OUR MOST FRAGRANT FLOWERS 



r I 'HE attempt to name the most fragrant American wild- 

 flower has resulted in considerable difference of opin- 

 ion. This, however, was not unexpected. Our country is so 

 large that no native species is common to all parts of it and 

 each region is likely to have its own candidate for the honor. 

 Even in more restricted areas it is often difficult to decide the 

 merits of rival species. There is so much besides mere 

 fragrance that must be taken into account. Rev. Geo. A. 

 Fuller of Massachusetts, writes : 'T think the most powerful 

 fragrance is that of the azalea, both pink and white, the sweet- 

 est the white water lily, and the most subtile, the arbutus. 

 Charles C. Plitt, of Baltimore, after mentioning arbutus, 

 pipsissewa, and Schweinitzia (Monotropsis), votes for the 

 partridge berry (Mitchella rcpcns). C. L. Gruber, balancing 

 the claims of the common locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and 

 the wild crab (Pyrus coronaria), stands for the former. In 

 Maine, William Hoyt favors the white water lily with the trail- 

 ing arbutus and the white bog orchid (Habenaria dilatata) as 

 close competitors, and in New Hampshire, Miss S. F. Sanborn 

 favors Linnaca borealis, John Burroughs is on record as 

 favoring the horned bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta). Of 

 this he says : "In a warm moist atmosphere the odor is almost 

 too strong." On the whole the New England vote is for the 

 pink azalea (Azalea nudiflora), with the white water lily 

 (Castalia odorata) second. It is a question whether the fra- 

 grance of the arbutus is not enhanced by the fact that it is our 

 first fragrant wildflower of the year. 



