74 FLOWERS OF FIELD, ILILL, AND SWAMP 



measuring lo inches around the stem near the ground, and over 

 lo feet high. 



Flowers, lacking corolla, consist of 6 sepals, 6 stamens, and 3 

 styles. The 3 inner sepals, called valves, bear each a grain-like 

 body. All the flowers are upon slender pedicels, forming a long, 

 compound, green panicle. 



77 



Other species inhabiting wet places are Pale-dock {R. altissi- 

 mus), a paler green, but tall, like the first ; 



78 



White-dock {R. salicifoliiis), with white root, i to 3 feet high; 



79 



Swamp-dock {R. verticillaUis), 3 to 5 feet tall, with flowers 

 whorled about the stem in loose, almost leafless racemes. 



^ 80. Lizard's-tail 



Saurarus cernuus. — Family, Lizard's-tail. Color, white. 

 Leaves, alternate, ovate, heart-shaped at base, with petioles 

 thin, dark green. Time, summer. 



An example of a perfect flower — that is, possessing stamens and 

 pistils, but without calyx or corolla. The flowers are on short 

 pedicels, each with a little bract under it. They are crowded in a 

 terminal spike, which gently nods and waves its numerous white 

 threads. The stamens have long, dangling filaments. The flowers 

 are slightly fragrant. The petioled leaves have converging ribs. 

 Stem 2 to 5 feet tall. I have found this flower growing out of 

 an old mill-dam, where water trickling over the stones kept it 

 perpetually wet. Its usual habitat is a swamp. Range from 

 Connecticut to Florida and westward. 



81. Adder's-mouth 



Microstylis monophyllos. — Family, Orchis. Color, white 

 or greenish. Leaf, i, ovate-elliptical, at the base of and en- 

 wrapping the stem. Time, July. 



