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The University of the State of New York
STATE MUSEUM
John M. Clarke, Director
Memoir 15
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
IN TWO PARTS
HOMER D.
HOUSE
State Botanist
Part
/
(Second Pr
intinK)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter of Communication 3 I Descriptions of Species 35
hitroduction 9 | List of Illustrations (part 2) 325
341
Plant Structure 10 | Index (part 2) .
ALBANY
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
1923
I930
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Regents of the University
Witli years when terms expire
1926 Pliny T. Sexton LL.B., LL.D., ChauccUor Emeritus Palmyra
1934 Chester S. Lord M.A., LL.D., ClnniccUor - - Ikooklyn
1924 Adelbert Moot LL.D., Vice ChcnicclUn - - Buffalo
1927 Albert Vander Veer M.D., M. A., Ph.D., LL.D. - Albany
1925 Charles B. Alexander M.A., LL.B., LL.D., Litt. D. Tuxedo
1928 Walter Guest Kellocg B.A., LL.D. - - - Ogdensburg
1932 James Byrne B.A., LL.B., LL.D. - - - New York
1929 Herbert L. Bridgman ALA., LL.D. - - - Brooklyn
1 93 1 Thomas J. Mangan M.A. ----- Binghamton
19,33 William J. Wallin M.A. ----- Yonkers
1935 William Bondy M.A., LL.B., Ph.D. - - - New York
William P. Baker B.L., Litt. D. - - - - Syracuse
President of the University and Commissioner of Education
Frank P. Graves Ph.D., Litt.D., L.H.D., LL.D.
Deputy Commissioner and Counsel
Frank B. Gilbert B.A., LL.D.
Assistant Commissioner and Director of Professional Education
Augustus S. Downing M.A., Pd.D., L.H.D., LL.D.
Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education
James Sullivan ALA., Ph.D.
Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education
George M. Wiley ALA., Pd.D., LL.D.
Director of State Library
James L Wyer M.L.S., Pd.D.
Director of Science and State Museum
John M. Clarke Ph.D., D.Sc., LL.D.
Directors of Divisions
Administration, Lloyd L. Cheney B.A.
Archives and History, Alexander C. Flick ALA., Litt.D., Ph.D.
Attendance, James D. Sullivan
Examinations and Inspections, Avery W. Skinnicr B.A.
Finance, Clark W. Halliday
Law, Irwin Esmond Ph.B., LL.B.
Library Extension, William R. Watson B.S.
School Buildings and Grounds, Frank H. Wood ALA.
Visual Instruction, Alfred W. Abrams Ph.B.
Vocational and Extension Education, Lewis A. Wilson
LETTER OF COMMUNICATION
Neiv York State Museum
Jiuiiiary jo, icjiS
The Ilouorahle John II. Fiiiley
President of the University
Sir:
The scientific svtrvey of this State, estabUshed in 1836 under the title
" The Natural History of New York," embraces in its monumental reports
two volumes treating of the flora of the State. These volumes, prepared
by the distinguished botanist, John Torrey, bear the inscription: Flora
of the State of New York; Comprising Full Descriptions of All the Indigenous
and Naturalized Plants Hitherto Discovered in the State, with Remarks on
Their Economical and Medical Properties (1S43). The species described
in this work were entirely of the phcnogamous or flowering plants. Until
that time no summary of the New York flora had laeen brought together;
and the service rendered to the people of the State by the publication of
this compendium was of a high order and was received with enthusiastic
appreciation. Doctor Torrey's books served the needs of the time and
expressed the state of its knowledge of the New York flora.
Seventy-five years have passed, and in that long stretch of time botan-
ical science has grown widely and apace. The field of cryptogamic botany,
that which deals with the flowerless plants, the mushrooms, mosses, lichens
and their kind, was not entered in these early reports; it was obscure and
little understood; its mostly inconspicuous growths did not attract the
eye or invite the observer; nor were its important relations to the economy
of the community even suspected.
The early official l)otanical in\-estigations of the State were formally
terminated by the publication of John Torrey's reports. Not till 1867 did
the need of continuous official attention to this department of science meet
3
4 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
tlie recognition of the Regents of the University. In that year Charles
Horton Peck was designated to take charge of such botanical collections
as had accumulated in the State Museum, and not long thereafter Mr Peck
was officially appointed the State Botanist. To the botanical service of
the State Mr Peck thereafter dedicated himself without reserve for the
rest of his long life. He added much to the store of knowledge of the flow-
ering plants, l;)ut the veiled world of the flowerless plants the more invited
him and to it he specially gave his labors; leaving behind him a harvest of
knowledge of them and a repute for his intricate researches which ranks
him high on the roll of great botanists. Doctor Peck spared no effort,
however, to increase the store of knowledge of all the flora of the State and
he is the creator of the large state herbarium. After fifty years of unstinted
devotion to his science and to his State, Doctor Peck fell asleep in honor,
in the year 191 7.
