RED WILD FLOWERS 
and is partly curled. The surface is shiny, and the 
midrib is strong and conspicuous. Both leaves and 
stem are often stained with red. After the flowering 
season the spike extends several inches, and the 
fruit ripens in the stiff, russet seed cases. Wood 
Betony is found in sprawling clusters from April 
to June, in shaded woods and thickets, where the 
undergrowth is sparse and low. It ranges from 
Nova Scotia and Manitoba to Florida, Kansas, and 
Colorado, into Mexico. 
BEECH-DROPS. CANCER=ROOT 
Epifagus virginiana. Broom-rape Family. 
If you are not acquainted with these curious, leafless 
parasites, you will very likely walk over many of them 
without suspecting they are really anything but small, 
dead twigs. They are invariably found in beech 
woods, where they attach their roots to those of the 
beech tree, and so flourish at its expense. They grow 
from six to twenty inches or more in height, from a 
thick, scaly base. The roots are brittle and fibrous. 
The slender, smooth, branching stalk is stiff and 
tough, and is purplish, brownish or yellowish in colour. 
They have no leaves, but a few brownish bracts are 
scattered along the stalk. The flowers are of two 
kinds. The upper, oz sterile ones are tubular, with 
notches at their opening. They are curved to one side, 
and contain four stamens and a pistil. The curving 
tip of the latter projects beyond the tube. These small 
flowers are striped with purple and white, and are 
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