A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS 



209 



636. Virginia Cowslip. Mertensia virginica. A smooth, 

 erect, usually unbranched, herb 1-2 ft. high. Leaves oblong 

 or oval-oblong, stalked 2-5 in. long, about lYi in. wide, and 

 with a distinct marginal vein about ^4g in. from the Icaf- 

 edge. Flowers purplish-blue, very showy, about i in. long, 

 the tube narrow, and at least half the total length of the 

 flower. In wet places. Southern Ontario to So. Carolina, and 

 westward. Locally often rare. April. Fig. 636. 



637. CoMFREY. Symphytum officinale. A Eurasian weed, 2-3 

 ft. high, with an erect branched stem. Basal leaves 3-10 in. 

 long, oval or lance-oval, with a distinct marginal vein, about 

 Yic, in. from the leaf-edge, the upper leaves smaller, and 

 without the marginal vein. Flowers in a terminal, only 

 slightly I -sided cluster, yellowish-purple, the tube more than 

 ^ the total length of the flower, which is about }i in. long. 

 In waste places, Newfoundland to Virginia and No. Carolina. 

 July. Fig. 637. 



638. Hound's-tongue.. Cynoglossum officinale. An erect 

 leafy European biennial weed, 1-3 ft. high. Basal leaves 

 oblong, long-stalked, 6-12 in. long, 1-3 in. wide, the upper 

 ones smaller and narrower. Flowers reddish-purple, about J4 

 in. long, in a long curving raceme, which is much elongated 

 in fruit. In fields and waste places. Quebec and Ontario to 

 So. Carolina, and westward. June-September. 



