148 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



24. Water- starwort 



CallHriche deflexa, var. Austtni. — Family, Water- milfoil. 

 Color, greenish. Leaves, very small, crowded, in a tuft. 



This plant is one of our tiniest growths. Little tufts of leaves 

 I inch high, with sterile flowers consisting of a single stamen, 

 and fertile ones consisting of a 4-celled ovary and 2 stigmas, tell 

 the whole story. 



25, Great Willow-herb. Fire-weed 



Epilbbium angustifblium. — Family, Evening Primrose. 

 Color, magenta. Leaves, long, narrow, willowy. Time, late 

 summer. 



Calyx tube, deeply 4-lobed. Petals, 4. Stamens, 8, maturing 

 before the pistil. Pistil, i, with a 4-lobed spreading stigma. 

 Pod, long, at length bursting and liberating seeds furnished 

 with downy white tufts. The flowers are large in long racemes, 

 terminating the stem. The lower ones mature seed while the 

 uppermost are still in bud, giving an untidy appearance to the 

 whole spike. 2 to 8 feet high. 



A tall, handsome plant, growing in low meadows, and in burnt- 

 over districts. So the pine woods, which are subject to frequent 

 fires, give rise to this pink flower in great abundance. It illus- 

 trates one of nature's devices for covering ugliness with beauty. 



26. Iron-weed 



Vernonia Noveboracinsis. — Family, Composite. Color, 

 purple. Leaves, long, narrow, alternate, acute, rough. Time, 

 August. 



Corollas, all tubular. Flowers in dense, thistle-like heads, 

 growing in irregular cymes. The involucre is composed of 

 purplish scales. 4 to 8 feet high. 



A tall, showy, and common plant, vying with Joe-Pye-weed in 

 making the low meadows bright with rich, autumnal color. From 

 Maine to Virginia, west to Minnesota, and southward. 



