to be arranged in a spiral fashion. 5. pialypJijlla, ovate-leaved sagittaria, inhabits places with shallow water from Mississippi and Texas to southern Missouri. Its leaves, which are generally ovate, occur also oblong and ovate-lanceolate and seldom measure more than six inches in length. In fruit, the fertile pedicels become reflexed. 5. MoJu'ii has its scape crowned with dainty flowers which appear to be less overshadowed with foliage than do many of the species, for in outline, the leaves are very slender, almost linear. It may be found growing about ponds and ditches in southern Alabama, where a few years ago it was dis- covered by Dr. Charles Mohr, and afterwards described and named for him by Mr. J. G. Smith. S. subuldta nataiis, arrow-grass, is a submerged plant with floating leaves, and a very different appearing one than the larger species which have already been mentioned. It is often fully grown and in bloom when but a few inches high, depending on the depth of the water, and at its best seldom attains over three feet. In either case, however, the amateur can readily 26 THE WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY, know from the arrangement of its flowers that it belongs to this genus. Its leaves are grass-like, mostly blunt at their apices and appear not dissimilar to many a little clump of grass which is seen about the brackish waters of Florida. '. .^ ^^- THE PALM FAMILY. A distinctive group, composed of trees and shrubs 7vith a woody ste?n or caudex, as it is called, and fan-shaped or pinnately-divided foliage the groivth of which is continued by means of a terminal bud. The flowers are very small and produced on a sort of spray, called a spadix. Occurring through our range there are besides the native palms two exotic species which to many have become very familiar, the cocoanut, Cocas nucifera and the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera. CABBAGE TREE, CABBAGE PALMETTO. Sabal Pahnetto. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Palm. Upright. •2o-i,o/eet. Florida to North Carolina. June. Fruit : Oct. Stem : endogenous, erect. Leaves : from five to eight feet long, alternate ; with Jong, smooth petioles which are sheathed at their bases with dry fibres ; fan-shaped, THE PALM FAMIL\ pinnatificl, the narrowed divisions deeply two cleft at their apices and recurved near the sunnnit. Sinuses: with thread-like fibres which have parted from the pale margins; thick; lustrous; bright green. Spadix : two to two and a half feet long, branched. Flowers: whitish, perfect; very small; growing in the axils of early falling bracts. G;/j;f ; cup-shaped; unequally three-lobed. Petals: three, slightly united at their bases. Stavietis : six. Drupe: globose; black; lustrous.' " High-towering palms that part the southern flood, With shadowy isles and continents of wood." This majestic palm, with its tall trunk and luxuriously tufted mass of fan- shaped leaves at the summit, is very different in appearance from the trees with which we are mostly familiar. It is in truth a coastal beau- ty, and its presence changes completely the sylvan character of a scene from that o country where it is not known. To the people of its section its use- fulness is very great. By the negroes and na- tive whites alike, its terminal bud, which they call the"cabbage." is regarded as a great luxury. They think little indeed of sacrific- ing the tree when their appetites are in ques- tion ; for always the growth of the young and healthful ones is chosen. When we prepared this delicacy " - r \- is similar in flavour - to that of artichokes and IS really extremely palatable. Even pickles are made from these buds. But more than m any other way the trees are pillaged to supply the bristles of scrubbmg brushes. About a foot of the young, imbricated leaf stalks, the bud in reality, is cut off, and sent to factories that use them in large 28 THE PALM FAMILY. quantities. To this suppression of its growth, the tree must In time naturally succumb. Its trunks are desirable for wharf-piles as they are not eaten by sea worms. Polished cross sections of the stem also are made into small ornamental table tops while canes as well are cut from the wood. It is now a matter of history that on June 28th, 1776, a small force of less than a hundred Carolinians under command of Moultrie, repulsed successfully an attack of the British fleet commanded by Sir Peter Parker. They were on Sullivan's Island in the habour of Charleston behind a primi- tive fortification made of palmetto trunks. Through this wood a ball can only pass with difficulty, its resistance being very like that of cork, and the perforation it makes in entering closes very shortly. Then the wood is not subject to splitting. This victory is commemorated by the state seal of South Carolina. An erect palm tree represents the strength of the forti- fication, while a prostrate oak typifies the British fleet of oak timber. S. glabra, dwarf sabal, or swamp palmetto, bears from its short, buried stem very large, glaucous leaves. To their rounded bases the numerous narrow divisions nearly extend, while at their summits they are slightly two-cleft. Their margins are thick and divide but sparingly into threadlike filaments. The petioles are stout, triangular and rounded on the lower surface. Very abundantly the black, lustrous drupes are produced in their long clusters and each one contains a round, depressed seed. In woods of the lower districts, especially near Jacksonville, and occurring northward to the Carolinas it may be sought for among the palms. SAW PALMETTO. SCRUB PALHETTO. {Plate X) Serenoa scrrulata. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Palm. Spreading; dense. 3-4/'-''^. Florida to South Carolina. May., June. Fruit: A ug. Stem : creeping. l)ranching, shrubby. Leaves: large, their petioles with pointed saw-like teeth along their margins ; circular; fan-shajied, square or wedge-shapetl at the base and divided into numerous slightly two-cleft divisions, bright green. Sinuses: without filaments. Spadix : shorter than the leaves, densely tomentose. Petals: three, small. Staweiis : six. Drupe: black; ovoid-oblong. All through swampy places in its natural habitat, sometimes covering acres where grows the long leaved pine, or jostling side by side along sandy shores with tall grasses and wild flowers, this low and spreading palm is as distinctive a feature of the undergrowth as is the palmetto of arborescent- life. And on the Floridan keys wdiere the landscape shows no mountains or ravines, no fast-flowing streams or graceful valleys, great clumps of it are tossed backwards by the breeze, or the leaves rest motionless in the humid air. PLATE X. SAW PALMETTO, sv™. , •■ / . ffl li 30 THE PALM FAMILY. By the people its roots are appreciated, perhaps, more than its beauty, for they make them into brushes and weave their coarse, stiff fibre into sacking when they have washed out the softer tissues. Again they boil them down and drink the liquid as a medicine. The berries are consid- erably eaten, and besides being very tasteful they are said to be fattening. 