158 Dog-Trotting for Orchids 



and westward to Michigan. In these woods of Mosh- 

 olu and Lowerre they flower immediately after the 

 Dutchman' s-breeches have faded. I had believed that 

 these pinks must grow^ as far north as West Rock and 

 the rocky heights of the Giant at Mount Carmel, as 

 well as about the ridges bordering Lake Saltonstall, 

 near New Haven, Connecticut. I was, however, dis- 

 appointed to find that their territory extended no 

 farther north than the wilder woods of New York City. 



I discovered many beautiful plants of the Prickly 

 Pear, or Indian Fig {Opuntia Opmitia) of the Cactus 

 Family. It was named for a town in Greece where it 

 grew. This strange relic of the primeval wood blooms 

 in June, producing a sulphurous-yellow flower of great 

 beauty. The large, spatulate-lobed, juicy leaves are 

 sap-green in color, bearing many thorn-like spines. 

 The new leaves, or lobes, appear as joints along the 

 edges of the parent leaf. The fruit is edible. This 

 species is often cultivated. It belongs natively to the 

 rocky shores of Nantucket, Rhode Island, and to Man- 

 hattan Island. It is not abundant in Bronx Wood, 

 however. Isolated colonies of the plant live in New 

 York City, along the mutton-backed granite rocks in 

 vacant lots, west of St. Nicholas Avenue, and along 

 Washington Heights. 



Wild GarHc, of the Lily Family, is ever present about 

 the hills of Bronx Valley and Spuyten Duy vil Creek. 



The Bird's- Foot Violet {Viola pedata) and the 

 Round-Leaved Violet ( Viola rotundifolia) seem to run 

 riot on the Mosholu Hills, but it is not always easy 



