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L'axamplaira fiimA fut raproduit grica A la g^n^rositi da: Legislature du QuAmc Quebec Laa imagaa auh^antaa oiit it* raproduitaa avac la plua grand aoin, compta tanu da la condition at da ia nattat* da l'axamplaira fiimi, at an conformity avac laa conditiona du contrat da ^ga. III! Original copiaa in printad papar eovara ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iiinatratad impraa- sion, or tha bacic covar whan appropriata. Ail othar original copiaa ara filmad baginning on tha firat paga with a printad or illuatratad imp/aa- aion, and anding on tna laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la eouvartura mn papiar aat ImprimAa sont filmte an commandant par ia pramiar plat at wn tarminant soit par la darniAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaaion ou d'iiluatration, soit par la sacond plat, salon l (maaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ^ (maaning "END"), whichavar appiiaa. Mapa. plataa, charts, ate, may ba fiimad at diffarant raduction ratfoa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraiy includad in oria axpoaura e filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand con.ar. laft to right and top to bottom, aa manv .'ramaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama iiiuatrata tha mathod: Un daa symboiaa auivants apparattra sur la darniAra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la caa: la symbols — »• signifia "A SUiVRE ", la aymb( ia V signifia "FIN". Laa cartaa, pianchaa, tablaaux, ate, pauvant Atra filmAa A daa taux da rAduction diff Aranta. Loraqua la documant aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un saui ciichA. ii aat fiimA A partir da I'angla aupAriaur gaucha. da gaucha A droita, at da haut an baa. an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nAcaaaaira. Las diagrammaa suivants illuatrant la mAthoda. 32X I I 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 vi The Wild Flowers op Quebec. — By S. Sturton, Associate Member, |.Bead 19th December, 1860.] " Ye Field Flowers, the Gardens eclipse you, 'tis true ; Yet, wildlings of Nature, I doat upon you, For ye waft me to summers of old, When the earth teemed around me with fairy delight And daisies and buttercups gladdened my sight Like treasures of silver and gold." INTRODUCTION. In revising for the press the following paper, which was read before the Literary and Historical Society last Decem- ber, { think I can say that I am solely actuated by the desire to facilitate the study of the Botany of Quebec, and to re- move out of the path of others difficulties which J have myself encountered. I delight in flowers, especially in those which are natives of the locality where I dwell ; and when they are in bloom, wherever I am, may be seen several vases filled with the most beautiful I can collect— these never fail to excite in 18 THE WILD FLOWEItS OF hady woods, where flowers of the bright- est hues abound ; there I feel I could interest him, and infuse into him my own love of nature : but of these pages I feel diffident. I have not aspired to write a paper which shall be read for its literary merits. All that I wish is, that these pages, and especially the accompanying Map, should help the student to find the flowers for himself ; and this end being answered, I am content that the guide should be dismissed. Many flowers are intentionally, and others probably unin- tentionally, omitted ; and I shall feel obliged I ill who can favor me with additions and corrections. To the lovers of flowers who wish to make use of the aissistance of these pages, I would suggest, that they visit the spots pointed out, search for the flowers described, and (hen, further, compare them with the descriptions in Gray's Flora. S, STURTON. Quebec, March, 1861. JifeiiihinAriiroldK and Rijff? bean. ^ ^^onia Vciginica, (Fairy PrimroKf f»«-w*w<»,) C^Ponia and Alalia Trifolia, k'\ U^gpariR S<;ssifolin. a lian Violets. '"-Hh THE WILD FLOWEHil OV qU£BEC. ]9 MAY. The Spring — she is a blessed thing ! She is mother of the flowers ; She is the mate of birds and bees, The partner of their revelries, Our star of hope through wintry hours. The merry children, when they see Her coming, by the budding thorn, They leap upon the cottage floor. They shout beside the cottage door. And run to meet her night and morn. They are soonest with her in the woods, Peeping, the withered leaves among. To find the earliest fragrant thing That dares from the cold earth to spring, Or catch the earliest wild-bird's sona:. Up ! — let us to the fields away. And breathe the fresh and balmy air : The bird is building in the tree. The flower has opened to the bee And health, and love, and peace are there. Where is the man, who, when the winter is breaking up^ and we are entering upon the month of May, cannot heartily take up the words of the Poet, and declare, " The Spring — she is a blessed thing." Even now, I can look forward to the time when the sound of the •' Grelots^^ shall be heard no more, when the blows of the ice axe shall cease, when the ice bands of the earth shall DISTKIBUTfON OF FLOWERS FOB MAV. Kpigia or Mayflttwcr. Uepatka. it.