YELLOW 



EARLY MEADOW PARSNIP. 



Zizia aurea. Parsley Family. 



One to three feet high. Leaves. — Twice or thrice-compound ; leaflets 

 oblong to lance-shaped; toothed. Flowcis. — Yellow; small; in com- 

 pound umbels. 



This is one of the earHest members of the Parsley family 

 to appear. Its golden flower-clusters brighten the damp mead- 

 ows and the borders of streams in May or June, and closely 

 resemble the meadow parsnip, Thaspiiim aiiremn, of which 

 this species was formerly considered a variety, of the later 

 year. 



The tall, stout, common wild parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, is 

 another yellow representative of this family in which white 

 flowers prevail, the three plants here mentioned being the only 

 yellow species commonly encountered. The common parsnip 

 may be identified by its grooved stem and simply compound 

 leaves. Its roots have been utilized for food at least since the 

 reign of Tiberius, for Pliny tells us that that Emperor brought 

 them to Rome from the banks of the Rhine, where they were 

 successfully cultivated. 



DOWNY YELLOW VIOLET. 



Viola pubescens. Violet Family. 



Stems. — Leafy above ; erect. Leaves. — Broadly heart-shaped ; toothed. 

 Flozvers. — Yellow, veined with purple ; otherwise much like those of the 

 common blue violet. 



** When beechen buds begin to swell, 



And woods the blue-bird's warble know, 

 The yellow violet's modest bell 



Peeps from the last year's leaves below," 



sings Bryant, in his charming, but not strictly accurate poem, 

 for the chances are that the * ' beechen buds ' ' have almost burst 

 into foliage, and that the '' blue-bird's warble" has been heard 



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