194 PLANTS GROWING IN RICH OR ROCKY SOIL. 



SMOOTHER SWEET=CICELY. 



Washmgtoma longistylis. 



Flowers: small; growing in umbels with bracts underneath. Calyx: five- 

 toothed. Corolla: of five petals. Stamens: five. Pistil: one, with two long 

 styles. Leaves: thrice-compound; leaflets; ovate; deeply toothed; downy. 

 Stem : one to three feet high ; hairy. Root : aromatic ; sweet-scented ; edi- 

 ble. 



The sweet-cicely has a rather hard lot in life. It is a grace- 

 ful, delicate plant, and the gifts of its rootstock are those that 

 please mankind rather than do him harm ; and yet, indirectly 

 it has been the cause of much suffering. Unfortunately it 

 bears so strong a likeness to the deadly water-hemlock (Plate 

 VI) that the latter is being constantly mistaken lor it, with fatal 

 results. A close comparison of the two, however, will show 

 that in character they are quite different. The sweet-cicely is 

 found mostly in the rich woods. 



Its generic name commemorates George Washington. 



WHITE ABRONIA. {Plate CIL) 



Abrb7iia fragrans. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Four o" clock. Whitt. Fragrant., like vanilla. The Rocky Mountains. June., July. 



Flowers: growing in dense umbel-like clusters. Involucre: of five heart- 

 shaped, whitish bracts, thin and dry. Calyx : salver-form ; the tube long, and 

 spreading into a petal-like border ; the lobes notched at the apex. Corolla: 

 none. Stamens: two to five, included. Pistil: one. Leaves: opposite; 

 lance-ovate, with a pair of stipules at the base. Stem : branching. 



The scientific name of this flower when translated is *' deli- 

 cate fragrance " ; and we may fitly associate the words with it 

 in connection with its English title. In appearance it suggests 

 much more the growth of the greenhouse than that of a hardy 

 dweller of the Rockies. The flower opens at sunset only, when 

 it ladens the air with its luscious perfume. 



