MAY NOTES 



of " wild lily of the valley." More noticeably a 

 lily than any of these others, is the Clintonia, an- Clintonia 

 other plant as yet unnamed except by the bota- 

 nist. Its handsome, oblong leaves, large and 

 shining, and its clustered, lemon-colored flowers 

 abound in the cool, mountainous woods of the 

 North. Though I believe the plant grows as 

 far south as North Carolina, I say of the North 

 because in the woods of the Adirondacks and of 

 Maine I find it most abundantly. Frequently the 

 Clintonia does not live up to its possibilities, but 

 when it bears its full complement of leaves and 

 flowers, four leaves and seven (I believe) blos- 

 soms being the greatest number I have found on a 

 single plant, it is noticeably beautiful. At such 

 a time in general effect it suggests the yellow 

 adder's tongue (Erythronium) which borders the 

 snow-fields and glaciers of the Canadian Rockies. 

 Many other lovers of the deep northern woods 

 grow with the Clintonia. From its whorl of deli- 

 cate pointed leaves springs the pure blossom of the 

 star-flower. Frequently the ground is carpeted 

 with the glossy three-divided leaves and small 

 white flowers of the gold-thread, whose name Lovers of 

 we readily understand if we take up a handful of ' ewo ° s 

 the dark moist earth which is threaded with its 

 orange-colored roots. The pure inflorescence of 

 the bunch-berry borders the wood-paths and fills 



65 



