BLUE AND PURPLE 



appear that never expand into flowers, but when the top of the 

 stalk is reached, one and sometimes two buds open a large, deh- 

 cate purple-bkie corolla. All the first-born of this plant are still- 

 born as it were; only the latest, which spring from its summit, 

 attain to perfect bloom." 



PICKEREL-WEED. 



[PI. CXL 

 Pontedaria cordata. Pickerel-weed Family. 



Stem. — Stout; usually one-leaved. Leaves. — Arrow or heart-shaped. 

 Flowers. — Blue; fading quickly ; with an unpleasant odor; growing in a 

 dense spike. Perianth. — Two-lipped ; the upper lip three-lobed and marked 

 with a double greenish-yellow spot, the lower of three spreading divisions 

 Stamens. — Six ; three long and protruding, the three others, which are often 

 imperfect, very short and inserted lower down. Pistil. — One. 



The pickerel-weed grows in such shallow water as the pick- 

 erel seek, or else in moist, wet places along the shores of streams 

 and rivers. We can look for the blue, closely spiked flowers 

 from late July until some time in September. They are often 

 found near the delicate arrow-head. 



HAREBELL. 



[PI. CXLI 

 Campanula rotundifolia. Campanula Family. 



Stem. — Slender; branching; from five to twelve inches high. Root- 

 leaves. — Heart-shaped or ovate; early withering. Stem-leaves. — Numer- 

 ous; long and narrow, Flozvers. — Bright blue; nodding from hair-like 

 stalks. Calyx. — Five-cleft; the lobes awl-shaped. Co)-olla. — Bell-shaped; 

 five-lobed. Stamens. — Five. Pistil. — One, with three stigmas. 



This slender, pretty plant, hung with its tremulous flowers, 

 springs from the rocky cliffs which buttress the river as well as 

 from those which crown the mountain. I have seen the west 

 shore of the Hudson bright with its delicate bloom in June, and 

 the summits of the Catskills tinged with its azure in Sejitember. 

 The drooping posture of these flowers ])rotects their pollen from 

 rain or dew. They have come to us from Europe, and are iden- 

 tical, I believe, with the celebrated Scotch bluebells. 



299 