Since the date of Torrey's report, the flowering plants have been the
subject of study in all parts of the Commonwealth. Botanical societies
and local students have multiplied; records have grown; the demand for
information has greatly increased; but there has been no reliable exposition
of such information accessible to these students.
It has been with this purpose of meeting a wide demand and of setting
forth with such excellence as present knowledge and perfected modes of
illustration could aft'ord, that the present work. The Wild Fhnvcrs of Nnv
York, has been projected. The vmdertaking, bound to be an arduous one,
has not been entered upon hastily. The advice of the leading botanists
of this State and country was sought as to its timeliness, its scope, mode
of presentation and illustration. The interested public will find it to be
not a highly technical guide, couched in closely analytical descriptions, but
a comparatively brief text, untechnical so far as the theme permits, accom-
panied by color illustrations made from the growing plants. The present
State Botanist, Dr Homer D. House, is the responsible author of the work;
he has not only prepared the text and its arrangement, but has supervised
in detail the color photography; he has accompanied the photographers
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 5
into the field on every visit and has selected every subject which is here
reproduced.
The color illustrations must speak for themselves. They have been
executed with most painstaking care by the quadricolor process, and the
living and growing plants have been reproduced in their colors as near to
those of nature as now seems possible. Credit for the printing and binding
of the work should be given to the J. B. Lyon Company of Albany, but
the Matthews- Northrup Company of Buffalo and the Zeese- Wilkinson
Company of New York are to be accredited with the quality and making
of the color plates.
As such, then, these volumes are given to the people of the State and
as such, we believe, they would have this service rendered.
Very respectfully
JOHN M. CLARKE
Director
One who is upon the gray ocean at this season of the year when, in
the woods and at the roadsides in the State of New York, the wild flowers
are beginning to redeem their promises of life, appreciates as never before
how mvich these quiet, persistent pioneers of the fields contribute in scent,
color and form to the making of that which is summed up in the name
Nnv York; even as the heather to the making of that country whose head-
lands are now dimly emerging from the level sea. The sight of a spray of
these native flowers, such as many a page in this book carries, would be
as a twig borne back in ancient times to the ark — a sign that, though the
flood of war has overwhelmed many valleys, the elemental processes of life
go forward undisturbed in the " Empire State." Whatever the economic
value or imputed harm of these aborigines, first settlers, later immigrants
and vagrants which together constitute the Flora of the State, it is desirable
from every point of view, since they are our near, most welcome but some-
times intrusive neighbors, that we should know their faces, their habits and
their capacities for good or warning of ill. It is a great realm of life within
the State of which the State as a whole should acknowledge the possession.
I have unusual satisfaction in finding it my official opportunity to say
an introductory word to this notable and distinguished work, because it is
the record of a possession which the Director of tlie State Museum, Dr John
M. Clarke, has enabled the State to make. It has a great practical value,
l5ut it has another value in making perennial and keeping in perpetual
domestic bloom, in home and schoolhouse and library, flowers that blossom
but a few days or weeks in the wild state in which they have been so skil-
fully and sympathetically discovered by Doctor House. I am proud that
the State has made possible such a publication and that The University
of the State of New York has been able to execute the commission with
such success.
mT!I^^^5^
On the Atlantic Ocean President of the L'niversity
May IQ18 7
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
INTRODUCTION
The State of New York possesses a large variety of herbaceous and
shrtxbby plants with conspicuous flowers, which may be classed under the
rather broad and indefinite term of " wild flowers." For the purposes of
this work only a few of the shrubs, such as the Mountain Laurel, Azalea
and Labrador Tea have been included, the thought being to present mainly
herbaceous plants with conspicuous flowers.
Anyone who has observed the nattiral vegetation in such unlike parts
of the State as the salt marshes and pine barrens of Long Island, the higher
Adirondack and Catskill mountains or the woodlands of the western counties
must have been impressed by the obvious diflierence in the wild flowers of
those several sections, and especially by the fact that very few of the
wild flowers which bloom between early spring and late autumn in the
Adirondacks are to be found on Long Island.
Such differences in the character of the vegetation of widely separated
portions of the State are explained partly by soil conditions and partly by
differences in climate. Located with the ocean at one side and the great
inland lakes at the other, the State is favored by conditions of atmospheric
moisture (relative humidity, rainfall and snowfall) which make it climati-
cally a forest region, and hence favorable for a luxuriant variety of herbace-
ous and shrubby plants ; a region in which forests would naturally dominate
all other vegetation if not cut down. The temperature conditions along
the southern coast of the State are modified by the ocean, and to some
extent on the west by the Great Lakes, while the elevated mountain masses
of the Adirondack and Catskill regions produce cooler summers and shorter
growing seasons.
I am indebted to Mr Edward A. Eames of Buffalo for photographs and
autochromes of certain orchids, to Mr G. A. Bailey of Gcneseo, iind Mr O. O.
Nylander of Caribou, Me., for additional photographs and to Mr Louis R.
Robbins, former assistant to State Botanist, for assistance in the preparation
of the text and illustrations for the chapter on Plant Structure.
