Part 55

ARETHUSA. Arethusa bulbosa. Orchis Family (p. 17).

Scape.—Sheathed, from a globular bulb, usually one-flowered. Leaf.—“Solitary, linear, nerved, hidden in the sheaths of the scape, protruding after flowering.” (Gray.) Flower.—Rose-purple, large, with a bearded lip.

In some localities this beautiful flower is very plentiful. Every June will find certain New England marshes tinged with its rose-purple blossoms, while in other near and promising bogs it may be sought vainly for years. At least it may be hoped for in wet places as far south as North Carolina, its most favorite haunt being perhaps a cranberry-swamp. Concerning it, Mr. Burroughs writes: “Arethusa was one of the nymphs who attended Diana, and was by that goddess turned into a fountain, that she might escape the god of the river Alpheus, who became desperately in love with her on seeing her at her bath. Our Arethusa is one of the prettiest of the orchids, and has been pursued through many a marsh and quaking-bog by her lovers. She is a bright pink-purple flower an inch or more long, with the odor of sweet violets. The sepals and petals rise up and arch over the column, which we may call the heart of the flower, as if shielding it. In Plymouth County, Mass., where the Arethusa seems common, I have heard it called Indian pink.”

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

Habenaria fimbriata.

Leaves.—Oval or oblong; the upper, few, passing into lance-shaped bracts. Flowers.—Purple, rather large; with a fan-shaped, three-parted lip, its divisions fringed; with a long curving spur; growing in a spike.

Habenaria psycodes.

Leaves.—Oblong or lance-shaped, the upper passing into linear bracts. Flowers.—Purple, fragrant, resembling those of H. fimbriata, but much smaller, with a less fringed lip; growing in a spike.

We should search the wet meadows in early June if we wish to be surely in time for the larger of the purple fringed orchises, for H. fimbriata somewhat antedates H. psycodes, which is the commoner species of the two and appears in July. Under date of June 9th, Thoreau writes: “Find the great fringed orchis out apparently two or three days, two are almost fully out, two or three only budded; a large spike of peculiarly delicate, pale purple flowers growing in the luxuriant and shady swamp, amid hellebores, ferns, golden senecio, etc.... The village belle never sees this more delicate belle of the swamp.... A beauty reared in the shade of a convent, who has never strayed beyond the convent-bell. Only the skunk or owl, or other inhabitant of the swamp, beholds it.”

AMERICAN PENNYROYAL. Hedeoma pulegioides. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Square, low, erect, branching Leaves.—Opposite, aromatic, small. Flowers.—Purplish, small, whorled in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Two-lipped, upper lip three-toothed, the lower two-cleft. Corolla.—Two-lipped, upper erect, notched at apex, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Fertile stamens.—Two. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.

This well-known, strong-scented little plant is found throughout the greater part of the country, blossoming in midsummer. Its taste and odor nearly resemble that of the true pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, of Europe.

MONKEY-FLOWER. Mimulus ringens. Figwort Family.

Stem.—Square, one to two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong or lance-shaped. Flowers.—Pale violet-purple, rarely white, growing singly from the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Five-angled, five-toothed, the upper tooth largest. Corolla.—Tubular, two-lipped, the upper lip erect or spreading, two-lobed, the lower spreading and three-lobed, the throat closed. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed stigma.

From late July onward the monkey-flowers tinge the wet fields and border the streams and ponds; not growing in the water like the pickerel-weed, but seeking a hummock in the swamp, or a safe foothold on the brook’s edge, where they can absorb the moisture requisite to their vigorous growth.

The name is a diminutive of mimus—a buffoon, and refers to the somewhat grinning blossom. The plant is a common one throughout the eastern part of the country.

COMMON MOTHERWORT. Leonurus cardiaca. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Tall and upright. Leaves.—Opposite, the lower rounded and lobed, the floral wedge-shaped at base and three-cleft. Flowers.—Pale purple, in close whorls in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—“With five nearly equal teeth, which are awl-shaped, and when old rather spiny, pointed, and spreading.” (Gray.) Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip somewhat arched and bearded, the lower three-lobed and spreading. Stamens.—Four, in pairs. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.

The tall erect stems, opposite leaves, and regular whorls of closely clustered pale purple flowers help us to easily identify the motherwort, if identification be needed, for it seems as though such old-fashioned, time-honored plants as catnip, tansy, and motherwort, which cling so persistently to the skirts of the old homestead in whose domestic economy they once played so important a part, should be familiar to us all.

PLATE XCI

MONKEY-FLOWER.—M. ringens. ]

CORN COCKLE. Lychnis Githago. Pink Family.

About two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, long and narrow, pale green, with silky hairs. Flowers.—Rose-purple, large, long-stalked. Calyx-lobes.—Five, long and slender, exceeding the petals. Corolla.—Of five broad petals. Stamens.—Ten. Pistil.—One, with five styles.

In many countries some of the most beautiful and noticeable flowers are commonly found in grain-fields. England’s scarlet poppies flood her farm-lands with glorious color in early summer; while the bluets lighten the corn-fields of France. Our grain-fields seem to have no native flower peculiar to them; but often we find a trespasser of foreign descent hiding among the wheat or straying to the roadsides in early summer, whose deep-tinted blossoms secure an instant welcome from the flower-lover if not from the farmer. “What hurte it doeth among corne! the spoyle unto bread, as well in colour, taste, and unwholesomeness, is better known than desired,” wrote Gerarde. The large dark seeds fill the ground wheat with black specks, and might be injurious if existing in any great quantity. Its former generic name was Agrostemma, signifying crown of the fields. Its present one of Lychnis, signifies a light or lamp.

BLUE VERVAIN. SIMPLER’S JOY. Verbena hastata. Vervain Family.

Four to six feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, somewhat lance-shaped, the lower often lobed and sometimes halberd-shaped at base. Flowers.—Purple, small, in slender erect spikes. Calyx.—Five-toothed. Corolla.—Tubular, somewhat unequally five-cleft. Stamens.—Two, in pairs. Pistil.—One.

Along the roadsides in midsummer we notice these slender purple spikes, the appearance of which would be vastly improved if the tiny blossoms would only consent to open simultaneously.

PLATE XCII