WHITE 



MAY APPLE. MANDRAKE. 



[PI. VI 



Podophyllum peltatum. Barberry Family. 



Flowering-stem. Two-leaved ; one-flowered. Flowerless-stetns. Ter- 

 minated by one large, rounded, much-lobed leaf. Leaves (of flowering- 

 stems). One-sided; five to nine-lobed, the lobes oblong; the leaf-stalks 

 fastened to their lower side near the inner edge. Flower. White ; large ; 

 nodding from the fork made by the two leaves. Calyx. Of six early-falling 

 sepals. Corolla. Of six to nine rounded petals. Stamens. Twice as many 

 as the petals. Pistil. One, with a large, thick stigma set close to the 

 ovary. Fruit. A large, fleshy, egg-shaped berry ; sweet and edible. 



" The umbrellas are out ! " cry the children, when the great 

 green leaves of the May-apple first unfold themselves in spring. 

 These curious-looking leaves at once betray the hiding-place of 

 the pretty, but, at times, unpleasantly odoriferous flower which 

 nods beneath them. They lie thickly along the woods and 

 meadows in many parts of the country, arresting one's attention 

 by the railways. The fruit, which ripens in July, has been given 

 the name of " wild lemon," in some places on account of its 

 shape. It was valued by the Indians for medicinal purposes, 

 and its mawkish flavor still seems to find favor with the children, 

 notwithstanding its frequently unpleasant after-affects. The 

 leaves and roots are poisonous if taken internally, and are said 

 to have been used as a pot herb, with fatal results. They yield 

 an extract which has been utilized in medicine. 



HARBINGER-OF-SPRING. PEPPER AND SALT 



Erigenia bulbosa. 



Stem. Three to nine inches high ; from a deep round tuber. Leaves. 

 One or two ; divided into linear-oblong leaf -segments. Flowers. White ; 

 small ; few ; in a leafy-bracted compound umbel. 



The pretty little harbinger-of-spring should be easily identified 

 by those who are fortunate enough to find it, for it is one of the 

 smallest members of the Parsley family. It is only common in 

 certain localities, being found in abundance in the neighbor- 

 hood of Washington, where its flowers appear as early as March. 



14 