-to» Kalnaiiiand IllKxInni. Trillium. <'olnnil»in(;. MarshmAriffolds and Kiirkhsan, Claytonia Viiginica, (Fairy Prim rosf Chntonia and Araiia Trifolia, Ac. TJvularia S(!ssifolia. Canadian Violets. THE WILD rLOWEHH Or qC£BEC'. 10 MAY. The Spring — she is a blessed thing I She is mother of the flowers ; 6he is the mate of birds and bees, The partner of their revelries, Our star of hope through wintry hours. The merry children, when they see Her coming, by the budding thorn, They leap upon the cottage floor, They shout beside the cottage door, And run to meet her night and morn. They are soonest with her in the woods, Peeping, the withered leaves among, To find the earliest fragrant thing That dares from the cold earth to spring, Or catch the earliest wild-bird's sont;. Up ! — let us to the fields away. And breathe the fresh and balmy air : The bird is building in the tree, The flower has opened to the bee And health, and love, and peace are there. Where is the man, who, when the winter is breaking up^ and we are entering upon the month of May, cannot heartily take up the words of the Poet, and declare, " The Spring — she is a blessed thing." Even now, I can look forward to the time when the sound of the " Orelots*"^ shall be heard no more, when the blows of the ice axe shall cease, when the ice bands of the earth shall so THC WILD FLOWBRS OF qtTBBBC. be dissolved, and the earth again clothe herself in her beautiful garments. And although in this paper I pass by our stately and beautiful trees, and confine myself to those more lowly members ot the Vegetable Kingdom, called " Wild-flowers ," yet must I not omil the first flower that appears— the Willow, with its catkins decked with yellow pearls of gold, " The first gilt thing Deok'd with the earliest pearls of spring." When a child I gathertd them as " geese and goslings," or as*' palms," and they gave to Ely, where 1 lived, its Saxon name ; and in all places the first flowers I have gathered and arranged in a vase, have been the Willows with their golden catkins; they well deserve the attention of the ycung botainst as a dioecious plant ; one tree bearing pistillate, and another tree the ^^taminate flowers. Those which are commoni)' called the first flowers of spring, are the Mayflower, the Skunk Cabbage, and the Hepatica. The Mayflower, or Trailing Arbutus (Epigea repens) is a trailing evergreen ; with rusty hairs and pinkish white flowers, which are sweet scented ; it grows on sandy soils, beneath pine trees. I have found it at the Gomin,Montmorenci Falls, and on the north shore of the Isle of Orleans. This I am told is the emblem ot Nova Scotia, as the Maple leaf is of Canada. The Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus) grows everywhere in wet meadows ; especially in a swamp below the toll bar on the St. Foy.Road ; it is in shape like a common sea shell with dark purple spots somewhat resembling tortoiseshell, the half buried flower appears to spring ready formed out of the earth: a little observation makes it manifest that this is but the spathe : the flowers are inside, arranged on a spadix, which in the fall are succeeded by a mass of red fruit. That which is I c r t 1 d r V f )) -' THB WILD FLOWBRg OF QUEBEC. SI called th. iower is beautiful, but the smell la abominable, whence its name « Skunk Cabbage." I introduced a gentle- man from Europe to this tlovver :-he went and gathered it agam and again, seemed fascinated by it, and at last became 8o saturated with its odor as scarcely to be admissable into society. The Indians are said to boil and eat it, which I dare say is correct ; for many poisonous and disagreeable plants of this family, when properly cooked, yield wholesome food. If this plant be compared with the Arum, or Calla uEthiopica, which we almost all cultivate in our windows, thev will be found to belong to the same family. The Hepatica is a pretty little flower, appearing directly after, or^almost before, the snow has disappeared from the ground ; it may be found on the Island and at Pointc Levi, at the places indicated on the Map; the flowers grow in clumps, and the clumps commonly (not invariably) in large patches, so that the places where they are found resemble large garden beds of Hepaticas. 