ENGLISH AND AMERICAN FLOWERS 20": 



with the European species ; the curious skunk-cabbage 

 {Symplocarpus fcetidus), belonging to the Arum family and 

 also in flower; the "blazing-star" {Chamcelirmiii luteiim), 

 one of the colchicum tribe and peculiar to North America, 

 the rattle-snake plantain {Goody era puhesccns), really an 

 orchis, of which there is one European species found also 

 in Scotland, and a handsome sedge (Car ex 7;/<7i?/p7M///ft). 

 Thus, out of fourteen plants distinguished at this wintry 

 season, only three belonged to British, and four or five to 

 European genera, while the large majority were either 

 quite peculiar to America or only found elsewhere in 

 Japan, Eastern Asia, or the Pacific Islands. During another 

 excursion to the rich locality of High Island, five miles 

 from Washington, on March 27th, several other inter- 

 esting and characteristic plants were found. Such Avere 

 the " spring beauty " {Claytonia virginica), a pretty little 

 rosy white flower belonging to the Portulacese which often 

 carpets the woods and takes the place of our wood- 

 anemone, for though there are several wood-anemones in 

 America they do not form so important a feature of the 

 spring vegetation as with us. The rare and pretty " har- 

 binger of spring " {Erigenia hulhosa), a minute umbelliferous 

 plant quite peculiar to America, grew here abundantly, as 

 did the pinnate -leaved Virginian wsiter-\ea,f (ffydrophylhtm 

 virginianum). The may-apple {Podophyllvm peltatum), 

 and the twin-leaf {Jeffersonia dipliylla), herbaceous plants 

 of the Berberis family, were abundant, the former occur- 

 ring elsewhere only in the Himalayas, while the latter is 

 North American and East Asiatic. A yellow violet, a 

 perennial chickweed, a tooth-wort (Dentaria), a stone- 

 crop, and an inconspicuous saxifrage, alone showed any 

 resemblance to our native vegetation. 



About the middle of April, in the vicinity of Cincinnati, 

 I was introduced to the spring flowers of the North- East- 

 ern States, in their full development. The woods were 

 here carpeted in places with the " spring beauty," while 

 in other parts there were sheets of the curious " Dutch- 

 man's breeches " (Dicentra ctccullaria), like a small yellow 

 dielytra, to which it is allied. Then there were smaller 

 patches of the Thalictrum anemonoides, resembling a very 



