Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 257 



FRINGED LOOSESTRIFE (Steironema ciliatum) 



Fringed Loosestrife is a very branching herb not at 

 all like the other varieties. The smooth stem rises 

 to heights of from 12 to 24 inches. The species 

 receives its specific name Fringed, (ciliatum,) be- 

 cause of the fine hairs on the upper side of the leaf 

 stems, the rest of the plant being smooth. 



The smooth, light green leaves are lance-shaped 

 and pointed, on short petioles or stems growing oppos- 

 itely an the plant stem. The flowers grow on slen- 

 der pedicels from the axils of the terminal leaves; 

 the golden-yellow corolla is divided into five ovate 

 lobes, each terminating in a sharp, twisted or muc- 

 ronate point; around the center of the corolla is a 

 reddish brown ring, formed by small spots at the bas- 

 es of the five lobes. The pale green pistil in the cen- 

 ter is surrounded by ten stamens, five being fertile 

 and the other alternating ones being abortive. 



The sight of any familiar plant usually recalls to 

 our minds some particular incident connected with 

 it, usually the place in which we have previously 

 found it most abundantly. The present species al- 

 ways brings before me a certain swamp, regarded as 

 utterly worthless by persons not interested in living 

 creatures or plant life, but a veritable paradise for 

 the botanist, entomologist and ornithologist. I have 

 never seen the present species growing as abundantly 

 anywhere as in this swamp. 



Fringed Loosestrife is common jn low ground and 

 thickets from Newfoundland to British Columbia 

 southwards to the Gulf of Mexico. 



S. lanceolatum is a similar but more slender spe- 

 ies with narrow leaves and smaller flowers, the latter 

 measuring about one-half inch across. It is found 

 from Me. to Minn, and southwards in the same hab- 

 itats as the preceding. 



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