Part 33

There are many kinds of Asclepias, with oddly-shaped flowers, interesting and decorative in form; calyx rather small, the pointed sepals turned back; corolla with its petals turned entirely back, so as to cover the sepals and expose the peculiar-looking central arrangements of the flower, called the "crown." In the middle is the large, flat, shield-shaped, five-lobed or five-angled stigma, surrounded by the anthers, which are more or less united to each other and to the stigma, encircled by five, odd, little honey-bearing hoods, the same color as the petals, each with a horn, either enclosed within it or projecting from it, the whole collection of stigma, anthers, and hoods, forming the "crown." The pods are thick and pointed. Named for Æsculapius, as some of these plants are medicinal. Indians used to make twine from the fibrous bark of some kinds.

A handsome plant, decorative in form and harmonious in coloring, with a stout stem, from one to four feet tall, and light bluish-green leaves, usually covered with white down. The flowers are sweet-scented, with woolly pedicels, purplish-pink petals, and waxy, white "hoods," the buds yellowish-pink. The cluster, about three inches across, sometimes comprises as many as fifty flowers and is very beautiful in tone, being a mass of delicately blended, warm, soft tints of pink, cream, and purple. This grows in canyon bottoms and along streams.

This is three feet or more tall, fine-looking, though too pale, with a stout, smooth, gray-green stem and gray-green leaves, mottled with white and very stiff, the under side white-woolly, and flower-clusters two and a half inches across, composed of numerous greenish-white flowers, each half an inch long, their stalks covered with white wool.

A foot and a half tall, with very fragrant flowers, and very woolly all over, especially the upper leaves, stems and buds, which are thick with long white wool. The buds are pinkish-purple and the flowers have dull pink petals and cream-colored hoods, becoming yellow, and form clusters over two inches across. This grows in the Mohave Desert and the effect is harmonious, but not so handsome as the last.

The genus Gomphocarpus is distinguished from Asclepias by the absence of horns or crests in the hoods.

A handsome plant, smooth all over and more or less tinged with purple, with a stout, purple stem, from one and a half to three feet tall, with rubbery, dull, light bluish-green leaves. The flowers are scentless, with purplish sepals, maroon or purple petals, and yellowish or pinkish hoods, and form a very loose graceful cluster, over three inches across, dark in color and contrasting well with the foliage. This is common in Yosemite and elsewhere in California, at moderate altitudes.

The genus Asclepiodora, of the southern part of North America, resembles Asclepias, but the flowers are larger, the petals not turned back, the hoods flatter, with crests instead of horns; leaves mainly alternate; corolla wheel-shaped; petals spreading; hoods oblong, blunt, spreading and curving upward, crested inside; five tiny appendages alternating with the anthers and forming an inner crown around the stigma. The name is from the Greek, meaning the gift of Æsculapius.

Purple Milkweed--Gomphocarpus cordifolius.]

A striking plant, though dull in color, from one to one and a half feet tall, with a rough, rather slanting stem, dull green, roughish, rather leathery leaves, and clusters of slightly sweet-scented, queer-looking flowers, each over half an inch across, with greenish-yellow petals, the hoods white inside and maroon outside, their tips curved in, a green stigma and brown anthers. The effect is a dull-yellow rosette, striped with maroon, curiously symmetrical and stiff in form, suggesting an heraldic "Tudor rose." The pods, three or four inches long, stand up stiffly, on pedicels curved like hooks. This grows on dry hillsides and is widely distributed.

DOGBANE FAMILY. Apocynaceae.

A large family, widely distributed, chiefly tropical; ours are perennial herbs, with milky, bitter juice; leaves toothless, usually opposite, without stipules; flowers perfect, parts in fives; corolla united; stamens on the corolla, as many as its lobes, alternate with them, ovary superior, in two parts, united by a single or two-parted style, developing into two pods; seeds often tufted with hairs. The Greek name alludes to the superstition that these plants are poisonous to dogs.

There are many kinds of Apocynum, with branching stems, tough fibrous bark, and small, white or pink flowers, in clusters; calyx with pointed teeth, its tube adhering to the ovaries by means of a thickish, five-lobed disk; corolla bell-shaped, five-lobed, with five, small, triangular appendages, inside the tube, opposite the lobes; stamens with short, broad filaments and arrow-shaped anthers, slightly adhering to the blunt, obscurely two-lobed stigma; pod slender, cylindrical; seeds numerous, small, feathery.

An attractive plant, from one to four feet high, with many, smooth, widely spreading branches, purplish on one side, and smooth leaves, rather dark green above, pale underneath, with yellowish veins. The little flowers are white, tinged with pink, often striped with pink inside, mainly in loose clusters at the ends of the branches, and though not conspicuous are delicate and pretty. The pods are from two to seven inches long. This is widely scattered in fields and open woods, occurring in a variety of forms, and common in the East.

