PINK 



the fragrant showy orchis that is, if you are lucky enough to 

 find it. It is rather a shy flower, and is not found in every 

 wood. One day we went up and down through the woods look- 

 ing for it woods of mingled oak, chestnut, pine, and hemlock, 

 and were about giving it up when suddenly we came upon a 

 gay company of them beside an old wood-road. It was as if a 

 flock of small rose-purple butterflies had alighted there on the 

 ground before us. The whole plant has a singularly fresh and 

 tender aspect. Its foliage is of a slightly purple tinge and of 

 very delicate texture. Not the least interesting feature about 

 the plant is the concealed fertile flower which it bears on a sub- 

 terranean stem, keeping, as it were, one flower for beauty and 

 one for use." 



It seems unnecessary to tempt "odorous comparisons" by 

 endeavoring to supplement the above description of Mr. Bur- 

 roughs. 



MOSS POLYGALA. 

 Polygala crticiata. Milkwort Family. 



Stems. Three to ten inches high, almost winged at the angles, with 

 spreading opposite leaves and branches. Leaves. Linear, nearly all whorled 

 in fours. Floivers. Greenish or purplish-pink, growing in short, thick spikes 

 which terminate the branches. 



There is something very moss-like in the appearance of this 

 little plant which blossoms in late summer. It is found near 

 moist places and salt marshes along the coast, being very com- 

 mon in parts of New England. 



SPREADING DOGBANE. INDIAN HEMP. 



Apocynum andros^mi folium. Dogbane Family. 



Stems. Erect, branching, two or three feet high. Leaves. Opposite, 

 oval. Flowers. Rose-color veined with deep pink, loosely clustered. 

 Calyx. Five-parted. Corolla. Small, bell-shaped, five-cleft. Stamens. 

 Five, slightly adherent to the pistil. Pistil. Two ovaries surmounted by 

 a large, two-lobed stigma. Fruit. Two long and slender pods. 



The flowers of the dogbane, though small and inconspicuous 

 are very beautiful if closely examined. The deep pink veining 

 of the corolla suggests nectar, and the insect-visitor is not mis- 



188 



