THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 7 



It has been much easier to select the finest flower for mass- 

 ing. In the North Atlantic States, the mountain laurel (Kalmia 

 latifolia) wins easily, but lupine (Lupinus pcrermis) , the 

 showy lady's-slipper, the cardinal flower, the butterfly weed 

 (Asclepias tuberosa), the lungwort (Mertensia Virginica), the 

 flowering dogwood (C 'ornus Uorida) and the bluet (Houstonia 

 coerulea) have many admirers. Mr. Hoyt writes from Maine : 

 "Nothing to my mind excels the showy lady's-slipper when 

 seen in clumps of from ten to thirty stalks, with usually two 

 flowers on a stalk, the pure white flowers blotched and stained 

 on the lip with crimson apparently spilled over the flower." In 

 the Middle West the wild crab and blue-eyed Mary or inno- 

 cence {Collinsia verna) compete for first place though the 

 prairie phlox (P. pilosa) is also mentioned. Farther west the 

 white evening primrose (Hartmannia speciosa) , New England 

 Aster {Aster Nova-Angliae) and Verbena stricta have the 

 preference. The Pacific Coast is true to the California poppy 

 {Escholtzia Calif ornica). Of this flower Rev. W. A. Squires 

 writes : "It is a magnificent flower even when seen singly, be- 

 ing fairly dazzlingly bright in well developed specimens, but it is 

 even more striking when seen in masses. When the growing 

 season has been favorable, this flower fairly sets the hills on 

 fire about San Francisco Bay. If you come in from the Pacific 

 through the Golden Gate in the proper season you will notice 

 that the Marin hills, the heights of Angel Island and the 

 Berkeley highlands are lit up with a golden glow like that of 

 the sunset. It is due to the great natural beds of the Cali- 

 fornia poppies." 



In view of the fact that no less than three States have 

 adopted the goldenrod as the State flower, it is remarkable that 

 this genus of plants failed to receive a mention. The plants, 



