THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 73 



center, that frequenters of the seaside all admire but few can 

 call by name. It is abundant from Florida to Massachusetts ; 

 and along the coast of the old bay state people have given it 

 the pretty name of "rose of Plymouth," though it bears no re- 

 lationship to a rose. 



Among the many sorts of goldenrod whose cheery blos- 

 soms on the threshold of the frost should be a stimulus to all 

 who are disposed to autumn melancholy, none is more lovely 

 than the seaside goldenrod, which luxuriates on the tonic salt 

 of these meadows, often attaining a height greater than a 

 man's. It is easily distinguished from other varieties by its 

 smooth, thick leaves and showy clusters, consisting of flower 

 heads which resemble miniature sun-flowers. They convince 

 the most skeptical that goldenrods and sunflowers are indeed 

 of one family. 



Here and there certain flowering plants grow so closely 

 together that the marshes are distinctly colored by them over 

 considerable areas. One of these is the marsh rosemary, or 

 sea lavender — a delicate, bushy little herb covered with tiny 

 lavender-colored flowers. It is such a plant as you with to 

 take home with you and set in a vase on your mantle-shelf, as 

 indeed you may, and you will find that it will keep all winter 

 long in its stems and persistent calyx cups a touch of color that 

 will be a pleasant reminder of autumnal days. 



But the great colorist of the salt meadows in the salicor- 

 nia, or marsh-samphire. Every one who visits the seashore in 

 September has seen and marveled at the crimson hue that 

 covers the meadows then as with a mantle. It is due to the 

 presence of myriads of these fleshy, leafless plants standing 

 thick as blades of grass. The flowers are very minute and 

 hidden away in the joints of the stem; and the stems, at first 

 green, are not noticeable amid the general verdure until age 

 reddens them. Then they gradually transform the entire com- 

 plexion of the meadows. — C. F. Sauiiders in Young People. 



