14 THE PLANT WORLD 



Briefer Articles. 



THE PARSLEYS. 



Next to the composites in abundance and conspicuousness of the 

 members might be placed the parsleys. From the time that the first 

 meadow parsnip, Zizia aiirea, shows its golden umbels in the meadows 

 until the tall gaunt stalks of the parsnip scatter their seeds on the 

 early snows, this family is hardly without some representative in 

 bloom in field, swamp, or meadow. The one just mentioned, Zizia aurea, 

 is usually to be found coming into bloom in late April or early May and 

 is a companion of the bluets and robin's plantain. Soon after in woods 

 or thickets, or even by open roadsides, may be found one or both of the 

 sweet cicely accredited to this region, usually the smooth species, 

 Washingtonia loyigistylis. By this time the season of the parsleys is 

 fully on, although the}^ do not reach their maximum abundance until 

 late in the summer. 



In rich woods one is almost sure to find one of the sanicles — usually 

 Sayiiaila Marylandica, although ^. gregaria, S. Canade?isis, and 5*. tri- 

 foliata are all put down as native to southern New England and west- 

 ward. 



This spring I found for the first time the Lonewort, Deringa Canaden- 

 sis. Although it is not put down in the manuals as a rare plant, it was 

 my first sight of it in eastern New York. It is given as a monotypic 

 genus of Eastern America and Japan. 



One of the most noticeable of all the parsleys is the great angelica, 

 Angelica atropurpurea, which can be found in moist situations, where 

 it often attains a height of six feet or more, the large hollow stems 

 usually being in evidence until the next spring. In the same localities 

 as the great angelica and in bloom about the same time can be found 

 many other members of this family, among them being the marterwort or 

 cow-parsnip — Heracletim lanatum ; also the hemlock water-parsnip, 

 Sium cicutaefoliiim , noticeable for its variable leaf forms. 



The poisonous soursquash root, Cicuta maailata, is generally to 

 be found in the low swamps, and sometimes its near relative, the Cicuta 

 bulbifera, which can not be mistaken because of the bulblets borne in 

 the axils of its upper leaves. 



In very wet places or even in sluggish streams the little marsh penny- 

 wort, Hydrocotyle Americana, is sure to be found. To the casual 

 observer this plant bears little resemblance to the other members of the 

 Umbelliferae, although it is as truly a parsley as the great angelica. 



