Part 26

COMMON YARROW. MILFOIL. Achillea Millefolium. Composite Family (p. 13).

Stem.—Simple at first, often branching near the summit. Leaves.—Divided into finely toothed segments. Flower-heads.—White, occasionally pink, clustered, small, made up of both ray and disk-flowers.

PLATE XXVIII

WILD CARROT.—D. carota. YARROW.—A. millefolium. ]

This is one of our most frequent roadside weeds, blossoming throughout the summer and late into the autumn. Tradition claims that it was used by Achilles to cure the wounds of his soldiers, and the genus is named after that mighty hero. It still forms one of the ingredients of an ointment valued by the Scotch Highlanders. The early English botanists called the plant “nosebleed,” “because the leaves being put into the nose caused it to bleed;” and Gerarde writes that “Most men say that the leaves chewed, and especially greene, are a remedie for the toothache.” These same pungent leaves also won it the name of “old man’s pepper,” while in Sweden its title signifies field hop, and refers to its employment in the manufacture of beer. Linnæus considered the beer thus brewed to be more intoxicating than that in which hops were utilized. The old women of the Orkney Islands hold “milfoil tea” in high repute, believing it to be gifted with the power of dispelling melancholy. In Switzerland a good vinegar is said to be made from the Alpine species. The plant is cultivated in the gardens of Madeira, where so many beautiful, and in our eyes rare, flowers grow in wild profusion.

WILD CARROT. BIRD’S NEST. QUEEN ANNE’S LACE. Daucus carota. Parsley Family (p. 15).

Stems.—Tall and slender. Leaves.—Finely dissected. Flowers.—White, in a compound umbel, forming a circular flat-topped cluster.

When the delicate flowers of the wild carrot are still unsoiled by the dust from the highway, and fresh from the early summer rains, they are very beautiful, adding much to the appearance of the roadsides and fields along which they grow so abundantly as to strike despair into the heart of the farmer, for this is, perhaps, the “peskiest” of all the weeds with which he has to contend. As time goes on the blossoms begin to have a careworn look and lose something of the cobwebby aspect which won them the title of Queen Anne’s lace. In late summer the flower-stalks erect themselves, forming a concave cluster which has the appearance of a bird’s nest. I have read that a species of bee makes use of this ready-made home, but have never seen any indications of such an occupancy.

This is believed to be the stock from which the garden carrot was raised. The vegetable was well known to the ancients, and we learn from Pliny that the finest specimens were brought to Rome from Candia. When it was first introduced into Great Britain is not known, although the supposition is that it was brought over by the Dutch during the reign of Elizabeth. In the writings of Parkinson we read that the ladies wore carrot-leaves in their hair in place of feathers. One can picture the dejected appearance of a ball-room belle at the close of an entertainment.

WATER-HEMLOCK. SPOTTED COWBANE. Cicuta maculata. Parsley Family (p. 15).

Stem.—Smooth, stout, from two to six feet high, streaked with purple. Leaves.—Twice or thrice-compound, leaflets coarsely toothed. Flowers.—White, in compound umbels, the little umbels composed of numerous flowers.

This plant is often confused with the wild carrot, the sweet Cicely, and other white-flowered members of the Parsley family; but it can usually be identified by its purple-streaked stem. The umbels of the water-hemlock are also more loosely clustered than those of the carrot, and their stalks are much more unequal. It is commonly found in marshy ground, blossoming in midsummer. Its popular names refer to its poisonous properties, its root being said to contain the most dangerous vegetable-poison native to our country and to have been frequently confounded with that of the edible sweet Cicely with fatal results.

MOCK BISHOP-WEED. Discopleura capillacea. Parsley Family (p. 15).

One or two feet high, occasionally much taller. Stems.—Branching. Leaves.—Dissected into fine, thread-like divisions. Flowers.—White, very small, growing in compound umbels with thread-like bracts.

This plant blossoms all summer in wet meadows, both inland and along the coast; but it is especially common in the salt marshes near New York City. It probably owes its English name to the fancied resemblance between the bracted flower-clusters and a bishop’s cap. Its effect is feathery and delicate.

SWEET CICELY. Osmorrhiza longistylis. Parsley Family (p. 15).

One to three feet high. Root.—Thick, aromatic, edible. Leaves.—Twice or thrice-compound. Flowers.—White, growing in a few-rayed compound umbel.

The roots of the sweet Cicely are prized by country children for their pleasant flavor. Great care should be taken not to confound this plant with the water-hemlock, which is very poisonous, and which it greatly resembles, although flowering earlier in the year. The generic name is from two Greek words which signify scent and root.

WATER-PARSNIP. Sium cicutæfolium. Parsley Family (p. 15).

Two to six feet high. Stem.—Stout. Leaves.—Divided into from three to eight pairs of sharply toothed leaflets. Flowers.—White, in compound umbels.

This plant is found growing in water or wet places throughout North America.

ARROW-HEAD. Sagittaria variabilis. Water-plantain Family.

Scape.—A few inches to several feet high. Leaves.—Arrow-shaped. Flowers.—White, unisexual, in whorls of three on the leafless scape. Calyx.—Of three sepals. Corolla.—Of three white, rounded petals. Stamens and Pistils.—Indefinite in number, occurring in different flowers, the lower whorls of flowers usually being pistillate, the upper staminate.

Among our water-flowers none are more delicately lovely than those of the arrow-head. Fortunately the ugly and inconspicuous female flowers grow on the lower whorls, while the male ones, with their snowy petals and golden centres, are arranged about the upper part of the scape, where the eye first falls. It is a pleasure to chance upon a slow stream whose margins are bordered with these fragile blossoms and bright, arrow-shaped leaves.

WATER-PLANTAIN. Alisma Plantago. Water-plantain Family.

Scape.—One to three feet high, bearing the flowers in whorled, panicled branches. Leaves.—From the root, oblong, lance-shaped or linear, mostly rounded or heart-shaped at base. Flowers.—White or pale pink, small, in large, loose clusters which branch from the scape. Calyx.—Of three sepals. Corolla.—Of three petals. Stamens.—Usually six. Pistils.—Many, on a flattened receptacle.

The water-plantain is nearly related to the arrow-head, and is often found blossoming with it in marshy places or shallow water.

PLATE XXIX