4l8 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



15. "Whorled Milkwort 



P. verticillata may be known by its long, narrow leaves, 

 whorled on the stem, scattered on the branches. The flow- 

 ers are collected in clover-like short heads, terminating the 

 branches. They are greenish white, tinged with purple. A 

 bract behind each separate flower falls with the flower. 6 to 

 12 inches high. 



16. Nuttall's Milkwort 



P. Nuttallii is a low-growing species, with greenish or dull 

 rose-colored flowers on very short pedicels, the bracts remain- 

 ing after the flower and fruit fall, a cluster of cone-like small 

 scales. Leaves, long and narrow, alternate. 4 to 7 ins. high. 



17 



P. fastigiata has darker and brighter pink-purple flowers in 

 short dense heads. The slender stem is at first simple, then 

 branched. Leaves, about ^ inch long, very narrow, acute. 6 to 

 16 inches high. 



18. False or Wild Indigo 



Baptisia tinctbria ("to dye." "Some species furnish 'a 

 poor indigo.'" — Gray). — Family, Pulse. d^Avr, yellow. Leaves, 

 smooth, small, 3-divided, nearly sessile, the leaflets wedge- 

 shaped, \ inch to 1 1 inches long. Time, July. 



Calyx, 4- or 5-toothed. Corolla, papilionaceous. Stamens, 

 10. Pods, roundish, pointed, stalked, raised a little above the 

 calyx. 



This common, well-known "indigo " plant is found everywhere,, 

 along our walks and drives, in sandy soil. The leafy, much- 

 branched, in outline roundish, bushy herb, about 2 feet high, 

 with its bright racemed pea-blossoms, is a general favorite, not- 

 withstanding its tendency to turn black when picked and dried 

 for tlic hLTtjariuni. 



