Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 251 



LEADWORT FAMILY (Plumbaginaceae). 

 Seaside plants with perfect, regular flowers in 1-sid- 

 ed racemes or spikes ; 5-parted and with plaited calyx. 



MARSH ROSEMARY; SEA LAVENDER (Limon- 

 ium carolinianum) is a very characteristic plant of 

 the seashore; it is found very commonly in salt mar- 

 shes along the Atlantic coast from Labrador to Flor- 

 ida, and along the Gulf to Texas. 



The plant has a thick, woody, very astringent 

 root, from which grows a single naked stalk. This 

 stem divides into numerous branches and branchlets, 

 all destitute of leaves and spreading out so that the 

 appearance of the whole plant is that of a very dim- 

 inutive tree. The leaves all radiate from the root 

 at the base of the flower stalk; they are spatulate- 

 shaped, thick, almost smooth-edged, have a promin- 

 ent mid-rib and are on long stems. 



At the end of each branchlet is a slender, 1-sided 

 raceme of tiny buds. From July until September 

 these open out into tiny lavender flowers with five 

 tiny petals, each coming from a 5-toothed, ribbed 

 calyx. 



Large portions of marshes are often covered with 

 Marsh Rosemary, growing so closely together that 

 the branches of the different plants interlock; when 

 these are in flower, they give a purplish misty appear- 

 ance to the whole marsh. 



The little Sharp-tailed Sparrow is a common bird 

 of the New England salt marshes. I have often 

 found their little homes, built of woven grasses, at- 

 tached to the marsh grass and sheltered by little 

 patches of seaweed that had lodged in the branches 

 of Marsh Rosemary during high spring tides. 



If picked in the early stages of its bloom, Sea 

 Lavender retains the color of its flowers when dried 

 and is often used for decorations in vases. 



