BLUE AND PURPLE 



Where flaunting Sin 

 May see thy heavenly hu, 

 Or weary Sorrow look from thee 

 Toward a more tender blue." * 



This roadside weed blossoms in late summer. It is exten- 

 sively cultivated in France, where the leaves are blanched and 

 used in a salad which is called " Bar be des Capucins." The 

 roots are roasted and mixed with coffee, both there and in Eng- 

 land. 



Horace mentions its leaves as part of his frugal fare, and 

 Pliny remarks upon the importance of the plant to the Egyptians, 

 who formerly used it in great quantities, and of whose diet it is 

 still a staple article. 



PURPLE AVENS. WATER AVENS. 



Geum rivale. Rose Family. 



Stems. About two feet high; several-flowered. Root-leaves. Deeply 

 parted. Stem-leaves. Few ; three-parted (into three leaflets) or three-lobed. 

 Flowers. Large ; purplish. Calyx. Brown-purple ; deeply five-cleft. 

 Corolla. Of five petals, these contracted into claws. Stamens. Many. 

 Pistils. Numerous. 



During the summer, in wet meadows, we notice the nodding 

 flowers of the water avens. 



BLUE LINARIA. BLUE TOADFLAX. 



Linaria Canadensis. Figwort Family. 



Stems. Slender ; six to thirty inches high. Leaves. Linear. Flowers. 

 Pale blue or purple ; small; in a long terminal raceme. Calyx. Five- 

 parted. Corolla. Two-lipped, with a slender spur ; closed in the throat. 

 Stamens. Four. Pistil. One. 



The slender spikes of the blue linaria flank the sandy road- 

 sides nearly all summer, and even in November we find a few 



* Margaret Deland. 

 310 



