364 THE RIVER-SIDE NATURALIST. 



BOG ASPHODEL (Narthecium], with its yellowish-orange 

 flower-scape ; or the lovely GRASS OF PARNASSUS (Par- 

 nassus Palustris) 



" Whose modest bloom sheds beauty o'er the lonely moors." 



One of the greatest ornaments of the banks of streams 

 and adjacent water-meadows in the spring is the COMMON 

 MARSH MARIGOLD (Caltha palustris) Fig. in " E.B.," 40 

 from the greek word Ka\Qo<s, a cup. It is also known 

 as Gowans, Golden- Knobs, Meadow-Bouts, Mare-Blobs. 



The stems rise from twelve to eighteen inches, round, 

 hollow, and smooth. Leaves large, somewhat heart- 

 shaped ; lower ones on long stalks, the upper attached 

 close to the stem ; flowers bright yellow. It generally 

 flowers in March and April, but in forward springs as 

 early as February, and where it grows in abundance, the 

 water-meadows and margins of the streams glow with its 

 brilliant yellow blossoms. In some counties the people 

 strew the flowers before their doors and weave them into 

 wreaths on May-day. The flower-buds preserved in salted 

 vinegar have been used as substitutes for capers. A small 

 variety is sometimes found in marshy places : 



"And see the flaunting marigold, 

 Gay from its marshy bank unfold 

 'Mid minor lights its disks, that shine 

 Like suns of brightness." 



In some stagnant waters the SPIKED WATER MILFOIL 

 (Mynophyllum spicatum) Fig. in " E. B.," 514 rears its 

 slender, much-branched stem. This must not be con- 

 founded with the COMMON MILFOIL (Achillea), of a different 

 class and order, and so also another moncecius plant, the 

 VERNAL WATER STARWORT (Callitriche verna), with the SEA 

 STARWORT or MICHAELMAS DAISY (Aster trifolium), a syn- 

 genecious plant. 



The COMMON BUTTER-BUR (Petasitis vulgaris) Fig. in 

 " E. B.," 119 name derived from the Greek word Trerao-o?, 

 a covering for the head, or umbrella, in allusion to the 

 large leaves. From the early flowering of the plant before 

 the leaves appear, the rod-fishers, as a rule, only see the 



