184 THE FLOWERLESS PLANTS. 



straw-color, clotted with purple, and their under surface 

 of rose or lilac. They seem to riot in all sorts of beauti- 

 ful and peculiar shapes and combinations. But the greater 

 number are remarkable only for their grotesque forms, as 

 if intended as a burlesque upon the other productions of 

 the earth. Almost every tree, after its decay, gives origin 

 to a particular species of mushroom. They are often seen 

 as small as pins, with little heads resembling red and yel- 

 low beads, growing like a forest under the moist protec- 

 tion of some broad-leaved shrubbery. .Over the surface 

 of all accumulations of decayed vegetable matter they are 

 seen spreading out their umbrellas and lifting up their 

 heads, often springing up suddenly, as if by enchantment. 

 But they are short-lived, and soon perish if the light of 

 the sun is admitted into their shady haunts. 



Thus far have I endeavored to call attention to the 

 flowerless plants, not designing to treat of them in a sci- 

 entific manner. I have said nothing, therefore, of the 

 characeas and the equisetums, lest I make useless repe- 

 titions of remarks which are necessarily of a general char- 

 acter. Whoever will take pains to examine these plants 

 will discover an inexhaustible variety in their forms, their 

 modes of growth, and their fructification. Hence those 

 botanists who have given particular attention to this class 

 of vegetation have been noted for the enthusiasm with 

 which they pursued their researches. I have never been 

 initiated into the mysteries of their life, growth, and 

 continuance. I treat of them only as they serve to add 

 beauty to a little nook in the garden, to a dripping rock, 

 or to a solitary dell in the wildwood. The more we study 

 them, the more are we charmed with their singularity 

 and elegance. 



Thus, over all her productions has Nature spread the 

 charms of beautiful forms and tints, from the humblest 

 mushroom that grows upon the decayed stump of a tree, 



