YELLOW 



their custom of dipping the long dried stalk in suet and using it 

 as a funeral torch, and the Greeks utilized the leaves for lamp- 

 wicks. In more modern times they have served as a remedy for 

 the pulmonary complaints of men and beasts alike, ' ' mullein tea ' ' 

 being greatly esteemed by country people. Its especial efficacy 

 with cattle has earned the plant its name of " bullocks' lungwort." 

 A low rosette of woolly leaves is all that can be seen of the 

 mullein during its first year, the yellow blossoms on their long 

 spikes opening sluggishly about the middle of the second sum- 

 mer. It abounds throughout our dry, rolling meadows, and its 

 tall spires are a familiar feature in the summer landscape. 



MOTH MULLEIN. 



Verbasctim Blattaria. Figwort Family. 



Stem. Tall and slender. Leaves. Oblong, toothed, the lower some- 

 times lyre-shaped, the upper partly clasping. Flowers. Yellow or white, 

 tinged with red or purple, in a terminal raceme. Calyx. Deeply five- 

 parted. Corolla. Butterfly-shape, of five rounded, somewhat unequal lobes. 

 Stamens. Five, with filaments bearded with violet wool and anthers loaded 

 with orange-colored pollen. Pistil. One. 



Along the highway from July till October one encounters a 

 slender weed on whose erect stem it would seem as though a 

 number of canary-yellow or purplish-white moths had alighted 

 for a moment's rest. These are the fragile, pretty flowers of the 

 moth mullein, and they are worthy of a closer examination. The 

 reddened or purplish centre of the corolla suggests the probabil- 

 ity of hidden nectar, while the pretty tufts of violet wool borne 

 by the stamens are well fitted to protect it from the rain. A 

 little experience of the canny ways of these innocent-looking 

 flowers lead one to ask the wherefore of every new feature. 



YELLOW FRINGED ORCHIS. ORANGE ORCHIS. 



Habenaria ciliaris. Orchis Family (p. 17). 



Stem. Leafy, one to two feet high. Leaves. The lower oblong to 

 lance-shaped, the upper passing into pointed bracts. Flowers. Deep 

 orange color, with a slender spur and deeply fringed lip ; growing in an ob- 

 long spike. 



Years may pass without our meeting this the most brilliant 

 of our orchids. Suddenly one August day we will chance upon 



152 



