284 Minnesota Plant Life. 



what like those of the gooseberry and with the general saxifrage 

 type of flower. In the common miterwort or bishop's cap the 

 five petals are shaped like tiny feathers. 



Parnassias. The Parnassias, of which one species is com- 

 mon throughout the state while the other two grow especially 

 on the north shore of Lake Superior, are swamp plants with 

 entire, broadly spoon-shaped, strongly ribbed leaves and ter- 

 minal solitary flowers of a white or creamy yellow color, aris- 

 ing at the end of a slender erect axis. Usually a single sessile 

 heart-shaped leaf is displayed one-third of the way up the 

 flowering axis. The flowers of Parnassia may be recognized 

 by the little clusters of imperfect stamens produced at the base 

 of each of the five petals. 



Gooseberries and currants. The largest genus of saxifrages 

 in Minnesota is the one to which the gooseberries and cur- 

 rants belong. There are probably six gooseberries in the state, 

 and the different sorts are recognized by the shape of the leaves 

 and the character of the fruit. One, the prickly gooseberry, 

 is common everywhere, and in this species the fruits are 

 covered with prickles. Of smooth gooseberries there are four 

 or five sorts distinguished by characters of the flowers and 

 leaves. Of currants there are four sorts, among which, one, the 

 flowering-currant, is not native. The other three are the skunk 

 currant, with its prostrate branches and disagreeable odor, com- 

 mon in the northern part of the state; the wild black currant, 

 abundant throughout the state; and the red currant, most 

 abundant north of a straight line connecting Fergus Falls with 

 Duluth. The gooseberries have the flowers arranged for the 

 most part in small clusters or they are solitary, while the cur- 

 rants produce racemes of flowers ripening into bunches of fruit. 

 The fruits are spherical berries, having a somewhat different 

 taste in the gooseberry division of the genus from that char- 

 acteristic of the currants. Each berry contains a few seeds 

 with slimy or gelatinous outer and hard inner coats. The 

 flowering-currant, with its bright yellow flowers, is a native of 

 the western plains and is abundantly introduced in Minnesota. 



Witch-hazels. The witch-hazel family is represented in Min- 

 nesota by a single species, the well-known witch-hazel of the 

 southern part of the state. This is a shrub superficially re- 