5. arborescens thrives in the margins of swamps which, in southwestern Florida, follow the course of the Chockoloskee river. Inhabit it is arbores- cent, often becoming thirty and forty feet high, and producing one or more stems. Its flowers are minute. They and also the small fruit grow in a spadix considerably more elongated than that of the preceding species. Oxeodbxa r€gia,\.\\^ royal palm, appears to be one of nature's miracles as, at the great height of eighty or one hundred feet, its large leaves are seen moving ceaselessly in the air. Often they measure fifteen feet long and have a grace hardly conceivable by those who have not seen them. They are closely and pinnately divided into narrowly-linear segments which from their bases taper gradually to a pointed apex. Conspicuously veined, and of a dark, brilliant green it is the more noticeable that on their under sides they are covered with small, pale -coloured dots. In Florida, where for one place the royal palm grows about Rogue's River, the spadix opens its bloom in January and February. In fruit, it is even a more attractive sight as the violet blue berries are quite ornamental. The wood of the trunk's interior is spongy and of no great value ; but the outer rim is beautifully marked and made extensively into the canes which tourists buy as souvenirs. Pseiidophcetiix Sargent i is the name of the rare palm which is found at the east end of Elliott's key, and also on Key Largo, Florida, and about which Mr. Curtis has written : " On account of the small number of these trees and the precarious condition under which they grow, they might have disap- peared wholly from the world but for their timely discovery by Professor Sargent." They are usually from twenty to twenty-five feet high with large, erect leaves which are abruptly pinnatifid. The spadix is often quite three feet long and bears very showy fruit. Thrinax Floridana at its best grows to a height of about thirty feet, and its trunk, with bluish grey covering, is generally decorated with the persis- tent bases of the petioles. The nearly circular leaves are bright yellow- green, shiny above and on the lower side silvery white. The tips of the petioles are orange coloured while the lower down become thick and tomen- tose. By the long, branching spadix ivory-white and fragrant flowers are abundantly produced. They come forth in June although the tree some- limes blossoms again in October or November. About six months later the fruit ripens. The plant grows on sandy shores and coral ridges and has THE PALi\[ FAMILV. ., been reported from Cape Romano to Cape Sabal and from Torch Key lo Long Key. T. microcaypa, silver-top palmetto, or brittle tliatch, is of similar size to the preceding tree and is more frequently seen than any other palm on the keys of south Florida. It there inhabits dry, coral soil. Its great leaves, with their quadrangular petioles with rounded edges, are from two to three feet across and are covered underneath, at least when young, with a bluish white tomentum. Above they are pale green. To below their middle they are split into narrow divisions considerably thickened at their man-ins. In April the spadix gracefully spreads its bloom. The fruit, the size of which has suggested the tree's specific name, ripens in the late autumn or early winter. It is round and projects a short remnant of the style. From the trees' trunks, which are covered with a pale blue rind, wharf piles are obtained, while its thick, coriaceous leaves thatch many a humble roof. They are also made into a coarse sort of rope. Coccothrinax jitcunda, also an inhabitant of dry, coral ridges, occurs along the shores of Bay Biscayne and on the southern Keys of Florida. It becomes a tree of from fifteen to twenty-five feet high. Its large nearly circular leaves are lightly tinted on the margins, lustrous above, either pale blue or yellowish green, while underneath they are silvery white. The spadix attains in flower a length often of two feet, and the tree is then, as when in fruit and at all times, a splendid sight. Its seeds are brown or of a tawny colour. C. Garberi appears to be a diminutive representation of the above and grows on coral ridges near the shores of Bay Biscayne. It is a stemless plant, delicate in growth and extremely pretty. The segments of the com- paratively small leaves are about one half an inch broad and divided to their bases. Much of the charm of the plant lies in the silvery satin-like texture of the undersides of its foliage. BLUE PALMETTO. RhaphidophylluDi Hystrix. FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM FiiIdi. Shrubby. -^-6 feet. Florida to South Carolina. June.Jniy. Stem: short, two to three feet long, creeping or upright. Leaves : orbicular, fan- shaped with triangular petioles, rough on their edges, and persistent net-like sheaths, the numerous divisions two to four toothed at their apices, slightly glau- cous. Spathes : t\vo-lip]jed, woolly. Spadix: from six inches to one foot long, short peduncled. Petals : yellowish, ovoid. Through its range many natives know this palm and familiarly speak of it as the blue palmetto. Perhaps it is more a sensibility than anything else which makes them realise that it is different from others of the genus, for few, it is safe to say, know its botanical peculiarities. 