TllK BUNCH-FLOWER FAMILY. 47 



This graceful plant which is monotypic of its genus forms often a ihicl<, 

 close growth through moist meadows. h\ the high AUeghanies it is very 

 abundant. It fact, in many of the mountain- fastnesses, where the whole 

 poetry of life devolves into a struggle for existence, it is of much importance 

 to the people. They gather just as much of it as they can, and fairly sell it 

 by the ton. It is in the greatest demand, forming, it is said, a strong ingre- 

 dient in one of the celebrated Mrs. Pinkham's remedies. If actively inclined, 

 a man employed in pulling the plant can earn from seventy-five cents to 

 a dollar a day. Even young girls gather enough to net them readily from 

 thirty-five to fifty cents. But the natives themselves do not further fatten 

 Mrs. Pinkham's profits. When they are in need of a restorative they simply 

 make a tincture out of it with whiskey which they then drink in rather 

 astonishing quantities. 



Although called popularly blazing star the name is inappropriate, being 

 more often associated with another genus. Its scientific name was formerly 

 Hdtmias dioica, a title to which the mountaineer still clings. 



STOUT STENANTHIUn. 



SioidniJi i 11)11 7-obihtuni . 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Bunch-floivcr. Wliite a)id greenish. Siveet. Tenn. and S. C. to Penn. J u>ie-SeJ>teiiiber 



FloiihTs : small; growing in a long, loose panicle. PerianlJi: with six lanceo- 

 late, ])ointed segments. Stamens : v^x^ '&\\o\i. Capsule: erect; flattened; three- 

 valvcd. Leaves : those from the base, often more than a foot long ; linear ; blunt 

 at the apex and sheathing the stem at the base ; those of the stem, sessile ; linear; 

 l^ointed ; becoming bract-like among the flowers; smooth. S/e;/i: three to five 

 feet high; erect; stout; arising from a bulb. 



In late August, when there is a lull in the procession of wild flowers, this 

 tall plant arises and spreads its fleecy panicle of bloom. There is much 

 about it that is beautiful, especially its fresh, crisp look. In the AUeghanies 

 it grows on high places. At Highlands, N. C, where I found a notably fine 

 specimen, it clung to a rocky ridge bordering the lake ; and I also saw that 

 it was there cultivated by the inhabitants and throve extremely well. 



5. grainineiim, grass-leaved stenanthium, differs from the preceding 

 species, in having, as its name implies, very slender, grass-like leaves and 

 bearing a capsule which is re^exed. The plant, moreover, does not grow 

 so tall as the " stout" one, and is more delicate in appearance, the branches 

 of the panicle being very slender and often drooping. Its flowers are per- 

 haps smaller, but they are extremely pretty. On their undersides they are 

 tipped with a deep wine colour, and are laden with a sweet perfume. The 

 plant grows in either moist or rather dry soil from \'irginia to Kentucky 

 and Alabama. In the high AUeghanies it is a constant bloomer through 

 August and September. 



