376 Wild Plants in the Vicinity of Boston. 



Hedysarum. 



Of this we have many species, of which, probably, not 

 more than one or two are worth cultivating for their flowers. 



Hedysarum canadense Bush Trefoil. A tall, handsome 

 species, blossoming before any of the other species in this 

 region. Stem about three feet high, smooth, striate or 

 marked with lines. Leaves ternate,or in threes (like clover), 

 three inches long, oblong — lanceolate ; stipules (or appen- 

 dages to the leaves, at the feet of their stems), thread-shaped. 

 Flowers on racemes (or branchlets at the top of the stem), 

 and from the shoulders of the leaves ; the whole forming a 

 kind of loose and somewhat drooping, spiky cluster. Blos- 

 soms papilionaceous or pea-blossom shaped, nearly pink, 

 becoming bluish as they decay. Pods flat, hairy, in four or 

 five one-seeded, obtusely triangular joints. — Woods, near 

 Mount Auburn, &c. — July. 



Helianthus. 



Our wild plants of this genus are miniature sunflowers. 



Helianthus decapetahis. From three to five feet high. Leaves 

 ovate, with a long drawn, sharp point, rough, three-nerved, 

 with teeth (or rather serratures), " few and far between." 

 Flowers large (for the wild genus), yellow, with from ten 

 to twelve rays ; scales of the calyx lance-formed, nearly 

 €qual to each other, ciliate or fringed with parallel hairs. — 

 Rocky woods, Newton. — August. 



Helianthus divaricdtus Small, rough Sunflower, alias Wid- 

 ow's Rub. Stem erect, round, smooth, generally colored 

 with glaucus powder. Leaves opposite, sessile or stemless, 

 narrow, egg-shaped, rounded at base, slightly serrate, three- 

 nerved, and tapering to a long point. The leaves are ex- 

 tensively rough ; for which reason they are said to be some- 

 times used by ladies to rub their cheeks. Flowers yellow, 

 few in number in the wild plant, but numerous in the culti- 

 vated one. Branches of the panicle, either forked or three- 

 parted. — Woods and thickets. — August, September. 



Helianthus multijlbrus. Leaves triply-nerved, rough; lower 

 ones scardate (or heart-formed, with the stem in the hollow), 

 upper ones ovate. Flowers many, yellow, with very numer- 

 ous rays, and rough stems. — Rocky woods, west part of 

 Newton. — August, September. 



Hepatica. 

 Hepatica triloba Early Anemone. This lovely, delicate 

 little plant is one of the earliest visiters in the spring. It 

 flowers in sunny spots, before the snow has left the ground. 

 Leaves shining, of a peculiar, dark green ; liver-shaped, or 

 heart-shaped at base, and parted into three, rarely five 



