78 LILIACEAE (LILY FAMILY) 



inch to about an inch wide, the lower ones narrowing to a sheathing 

 base, the upper ones much smaller and sessile. Flowers in a large, 

 dense, terminal, alternately branching, pyramidal panicle, six to 

 eighteen inches long, each pedicel subtended by a small, long-ovate 

 bract ; each blossom about a half -inch broad, greenish white or 

 creamy yellow, darkening to brown as they wither. They have no 

 corolla but have six separate clawed sepals, oblong or sometimes 

 heart-shaped or even slightly auricled, and spread flat, the claws 

 bearing the six stamens and usually having at the base of the blades 

 two conspicuous dark glands ; some flowers simply staminate, 

 others pistillate, others perfect, may all be found on the same stalk, 

 but usually the lower ones are sterile. Capsules about a half- 

 inch long, three-celled, the persistent styles making them triple- 

 pointed, and each cavity contains about ten very flat and broadly 

 winged brown seeds, easily distributed either by wind or by water. 



Means of control 



From small areas the perennial rootstocks may be grubbed out ; 

 or, when of but one season's growth and before they have penetrated 

 the soil very far, they can be quickly pulled when the ground is soft. 

 Badly infested meadows require to be drained and put under culti- 

 vation. In every case, seeding should be prevented by close cutting 

 at the beginning of bloom. 



AMERICAN HELLEBORE 



Veratrum viride, Ait. 



Other English names: False Hellebore, Swamp Hellebore, Green 



Hellebore, Indian Poke, Earth Gall, Bugbane, Itch-weed, Duck- 



retter. 

 Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds and by thick, fleshy 



rootstocks. 



Time of bloom: May to July. 

 Seed-time: June to August. 

 Range: From Quebec to British Columbia and Alaska, southward 



to Georgia and Tennessee. 

 Habitat : Wet meadows, swamps, and along streams and ditches. 



A large, coarse, and dangerously poisonous plant. Cattle and 

 horses have been killed by cropping the young leaves in the spring ; 



