cee 
212 PLANTS GROWING IN LIGHT SOIL. 
D, tricdrne, called also stagger-weed, is the dwarf larkspur 
which brightens the open woods with its long, loose clusters of 
bright blue or white flower. It effects a close soil and is 
found mostly southward and westward from Pennsylvania. 
The stem is from six to twelve inches high and smooth. The 
leaves are deeply five-parted and the roots are tuberous. 
In common with nearly all the larkspurs, of which there are 
over twenty-five species native to the United States, the plant 
possesses poisonous properties, and is especially harmful to 
cattle in April if they indulge too freely in its fresh, green 
shoots. It is from this fact that it has derived its name of 
stagger-weed. 
D. Carolinianum, Carolina larkspur, Plate CX, has azure, pink 
or white flowers that are somewhat smaller. It is a downy 
plant, from one to three feet high. 
D, Ajacis, with which we are familiar in old gardens, is simi- 
lar to a hyacinth, and has flowers crowded in a long, close ra- 
ceme. The spur is short and the pods very downy. On the 
front of the united petals there are two marks which are sup- 
posed to be the letters A.I. There is a pretty legend connected 
with it. 
When Ajax and Ulysses presented themselves as claimants 
for the armour of the treacherously slain Achilles, the Greeks 
awarded it to Ulysses ; and by so doing placed wisdom before 
valour. Ajax, on hearing the decision, slew himself, and from 
the spot where his blood touched the ground a lovely flower 
sprang up, bearing on its petals the two first letters of his name, 
Ajax, or Aiai, which is the Greek for woe. 
DOWNY YELLOW VIOLET. (Plate CXXXV,) 
Viola pubéscens. 
FAMILY - COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 
Violet. Yellow, veined with purple. Faintly fragrant. General. May. 
Flowers : solitary ; growing on axillary flower-stalks. Zeaves: usually two on 
the stem ; broad ; on petioles; serrate ; smaller, bract-like leaves below. Stem: 
leafy above ; pubescent. 
This fair-hued little violet is one of the pleasantest sights 
