White and Greenish 



have hot so many fragrant wild flowers that any can be neglected 

 John Burroughs, who included the blossoms of several trees in his 

 list of fragrant ones, found only thirty-odd species in New Eng- 

 land and New York. 



Examine a well-developed ball of bloom on the button-bush 

 under a magnifying glass to appreciate its perfection of detail. 

 After counting two hundred and fifty minute florets, tightly 

 clustered, one's tired eyes give out. A honey-ball, with a well 

 of nectar in each of these narrow tubes, invites hosts of insects 

 to its hospitable feast; but only visitors long and slender of tongue 

 can drain the last drop, therefore the vicinity of this bush is an 

 excellent place for a butterfly collector to carry his net. Butter- 

 flies are by far the most abundant visitors ; honey-bees also abound, 

 bumblebees, carpenter and mining bees, wasps, a horde of flies, 

 and some destructive beetles; but the short tongues can reach 

 little nectar. Why do the pistils of the florets protrude so far? 

 Even before each minute bud opened, all its pollen had been shed 

 on the tip of the style, to be in a position to be removed by the 

 first visitor alighting on the ball of bloom. After the removal of 

 the pollen from the still immature stigma, it becomes sticky, to 

 receive the importation from other blossoms. Did not the floret 

 pass through two distinct stages, first male, then female, self- 

 fertilization, not cross-fertilization, would be the inevitable result. 

 The dull red and green seed-balls, which take on brown and 

 bronze tints after frost, make beautiful additions to an autumn 

 bouquet. The bush is next of kin to the coffee. 



Partridge Vine; Twin-berry; Mitchella-vine; 

 Squaw-berry 



(Mitchella repens) Madder family 



Flowers Waxy, white (pink in bud), fragrant, growing in pairs 

 at ends of the branches. Calyx usually 4-lpbed ; corolla fun- 

 nel-form, about YZ in. long, the 4 spreading lobes bearded 

 within; 4 stamens inserted on corolla throat; i style with 4 

 stigmas; the ovaries of the twin flowers united. (The style is 

 long when the stamens are short, or vice versa). Stem: 

 Slender, trailing, rooting at joints, 6 to 12 in. long, with 

 numerous erect branches. Leaves: Opposite, entire, short 

 petioled, oval or rounded, evergreen, dark, sometimes white 

 veined. Fruit: A small, red, edible, double berry-like drupe. 



Preferred Habitat Woods; usually, but not always, dry ones. 



Flowering Season April June. Sometimes again in autumn. 



Distribution Nova Scotia to the Gulf States, westward to Minne- 

 sota and Texas. 



ap 



