TWIN-FLOWER 



Linnaea borealis var. americana Rehder 

 HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY 



"He saw beneath dim aisles, in odorous beds, 

 The slight Linnaea hang its twin-born heads, 

 And blessed the monument of the man of flowers, 

 Which breathes his sweet fame through the northern bowers." 



Emerson. 



This dainty, trailing vine with small, evergreen leaves and 

 fragrant, pink flowers was a favorite of Linnaeus, the great 

 Swedish botanist of the eighteenth century, in whose honor it 

 is named. 



In Canada it occurs from ocean to ocean and from the Arctic 

 to the international boundary. It is likely to be found in woods 

 surrounding bogs, on the shady side of ravines, and in any cool, 

 moist forest. It is especially at home in the mountains, and 

 many readers will remember how delightfully some of the wood- 

 land trails at Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper are bordered with 

 its "odorous beds." Spring comes first to the valleys and travels 

 slowly up the mountain sides, so if the visitor be too late for it 

 at the lower altitudes he need only do a little climbing. Late 

 in July on a mountain slope at Jasper Park I saw, not patches 

 only, but a vast, continuous carpet stretching away for miles. 

 As we went up through the lodgepole pines, the first plants met 

 with were in seed ; a few hundred feet higher some belated flowers 

 were seen; still higher, bloom was at its best, tinting the floor 

 of the rather open forest as far as one could see. The slender, 

 leafy vines crept over and through the fallen needles, weaving 

 a ground covering of pale green over which shimmered a delicate 

 rosy-tinted light caused by the millions of little pink bells, each 

 a minute censer filling the air with delicious and delicate perfume. 



" 'Neath cloistered boughs, each floral bell that suringeth 



And tolls its perfume on the passing air, 

 Makes Sabbath in the fields, and ever ringeth 

 A call to prayer." Horace Smith. 



46 



