380 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



It is not apparent why this tall, noticeable plant of the woods 

 should be connected with " Culver." Who was Culver? Perhaps 

 a quack doctor, who found secret healing virtues in the root of 

 this plant. I find no recognition of his services elsewhere in bo- 

 tanical or medical works, and no other floral monument to his 

 memory. 



57. Lopseed 



Phrjfma Leptostachya. — Family, Vervain. Color, rose-pur- 

 ple. Leaves, 3 to 5 inches long, thin, ovate, pointed, coarsely 

 toothed, the lower with long petioles. Time, July. 



A plant 2 or 3 feet high, with 2-lipped ealyx and corolla. 

 There are 3 bristly teeth on the upper part of the calyx. The 

 corolla has 3 large lobes on its lower lip. The fruit is a sin- 

 gle seed, around which the calyx folds itself. The small flow- 

 ers, in pairs, are arranged in long spikes terminating the nu- 

 merous branches. 



58 



Bleph'ilia hirsuta. — Family, INIint. Color, pale purple, with 

 darker spots. Leaves, with long petioles, ovate, rounded or 

 heart-shaped at base ; fioral bracts, several, near the flower, 

 shorter than the calyx. 



Flo7vers with 2-lipped calyx and corolla, in whorls around 

 the stem, and forming round, terminal heads. Calyx,\m\\\. long 

 hairs. Stetn, 2 feet or more tall. 



Throughout the Atlantic States. 



59, Nerved-leaf Skullcap 



Scutellaria nervosa. — Family, 'M\n\. Color,'\:)\msh. Leaves^ 

 roundish below, becoming longer and narrower above ; some 

 toothed, heart-shaped, i inch long; all with veins prominent 

 underneath. Time, summer. 



Calyx, with helmet-like appendage on the back of the upper 

 sepal. In fruit, this falls away. Corolla, tubular, 2-lipped, the 

 upper lip arciied, concave ; lower, notched at apex, spreading. 



