WILD FLOWERS BLUE AND PURPLE 
flowers the instant we attempt to pick them. They 
have frequently been mistaken for those of the Forget- 
me-not by careless observers. It is common in wet 
ditches and swamps and along meadow brooks from 
April to September. The rather stout, smooth, hollow 
stalk is usually branched, and grows from six inches to 
three feet in length from perennial creeping roots or 
leafy shoots. The weak, sprawling stalk often takes 
root at the lower joints. The long, lance-shaped, light 
green leaves are sharply toothed, and taper toward 
the point. They are rounded at the base, and are set 
on the stalk in alternating opposite pairs, with short, 
broad, flat stems that clasp the stalk. Their surface 
is smooth, and the midrib is strongly grooved.- The 
flowers are similar in structure to those: of the 
Common Speedwell, but are light blue with purple 
stripes, and have a white spot in the centre. 
The two stamens and pistil are light purple. The 
flowers are set on slender stems which are guarded. 
with bract-like leaflets, and are arranged in long, 
loose terminal spikes that’ spring from the angles 
ef the leaves. They are found from. Alaska to 
New Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
COMMON SPEEDWELL. UPLAND SPEEDWELL.. 
FLUELLIN. PAUL’S BETONY 
Verénica officinalis. Figwort Family. ’ 
Dear little Speedwell! How much good-fellowship 
its name implies! Before the steam engine became a 
convenient means of transportation, many a weary and 
365 
