WHITE 



leaves in their hair in place of feathers. One can picture the 

 dejected appearance of a ball-room belle at the close of an enter- 

 tainment. 



WATER HEMLOCK. SPOTTED COWBANE. 



Cicuta maculata. Parsley Family (p. 15). 



Stem. Smooth, stout, from two to six feet high, streaked with purple. 

 Leaves. Twice or thrice-compound, leaflets coarsely toothed. Flowers. 

 White, in compound umbels, the little umbels composed of numerous flow- 

 ers. 



This plant is often confused with the wild carrot, the sweet 

 Cicely, and other white-flowered members of the Parsley family ; 

 but it can usually be identified by its purple-streaked stem. The 

 umbels of the water-hemlock are also more loosely clustered than 

 those of the carrot, and their stalks are much more unequal. It 

 is commonly found in marshy ground, blossoming in midsummer. 

 Its popular names refer to its poisonous properties, its root being 

 said to contain the most dangerous vegetable-poison native to our 

 country and to have been frequently confounded with that of the 

 edible sweet Cicely with fatal results. 



MOCK BISHOP-WEED. 



Discopleura capillacea. Parsley Family (p. 15). 



One or two feet high, occasionally much taller. Stems. Branching. 

 Leaves. Dissected into fine, thread-like divisions. Flowers. White, very 

 small, growing in compound umbels with thread-like bracts. 



This plant blossoms all summer in wet meadows, both inland 

 and along the coast ; but it is especially common in the salt- 

 marshes near New York City. It probably owes its English name 

 to the fancied resemblance between the bracted flower-clusters 

 and a bishop's cap. Its effect is feathery and delicate. 



SWEET CICELY. 



Osmorrhiza longistylis. Parsley Family (p. 15). 



One to three feet high. Root. Thick, aromatic, edible. Leaves. 

 Twice or thrice-compound. Flowers. White, growing in a few-rayed com- 

 pound umbel. 



The roots of the sweet Cicely are prized by country children 

 for their pleasant flavor. Great care should be taken not to con- 



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