Part 1

WILD FLOWERS WORTH KNOWING

ADAPTED BY ASA DON DICKINSON From Nature’s Garden

BY NELTJE BLANCHAN

1917

PREFACE

A still more popular edition of what has proved to the author to be a surprisingly popular book, has been prepared by the able hand of Mr. Asa Don Dickinson, and is now offered in the hope that many more people will find the wild flowers in Nature’s garden all about us well worth knowing. For flowers have distinct objects in life and are everything they are for the most justifiable of reasons, i.e., the perpetuation and the improvement of their species. The means they employ to accomplish these ends are so various and so consummately clever that, in learning to understand them, we are brought to realize how similar they are to the fundamental aims of even the human race. Indeed there are few life principles that plants have not worked out satisfactorily. The problems of adapting oneself to one’s environment, of insuring healthy families, of starting one’s children well in life, of founding new colonies in distant lands, of the cooperative method of conducting business as opposed to the individualistic, of laying up treasure in the bank for future use, of punishing vice and rewarding virtue--these and many other problems of mankind the flowers have worked out with the help of insects, through the ages. To really understand what the wild flowers are doing, what the scheme of each one is, besides looking beautiful, is to give one a broader sympathy with both man and Nature and to add a real interest and joy to life which cannot be too widely shared.

Neltje Blanchan.

Oyster Bay, New York, January 2, 1917.

Editor’s Note.--The nomenclature and classification of Gray’s New Manual of Botany, as rearranged and revised by Professors Robinson and Fernald, have been followed throughout the book. This system is based upon that of Eichler, as developed by Engler and Prantl. A variant form of name is also sometimes given to assist in identification.--A.D.D.

CONTENTS

Preface, and Editor’s Note

WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY (Alismaceae) Broad-leaved Arrow-head

ARUM FAMILY (Araceae) Jack-in-the-Pulpit; Skunk Cabbage

SPIDERWORT FAMILY (Commelinaceae) Virginia or Common Day-flower

PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY (Pontederiaceae) Pickerel Weed

LILY FAMILY (Liliaceae) American White Hellebore; Wild Yellow, Meadow, Field or Canada Lily; Red, Wood, Flame or Philadelphia Lily; Yellow Adder’s Tongue or Dog-tooth “Violet”; Yellow Clintonia; Wild Spikenard or False Solomon’s Seal; Hairy, True or Twin-flowered Solomon’s Seal; Early or Dwarf Wake-Robin; Purple Trillium; Ill-scented Wake-Robin or Birth-root; Carrion flower

AMARYLLIS FAMILY (Amaryllidaceae) Yellow Star-grass

IRIS FAMILY (Iridaceae) Larger Blue Flag, Blue Iris or Fleur-de-lis; Blackberry Lily; Pointed Blue-eyed Grass, Eye-bright or Blue Star

ORCHIS FAMILY (Orchidaceae) Large Yellow Lady’s Slipper, Whippoorwill’s Shoe or Yellow Moccasin Flower; Moccasin Flower or Pink, Venus’ or Stemless Lady’s Slipper; Showy, Gay or Spring Orchis; Large, Early or Purple-fringed Orchis; White-fringed Orchis; Yellow-fringed Orchis; Calopagon or Grass Pink; Arethusa or Indian Pink; Nodding Ladies’ Tresses

BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (Polygonaceae) Common Persicaria, Pink Knotweed or Jointweed or Smartweed

POKEWEED FAMILY (Phytolaccaceae) Pokeweed, Scoke, Pigeon-berry, Ink-berry or Garget

PINK FAMILY (Caryophyllaceae) Common Chickweed; Corn Cockle, Corn Rose, Corn or Red Campion, or Crown-of-the-Field; Starry Campion; Wild Pink or Catchfly; Soapwort, Bouncing Bet or Old Maid’s Pink

PURSLANE FAMILY (Portulacaceae) Spring Beauty or Claytonia

WATER-LILY FAMILY (Nymphaeaceae) Large Yellow Pond or Water Lily, Cow Lily or Spatterdock; Sweet-scented White Water or Pond Lily

CROWFOOT FAMILY (Ranunculaceae) Common Meadow Buttercup, Tall Crowfoot or Cuckoo Flower; Tall Meadow Rue; Liver-leaf, Hepatica, Liverwort or Squirrel Cup; Wood Anemone or Wind Flower; Virgin’s Bower, Virginia Clematis or Old Man’s Beard; Marsh Marigold, Meadow-gowan or American Cowslip; Gold-thread or Canker-root; Wild Columbine; Black Cohosh, Black Snakeroot or Tall Bugbane; White Bane-berry or Cohosh

BARBERRY FAMILY (Berberidaceae) May Apple, Hog Apple or Mandrake; Barberry or Pepperidge-bush

POPPY FAMILY (Papaveraceae) Bloodroot; Greater Celandine or Swallow-wort

FUMITORY FAMILY (Fumariaceae) Dutchman’s Breeches; Squirrel Corn