32 THE ARUM FAMILY. THE ARUM FAMILY. A racec€. Herbs 7vJiich usually contain an aa-iJ, watery juice and bear their flowers closely on a spadix usually wrapped about by a spatlie. Spadix densely floivered ; the flowers cither perfect, monoecious or dioecious. When both sorts of flowers occur in the same spike the pistillate ones are arranged belozv the staminate ones. The long pet ioled leaves, either simple or compound, are both netted and parallel veified., Rootstock: a corm or tuber. " I don't keer nuthin' 'bout yarbs," said an old mountaineer, " but when I sees one, I kin tell whar it be." Perhaps we should all be so fortunate if the various plant families helped us along as well as do the arums. The golden-club, Orontium aquaticum^ is looked upon quite as an exception to the family custom as it has no screen for its domesticity, that is, excepting in very early days when a spathe does enclose and protect from harm the young spadix. Soon, however, it falls away, or remains as a sheathing bract- at the base. At maturity traces of it are seldom seen. The golden club, however, belongs to a monotypic genus, and little doubt as to its identity can enter the mind when its simple spadix is seen, crowded with small golden flowers, and its oblong, pointed leaves, which either float on the water, or occasionally protrude. It occurs mostly near the coast from Louisiana and Florida to Massachusetts, ascending as high as 2,200 feet in the moun- tains of West North Carolina. The skunk cabbage, Spathyhna fcetida, also a celebrated individual, is much lauded, in spite of its unattractiveness, for being one of the earliest spring bloomers. Instead, however, of regarding it as leader of the gay spring pageant, we might with justice look upon it as a winter visitor, for it usually pushes itself through the soil in February, Then down in the swamps its great mottled, purplish brown and yellow cowl is well known. At an early day insects find it out, and that their coming is expected is proved by the webs which spiders weave within the hoods. It is not un- usual to tear them asunder when opening the spathes. Later than the flowers the leaves appear ; sometimes they reach three feet in length, and grow in great tufted crowns. From a distance they appear to have carpeted the marshy ground with apple -green. Peltatidra sagittcefblia, white arrow-arum, is an inhabitant of wet places and occurs from Florida to Southern Virginia. Its white spathe, three or four inches long, is open or expanded towards the summit where it tapers PLATE XI. GREEN DRAGON. Aris.rmj Drjcoiiliuin. (33) 34 THE ARUM FAMILY. to a point. The spadix is much shorter. The leaves are sagittate, quite broad, with basal lobes that diverge widely. But a glance at this humble plant is enough to recall its relatives, the cultivated calla lily and the quaint water arum, Calla palustris, of, however, a more northern range. P. Virginica, %\Q.(t\\ arrow-arum, another bog herb, has sagittate leaves which, however, are much narrower than those of the preceding species. The spathe also is very distinctive, being green, long, and very closely wrapped about the whole length of the shorter spadix. Its margins are strongly undulated. Even when ripe the berries are a decided green. The plant is not at all local in its range, but occurs at various points from Louisi- ana and Florida to Maine, GREEN DRAGON. DRAGON=ROOT. {Plale XL) Ar/scB/na Dracdnliin/i. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Arum. Spathe: gree)i or ivhitish. Scenth'ss. Te.vas and Fla. io Maine and westward. April- J une. Flowers : minute, yellowish, growing at the base of a spadix which extends into a slender appendage sometimes seven inches long and greatly extended beyond the spathe. Spathe: convolute, greenish, opening to the base, the lid being pointed and upright. Fruit : an ovoid bunch of orange-red berries. Leaves: sol- itary, long i^etiolecl, extending high above the flowers; pedately divided into many obovate or oblanceolate leaflets, pointed at the apex and sessile or extending into short, margined petiolules; entire; thin; smooth. Scape: sheathed at the base with silvery, membraneous scales. Cortns : clustered. This very odd-looking plant which is not, however, rare along streams or in moist woods, is a near relative of Jack-in-the-pulpit, Aristxma triphylhwi, an individual too familiarly known to need any introduction. Besides the dissimilarity in their leaves, for it will be remembered that the preacher bears] two leaves of three leaflets each which tower above his head, it is interesting] to regard separately their spadixes. That of Jack-in-the-pulpit is so short that the top of the spathe could easily close down over it, while that of the, green dragon extends outward, as can be seen by the illustration, to a great length. Even the flowers of the staminate plants, which are higher on the| spadix than those of the pistillate ones, never appear above the part en- wrapped by the spathe, so the rest of it must be purely for the purpose ofj attracting attention. The leaves which are grotesquely formed are said toj kindle a vivid imagination into seeing the claws and foot of a dragon, while] "fiercely acrid " has been the term applied to the corms' juices. A. quinatitni, still of this group, is a large, bold- looking plant with either] one or two leaves which are divided into from three to five large oval, oi elliptical, leaflets. Its spadix does not protrude above the spathe whicl: often measures seven inches long. The plant grows in the mountains of] Georgia and extends to North Carolina. PLATE XII. WATER LETTUCE. PistLi sp.ithuUla. C>5J 3^ THE ARUM FAMILY. WATER LETTUCE. TROPICAL DUCKWEED. {Plate XII) Pistia spathulata. FAMILY A nun. COLOUR Spa the : zvliite. Flowers: monoecious; very small; few. ODOUR SceiitUss. RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Florida ami it'cst'ivard, August. Spadix: axillary at the base of the leaves and enwrapped by a white, tubular spathe, which is spreading and pointed at the apex and united at the base; the outer side covered with downy hairs. Leaves : one to five inches long, growing in a circle on the water; obovate, broadly rounded at the aj^ex and contracted at the base; entire; pale green; parallel- veined; soft and covered with a powdery down, Koots: long; feathery; floating. This little plant of tender green floats freely in the rivers and ponds of many tropical regions, and appears like a young, unsophisticated head of lettuce. And particularly meek it looks when on the St. John's river it is being knocked about by the all powerful \vater-h3^acinth. During the sum- mer and autumn it remains fresh and its growth is especially luxurious in such shallow water that its fibrous roots can touch the soil below and thus draw on an added amount of nourishment. In suitable climates it is planted in pools and basins that are reserved for public use, where it is of service in shading the water from the buinmg rays of the sun and alluiing unto itself insects that otherwise would diown themselves in the water and become ob- jectionable. '4'\h0^ The Skunk Cabbage. THE I'lNK-APi'LE EAMILV. 