Minnesota Plant Life. 



is not usual to find among grapes what are known as perfect 

 flowers, with both stamens and pistils. The fruit is a spherical 

 berry of a blue or purplish-black color, edible and containing 

 from two to four seeds. The four varieties of grapes in Min- 

 nesota are the fox-grape, the summer grape, the frost-grape, 

 which is the common one, and the riverside grape, which is 

 likewise abundant except along the north shore of Lake Supe- 

 rior. The different grapes may be discriminated from each 

 other by certain structural characters. The fox-grape and the 

 summer grape have leaves with cottony under sides. The other 

 varieties have leaves with smooth, or only slightly hairy under 

 sides. In the fox-grape the berries are rather large, with a 

 strong musky fragrance, and the cotton on the under sides of 

 the leaves is of a brownish color. The summer grape has small 

 berries without the musky fragrance; and the cotton on the 

 under side of mature leaves is almost white. The riverside 

 grape may be distinguished from the other smooth-leafed va- 

 iety by the bloom on its berries and by its trailing or low habit 

 of growth, while the frost-grape climbs high, often swinging 

 itself on the branches of trees, and produces black shining 

 berries, ripening after frost and not possessing the distinct 

 bloom of the riverside grape. In all of these vines the fruits 

 hang in panicles and droop from the weight of the berries. 



Virginia creepers.. The Virginia creeper or woodbine, is an 

 abundant plant in most sections of the state. The tendrils 

 of this vine often form little sucker-like disks by which they 

 attach themselves to walls or fences, making the plant a desir- 

 able climber in dooryards and about houses. The leaves are 

 composed of from five to seven leaflets, five being much the 

 more common number. The fruits are grape-like, with from one 

 to four seeds, and are borne in forking clusters that stand erect 

 owing to the strong pedicels and smaller weight of the whole 

 as compared with a bunch of grapes. The berries are not 

 edible. 



The twenty second order includes six families not represented 

 in Minnesota, and in addition to these the basswoods, and the 

 mallows to which the hollyhock of country gardens belongs. 



Basswoods. One variety of basswood, known also as the 

 American linden or whitewood, is native within the borders of 



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