PLANTS GROWING IN LIGHT SOIL. 213 



that greet us in the spring woods. It seems always young and 

 guileless, as though it would never grow old or wise. It is so 

 closely associated in the mind with Bryant's lovely poem, "The 

 Yellow Violet," that we cannot but lament the evidence that 

 inclines us to the belief that it was V. rotundifolia by which he 

 was inspired. 



FRINGED POLYGALA. FLOWERING WINTERGREEN. 



Polj/gala paucifblia. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Milkwort. Rose pink. Scentless. Mostly north. May. 



Flowers : axillary ; growing on slender flower-stalks ; cleistogamous flowers 

 borne near the root. Calyx : of five sepals, two of which are wing-like and 

 coloured like petals. Corolla : very irregular ; the keel ornamented with a 

 fringe. Stamens: six. Pistil: one. Leaves: mostly at the summit of the 

 flower-stalks ; ovate ; those below scale-like. Stems : underground. Rootsiock : 

 running. 



Usually the fringed polygalas are found growing together in 

 numbers as though they had just met for some gay fete. They 

 have on their party clothes, and look as pretty and bright as 

 possible. The poor little fertile flowers at the base have no 

 party clothes, and are evidently left out of all the fun. No fairy 

 god-mother has found them out, so they just have to stay at 

 home and do the work of reproducing their species, while the 

 useless, giddy sisters amuse themselves and are admired by all. 



P. polygama has many flowers growing in a raceme at the 

 summit of a leafy flower-stalk. It also makes the plain little 

 sisters stay at home to do the work, knowing well that their 

 vanity never overrules their good sense, and that they do not 

 open their petals to expose their pollen to the rains, thieving 

 insects or any other evils that might overtake them. 



TWIN=LEAF. RHEUnATISM=ROOT. 



Jeffersbnia diph^'lla. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Barberry. White. Scentless. New York southward April., May. 



and westward. 



Flowers : solitary ; growing on a naked scape. Calyx : of four petals that fall 

 early. Corolla : one inch broad, of eight petals. Stamens : eight. Pistil ; one ; 



