WILD FLOWERS eINK 
size as they approach the tip of the curving spike. 
They are hung upside down, and become erect as the 
flower opens. The arrangement is loose and terminal. 
After the flower fades, the curving pod continues to 
lengthen and when it is ripe it splits asunder length- 
wise, grotesquely and every which way, liberating a 
very fine, silky, webby mass of soft fluffy down to which 
are attached the tiniest seeds that float away with the 
breezes. Where this plant occurs in extensive colonies, 
it presents an unusually dilapidated and bedraggled 
appearance, which is not improved with the effects of 
rainy weather. The Fireweed is found from North 
Carolina, Kansas and California northward to Labra- 
dor and Alaska. The tender, reddish green shoots of 
this plant are considerably used as a pot-herb through- 
out the Northwestern States and Canada.’ And it is 
said that among the tribes of British Columbia the 
pith of the young stalk is cooked and eaten, The 
leaves and roots also have some medicinal qualities on 
account of their astringency. Kaporie tea, a beverage 
extensively used by. the Russians, is made from the 
leaves of this species. 
PURPLE-LEAVED WILLOW-HERB 
Epilobium coloratum. Evening Primrose Family. 
A very common, erect, and much-branched species. 
with a finely haired stalk, growing from one to three 
feet high, in low grounds from Maine to Ontario, 
Wisconsin, Nebraska, South Carolina and Missouri, , 
from June to September. The finely: toothed leaf is, 
65 