1 was told they did not grow nearer Quebec than Chateau Richer, or Three Rivers, but in 1859 I found them at the Island almost out of flower, and in 1860, I first stumbled unexpectedly upon a clump of them at Pointe Levi, in full bloom in the sunshine. I stood and gazed and gazed again on the lovely sight :--I seized upon them roots and all, brought them home in triumph, and for some time they graced the window of my library. The Hepatica is a lowly growing plant, the leaves and flowers springing directly from the ground, and the flowers appearing before the new leaves; they are of all shades of color, pink, blue and white. At Orleans they are found near the ferry, and at Point Levy near the railway station. / i^ THE WILD FLOWERS OP qUEBEC'. A stranger from Europe, landing in this country, is much surprised to find the flowers which he has carefully cultivated in his garden at home, growing wild at his feel^ This is es- pecially the case in the spring, with our Dog-tooth Violets, Trilliums and Columbine. \ was very much excited when [ discovered them for the first time ; the Trillium for which I had paid three shillings and six pence when in ICngland, positively growing wild. 1 could scarcely believe that I had a right to gather them ; having paid so much for one, I felt that it was property, valuable property, and here was posi- tively valuable property running wild and no one caring to gather it. No one? Yes ! some did, for ive gathered all that we could find, and if the reader will stroll along the hedges on St. Lewis lioad, or if he will cross to Point Levi, or better still to the Isle of Orleans, he will find them in abundance. They are dark purple flowers, growing on a stalk naked to near the summit, where there is a whirl of three leaves, its sepals are three, petals three, stamens twice throe, and its stia-mas three, hence its name of TrilliurriS ; we have a few of the white varieties. After the purple Trillium' has done flowering, we have the painted Trillium in the woods : the Trillium grandiflorum is abundant at Grosse Isle. The Dog-tooth Violet (Erythronium Americanum) early arrested my attention ; the spotted leaves and the bright yel- low flowers fully recurved in the bright sunshine, contrast beautifully with the f^-esh green grass of the banks on which they are usually found ; the bulbs are deep-seated, and the pl&nt will at once, from the general appearance of the flower, be recognized as belonging to the lily family. Two years ago, when I went to the Isle of Orleans to look for the Hepatica, I found in thickets between the ferry k '^' ^ s THE WILD FLOWBHS OF qCTEBBC. ss and the point a very beautiful pale rose-colored flower, with veins of a darker hue ; it has a pair of jinpar lanceolate laav«^s which spring from a deep tuber ; 1 found it belonged to the Purslane family, and instinctively fixed upon the *' Spring Beauty" (Claytonia Virginica) as the flower, for I was sure that this and this only could deserve the appellation, and never, so long as [ am able, shall a spring pass without my going to the island to gather the Spring Beauty. The Marsh Marygolds, with their bright yellow buttercup looking flowers, are now in the full luxuriance of bloom in wet places near running water ; they may not be esteemed beautiful by all, and yet ali God's works, and all his flowers are good and beautiful. Let any one see them as [ have seen them, a large flower bed of an acre or more, one mass of the brightest yellow, a crystal stream meandering through their midst, the beautiful falls of Montmorenci across the river roll- ing their deep strains of Nature's music, the rising tide of the St. Lawrence beating with refreshing waves at his feet, and a cloudless azure sky over head, from which the rosy tints of early mori; have hardi;- disappeared, and if his soul be not ready to overflow with gratitude to the Supreme Being who has made everything so beautiful and good, I do not know what to think of him. I would not be such a man, " I'd rather be a dog and bay the moon." When 1 first gathered the Blood-root, I felt that I ought to know what it was ; it was such a beautiful star-like flower, the color^such a pearly white, :*nd the orange red juice from the root so singular that I must know its name : neither ac- quaintance nor friend could tell me, so I hurried down Moun- tain Hill, purchased a copy of Gray's Flora, and soon found the name of the beautiful stranger. I should strongly recom- u THE WILD FLOWERS OF qUEBEC. mend the gathering of these roots latt^ in the summer for the sake of forcing them in pots, so as to have them in full-bloom on New Year's day. A little later in the season, while the Marsh Marygolds are still in flower, may be seen in their midst a number of white flowers growing on spikes, in appearance like to small white Hyacinths ; they are the Buckbean (Menyanthis trifo- liata) which commonly grow singly and are arranged in some degree of regularity, like sentinels among the yellow coats ; they have three leaflets, whence their name trifoliata. The Uvularia sessilifolia is a plant growing from six to eight inches high, and may be found about the end of May, in damp meadows ; the leaves are perfoliate and the lily-like flowers of a sulphur color, consisting of six petals about one inch long. Uvularia Grandiflora may be found about the same time or soon afterwards. The Gold Thread, which is sold in our market and used as " a simple", is the root of a lowly little flower growing prin- cipally ab^ut the wet outskirts of woods ; it belongs to the Buttercup family, and its three divided shining evergreen leaves plainly declare its relationship ; the flowers are white and may easily be overlooked. When I landed at