BLUE AND PURPLE 



and has been gathered with various ceremonies and with the in- 

 vocation of a blessing, which began as follows : 



" Hallowed be thou, Vervain, 

 As thou growest on the ground, 

 For in the Mount of Calvary 

 There thou wast first found." 



It was then supposed to be endued with especial virtue, and 

 was worn on the person to avert disaster. 



The time-honored title of simpler' s joy arose from the re- 

 muneration which this popular plant brought to the " simplers " 

 — as the gatherers of medicinal herbs were entitled. 



MONKEY-FLOWER. 



Mimuliis ringens. Figwort Family. 



Stem. — Square; one to two feet high. Leaves. — Opposite; oblong or 

 lance-shaped. Flowers. — Pale violet-purple, rarely white; growing singly 

 from the axils of the leaves. Calyx. — Five-angled; five-toothed; the upper 

 tooth largest. Corolla. — Tubular; two-lipped; the upper lip erect or 

 spreading, two-lobed, the lower spreading and three-lobed ; the throat 

 closed. Stamens. — Four. Pistil. — One, with a two-lobed stigma. 



From July onward the monkey-flowers tinge the wet fields 

 and border the streams and ponds; not growing in the water 

 like the pickerel-weed, but seeking a hummock in the swamp, or 

 a safe foothold on the brook's edge, where they can absorb the 

 moisture requisite to their vigorous growth. 



The name is a diminutive of mimus — a buffoon, and refers to 

 the somewhat grinning blossom. The plant is a common one 

 throughout the eastern part of the country. 



WATER SHIELD. 



Brasenia peltata. Water Lily Family. 



Leaves. — Floating; shield-shaped ; long-stemmed. Flowers. — Dull pur- 

 ple ; small ; growing from the axils of the leaves. Calyx. — Of three or 

 four sepals. Corolla. — Of three or four linear petals. Stamens. — Twelve 

 to eighteen. Pistils. — Four to eighteen, forming little club-shaped pods. 



This plant is found growing in many of our ponds and slow 

 streams. Its inconspicuous flowers appear in summer. Perhaps 



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