WILD FLOWERS pink 



size as they approach the tip of the curving spike. 

 They are hung upside down, and become erect as the 

 flower opens. The arrangement is loose and terminal. 

 After the flower fades, the curving pod continues to 

 lengthen and when it is ripe it splits asunder length- 

 wise, grotesquely and every which way, liberating a 

 very fine, silky, webby mass of soft fluffy down to which 

 are attached the tiniest seeds that float away with the 

 breezes. Where this plant occurs in extensive colonies, 

 it presents an unusually dilapidated and bedraggled 

 appearance, which is not improved with the effects of 

 rainy weather. The Fireweed is found from North 

 Carolina, Kansas and California northward to Labra- 

 dor and Alaska. The tender, reddish green shoots of 

 this plant are considerably used as a pot-herb through- 

 out the Northwestern States and Canada. And it is 

 said that among the tribes of British Columbia the 

 pith of the young stalk is cooked and eaten. The 

 leaves and roots also have some medicinal qualities on 

 account of their astringency. Kaporie tea, a beverage 

 extensively used by the Russians, is made from the 

 leaves of this species. 



PURPLE-LEAVED WILLOW-HERB 



Epilobium coloratum. Evening Primrose Family. 



A very common, erect, and much-branched species 

 with a finely haired stalk, growing from one to three 

 feet high, in low grounds from Maine to Ontario, 

 Wisconsin, Nebraska, South Carolina and Missouri, 

 from June to September. The finely toothed leaf is 



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