Blue to Purple Flowers 271 



flowers, which are larger, more mauve in hue, and grow 

 in a scanty, very loose fashion, as opposed to the dense 

 spike-like racemes of the Cow Vetch. 



To see the mountain woods blued by these two graceful 

 plants recalls Emerson's reference to how 



" The million-handed Painter pours 

 Opal hues and purple dye " 



out upon the flowers of the forest. 



The Astragalus, Oxytropis, Hedysarum, and Vicia all 

 belong to the Pea Family, and therefore their flowers are 

 all papilionaceous ; that is to say, they have irregular butter- 

 fly-shaped blossoms. 



MARSH VETCHLING 



Lathyrus palustris. Pea Family 



Stems: angled, winged, slender. Leaves: leaflets two to four pairs, 

 lanceolate, oblong, pointed at the apex, rounded at the base. Flowers: 

 style dilated and flattened above, hairy along the inner side. Fruit: 

 pod flat, seeds globular. 



The purple flowers of this plant grow in loose-headed 



racemes where the ground is moist. The slender stems are 



angled and winged, the three or four pairs of leaflets are 



oblong and pointed, and the tendrils terminating the stalks 



are branched. 



WILD FLAX 



Liniim Lewisii. Flax Family 



Stems: slender, erect. Leaves: crowded, sessile, oval-linear, acute. 

 Flowers: on long pedicels; sepals oval, obtuse; petals five, large, blue, 

 fugacious. 



A slender dainty plant, which bends and bows to every 

 passing breeze, and bears terminal clusters as well as 

 racemes of lovely ceriilean flowers. 



