WHITE 



SPRING-CRESS. 



Cardamine rhomboidea. Mustard Family. 



Rootstock. Slender; bearing small tubers. Stem. From a tuberous 

 base; upright; slender. Root-leaves. Round and often heart-shaped. 

 Stem-leaves. The lower rounded, the upper almost lance-shaped. Flowers. 

 White; large; clustered. Calyx. Of four early-falling sepals. Corolla. 

 Of four petals. Stamens. Six; two shorter than the others. Pistil. 

 One. Pod. Flat ; lance-shaped ; pointed with a slender style tipped with 

 a conspicuous stigma ; smaller than that of the crinkle-root. 



The spring-cress grows abundantly in the wet meadows and 

 about the borders of springs. Its large white flowers appear as 

 early as April, lasting until June. 



WHITLOW-GRASS. 



Draba verna. Mustard Family. 



Scapes. One to three inches high. Leaves. All from the root; oblong 

 er lance- shaped. Flowers. White ; with two-cleft petals ; clustered. 

 Calyx. Of four early-falling sepals. Corolla. Of four petals. Stamens. 

 Six; two shorter than the others. Pistil. One. Pod. Flat; varying 

 from oval to oblong-lance-shaped. 



This little plant may be found flowering along the roadsides 

 and in sandy places during April and May. It has come to us 

 from Europe. 



WATER-CRESS. 



Nasturtium ojficinale. Mustard Family. 



Leaves. Divided into roundish segments. Flowers. White, clustered. 

 Calyx. Of four early-falling sepals. Corolla. Of four petals, twice the 

 length of the sepals. Stamens. Six ; two shorter than the others. Pistil. 

 One. Pod. Linear. 



Although the water-cress is not a native of North America it has 

 made itself so entirely at home in many of our streams that we 

 hardly look upon it as a stranger. Whoever, after a long ramble 

 through the woods on a summer morning, has plucked its fresh, 

 pungent leaves from some sparkling stream and added them to his 

 frugal sandwich, looks upon the little plant with a sense of famil- 

 iar gratitude, which we rarely feel toward an alien. 



10 



