120 WILD FLOWER FAMILIES 



cence on the under side of the leaves, while the 

 other is called the Smooth Solomon's Seal on 

 account of the absence of such pubescence. The 

 flowers of the two kinds are quite similar, being 

 rather small greenish or greenish white blossoms 

 which commonly hang in pairs from drooping 

 stalks. To us these blossoms seem neither par- 

 ticularly beautiful in color nor attractive in odor, 

 but many insects, especially small bees, visit 

 them freely and carry the pollen from blossom to 

 blossom. The common name of these plants is 

 due to the curiously thickened rootstock which 

 has interesting scars upon its surface that 

 doubtless suggested its name. The plant comes 

 into bloom about the middle of the spring season 

 and continues in blossom for some time. 



CucuMBER-ROOT. The Indian Cucumber-root 

 is a curious plant which one would hesitate to 

 put in the same family with the Lily-of-the- Valley. 

 In its habit of growth it is very different from 

 the garden flower, the erect plant commonly 

 reaching a height of two or more feet and having 

 its parallel-veined leaves arranged in whorls 

 around the central stalk. Above the upper whorl 

 of leaves the flowers are borne in a curious umbel, 

 being held nearly erect upon slender pedicels. 

 The plant is found in blossom in early summer 

 in moist woods and ranges from Nova Scotia west 

 to Minnesota and south to Tennessee and Florida. 



