TURTLEHEAD 



Chelone glabra Linnaeus 



This plant prefers to grow along water courses or in swamps, 

 where it blooms freely in late summer and fall. The ingeniously con- 

 structed flower is visited by bees and other insects. The lower lip 

 forms a platform on which the bees alight, and as the hooded upper 

 lip is large enough to enclose the body of any but the largest kind 

 of bees, they usually disappear completely when they go in to get 

 the nectar. When they back out, their heads bear pollen brushed from 

 the anthers, and in entering another blossom they leave some of this 

 on the stigma, thus effecting cross-pollination. The creamy color of 

 the flower, sometimes tinged with pink, turns to brown as it fades. 

 Turtlehead is easily cultivated and forms a desirable addition to the 

 wildflower garden. It belongs to the Figwort Family, and is often 

 known to country folk as "wild snapdragon." 



Turtlehead has a wide range, occurring from Florida and Ala- 

 bama to Kansas, and north to Newfoundland and Manitoba. 



The plant from which the sketch was made grew on Mount 

 Desert Island, Maine. 



PLATE 2.59 



