PLANTS GROWING IN MUD. 75 



they are, poetically speaking, covered with sparkling drops of 

 dew ; but which in stern reality we find to be a glutinous exu- 

 dation that serves to entice insects to visit them and then to 

 hold them fast. The red bristles complete the capture by clos- 

 ing tightly over the victim ; and he is prepared for digestion 

 very much in the same manner as is practiced by the Venus's 

 fly-trap. The range of the sundew is not so restricted, and it is 

 worth one's while to search it out and try the experiment of 

 feeding it with flies, so as to put oneself on a plane beyond sur- 

 prise at the actions of the insectivorous plants. 



SOUTHERN LOBELIA. 



Lobelia amcena. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lobelia. Blue or white. Scentless. Florida, to South Carolina September^ October. 



and westward. 



Flowers : growing profusely in a close, one-sided raceme with many small 

 bracts. Calyx : of five linear lobes; the sinuses without appendages. Corolla : 

 long, irregularly five-lobed. Stamens: five, the filaments united into a tube. 

 Pistil: one ; stigma two-lobed, and about it a ring of hairs. Leaves : scattered ; 

 oblong ; the lower ones on petioles ; the upper ones nearly sessile. Stem : two 

 to four feet high ; erect. 



In the rich soil of the southern swamps we find this lobelia. 

 If it were colourless we would probably pass it by ; but its 

 bright blue or pure white enchain us and we forgive it its 

 happy-go-lucky, ragged, unkempt appearance. We feel quite 

 sure that it has a kind, tender heart. 



SALT-HARSH FLEABANE. 



Phichea camphordta. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Composite. Pale lavender pink. Strongly scented. Along the coast. September. 



Flower-heads : composed of small, tubular flowers arranged in a flat corymb. 

 Leaves: sessile; oblong; toothed; rough. Stem: with small, hairy glands. 



It is not until the early autumn that this little plant unfolds 

 its pale bloom in the marshes. We are strongly reminded of 

 the everlastings by its manner of growth ; and if we try hard 

 enough we may imagine its odour to be like that of camphor, 

 as its generic name implies. 



