GRASSES. SEDGES AND SOME SEPTEMBER FLOWERS 



553 



introduced from the tropics ; it is the Yellow Cyperus 

 (C. flavus), and it may be easily identified by its ovoidal 

 heads, three or four-clustered, and sessile at the point 

 where the leaves spring from the upper end of the stalk. 

 All of the so-called "Rushes" fall in this great sedge 

 family, as the bulrush or club rush; the bald rush, and 

 the numerous spike rushes. There are many handsome 

 species of them, perhaps none are more so than the ones 

 grouped in the genus Uniola, as U. latifolia, a most grace- 

 ful spike-grass found growing, according to Gray, on 

 "shaded slopes and in low thickets from Pennsylvania 

 to Kansas and southward, appearing in August and 

 September," as we see it in Figure 4 of this article. 

 This particular specimen was collected on the low land, 

 close to the water's edge, of the Potomac River, on the 

 District side, not far from Chain Bridge nor more than 

 a mile from the Washington Monument. It is not abun- 

 dant in this part of the country, and 

 some of our botanists hardly believed 

 that it grew in this section of the 

 country at all. A species closely 

 resembling it (U. paniculate), known 

 as Sea Oats, is found growing along 

 the Texan coast where the sand 

 dunes occur. This species extends 

 its range into Mexico and South 

 America, and is sometimes collected 



shade. The leaves are of a fine green, and remind one 

 of those of the lily of the valley another attractive plant, 

 to which this one is more or less related. Observe that 

 their venation is arranged horizontally, and that the leaves 

 spring above an- 

 other from the 

 stem. This plant 

 is a fruiting speci- 

 men of the Wild 

 Spikenard, and a 

 brief study of it 

 will throw light 

 upon some very 

 striking species. 

 Wild Spikenard 

 is also called 

 False Solomon's 



THERE ARE SOME CURIOUS PLANTS IN 

 THE LILY FAMILY (IJIiaceae), AND THIS 

 IS ONE OF THEM 



Fig. 5 Our False Spikenard (Smilacina race- 

 mosa) is generally found growing on banks 

 wnere considerable moisture _ is present, and 

 its flowers are sometimes faintly fragrant. 



by travelers and 

 brought to north- 

 ern homes in am- 

 ple bunches, on 

 account of its 

 highly decorative 

 value. 



Often, while 

 rambling through 

 the woods in Sep- 

 tember, one comes across such a plant as is shown in Fig- 

 ure 6. Note the beautiful bunch of berries it bears ; they 

 are quite aromatic, as round as bird-shot, of a rather 

 pale reddish color, and exquisitely speckled with a darker 



SPIKE GRASS IS ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL 

 SPECIES OF SEDGE. OF WHICH THERE 

 ARE SEVERAL KINDS KNOWN 



Fig. 4 Uniola latifolia is the name that has 

 been given to this spike, and it is not a very 

 abundant species. 



THESE ARE THE BEAUTIFUL GLOBULAR 

 BERRIES OF THE SPIKENARD SHOWN 

 IN FIGURE 5 



Fig. 6 Note how very closely the leaves re- 

 semble those of the lily of the valley, to which 

 plant it is nearly related. 



Seal and for a reason which will 

 soon be made clear. We usually 

 meet with it in moist woods, some- 

 times on hillsides, and occasionally 

 in thickets. Rarely does it flower 

 later than in July in the Mid-Atlantic 

 States ; and should we pull up one 

 of these plants, it will be noted that 

 it has a rather thick, more or less 

 fleshy rootstock. A rich terminal 

 raceme of faintly fragrant, pale 

 greenish-white flowers characterizes 

 the flower-head of the Wild Spikenard, and by the use 

 of a hand-lens we may see that any one of these flowers 

 possesses six stamens and a single pistil. Usually the 

 plant has a height of about a foot and a half, while still 

 other specimens may grow to be more than a yard high. 

 Sometimes the head is quite small, as is shown in 

 Figure 7, in the right-hand plant, and occasionally the 

 stem is zig-zag, so that country people often call it the 

 Zig-zag Solomon's Seal. 



In the matter of flowering, the true Solomon's Seal 

 differs widely from the plant just described as the False 

 Solomon's Seal a most stupid name, as the plants are 

 very distinct and easily told apart ; this may be appre- 

 ciated by a study of Figure 7. They may frequently be 