Quebec in May 1856, I was attracted by the scenery at Point Levi, and going over by the steam ferry ascended the long flight of steps; about half-way up we for ihe first time saw the Columbine growing wild, and in a moment young hands and feet clambered after jt and the prize was ours : little did we then think how plentiful we should soon find it. In May 1857, we went to the Natural Steps at Montmorenci, and found it in the greatest abundance, our first thought was to 'i ^ THE .D FLOWERS OF HUBBeO. $5 M gather it all and e none — vain effort ! our hands were soon full and still it nodded gracefully at us from every ledge of the surrounding rock ; the flowers of the Columbine are scarlet, yellow inside and spurred ; the flowers hang grace- fully from the steni, and the leaves are of a beautiful green elegantly cut. The Violets of Europe are so closely associated with their sweet odor, that we cannot think of a Violet without thinkinc^ of its delightful perfume ; but, alas for our Violets, they are scentless ; our common blue Violet has the color and shape but the perfume is wanting ; a small white Violet has a little scent, but not to be named with the real sweet Violet of Old England. 1 well remember the first I gathered as a child and the last I gathered previous to leaving my native land and I hope yet to gather them again. The Viola Pubescens, a yellow Violet, like a small Hearts- ease, grows plentifully all around us. The Canadian Violet 1 have only found on the south shore of the Isle of Orleans. I am told it also grows in a wood near the Cemeterv on the Lorette Road. It is very pleasant towards the end of May to sail down tho river in a small boat and touch at different spots on the Isle of Orleans, or surrounding shore; seldoni have we more settled fine weather than then, and there is a youth and freshness in nature which is wanting in the more advanced year. Flowers whose departure we have mourned over in the fall, are now springing up again at our feet, and we welcome them all as well-known and well-loved friends : they meet us joyously and lau^ij in the sunshine and dance in the breeze. And oh ! this is the time to take children away ii.to the fields and let them run wild and enjoy nature where they can lay aside conventionalities and 26 THE WILD FLOWERS OF QUEBEC. " Leap upon the cottage floor, And shout beside the cottage door." Aye, shout to their heart's content for very joy : this is the time to crown ihem with flowers, to assist them to gather flowers, help them to run after the flowers, and strive to see who should gather most ; that is real enjoyment for a child. Rut I am forgetting to describe the Canadian Violet; it grows on banks in open woods, and is from one to two feet high ; the petals are white, the upper ones tinged with violet beneath, and the lateral ones are bearded. Near the same place in the end of May, and in woods g-^n- erally throughout June, may be found the Jack in the Pulpit, or Arum Triphyllum ; the spadix represents the minister, spathe is the pulpit with the old-fashioned sounding board overhanging his head, and the three leaves are a Trinity which serve for the text. The spathe deserves notice, for here the leaf is as it were caught In the act of transition. In swamps will also be found another Arum (Calla palustris). The Asarum Canadense, or Wild Ginger, is a lowly grow- ing plant with broad kidney -shaped leaves, about four inches in breadth ; the flower is bell-shaped, of a brownish purple color, and grows so close to the ground as often to be covered up witii dry leaves and so occasion it to be overlooked by the unpractised botanist. It is very common at Orleans, on a bank on the left of the road leading to Mr. Bowen's cottage ; the root has the *iste of ginger ; it also grows below the Martello tower nearest to the St. Lawience. The Smilacina Bifolia, which I would rather call the Wood Smilacina, is now in flower in every wood and where- ever two or three trees are clumped together ; it has two and sometimes three small leaves; the entire plant grows about f THE WILD FLOWBR8 OF QUEBEC. 27 i T three or four inches high and has a very pretty raceme oi white flowers ; it is sometimes hut erroneously called the ivild lily of the valley and continues in flower till the end of June, when it is succeeded by the Smilacina Irifolia, which grows in bogs, and I therefore propose to call it the Bog Smilacina — the bog in the Gomin wood is thickly studded with them. The Smilacina Stellata or Star Smilacina is a very pretty flower, growing on the Isle of Orleans opposite the falls of Montmo- renci. The Fly Honeysuckle is now abundant in the same part of Point Levi where we have already found the Hepatica ; it is about the size of a currant bush and each flower stalk bears two greenish yellow funnel shaped flowers. In the Gomin Wood and Isle of Orleans may now be found the Dentaria, one of the best illustrations of the natural order Cruciferse ; it grows one or two feet high and has a raceme of white or slightly turned cross-shaped flowers : the root has a taste similar to but more pungent than that of water cresses. The Dicentra or Dutchman's breeches will now be found about St. Hyacinthe and the lakes, the flowers are of a pale straw color and hang down like a tiny pair of drawers. If on arriving at the Isle of Orleans we turn immediately to the left hand and follow the shore, we soon come upon the Fairy Primrose, a sweetly pretty flower : the tufi of leaves spring directly from the root and could be covered by an Eng- lish shilling ; the flower stalk springing from the centre bears a number of pretty little flesh colored flowers with the true scent of the Primrose. I potted several and delighted many a child with them as a present ; indeed as a miniature flower it is per- fectly unique. The twisted stem (Streptopus roseus) may now be found In 2B THE WILD FLOWERS OF QUEBEC. rtlmost every thickel, it bears a general resemblance to Solomon's Seal from which it is easily distinguisiiable by the flowers growing singly from the axils instead of in twos and tiirees; the flowers of this as th(- name signifies, are rose colored, and in the h\\ it bears red berries : this plant presents the sin- gular appearance ot its flower stalks being twisted as if done purposely by art ; the leaf stalks of the Alstromoeria are also twisted and those twistings to my mind give some of the most remarkable varieties of design in the manifold works of God. And now in the end of May I must take my reader into the Bog, not the Dismal but the Glorious Swanrjp : it is true that in our ardent pursuit we too often sink into the wet moss, but what can ba done when a baautiful flower is seen in the dis- tance, other people may stop to enquire how deep they may sink but for my owo pa^-t as soon as a flower is seen I am in full pursuit and it must be had whatever may be the cost. Just as we enter the swamp in the Gomin wood we come upon thickets crowned with RhOilor;is in full bloom, the bush grows some feel hi^h and has superb rose-colored flowers, and the general appearance of several Lashes in mass is most mag- nificent : when a branch is plucked and examined, the flowers have a loose untidy appearance and resist all efforts to be grouped with others into a really pretty bouquet — but the en- tire bush is so very beautiful that the lover of nature might be excused if he brought it home thrown across his shoulder. In the same locality further in the swamp may be found the Kalmia angustifola bearing very pretty compact rose-colored flowers like small cups divided into five lobes ; the ten stamens are at first bent backwards and depressed into ten little cavi- ties, afterwards they rise up and stand erect around the pis- til, i ', THB WILD FLOWEkH OV qUEBEC. i , The Ladies' Slipper Orchis (Cypripedium humile) now glows by thousands in the borders of the swamp. If nothinjr else had made me a Botanist, the first finding of this flower would have done so. It was in a swampy place in the Gomin VVood. The little girl who was my companion joined with me in the pursuit and we fairly raced after them as one and another caught our sight, and we were filled with the joy of excitement — our hands were soon full and then we began to consider where we were : it was the first time we had ever been in that wood and we were fairly lost; we scarcely extricated ourselves from bushes before we sank into a swamp and from the swamp we again became entangled in the hushes ; a wasp's nest was upset and the exasperated inmates sallied out and pursued us ; at length we saw a chimney and taking the child upon my back I went straight on regardless of difficulties till we reached the house, came upon the highway, and bore our flowers home in triumph ; the little girl especially held fast to all she had gathered and arrived at home full of glee ami joy. The sickly midnight ball may give an artificial pleasure to a child, but not that full exuberant healthful joy which com- munion with nature gives. The Ladies' Slipper is borne upon a scape springing up from between two leaves ; the most strik- ing part of the flower is the inflated sac or lip about one and a half or two inches long, varying in color from white to a deep rose. The yellow Ladies Slipper grows at Montmorenci, and the Showy Ladies Slipper, the most beautiful of all, I am told grows in the swamp between the St. Foy and Little River Roads. 