122 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



"meadow sweet," "bridewort." "nieadwort" .ind "meadow 

 queen." "Queen of the prairie" is another term to signif\' 

 the preference of our i)lants for open places. The species is 

 also known as "honey-sweet" and "sweet ba)." the latter name, 

 it might be said ha\ing nothing in common with the plant re- 

 garded as the true sweet bay. Still other Spiraea-like plants 

 are those in the genus Aruncus which are commonl\- known 

 as "goat's beards." Probably the name, which is a \er}- old 

 one, was suggested by the panicles of creamy-white flowers 

 which the plants bear. It is embodied in the generic term 

 Aruucns given to the plants by Pliu}- in the tirst century of our 

 iCra. 



Though now and then various species of roseworts ma}' 

 so closely resemble the buttercups as to be confused with them, 

 the resemblance is seldom close enough to puzzle the l)otanist 

 himself, except in the case of the xarious species of (Jriiin. One 

 of the main tlilYerences Ijetween tlie two. il ma}' be ol)served. is 

 that in the roseworts the stamens are on the caly.x while in the 

 buttercups they are on the receptacle. None of the (icums, 

 however, have names in the vernacular that suggest resem- 

 blances to the bnttercu])s, ])ossibly 1)ecruise tiieir medicinal 

 properties, fancied or real, have o\ershadowcd (tther charac- 

 teristics. The most important instance of this is (icitiii n:\ilc 

 which is known as "throatwort," "throat root" and "cureall.' 

 Aside from its medicinal \irlues, this species has some standing 

 as a beverage plant, a decoction of llie root l)eing reported to 

 be a fair substitute for chocolate. In conse(|uence, it has been 

 known as "chocolate root" and "Indian chocolate." The best 

 known name is "jmrple avens." The pendulous blossoms have 

 also earned for the plant tlu- name of "drooping avens" while 

 "water avens" and "river avens" allude to its habit. "Evans 

 root" is manifestly a variant of "avens root." Gcitm stricium 

 is known as "vellow avens" for the color of its flowers, and 



