SPRINGTIME IN THE WOODS 



319 



When the Jack-in-the-Pulpit first appears above 

 ground in the spring it looks like a sharp mottled peg. 

 This peg consists of an outer sheath within which the 

 leaves are rolled lengthwise to a point, and within these 

 rolled leaves is the spathe, also rolled lengthwise, and 

 containing the developing spadix. At the time of flower- 

 ing the leaves are not fully expanded but are flaccid and 

 wrinkled. 



Seedlings of this species produce a single simple ovate 

 or cordate leaf the first year. In their second year they 

 produce a single trifoliate leaf, and in subsequent years 

 they may have one or two, and sometimes three, tri- 

 foliate leaves. 

 In suitable lo- 

 cations, that is, 

 where there is 

 plenty of mois- 

 ture, the leaves 

 of mature 

 plants often 

 reach very 

 large dimen- 

 s i on s , and 

 along the bor- 

 ders of wood- 

 land streams I 

 have found 

 plants with 

 leaves over 

 three feet in 

 height. 



This species, 

 like all our 

 spring - flower- 

 ing plants, is a 

 perennial, and 

 the under- 

 ground portion 

 is a large flat- 

 t e n e d corm 

 with a circle of 

 roots round its 

 upper border. 

 This corm 

 gives off little 



corms, so that the species spreads in this vegetative 

 manner as well as by seeds, and this fact accounts for 

 the usual occurrence of this plant in clumps. The corm 

 of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit is extremely acrid to the taste, 

 and this biting property is not due to some peppery sub- 

 stance, as is commonly supposed, but to the presence of 

 minute, sharp-pointed crystals of Calcium oxalate, which 

 penetrate the tongue and the mucous membrane of the 

 mouth. When the corm is boiled these sharp crystals are 

 dissolved so that it becomes edible, and it is because of 

 its use in this condition by the native North American 

 tribes that the plant received the name of Indian Turnip. 



During the early summer the spathe falls away, reveal- 

 ing the green, rounded, shining berries, and by August 



THE LONG-SPURRED VIOLET 



Such a display is enough to tempt anyone to visit the spring woods! Dainty violets 

 from palest blue to deep blue, white and yellow, will be found. The Long-spurred 

 the most attractive of all with its pale blue flowers and dark centers, growing in 



both spathe and leaves have withered, and only the 

 spadix, with its bright scarlet berries, is left. 



Many species of violets blossom in our spring woods 

 pale blue, deep blue, white and yellow. One of the 

 most attractive species is the Long-spurred Violet, with 

 pale blue flowers with darker centres, which often grows 

 in beautiful groups. 



The flowers mentioned above, and many others, bloom 

 in our hardwood forests in the spring in fact at this 

 season the woods are a wild-flower garden, while later in 

 the season they have comparatively few flowers. The 

 reason for this vernal habit of woodland plants is that 



in the spring 

 the sunlight 

 shines down 

 almost unob- 

 structed on the 

 forest floor, 

 but later on, 

 when the trees 

 have attained 

 their full leaf- 

 age, but little 

 light filters 

 through. And 

 light is re- 

 quired for the 

 carrying on of 

 the work of 

 food elabora- 

 tion by the 

 leaves, so that 

 the forest 

 plants send up 

 their leaves 

 into the spring 

 sunshine, 

 m a n u facjture 

 food, and store 

 it in under- 

 ground struc- 

 tures, such as 

 bulbs, corms 

 and root- 

 stocks, so that 

 they are ready for an early start next spring. 



Several species of butterflies flit about our woods in 

 early spring, these being individuals which have passed 

 the winter in a dormant condition beneath loose scales 

 of bark and in other retreats. One of the most striking 

 of these is the Camberwell Beauty, with wings of very 

 deep maroon, bordered with yellow. 



Birds abound in the spring woods, for not only have 

 many of our earlier feathered summer residents arrived, 

 but there is a constant stream of migrants passing 

 through on their way to their northern breeding-grounds. 

 These migrants make their flights by night and during the 

 day they feed and rest, so that each day we find differ- 

 (Continued on page 324) 



ranging in color 

 Violet is one of 

 beautiful clumps. 



