WHITE 



WILD SARSAPARILLA. 



Aralia nudicaulis. Ginseng Family. 



/ 



Stem. Bearing a single large, long-stalked, much-divided leaf, and a 

 shorter naked scape which bears the rounded flower-clusters. Flowers. 

 Greenish-white, in umbels. Calyx. With short or obsolete teeth. Corolla. 

 Of five petals. Stamens. Five. Fruit. Black or dark-purple, berry- 

 like. 



In the June woods the much-divided leaf and rounded 

 flower-clusters of the wild sarsaparilla are frequently noticed, as 

 well as the dark berries of the later year. The long aromatic 

 roots of this plant are sold as a substitute for the genuine sar- 

 saparilla. The rice-paper plant of China is a member of this 

 genus. 



SPIKENARD. 



Aralia racemosa. Ginseng Family. 



Root. Large and aromatic. Stem. Often tall and widely branched, 

 leafy. Leaves. Divided into many leaflets. Flowers. Greenish-white, in 

 clusters which are racemed. Fruit. Dark purple, berry-like. 



CANADA VIOLET. 



Viola Canadensis. Violet Family. 



Stem. Leafy, upright, one to two feet high. Leaves. Heart-shaped, 

 pointed, toothed. Flowers. White, veined with purple, violet beneath, 

 otherwise greatly resembling the common blue violet. 



We associate the violet with the early year, but I have found 

 the delicate fragrant flowers of this species blossoming high up 

 on the Catskill Mountains late into September ; and have known 

 them to continue to appear in a New York city-garden into No- 

 vember. They are among the loveliest of the family, having a 

 certain sprightly self-assertion which is peculiarly charming, 

 perhaps because so unexpected. 



The tiny sweet white violet, V. blanda, with brown or pur- 

 ple veins, which is found in nearly all low, wet, woody places in 

 spring, is perhaps the only uniformly fragrant member of the 

 family, and its scent, though sweet, is faint and elusive. 



The lance-leaved violet, V. lanceolata, is another white 



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