10 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
PLANT STRUCTURE^
No one who loves plants, either cultivated or wild, has failed to note
how they differ from one another in shape, size, color and arrangement of
the flowers, the leaves and other parts. These features are essentially the
same in all individuals of a given species, but differ greatly in individual
plants not belonging to the same species or variety.
To express these differences requires a terminology that is familiar
largely only to those who have studied botany. The fact that it is practically
impossible to describe a plant accurately without the use of a certain number
of these special terms is a great impediment to a broad familiarit}^ with
our wild flowers on the part of all those who would like to study them with
the aid of botanical guides. Because of the great variety of flowering
plants and the minuteness of the flowers on many of them, the difficulty of
identification is even greater than that connected with the study of bird
and animal life.
The following brief summary of the terms necessary to an accvirate
description of a flowering plant, taken alone, means little to the average
reader. Taken in connection with the plants as they are found growing
and carefully studied, these terms, as soon as understood, place one on a
footing of easy familiarity with the wild flowers, so that an accurate descrip-
tion as given in books means something definite and enables one to decide
if the given description applies to the plant imder consideration. vSupple-
mented by illustrations, a study of the terminology used enables the student
to acquire a much wider knowledge of our wild flowers.
Leaves
The leaf is an essential organ of all plants which live independently,
that is, are not parasitic upon other plants (like the Dodder) or saprophytic
upon dead plant remains (hke the Indian Pipe). The leaf manufactures
' The cuts in this section arc adapted from Gra>-'s Lessons in Botany. Copyright by
Asa Gray. Reproduced by permission of the American Book Company, pubUshers.
AYILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
food for the plant, gives off excess water (transpiration) and is the breathing
organ of the plant. To accomplish these functions the leaf is built up by
a complex arrangement of cells and is variously modified in different groups
of plants to meet the external conditions of environment and competition
by other plants.
The parts of a leaf are designated as
blade, petiole and stipules. The leaf blade
(figure I A) is the broadly expanded portion,
althougli in some species the leaf blade is
very narrow or even threadlike. The petiole
(figure iB) is the stalk which supports the
blade, and may be lacking in some cases, when
the leaf is said to be sessile. The stipules (figure iC) are small, leaflike
organs at the base of the petiole, and are best typified by the rose leaf.
Frequently the stipules encircle the stem at the base of the petiole and often
they are entirely lacking or fall away so soon after the leaves expand that
they are not found when the plant is in bloom.
Terms of leaf outline: The various shapes of leaf blades may be
expressed by the following terms :
Subulate; awl-shaped, without visible expansion of blade, and usually
tapering to the apex (figure 3).
3 4 5 6 7
Linear, or ribbon-shaped ; elongated and several times longer than
wide (figure 4).
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Lanceolate ; in which the leaf blade is three times as long as wide, or
longer, and broadest at or below the middle (figure 5).
Oblong; in which the blade is somewhat longer than wide, broadest
in tlie middle or with sides almost parallel (figure 6 ) .
Ovate; shaped like an egg; that is, broadest below the middle or near
the base (figure 7).
Elliptical ; rounded at both ends, somewhat longer than wide ( figure 8 ) .
Orbicular or rotund; in which the blade is nearly or quite circular in
outline (figure 9).
Reniform; in which the blade is
broader than long, with a heart-shaped
base (figure 10).
Deltoid; triangle-shaped, similar
to ovate but conspicuously broadened
at the base and pointed at the apex
( figure II).
Consideration of a few leaf blades
shows immediately that these terms
are not always sufficient to express
accurately the shape and we may have
recourse to combinations of terms, such
as oblong-lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate
(figure 13), etc.
The shape of leaf blades which are
broadest above the middle may be expressed by the following terms:
Obovate; ovate in shape, but broadest near the apex or above the
middle (figure 14).
Oblanceolate ; lanceolate in shape but broadest above the middle or
near the apex (figure 15).
Spatulate ; in which the blade is oblanceolate or obovate in shape with
the base conspicuov;sly elongated (figure 12).
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
13
Terms applied to the apex of the leaf:
Obcordate; broad and heart-shaped at the apex (figure 16).
Emarginate ; with a sHght depression at the somewhat narrowed apex
(figure 17).
Retuse; terminating in a semicircular end, the center of which is
somewhat indented (figure 18).
Truncate; with a flat or abrupt apex (figure 19).
13 14 15
Acuminate ; when the apex of the blade is longer than broad (figure 20).
Acute ; when the apex of the blade is about as broad as long (figure 21).
Obtuse or blunt; when the apex is much broader than long (figure 22).
14 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Mucronate ; when the apex is terminated by a short blunt tip (figure
23)-
Cuspidate; when the tip of the blade is hard and stiff (figure 24).
Terms applied to the base of the leaf:
The terms truncate, acuminate, acute, obtuse (defined above) may
also be applied to the shape of the base of the leaf blade, in addition to the
following :
30 31 32
Cordate; heart-shaped (figure 25).
Cuneate, or wedge-shaped; when the sides of the leaf blade taper to
an acute angle at the base (figure 27).
