210 THE PLANT WOELD 



FIELD NOTES OF A MIDSUMMER TRAMP. 



By Charles C. Plitt, ^ 



MY friend and I met one day at Camden Station, Baltimore, to 

 take the early train to Glenburnie. Arriving at the latter place, 

 we took our usual route past the old hut to the pond. To-day 

 again, as on our last four trips, the variety of fungi attracted consider- 

 able attention. What a harvest this year for the mycologist! We were 

 satisfied, however, in simply admiring them. One beautiful large mush- 

 room with a fungous growth all over the pileus, showed how these 

 I)lants not only attack the higher plants, but even prey one upon the 

 other. The parasitism of the Gerardia [G. Jlava) was examined. A 

 I)lant was carefully dug up so as to disturb the roots as little as pos- 

 sible. The little sucker-like disks on its rootlets, attached to the roots 

 of a species of Vaccinium ( V. vacillans) w^hich grew close by were read- 

 ily seen. The rootlets of the Gerardia no doubt possess the power of 

 forming these disks whenever they come in contact with other roots. 

 That they have not the power of discernment, however, is also seen, for 

 they frequently attach themselves to other roots of the same plant of 

 which they themselves are members. 



When we arrived at the branch, we walked along the half swampy 

 lowland bordering its bank. The chain-fern ( Woodivardia angustifolia) 

 was in profusion, but what pleased us most was the finding of Hahena- 

 ria Blephariglotfis. We had never before seen it here, although during 

 the spring I saw a plant which made me suspect its presence. This 

 year seems to be again a good one for this beautiful orchid, judging 

 from the number found in flower. There were many beautiful speci- 

 mens, though I found none that equalled the unusually fine ones found 

 last year year in another locality. Later we visited this spot also, but 

 here too they were not so large. This plant, although it grows in very 

 damp places, does not seem to like excessively wet ones. In the latter 

 places we found instead H. tridentata, a much smaller and very much 

 less showy species. We were surprised to find in one of these very wet 

 places a plant of Cypripediufm acaide. It had not bloomed, nor was it 

 in a flourishing condition. The plant, in this vicinity at any rate, 

 grows and thrives in very much drier situations. Rhus copallina, the 

 dwarf sumach, is now found in flower, and I think is the last of all the 

 sumachs to bloom. 



As we left the hut, Mr. W. kept close to the stream; I took the 

 drier path, and had not gone far when he called me. From the racket 

 that he made, I thought that something important had been found, and 

 so it proved to be — two beautiful specimens of Hahenaria ciliaris. A 

 very important find we considered it, for we know of but one other 



