78 LILIACEAE (LILY FAMILY) 
inch to about an inch wide, the lower ones narrowing to a sheathing 
base, the upper ones much smaller and sessile. Flowers in a large, 
dense, terminal, alternately branching, pyramidal panicle, six to 
eighteen inches long, each pedicel subtended by a small, long-ovate 
bract; each blossom about a half-inch broad, greenish white or 
creamy yellow, darkening to brown as they wither. They have no 
corolla but have six separate clawed sepals, oblong or sometimes 
heart-shaped or even slightly auricled, and spread flat, the claws 
bearing the six stamens and usually having at the base of the blades 
two conspicuous dark glands; some flowers simply staminate, 
others pistillate, others perfect, may all be found on the same stalk, 
but usually the lower ones are sterile. Capsules about a half- 
inch long, three-celled, the persistent styles making them triple- 
pointed, and each cavity contains about ten very flat and broadly 
winged brown seeds, easily distributed either by wind or by water. 
Means of control 
From small areas the perennial rootstocks may be grubbed out; 
or, when of but one season’s growth and before they have penetrated 
the soil very far, they can be quickly pulled when the ground is soft. 
Badly infested meadows require to be drained and put under culti- 
vation. In every case, seeding should be prevented by close cutting 
at the beginning of bloom. 
AMERICAN HELLEBORE 
Veratrum viride, Ait. 
Other English names: False Hellebore, Swamp Hellebore, Green 
Hellebore, Indian Poke, Earth Gall, Bugbane, Itch-weed, ‘Duck- 
retter. 
Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds and by thick, fleshy 
rootstocks. 
Time of bloom: May to July. 
Seed-time: June to August. 
Range: From Quebec to British Columbia and Alaska, southward 
to Georgia and Tennessee. 
Habitat: Wet meadows, swamps, and along streams and ditches. 
A large, coarse, and dangerously poisonous plant. Cattle and 
horses have been killed by cropping the young leaves in the spring; 
