142 PLANTS GROWING IN RICH OR ROCKY SOIL. 



beautiful red berries of this plant, which in August can be 

 found hanging from thread-like peduncles, and following grace- 

 fully the curves of the stalk. In the avoiding of angles, the 

 plant has as truly the artistic instinct as though it had been 

 bred in a French school of design. It resembles somewhat the 

 Solomon's seal, of which it is a connection. 



SOLOnON'S SEAL. 



Polygondtiini biflbrum. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lily-of-tke-valley. Greenish yelloiv Scentless. Nezu England May, June, 



or white. southward. 



Flowers ,- growing singly, or in pairs on slender pedicels that droop from the 

 axil of each leaf. Feriani/i : bell-shaped ; six-toothed. Siamens : six. Pistil ; 

 one. Frtiit : a small, globular, blue berry. Leaves : alternate ; broadly ovate ; 

 almost sessile ; growing on the upper side of the stem ; covered with soft hairs 

 and whitish underneath. Slem : curving gracefully ; glabrous. Rootstock : 

 jointed ; scarred. 



There is no doubt but that the round scars left on the root- 

 stock of the Solomon's seal by the dead stalks of the preced- 

 ing year, do resemble the impressions made by seals upon wax ; 

 but wherein these seals resemble those used by Solomon is still 

 a mystery to many. The plant both in flower and fruit is a 

 most effective feature of the woods. 



FALSE 50L0n0N'S SEAL. WILD 5PIKENARD. 



Vagnera racembsa. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lily-of-the valley. Greenish white. Slightly fragrant. Mostly May. 



north. 



Floivers : tiny; growing in a compound panicle. Perianth: of six divisions. 

 Stamens: six Pistil: one. Fruit: a crimson berry speckled with purple. 

 Leaves: alternate; oblong; pointed at both ends; parallel-veined; fluted on 

 the edges ; slightly hairy. Stem : ascending two to three feet high. 



The bloom and fruit of this plant are very different from 

 those of the Solomon's seal. In fact it is the more striking of 

 the two and has an elusive, sweet perfume. A warm friendship, 

 however, exists between them and they are often found grow- 

 ing closely together, when the similarity of their leaves and 

 growth might cause them to be mistaken for each other. The 

 fruit of the false Solomon's seal we frequently notice is so 

 heavy as to bend the stalk to the ground. 



