CROWFOOT FAMILY 



35 



landscape adorned with the brilHant blossoms of 

 the Marsh Marigold. In the open fields the trail- 

 ing water courses are marked by the masses of 

 yellow flowers, while in the woods the marshy 

 places show great vistas of them. In sunlight or 

 in shadow the plant is equally beautiful, its golden 

 bloom mingling with its yellow-green foliage and 

 the lush vegetation of . ^ 



its w a t e r-1 o v i n g 

 neighbors. It gener- 

 ally grows in standing 

 or in slowly running 

 water, the large flow- 

 ers being held above 

 the surface by the hol- 

 low, furrowed stems, 

 which also bear the 

 broad, smooth, round 

 or kidney-s h a p e d 

 leaves. 



The blossoms ex- 

 pand an inch and a half and consist of from five 

 to nine petaloid sepals with numerous stamens 

 and five to ten pistils. Both stamens and pistils 

 mature about the same time, but the outer rows 

 of the former shed their pollen before the inner 

 rows. The flowers are freely visited by bright- 

 colored flies, called Syrphus flies, that are abun- 

 dant in swampy places, these flies being attracted 



' 1 



MARSH MARIGOLD 



