WHITE 



rather inconspicuous, one's attention being chiefly attracted by 

 its many whorls of slender leaves. 



SMALL BEDSTRAW. 



Galium trifidum. Madder Family. 



Stems. Weak; five to twenty inches high ; rough. Leaves. In whorls 

 of four to six. Flowers. White ; small ; one to seven in a cluster. Calyx- 

 teeth. Obsolete. Corolla. Three or four-parted. Stamens. Three or 

 four. Pistil. One, with two styles. Fruit. Globular; smooth; sepa- 

 rating when ripe into two parts. 



Very common in wet places is the small bedstraw. From its 

 relative, cleavers or goose-grass, it may be distinguished by its 

 smooth fruit, and by the number of leaves in a whorl. 



ROUGH BEDSTRAW. 



Galium asprellum. Madder Family. 



Stem. Much branched ; rough with crooked prickles ; leaning on bushes ; 

 three to four feet high. Leaves. In whorls of four to six; with almost 

 prickly margins ; sharply-pointed at tip ; oval. Flowers. As in small bed- 

 straw. 



This larger bedstraw is common and noticeable in New Eng- 

 land, as well as farther south and west. All three species of Ga- 

 Hum are conspicuous chiefly on account of their pretty foliage. 



BLACK COHOSH. BUGBANE. BLACK SNAKEROOT. 



Cimicifuga racemosa. Crowfoot Family. 



Stem. Three to eight feet high. Leaves. Divided, the leaflets toothed 

 or incised. Flowers. White ; growing in elongated wand-like racemes. 

 Calyx. Of four or five white petal-like sepals; falling early. Corolla. 

 Of from one to eight white petals or transformed stamens. Stamens. 

 Numerous, with slender white filaments. Pistils. One to three. 



The tall white wands of the black cohosh shoot up in the 

 shadowy woods of midsummer like so many ghosts. A curious- 

 looking plant it is, bearing aloft the feathery flowers which have 

 such an unpleasant odor that even the insects are supposed to 



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