Auriculate, when the depression at the base of the blade is deep and
produces on either side conspicuous basal lobes (figures 28 and 32).
Sagittate; when the basal lobes point downward like the head of an
arrow (figure 30).
Hastate; when the basal lobes are turned outward (figure 29).
V:iLD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
15
Peltate; a rounded leaf blade with the petiole attached at or near the
middle of the lower surface (figure 31).
Perfoliate ; when the bases of leaf blades meet and join around tlie stem
of the plant (figure 26).
Terms applied to llie i)iargi}ial se<^)iiei!t(!tlo)i of leaf blades:
Sinuate; when the marginal lobes of the leaf blade present a wavy
outline (figure 33).
Pinnately lobed; when the tissue between the veinlets is cut out nearly
to the midrib of the leaf and the divisions are arranged like the pinnae of
a feather (figure 34).
Palmate ; when the blade is deeply divided nearly or quite to a common
base (figure 38).
i6
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Serrate (figure 35); when the margin is sharply toothed with coarse
teeth, Uke a saw.
When the teeth are rounded inward or are convex, the
margin is said to be dentate (figure 37). When the
margin is formed of rounded teeth it is said to be
crenate (figure 36). If the teeth are very small, the
diminutives of the above terms are used, namely,
serrulate (figure 39), denticulate (figure 40J and
crenulate (figure 41).
C'oin poll 11(1 Iciivcs:
When a leaf possesses several divisions or seg-
ments upon a common petiole or rachis, it is said to be compound. The
distinction between a simple leaf, which is deeply divided, and a compound
leaf, rests upon the presence of distinct articulation between the leaf seg-
ment of the compound leaf and the petiole. Compound leaves may be
pinnate (figure 42), when the leaflets are arranged on either side of a com-
mon petiole (Ash, Rose, Walnut etc.) or palmately compound (figure 43),
when the leaflets all join the petiole at its summit (Horse-chestnut).
39 40
42 43
Lcdf arraugenieiit:
Alternate, when the leaves are arranged one at a node and each leaf
is opposite and above the preceding leaf; spirally arranged, when the nodes
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
17
are not opposite; and opposite when the leaves are in pairs opposite each
other on the same node. When several leaves are inserted on the same
node they are said to be whorled or verticillate.
Flowers
The flower of a plant is a group of organs (figure 44) which exist for
the purpose of producing seed. The parts of a flower fall into two general
groups : those which ac tually function
as seed producers (essential organs),
and those which act as protective
organs or organs for the attraction of
insects (floral envelops or perianth).
These might also be designated as non-
essential organs, since they are lack-
ing in certain flowers.
The essential organs consist of
two parts, the pistils (flgure 44 A) and
the stamens (figure 44D, E), often
designated as the pistillate and stami-
nate parts of a flower; and when a
flower contains only pistils it is called a pistillate flower, and when it
contains only stamens it is called a staminate flower.
When both stamens and pistils are present in the same flower, it is
said to be perfect. If, in addition, the flower possesses the floral envelops,
calyx and corolla, it is called a complete flower. Hence a flower which
lacks any of these sets of organs is incomplete (that is, if it lacks either
calyx or corolla) ; if it lacks either stamens or pistils it is imperfect.
The perianth or flornl envelopes:
The ideal flower contains two sets of floral envelops, the calyx
(figure 44F) and the corolla. In some flowers the corolla is entirely or
partly divided into a certain number of divisions, each of which is called
1 8 NE\V YORK STATE MUSEUM
a petal (figure 44O). They are usually but not always brightly colored.
Subtending or beneath the corolla is the calyx, which is usually, but not
always, green, and is likewise in many plants divided into a number of
distinct parts or sepals. When an incomplete flower has but one set of
floral envelopes, it is usually the petals (or corolla) which are lacking, and
in such cases the calyx may be brightly colored and function as a corolla
(a petaliferous calyx).
The cssoitidl origans:
The number and arrangement of stamens varies in different kinds of
plants, but nearly always a stamen consists of a filament or stalk (figure
44E), which bears at its apex the anther (figure 44D), or pollen-bearing
sac. The shape of the anther, and the manner by which it dehisces, or
opens to emit the pollen, likewise varies in different groups of plants.
The pistil (figure 44A-C), or seed-bearing organ, consists of an ovary
(figure 44A), stigma (figure 44C) and style (figure 44B). The ovary is at
the base of the pistil and contains the
ovules (ir eggs, which after fertilization
ripen into seeds. The ovary usually con-
tains several or many ovules, but may
contain as few as a single ovule. The
stigma is that part of the pistil which
acts as a receptive organ for pollen in the
process of pollination. Its surface is
usually moist and minutely granular and
its position and shape are dependent upon
the mode of pollination (insects or wind )
made use of by the particular plant. The style connects the stigma and
ovary. It may be long or short, slender or stout, or sometimes entirely
lacking when the stigma is situated directly upon the ovary.
