PRIMROSE FAMILY. Primulacese. 



A delicate and interesting little wood- 

 star Flower , -, , ., i i i 

 Trientalis land plant with a long horizontally creep- 



Americana ing root which sends upward an almost 

 White bare or few-scaled thin stem terminating 



May-June j n a c j rc i e o f sharp-pointed, lance-shaped, 

 light green leaves, thin, shiny, and tapering to both ends. 

 There are 5-9 leaves in the circle, from the centre of 

 which proceed two threadlike stalks, each bearing a 

 fragile, white, star-shaped flower with 6-7 pointed divi- 

 sions. The stamens are long and delicate, with tiny 

 golden anthers, which mature later than the stigma. 

 Cross-fertilization effected mostly through the agency of 

 the beelike flies (Bombylius). 3-7 inches high, or rarely 

 more. In moist thin woods, from Me., west to Minn., 

 and south to southern N. J. and the mountains of Va. 

 Common in the thin woodlands of the White Mountains. 

 A rather handsome perennial commonly 

 Loosestrife found in low moist situations, particularly 

 Steironema on river flats. The smooth light green 

 ciliatum leaves are ovate or ovate lance-shaped and 



Yellow sharply pointed; on the upper edge of the 



stem is a fringe of erect hairs hence the 

 specific term, ciliatum. The leaves are in pairs which 

 are set at right angles with each other. The pretty light 

 golden yellow flowers, not far from a pure yellow tone, 

 are five-lobed, the divisions oval and finished with an 

 abrupt sharp point (called mucronate) ; these tips are 

 somewhat twisted or puckered ; about the centre of the 

 corolla is a terra-cotta-colored ring ; within this are five 

 straw-colored stamens alternating with five abortive 

 ones ; in the centre is the pale green pistil. The smooth, 

 erect stem 18-22 inches high or more. Common in low 

 ground and on the borders of thickets from Me. west to 

 British Columbia, south to Ga., Ala., and to Ariz. 

 Steironema -& narrow-leaved species smaller and 



lanceoiatum slenderer in every respect. The leaves 

 Yellow are lance-shaped and linear, indistinctly 



June-July stemmed and smooth ; the lower ones are 

 much shorter and broader, and the stems are distinct 

 and long. The flowers are similar to those of S. till- 

 atum, but smaller a little over inch broad. 8-20 



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