CANNA FAMILY 51 



BLOODWORT FAMILY {Haemodoraceae) 



Flowers small, woolly, dull yellow, 6-parted, many, in terminal 

 inflorescence. Fruit a capsule. 



Redroot (Genus Gyrotheca) 



Dull clusters of redroot flowers are locally abundant 

 during spring and summer in wet grounds, where the dry 

 stems and seed capsules remain through the winter, and 

 from a little distance suggest the ripened heads of some 

 composite. T^ie root sap is brightly colored, and doubt as 

 to the identit r of redroot is easily settled by pulling up 

 a bit of the root and crushing it between the fingers. 



An allied plant, Lophiola americana, found in low pine- 

 lands from northern Florida to New Jersey, resembles 

 redroot in appearance, as the flowers of both are clustered 

 in a woolly inflorescence. Counting the stamens is a cer- 

 tain way of distinguishing these plants, as redroot flowers 

 have three stamens, and the flowers of lophiola have six. 



Gyrotheca tinctoria. Flowers dull yellowish green, 6- 

 parted, woolly outside, nearly I/2 in. long, densely clust5(red 

 in flat-topped inflorescence at summit of leafy stem 1-4 ft. 

 tall. Leaves sword-shaped, narrow, shorter than stem. Roots 

 red. Wet places. Blooming in spring and summer. Fla. to 

 Mass. 



CANNA FAMILY {Cannaceae) 

 Flowers yellow, showy, very irregular. Fruit a capsule. 



Canna. Indian-Shot (Genus Canna) 



A flash of pale gold banners from the borders of swamps 

 in spring proclaims the wild canna to be in bloom. The 

 flowers of this ornamental plant, which is closely related 



