The Plant World 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY. 



Vol. II. OCTOBER, 1898. No. 1 



AMONG COLORADO'S WILD FLOWERS. >^* '^v 



By Charles L. Hincke. J^^J 



SECOND PAPER. 



' ' A thick, sharp nest of dagger-pointed leaves, 



Black tipped, from the gray mesa rises green, ** 



And from its heart there springs amidst the sheen — 

 ******* 



A blossom spire that greets the sky serene, 



O Yucca gloriosa ! " 



— Florence E. Pratt. 



THE Soapweed (Yucca) sometimes called the Spanish Dagger, 

 revels in its stately splendor during June. It produces an im- 

 mense group of long, dagger-pointed and razor-edged light- 

 green leaves, which will often cause a cut of the flesh, while any 

 attempt at gathermg the flowers is invariably met with painful pricks 

 from the sharp points. From out these " cheveux de frise " rises the 

 flower stalk, which at first very much resembles a giant asparagus tip, 

 and is eaten by cattle with evident relish. This stalk rises to a height 

 of two or three feet, bearing at its summit a cluster of bell-shaped 

 flowers of a decidedly soapy fragrance, and somewhat resembling in- 

 verted, half-open pond lilies. They are of three colors: lustreless 

 white, cream and almost pink ; the latter the most beautiful of them 

 all. The leaves of this plant remain green all the year. It is a 

 beautiful sight to see a whole field of these blossoms, standing erect 

 like an array of candles set into the ground for some great feast of 

 Nature. 



But woe to the man who may wish to cultivate this field. To 

 him they cease to be beautiful and became a noxious weed, hard to 

 eradicate. Alas! all these beauties of Nature become weeds the 

 iTLoment they are in the way of man. The Yucca has its uses, how- 

 ever; the root is said to make excellent soap, while the fibre of its 

 leaves resembling hemp, can be used in the making of paper, rope, etc. 



