BLUE AND PURPLE 



and rivers. We can look for the blue, closely spiked flowers 

 from late July until some time in September. They are often 

 found near the delicate arrow-head. 



BLUE WEED. VIPER'S BUGLOSS. 



. Echium vulgare. Borage Family. 



Stem. Rough, bristly, erect, about two feet high. Leaves. Alternate, 

 lance-shaped, set close to the stem. Flowers. Bright blue, spiked on one 

 side of the branches, which are at first rolled up from the end, straightening 

 as the blossoms expand. Calyx. Five-parted. Corolla. Of five somewhat 

 unequal, spreading lobes. Stamens. Five, protruding, red. Pistil. One. 



When the blue weed first came to us from across the sea it 

 secured a foothold in Virginia. Since then it has gradually 

 worked its way northward, lining the Hudson's shores, over- 

 running many of the dry fields in its vicinity, and making itself 

 at home in parts of New England. We should be obliged to 

 rank it among the "pestiferous" weeds were it not that, as a 

 rule, it only seeks to monopolize land which is not good for very 

 much else. The pinkish buds and bright blue blossoms with 

 their red protruding stamens make a valuable addition, from the 

 aesthetic point of view, to the bunch of midsummer field-flowers 

 in which hitherto the various shades of red and yellow have pre- 

 dominated. 



NIGHTSHADE. 



Solanum Dulcamara. Nightshade Family. 



Stem. Usually somewhat climbing or twining. Leaves. Heart-shaped, 

 the upper halberd-shaped or with ear-like lobes or leaflets at the base. Flow- 

 ers. Purple, in small clusters. Calyx. Five-parted. Corolla. Five- 

 parted, wheel-shaped. Stamens. Five, yellow, protruding. Pistil. One. 

 Fruit. A red berry. 



The purple flowers, which at once betray their kinship with 

 the potato plant, and, in late summer, the bright red berries of 

 the nightshade, cluster about the fences and clamber over the 

 moist banks which line the highway. This plant, which was im- 

 ported from Europe, usually indicates the presence of civilization. 

 It is not poisonous to the touch, as is often supposed, and it is 

 doubtful if the berries have the baneful power attributed to them. 



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