SOME PRAIRIE FLOWERS 
93 
high. The leaves are narrow and slightly toothed. The 
flowers are yellow and reveal their relationship to the pre- 
ceding species. 
21. Scarlet Gaura. — Another member of 
the Evening Primrose family and having the 
same flower structure as the two preceding 
species. The flowers have a pleasant, spicy 
odor; they are rose-color, turning scarlet 
with age; their 4 petals are turned upward, 
and the 8 stamens and the long style are 
turned downward. The stems branch at the 
base and are 6 to 8 inches long; the flowers 
grow along the upper end, and the lower 
part bears numerous small leaves. The plant 
is found from eastern 
southward. 
PRAIRIE MALLOoW z 
is sometimes erroneously 
called a ‘wild geranium,” but it resembles 
a geranium only in the shape of its leaf. The 
Red River is the eastern limit of this flower. 
23. Loco Weed: Loco-Vetch. — This name 
means crazy weed, and the plant is so called on 
account of the peculiar behavior of cattle, 
horses, and sheep that have been poisoned by 
eating it. It belongs to the Pea family, as in- 
dicated by the form of the flowers and the com- 
‘ 
SCARLET GAURA 
Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains and 
22. Prairie Mallow or False Mallow. 
— The flowers of this plant are bright, 
yellowish red, very showy and fragrant, 
about half the size of a small rose; they 
grow along the upper end of the stem. It 
Loco WEED 
