WHITE GROUP 



number, club-shaped, small, thick, fleshy, and hollow at apex. 

 Stamens, numerous. Pistils, 3 to 7, stalked. Flowers on leafless 

 scapes, not conspicuous. Leaves from the root, 3-lobed, the 

 leaflets sharply toothed, shining, evergreen. Stems, low, smooth. 

 May to July. 



The beauty of the plant lies in the leaves, which nestle 

 among bog-mosses and are bright and shining the summer 

 through. The "goldthread" appears when we dig up the 

 root and find it composed of long, yellow fibers. 



Dwarf Larkspur 



Delphinium tricorne. — Family, Crowfoot. Color, white or blue. 

 (See among Blue Flowers, p. 310.) 



Black Snakeroot. Black Cohosh. Bugbane 



Cimicifuga ra.cem.osa. — Family, Crowfoot. Sepals, 4 or 5, soon 

 falling. Petals, small, on claws, 2 -horned, like transformed sta- 

 mens. Stamens, many, on slender, white filaments, giving the 

 flower a feathery appearance. Pistils, 1, sometimes 2 or 3, form- 

 ing a curious ovoid pod in fruit. Flowers in long, wand-like 

 racemes which extend in fruit 2 or 3 feet. Stem, often tall, 7 or 8 

 feet, from a rootstock. Leaves, alternate, twice or thrice com- 

 pound, the leaflets small, cut and toothed, on long petioles. July. 



A conspicuous, coarse plant, with an unpleasant odor. It 

 is supposed to be poisonous to insects. 



Red Baneberry 



Actaea rubra* — Family, Crowfoot. Color of blossom white; 

 berries bright red. Sepals, 4 or 5, falling early. Petals, 4 to 10, 

 small, broadened above, on slender claws. Stamens, numerous, 

 with white filaments. Pistil, 1, making a many-seeded, oval 

 berry. Leaves, large, broad, twice or thrice compound, the leaflets 

 cut and toothed. Flowers in a short, thick raceme at the end 

 of the stem which bears few leaves, about 2 feet high. April 

 and May. 



A handsome plant, especially when its bright fruit en- 

 livens the woods. Common northward. 



White Baneberry 



A. alba is even more conspicuous, with white berries on curi- 

 ously thickened red stalks. At the tip of the berry is a black- 

 spot. Its compound, sharply-toothed leaves are broad and 

 handsome. The berries of Actaea are poisonous. 



Both species have a wide range in our Eastern woods, from 

 New England southward. 



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