Ii8 A NATURALIST IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION 



and bugseed are the most common plants. Back somewhat 

 farther the pioneers of vegetation begin to get a foothold in the 



permanent beach association; 

 such are the beach pea, beach 

 cinquef oil, wormwood, cocklebur, 

 and sand thistle. 



The sea rocket (Fig. 72) is a 

 plant with succulent stems and 

 thick fleshy leaves. The flowers 

 are light purple, appearing 

 like those of the garden radish. 

 The pods are two-jointed. The 

 bugseed (Fig. 73) is an annual 

 with slender awl-shaped leaves. 

 The fruits are numerous, small, 

 hard, and have a winged mar- 

 gin. The beach pea (Fig. 74) is 

 a stout trailing plant with leafy 

 expansions or stipules at the 

 base of the compound leaves. 

 The flowers are large, an inch or 



more long, purple. The beach 



FIG. 81. Leaf and one fruit of 

 cocklebur, Xanthium echinatum. 



cinquefoil, Potentilla canadensis, is a plant with palmately com- 

 pound leaves, having three to 

 five leaflets. It multiplies by 

 runners somewhat as a straw- 

 berry plant does. The blos- 

 soms are somewhat like those 

 of the strawberry, though 

 small and pale yellow to white. 

 Another species, Potentilla 

 Anserina (Fig. 75), is found in 



i r xir j FlG - 82 - Sand thistle > Cirsium Pitcheri 



the same locality. Wormwood 



(Fig. 76) is a plant with a finely dissected, densely hairy leaf. 

 It is very bitter to the taste. Cocklebur (Fig. 81) is so common 