The ovary itself may contain one or several chambers or cells (figures
45-47), and very frequently the number of chambers in the ovary and the
45
WILD FLOWERS OF NP:W YORK
19
lobes or divisions of the stigma bear a direct relationship to the number
of petals, sepals and stamens. The term carpel (or carpophyllum) is used
to designate the seed-bearing leaf. A carpel may be a pistil of itself, or it
may be a constituent of a more complex pistil. In either case, a carpel
is the homologue of a leaf. The surface within the ovary to which the
ovules are attached is called the placenta.
Simple pistils may be solitary, or several together on a common recep-
tacle within the flower, as in the Buttercup. A compound pistil consists
of two, three or more carpels united into one body.
The apex of the flowering stem, which supports the flower, is
designated as the receptacle.
48
49
Arrangement of flowers:
Flowers are either solitary or clustered, but their arrangement varies
in different kinds of plants, and inay even vary to some extent in the same
species. The arrangement or disposition of the flowers may be designated
as the inflorescence. The following are the most frequent arrangements
of flowers:
Spike (figure 48 ) , in which the flowers are arranged along the flowering
20 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
stem, and sessile (that is, without stalks) or with very short stalks (pedicels).
When the flowering stem is naked (devoid of leaves) and rises directly
from the root or crown of the plant, it is called a scape (figure 51).
Raceme (figure 49), in which the flowers are arranged along a flowering
stem and each flower possesses a distinct stalk or pedicel. The lower
pedicels may be somewhat longer than the tipper ones.
Umbel (figtu-e 52), when the flowers arise from the same point, which
is usually the apex of the flowering stem or of a lateral flowering stalk, and
radiate like the rays of an umbrella. If the radiating stalks of such an
inflorescence bear smaller umbels at their tips, it is called a compound
umbel.
Corymb [corymbosel (figure 54), when the branches of an inflorescence
are of unequal length, but the lower or outer ones are longest so that they
all form a flat- topped, or nearly flat-topped, cluster.
Cyme (figure 55), when the flowers each terminate an axis or stem
arising successively from a new axis or stem.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 21
A spadix is a spikelike inflorescence with a fleshy stalk and with sessile
flowers; the floral leaf or bract which subtends it or surrounds it partially
is called the spathe (Skunk Cabbage, Wild Calla).
A panicle, or compound raceme (figure 50), is formed by the arrange-
ment of flowers along the plant stem, similar to a raceme, but each flower
stem has two or more branches.
Head (figure 53), an arrangement of flowers compactly on a common
receptacle and surrounded by bracts (involucral bracts).
Modification and arrangement of the [yerianth:
Among the simpler groups of flowering plants the perianth is wanting,
as in the Cat-tail and Willow. In the Sweet Flag, Oak and others, the
perianth consists of a few scales, but in the higher plants, the perianth
appears as a conspicuous portion of the flower, as in the Lily. Finally, as
in the Rose family, there appears a clearly differentiated calyx and corolla.
In the simpler types of flowers, the sepals, petals and the stamens
arise at the top of the receptacle. Such flowers are called hypogynous,
meaning the insertion of these parts below the ovary (figure 56) .
When the basal portion of the receptacle is continued upward, forms
a ctxp-shaped growth around the ovary and bears the sepals, petals and
stamens upon its margin, the flower is called perigynous (figures 57 and 59),
meaning the insertion of the parts of the flower around the ovary.
Frequently the growth of the receptacle adheres to the ovary, and the
sepals, petals and stamens appear to arise from above the position of the
ovary, in which case the flower is called epigynous (figure 58), meaning
above the ovary.
There may be varying degrees of cohesion or uiiion of the parts of one
or both of the floral envelopes (perianth). When the sepals are united with
each other the calyx is said to be gamosepalous, while a gamopetalous
corolla (figvires 62, 63, 64 and 65) refers to a union of the petals, as in the
flower of the Morning-glory.
The degree of coalescence or union of parts of a gamopetalous corolla,
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
56
59
60
61
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 23
varies in different flowers. When the calyx or corolla is divided almost to
the base it is said to be parted (figure 63) ; when divided to about the middle
it is said to be cleft (figure 64) ; when still less separated it may be said to
be lobed or toothed (figure 65) ; or if entire on the margin it is said to be
entire (figure 62).
When the parts of each set of organs of a flower are alike or equal in
size, the flower is said to be regular, which means that the petals are alike,
the sepals are alike and the stamens are alike. A symmetrical flower is
one in whicli the sepals, petals and stamens are of the same nvimber;
unsymmetrical when there are unequal numbers in each cycle, that is,
an unequal number of sepals, petals or stamens.
Certain groups of plants may often be recognized by the form of the
corolla of some of its members. This character seems to be quite constant
and the names of several large or important families of flowering plants
are derived from this source. Of these groups we may mention the
cruciferous (figure 60) type of flower of the Mustard family (Cruciferae) ,
in which there are four spreading petals forming a cross, as in the flower
of the Spring Cress (Cardamine bulbosa); the labiate corolla
(figure 66) of the Mint family (Labiatae) in which the corolla is more or
less two-lipped; the papilionaceous type of flower (figure 61) of the Pea
family (Leguminosae), in which the petals are characteristically grouped
into two lateral (wing) petals, a single upper (banner) petal and a pair of
lower petals, often more or less united to form the keel.