80 THS WILD FLOWERS OF QUEBEC. JUNE. Tho woods are now very attractive It is delightful to wander under their thick shade and escape from the scorching rays of the sun, to listen to the rustling music of the leaves, to watch the ferns unrolling their fronds and to collect the mosses and the lichens. Many of the flowers of May have lived their short days and disappeared, yet more remain and others come teeming as if from the cornucopia} of the month of June, so that those which are gone leave their absence unfelt, and the crowded flora of June is the very carnival of nature. The Ladies' Slippers, Kalmias. Smilacinas, &c., may still be gathered in the greatest abundance throughout most of this month. If we now stroll on the Gomin Road, we shall find growinir on either side tho Bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis) which may also be found on the outskirts of every wood. This flower may teach us that things are not what they always appear, for that which everyone else except a botanist would call a flower is no flower at all : it is an involucoe of four white leaves inside of which is a head of small greenish white flowers and each flower in the fall is matured into a berry, and the head of flowers into a bunch of berries ; the plant is only a few inches high. In ditches everywhere (the nearest is the ditch outside the ramparts) may now be found the Brooklime Speedwell, (Veronica beccabunga) a strong growing plant with thick shiny leaves bearing spikes of blue flowers ; it is this which in Britain always accompanies the Water-cresses, yet though 1 have carefully searched every habitat of Brooklime Speedwell, ! have failed to discover the true Water-cress. The Thyme- leaved Speedwell will also now he found in the fields. i r: * 1 • s DISTUIHUTfON OF .- ■• Ladies' SlippiT, I'llclicr Plant, and fiiilnador Tea. (TC'riiKUKkr Spccdwi'll aud Wiid Itdse .-»■—■ "w^ Ox.ytropis and Astrct^alus. n ■» Canipaniila rotiiiidifulia..^^ ,. -^ 60 THK WILD FLOWERS OF i^UEBBC. JUNE. The woods are now very attractive It is deliglitlul to wander under (heir thick shade and escape from the scorching rays of the sun, to listen to the rustling music of the leaves, to watch the ferns unrolling their fronds and to collect the mosses and the lichens. Many of the flowers of May have lived their short days and disappeared, yet more remain and others come teeming as if from the cornucopia) of the month of June, so that those which are gone leave their absence unfell, and the crowded flora of Jime is the very carnival of nature. The Ladies' Slippers, Kalmias. Smilacinas, &c., may still be gathered in the greatest abundance throughout most of this month. If we now stroll on the Gomin Road, we shall find growing on either side the Bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis) which may also be found on the outskirts of every wood. This flower may teach us that things are not what they always appear, for that which everyone else except a botanist would call a flower is no flower at all : it is an involucoe of four white leaves inside of which is a head of small greenish white flowers and each flower in the fall is matured into a berry, and the head of flowers into a bunch of berries ; the plant is only a few inches high. In ditches everywhere (the nearest is the ditch outside the ramparts) may now be found the Brooklime Speedwell, (Veronica beccabunga) a strong growing plant with thick shiny haves bearing spikes of blue flowers ; it is this which in Britain always accompanies the Water-cresses, yet though I have carefully searched every habitat of Brooklime Speedwell, I have failed to discover the true Water-cress. The Thyme- leaved Speedwell will also now he found in tlie fields. t r^ ;- N fOMtf ,y^ J \jni4 Ladies" SUpjx (Tri'iruiudci Sjj Oxytropis anc <'am|)ainilji vo UISTUIHLTfON OF KI.OWKUS FOR Jl^Xi:. Liulifs' Slipp,'!- I'ilrlicf PIfuit, and I.ahiador lea. „-.— » (rrrmaiuki Spccdweli and Wild llosi.'.- -. % Oxytropis and Astrcfialiis. ..— ««»• Canipainila rotiindifi.liii .-■ Linn;i'a Borcalis, 'I'i'iciitalis and Hunch Puirry! Iri.s \'cisic<)l()r, Uln'-.-ycd (iiass, and Foigft- nu'-N'nt, I'viola rotundifolia. 1 'THR WILD rLOWURil OF qURBKC. 31 ( . The Bluo-eyed-graas is a very delicate flower growing in wet meadows, the leaves are grass-like and it has an umbol of very pretty bluo llowers which open and wither in a day, succeeding each other for some time in the sume umbel. [{orb Beniiut, which is also in bloom at this season, isa famous medicinal plant among the peasantry of England, liennet is probably a corruption of bcnedicta, referring to the blessed vir- tues of the plant. In the bogs the Labrador Tea is now puttinjr forth its blos- soms of pure white; the leaves are recurved and covered beneath with rusty down , it grows to a good sized bush, and its white flowers form a pleasing contrast to the deep rose of the Kalinia growing by its side. The leaves are used as a sub- situte for tea and for hops, and possess some narcotic properties. The Oxalis Stricta, with yellow flowers in ploughed fields, and the Oxalis acetosella, with white and purple flowers in the woods, may almost be called our sensitive plant ; they shut up their leaves and go to sleep at night, and on the a[)proacK of rain. These plants are used in Europe to give an acid flavour to soup. Oxalic Acid and Salt of Sorrel were formerly made from them, now they are made from sugar. Linneus, whose enthusiasm for flowers was such that he went down upon his knees and thanked God that he had lived to see a furze bush in full fl )\ver, has given his name to our lovely twin flower (F-innea Borealis) which is now in full bloom ; the flowers are twins upon one stalk, from which they hang as roseate bells; the interior of the corolla is filled with down, and the flowers strew the earth with lavish profuseness and scent the air all around. [ have often been led to the discovery of these flowers from their rich perfume. 