378 



THE AMERICAN 



THE GERAEDIAS. 



W. W. BAILET, PBOTTDBNCE, B. I. 



[Fig. 228.] 



(a) Flowering branch of Gerardia pedicularia; (&) flowering 

 brancli of Gerardia purpurea. 



The genus Gerardia furnishes some of the 

 most charming wild flowers of the late summer 

 or early autumn in New England. It is to be re- 

 gretted that these lovely plants cannot be culti- 

 vated, but I believe that owing to their being 

 root parasites all efforts to domesticate them 

 have hitherto failed. I do not know how care- 

 fully or persistently the attempt has been made, 

 but as the plants seem hardy in their native loca- 

 tions it is possible that by study of their habits, 

 and by the removal of much surrounding earth 

 so as to transplant the nourishing stems at the 

 same time with the Gerardias, success might 

 yet attend the gardener. Still this experiment 

 must have been tried, or Dr. Gray would not 

 pronounce them " uncultivable." 



This showy genus is a member of the order 

 iScrophulariacecB. In my rambles about Provi- 

 dence I have secured five species. Of these G. 

 flava blooms earliest, and may be found in open 

 woods. It has large, yellow, handsome flowers, 

 in their appearance suggesting the fox-glove. 

 The interior of the tube, as well as the anthers 

 and filaments, is woolly. The leaves are large 

 and entire, or, according to Gray's Manual, 

 " the lowei usually sinuate toothed or pinnati- 

 fld " The G. quercifoUa I have not found so 

 frequently. It is known by its oak-shaped 

 leaves, and in general appearance closely re- 



sembles the preceding. The G. pedicularia is 

 (Fig. 228,a) exceedingly common with us. I have 

 often found it over three feet high. It is much 

 branched, the flowers of a delicate texture, yel- 

 low, and very fragrant. They are much fre- 

 quented by humble and other bees and insects. 

 The corolla is covered both outside and in with 

 minute glandular hairs, slightly viscid to the 

 touch, and the interior of what may be called 

 the lower lip is marked by two parallel rows of 

 reddish dots. The leaves, and even the lobes of 

 the calyx, are beautifully serrate. All these 

 yellow flowered species are difficult to preserve 

 neatly. Despite all my care I have never been 

 able to prevent their blackening in the press. 

 If any one has been more successful in preserv- 

 ing their color, I should be glad to learn the 

 process. 



The two purple varieties are much more deli- 

 cate in appearance than either of the preceding, 

 and bloom simultaneously. They are the species 

 purpurea (Fig. 228, 6) and tenuifolia. They are 

 both common here — the purpurea along the 

 road sides and in swampy grounds, which are, 

 however, at this time dry; the tenuifolia in 

 dry woods. Both of them are much branched. 

 The first has quite short peduncles, and rather 

 larger flowers than the tenuifolia, whose pedun- 

 cles are long and thread-like. My illustrations 

 represent merely the extreme end of the flower- 

 ing branches of G. pedicularia and purpurea. 

 I have not on hand at present any specimens of 

 the other species I have mentioned from which 

 to make drawings. I hope, however, that the 

 sketches I have presented, and these few words, 

 may call attention next year to a beautiful 

 genus, flnely represented at the "West. 



DISTRIBUTION OF IMMIGRANT PLANTS. 



BY DB. FBBD. BBBNDBL, PHOBIA, ILL. 



The distribution of immigrant plants, and the 

 year of the flrst appearance of such, should be 

 carefully noted for each locality by the botanists 

 of the West. Such records would be of great 

 benefit to the study of botanical geography and 

 the history of plants. 



Here follows the statistics of vegetable immi- 

 gration in the vicinity of Peoria, 111. 



1. Immigrant plants common and entirely 

 naturalized since an unknown period : 



Sisymbrium officinale, Sinapis nigra, Cap- 

 sella bursa-pastoris, Hypericum perforatum, 

 Portulaca oleracea, Malva rotundifolia, Sida 

 spinosa, Abutilon Avicenna, Trifolium pra- 

 tense, Xanthium strumarium, Maruta cotula, 



