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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



large round 7-9 lobed leaf, peltate in the middle, like an 

 umbrella ; flowering stems bearing two one-sided leaves, 

 and a nodding white flower from the fork." (See figures.) 

 L'pon first blooming, they are quite fragrant, and the 

 l)ale green bractlets of the flower buds fall off very early. 

 May Apples are perennial, their rootstocks being after 

 the creeping order, and throwing oft' thick, fibrous roots ; 

 while the fruit, which is really a "berry," is many-seeded, 



FiR. 2. THIS IS A VERY HANDSOME SPECIMEN OF THE MAN- 

 DRAKE. SOME OF THE PETALS OF THE LEFT HANI) FLOWER 

 HAVE FALLEN OFF, THUS SHOWING THE FRUIT AT ITS EARLV 

 STAGE OF FORMATION 



Note on the right-hand side where a leaf has grown throtigh an opening 

 in a dead oak leaf that chanced to cover it on the ground where the 

 mandrake started; it has strangled it, and that plant never came to 

 anything. 



and usually grows to become about two inches in length, 

 the form being more or less ovoid or egg-shaped. We 

 often find great patches of these Mandrakes growing in 

 the rich soil on the banks of streams and creeks flowing 

 through wooded areas; but then, again, an acre or more 

 of them may cover some hillside, in a similar soil, where 

 big trees of various species form a belt of timber. 



Podophyllum has long been used in medicine as an 

 efficient cathartic and for a few other purposes ; however, 

 modern physicians seem inclined to discard it. It belongs, 

 with a few other plants, in the Barberry family (Ber- 

 beridaceae) — in so far as the flora of the northeastern 

 sections of the United States go. Twin-leaf, Umbrella 

 leaf. Blue Cohosh, and Barberry are well known repre- 

 sentatives of the same group. All of these occur in the 



flora of the State of Virginia and in many places this 

 side of the Mississippi River. 



The leaves and roots of the Mandrake are poisonous, 

 and children should be cautioned in regard to chewing 

 them. The odor of the flowers is very disagreeable to 

 some people; but then, tastes differ very materially with 

 respect to the fragrance of flowers, and quite a long 

 Story might be written on this subject. 



Mathews informs us that Mandrakes are never found 

 growing wild in Maine, while the plant is rare in Vermont 

 and New Ham])shire ; as we proceed further southward 

 it becomes more abundant. Indeed, in the greater part 

 of New England, its place is taken by the well known 



Fig. 3. THESE SPECIMENS OF THE MANDRAKE ARE TAKEN 

 111 silu AT THE FOOT OF AN OLD OAK TREE 



The plant in the foreground exhibits the fruit when it is about halfway 

 advanced toward maturity. Other plants nearby had their fruit almost 

 ripe upon them. 



Skunk Cabbage, which, it must be believed, is by no means 

 an agreeable exchange. 



In the flower world of the eastern United States, we 

 have another most interesting plant in the Wild Lupine, 

 also called Wild Pea and Sun Dial — less often Old Maid's 

 Bonnets, .\side from the matter of color, one may gain 

 a very good idea of it by studying Figures 5 and 6 of 

 the present article. .\ well-developed plant of this species 

 may grow to become at least two feet in height ; and 



