PRIMROSE FAMILY. Primulacese. 



A delicate and interestinoj little wood- 

 star Flower - , , ^ . . - , . 

 Trientalis ^^^"^^ plant with a long horizontalh' creep- 

 Americana ing root \^'hich sends upward an almost 

 White bare or few-sealed thin stem terminating 

 May-June j^^ ^ circle of sharp-pointed, lance-shaped, 

 light green leaves, thin, shiny, and tapering to both ends. 

 There are 5-9 leaves in the circle, from the centre of 

 which proceed two threadlike stalks, each bearing a 

 fragile, white, star-shaped flower with 6-7 pointed divi- 

 sions. The stamens are long and delicate, with tiny 

 golden anthers, which mature later than the stigma. 

 Cross-fertilization effected mostly through the agency of 

 the beelike flies (Bomhylius). 3-7 inches high, or rarely 

 more. In moist thin woods, from Me., west to Minn., 

 and south to southern N. J, and the mountains of Va. 

 Common in the thin woodlands of the White Mountains. 

 A rather handsome perennial commonly 

 Loosestrife found in low moist situations, particularly 

 steironema on river flats. The smooth light green 

 ciliatum leaves are ovate or ovate lance-shaped and 

 Yellow sharply pointed; on the upper edge of the 

 ~ " ^ stem is a fringe of erect hairs — hence the 

 specific term, ciliatum. The leaves are in pairs which 

 are set at right angles with each other. The pretty light 

 golden yellow flowers, not far from a pure yellow tone, 

 are five-lobed, the divisions oval and finished with an 

 abrupt sharp point (called mucronate) ; these tips are 

 somewhat twisted or puckered ; about the centre of the 

 corolla is a terra-cotta-colored ring ; within this are five 

 straw-colored stamens alternating with five abortive 

 ones ; in the centre is the pale green pistil. The smooth, 

 erect stem 18-22 inches high or more. Common in low 

 ground and on the borders of thickets from Me. west to 

 British Columbia, south to Ga., Ala., and to Ariz. 

 Steironema ^ narrow-leaved species smaller and 

 lanceolatum slenderer in every respect. The leaves 

 Yellow are lance-shaped and linear, indistinctly 

 June-July stemmed and smooth ; the lower ones are 

 much shorter and broader, and the stems are distinct 

 and long. The flowers are similar to those of S. cili- 

 atum, but smaller— a little over | inch broad, 8-20 



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