SOLOMON'S-SEAL 



tinguished from the Twisted Stalk by its flowers, 

 which are terminal, while those of Twisted Stalk ap- 

 pear in the axils of the leaves. 



In autumn, if all has gone well, one or two bright-red 

 berries hang on slender stems at the tip of the flower- 



ing branchlets. 



SOLOMON'S-SEAL 



Polygondtum bifldrum. Salomdnia hifldra 



Polygondtum, the ancient name; composed of polus, 

 many, and g07iu, knee; alluding to the numerous joints of 

 the rootstock. 



Perennial. Rich woods and shaded hillsides. New 

 Brunswick, Ontario, and Minnesota, southward to the 

 Carolinas, west to Kansas and Nebraska. Abundant in 

 northern Ohio. April-June. 



Rootstock. — Horizontal, thick, jointed, plainly showing 

 the growth of each year. 



Stem. — Simple, one to three feet high, smooth, leafy, 

 curving. 



Leaves. — Alternate, oblong, pointed, nearly sessile or 

 half-clasping, parallel-veined, two to four inches long. 



Flowers. — Yellowish green bells, in pairs along the stem 

 from the axils of the leaves. 



Perianth. — A six-lobed tube, lobes acute, not spreading. 



Stamens. — Six, inserted on the perianth tube; anthers 

 introrse. 



Pistil. — One; ovary three-celled; stigma obscurely 

 three-lobed. 



Fruit. — Berry the size of a pea; dark blue or nearly 

 black, with a bloom. 



Pollinated by flies and bees. 



31 



