White and Greenish 



its flowers. In wooded places, such as it prefers to dwell in, 

 white blossoms, which are far more noticeable in a dim light than 

 colored ones, and finely cut leaves that can best withstand the 

 drip from trees, abound. These white umbels bear a large pro- 

 portion of male, or pollen-bearing, florets to the number of her- 

 maphrodite, or two-sexed, florets ; but as the latter mature their 

 pollen before their stigmas become susceptible to it, self-fertiliza- 

 tion is well guarded against, and cross-fertilization is effected with 

 the help of as many flies as small bees, which come in numbers to 

 lick up the nectar so freely exposed in consideration of their short 

 tongues. We have to thank these little creatures for the long, slen- 

 der seeds, armed with short bristles along the ribs, that they may 

 snatch rides on our garments, together with the beggar-ticks, bur- 

 dock, cleavers, and other vagabond colonists in search of unoccu- 

 pied ground. Be sure you know the difference between sweet- 

 cicely and the poisonous water hemlock (p. 225) before tasting 

 the former's spicy root. 



Was there no more important genus containing, if possible, 

 red, white, and blue flowers to have named in honor of the 

 Father of his Country ? 



Another member of the Carrot family, the Sanicle or Black 

 Snakeroot (Sanicula Marylandica), found blooming from May to 

 July in such rich, moist woodlands and shrubbery as the sweet- 

 cicely prefers, lifts spreading, two to four rayed umbels of insig- 

 nificant-looking but interesting little greenish-white florets. At 

 first the tips of the five petals are tucked into the centre of each 

 little flower; underneath them the stamens are now imprisoned 

 while any danger of self-fertilizing the stigma remains. The few 

 hermaphrodite florets have their styles protruding from the start, 

 and incoming insects leave pollen brought from staminate florets 

 on the early-maturing stigmas. After cross-fertilization has been 

 effected, it is the pistil's turn to keep out of the way, and give the 

 imprisoned stamens a chance : the styles curve until the stigmas 

 are pressed against the sides of the ovary, that not a grain of pollen 

 may touch them ; the petals spread and release the stamens ; but 

 so great is the flower's zeal not to be fertilized with its own pollen 

 that it sometimes holds the anthers tightly between the petals 

 until all the vitalizing dust has been shed ! Around the hermaph- 

 rodite florets are a large number of male florets in each hemi- 

 spheric cluster. Hooked bristles and slender, curved styles pro- 

 trude from the little burrlike seeds, that any creature passing by 

 may give them a lift to fresh colonizing land ! The firm bluish- 

 green leaves, palmately divided into from five to seven oblong, 

 irregularly saw-edged segments, the upper leaves seated on the 

 stem, the lower ones long-petioled, help us to identify this com- 

 mon weed. 



224 





