BLUE AND PURPLE GROUP 



A weed in cultivated grounds, in sandy, dry soil, rather 

 persistent. Atlantic and Gulf States. 



Figwort 



Scrophulkria marilAndica (a reputed remedy for scrofula). — 

 Family, Figwort. Color, a brownish purple or chocolate. Leaves, 

 opposite, deeply serrate, ovate or oblong, rounded or heart-shaped 

 at base, pointed at apex. Calyx, deeply 5-divided. Corolla, 

 rounded, tubular, with 5 lobes, the lower spreading, the two 

 upper longer than the others and erect. Stamens, 5, with anthers 

 lying across the filaments and running together into a ring. A 

 rudiment of the fifth stamen may be seen. Stem, smooth, 4-sided, 

 3 or 4 feet high, with small, insignificant flowers terminating the 

 branches. July to September. 



This herb gives the name to a large and important family 

 of plants, and, curiously, has not the markedly 2-lipped 

 corolla which distinguishes most of the figworts. Open, 

 rich, moist woods. Massachusetts to South Carolina and 

 westward. 



Water Hyssop 



Bacbpa Monniera. — Family, Figwort. Color, blue. Leaves, clasp- 

 ing the stem, egg-shape, opposite, entire, giving forth a pleasant 

 fragrance when crushed. Calyx, 5-parted, the upper sepal heart- 

 shape. Corolla, 2-lipped, the upper lip notched, the under 3- 

 lobed. Stamens, 4. Style, 2 -parted at the top. Summer. 



Low and creeping, rather fleshy plants, with single small 

 flowers in the leaf-axils. Growing around ponds in pine 

 barrens in New Jersey to Louisiana. 



Beard-tongue 



Penstemon hirsutus (name means "fifth stamen"). — Family, 

 Figwort. Color, lilac or whitish. Corolla, tubular, 2-lipped, the 

 upper lip 2-divided, the lower 3. There are 4 fertile stamens; 

 the fifth, sterile, with a profusely bearded filament, gives the 

 flower its name. Flowers, large, crowded in a dense panicle. 

 Stem, 2 to 3 feet high, covered with a fine, whitish bloom. Leaves % 

 lance-shape or ovate, those below somewhat toothed. May to 

 July. 



Dry or rocky, sterile soil, Maine to Georgia and westward. 



Monkey Flower 



Mimulus ringens (diminutive of mimus, a buffoon, from the 



"grinning corolla"). — Family, Figwort. Color, lilac. Calyx, 



with 5 angles and teeth. Corolla, tubular, 2-lipped, upper lip 



3-lobed, lower 3-divided; of the snapdragon order, slightly open. 



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