day and Sunday. It is not nearly as common as the pink lady’s 
slipper, and, unlike that plant, the flowers are borne on the 
stem and from among the upper leaves. It is common in the 
East, but unknown on Long Island or Staten Island. 
In the beds of the native crowfoots ( Ranunc-ulaceae ) are sev- 
eral species of buttercup. Many of our commoner plants of this 
genus are of European origin, among them the field buttercup 
{Ranunculus acris) and the creeping species (R. rcpens) which, in 
contrast to the erect habit of acris , has a low prostrate habit, 
and usually forms dense mats. In the same beds are plants 
of the beautiful European columbine ( Aquilcgia vulgaiis), with 
showy, violet-purple flowers, very unlike the rather regular 
flowers of true buttercups. It will probably continue to flower 
during most of the spring, and is an excellent garden plant for 
ordinary situations. Inhabiting woodlands, is our native species 
(A. canadensis) , which, however, seems quite at home in the 
open bed. This plant is often called honeysuckle, but it is pref- 
erable to reserve the latter name for the various species of Lo?ii- 
cera. The wild columbine is a medicinal plant of some value. 
In the bed devoted to the poppy family, in the local flora section, 
is a large clump of celandine ( Chelidonium majus), a yellow- 
flowered perennial from Europe, widely naturalized along our 
roadsides. It has a bright orange-yellow juice, which stains 
very readily anything with which it comes in contact. This juice, 
which is especially plentiful in the underground part of the 
plant, is medicinal, and is used by some as a home remedy for 
the removal of warts. 
SHRUBS AND TREES 
Near the plants of the arbor-vitae, on the northeastern side 
of the lake, are some large plants of the tamarisk, which belongs 
to the genus Tamarix, an Old World group of plants, with al- 
most juniper-like leaves, and showy clusters of pinkish flowers. 
There are other groups of these feathery shrubs along the 
Museum side of the local flora shrubbery. Three species are rep- 
resented in our collections, namely', 7\ gallica , africana , and 
japonica , which superficially look alike, and are distinguished 
by the flower characters, which are rather minute. They make 