37 THE PINE=APPLE FAMILY. Ih'oiJicliacc(C. Chiefly herbs laifh fbrons roots^ growing on of her plants but not parasitie, and ichieh bear elongated, entire or spinulose leaves, eoi'ered mostly with a gieyis/i seurf ; and perfect, bracted Jlowers icdiieh are eitli. r solitary or panieLd. Peiianth in tivo distinet sets ; three sepals and three petals. LONG M0S5. FLORIDA MOSS. AIR PLANT. Tilli indsii i nsneo ides. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pineapple. Yellowish or green. Scentless. Florida to Virginia. June-October. Flowers : regular, perfect, solitary or rarely two and sessile in the axils of the leaves, with bracts at their bases. Pe7-iaiith : with three slender, greenish sepals and three yellow petals. Slameiis : six, on the receptacle, or the three inner ones inserted on the base of the petals. Stii^nias : three. Capsule : linear ; three-valvcd. Leaves: scattered, or two-ranked; thread-like; linear-cuneate, elongated and covered densely, as are the stems with a silvery grey scurf. Stcvi : one to two feet lung, slender; branching; flexuous ; hanging in clusters from the branches of trees. Who of the south does not know the long moss as it hangs in great streamers from the branches of trees and gives to them a hoary look as of great age. Many there are who admire it extravagantly and complain of the nakedness of a scene where it does not grow ; btit others are conscious of a certain weird melancholy it casts abroad as it waves in its pendulous masses. Especially did this sensation seem to me prevalent along the shores of the rivers in Horida, where it forms one of the principal features of the vegetation. That the long moss is so wonderfully abundant is be- cause its peculiar little seeds have long threads about their crown which, when they are cast about by the breezes, catch hold of the trees and cling to them until they germinate. The people gather this moss and, by a known process of rotting its out- side, produce of the inner fibre a stuffing which is largely sold for use in furniture. Indeed this industry has helped a good many natives in the way of securing money. It is only about fourteen years ago that in Dade County, where now stands the famous Palm licach hotel there were but sixty voters, the area of the County being, however, little less than that of the state of New Jersey. One coloured church there was. where once a year the priest came to announce pardon for their sins. It was very hard to 3^ THE PINE-APPLE FAMILY. gain a livelihood. In fact, had it not been for the cabbage palmetto, the til- landsias and the game the Seminole Indians brought in their canoes and exchanged for silver money, the people would have starved. Besides the long moss and the two species that follow there are about ten others occurring in the United States and over 300 which are indigenous to tropical America. Many of the more attractive ones are used as decorative plants in greenhouses where they are hung up on wire nets. One man from Dade County used to collect such as these, take them up to Jacksonville and from there ship them by the cargo. T. caspitbsa, a hoary plant, bears few-flowered spikes with terminal flowers, the blue petals of which are considerably longer than their conspicuous bracts. On the trunks of trees it grows in great, rounded clusters. T. Bartrdnu'i, as the preceding species, has linear, scurfy leaves which are dilated at their bases. They are erect and rigid and about as long as the stem. Towards their summits they become bristle-like. The petals of the flowers are blue. THE SPIDERWORT FAMILY. CoviJJiclinacc^. Herbs untJi 7'egielar, or irregular and perfect flowers iv/iich grow in cy?nes, and are usually subtended by leafy or spathedike open bracts. VIRGINIA DAY=FLOWER. {Plate XIII) Com meVi na Vij-g in ica . FAMILY Spiderwoft. COLOUR ODOUR Scentless, RANGE Texas and Florida to New York. TIME OF Bl OOM June-Septe)nber. Flowers : showy ; irregular; growing in sessile cymes and subtended by aspathe- ]ike bract. Sepals : three, unequal in size. Petals : three, two of which are large, while the third one is more inconspicuous. Stamens : usually six, three being im- perfect. Capsule: three-celled, each cell containing a single seed, although one cell does not open to allow of its escape. Leaves; simple; alternate; Ian PLATE XIII. VIRGINIA DAY-FLOWER. Commeliiia ytrginica. (39) 40 THE SPIDERWORT FAMILY. ceolate or linear-lanceolate; entire; parallel-veined; rough; the petiole forming about the stem a united, inflated sheath which is pubescent and fringed at the opening. Stem : ascending; branching; leafy. Juice: mucilaginous. To distinguish the variotis species of day-flowers is not always a simple matter, for between some of them the only well-marked difference is to be found in the capsules. Patience, therefore, and a good lens are necessary. The genus, as has been often told, was named by Linnaeus in commemor- ation of Kaspar Commelm and his two brothers who were Dutch botanists. The third brother, being less scientific and earnest than the other two, is said to be represented by the dwarfed and obscure petal of the flower, while the large, showy petals equally typify the renown of the two better students. C.erecta, slender day-flower, is a species which very closely resembles the preceding one. Usually, however, it is much more slender in its manner of growth and its stems are commonly tufted. But should these two character- istics not be constant a sure way of identifying this form is by its capsules, all the three cells of which open to release their seeds. C. hirtella, bearded day-flower, on the contrary, is a readily known species, it being large, from two to four feet high, and having lanceolate leaves sometimes as much as eight inches long. The sheathr, at the bases of the petioles are bearded with noticeably long brownish hairs, a fact re- ferred to in the plant's common name. When rubbed downward, also, the upper surfaces of the leaves are found to be very rough. The plant most often grows in shaded, moist soil. MOUNTAIN SPIDERWORT. Tradescdntia inontdiia. FAMILY COLOUR ^ ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Spiderivort. Blue. ' Scentless. Georgia to Virs^inia. June-August. FIo7uers : showy ; regular ; growing in terminal umbels and subtended by long, leaf-like bracts ; their j)cdicels refiexed until in flower. Sepals: tliree ; distinct; oval or lanceolate. Petals: three; sessile; ovate or orbicular. Stamens: six, with bearded filaments; fertile. Leaves : lanceolate ; long ix)inted at the apex and forming at the base a closed sheath about the stem which at its oi^ening is hairy ; parallel-veined ; entire, smooth. Stem: one to two feet high; slender; seldom branched. Juice: mucilaginous. Through well shaded spots in moist woods, the dense clumps of this plant's grass-like foliage are very sturdy and vigourous looking. Its flowers too have a cheerful air and are usually the only flecks of blue in sight, the colour being not nearly so well represented among our wild flowers as are several others. The genus was named for John Tradescant, a gardener of Charles I., who was no less known as a botanist and great traveller. T. rbsea^ roseate spiderwort, a delicate species with purplish pink flowers THE SPIDERWORT FAMILY. 