Part 12

Finding this delicate flower in the May woods, one is at once reminded of the anemone. The whole effect of plant, leaf, and snow-white blossom is starry and pointed. The frosted tapering petals distinguish it from the rounded blossoms of the wild strawberry, near which it often grows.

PLATE III

STAR-FLOWER.—T. Americana.

Maianthemum Canadense. ]

——— ——— Maianthemum Canadense. Lily Family.

Stem.—Three to six inches high, with two or three leaves. Leaves.—Lance-shaped to oval, heart-shaped at base. Flowers.—White or straw-color, growing in a raceme. Perianth.—Four-parted. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed stigma. Fruit.—A red berry.

It seems unfair that this familiar and pretty little plant should be without any homely English name. Its botanical title signifies “Canada Mayflower,” but while it undoubtedly grows in Canada and flowers in May, the name is not a happy one, for it abounds as far south as North Carolina, and is not the first blossom to be entitled “Mayflower.”

In late summer the red berries are often found in close proximity to the fruit of the shin-leaf and pipsissewa.

GOLD THREAD. Coptis trifolia. Crowfoot Family.

Scape.—Slender, three to five inches high. Leaves.—Evergreen, shining, divided into three leaflets. Flowers.—Small, white, solitary. Calyx.—Of five to seven petal-like sepals which fall early. Corolla.—Of five to seven club-shaped petals. Stamens.—Fifteen to twenty-five. Pistils.—Three to seven. Root.—Of long, bright yellow fibres.

This little plant abundantly carpets the northern bogs and extends southward over the mountains, its tiny flowers appearing in May. Its bright yellow thread-like roots give it its common name.

PYXIE. FLOWERING-MOSS. Pyxidanthera barbulata. Order Diapensiaceæ.

Stems.—Prostrate and creeping, branching. Leaves.—Narrowly lance-shaped, awl-pointed. Flowers.—White or pink, small, numerous. Calyx.—Of five sepals. Corolla.—Five-lobed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One, with a three-lobed stigma.

In early spring we may look for the white flowers of this moss-like plant in the sandy pine-woods of New Jersey and southward. At Lakewood they appear even before those of the trailing arbutus which grows in the same localities. The generic name is from two Greek words which signify a small box and anther, and refers to the anthers, which open as if by a lid.

CRINKLE-ROOT. TOOTHWORT. PEPPER-ROOT. Dentaria diphylla. Mustard Family (p. 17).

Rootstock.—Five to ten inches long, wrinkled, crisp, of a pleasant, pungent taste. Stem.—Leafless below, bearing two leaves above. Leaves.—Divided into three-toothed leaflets. Flowers.—White, in a terminal cluster. Pod.—Flat and lance-shaped.

The crinkle-root has been valued—not so much on account of its pretty flowers which may be found in the rich May woods—but for its crisp edible root which has lent savor to many a simple luncheon in the cool shadows of the forest.

SPRING-CRESS. Cardamine rhomboidea. Mustard Family (p. 17).

Rootstock.—Slender, bearing small tubers. Stem.—From a tuberous base, upright, slender. Root-leaves.—Round and often heart-shaped. Stem-leaves.—The lower rounded, the upper almost lance-shaped. Flowers.—White, large. Pod.—Flat, lance-shaped, pointed with a slender style tipped with a conspicuous stigma; smaller than that of the crinkle-root.

The spring-cress grows abundantly in the wet meadows and about the borders of springs. Its large white flowers appear as early as April, lasting until June.

WHITLOW-GRASS. Draba verna. Mustard Family (p. 17).

Scapes.—One to three inches high. Leaves.—All from the root, oblong or lance-shaped. Flowers.—White, with two-cleft petals. Pod.—Flat, varying from oval to oblong, lance-shaped.

This little plant may be found flowering along the roadsides and in sandy places during April and May. It has come to us from Europe.

SHEPHERD’S PURSE. Capsella Bursa-pastoris. Mustard Family (p. 17).

Stem.—Low, branching. Root-leaves.—Clustered, incised or toothed. Stem-leaves.—Arrow-shaped, set close to the stem. Flowers.—White, small, in general structure resembling other members of the Mustard family. Pod.—Triangular, heart-shaped.

This is one of the commonest of our wayside weeds, working its way everywhere with such persistency and appropriating other people’s property so shamelessly, that it has won for itself the nickname of pickpocket. Its popular title arose from the shape of its little seed-pods.

MAY-APPLE. MANDRAKE. Podophyllum peltatum. Barberry Family.

Flowering stem.—Two-leaved, one-flowered. Flowerless stems.—Terminated by one large, rounded, much-lobed leaf. Leaves (of flowering stems).—One-sided, five to nine-lobed, the lobes oblong, the leaf-stalks fastened to their lower side near the inner edge. Flower.—White, large, nodding from the fork made by the two leaves. Calyx.—Of six early falling sepals. Corolla.—Of six to nine rounded petals. Stamens.—Twice as many as the petals. Pistil.—One, with a large, thick stigma set close to the ovary. Fruit.—A large, fleshy, egg-shaped berry, sweet and edible.