YELLOW 



C. pubescens in the superior richness of its color as well as in its 

 size. It also has the charm of fragrance. 



EARLY MEADOW PARSNIP. 



Zizia aurea. Parsley Family (p. 15). 



One to three feet high. Leaves. Twice or thrice-compound, leaflets 

 oblong to lance-shaped, toothed. Flowers. Yellow, small, in compound 

 umbels. 



This is one of the earliest members of the Parsley family to 

 appear. Its golden flower-clusters brighten the damp meadows 

 and the borders of streams in May or June and closely resemble 

 the meadow parsnip, Thaspium aureum, of which this species 

 was formerly considered a variety, of the later year. 



The tall, stout, common wild parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, is 

 another yellow representative of this family in which white 

 flowers prevail, the three plants here mentioned being the only 

 yellow species commonly encountered. The common parsnip may 

 be identified by its grooved stem and simply compound leaves. 

 Its roots have been utilized for food at least since the reign of 

 Tiberius, for Pliny tells us that that Emperor brought them to 

 Rome from the banks of the Rhine, where they were successfully 

 cultivated. 



GOLDEN CLUB. 



Orontium aqiiaticum. Arum Family. 



Scape. Slender, elongated. Leaves. Long-stalked, oblong, floating. 

 Flowers. Small, yellow, crowded over the narrow spike or spadix. 



When we go to the bogs in May to hunt for the purple flower 

 of the pitcher-plant we are likely to chance upon the well-named 

 golden-club. This curious-looking club-shaped object, which is 

 found along the borders of ponds, indicates its relationship to the 

 jack-in-the-pulpit, and still more to the calla-lily, but unlike 

 them its tiny flowers are shielded by no protecting spathe. 



Kalm tells us in his " Travels," " that the Indians called the 

 plant Taw-Kee, and used its dried seeds as food." 



126 



