THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 83 
creamy white, few flowers can boast of more exquisite garb. 
The entire plant, viewed from the standpoint of the 1>otanist, is of 
unusual interest, and even the most casual observer admires the 
blossom and leaf. 
It is a perennial, frequenting rich woodlands and roadsides, and 
known also as May-apple, wild lemon and racoon-berry. The 
thick, fleshy stems and bright green leaves with their veining of 
white, are among the conspicuous features of returning spring, 
The barren stalks are centrally peltate, forming excellent toy um- 
brellas for the little folks, who quickly improvise dolls to carry 
under their shade by simply taking a similar leaf binding the 
lobes down and passing bands of grass around at suitable spaces 
for neck and belt. The flowering stems are always forked, with 
leaves lobed and attached near the base. In the fork of the stem is 
found the single flower on a stem about one inch long. 
The flower's outer cloak is cast aside at expansion and may be 
sometimes seen clinging to the top of a petal. The petals vary in 
number from six to nine, and there are always twice as many sta- 
mens. The latter are tipped with light yellow anthers opening by 
slits in the side, and contrasting beautifully with the waxen petals. 
Within is the creamy ovary tipped with a yellow stigma, and so 
large as to suggest the lemon-shaped fruit into which it develops. 
! The fruit is often two inches long, with a thick rind and an 
odor suggestive of strawberries, apples, musk melon and paw- 
paw. The taste is relished by some but to most j>eople it is nause- 
ating. The seeds are clustered on a ridge running lengthwise 
of the "apple," and by removing the yellowish outer skin the albu- 
men store of food is seen. 
The flowers are usually at their best about the last of May in 
middle latitudes, and are conspicuous among the Memorial decor- 
ations. They are of short duration, however, and if rain or dew 
wet the petals they lose their waxy consistency and become almost 
transparent. Unfortunately, the odor is anything but pleasing. 
Buds opened at various stages of growth suggest some interest- 
ing points. If we open one say a week before its time we find the 
