1869.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
297 
The Woodruff —(Aspcrula odorata.) 
The Woodruff of the English, and the Wald- 
meister of the Germans, is Aspcrula odorata, 
and grows all over Europe and in Russian Asia. 
With us it i? 
cultivated as a 
garden plant 
for the beauty 
of its minute 
white flowers. 
It blooms ear- 
ly, and a patch 
of it makes a 
pleasing ap- 
pearance with 
its profusion 
of small and 
pure white 
flowers. The 
plant grows 
from six inch- 
es to a foot 
high, has a 
square stem, 
and bears 
its leaves in 
whorls. The 
flowers are 
succeeded by 
minute hairy 
fruits. The 
plant when 
wilted gives 
out an odor 
like that of 
newly made 
hay The 
'Waldmeister' 
is highly priz- 
ed by the Ger- 
mans, who in spring make with it what they 
call "Mai Wein," or "Mai Trank," and in 
Germany they go upon picnics for the purpose 
of collecting it. We have no Aspcrula 
in this country, but several species of 
Galium, closely related to it, and one of 
these, G. triflorum, has a similar odor 
to the Woodruff, and is used by the 
Germans as a substitute for it. Aside 
from the use to which the Woodruff 
is put by the Germans it has an interest 
as an ornamental plant, and if one 
wishes to cultivate it for flavoring his 
wiue he can in this country grow it with 
ease. It is sold by some of our nursery- 
men and florists. We have only one 
plant and, of course, none to spare. 
The Tape-grass or Eel-grass. 
( Vallisneria spiralis.) 
There is scarcely anything more curi- 
ous in vegetable life than the fructifica- 
tion of the Tape-grass, sometimes called 
Eel-grass, but not the salt-water plant 
bearing that name. The Tape-grass, 
Vallisneria sjjiralis, is common in ponds 
and slo\y streams, but as it makes but 
little show above the surface, it is not 
noticed except by close observers. It is 
represented in the engraving much re- 
duced in size. The leaves grow from 
two to four feet in length, according to 
the depth of the water, are flat and tape- 
like, and a quarter of an inch or more in breadth. 
The curious thing about this plant is its manner 
of flowering ; the staminate and pistillate,or male 
THE WOODRUFF. 
and female, flowers are borne on different plants. 
The pistillate flower!, as shown at the right of 
the engraving, are attached to long, slender, 
and spirally coiled stalks, which allow them to 
rise to the surface of the water. The stamin- 
ate flowers are borne on short stems at the 
bottom of the water, and in a position 
where, under ordinary circumstances, fer- 
tilization would never take place. But by 
a remarkable provision the staminate flow- 
ers, as soon as mature, break off, rise to 
the surface, expand, and shed their pollen, 
and thus fertilize the pistillate ones. When 
the female flower is fertilized, the coiled 
stem contracts, and draws the flower be- 
neath the surface of the water, where the 
fruit ripens. Those who write us to know 
what plants are best suited to a fresh-wa- 
ter aquarium can hardly find one better for 
the purpose than the Vallisneria. It lives 
well in confinement, and grows summer 
and winter, and if one is fortunate enough 
to get both staminate and pistillate plants, 
he can observe the curious phenomenon we 
have briefly described. Those who have 
microscopes of considerable power will find 
in the leaves of the Vallisneria a most 
beautiful object, as they show the circula- 
tion of the contents of the cells in a most 
distinct manner. The Vallisneria flourishes 
even in brackish streams, and is abundant 
in the Hudson River, at points where several 
salt-water plants are found. This species is 
found also in Southern Europe, and in other 
warm countries, and there is another species 
confined exclusively to Australia. There 
are several other plants more common than 
the Vallisneria, which wilfanswer for the 
aquarium. Indeed there are few fresh wa» 
te* streams and ponds but will furnish one 
or more. The majority of those plants 
which live entirely submerged, and some of 
those the foliage of which is in part floating, 
will live well in a tank. There are two species 
The Solomon's Seals. 
Among the wild flowers of June, the Solo- 
mon's Seals are noticeable and interesting. 
Their leafy green stems are graceful, and be- 
tape-grass — ( Vallisneria spiralis.) 
of water Buttercup, .the Water Milfoils, the 
Water-weed (Anaeharis), Water Star-wort, and 
others, which make good aquarium plants. 
SOLOMON'S SEAL. 
neath the foliage hang small clusters of flow- 
ers, which, if not elegant in themselves, are in- 
teresting taken as a whole. We have two spe- 
cies quite common, the Smaller and 
the Great Solomon's Seal. The botanic- 
al name is Polygonatum, which means 
many knees, in reference to the numer- 
ous joints of the plants; the Smaller, 
the one figured, is Polygonatwm Wflorv/m, 
and the Great is P. giganteum. Two 
beautifully variegated Solomon's Seals 
have 'been sent from Japan, by Mr. 
Thomas Hogg. The popular name is 
derived from a peculiarity of what is 
popularly considered the root, but which 
is really a root-stock, or underground 
stem, shown on the next page. The 
fleshy underground stems, when dug 
up, show markings which appear as if 
they had been impressed. These are 
scars left by former flower stalks. Thi3 
underground portion is really the stem 
proper, and it throws up each year one 
or more flowering stems, which die 
away in autumn, and their departure 
leaves the scars or seals referred to. It 
will be noticed that at the end of this 
subterranean stem, there is a bud, which 
will the next year throw up a flowering 
stalk, and so the growth will keep on, 
the old root-stock furnishing, a store of 
food for generation after generation of 
flowering stems. The oldest portion 
of such an underground stem grad- 
ually dies away, while the newer is each year 
advancing. Both the natives here noticed are 
worth growing by those who do not think that 
