3B2 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
ItMAY 6, 1905. 
The May Wild if Flowers. 
BY CLARENCE M. WEED. 
To THE lover of wild flowers as to the lover of birds, 
the first half of May is the season of all others when 
one would wish to live out of doors. Dr. Van Dyke says 
the month of May was made to "go a-fishing" — an avo- 
cation in which the delights both of flowers and birds 
will appeal to one, but one need not be a fisherman to 
enjoy the fields and woods in May. During the first half 
of the month one may hope to find new blossoms every 
day, and yet will not be embarrassed by the floral riches 
that the last half of the month brings in almost bewil- 
dering confusion. 
One of the most abundant of the New England wild 
flowers is the curious little plant sometimes called the 
Spring Everlasting, although often called Indian To- 
bacco or White Plantain. A better name than any of 
these is the one given it by the botanists, Antennaria, 
and it would be fortunate if we could generally call the 
plant by this name. An examination of the flowers of 
Antennaria shows at once that it belongs to the great 
group of composite plants, many small florets being 
crowded together in one -head. It difi:ers, however, from 
most members of this family in the fact that the pollen- 
the most characteristic of the spring wild flowers, while 
still farther west other species are abundant. 
The Painted Trillium delights in moist, rich woods 
where it is often found in great abundance. It is an in- 
teresting and beautiful blossom with its white petals 
standing out from the background of green leaves, each 
petal made more conspicuous by the brilliant crimson V- 
shaped spot upon its surface. This flower is perhaps 
more likely to attract attention than any other in the 
woods, and it is certainly one of the most characteristic 
of the New England wild flowers, although it does not 
seem to be so universally distributed as the less attrac- 
tive Purple Trillium. The shallow blossoms of the latter 
are generally of a deep maroon color often becoming 
more purple as they grow older. In some regions a white 
variety of this species replaces the purple kind. The 
odor of the Purple Trillium is notoriously disagreeable 
and is. believed to be for the purpose of attracting blue 
bottle flies and other msects which feed upon the dull 
yellow pollen. 
Near the haunts of the Purple Trillium one can gen- 
erally find the bizarre blossoms of th-e Jack-in-the-Pulpit. 
The outer part — so much like the old-fashioned pulpits 
that used to be in the churches — is called the spathe, while 
the vertical club in the middle — which I suppose repre- 
sents Jack— is called the spadix. By removing the spathe 
one can readily see the stame'ns and pistils on the lower- 
part of the spadix. There is an interesting variation 
in the structure of different flowers ; in some stamens 
only will be found upon the spadix; sometimes pistils 
name. The time of blossoming of the species is indicated 
by Longfellow in this verse : 
"At Pentecost, which brings 
The Spring, clothed like a bride. 
When nestling buds unfold their wings, 
And bishop's caps have golden rings, 
Musing upon many things 
I sought the woodlands wide." 
In much the same situation, especially in cold woods, 
one is likely to find the white flowers of the Goldthread, 
which, however, seem to blossom a little later than do 
the foam flowers. The plant is at once identified by find- 
ing the yellow rootstock which runs along just beneath 
the surface of the soil. In their structure these flowers 
are among the most interesting of all the spring blos- 
soms. The sepals are white and petal-like, the stamens 
are small and numerous, but the petals are most extra- 
ordinary. Each petal arises from in front of and between 
each pair of sepals, in the form of a miniature col^umn 
that gradually enlarges from below upwards and finally 
ends in a cup-like disk, which is yellow with a white 
COLUMBINE. 
YELLOW CLINTONIA. 
BLUE FLAG. 
bearing and the seed-bearing flowers are on distmct 
plants, consequently the species relies upon the many 
insects that visit the blossoms, for the transfer of the 
pollen and the fertilization of the seed. 
No group of wild flowers is more characteristic of the 
middle spring season than that of the Trilliums, often 
called the Wakerobins. Throughout the Northern 
States the May woods are resplendent with some one 
of the many species of this family. In New England th« 
Painted Trillium and the Purple Trillium are the most 
abundant. In New York, Michigan and the region of 
the Middle West the large White Trillium is likely to be 
JACK-IN-THE-PXJLPIT. 
only, while occasionally both will be found together. 
These plants are also called Lords and Ladies, the Lords 
being the highly colored purple ones, and the ladies the 
more modest greenish ones. Small flies are generally 
present in the Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower. These carry the 
pollen from the stam.en-bearers to the pistil-bearers. The 
former fade away, while the latter develop green berries 
that become bright red in autumn. 
In the eastern region we seldom see the curious Green 
Dragon which is found locally abundant in the Middle 
West. In this species the spadix is very long, projecting 
much beyond the spathe, and giving the plant a striking 
and characteristic appearance. Its general struc- 
ture is much like that of Jack-in-the-Pulpit. 
When the small stream along the banks of which 
the Lords and Ladies besport themselves reaches a 
level place in the sparse woods, it spreads out into 
an area that forms the congenial home for a num- 
ber of beautiful and delicate flowers. These do not 
grow in the water itself, but upon the numberless 
tiny hillocks and banks which the presence of the 
water keeps always damp. 
: The most impressive of these blos- 
soms is perhaps the Foam-flower. To 
appreciate its name you have only to 
see the great white masses growing like 
a sheet of foam in damp places in the 
woods. Hundreds of thousands of the 
tiny white floWers hide the surface 
of the ground in a most character- 
istic manner. These flowers are borne 
in masses on the ends of stalks which 
average about eight inches in height, 
while the round or heart-shaped leaves 
are borne oil stems: of about the same 
length. 
Not far away from these masses of 
the Foam-Flower you are likely to find 
the much less conspicuous blossoms of 
the Mitre-wort or Bishop's Cap. The 
tiny flowers which have well been liken- 
ed tO: minute white crystals, are strung 
singly along the main flower-stalk. 
When the petals drop ofif the tiny fruit- 
pods form miniature mitres, from 
which fact the plant gets its common 
center. This cup is covered with a transparent, sticky 
nectar which is fed upon by the small flies that carry the 
pollen from blossom to blossom during the bright days 
of the middle spring season. 
In the deep woods, a little higher up, where the mois- 
ture is less in evidence, you are likely to come across the 
thickly-planted beds of the yellow Clintonia, a member 
of the lily-of-the-valley family, whose leaves closely re- 
semble those of the Showy Orchis. Each plant sends yp 
from between the leaves a flower-stalk that bears several 
of the bell-like blossoms. The flowers are freely visited 
by such bees as penetrate the shady situations where 
they grow, and the visitors appear to get both nectar 
and pollen in exchange for their service in carrying the 
pollen from flower to flower. 
The Showy Orchis is likely to be found on the south- 
ern slopes of rich, open woods where its broad, smooth 
leaves form a fitting setting for the pink-purple blossoms 
arranged on the central stem that projects upward from 
between the bases of the leaves to a height of six or 
eight inches. In their structure these blossoms have the 
same interest that is found in most of the members of 
GOLD THREAD. 
