WILD FLOWERS 



is three-lobed, with the centre one longer than the rest, 

 and often notched at the apex. Two long, anther- 

 bearing stamens and the pistil extend beyond the arch, 

 and are coloured like the corolla. The smooth, 

 incurved green calyx is slightly hairy at the throat. 

 The Indians and early settlers of this country are said 

 to have used this plant as a substitute for tea. An 

 antiseptic substance useful for dressing wounds has 

 been extracted from this species. Oswego Tea blos- 

 soms from July to September, and is found in hilly 

 country from Georgia northward to Canada, and 

 westward to Michigan. 



SCARLET PAINTED-CUP. INDIAN PAINT 

 BRUSH 



'Castilleja coccinea. Figwort Family. 



A singular species known as a parasite, because its 

 roots absorb nourishment from those of other plants 

 upon which they fasten themselves. It is an annual 

 or biennial plant growing a foot or two high in scat- 

 tered patches in meadows, prairies, and moist thickets. 

 The reddish, hairy, angular, and rather slender, hol- 

 low stem occasionally bears erect branches, and rises 

 from a tuft of uncut, oblong leaves. The alternat- 

 ing stem leaves are usually deeply cut into three seg- 

 ments or lobes, and are stemless and parallel-veined. 

 Their colour is light green, and the surface is slightly 

 hairy. The upper leaves, as well as those which are 

 gathered about the flowers, have their ends coloured 

 with bright scarlet, as if they had been dipped in paint. 



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