41 and very slender, elongated leaves, occurs in dry woods from Texas and Florida to Maryland. Its thread-like pedicels are mostly erect, even when in bud. Another noticeable feature is the umbel's long peduncle which is subtended by a dry looking bract. T. Vi?-giniana, spiderwort, has again a sessile umbel which is subtended by long, leaf-like bracts. Often the pedicels of the large, showy tlcnvers are covered with i)ubescence wliile at times they are found to be glabrous. The plant grows in moist soil from Kentucky to New York, and has long been a favourite in cultivation. T. rt'flcxa only erects the smooth pedicels of its umbels when the flowers are in bloom. Its leaves are very long, glaucous and grass-like. Through the south it grows and is sometimes in blow as early as May. THE PICKEREL=WEED FAMILY. Pontedcriaccce. Inchidi7ig in our species mater plants with blue^ in'egular and perfect flow:rs grcuoini^ either solitary or in a spike subtended by a leaf-like spat he J anil having pet ioled leaves which are paralleled veined. PICKEREL=WEED. Pontederla cor data. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pic/vfrcl-u'ccd. PitrpliJi blue. Unpleasant. Texas and Florida J unc-OLtobcr. northward. Ftoiiwrs : growing closely in a terminal spike; the pubescent peduncle with a bract-like, green spathe at its base. Pcriantli : labiate, the upper lip, three lobed and marked with yellow, the lower one with three linear, sjjreading lobes. Stamens : six, the lower ones in the tube of the perianth ; the tiiree upper ones shorter and often imperfect. Pistil : one. Leaves : cordate, or hroadlv sagittate, blunt at the apex, deeply cordate at the base or projected into two rounded lobes, the petioles sheathing the stem ; entire ; wavy on the margins; smootlu Stem : stout ; erect; : rising one to two feet above tiie water. When a glimmer from this gay plant attracts the eye there is something very pleasing in its erect spike of rakish-looking flowers. Yery placidly its colour appears to blend with the silvery sheen of the water above which it arises, and especially is this noticeable in the late summer when often the flowers form so striking a contrast to the brilliant cardinal flowers blooming by the water's edge and the glow from the masses of yellow ones not far distant. Many of these plants are usually seen together, so a pageant of bloom continues for a considerable time. The individuals, however, be- 42 THE PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY. come sadl}^ faded when they have lived but a single day. The flowers show the peculiarity of being trimorphous quite as strongly as do those of Lythrufu Salicaria. WATER=HYAC1NTH. {Plate XIV.) Piaropus crdssipes, FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Pickerel-weed. Pinkish lavender. Scentless. St. John s River., Fla.^ etc. April-October. Flowers: growing closely in an oblong spike at the end of a short, pubescent peduncle, and having a sheathing bract at the base. Perianth : labiate, the upper lip three divided, the middle lobe broader than the other and marked with tur- quoise and sapphire blue, and having a deep yellow spot in the centre; the lower lip also three divided and spreading. Stamens: six, the three lower ones in the throat with long, hairy filaments and up-curved anthers; the three upper ones very short and often imperfect. Pistil: one. Leaves: floating by means of en- larged petioles in a rosette on the surface of the water (the petioles swollen at their bases, and filled as bladders with air) broadly orbicular, often with a short, abrupt point at the apex; entire ; somewhat rough on the upper surface; fleshy. Roots : occasionally two feet long ; fibrous; bushy; floating or attached to the ground in shallow water. In rounded, floating clumps, like green mats on the surface of the water we first saw this remarkable plant ; for the river at this point was broad, and they were bits that had broken away from their moorings and were drifting wherever the wind directed them, being well upheld by the air in their inflated petioles. But as we came to narrower stretches of the river we saw them growing along the shores in unbroken lines by the acres. Every- where the eye rested upon them. And far into the marshy land they extended. Many of the plants were still in bloom and carpeted the calm water with a soft tint of pinkish lavender,. Their extreme beauty cannot be gainsaid nor that it adds a wonderful light to the St. John's. About twelve years ago, Mr. Fuller, who lived along the river near Pa- latka, imported this plant from India and had it growing in a lake on his grounds. Here it increased so rapidly that to rid himself of a superabun- dance of it he threw a number of plants into the river. At that time there was not one of them growing on its surface, but there were many white water lilies. No sooner, however, had the hyacinths felt the warmth of this humid stream, than they recognised its peculiar character as being well adapted to their needs and here they have established their kingdom. In the shallow water their fibrous roots delve in the ground, and form an anchorage. Then so close and interwoven is their growth that they stretch outward in floaty masses, which gradually become detached and are drifted hither and thither. From St. Francis to Lake George, a distance of twenty- five miles, they at one time blocked the river and greatly impeded naviga- tion, They are also a nuisance in upholding objectionable organic matter. ^\,^(o^- %iMdi^ PLATE XIV. WATER-HYACINTH. Puropus cmssipes. (43) 44- THE PICKEREL-WEED FAMILV. Moreover, they destroy bridges and docks and at the present time have more anathemas showered upon them than any other plant in Florida, or perhaps in the country. So serious, indeed is their rapidly increasing power that the department of agriculture at Washington is perplexed about the best means to employ in their destruction. At the present time what has wreaked more damage on them than anything else are the heavy rainfalls to which Florida has been subjected and which have caused the river to rise greatly. High gales have then floated them into the adjoining woods, where, when the water fell, they have been left to die being entangled among other growth, and where in decaying they richly fertilise the soil. Among other good qualities, they are highly nourishing food for horses, crows, pigs and cattle. Often we saw the latter standing in water which left little more than the line of their back showing and placidly eating the stalks and leaves. These have a peppery taste and are said to be very fat- tening to stock. The bloom also is very beautiful. THE STEMONA FAMILY. Stemondceo'. CROOMIA. CroLvnia pauciflbra. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Sceiiiona. G>et-nis/i. Sct-niiess. Fla., Ga. and Ala. April. Flowers: small; nodding ; growing on slender, jointed pedicels from the axils of the leaves. Ferianlh : persistent; four-parted; the divisions oval. Statnens : four, on the receptacle opposite the lohes. Stioj/ta: two-lobed. Leaves: alter- nate about the summit of the stem; ol^long-cordate ; mostly seven nerved; entire ; thin ; glabrous; becoming tissue-like when dried. Stem: six to twelve inches high, ascending from a creeping rootstock, sheathed at the base. At one time this low and insignificant- looking herb was much talked of in the south, and it still claims a good deal more than an ordinary amount of attention. When first it Vv^as discovered the leading botanists of the country were greatly puzzled to know just where to place it in the great world of plants ; and finally it was made to stand as the type of a new genus. It was discovered by, and named for one of the oldest and best known bot- anists of the south, Mr. Stephen Croom, whose love for flowers was so en- thusiastic that he was able to interest Dr. Chapman in the science, who first took it up as a pastime. It seems to have been a melancholy fate that Dr. Croome and his family should all perish while on the Atlantic, and, there- fore, it is particularly pleasant to find this little plant still blooming in his honour. Each cun'e of the river ^ Each broad, open bay, Is lined ivith these florets, Proclaiming the way. (XV). THE UUNCII-FLOWER FAMILY. 45 THE BUNCH=FLOWER FAMILY. JMclaiilhacca'. Including in our species leafy stcvuned herbs which arise from root- stocks^ or /ess often from bulbs. Their leaTCS are /in ear, or broader, par- a/Ie/-7'eined and entire. F/owers : perfect ; regu/ar ; groiv'ug in various forms of inf/orescejice, atid having a perianth of six usua//y separate s^gnunts. Fruit: a capsu/e. TOFIELDIA. 7\>Jie/d/a glabra. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Bu nch -Jloiver. n-hitc. Scentless. North and South Carolina. October. Flowers : small ; expanding from the Ijase upward in a raceme at the end of a scape-like stem ; the pedicels having minute bracts at their l)ases. /'cruuit/i: with six oblong rounded segments; withering and persisting for some time. Stamens: six; exserted; filaments, thread-like. Pistil: one. Basal leases: clustered and sheathing the base; the few on the stem sessile; linear; pointed at the apex. Stem: one to two feet high ; simple ; smooth. In low pine barrens or wbere there is sandy soil this plant is seen rearing- its liis^ht, fluffy looking cluster of bloom. While it does not much matter to botanists that the genus has no very pertinent common name, the fact is significant of how little known to the people are its fair members. Tofieldia palustris, which, however, does not occur through our range is called the Scottish asphodel. T. g/utinbsa, glutinous tofieldia, grows in swamps and bogs and besides being an inhabitant of the extreme north and west occurs also in the south- ern Alleghanies, where it chooses often such high peaks as that of Mount Pisgah for its habitation. Its stem and pedicels are very viscid and covered with black glands which give the plant a rather disagreeable appearance. From the beginning of May it blooms through July. TURKEY=BEARD. Zerop/iyllu m asph odc/o Ides. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Bunch-jto-iver. White. Scentless. Ceon^ia and J'ennessee May-July. to soutliern Neiv Jersey . /^^^m'^Tj ; growing compactly in a long, terminal raceme, with thread-like ]iedi- cels. Perianth: with six ovate or oblong spreading segments; withering-persis- tent. Stamens: rather short; the filaments subulate. Styles: three; stigmatic along the inner side, thread-like, reflexed. Leaves : those about the base thickly clustered; those on the stem narrowly linear; spreading ; very long; rough and 46 THE BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY. file-like on the margins; the upper ones considerably shorter than the others. Stem: two to five feet high; erect; simple; very leafy and arising from a woody rootstock. Before one can fairly reach the top of Grandfather Mountain and rest for awhile upon the chin of that dark visage against the sky, he must fairly tread underfoot many of these plants which, in sandy places, grow luxuriantly and are among the most beautiful of the herbaceous ones there seen. In the early spring the plant's thick clumps of semi-evergreen basal leaves, and later its packed spike of white flowers could hardly escape the attention, \Vhen we ascended the mountain, however, its great head of capsules was ripening ; the dense bloom having long since passed. SWAMP PINK. Helbnms bull at a. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Dunck-Jloiver. Furple. Scentless. Va. to Penn., X. J . andN.Y. Ap7-il, May. Flowers: perfect; growing in a short, dense raceme at the end of a tall scape which bears several lanceolate, bract-like leaves near the base. Perianth: with six, spatulate, sj^reading segments. Stamens: six, their filaments filiform; ex- serteci. Anthers: blue. Pistil: one\ stigma, three-branched. Leaves: six to fifteen inches long, clustered at the base of the scape ; long oval, pointed or rounded at the apex and tapering at the base into the petiole; entire; smooth; thin; the basal ones evergreen. When the bloom of this plant is bright and fresh its leaves are from five to eight inches long, and they then hover about the base in a very pretty rosette. They have also, being evergreen, protected the young buds, which when the winter is mild, become impatient and often shoot up as tender morsels for the frost to nip. After the flowers have passed, however, these leaves attend to their own growing and often attain an astonishing height. The swamp pink grows on many of the high mountains of the Alleghanies. On Grandfather Mountain and near Cccsar's Head I noticed a number thriving well