32 THE WILD FLOWERS OF QUEBEC, In the middle, of June the Ragwort, a composite flower with yellow heads, and about one and a half to two feet high, abounds in wet places by the side of rupning streams. The Anemone, so famous in English song, is principally re- presented by the Anemone Pensylvanica ; it grows in masses on wet banks, the leaves are in whorls and the white flowers measure from one to one and a half inches across : sli - THES WILD FLOWERS OF QUBBEC. 33 ^^ bed of t!iem in tlie Gomin Swamp, oqual to a Tulip bed — it was a beautiful bright inTiiing and everything seemed full of }oy and praise to the Creator — I caught the inspiration and felt a jny in the presence of llim who finished his works and de- clared them all very gootl. As to the use of the pitchers, we know that some plants (as the Water Lilies) require their leaves to rest u[)on the water or the plant cannot be in health — so it is with the l^iteher Plant : as the plant does not grow in the water the leaf cannot float, so it doubles itself up and retains the necessary water in its own reservoir, and thus we have a lother instance of the variety of design in the manifold works of the Creator. The Forget-iiio-not (Myosotis palustris) is now in flower in wet places and stagnant ditches. — I liHve found it very plenti- fully at Point Levi, but the finest at Lake Calvert : this latter locality atr)rds specimens approaching the English, from which ourssulficiently dilfers to be termed laxa. lam of opinion that it is deteriorated by the change of clinnate. Two V .ars a^o I heard of a bl;ie flower at Point Levi not described in Gray's Botan) : I was up the next morning at five o'clock anil went to examine, and there I found a whole field full of English Germader Speedwells. It is now forty years since my aunt took me for a walk before breakfast and made me a bouquet of Wild Roses, Herb Robert, and a pretty little blue flower of which we knew not the name ; those flowers were [)hotograp!ie(! on my mind never to be forgotten, and I still rejoice now, as then, to gather them ; it was that little incident that called ftirth ray love of flowers, and I have loved them ever since ; that little flower was the Germader Speed- well, which I find at PMnt Levi. I cannot describe the joy I 34 THE WILD FLOWERS OP QUEBEC. felt at meeting with this flower in the land of my adoption, and will now endeavour to portray it ; the stem is diffuse with a hairy line on each side, the leaves ovate serrated, the flowers in clusters lateral, and the flowers themselves of a beautiful blue. Our variety is -ner than the English, and while the leaves of this latter are sessile ours have very short petioles. I there- fore beg to name this Veronica Chamo^dr^s, variety petiolata. The Astragalus distortus, and an Oxytropis plant belonging to the pulse family, grow very profusely on the beach at. Or- leans, immediately on landing from the steamboat. The As- tragalus is low branched and distorted, the Oxytropis grows taller on a scape : both are purple and white ; the Oxytropis is more of a blue, and a few specimens are found of a pure white. When I went to Point Levi for the blue fljwer, I abo found the wild rose in abundance (up to that time I had found only one near Thornhill) : this was another of those simple flowers which so impressed themselves on my infant mind. It also grows abundantly at the Island, and I still think that, for simple beauty, these two flowers are unsurpassed. The CEnothera pumila, a kind of small Evening Primrose, is now in flower. The true Evening Primrose, growing from one to three feet high, whose large yellow flowers expand and perfume the evening air, is very abundant at Orleans from the latter end of June to September ; it is there really a trouble- some weed : the seeds are imported from England and sold in Quebec for flower gardens. A tall plant, three or four feet high, with parallel veined leaves and bunches of greenish flowers, is now to be found in wet waste places — it is the false Helebore. THE Wild FLOViTERS OF QUEBEC 35 * The Pyrola rotundifolia is a beautiful plant growing in rich leafy soil on shady banks : the first I saw I ran after with such enthusiastic haste that 1 was precipitated to the bottom of the bank sooner ihan I leckoneil, anl much to the amusement of my young friends, but the prizes vvere obtained, and much they were ailmired by some at whose very door they grew and who yet had never seta them. The Pyrola grows from subter- ranean runnel s, so that several plants may' be pulled up in a string ; each plant is a tuft of shining everygreen leaves from which arises a bracted scaly sco[)e bearing a nodding raceine of flesh colored or white flowers ; it may be found about Spencer Wood, the Island, and woody banks generally. About the same time may easily be found by