SOME SIMPLE FLOWERS 25 



country has been laid bare by flames, the next season 

 the Fireweed springs up like magic. The tuft- 

 buoyed seeds have been searching for just such a 

 naked land to settle in. Plant societies have just as 

 much competition as human societies have; and 

 they, too, seek to lessen the struggle for existence by 

 emigration. It is true that the individual plant 

 starts off to make its fortune at an earlier stage than 

 does the individual human; but, when once landed 

 at its destination, through the unconscious kindness 

 of bird or animal or wind, its struggles parallel 

 those of the human pioneer. If it be easily discour- 

 aged, it is driven out of existence; but, if it can 

 adapt itself to its new environment, its race will 

 soon have control of the surrounding territory. The 

 Fireweed is of adventurous stock. It is ever seeking 

 uninhabited regions; and when other settlers move 

 in and life becomes crowded, off it hazards again. 

 The family has traveled into the Arctic regions, and 

 explorers write of using its leaves as greens to give 

 variety to their menu. It certainly is bitter enough 

 to be a good tonic. In Kamchatka, they extract a 

 sugar by boiling the whole plant, and use this as a 

 foundation to make an ale and a vinegar. 



The name Willow-Herb, as well as the botanical 

 name of the species, angustifolia, comes from the 

 shape of the leaves. Epilobium, the genus, is from 

 two Greek words, "upon" and "pod," and you read- 

 ily see that this well describes the blossom habit. 



