In the bog, the plants of the large marsh marigold (Cal/ha 
palustris) are just about to pass from the flowering- to the fruiting 
stage. This plant is quite commonly used in the Eastern States 
for “greens”, under the name “cowslip”. Just south of the 
bog is a gently rising bank with most of our native violets, 
planted in patches in the grass. Of these the Canada violet 
( Viola canadensis ) and the Labrador violet ( V. conspersa ), both 
with bluish or violet flowers, are blooming; and the yellow flow- 
ered Viola pubescens is also nearly ready to bloom. 
In the beds containing the rose family are to be seen the 
white flowers of the wild strawberry {Fragaria) , and the yellow 
flowers of the cinquefoil ( Potentilla ca?iadensis) , hardly distin- 
guishable when in the flowerless condition, except by the fact 
that the strawberry is three-leaved and the cinquefoil is appar- 
ently five-leaved (actually three-leaved) . 
Near these beds is the borage family, containing the beautiful 
Virginian cowslip, or bluebells {Mertcjisia virgin ica ) , with large 
clusters of showy, light blue, tubular flowers. It is the only 
representative of the genus growing within the local flora range,* 
and is rather rare hereabouts, specimens being known from near 
Tuxedo and adjacent New Jersey, but not from Long Island. 
This plant should not be confused with the common cowslip 
( Caltha palustris) mentioned above. The cowslip of the English 
poets is also a very different plant ( Primula veris ), not usually 
found in American gardens. 
Among the native shrubs, the least conspicuous of those con- 
sidered in this Leaflet is the wild black currant {Kibes floridum ) , 
with its spiny stalks and the small clustersof yellow-white flowers. 
This is the wild American representative of the common culti- 
vated black currant, which is derived from Ribes nigrum , an 
European plant, not as yet cultivated in the Botanic Garden. 
Much more conspicuous, but of color offensive to many, is the 
redbud ( Cercis canadensis) , on the East side of the local flora 
valley. The innumerable magenta flowers of this shrub, borne 
as they are on the naked branches, make the Judas-tree, as it is 
often called, a very conspicuous feature of the landscape in certain 
* The local flora range, from any part of which plants may be collected for 
the wild flower section of the Garden, is as follows: All of the State of Connec- 
ticut: in New York the counties bordering the Hudson River up to and 
including Columbia and Greene, also Sullivan and Delaware counties, and all 
of Long Island: all of New Jersey: and in Pennsylvania, Pike, Wayne, Monroe, 
Lackawanna, Luzerne. Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, Berks, Bucks, Schuyl- 
kill, Montgomery. Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester counties. This terri- 
ritory lies roughly within a radius of one hnndred miles from the Garden. 
