BELLFLOWER FAMILY 



Stem. — Two to four feet high, rarely branched, leafy, 

 hollow; sending out offsets. 



Leaves. — Alternate, oblong to lanceolate, slightly 

 toothed, acute or acuminate, mostly sessile, the upper 

 clasp the stem. 



Flowers. — Brilliant vermilion, rarely rose or white. 

 One to two inches long, two-lipped, growing in dense, 

 terminal, erect, more or less one-sided racemes. 



Calyx. — Five-cleft; lobes linear, acute. 



Corolla. — Tubular, two-lipped, split down upper side. 

 Upper lip two-lobed; lower lip with three spreading lobes. 



Stamens. — Five, united into a tube around the style; 

 anthers, varying in size, two with hairy tips. 



Pistil. — Ovary two-celled; stigma two-lobed. 



Fruit. — A two-valved capsule; seeds many. 



Pollinated by bees. Nectar-bearing. 



The Cardinal Flower is rarely found by the road- 

 side, its color is too brilliant to escape marauders; 

 but over the fence where a runlet makes its way 

 through a meadow one often sees it following the course 

 of the tiny stream and sometimes it appears in mass. 

 Apart from its gorgeous color the corolla is interest- 

 ing as a typical example of the Lobelia group. The 

 two-lipped corolla has a long, slender tube which is 

 split down the upper side its entire length, and through 

 this the stamen tube and the style protrude. This 

 is characteristic of the genus. 



Although the plant has been transferred to the 

 garden, it is happier by the brookside where the spring 

 freshets will bring the water six inches or more deep, 

 over its roots. Here established in the mud it will 

 renew itself by seeds and offshoots as it will not do by 

 the garden walk. 



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