WILD OR XATIVE FLOWERS. 67 



The floral construction of the flowers of all this family is peculiar. 

 The petals are somewhat pointed, five in number ; divisions of the calyx 

 also five ; the petals are reflexed, showing a central crown, which 

 is composed of five hooded nectaries, each of which encloses a 

 curved horn-like appendage. The crown is often of a different 

 shade of colour from the petals ; and from its peculiar form, 

 the flower has the appearance of being double. The leaves of the 

 Butterfly Flower are rough on the surface and hoary ; the seed-pods are 

 also hoary. It is a striking and showy flower, deficient in the viscid 

 milky juice that is so abundant in others of the genus. 



The pink-flowered Milkweed, A. Cornuti, is fragrant and also 

 handsome ; it is a tall, showy plant, abounding in milky juice ; the leaves 

 are large, soft, and velvety ; the flowers pale pink, falling in graceful 

 tassels from between the leaves ; the form of the flow^ers is the same as 

 in the above ; the seed-pods are large and the seeds flat, lying one 

 over the other, closely pressed, in beautiful succession, like the shining 

 silvery scales of a fish ; each seed is furnished with a tuft of silken hair. 



The pod opens by a long slit ; and it is wonderful to see the 

 beautiful winged seeds, the instant the prison door is opened, rise as if 

 moved by some sudden impulse, spreading their shining silken wings 

 and taking flight, wafted away by the slightest breeze to parts unknown. 

 One marvels how this winged multitude ever found space to lie within 

 the narrow case from which they escaped ; and it reminds you of that 

 wonderful Genius of the old Arabian tale, that the poor scared fisherman 

 induced to re-enter the metal pot. Methinks it would be even harder to 

 gather together our fugitive silky seeds than to coax a refractory Genius 

 into a quart pot again. 



The whole of the Asdepias family are remarkable for the strong, 

 tough, silken fibre that lines the bark of the stout stem. This, in 

 the common Silk-weed, A. Cornuti, has attracted much attention, but has 

 not as yet been utilized for textile fabrics. The fibre is strong, and 

 can be divided into the finest threads of silken softness, and of good 

 length, as the plant reaches from two to three feet, or more, in height, 

 and grows so freely that I have seen extensive plantations of it on wild 

 spots, where it has been self-sown ; and where few other plants would 

 grow. 



The silken beard of the seed, though so bright and beautiful, is too 

 short and brittle for spinning ; still, as a felting material, or for paper 

 manufacture, it might prove of value, when even the pod might be 

 employed. A good fibre is found in all the tall Milkweeds and also in 

 the Apocynums or Dogbanes, where the thread is still finer. All these 



