White and Greenish 



Squirrel Corn 



{Bicuculla Canadensis) Poppy family 



Flowers — Irregular, greenish white tinged with rose, slightly fra- 

 grant, heart-shaped, with 2 short rounded spurs, over Y^ in. 

 long, nodding on a slender scape. Calyx of 2 scale-like sepals ; 

 corolla heart-shaped at base, consisting of 4 petals in 2 united 

 pairs, a prominent crest on tips of inner ones ; 6 stamens in, 

 2 sets ; style with 2-lobed stigma. Scape: Smooth, 6 to 12 in. 

 high, the rootstock bearing many small, round, yellow tubers 

 like kernels of corn. Leaves : AH from root, delicate, com- 

 pounded of 3 very finely dissected divisions. 



Preferred Habitat — Rich, moist woods. 



Flowering Season — May — June. 



Distribution — Nova Scotia to Virginia, and westward to the 

 Mississippi. 



Any one familiar with the Bleeding-heart (B. eximia) of old- 

 fashioned gardens, found growing wild in the AUeghanies, and 

 with the exquisite White Mountain Fringe {Adlumia fungosa) 

 often brought from the woods to be planted over shady trellises, or 

 with the Dutchman's breeches, need not be told that the little 

 squirrel corn is next of kin or far removed from the pink corydalis. 

 It is not until we dig up the plant and look at its roots that we see 

 why it received its name. A delicious perfume like hyacinths, 

 only fainter and subtler, rises from the dainty blossoms. 



Bulbous or Spring Cress 



{Cardamine bulbosa) Mustard family 

 (C rhomboidea of Gray) 



Flowers — White, about >^ in. across, clustered in a simple terminal 

 raceme. Calyx of four sepals ; corolla of 4 petals in form of 

 a cross ; 6 stamens ; i compound pistil with a 2-lobed style. 

 Stem ; 6 to 1 8 in. high, erect, smooth, from a tuberous base. 

 Leaves : Basal ones rounded, on long petioles ; upper leaves 

 oblong or lance-shaped, toothed or entire-edged, short peti- 

 oled or seated on stem. Fruit: Very slender, erect pods 

 about I in. long, tapering at each end, tipped with a slender 

 style, the stigma prominent; i row of seeds in each cell, the 

 pods rapidly following flowers up the stem and opening sud- 

 denly. 



Preferred Habitat — Wet meadows, low ground, near springs, 



1S8 