Stanieihs:
The general characteristics of the stamens have already been described.
In the stamens, as in the case of the petals and sepals, the number and
arrangement are subject to great variation in different kinds of plants.
Monandrous refers to a flower with a single or solitary stamen ; polyandrous
to a flower containing several stamens. The stamens may be monodelphous,
in which the filaments are united into a tube, as in the Wild Lupine (figure
67), or the stamens may be diadelphous (figure 68), which means two sets
24
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 25
of united stamens. In this form of arrangement there may be a union of
the filaments of all the stamens except one, which is a common diadelphous
arrangement of stamens in many of the species of the Bean family. When
there are several sets of united stamens, the arrangement is said to be
polydelphous.
Adnation or union of the stamens with other parts of the flower is of
frequent occurrence, and the terms employed depend upon the degree of
adnation, or the absence of it, namely, hypogynous (meaning beneath the
pistil), applied to parts, including stamens, which are inserted or borne
on the receptacle of the flower (figure 56). This is the absence of adnation
and indicates an unmodified type. Perigynous (arovind the pistil) implies
an adnation which carries up the apparent origin or place of insertion of
the parts of the flower to some distance above or away from the receptacle
and thus placing the insertion around instead of beneath the pistil (figure 57).
Epigynous (on the pistil), where the adnation is complete to the very top
of the ovary (figure 58).
When the stamens are borne vipon the corolla, or iipon the tube of
the corolla, they are said to be epipetalous (figure 69), and when they are
borne upon the pistil, as in the Orchid family, they are said to be gynandrous.
The most important part of a stamen is the anther (figure 44D) , which
contains the pollen. It normally consists of two lobes or sacs; but as each
sac is often, and in most of our common flowers, divided into two cavities,
it appears to possess in such instances four pollen sacs. For the discharge
of the pollen, the cells of a normal anther open along a definite line, usually
extending from top to bottom. This suture or line of dehiscence may be
lateral or marginal, or centrally located.
In the genus Solanum, to which the Potato belongs, in most members
of the Heath family (Ericaceae) , in Polygala, and certain other species, the
anther cells open only by a hole or pore (figure 71). In the Blueberry,
Cranberry etc. the pore-bearing tip of the anther cell is prolonged con-
siderably, often into a slender tube. In the Barberry, and in most other
members of that family, and in the Lauraceae, the whole face of each anther
26
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
cell separates by a continuous line, forming a kind of door, which is attached
at the top, and turns back, as if on a hinge; and the anther is said to open
by uplifted valves (figure 72). In the Sassafras and certain other members
of the Lauraceae, each lobe of the anther opens by two smaller valves, Hke
trapdoors.
The attachment of the anther to the filament (or stalk) presents three
different modes, frequently connected
by gradation: Innate (figure 70), in
/D\ l \ \ /A^\. ■^'^■^lich the anther is a direct continua-
\JJ \\ W ^^W tion of the axis of the filament, the
cells usually opening by marginal slits,
and the lobes or cells of the anther
project neither inward nor outward;
adnate (figure 73), in which the anther
is a dn-ect continuation of the filament
but having the anther cells adherent
to the anterior or posterior face of the
filament; the Wild Ginger (Asarum)
furnishes a good example of this, on
account of a prominent prolongation
of the connective or tip of the fila-
ment (figure 74); versatile (figure 75),
when the anther is attached at some part only of its back or front to the
tip of the filament, on which it lightly swings when the pollen is discharged;
examples of this are seen in members of the Lil\- family, the grasses. Evening
Primrose (Oenothera biennis) and others.
70
75
Pollination
The structure of most flowers affords an excellent indication of the
device used for the transference of pollen from one flower to another
(polhnation). Long ago it was assumed that Nature wished no flower to be
fertihzed by its own pollen, but in the light of present knowledge we know
WILD FLOWERS OF NF,W YORK 27
this is not wholly true. The subject of pollination of flowers by insects
received a great light through the investigations of Charles Darwin and the
publication in 1862 of his well-known book on the fertilization of orchids
by the aid of insects.
As we understand the matter today, it appears that flowers are habitu-
ally intercrossed (flowers of the same species), and that there are manifold
structural adaptations which secure or favor this interchange of pollen.
Separation of sexes (stamens and pistils) is a direct adaptation to cross-
pollination, rendering it necessary between individuals with dioecious
flowers, and favoring it in most plants with nionoecious and polygamous
flowers. Strictly, close fertilization can take place in hermaphroditic
flowers only.
Flowers depend upon certain external agencies for the transference
of pollen from one flower to the flower on another plant. These agencies
are wind ( anemophilous flowers) and insects (entomophilous flowers).
Other agencies are of minor importance, although water must be considered
in connection with some aquatic plants.
