BLUE AND PURPLE 



Nearly allied to them is the wild Sweet William, P. maculata, 

 the pink-purple blossoms of which are found along the streams 

 and in the rich woods of somewhat southern localities. 



The beautiful moss pink, P. subulata (p, 204), is also a mem- 

 ber of this genus. 



BLUE-EYED MARY. INNOCENCE. 



CoUinsia verna. Figwort Family. 



Six to twenty inches high. Stems. — Branching ; slender. Leaves. — Op- 

 posite ; the lower oval, the upper ovate-lance-shaped ; clasping by the heart- 

 shaped base. Flowers. — Blue and white, long-stalked; appearing whorled 

 in the axils of the upper leaves. Calyx. — Deeply five-cleft. Corolla. — 

 Deeply two-lipped ; the upper lip two-cleft, the lower three-cleft. Stamens. 

 — Four. Pistil. — One. 



Unfortunately these dainty flowers are not found farther east 

 than Western New York.' From there they spread south and 

 westward, abounding so plentifully in the vicinity of Cincinnati 

 that the moist meadows are blue with their blossoms in spring or 

 early summer. ^..ClT. -.• 



BLUEBELLS. VIRGINIAN COWSLIP. LUNGWORT. 



Mertensia Virginica. Borage Family. 



One to two feet high. Stem. — Smooth; pale, erect. Leaves. — Oblong; 

 veiny. Flowers. — Blue, pinkish in bud ; in raceme-like clusters which are 

 rolled up from the end and straighten as the flowers expand. Calyx. — Five- 

 cleft. Corolla. — Trumpet-shaped; one inch long ; spreading. Stavicns. — 

 Five. Fistil.— One. 



These very lovely blossoms are found in moist places during 

 April and May in parts of New York as well as south and west- 

 ward. The English naturalist, Mr. Alfred Wallace, seeing them, 

 for the first time, in the vicinity of Cincinnati, writes in the 

 Fortnightly Review: '' In a damp river bottom the exquisite 

 blue Mertensia Virgiiiica was found. It is called here the 'Vir- 

 ginian cowslip,' its drooping porcelain -blue bells being somewhat 

 of the size and form of those of the true cowslip. 



279 



