Part 14

The 5 petals of the flower are deeply cleft; where they spread from the deep tube-shaped calyx, each is provided with a pair of little notched tags, which form a pretty crown about the throat of the flower; the texture of the corolla is thin and fine, and the color is pale pink, or white just tinted with rose; the pale, yellow-green calyx is 5-parted and elegantly ornamented with 10 branching ribs, or veins, of a darker color; it is sticky and hairy. The flowers are set on short stems in the angles of the leaves, in pairs usually, while a single blossom sits on a short stem, in the fork of the branches.

After blossoming the seed-box changes its shape to round, and becomes large, the calyx-tips folding together over its top, and the green pattern of the ribs showing more plainly. There is a faint sweet perfume about the flowers which may be only discovered at twilight or in a gray morning, for this is a night-blooming plant.

*Deptford Pink.* Dianthus Armeria. *Mountain Pink.*

Found from July till frost-time, in upland fields and pastures.

The slender, angular and jointed stalk is from 8 to 12 inches in height, occasionally branching, round, smooth and shining. In color dark green.

The leaf is long and narrow, with a strong midrib, an entire margin, thin, tough texture, and a downy surface; in color it is rather a dark and cool green. The leaves, as with all the pinks, clasp the stalk in pairs with a noticeable joint; the pairs occur at right angles to each other.

The 5 petals of the small flower are oblong with finely notched tips; they spread widely, and are of a fine smooth texture, and a deep rose-pink color, dotted with pale pink specks; the green calyx is tubular, 5-parted, and downy, and is enfolded by 4 narrow green bracts. The flowers occur in pairs, from the angles of the leaves, on short leafy stems.

Sometimes, but not often, two flowers are borne on the same stem; it has been observed that the flower-stems are of about equal length with the curving leaves from which they spring. The plant grows in charming jerks and slants, and like all its kin is neatly finished at the joints. An October walk seldom fails to discover a few of these bright-hued Pinks amidst the dying meadow grasses and bare growths of summer; if the seeds are then gathered and spring-sown in the home garden this hardy little plant will consent to cultivation.

ST. JOHN’S-WORT FAMILY.

HYPERICACEÆ.

*Large St. John’s-Wort.* Hypericum perforatum. *Common St. John’s-Wort.*

Found from June to September, in broad sunlight or in shade, growing in dry or moist soil.

The branching, leafy stalk, 1 or 2 feet high, rather slender and smooth, is green in color.

The leaves are usually oblong, with a tapering point, but do not rigorously conform to any model; with entire margins and a thin texture, which if held to the light is seen to be perforated by tiny punctures. The color is a full green, and they are set on the stalk in pairs, the pairs being placed at right angles to each other.

The flower is sometimes ¾ of an inch in width, but more often smaller; the 5 petals are finely notched at the tip and along one side, their color is a strong yellow turning in maturity to tawny; the calyx is 5-parted and a light yellow-green modulating between the petal and leaf colors; the many yellow stamens radiate from the center. The flowers are set in leafy terminal groups.

This cheery neighbor to the Daisy and Yarrow, though spruce and pretty when freshly adorned with bloom, is, it must be confessed, a sad slattern, for it does not shed its withered petals but holds them, ragged and unkempt, among the newly opened flowers during the long season of its blossoming. The yellow of the unopened bud is of a noticeably fine quality.

*Lesser St. John’s-Wort.* Hypericum maculatum.

Found in damp, weedy thickets and fields, during July and August.

The slender, very round, fine-fibred stalk, from 12 to 18 inches high, is noticeably erect in gesture, and bears short angular branches. Its green is often tinged with a ruddy color.

The leaf is oblong, with an entire margin, and smooth, fine texture; the perforations are not conspicuous, and the color is a full green. The arrangement is in pairs.

The 5 petals of the small flower are sharp-pointed, thin, and yellow, faintly marked with black lines which show more strongly on the outside than on the inside of the corolla; the calyx is greenish and 5-parted. The flowers, on short stems, form terminal groups.

This little plant’s habits are in marked contrast to its larger brother John, for it is as tidy in rolling up into tiny bundles its faded petals, as the other is careless of appearances. Though its flower is less conspicuous, the reward, when the plant matures, more than compensates, for as early as mid-July the upper surface of the leaves take on a beautiful crimson flush that mingles with the green of the underside, while the stalk becomes a slender wand of scarlet.

MALLOW FAMILY.

MALVACEÆ.

*Common Mallow.* Malva rotundifolia. *Cheeses.*

Found from August till frost-time around dwellings and along waysides.

The lopping, large, round stalk, with many leaves, lies low upon the ground; it is slightly hairy, and green.

The large, rounding leaf is heart-shaped at the base, and is slightly lobed; the margin is notched with small round scallops, the ribs radiate from the base, and the surface is soft to the touch. The leaves, on their long, and short, rough stems (from 1 to 12 inches in length), are placed alternately. The color is a dark green.