144 FLOWERS OF FIELD, ILILL, AND SWAMP 



Calyx of 3 small green sepals and 2 large colored wings. 

 Corolla of 3 petals, the larger (the keel^ crested. StametiSy 

 6 or 8. 



Fruit, a pod, flat and notched at the top. Flowers clustered in 

 a globular head, like clover, which elongates as it grows older. 

 Stems branched and leafy. A pretty flower found in various soils, 

 moist and dry, by roadsides and mostly in wet meadows, where 

 it is often so plentiful as to make beds of color. 6 to 18 in. high. 



19. Marsh Pea. Marsh Vetchling 



Laihyrus pa/ustr/s. — Fatnily, Pulse. Color, light purple or 

 blue. Leaves, compound ; leaflets 2 to 4 pairs, long and nar- 

 row. Stipules long, acute at both ends. Tendrils are found 

 on some of the leaves. Time, July. 



Corolla, papilionaceous. The flowers, about \ inch long, 

 are pretty, 4 or 5 together. The plant is weak-stemmed and 

 trailing, i to 2 feet long. 



Common from New Jersey westward and northward. 



20. W^ater Avens. Purple Avens 



G'eum rivale (from Greek, "good taste," referring to the 

 pleasant taste of the roots of several species). — Family, Rose. 

 Color, purplish. Leaves, mostly from the root, irregularly and 

 deeply parted. A few on stem, 3-lobed, or divided into 3 leaf- 

 lets. Time, May to July. 



Calyx, 5-divided, of a brownish purple color. Petals, 5, 

 large, notched, contracted below into claws. Sta}fie?is, m^ny. 

 Style, jointed in the middle, the upper half feathery. 



Fruit, a head of dry achenes. A plant about 2 feet high, found 

 in bogs and wet meadows, with several large nodding flowers on 

 an unbranched stem. 



Its peculiar color and cut leaves mark it as an interesting 

 flower. 



