Part 56

BLUE VERVAIN.—V. hastata. ]

In earlier times the vervain was beset with classic associations. It was claimed as the plant which Virgil and other poets mention as being used for altar-decorations and for the garlands of sacrificial beasts. It was believed to be the herba sacra of the ancients, until it was understood that the generic title Verbena was a word which was applied to branches of any description which were used in religious rites. It certainly seems, however, to have been applied to some especial plant in the time of Pliny, for he writes that no plant was more honored among the Romans than the sacred Verbena. In more modern times as well the vervain has been regarded as an “herb of grace,” and has been gathered with various ceremonies and with the invocation of a blessing, which began as follows:

Hallowed be thou, Vervain, As thou growest on the ground, For in the Mount of Calvary There thou was first found.

It was then supposed to be endued with especial virtue, and was worn on the person to avert disaster.

The time-honored title of Simpler’s joy arose from the remuneration which this popular plant brought to the “Simplers”—as the gatherers of medicinal herbs were entitled.

BEARD-TONGUE. Pentstemon pubescens. Figwort Family.

Stem.—One or two feet high, clammy above. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong to lance-shaped. Flowers.—Dull purple or partly whitish, showy, in a slender open cluster. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Tubular, slightly dilated, the throat nearly closed by a bearded palate; two-lipped, the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-cleft. Stamens.—Four, one densely bearded sterile filament besides. Pistil.—One.

These handsome, showy flowers are found in summer in dry or rocky places. They are especially plentiful somewhat southward.

The white beard-tongue of more western localities is P. digitalis. This is a very effective plant, which sometimes reaches a height of five feet, having large inflated white flowers.

SELF-HEAL. HEAL-ALL. Brunella vulgaris. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stems.—Low. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong. Flowers.—Bluish-purple, in a spike or head. Calyx.—Two-lipped, upper lip with three short teeth, the lower two-cleft. Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip arched, entire, the lower spreading, three-cleft. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, two-lobed at the apex.

PLATE XCIII

SELF-HEAL.—B. vulgaris. ]

Throughout the length and breadth of the country, from June until September, the short, close spikes of the self-heal can be found along the roadsides. The botanical name, Brunella, is a corruption from Prunella, which is taken from the German for quinsy, for which this plant was considered a certain cure. It was also used in England as an application to the wounds received by rustic laborers, as its common names, carpenter’s herb, hook-heal, and sicklewort, imply. That the French had a similar practice is proved by an old proverb of theirs to the effect that “No one wants a surgeon who keeps Prunelle.”

WILD BERGAMOT. Monarda fistulosa. Mint Family (p. 16).

Two to five feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, fragrant, toothed. Flowers.—Purple or purplish, dotted, growing in a solitary, terminal head. Calyx.—Tubular, elongated, five-toothed. Corolla.—Elongated, two-lipped. Stamens.—Two, elongated. Pistil.—One, with style two-lobed at apex.

Although the wild bergamot is occasionally found in our eastern woods, it is far more abundant westward, where it is found in rocky places in summer. This is a near relative of the bee balm (Pl. LXXXII.), which it closely resembles in its manner of growth.

DAY-FLOWER. Commelina Virginica. Spiderwort Family.

Stem.—Slender, branching. Leaves.—Lance-shaped to linear, the floral ones heart-shaped and clasping, folding so as to enclose the flowers. Flowers.—Blue. Calyx.—Of three unequal somewhat colored sepals, the two lateral ones partly united. Corolla.—Of three petals, two large, rounded, pale blue, one small, whitish, and inconspicuous. Stamens.—Six, unequal in size, three small and sterile, with yellow cross-shaped anthers, three fertile, one of which is bent inward. Pistil.—One.

The odd day-flower is so named because its delicate blossoms only expand for a single morning. At the first glance there seem to be but two petals which are large, rounded, and of a delicate shade of blue. A closer examination, however, discovers still another, so inconspicuous in form and color as to escape the notice of the casual observer. This inequality recalls the quaint tradition as to the origin of the plant’s generic name. There were three brothers Commelin, natives of Holland. Two of them were botanists of repute, while the tastes of the third had a less marked botanical tendency. The genus was dedicated to the trio: the two large bright petals commemorating the brother botanists, while the small and unpretentious one perpetuates the memory of him who was so unwise as to take little or no interest in so noble a science. These flowers appear throughout the summer in cool woods and on moist banks.

BLUE LINARIA. BLUE TOADFLAX. Linaria Canadensis. Figwort Family.

Stems.—Slender, six to thirty inches high. Leaves.—Linear. Flowers.—Pale blue or purple, small, in a long terminal raceme. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Two-lipped, with a slender spur, closed in the throat. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One.

The slender spikes of the blue linaria flank the sandy roadsides nearly all summer, and even in November we find a few delicate blossoms still left upon the elongated stems. These flowers have a certain spirituality which is lacking in their handsome, self-assertive relation, butter-and-eggs.

SPIDERWORT. Tradescantia Virginica. Spiderwort Family.

Stems.—Mucilaginous, leafy, mostly upright. Leaves.—Linear, keeled. Flowers.—Blue, clustered, with floral leaves as in the day-flower. Calyx.—Of three sepals. Corolla.—Of three petals. Stamens.—Six, with bearded filaments. Pistil.—One.

The flowers of the spiderwort, like those of the day-flower, to which they are nearly allied, are very perishable, lasting only a few hours. They are found throughout the summer, somewhat south and westward. The genus is named in honor of Tradescant, gardener to Charles I. of England.

PICKEREL-WEED. Pontedaria cordata. Pickerel-weed Family.

Stem.—Stout, usually one-leaved. Leaves.—Arrow or heart-shaped. Flowers.—Blue, fading quickly, with an unpleasant odor, growing in a dense spike. Perianth.—Two-lipped, the upper lip three-lobed and marked with a double greenish-yellow spot, the lower of three spreading divisions. Stamens.—Six, three long and protruding, the three others, which are often imperfect, very short and inserted lower down. Pistil.—One.