WHITE 



NEW JERSEY TEA. RED-ROOT. 



Ceanothus Americaniis. Buckthorn Family. 



J^oot. — Dark red. Stefn. — Shrubby ; one to three feet high. Flowers. — 

 White; small; clustered. Calyx. — White; petal-like; five-lobed ; in- 

 curved. Corolla. — With five long-clawed hooded petals. Stamens. — Five. 

 Pistil. — One, with three stigmas. 



This shrubby plant is very common in dry woods. In July 

 its white feathery flower-clusters brighten many a shady nook in 

 an otherwise flowerless neighborhood. During the Revolution 

 its leaves were used as a substitute for tea. 



BASTARD TOADFLAX. 



Comandra umbellata. Sandalwood Family. 



Stem. — Eight to ten inches high ; branching; leafy. Leaves. — Alter- 

 nate; oblong; pale. Flozuers. — Greenish-white; small; clustered. Calyx. 

 — Bell or urn-shaped; five-cleft. Corolla. — None. Stamens'. — Five; in- 

 serted on the edge of a disk which lines the calyx, to the middle of which 

 the anthers are connected by a tuft of thread-like hairs. Pistil. — One; 

 slender. Fruit. — Nut-like ; crowned by the lobes of the calyx. 



In May or June we often find masses of these little flowers 

 in the dry, open woods. The root of the bastard toadflax forms 

 parasitic attachments to the roots of trees. 



WHITE SWEET CLOVER. WHITE MELILOT. 



Melilotus alba. Pulse Family. 



Stem. — Two to four feet high. Leaves. — Divided into three-toothed 

 leaflets. Flowers. — Papilionaceous; white; growing in spike-like racemes. 



Like its yellow sister, M. officinalis, this plant is found blos- 

 soming along the roadsides throughout the summer. The flowers 

 are said to serve as flavoring in Gruyere cheese, snuff, and smok- 

 ing-tobacco, and to act like camphor when packed with furs to 

 preserve them from moths, besides imparting a pleasant fra- 

 grance. 



64 



