THE DOGBANE FAMILY. 433 



eluded, inserted on the throat of the corolla. Follich-s : in pairs two to four inches 

 long, rounded, smooth. Leaves : alternate ; with short jieliolcs, ovate, or lanceo- 

 late, long-pointed at the apex and narrowed or rounded at the base, entire; dark 

 green ; glabrous, or sometimes slightly pubescent underneath. S/e/n : erect, two 

 to four feet, simple or branched, smooth. 



Commonly through its range we find this herb as it produces gaily its 

 blue flowers, with their sprightly, wide-a-wake look and clinging as though 

 by preference to the moist soil of river-banks, rather than to that of other 

 places. 



A. angustifblia {Plate CXL V) blooms as a rule earlier in the season than 

 the preceding species and then unfolds a head of larger and more attractive 

 flowers. Most abundantly on the stem also are produced its very narrow 

 almost sessile leaves, which about their margins are ciliate. Of the south 

 from Florida to North Carolina the plant is a native, where it thrives lustily in 

 sandy soil. 



INDIAN HEHP. AnY=ROOT. 



Apocynuin can?idbinu7n. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



bajie. Greenish white. Scentless. Florida northwarii. /ulv. 



Flcnuers : small, growing densely in terminal and lateral cymes, their short 

 pedicels bracted at the bases. Calyx: five-parted, with narrow segments nearly 

 as long as the corolla-tube. Corolla : campanulate, five-lobed and bearing with- 

 in five small, triangular, erect bodies which alternate with the stamens. Staj/ietis : 

 inserted on the corolla base. Follicles : about four inches long, very slender, 

 curved. Leaves : opposite, with short petioles, lanceolate, oblong or ovate-oblong, 

 narrowed or rounded at the base, smooth above, slightly pubescent along the veins 

 underneath. Stem : diffusely branched ; ascending ; glabrous and slightly covered 

 with a bloom. 



Among our herbaceous plants we have few more quaint, little flowers or 

 few more enchanting than are borne by the dogbanes. This one grows 

 mostly in fields and thickets and is especially a favourite with honey-bees ; as 

 its erect, little flowers are possessed of five nectar-bearing glands. Formerly 

 the genus was thought to be very poisonous to dogs. 



A. atidroscEinifbliiim, spreading dogbane, or honey-bloom, is the more com- 

 mon species found through open woods and fields. Its drooping, dainty 

 bloom is considerably larger than that of its foregoing relative. Most deli- 

 cately also are the corollas' revolute, spreading lobes tinted with pink and then 

 veined with a deep, rich colour. These tiny lines in fact are the foot- 

 paths for nectar-seeking bees. The flowers hang moreover from blood-red 

 stalks. Another English name of the plant is " bitter bloom," and it, also, 

 has been credited with being poisonous to dogs. 



