SOME ATTRACTIVE NATIVE PLANTS. 



The Flowering Wintergreen or Fringed Poly- 

 gala, — In the latter part of May one frequently finds 

 in moist woods, or near the banks of shady streams, the 

 beautiful fringed polygala {Polygala paudfolia) shown in 

 Fig. I. It is the cheeriest, brightest little flower of its 

 season, and might readily be mistaken for an orchid, or 

 a member of the pea family, though it is of widely dif- 

 ferent structure from either, belonging, as it does, to the 

 milkworts. This charming little plant is exceedingly 

 beautiful and interesting, and should be oftener culti- 

 vated by those who are able to furnish it with a congenial 

 home. The stems are simple, erect, three or four 

 inches long, and grow from long, underground shoots 

 that bear the fertile flowers ; and it is these which, con- 

 cealed in the soil, produce most of the seed. As will be 

 seen by our illustration, the lower leaves are few and 

 small, while the upper ones are petioled and crowded at 

 the top of the stem. The flowers may be called large 

 when the diminutive size of the plant is considered. 

 They are about an inch long, of a delicate shade of 

 bright rosy-purple, rarely white. 



The calyx consists of five sepals. The odd one is 

 superior and the wings are like petals. The stamens, 

 six to eight, are combined into a tube split on the upper 

 side and united below with the claws of the petals. The 

 ovary is two-celled, each cell bearing a single ovule, the 

 entire fruit being heart-shaped. The plant in our illus- 

 tration is reduced about one-half ; the flower is nearly 

 of the natural size. — E. S. Carman, . J. 



Yellow Lady Slipper. — Who that has lived in 

 the country has not seen and admired the fairy 

 moccasins that might have been worn by some 

 dusky Cinderella of the past, when the Indian 

 roamed unrestrained and unpersecuted over the 

 western prairies ? 



A few years ago a certain meadow in Tama 

 county, Iowa, abounded with these little orchids 

 (^Cypripedimn piihescetis), (Fig. 2.) Now not a 

 single one is to be found. They can, however, 

 be cultivated, requiring a rather cool and damp 

 situation. The blossoms of this species are large 

 and yellow, with a very conspicuous "slipper." 

 Five or six other species are known, all pretty and 

 worthy of cultivation. 



No one who has an eye for the beautiful can 

 help admiring the waxy lady slippers, the pretty 

 grass pink (Calopogon pulchelliis), the rare calypso, 

 the handsome wild orchis [OrtJiis spec/nbiiis), the 

 lovely yellow-fringed Habenaria ciliaris, the pur- 

 ple-fringed Habenai-ia psycodes and the superb 

 large, purple-fringed Habenaria fiinbyiata, allbelonging 

 to the orchidacese. 



PuccooN OR Indian Paint. — Lithospcrmiim lancscens 



(Fig. 3). This interesting plant grows on the prairies 

 in the eastern, middle and western states. When its 

 native haunts are converted into fields, it still flourishes 

 along the road-sides. The pretty orange-yellow flowers 

 are borne in one-sided racemes, sometimes three or 

 more to a single stalk. The leaves are small, oblong 

 and covered with silky hairs. 



The root is often several feet in- length, dark brownish 

 red on the outside, with a light center and dark veins 

 which, when bruised, emit a bright pinkish red fluid, 

 which is sometimes used in coloring, especially by the 

 school children, whose cheeks and fingers often bear 

 evidence of having been in contact with ' ' Indian paint. " 

 From each of these perennial roots spring one or several 

 stalks which, with their pretty, bright blossoms and 

 small, neat leaves, form a very attractive cluster. It 

 should be known in cultivation, and is worth the im- 

 prover's study. — Walter A. Lynn, /oilht. 



Rattlesnake Plantain. — I have a goodyera which 

 was brought to me in the winter of i888-g from the 

 woods, its bright evergreen leaves, curiously netted with 

 white, having attracted attention from contrast with its 

 gloomy surroundings. As a quantity of the leaf-mould 

 was brought with it, I had no difliculty in reconciling it 

 to its new home, and it has been a source of real pleas- 

 ure to me the winter through. 



Last year I noted with interest the way in which each 

 new leaf came out, apparently growing from the center 



Fig. I. Polygala paucifolia. 



of the last one, in a manner quite diltcient from the 

 growth of anything else I had ever seen. The leaves 

 are all radical, so when I at last discovered a slender 



