THE SCARLET PAINTED CUP. 



PROF. WILLIAM KERR HIGLEY, 

 Secretary of The Chicago Academy of Sciences. 



These children of the meadows, born 

 Of sunshine and of showers. 



— Whittier. 



THE scarlet painted cup belongs 

 to a large and interesting group 

 of plants known as the figvvort 

 family {ScrophulariacecB). The 

 common name of the family is derived 

 from the reputed value of some of the 

 species in the cure of ficus or figwort, 

 a disease caused by the growth of a 

 stalked excrescence on the eyelids, 

 tongue, or other parts of the body that 

 are covered with a mucous membrane. 

 The technical name is derived from 

 scrofula, as some of the species are 

 considered efficacious in the treatment 

 of that disease. This family includes 

 about one hundred and sixty-five gen- 

 era and over twenty-five hundred spe- 

 cies. They are common all over the 

 world, reaching from the equator into 

 the regions of constant frosts. It is 

 claimed by some authorities that fully 

 one thirty-fifth of all the flowering 

 plants of North America are classed in 

 this family. 



Besides the painted cup there are 

 classed in this group the muUen, the 

 common toad-flax, the foxglove {Dig- 

 italis), the gerardias, and the calce- 

 olarias. 



The foxglove, though causing death 

 when the extract is taken in excess, is 

 one of the most highly valued medic- 

 inal plants known. Nearly all the spe- 

 cies of the family are herbs, without 

 fragrance. Some of the species are 

 known to be partially parasitic. True 

 parasites are usually white or very 

 light colored and contain no green col- 

 oring matter, which is essential when 

 the plant is self-supporting. The para- 

 sitic forms of this family, however, do 

 contain green coloring matter and are 

 thus not entirely dependent on their 

 host for the preparation of their food 

 supply. Thegerardias (falsefoxgloves) 

 are frequently found attached to the 

 roots of oaks, large shrubs, and even 

 on the roots of grasses. It has also 



been shown that there is a cannibalistic 

 tendenc}^ in some of the species of 

 gerardia. They will not only fasten 

 their sucker-like roots on those of 

 other species, but also upon those of 

 other individuals of the same species, 

 and even upon the root branches of 

 their own plants. This double para- 

 sitism is not rare. 



The scarlet painted cup of our illus- 

 tration {Castilleja cocci7iea, L.) is a 

 native of the eastern half of the United 

 States and the southern portion of Can- 

 ada. It prefers the soil of meadows 

 and moist woods and has been found 

 growing abundantly at an elevation of 

 from three to four thousand feet. 



The generic name was given this 

 plant by Linnaeus in honor of a Spanish 

 botanist. The specific name is from 

 the Latin, meaning scarlet. Nearly all 

 of the forty species are natives of North 

 and South America. 



The flowers are dull yellow in color 

 and are obscured by the rather large 

 floral leaves or bracts, which are bright 

 scarlet — rarely bright yellow — in color. 

 These conspicuous leaves are broader 

 toward the apex and usually about 

 three-cleft. By the novice they are 

 usually mistaken for the flower, which 

 is hardly noticeable. The stem sel- 

 dom exceeds a foot in height and bears 

 a number of leaves that are deeply cut 

 in narrow segments. The bright color 

 of this plant has given it many local 

 common names more or less descrip- 

 tive. Prominent among these is the 

 Indian paint brush. 



A pretty myth tells us that the 

 painted cup was originally yellow, but 

 that Venus, when lamenting the death 

 of Apollo, pressed a cluster of the blos- 

 soms to her parched lips and drank 

 the dew from the flowers, the outer 

 leaves of which have ever since re- 

 tained the color of her lips. 



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