Wind-pollinated flowers are mostly dull in color, destitute of odor and
nectar, since these qualities attract insects. Wind -pollinated flowers
usvially have the sexes separated, the flowers borne in great abundance
and have very light pollen. Most of our common trees (the Pines, Oaks,
Hickories etc.) depend upon wind for the transference of pollen, as do also
the grasses, sedges, Plantain and others.
Insect-pollinated flowers are correlated with showy coloration (includ-
ing white, which is most showy at dusk), odor or secretion of nectar.
Structural adaptations of the flower in reference to insect visitation are
wonderfully various, and most of these are found upon investigation to
favor, or often to necessitate, cross-pollination. The range of these varia-
tions is too extensive to be treated here. Literature upon this subject is
easily available and most textbooks of botany contain chapters upon the
subject.
After pollination the pollen grain germinates upon the surface of the
28 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
stigma, sends a tube down through the tissue of the stigma and style and
discharges into the ovule a male nucleus which unites with a nucleus in the
embryo sac of the ovule, fertilizing the ovule, and stimulating its develop-
ment into an embryonic plant. By a process of hardening of the coats of
the ovule its development is arrested and the seed is produced.
The Fruit
The fruit of a plant (in the case of our flowering plants) consists of the
matured pistil (or gynoeciuni), inckiding also whatever parts of the perianth
or other floral organs may be joined to it. Fruits are of various degrees
of simplicity or complexity, and may consist of a matured simple ovary,
a cluster of such ovaries, at least when they are somewhat coherent, or
a ripened ovary with calyx and other floral parts consolidated with it.
The pericarp, or seed vessel, is the ripened ovary and should therefore
accord in structure with the ovary from which it is derived. In the
development of a simple ovary into a simple fruit certain alterations some-
times take place, either by the abortion or obliteration of certain parts, or
by accessory growth. The dehiscence is the method by which a pericarp
opens to discharge its seeds and may be regular (normal) or irregular
(abnormal). The word " pod " is frequently applied to dehiscent pericarps.
A capsule is a dehiscent pericarp formed of two or more carpels. Such
carpels are septicidal (figure 80) when the dehiscence is such that the carpel
is divided into its constituent carpels. Members of the St John's-wort
family aft'ord a good example of this method as do also Rhododendron and
Kalmia. Carpels are called loculicidal (^figure 79) when each of the compo-
nent carpels splits down its dorsal suture, as in Iris, Hibiscus, Oenothera etc.
Kinds of fruits. For ordinary purposes it is sufficient to classify fruits
into fovir classes:
1 Simple fruits, those which result from tlie ripening of a single pistil.
2 Aggregate, those of a cluster of carpels of one flower crowded into
a mass.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 29
3 Accessory fruits, where the principal mass consists of the surround-
ings or support of either a simple or an aggregate fruit.
4 Multiple or collective fruits, formed by the union or compact
aggregation of the pistils of several flowers.
I Simple Fruits
Upon the basis of texture, simple fruits may be designated as dry
fruits, stone fruits and baccate fruits.
Dry fruits which are dehiscent :
Follicle (figure 78), a pod formed by a simple pistil, and deliiscent
along one line (suture, and almost always the inner or ventral suture),
as in the Columbine, Marsh Marigold, Milkweed and Dogbane.
Legume (figure 77), a pod formed
of a simple pistil which is dehiscent
by both sutures, so dividing it into
two pieces or valves. The fruits of
the Bean or Pea family are of this
sort. Some members of this family
(Meibomia), however, have legumes
reduced to indehiscent achenes, joined
together end to end, and to which a
special term " loment " (figure 76) is
applied. ^g yy 78
Capsule (figures 79 and 80), a pod
or dehiscent fruit, of any compound pistil. The modes of regular dehiscence
are mentioned above in the paragraph on dehiscence, and it remains here
to describe two modifications of the capsule, namely, the pyxis, in whicli
the dehiscence is along a circular line, cutting off the upper part as a lid.
examples of which are seen in the common Plantain, Purslane and Hen-
bane, small plants or weeds not illustrated in this work; and the silique,
a narrow, two-valved capsule, with two parietal placentae, from which the
30
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
valves separate in dehiscence, as in the Mustard family, where there is
usually a false partition stretched across between the two placentae.
Dry fruits which are indehiscent:
Samara, an indehiscent, one-seeded fruit
provided with a wing. In the Ash, the wing
is terminal; in the Elm, the wing surrounds the
body of the pericarp; and the Maple fruit is a
double samara or pair of such fruits.
Achene (figures 81-S8), a general term for
all one-seeded, drj' and hard, seedlike fruits.
The Ijcst examples are the fruits of the Butter-
cup, Anemone, Clematis and Avens. The style
sometimes remains on the fruit as a long and
feathery tail (Dandelion, figixre 85), and in others
merely as a short hook (Buttercup, figures 86
and 87). In the Compositae (Sunflower family)
the tube of the calyx is joined with the surface
of the ovary, and its border or upper edge
appears as a crown or cup, or a set of teeth or of
scales, or very often as a tuft of bristles or hairs, called the pappus (figures
82-84,88).
