A LOST FLOWER. 



More than a hundred years ago a new 

 flower was found in the wild and rugged 

 mountains of North Carolina by Mi- 

 chaux, a Frenchman, who had traversed 

 many lands and known many perils and 

 adventures in his search for rare plants. 

 He had traveled through his native coun- 

 try and, Spain, climbed the Pyrenees, 

 crossed sea and desert, been despoiled by 

 Arab robbers, so that he arrived in Persia 

 with nothing but his books left to him of 

 his baggage. Luckily he cured the Shah 

 of an illness, and was allowed to carry 

 back to France many Eastern plants. He 

 was then sent by his country to explore 

 the forests of North America. In the 

 mountainous country of North Carolina 

 there were no roads, only Indian trails, 

 traversed by a few missionaries and trad- 

 ers. In this wild and lonely region he 

 found a new flower, that belonged to no 

 recognized genus, and was mentioned by 

 no previous botanist. It was a modest 

 little flower ; its pure white cup rises on 

 a wand-like stem in the midst of shining 

 and and tender leaves, round in shape and 

 prettily edged. He secured a specimen, 

 but he had no leisure to study its habits 

 in the "montagnes sauvages," as he called 

 these mountains in his own language. 

 Rumors reached him of the French Rev- 

 olution, and he immediately hastened to 

 return home. He was shipwrecked on 

 the voyage and lost nearly all his collec- 

 tions. 



From this time the flower was lost, so 

 far as any knowledge of its existence was 

 concerned. But after the death of Mi- 



chaux, our botanist, Dr. Asa Gray, hap- 

 pened to be in Paris with the son, the 

 younger Michaux, also a lover of plants. 

 Very naturally Michaux showed his 

 American guest his father's new speci- 

 mens of American plants that had es- 

 caped the shipwreck, and Dr. Gray was 

 much interested in this little flower, 

 marked "Unknown." 



When he returned to the United States 

 he sought it in vain. All trace seemed 

 to have disappeared. Year after year 

 when he heard of anyone going to the 

 North Carolina mountains he would beg 

 the person to look for the lost flower. 



At last, someone, by chance, found a 

 blossom, in early spring, growing in a dif- 

 ferent locality, and not recognizing its 

 genus or species, sent it to Dr. Gray, as 

 one of the highest botanical authorities. 



As soon as Dr. Gray saw it he ex- 

 claimed, with delight: "Why, this is the 

 little unknown flower of Michaux." 



After its strange disappearance of a 

 century it had again come to light. It has 

 since been found in various parts of up- 

 per South Carolina, and is now cultivat- 

 ed by more than one florist and grower 

 of rare plants. Its leaves are like those 

 of the southern wild flower, the Galax, 

 akin to the Pyxie or flowering moss, so 

 it has been placed in the same family and 

 named Shortia galacifolia, i. e., with a 

 leaf like Galax. The first name is given in 

 honor of Short, the botanist, a lovely way 

 of keeping alive the remembrance of one 

 who loved flowers. 



Ella F. Mosby. 



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