MOUNTAIN FLOWERS 



313 



YELLOW RATTLE 



Rhinanthiis Crista-galli. Fig wort Family 



Stems : slender. Leaves : lanceolate, sessile, coarsely serrate-dentate, 

 acute ; bracts ovate, incised-dentate, the teeth acuminate. Flowers : in 

 terminal, one-sided, leafy-bracted spikes, and solitary in the upper axils; 

 calyx much inflated, conspicuously veiny in fruit ; corolla very irregu- 

 lar, two-lipped ; the galea compressed, arched, minutely two-toothed 

 below the entire apex, the lower lip three-lobed, spreading. 



The name Yellow Rattle has been given to this plant on 

 account of the way in which the ripened seeds, which lie loose 

 in the capsules, rattle whenever the wind shakes them to and 

 fro. It is a firm erect plant, usually growing from six to ten 

 inches high, and chiefly conspicuous by reason of its inflated 

 green flower-cups and bright yellow blossoms, the lips of 

 which frequently are spotted with purple. 



LARGE YELLOW LADY'S SLIPPER 



Cypript'diii//! pubescens. Orchid Family 



Stems : leafy. Leaves : oval or elliptic, acute. Flowers : sepals ovate- 

 lanceolate, longer than the lip, yellowish-green striped with purple ; 

 petals very narrow and twisted, lip much inflated, bright yellow with 

 greenish-purple lines, a tuft of white jointed hairs at the top of the 

 interior ; stamen sterile, triangular ; stigma thick, incurved. 



In the dry sun-warmed forests, where the birds trill their 

 sweet antiphons and the smooth surface of the pools reflects 

 with steadfast truth the cone-laden branches of fir and pine 

 and the fleecy clouds that float across the azure sky, — there, 

 unafraid, rejoicing in its weird, almost unearthly beauty, the 

 Large Yellow Lady's Slipper flaunts its gaudy flowers. 



At the first sight of these exquisite orchids, which also 

 grow on the open arid moraines close to the immense gla- 

 ciers, you catch your breath, and a thrill runs through all 

 your veins; there they stand, golden-bright, surrounded by a 

 halo of romance and mystery. 