the side of the Gomin Road the one-sided Pyrola, the flowers of which, instead of being arranged round the scape, are all placed on one side. The Silene inflata, or Bladder Campion, which children crack ^n their hands, is common on the Glacis, Cove Fields, and all waste places, where also may be found I he sweet-scented yellow Mellilot, and the white Yarrow, with flowers in tufts not unlike the Garden Candy Tuft. The Prunella, with blue labeate flowers, is now common in wet spots ; and in meadows the Yellow Kattle, so called from the rattling of the seeds. The Perforated St. John's Wort is now coming into flower everywhere, and will continue till late in August ; it is an up- right plant, from one to two feet high, with clusters of yellow flowers ; when the leaves are held up to the light, they have the appearance of having been pricked full of holes with a needle point ; these seeming perforations are transparent vesicles full of the oil of St. John's Wort. The Germans have a custom for maidens to gather this herb 36 THP WILD FLOWERS OP QUEBEC. on the eve of St. John, and from its witherinir or retaininj? its freshness, to draw an angury of death or marriage in the coming year. This is well told in the following lines : The young maid stole through the cottage door, And blushed as she sought the plant of power ; Thou silver glow-worm, 0 lend me thy light, I must gather the mystic St. John's Wort to night, — The wonderful herb who•^^o leaf must decide If the coming year shall make me a bride. And the Glow-worm came With its silvery flame. And sparkled and shone Through the nidit of St. John ; While it shone on the plant as it bloomed in its pride, And soon has the young maid her love knot tied. With noiseless tread To her chamber she sped, Where the spectral moon her white beams shed. Bloom here, bloom here, thou plant of power. To deck the young bride in her bridal hour ; But it drooped its head, that plant of power, A'">d died the mute death of the voiceless flower, And a withered wreath on the ground it lay. And when a year had passed away, All pale on her bier the young maid lay ; And the glow-worm came. With its silvery flame. And sparkled and shone Through the night of St. John ; And they closed the cold grave o'er the maids cold clay On the day that was meant for her bridal day. THE WILD FL.OVVERS OF tJUEBEC, SI its ■w' Wet meadows are now full of the purple Iris; as the asters and Solidagos are cluuMctcristic of our dry land-flora so is this Iris of the flora of our wet and swampy i)!aces. I have seen it extending over the country for miles together, the only ap- parent limit being the extent of my observation ; over at Point Levi there is a wet meadow blue with them, where also is the Forget-me-not and the Blue-eved ! lif UlSTKI BUTTON UF 39 the list my eir be ke en ter in iw 68 cIs he o- 3h 1 ■ ' I e- i I 'e Bt is ■y ie Hvtjiiinn- Prinuosf. < 'U'matis KudliL'rkiii and Asters. ■ Frintrcd Gentians. ,..^.^,..^, Asclopias. .-_■> 38 THE WILD FLOWERS OF QUEBEC. Aladdin ; and who does not perceive that the jowels are more splendid hani,nni;on I'oK"!''") '■'^'' • KveniiiK rrimrose. CK-Tiuitis lltnlhcckia and AsttTs. Fringed Gentians. ,-^.-«.-,~ ... - Asc'lepia<:;. mmmmmmam^ St. John's Wort and Mullein, 1^ 4f /-♦ Dogsbanc and Willow Herb. ...i^ .-^ - Lilinm Canadense. W-xter Lilies.f— — -"• h 8 b V se Gl b. ar C bt b( I W se til th of »e«^-,i2*««'!mu' '!^.its ';i*,i,,.t«tf««s^ ■ s tHE Wli.D l-'LUWKR8 Ok' qiTEBEC. 39 I TlieGoiiiiii VVuud is in many purls full uf the most N[)lendid ferns whicli ulmust tempt me to make a digression from the strict purpose of this paper, by discussing them ; hut I must refrain (rom so doing at present, with a rucouimendation to my young friends to gather them, compare tl 'jm,and rejoice in their beauty. Among the ferns and in close proximity to them may also be found the truly magnificent Purple Fringed Orchis ; the spike resembles a stately hyacinth : it is about twelve or eighteen inches high : the flowers of a rose purple color ; A little later in the season is found a variety of this llower gro\vin<»" in marshy places. The sticky Henbane growing one or two feet high, is now to be found in waste places : the flower somewhat resembles that of the Potato : it is veined : it grows in the Cove Fields and often on the Glacis, but is seldom found two years in the same locality. Although the Henbane i;* poisonous, yet pro- perly used it is a valuable medicine. x^nother medicinal plant, the Headock, the juice of which tilled the fatal cup for Socrates, may now he found everywhere ; in the Ring, on the Battlements, Glacis, &c., it grows tall, re- sembles parsley and has a spotted stem. The Willow Herb (Epilobium) called in Canada the Fire Weed h a truly splendid plant growing from two lo six feet high branching out like a little tree and bearing splendid pink flowers ; the seed pods are full of a cottony down which acts as sails to the seeds and enables the wind to bear them far away so that its flower has spread over the whole north temperate zone an