4iX) 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



orange. (Fig. i.) Indeed, in Miller and Whiting's "Wild 

 Flowers of the North-Eastern States," although they say 

 that the flowers that is, petals and stamens are of a 

 "rich, soft yellow," these parts are of an orange in the 

 beautiful frontispiece of senna in that work. What 

 renders these flowers particularly striking are the deep 



brown, almost 

 black, anthers, 

 which are con- 

 s p i c u ously in 

 evidence on the 

 outer ends of the 



WILD SENNA, A BEAUTIFUL SPECIMEN 

 OF WHICH IS HERE SHOWN, STILL HAS 

 ITS USES IN MEDICINE. 



Fig. 1 Cassia marilandica is the scientific name 

 of this herb, and it belongs in the Pulse family 

 (Leguminosae) ; the flowers are bright yellow and 

 very striking. 



ten stamens, which latter are of vary- 

 ing lengths. Although a representative 

 of the vast Pulse family, the papi- 

 lionaceous type of blossom, which is so 

 characteristic of it, is nearly or quite 

 lost here, as will be noticed in the ac- 

 companying cut. The petals, however, 



Up on the hillsides, above where we found the wild 

 senna, may be found a great many different kinds of 

 flowers both before and after the month of August. 

 Among these may occur the very inconspicuous Wood 

 Betony (Pedicularis canadensis, Fig. 2). The generic 

 name of this plant is derived from pediculus, a louse, and 

 Doctor Gray remarks that it has "no obvious application." 

 This is somewhat surprising, for to the general zoologists 

 it is so evident. Take, for example, the flower-head in 

 Figure 2, next to the shortest one, and compare the same 

 with any good figure of the common head louse (Pedicu- 

 lus capitis), that is, compare it with the head, thorax, 

 and legs, or those parts beyond the 

 abdomen in that insect, and the re- 

 semblance is quite striking. A good 

 figure for this purpose is to be found 

 in Dr. L. O. Howard's work The In- 

 sect Book (Fig. 212, p. 316). To be 

 sure, all flower-heads of the Wood 

 Betony do not offer this resemblance, 



THE 

 CUT. 



Fig. 2 This species of Pedicularis occurs on slop- 

 ing, shrubby banks in copses and open woods, 

 often associated with spiderwort and the giant 

 chickweed. It rarely attracts much attention 

 as it is not a showy plant. 



MANY OF THE PLANTS IN THE FIGWORT 



are five in number ; the flowers in loose family (Scrophuiariaceae) are interest 



. . , , , ING AND ODD, BUT NONE MORE SO THAN 



clusters, and the leaves compound (12- the common betony, shown in this 



20, broadly lanceolate), smooth and 



sensitive to the touch, as is the case 



with some of its relatives. This herb 



may grow to become at least eight feet 



high, and is generally found in swampy lands, though 



sometimes along roadsides and in alluvial soil elsewhere. 



It ranges over a good part of the country east of the 



Mississippi, westward to Nebraska. 



In Nature's Garden we read that, "While leaves of 

 certain African and East Indian species of senna are 

 most valued for their medicinal properties, those of this 

 plant are largely collected in the Middle and Southern 

 States as a substitute. Caterpillers of several sulphur but- 

 terflies, which live exclusively on cassia foliage, appear 

 to feel no evil effects from overdoses." (P. 309.) Both 

 pods and leaves are gathered for this purpose, the former 

 being "hairy" according to Creevey, appearing soon after 

 the flowers die down; the latter drop off on very slight 

 provocation. 



as will be appre- 

 ciated by com- 

 paring those in 

 Figure 2 of this 

 article. 



We often meet 

 with Wood Bet- 

 o n y flourishing 

 in patches on the 



hillsides in various suburban parts of Washington. These 

 patches rarely cover more ground than some ten or fifteen 

 feet square, where our plant may be mixed with some of 

 the shorter grasses or even with other plants. In certain 

 sections of its range it is known as the "beefsteak plant" 

 or "lousewort." Why the first is hard to say, but in the 



HERE WE HAVE ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL 

 SPECIES OF THE FIGWORT FAMILY, THE 

 FAMOUS PURPLE GERARDIA THAT FLOUR- 

 ISHES IN THE OPEN SANDY LANDS FROM 

 MIDDLE MASSACHUSETTS TO FLORIDA. 

 WESTWARD TO THE LAKES, AND SOUTH- 

 WARD TO TEXAS. 



Fig. 3 This genus was named for John Gerarde, 

 the eminent botanist; and G. purpurea, when 

 growing in masses, surely presents a lovely sight. 

 It has very delicate stems and buds. 



