RHODORA 



Rhodora canadensis Linnaeus 



Rhodora is surrounded with romantic interest, because of the atten- 

 tion drawn to it by Emerson's verses. It is the only plant of its genus. 

 The rosy-purple flowers, usually appearing before the leaves, burst sud- 

 denly into bloom and form masses of color on wet hillsides or along the 

 margins of acid swamps. Their shape suggests a relationship to the 

 rhododendron, with which this plant is grouped by some botanists. 

 Rhodora bushes grow from one to three feet high, and are inconspic- 

 uous except when in flower. 



The range of rhodora is rather limited; presumably it survived the 

 glacial period near the margins of the ice sheets, and it now occupies 

 glaciated territory from northeastern Pennsylvania to Newfoundland. 



The specimen sketched was collected at Pocono Manor, Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



THE RHODORA 



In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, 



I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, 



Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, 

 To please the desert and the sluggish brook. 

 The purple petals, fallen in the pool, 



Made the black water with their beauty gay; 

 Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, 



And court the flower that cheapens his array. 

 Rhodora ! if the sages ask thee why 

 This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, 

 Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, 

 Then Beauty is its own excuse for being : 

 Why thou were there, O rival of the rose ! 



I never thought to ask, I never knew; 

 But in my simple ignorance suppose 

 The self-same Power that brought me there brought you. 



Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



plate 2.8 



