•VHITE 



rather inconspicuous, one's attention being chiefly attracted by 

 its many whorls of slender leaves. 



SMALL BEDSTRAW. 



Galium trifidum. Madder Family. 



Stems. — Weak; five to twenty inches high ; rough. Leaves. — In whorls 

 of four to six. Floxvers. — White ; small ; one to seven in a cluster. Calyx- 

 teeth. — Obsolete. Corolla. — Three or four-parted. Stamens. — Three or 

 four. Pistil. — One, with two styles. Fruit. — Globular; smooth; sepa- 

 rating when ripe into two parts. 



Very common in wet places is the small bedstraw. From its 

 relative, cleavers or goose-grass, it may be distinguished by its 

 smooth fruit, and by the number of leaves in a whorl. 



ROUGH BEDSTRAW. 



Galium asprellum. Madder Family. 



Stem. — Much branched ; rough with crooked prickles ; leaning on bushes ; 

 three to four feet high. Leaves. — In whorls of four to six; with almost 

 prickly margins ; sharply-pointed at tip ; oval. Floivers. — As in small bed- 

 straw. 



This larger bedstraw is common and noticeable in New Eng- 

 land, as well as farther south and west. All three species of Ga- 

 lium are conspicuous chiefly on account of their pretty foliage. 



BLACK COHOSH. BUGBANE. BLACK SNAKEROOT. 



Cimicifuga racejnosa. Crowfoot Family. 



Stem. — Three to eight feet high. Leaves. — Divided, the leaflets toothed 

 or incised. Floioers. — White ; growing in elongated wand-like racemes. 

 Calyx. — Of four or five white petal-like sepals; falling early. Corolla. — 

 Of from one to eight white petals or transformed stamens. Sta?7iens. — 

 Numerous, with slender white filaments. Pistils. — One to three. 



The tall white wands of the black cohosh shoot up in the 

 shadowy woods of midsummer like so many ghosts. A curious- 

 looking plant it is, bearing aloft the feathery flowers which have 

 such an unpleasant odor that even the insects are supposed to 



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