NATIVE WILD FLOWERS 



appearance and qualities of the plants by which they can 

 be easily recognized. 



Imagination loves to get a glimpse at the poetical in 

 the names of flowers, giving a charm to what is dry and. 

 uninteresting in our botanical books; something that gives 

 us an insight into the history of the flower we study 

 beyond the mere structure and definition of its parts. I 

 remember an old gardener (he was by no means an ignorant 

 man) once said, " Oh! madam, in these days they turn poor 

 Poetry out of doors, but in the olden time it was not so, for 

 it was the language in which God spake to man through 

 the tongues of angels and prophets. Ay, and it was the 

 language in which even sinful man spake in prayer to his 

 Maker; but now they only use hard words for simple 

 things, such as the flowers of the field and the garden; or 

 the talk is about gold and the things that gold purchases!" 



SPREADING DOGBANE INDIAN HEMP Apocynum andro- 

 scemifolium (L.). 



This pretty pink-flowered plant is also known by the 

 name of Shrubby Milkweed, from the abundance of acrid 

 milky juice that pervades the stem, branches and leaves. 



The flowers of this plant are very unlike those of the 

 Asclepiadacece; but it belongs to a closely allied order, and 

 possesses some of the characteristics of that remarkable 

 order of plants in which the deadly Strychnia is included, 

 with others of evil reputation. There are many virtues as 

 well as vices in our Milkweeds. The Apocynums have some 

 worthy members in the family sweets as well as bitters. 



In the " Hya-hya " of Demerara we find the luscious 

 Milktree, which, ^ith the Cream-fruit of Sierra Leone and 

 some others, redeems the character of this remarkable tribe 



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