Spider Milkweed--Asclepiodora decumbens.]

BUCK-BEAN FAMILY. Menyanthaceae.

A small family, widely distributed; perennial herbs, with creeping rootstocks, growing in water or marshes; the leaves smooth, alternate, or from the root; the flowers perfect, regular, in clusters; the calyx five-lobed; the corolla more or less funnel-form with five lobes or teeth; the stamens five, on the corolla and alternate with its lobes; the ovary superior, or partly so, with one cell; the fruit usually an oval capsule, with a few flattish, smooth seeds.

This is the only kind, a handsome plant, eight or ten inches tall, with a stout, yellowish-green stem and rich green leaves, with long, sheathing leaf-stalks and three leaflets, with toothless or somewhat scalloped edges. The flowers are about half an inch long, with a white corolla, tinged with pink or lilac, the spreading lobes covered with white hairs, with black and yellow, swinging anthers and a green pistil, with a two-lipped stigma. There are from ten to twenty flowers in each cluster and the effect is charming, suggesting a bunch of little fringed lilies. This grows in northern bogs across the continent and also in Europe and Asia. It used to be found around San Francisco, but is now extinct.

MORNING-GLORY FAMILY. Convolvulaceae.

A large family, most abundant in the tropics; ours are herbs, usually with twining or trailing stems; the leaves alternate, or mere scales, without stipules; the flowers perfect, with five sepals; the corolla with united petals, more or less funnel-form and more or less five-lobed, folded lengthwise and twisted in the bud; the stamens five, on the base of the corolla; the ovary superior, with from one to three styles; the fruit usually a capsule, with from one to four large seeds.

There are a great many kinds of Convolvulus, widely distributed; ours are mostly twining or prostrate perennials; the flowers large, with a slender style and two stigmas; the fruit a capsule, usually with two large seeds. The name is from the Latin, meaning "to entwine." These plants are often called Bindweed.

This is a troublesome weed, introduced from Europe, with very deep roots and pretty flowers. The leaves are dull green and look roughish, though they are smooth or nearly so, and the flowers are about an inch across, white inside, striped with pink and tinged with yellow at the base, and pink outside, striped with duller, deeper color. The stamens and pistil are white and the buds purplish-pink. The flower stalks usually have a pair of bracts near the middle.

An attractive plant, with pretty foliage and large, pale flowers, the stems trailing on the ground and climbing over low bushes. The leaves are smooth and dark bluish-green and the flowers are about two inches and a half across, very pale yellow, almost cream-color, with stripes of slightly deeper yellow, tinged with pink. The anthers and the pistil are pale yellow and the flower-stalks have two bracts just beneath the calyx.

There are many kinds of Cuscuta, or Dodder, widely distributed and difficult to distinguish; leafless parasites, without green coloring, with twining, threadlike stems and inconspicuous flowers, in clusters. The seed germinates in the soil and produces a twining stem, which attaches itself to a neighbor by means of suckers. These plants are easily recognized, for they look like tangled bunches of coarse thread, and are often very conspicuous on account of their coloring, sometimes making fine masses of bright orange-color, beautiful in tone, though the plants are very unattractive. They have other names, such as Love-vine and Strangle-weed.

Yellow Morning-glory--Convolvulus occidentalis.]

PHLOX FAMILY. Polemoniaceae.

Not a large family, most abundant in western North America, a few in Europe and Asia; sometimes slightly woody; the leaves without stipules; the flowers generally regular; the calyx with five united sepals; the corolla with five united petals, rolled up in the bud and often remaining more or less twisted to one side in the flowers; the stamens with slender filaments, with swinging anthers, often unequally inserted, on the tube or throat of the corolla and alternate with its lobes; the ovary superior, with a slender style and three-lobed stigma, but in immature flowers the three branches are folded together so that the style appears to have no lobes; the pod with three compartments, containing few or many seeds, which are sometimes winged and sometimes mucilaginous.

There are a good many kinds of Polemonium, growing in cool places, usually perennials; the leaves alternate, with leaflets, not toothed; the calyx not ribbed or angled, bell-shaped; the corolla more or less bell-shaped; the stamens equally inserted, but often of unequal lengths; the seeds mucilaginous when wet. This is the Greek name, used by Dioscorides.

A graceful plant, with attractive and unusual-looking foliage. The juicy stem and tender, bright green leaves are smooth or hairy and the pretty flowers are nearly three-quarters of an inch across, bright rather purplish blue, paler inside and delicately veined with blue, with a yellow "eye." The stamens are protruding, with white anthers, and the pistil is long and protruding, even in quite small buds. This is variable and grows in damp places in the mountains, across the continent and also in the Old World. The common name comes from the shape of the leaf and it is also called Greek Valerian. Another handsome sort is P. carnèum, with flowers varying in color from salmon to purple, growing in the mountains of California and Oregon, but rather rare.