122 PLANTS GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. 



stigma. Leaves : alternate ; on short petioles ; lance-oblong ; serrated ; becom- 

 ing bract-like among the flowers. Stem : two to four feet high ; erect ; 

 grooved ; almost smooth. 



As the cardinal flower rises from the border of some stream 

 it appears not unlike the unknown red-robed dignitary of the 

 Roman church after whom it was named ; and its bearing is no 

 less proud, we may imagine, than his when about to be conse- 

 crated. It was of this plant that a Frenchman said : "I saw 

 the flower, my admiration is forever." 



The corolla is cunningly fashioned to allow humming birds 

 to sip of its nectar, and by the thoughtfulness of Dame Nature 

 the long, slender bill of the humming bird is exactly made to 

 suit the corolla. The drooping of the lip invites the bird to 

 search for nectar as cordially as an open door invites a guest 

 to step within. It is not necessary to offer the bird a seat or 

 platform to stand upon as Master Bee requires ; for he poises 

 himself on the wing. Sometimes roguish, unprincipled bees 

 steal the nectar from a slit at the base of the flower and so 

 avoid their duty of carrying the pollen for fertilization. 



Panicularia Canadensis is the name of the beautiful rattle- 

 snake grass which accompanies the illustration. 



GREAT LOBELIA. BLUE CARDINAL FLOWER. 



(Plate LX.) 



Lobelia syph ilitica . 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lobelia. Pinkish purple. Scentless. General. Summer and early autumn. 



Flowers : growing closely in a leafy panicle. Calyx : of five very sharply 

 pointed petals. Corolla : tubular ; two-lipped ; the upper lip divided into 

 two pointed lobes ; the lower one three-lobed. Stamens : five ; coloured ; 

 united about the pistil and apparently splitting open the tube of the corolla. 

 Pistil: one; curved; stigma fringed. Leaves: alternate; lanceolate; 

 toothed ; the upper surface smooth. Stem : one to three feet high ; erect ; 

 leafy ; angular. 



When by some leafy, shady brook-side we find this flower, it 

 appeals to us as very striking and pretty ; and it seems almost 

 cruel to place it by the side of its relative, the cardinal flower, 

 as it must naturally pale greatly by comparison. It is a tall, 



