BLUE AND PURPLE GROUP 



than the petals. Flowers, several in an umbel terminating the 

 rather thick stems, i to 2 inches across, with slender, somewhat 

 hairy pedicels. Leaves, long, narrow, about 1 foot long, chan- 

 neled at the base where they clasp the stem. Stem stout, leafy, 

 8 inches to 3 feet tall. Plant straggling. May to August. 



In rich, moist soil, Connecticut to Pennsylvania and 

 South Carolina. Found 4,000 feet high in Virginia. 



Mountain Spiderwort 



T. montana. — A slender-stemmed, simple-leaved species, with 

 long, narrow leaves whose bases surround the stem with broad, 

 loose sheaths. Flowers, similar to the preceding, smaller. June 

 to August. 



A Southern species found in woods and thickets of the 

 Southwest as far north as Virginia and Kentucky. 



Day-flower 



Commetina virginica. — Family, Spiderwort. Color, blue. 

 Sepals and petals, 3 of each, unequal. Sepals inclined to be 

 bluish. Stamens, 3 fertile, and 3 sterile, smaller than the fertile, 

 with cross-shaped anthers. Style, 1. Capsule, 3-celled. Flower, 

 large, 1 inch across, showy. It lasts only for a day. Stems, 

 diffusely branching, thick, spreading, fleshy, smooth. Leaves, 

 lance-shape, 3 to 5 inches long, shorter and bract-like near the 

 top, sheathing the stem at base, the sheaths fringed along the 

 edges. Those leaves nearest the flowers form peduncled spathes 

 which inclose the flowers, like hoods. June to September. 



Damp, rich woods and banks, moist soil, southern New 

 York to Florida and westward. 



Asiatic Day-flower 



C. communis, — Color, deep blue. Flower, much like the last, 

 with 3 perfect stamens, 3 sterile, bearing curious, cross-shaped 

 anthers. The good stamens project from the flower on slender, 

 long filaments. Of the flower 2 petals are much longer than the 

 third. Leaves, lance-shape, sheathing above. Spathes, heart- 

 shape, pointed. Flowers, in umbels. July to October. 



Often a dooryard weed in New York and Massachusetts, 

 frequently in city yards. South to Pennsylvania. 



Pickerel-weed 



Pondeteria cordate. — Family, Pickerel - weed. Color, violet- 

 blue. Perianth, tubular, 2-lipped, the upper lip composed of 

 3 ovate lobes, the middle one of which is the longest; the lower 

 lip also 3 -divided, spreading, drooping. Upper lip marked with 



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