in rather moist soil. Formerly, I had thought the plant to be an exclusive inhabitant of swamps and bogs, as it mostly is in New Jersey. DEVIL'S BIT. UNICORN=ROOT. DROOPING STARWORT. Cha))icEliriu))i liiteuDi . FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM BHKch-Jlo'wer. White. Sceititeis. Fia. to Mass. and westivard. May-July. Flowers: small; bractless; dioecious; growing in long, spike-like and often curved racemes. Periaiith: with six spatulate-linear, one-nerved segments. Stamens: six. Pistillate flowers : with three styled pistils. Capsule: oblong; three-lobed; projecting the club-shaped styles. Leaves: those from the base, long obovate, blunt at the apex and tapered at the base into long petioles; those of the stem linear, or lanceolate; sessile; smooth. Stem: erect; glabrous; those of the pistillate plants often four feet high, considerably taller in fact than the staminate ones. Rootstock: tuberous; bitter. TllK BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY. 47 This graceful plant which is monotypic of its genus forms often a ihicl<, close growth through moist meadows. h\ the high AUeghanies it is very abundant. It fact, in many of the mountain- fastnesses, where the whole poetry of life devolves into a struggle for existence, it is of much importance to the people. They gather just as much of it as they can, and fairly sell it by the ton. It is in the greatest demand, forming, it is said, a strong ingre- dient in one of the celebrated Mrs. Pinkham's remedies. If actively inclined, a man employed in pulling the plant can earn from seventy-five cents to a dollar a day. Even young girls gather enough to net them readily from thirty-five to fifty cents. But the natives themselves do not further fatten Mrs. Pinkham's profits. When they are in need of a restorative they simply make a tincture out of it with whiskey which they then drink in rather astonishing quantities. Although called popularly blazing star the name is inappropriate, being more often associated with another genus. Its scientific name was formerly Hdtmias dioica, a title to which the mountaineer still clings. STOUT STENANTHIUn. SioidniJi i 11)11 7-obihtuni . FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Bunch-floivcr. Wliite a)id greenish. Siveet. Tenn. and S. C. to Penn. J u>ie-SeJ>teiiiber FloiihTs : small; growing in a long, loose panicle. PerianlJi: with six lanceo- late, ])ointed segments. Stamens : v^x^ '&\\o\i. Capsule: erect; flattened; three- valvcd. Leaves : those from the base, often more than a foot long ; linear ; blunt at the apex and sheathing the stem at the base ; those of the stem, sessile ; linear; l^ointed ; becoming bract-like among the flowers; smooth. S/e;/i: three to five feet high; erect; stout; arising from a bulb. In late August, when there is a lull in the procession of wild flowers, this tall plant arises and spreads its fleecy panicle of bloom. There is much about it that is beautiful, especially its fresh, crisp look. In the AUeghanies it grows on high places. At Highlands, N. C, where I found a notably fine specimen, it clung to a rocky ridge bordering the lake ; and I also saw that it was there cultivated by the inhabitants and throve extremely well. 5. grainineiim, grass-leaved stenanthium, differs from the preceding species, in having, as its name implies, very slender, grass-like leaves and bearing a capsule which is re^exed. The plant, moreover, does not grow so tall as the " stout" one, and is more delicate in appearance, the branches of the panicle being very slender and often drooping. Its flowers are per- haps smaller, but they are extremely pretty. On their undersides they are tipped with a deep wine colour, and are laden with a sweet perfume. The plant grows in either moist or rather dry soil from \'irginia to Kentucky and Alabama. In the high AUeghanies it is a constant bloomer through August and September. 48 THE BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY. CRISPED BUNCH=FLOWER. Mehinthiuin laiifbliuin. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM BuHch-Jlower. Yelloivisk or Fragrant. South Carolina to J iily^ August, greenish white. Pcntisyiznmia and Connecticut. Flcnvers: growing in a terminal ])anicle, tlieir pedicels slender and with lanceo- late bracts at their bases. Fcyiantk : with six rounded or ovate segnienls, crisped on their margins and considerably narrowed into ciaws at the bases where there are minute glands. Stamens: shorter than the petals. Capsule: large; three- valved, each one of which is tipped at the apex; the petals being persistent about the base. Leaves : clasping at ihe base of the stem; oblanceolate, eighteen inches to two feet long, sessile; pointed and much smaller near the summit of the stem ; smooth. Stem: two to four feet high; stout; erect; somewhat grooved; pubes- cent. In travelling through the Alleghanies, those sections most noted for their wealth of vegetation, I came many times across this tall plant; for in spite of its being so wholly green it was successful in attracting the eye, either from the swinging black Maria used as a diligence through the mountains, or from the windows of the more conventional railway train. It inhabited there the dry woods which extended close to the road side. Naturally it is a great, coarse plant, but when observed closely there is something of in- terest in the crimping of its petals and in the way they persistently cling to the bases of the forming capsules. M. Vir'ginicitni, bunch-flower, grows in wet meadows and marslies over an extended range and is similar to the crisped bunch-flower in general characteristics. Its leaves, however, often grow as long as eighteen inches. They are linear, and about the edges of its oblong perianth segments there is no crisping. The plant is simply plain Mary with no trimmings. M. parvifibrtini, small flowered melanthium, the Veratriim parviflbrttm of Michaux, bears oval, or oblanceolate leaves which are quite distinctive enough to mark the species. Often they are three and a half or four inches wide and about eight inches long. At their apices they are short- pointed and taper at the bases into sheathing petioles. The flowers are \ small, greenish and unattractive ; their segments being oblanceolate and i without glands at the bases of their short claws. The specimen that came under my notice grew in rich soil on the upper slope of Mount Mitchell, N. C. The plant's range, however, extends from South Carolina to Virginia. LARGE FLOWERED BELLWORT. Uintlaria grandiflbra. