WILD FLOWERS WHITE AND GREENISH 



to ten inches high, and bears from seven to fifteen 

 very fragrant, greenish white, nodding flowers. The 

 thin, tough, evergreen leaf is broadly oval or ellip- 

 tical in shape, and narrowed or rounded at the base 

 where it tapers into a short, reddish margined stem. 

 The edges are obscurely dented with low teeth, and 

 the ribs and veins show whitish against the dark green 

 surface. The stems of the tufted leaves are sheathed 

 at the base. The five thin petals of the waxy flower 

 form a little, spreading cup within which are the ten 

 yellow-tipped stamens. The long, curving pistil 

 extends conspicuously beyond the corolla. The five- 

 parted, green calyx spreads to support the petals. 

 The slender flower stalk bears one small leaflet near the 

 middle. The common name was applied because the 

 leaves were formerly used to allay inflammation in 

 bruises and sores. The Shin-leaf is found from June 

 to August, in rich and mostly dry woods, from Canada 

 to the District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, 

 and along the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico. 



ROUND-LEAVED, PEAR-LEAVED, OR 



FALSE WINTERQREEN. INDIAN, 



OR CANKER LETTUCE 



Pyrola americana. Wintergreen Family. 



This is the tallest of the Pyrolas, which at a dis- 

 tance resemble somewhat the flowers of the Lily of 

 the Valley. The flower stalk rises from six to twenty 

 inches from a perennial, creeping root. The shin- 

 ing, evergreen leaves spread from the base on long, 



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