142 PLANTS GROWING IN RICH OR ROCKY SOIL. 



beautiful red berries of this plant, which in August can be 

 found hanging from thread-like peduncles, and following grace- 

 fully the curves of the stalk. In the avoiding of angles, the 

 plant has as truly the artistic instinct as though it had been 

 bred in a French school of design. It resembles somewhat the 

 Solomon's seal, of which it is a connection. 



SOLOflON'S SEAL. 



Polygondtnm biflbrum. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lily-oJ-the-valley. Dingy yellow. Scentless. New England southward. M ay ^ June. 



Flowers ; growing singly, or in pairs on slender pedicels that droop from the 

 axil of each leaf. Perianth : bell-shaped ; six-toothed. Stamens : six. Pistil : 

 one. Frttit : a small, globular, blue berry. Leaves : alternate ; broadly ovate ; 

 almost sessile ; growing on the upper side of the stem ; covered with soft hairs 

 and whitish underneath. Stem ; curving gracefully; glabrous. Kootstock : 

 jointed j scarred. 



There is no doubt but that the round scars left on the root- 

 stock of the Solomon's seal by the dead stalks of the preced- 

 ing year, do resemble the impressions made by seals upon wax : 

 but wherein these seals resemble those used by Solomon must 

 ever remain a mystery to those that have not had some private 

 information on the subject. 



FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL. WILD SPIKENARD. 



Vagnera racembsa. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lily-of-the-valley. Greenish white. Slightly fragrant. Mostly May. 



north. 



Flowers : tiny; growing in a compound panicle. Perianth : of six divisions. 

 Stamens: six. Pistil: one. Fruit: a crimson berry speckled with purple. 

 Leaves: alternate; oblong; pointed at both ends; parallel-veined; fluted on 

 the edges ; slightly hairy. Stem : ascending two to three feet high. 



If the common name of the above plant is a mystery to us, 

 this one is no less so ; as its manner of growth and fruit are so 

 very different from those of the Solomon's seal. In fact, the 

 latter is the more striking plant of the two and has an elusive, 

 sweet perfume. A warm friendship, however, exists between 

 them and they are often found growing closely together on the 

 rocky hillsides, or in the cool, deep woods. 



