19J: FAMILIAR FLOWERS OF FIELD AND GARDEN. 



Syr'iacus is the name of the shrubby althaea, or rose 

 of sharon, which has a flower like the single holly- 

 hock, and thus unmistakably shows its relationship 

 with the latter flower. It is a native of the Levant, 

 and flowers in late summer and 

 early autumn. It is interesting to 

 know that cotton {Gossypiwm Tier- 

 haoeum) is a member of the Mal- 

 low family, and is therefore a dis- 

 tant relative of the hollyhock. 

 Blazing-Star. The blazing-star is 

 Liatrie scariosa. ^ beautiful Com- 

 mon wild flower, whose spherical, 

 purple flower-clusters are thickly 

 or thinly, as the case may be, ar- 

 ranged along the tall stem which 

 in New England, in swampy places 

 by the sea, attains a height of four 

 or five feet. Out "West the plant 

 does not grow so high, but it is 

 very common, according to ac- 

 counts of Prof. Meehan, in In- 

 dian Territory, and is found as 

 far south as Florida. The purple 

 flowers are very beautiful, and re- 

 mind one of the garden beauty called mourning bride 

 (Scabiosa). The plant is in bloom in late summer. 



Blazing-Star. 



