BLACK OR DARK PURPLE 221 



and the others in pairs, grow on each of the 

 stems. The leaflets are sometimes lobed. They 

 are usually heart-shaped and sharply and doubly 

 toothed. The point is long and sharp, and the 

 base is heart-shaped. The veins on the lower 

 surface are hairy. 



Flowers. — The small, greenish, umbelled 

 flowers form long terminal spikes or smaller 

 spikes in the leaf axils. July, August. 



Along the wooded roadsides, the greenish 

 white flowers appear about the time that the 

 Golden-rod begins to blossom. The fruit follows 

 in haste; and the plant, with its tiny glassy 

 spheres, is more noticeable than in its period of 

 bloom. The berries are used as food by birds. 



Its range is from New Brunswick to Georgia 

 and west to Minnesota. 



WILD OR VIRGINIAN SARSAPARILLA 

 Aralia nudicaulis Ginseng Family 



Fruit, — The fruit is borne on a naked scape, 

 which is shorter than the leaf stalks. There is 

 usually one large cluster of fruits at the top of 

 the scape. This cluster is often composed of 



