THE CROWFOOT FAMILV. 187 



other surrounding growth the breeze catches up the dry, abundant pollen 

 from the staminate ones and wafts it in the direction of their duller looking 

 neighbours. For, like the great pines, these plants depend mostly on the 

 wind as their fertilizing agent ; not as yet have they learned the more 

 thrifty and economical ways of insect carriers. In fruit the pistillate (lowers 

 are prettier than ever before, for their clusters of carpels are tinted with 

 purple. 



T. ^//Wr/z'w, early meadow rue, a slender, leafy species, throws out itspani- 

 cled bloom in April, or early May. Its staminate llowers are rather attrac- 

 tive by reason of the protruding, yellow anthers with thread-like filaments. 

 Less conspicuous than these are the pistillate flowers. The small leaflets 

 are broadly cordate, or ovate and divided towards the apex into rounded 

 lobes, entire, or toothed, thin in texture. In the late season they turn to 

 dark shades of reddish and purple. The roots of this species are not yellow. 



T. piirpiirasccns, purple meadow rue, is found as the preceding plant in 

 woods, or rocky thickets and can be distinguished by its great height and 

 large leaflets which at maturity are often two inches broad. They also are 

 then a vivid, deep green, paler on their undersides and somewhat waxy to 

 the touch. At their apices they show usually three distinct lobes. \'ery 

 abundantly the compound panicle bears its light fleecy bloom, of which the 

 individual flowers are both perfect and imperfect. That the plant is desig- 

 nated as purplish meadow rue is because its stem is marked with that colour. 



T.polygamwn, tall meadow rue, while having a number of traits in com- 

 mon with the preceding species, grows to a heighfgreater than that attained 

 by any other one of the members of the genus in our range. By the side of 

 a stream, or in an open swamp it towers above nearly all else, sometimes 

 becoming twelve feet tall. Its stem is never waxy and the leaflets are 

 smooth. Rather late in the season it develops its long compound panicle in 

 which are both perfect and imperfect flowers. The filaments, on account 

 of their thickness, readily serve to identify this oneof the species characterised 

 by polygamous flowers. 



THE BARBERRY FAMILY. 



Bcrbcridaccc€. 



Shrubs or herbs with simple, or compound leaves growing from the 

 base or alternate on the stetn, and which bear perfect foicers, either 

 termifial and solitary^ or produced in racemes. Fruit : a capsule, or 

 berry. 



