A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS 45 



There is only one species in northeastern America, 'wholly 

 without prickles. The stems are often a little woody, and 

 usually from 5-12 ft. long. Flowers, very small, greenish- 

 yellow, in drooping slender clusters, 6-parted. Fruit dry 

 greenish, strongly 3-winged. {Dioscorcaceae.) 

 Wild Yam-root. Dioscorca villosa. A scrambling vine 

 with long stalked leaves that are heart shaped at the base, 

 and prolonged into a pointed narrow tip, 9-13 veined, usually 

 a little hairy on the under surface. Fruits in hanging, loose, 

 rather sparse clusters, almost i in. long, and nearly as wide. 

 June. Moist thickets. Ontario and southern New England 

 to Florida, and westward. Fig. 132. 



133. Flowers very irregular and unsymmetrical. 



Leaves not long stalked and heart shaped at the base; flowers 



never blue Orchids no. 135 



Leaves long stalked and heart shaped at the base ; flowers blue, 



a plant of swamps or water-sides Pickerel- weed no. 134 



134. PICKEREL-WEED. PONTEDERIA. 



Thick stemmed, almost fleshy herbs growing along the 

 edges of, or often in, swamps or ponds. Leaves thick, many- 

 veined, long stalked, nearly always heart shaped at the base 

 (in one form narrowed). Flowers in a dense terminal cluster, 

 blue, split into two parts (lips) of unequal size. Upper lip 

 of 3 lobes, the lower lip of 3 linear, spreading lobes. Fruit 

 bladder-like. (Pontcderiaccac. ) 



PiCKLREL-WEKi). Poutcdcrm cordata. Stems 1-4 ft. tall. 

 Leaves oval, 3-9 in. long, about half as wide. Flower cluster, 

 3-4 in. long, bright blue, sticky-hairy. Summer. Nova Scotia 

 to Florida, and westward. Fig. 134. 



