144 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



Calyx of 3 small green sepals and 2 large colored wings. 

 Corolla of 3 petals, the larger (the keel) crested. Stamens, 

 6 org. 



Fruit, a pod, flat and notched at the top. Flowers clustered in 

 a globular head, like clover, which elongates as it grows older. 

 Stems branched and leafy. A pretty flower found in various soils, 

 moist and dry, by roadsides and mostly in wet meadows, where 

 it is often so plentiful as to make beds of color. 6 to 18 in. high. 



19. Marsh Pea. Marsh Vetchling 



Lathyrus palustris. — Family, Pulse. Color, light purple or 

 blue. Leaves, compound ; leaflets 2 to 4 pairs, long and nar- 

 row. Stipules long, acute at both ends. Tendrils are found 

 on some of the leaves. Time, July. 



Corolla, papilionaceous. The flowers, about ^ inch long, 

 are pretty, 4 or 5 together. The plant is weak-stemmed and 

 trailing, i to 2 feet long. 



Common from New Jersey westward and northward. 



20. Water Avens. Purple Avens 



Geum rivale (from Greek, "good taste," referring to the 

 pleasant taste of the roots of several species). — Family, Rose. 

 Color, purplish. Leaves, mostly from the root, irregularly and 

 deeply parted. A few on stem, 3-lobed, or divided into 3 leaf- 

 lets. Time, May to July. 



Calyx, 5-divided, of a brownish purple color. Petals, 5, 

 large, notched, contracted below into claws. Stamens, many. 

 Style, jointed in the middle, the upper half feathery. 



Fruit, a head of dry achenes. A plant about 2 feet high, found 

 in bogs and wet meadows, with several large nodding flowers on 

 an unbranched stem. 



Its peculiar color and cut leaves mark it as an interesting 

 flower. 



