Part 10

Found in sunny places, by clear water and in moist meadows during May.

The single stalk, from 12 to 16 inches in height, is branching only for the flowers; it is large, fibrous, and strong, grooved, but very smooth, and of a shining, pure, green color.

The lower leaves are 3 or 4 inches long, lyre-shaped, and cut nearly to the midrib into 5 or 7 irregular lobes, the middle lobe being very round; the upper leaves are cut less deeply, and are small; the margins are entire, the texture strong, and the lower surface rough, the upper being smooth and shining; in color, dark full green. The lowest leaves are on clasping stems, all the rest clasp the stalk with a pair of wings, alternately.

The 4 petals of the small flower are rounding, and arranged in pairs within the small 4-parted green calyx; they are of a charming light yellow color, and so are the 6 stamens. These stamens group themselves oddly about the central pistil,--two pairs stand in front of the pairs of petals, and the single shorter stamens fill the more open spaces left in the opposite angles. The flowers form loose terminal groups.

The stalk springs from a foot-rosette of the rich green leaves, and is one of the earliest risers of the spring, in its chosen home--a marshy meadow.

*Field Mustard.* Brassica Sinapistrum. *Charlock.* *Crowd Weed (W. Va.).*

Found in grain fields, and along cultivated lands, from July to September.

The large and branching stalk is zigzag or curved in habit of growth, about 2 or 3 feet high, and ribbed; with occasional hairs; it is bright green in color.

The lower leaves are lyre-shaped and large, the middle lobe wide and curving to a long pointed tip, the side lobes being narrow; the upper leaves are irregularly cut; the margins are notched (the points of the notches often turn toward the stem), the edge curling or wavy; the midribs and netted veins often pucker the surface, which is shining; the color is a clear full green. They are set on short stems, or clasp the stalk, and are alternately arranged.

The flower has 4 shell-shaped petals, with very long and erect bases, of a fine texture, and yellow color with a tinge of green; the calyx is 4-divided, its parts slender and wide-spreading, also yellow but with a marked tendency to green. The flowers form close leafy terminal clusters.

As the petals fall early and only two or three flowers are open at once, the seed-pods, green and shining, form a distinctive feature of the plant; when they ripen, and in their turn drop, their little foot-stems are left bristling along the elongating branch. The leaf suggests Gothic ornament with its quaint curves and lines.

*Wild Kale.* Brassica nigra. *Black Mustard.*

Found in fallow fields in August.

The stalk, about 3 feet in height, branches near the top, and is leafy; it is round, but flattened just beneath a joint, smooth, save for an occasional weak bristle-like hair, and of a shining light green color, becoming darker and tinged with purplish-red at the joints.

The lower leaves are deeply cleft into 5 or more lobes, the middle lobe being largest, with irregularly notched margins; the upper leaves are a narrow oblong shape, but slightly toothed; all the leaves are loose-textured, hairy underneath, and green, the lower ones having a yellow tint. They are set on stems, alternately, and at the spring of the branches.

The 4 petals of the small flower have slender bases, and spread their tips in the oblong-cross design which gives the family of Mustards its Latin name; their texture is delicate, and color a pure yellow; the pistil is green, with a yellow tip, and there are 4 yellow stamens; the 4 calyx-divisions are slender, greenish-yellow, and as long as the base of the petals which they hold loosely. The flowers form round club-like clusters, which prolong themselves as the blossoms mature.

The seed-pod is 4-angled, and tipped with the little tenacious pistil. These light and feathery flowers are seen to best advantage when, lifting their slender stems above the thickets that congregate in the lee of old buildings, they show their yellow against the weather-worn gray-lavender timbers. They love old cellar-holes also, and peep airily in at the blank windows of deserted houses.

*Pepper-grass.* Lepidium Virginicum. *Birds’ Pepper (Neb.).*

Found blooming inconspicuously from June to October, upon barrens and waste fields.

The often branching stalk is leafy above the first branch, though bare below, and grows from 6 to 24 inches in height according to its opportunities; it is slender but of a woody, tough fibre, and smooth; gray-green in color.

The narrow small leaf, with its tapering base, is only occasionally notched, and is of a dusty-green color. The leaves are set on the stalk alternately, and in little groups.

The very tiny unnoticeable flower has 4 thin, white petals, and 2 little stamens; the green calyx is barely visible. The flowers are set on thread stems, in loose, stiff, club-shaped and long clusters.

The most important feature of this plant is the seed; as the bloom moves upward it leaves behind a long stretch of maturing seed-pods, like little flat discs with a tiny notch at the top; a pungent flavor belongs to these pods, which is found acceptable by the cosmopolitan palate of childhood.

ROCK-ROSE FAMILY.

CISTACEÆ.

*Rock-Rose.* Helianthemum Canadense. *Frost Weed.*

Found in bloom during June on dry open hillsides and pastures.

The slightly branching, leafy stalk, which grows from 12 to 15 inches high, is woody-fibred, and slender, and rough to the touch with short stiff hairs; it is red or tawny in color.