STANDLEY FLORA OF GLACIER PARK. 311 



leaves are often badly eaten by insects. The plant is said to be poisonous to stock. 

 The powdered roots of some species of Veratruni are used in insect powder, but the 

 drug hellebore is obtained from a plant of the buttercup family. Small pieces of 

 the dried roots of false hellebore were snuffed up the nose by the Blackfoot Indians 

 as a remedy for headache. 



6. ALLIUM L. Onion. 



Plants glabrous, from bulbs, with a characteristic odor; flowers in umbels, the 

 umbel with thin papery bracts at the base; fruit a small capsule. — The cultivated 

 onions, garlic, and leek belong to the genus. 



Leaves hollow; petals about 1 cm. long 1. A. sibiricum. 



Leaves flat, not hollow; petals 4 to 6 mm. long. 



Flowers all or mostly replaced by bulblets 2. A. fibrosum. 



Flowers not replaced by bulblets. 

 Umbel recurved; outer bulb coats not separating into fibers ... 3. A. cernuum. 

 Umbel erect; outer bulb coats separating into fibers 4. A. nuttallii. 



1. Allium sibiricum L. Purple onion. Frequent at middle altitudes and just 

 above timber line; occasionally found at low altitudes, in moist meadows or in 

 woods. Alaska to Oreg., Colo., N. Y., and Me.— Plants 30 to 60 cm. high; leaves 

 10 to 20 cm. long; flowers rose-colored or purplish pink, in large dense umbels. 



A very handsome plant, often forming dense patches. As in other species, the 

 sepals and petals persist in fruit. The billbs have an extremely hot taste. 



2. Allium fibrosum Rydb. On the east slope at low and middle altitudes, on 

 open hillsides or in aspen woods; rare. Idaho, Mont., and Wyo. — Plants 20 to 30 

 cm. high, slender; bulbs with fibrous coats; petals 6 to 7 mm. long, but all or most 

 of the flowers replaced by small bulbs. 



3. Allium cernuum Roth. Nodding onion. Common at nearly all altitudes, in 

 woods or thickets or on open slopes or rock slides. B. C. to N. Mex., W. Va., and N. Y. 

 (A. recurvatura Rydb.) — Plants 30 to 60 cm. high, often in clumps; leaves 10 to 20 cm. 

 long., 2 to 5 mm. wide; petals pale or deep pink, 5 mm. long, obtuse. 



The Blackfoot Indians ate the bulbs raw, and used them for flavoring soups, etc. 



4. Allium nuttallii S.Wats. Dry open hillside near foot of Sherburne Lake. Idaho 

 to Ariz., Ivans., and S. Dak.- — Plants 10 to 30 cm. high, from large bulbs; leaves 10 to 

 15 cm. long, 2 to 3 mm. wide; petals 4 to 6 mm. long, acute, pink or white. 



7. ERYTHEONIUM L. 



1. Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh. Glacier lily. Common nearly everywhere 

 on the east slope in open places or on brushy hillsides; on the west slope found chiefly 

 at middle and high altitudes. B. C. and Wash, to Wyo. and Mont. — Plants glabrous, 

 with bulbs; stems 20 to 40 cm. high, 1 to 5-flowered; leaves lanceolate to oval, sharp- 

 pointed, 10 to 20 cm. long; petals yellow, 3 to 5 cm. long; fruit a 3-angled capsule, 3 

 to 4 cm. long. 



Sometimes known as adder's-tongue or dog-tooth violet. Few flowers of the park 

 attract as much attention as this, and few are as showy. Tourists get the impression 

 that the plant grows only above timber line, for this is the only place where it is in 

 flower during the tourist season, but in early spring the plant is common on the foothills 

 of the east slope. It may be found in blossom all summer at high altitudes, the plants 

 coming into flower very promptly as the snow melts; indeed, they are in bloom right 

 up to the edges of the snow banks. The finest and most persistent display of the 

 flowers in summer is at Iceberg Lake, but they are found in most similar situations. 

 The petals usually hang on the flower for some time after they have withered. The 

 bulbs are dug and eaten by bears. Specimens of Erythronium from Glacier Park have 

 been determined as E. obtusatum Goodding, but they do not appear essentially differ- 

 ent from typical E. grandiflorum. 



