DEEP, COOL, MOIST WOODS* 



I. Black Snakeroot. Black Cohosh. Bugbane 



Cimic'ifuga racemosa. — Family, Crowfoot. Color, white. 

 Leaves, alternate, twice or thrice compound, the leaflets small, 

 cut and toothed, on long petioles. Ti?ne, July. 



Sepals, 4 or 5, soon falling. Petals, small, on claws, 2- 

 horned, like transformed stamens. Stamens, many, on slender, 

 white filaments, giving the flower a feathery appearance. Pis- 

 tils, I, sometimes 2 or 3, forming a curious ovoid pod in fruit. 

 Flowers in long, wand-like racemes, which extend in fruit 2 

 or 3 feet. Stem often tall, 7 or 8 feet, from a rootstock. 



A conspicuous, coarse plant, with an unpleasant odor. It is 

 supposed to be poisonous to insects. 



2. Tall Larkspur 



Delphinium exaltatum. — Family, Crowfoot. Color, deep 

 blue. Leaves, deeply cleft into 3 to 5 divisions. Time, July. 



Sepals, 5, one with a long spur at its base. Petals, 4, in 

 pairs, the upper pair projecting long spurs into the spur of the 

 sepal, the lower raised on short claws. Pistils, 3, making as 

 many erect, many-seeded pods. The flowers are softly hairy, 



* This and the preceding chapter overlap each other, since many plants 

 that grow in the woods are in a measure indifferent to their environments, 

 and may be referred to dry or moist soils, and to lighter or heavier shade. 



