394 THE KINDS OF PLANTS 



3. MITELLA. Mitrewort. Bishop's Cap. 



Delicate little perennials, with small, white flowers in a raceme or spike, 

 the basal leaves heart-shaped or reniform : scape with 2 opposite leaves, or 

 1 or none: calyx short, 5-cleft, adherent to base of ovary; petals 5, white 

 edges daintily fringed, inserted on calyx; stamens 5-10, with short fila- 

 ments, on petals; styles 2, short. 



M. diphylla, Linn. About 1 ft. tall: root-leaves in a cluster, cordate, 

 ovate, somewhat 3-5-lobed, toothed, hairy: scape rather hairy, with 2 

 opposite nearly sessile leaves near middle: flowers tiny, many, white. May 

 to early June, in rich woods. 



M. nuda, Linn. Very delicate and slender: scape usually leafless: basal 

 leaves reniform, crenate: flowers few, greenish, very small, pedicelled; not 

 common. Damp, cold woods, northward. Late spring and early summer. 



4. PARNASSIA. Grass of Parnassus. 



Low, glabrous perennials, belonging mostly to marshy or wet situations: 

 root-leaves in rosettes, rounded, entire; stem-leaves 1 or few, alternate: 

 flowers solitary, terminal, on a scape-like stem, white or greenish; calyx 

 5-lobed to near base; fertile stamens 5, alternating with the 5 whitish 

 petals, a cluster of sterile filaments at base of each petal; ovary superior 

 1-celled, with 4 parietal placenta?, and usually 4 stigmas. 



P. caroliniana, Michx. One flower with sessile petals, white, with green- 

 ish veins, 1-1 J^ in. broad: root-leaf thickish, ovate or cordate, 1 leaf usually 

 near base of scape: 6-15 in. high. Wet places. Summer. 



5. DEtTTZIA. 



Shrubs, having opposite, simple, exstipulate leaves: flowers panicled or 

 racemed, numerous, white or pinkish: calyx -lobes 5; petals 5 to many; sta- 

 mens 10, 5 long and 5 short, the filaments flat, commonly with 3 prongs, 

 the middle prong antheriferous; ovary inferior, styles 3-5. 



D. gracilis, Sieb. & Zucc. Grows to 2 or 3 ft.: flowers many, white, single 

 or double: leaves oblong-lanceolate, sharply serrate, green and smooth. 

 June. Cultivated from Japan. 



D. scabra, Thunb. Tall, pubescent: leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, finely 

 crenate or serrate: flowers pinkish. Later-blooming than preceding, and 

 much larger. China and Japan. 



6. HYDRANGEA. 



Shrubs, with opposite, stalked exstipulate leaves, and flowers of two 

 kinds in terminal corymbs or cymes, the outer ones usually sterile, often 

 apetalous, consisting merely of a showy, flat or spreading 5-lobed calyx, the 

 fertile flowers small, with calyx-tube 4-5-toothed; petals 4 or 5: stamens 8- 

 10, filaments slender; ovary inferior, 2-celled (rarely 3- or 4-celled) ; styles 2-4. 



H. arborescens, Linn. Leaves ovate, obtuse or cordate at base, acumi- 

 nate, serrate, green on both surfaces, nearly or quite smooth: flowers in 

 flat cymes, often all fertile, but sometimes with many large, white, sterile 

 flowers. Along streams. June to July. 





