372 Minnesota Plant Life. 



one-sided racemes, and these clusters show a tendency to bend 

 over like a shepherd's crook. 



Stickseeds. The stickseeds are very abundant plants in the 

 Minnesota woods. Four or five varieties exist, distinguished 

 by the shapes of their leaves and the character of the flower- 

 clusters. In all of them the four nutlets, which constitute each 

 fruit, separate from each other, and on their backs carry a num- 

 ber of barbed hairs, or thorns, by which they attach themselves 

 to the fur of animals, or to the clothing of man, thus obtaining 

 distribution. Among the various little fruits and seeds which 

 anchor themselves to one's clothing, in the woods, those of the 

 stickseeds may always be known because they are shaped 

 something like the quarter of an apple and come in groups of 

 four. The tip of each of the thorns along the backs of these 

 nutlets is barbed just like a harpoon, so that when the burs 

 affix themselves to clothing it is difficult to remove them. 

 Of the Minnesota varieties, two are very rare and are known 

 to occur only in the extreme northwestern corner of the state. 

 The others, however, are abundant throughout all portions. 



Lungworts. The lungworts are also called bluebells, but 

 they are not to be confused with the Canterbury-bells, which 

 belong to quite a different family. They are erect, smooth or 

 downy herbs and have blue, bell-shaped flowers with somewhat 

 narrowed tubes. The flowers are borne in large terminal, 

 hemispherical clusters, sometimes flattened out and loose in 

 appearance. The tall lungwort possesses rough leaves, while 

 the Virginia lungwort has its foliage quite smooth. 



Forget-me-nots. Two sorts of forget-me-nots occur in the 

 state. They are little, low, rough-leaved plants, in one variety 

 with small blue flowers, and in the other with white. They are 

 annual or biennial and produce tufts of leaves near the base, 

 from which the leafy flowering stem arises. The flowers are 

 borne in one or two-sided racemes, often bent over like a shep- 

 herd's crook. 



Puccoons. The puccoons are known by their yellow flowers, 

 varying towards orange or white. One of the commonest early 

 spring flowers the hoary puccoon is classified here. In this 

 plant, at the end of the stem, six inches or more in height, a 

 little cluster of orange yellow flowers is developed. When it 



