434 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



and one subspecies of skull-caps for the Central and 

 North-eastern sections of the United States alone. 



Many flowers are mpre or less related to these skull- 

 caps, as Gill-over-the-ground (Nepeta hedcracea) ; also 

 the Dragon-head (Dracoccplialum), and our Self-heal 

 {Prunella) ; some of the nettles, Pennyroyal, Bugle-weed, 

 and others. It is an interesting group, the Labiatae, and 

 many of them have already been figured in these articles 

 in American Forestry. 



We may now pass to the consideration of another 

 group of flowers, represented by species of great beauty, 

 which has made 



them friends and 

 favorites wherever 

 they are found. 

 These are the fam- 

 ous Lady-slippers 

 or Moccasin flowers 

 of the genus Cypri- 

 pedium (Cypripc- 

 dieae) that fall 

 into the lovely 

 Orchis family 

 (Orchidaceae). So 

 well do Figures 4 

 to 10 inclusive of 

 our i 1 1 u s trations 

 here present the 

 form, leaves, and 

 general character 

 of our Lady-slip- 

 pers, that no special 

 d e s c r iptions are 

 needed. Our north- 

 eastern flora con- 

 tains quite a num- 

 ber of these conspic- 

 uous plants with 

 their showy flowers ; 

 but it may be as 

 well to note here, 

 however, that the 

 flowers are either 

 very few on a stem, 

 and generally soli- 

 tary or single in all the species. Usually the stems are more or less hairy 

 or pubescent, and the roots fibrous and coarse. The leaves can be easily 

 studied in the figures, where, too, other structures are well presented. 

 Throughout the northeastern section of the United States we meet 

 with some seven or eight different ,species of the Lady-slippers, and 

 among them the remarkable looking Ram's Head Lady-slipper, which 

 is a very rare and local species found in swamps and rich woods 

 (C. arietinum). Passing this species, we have two kinds of these 

 plants that have yellow flowers, namely the Smaller Yellow Lady- 

 slipper (C parviflorum) and the Larger Yellow, which is a lover of 

 the woods and forests, and which many botanists consider to be 

 but a variety of C. pubescens. Then there is another in which the 

 lip is white (C. candidum), and which is rather rare. It is found in 

 swampy places throughout many regions in the northeastern sections, 

 especially in New York, New Jersey, to southern Minnesota, and 



down through Kentucky and Missouri. We should be 

 careful to not confuse this species with the albino form of 

 the Pink or Stemless Lady-slipper (C. acaule, Fig. 10). 

 The Showy Lady-slipper is also a superb species (C. 

 liirsutum), as is C. passerinum, in which two species the 

 sepals and petals are not twisted ; they may either nearly 

 equal the lip or be shorter than it. There are probably 

 other species in other sections of the United States, 

 especially in the South and West. All of our Lady- 

 slippers have a wonderful structure, and the genus has 

 interested botanists all over the world. Most of them are 

 easily naturalized, and they may all be trans- 

 planted to our gardens, where, without any 

 special care, they will flourish beautifully. 

 Speaking of the Large Yellow Lady- 

 slipper, or Yellow Moccasin Flower, also 

 called the Whippoorwill's Shoe, Neltje Blan- 

 chan writes of it in this interesting vein : 

 "Swinging outward from a leaf-clasped 

 stem, this orchid attracts us by its flaunted 



OLD-TIME HERB DOCTORS CONTF.XDED THAT 

 IT WOULD CURE HYDROPHOBIA. HENCE IT 

 RECEIVED SUCH NAMES AS "MAD DOC, SKULL 

 CAP" AND "MADWEED" 



Fig. 3 Besides the above names, however, it is also 

 widely known as the "Helmet flower" and "Hoodwort." 

 It really belongs to the Mint family {Labiatae), and 

 botanists know the common species as Scutella laterifolia ; 

 the one shown is probably 5. serrata. 



PECULIAR-LOOKING BUT EDIBLE MUSHROOMS 

 Fig. 2 This is Morchclla deliciosa, thus named on account 

 of being considered one of the most delicious of all 

 edible mushrooms. Its average form is well shown here, 

 and it is found early in the season in Maryland and else- 

 where; its common name is the delicious morel. 



beauty and decorative form from tip to root, 

 not less than the aesthetic little bees for 

 which its adornment and mechanism are so 

 marvellously adapted. Doubtless the heavy 

 oily odor is an additional attraction to 

 them. Parallel purplish lines, converging 

 toward the circular opening of the pale 

 yellow, inflated pouch, guide the visitor into 

 a spacious banquet hall (labellum), such 