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM | Bunch-Jlower. Lonon-yelloiv. Scentless. G orgin and Tennessee April-June. northivard to Quebec. \ Flotvers : one to one and a half inches long, solitary and droopuig from slender \ } THE BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY. 49 peduncles; companulate ; with six linear-lanceolate spreading segments, pointed at the apex and narrowed at the base where there are nectar bearing glands. Stameus : six, included; the filaments thread-like. Leavds : alternate; oblong- perfoliate; pointed at the apices; thin; pubescent on their under surfaces, at least when young. Stem: erect; forked at the summit; leafy above; there being occasionally one leaf, however, borne under the forks, and below which are scale- like biacts. About the bellworts there is ever to be noticed a certain graceful bearing peculiarly their own. To a great extent the Solomon's seals have the same air, but much more frequently we notice that, as the larkspur, plants are dignified in aspect, or that they portray other marked traits. Through the rich woods when well located, the beliwort spreads very rapidly, and bears abundantly although in a modest fashion its quaint pale yellow bells. In cultivation the genus is very desirable, U. perfoUdta, perfoliate beliwort, produces pale yellow flowers which have narrow segments somewhat glandular within. They are also fragrant. Below the forked branches are usually from one to three oblong or broadly- lanceolate leaves which clasp about the stem so closely that they appear to have been pierced by it. They are a soft, pale green, covered with a powdery bloom and attain at maturity to a considerable size. In woods and moist thickets the plant is often common, and has a range extending from Florida to New England and Quebec. It is well known by the country people who find a good market for its roots. U. sessilifblia, sessile-leaved beliwort, as its name would imply, bears leaves that are sessile. In outline they are oblong or lanceolate and pointed at both ends. Underneath they have a pale, glaucous bloom. The green- ish yellow flowers are rather inconspicuous. U. piibdrtda, mountain beliwort, grows through the mountainous woods of Virginia to South Carolina ; the region where it was first discovered by Michaux. Its stem is stout and rather pubescent towards the summit. The bright green leaves are sessile and also pubescent along the underside of the mid-vein, while the light yellow flowers have distinctly the marks of the genus. LARGE FLOWERED ZYGADENUS. Zygadbi us glabcrrun us. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Bunch-JIo7ver. White. Scentless. Florida to Virginia. July-Se/'tent/ut . /7(77wrj.- quite large; perfect; growing in long, terminal panicles and bracted at the bases of their pedicels. Perianth : with six, oblong or lanceolate segments, clawed at their bases where there are two glands. Statnetis : six. Style : \\\^\\ three recurved, arched divisions. Leases: a foot or more long; linear, tapering to a point at the apex and sheathing the stem at the base; glabrous, and slightly glaucous. Stevi : upright ; two to four feet high ; leafy ; smooth. J^ootstock : thick. !>^ THE BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY. Although this tall, conventional -looking wild flower grows mostly near the coast it sometimes strays further inland, and even oversteps the borders of its range. Always it is a notable figure, surprising to those who do not know the aspirations towards cultivation of some wild flowers. Z. leima7ithoides, pine-barren zygadenus, is found in swamps, or in the wet soil about pine barrens and has a range extending from Georgia to New Jersey. In North Carolina it ascends some of the high mountains and was found by Dr. Mohr on Roan Mountain. It differs from the foregoing species in that its lower leaves are blunt at their apices ; its many flowers, often greenish with the segments of their perianth destitute of claws ; and that in- stead of glands at their bases they are marked with a yellow spot. THE LILY FAHILY. Liliacece, Represe7ited i?i our range by scapose or leafy-stemmed herbs which arise from bulbs or conns, or infrequently from rootstocks, fibrous fleshy roots or a woody caudex. Flowers : regular, consisting of six divisions of the perianth ; six stamens; a three-celled ovary with united styles and a three-lobed or capitata stigma. Fruit : a capsule. SOUTHERN RED LILY. {Plate XVI.) Lilium Catesbcei. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Li.y. Scarlet-yelloit\ Scentless. Alabama atid Florida July , August, purple spotted. to North Carolina. Flowers: terminal; solitary; erect. Perianth : W\\.\\ six lanceolate segments, much narrowed and pointed at the apex, contracted at the base and becoming yellow with deep maroon spots; wavy along the margins. Stamens: six their anthers attached at the middle. Leaves : those from the base, very long. Stem- leaves : alternate; sessile ; narrowly linear; pointed at the apex ; smooth. Stem : one to two feet high from a scaly bulb ; unbranched ; leafy; smooth. Late in the summer, when through the pine barrens but few flowers are to be seen, or when those that do appear fail to inspire the sentiment which clusters about many little harbingers of spring, this lily arises and through its gorgeousness gives a different but intense delight. It appears then, and especially when lit by the slanting rays of sunshine which pass through the grey tillandsia, almost mysterious in its radiance. There are other wild red lilies more beautiful, but this one is peculiarly of the south. In finding it there lurks always a charm. i PLATE XVI. SOUTHERN RED LILY. Liliu,,, Catesbu-i. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PRINTED IN AMERICA THE LILY FAMILY. 51 L. rhiladclphicuni, wild red or wood lily, has the same peculiarity as the southern red lily of having its petals narrowed into long claws at their bases, and which are spotted with purple. The leaves are lanceolate, mostly acuminate at both ends and grow in whorls of from three to eight about the stem. The flowers are erect in habit, and a single plant bears from one to hve. This is a lily, however, subject to many variations. ASA GRAY'S LILY. {Plate XVII?) Liliuni Gray I. FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM Lily. Orange-red, spotted. Scentless. Mountains of I'a. and X.C. July, August. Flowers : solitary or less often two or three growing at the end of the stem ; nodding or occasionally ascending. Perianth : fnnnel-fonn, with six oblong- spatulate, or oblanceolate segments, jKjinted at the apex and spotted with dark purple. Z