Utricle, a dry achenelike fruit with a thin and bladdery loose pericarp,
like that of the Goosefoot (Chenopodium).
Caryopsis or grain, differs from the achene in having the seed completely
filling the cell and its thin coats firmly consolidated throughout with the
very thin pericarp. This temi is applied to the fruits of the grass family,
including Indian com and all other cereals.
Nut, a hard one-celled and one-seeded, indehiscent fruit which finds
its best examples in the fruit of the Hazel, Beech, Oak, Chestnut etc. The
smaller nutlike fruits of the Eorrage family and of the Mint family are
usually called nutlets.
WILD FLOWERS OF NF:\V YORK
31
Stone fruits:
Drupe (figures 90 and 92), of which the best examples are the fruit of
the Cherry, Plum, Peach etc., are one-seeded or rarely two-seeded, in the
ripening of which the outer portion of the pericarp becomes fleshy or pulpy
and the inner portion becomes much hardened. The term is also commonly
applied to similar fruits of the Hackberry, Cornus, Rhamnus etc. In the
case of the Blackberry (figure 89) and Raspberry, the several pericarps of
the aggregate fruit are called drupelets.
Pome (figure 91), the name of the fruit of the Apple, Pear, Quince etc.,
which are fleshy fruits, composed of two to several carpels, of parchment-
like texture (or hard in the Thorn Apples), inclosed in flesh which has
developed from the inclosing calyx and receptacle. Indeed, the fruit of
the Thorn Apple might well be called a " several-seeded drupe."
Pepo, or Gourd-fruit, a type of frviit typified by the Melon, Squash,
Cucumber, Gourd and other members of that family.
2>2
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Berry [baccate] (figure 93), a simple fruit in which the pericarp is fleshy
throughout and without a hardened inner coat. The fruit of the Grape,
Currant, Gooseberry, Cranberry, Banana and Tomato furnish good
examples.
2 Agorcgiitc Fruits
Aggregate fruits are those in which a cluster of carpels, all belonging to
one flower, are crowded on the receptacle into one mass, as in the Black-
berry (figure 89) taken as a whole. They may be aggregates of any kind
of simple fruits. But when dry and not coherent, the mass would simply
be described as a head or spike of carpels (or achenes, as in Buttercup,
Anemone etc.).
WILD FLOWERS OF NKW YORK 33
3 Accessory Fruits
Accessory fruits are those in which some conspicuous part of the fruit
is derived from some portion not organically connected with the ovary or
pistil. This part might be called a pseudocarp, and this condition may
occur either in simple, in aggregate, or in multiple fruits. The Winter-
green (Gaultheria procumbens) affords a good example (figures 94
and 95), the fleshy part of the fruit being the enlarged calyx. Likewise
the torus, although not conspicuous, may be said to be an accessory part
of the fruit of the Blackberry, being the fleshy or pulpy center of the
fruit. In the Strawberry it is very conspicuous and comprises the sole
edible part of the fruit, the achenes or true fruits being dispersed over the
surface and comparatively insignificant.
4 Multiple or Collective Fruits
Multiple or collective fruits are those which result from the aggregation
of several flowers into one mass. The simplest of these is the fruit of the
Partridge Berry (Mitchella rep ens) and certain Honeysuckles (Loni-
cera) formed of the ovaries of two blossoms united into one fleshy fruit.
More typical examples of this are seen in the Pineapple fruit, the Mulberry
and others.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES
Cat-tail Family
T y p h a c c a v
Broad-leaved Cat-tail
Typlid latifolid Linnarus
Figure I
A marsh or aquatic plant, usually growing in thick colonics from
creeping perennial rootstocks provided with fibrous roots. Stems stout,
round in cross-section, glabrous, 4 to 8 feet high. Leaves numerous,
linear, flat, swordhke, sheathing the stem at the base and rather stiffly
ascending. Flowers monoecious, that is, staminate and pistillate flowers
separate but on the same plant; densely crowded into terminal spikes;
the staminate spikes uppermost and scarcely or but slightly separated
from the dark brown or nearly black pistillate spike, each 3 to 12 inches
long and often an inch or more thick. Perianth of the individual flowers
composed merely of bristles which subtend two to seven stamens (in the
staminate spike), or a small, short-stalked ovary (in the pistillate spikes).
Mingled among the stamens and pistils are bristly hairs, and among the
pistillate flowers many sterile flowers with clavate tips. The fruit consists
of many small nutlets, surmounted by the persistent bristles wliich aid in
wind dissemination of the seeds when the head of fruit breaks up.
Common everywhere in marshes and swamps, and also in Europe and
Asia. Flowering in June and July; fruit ripe in August and September,
frequently persistent until the following spring.
The Narrow-leaved Cat-tail (Typha angustifolia Linnaeus),
is more abundant in marshes along the coast, but is sometimes found inland.
The leaves are narrower than those of the preceding species, being one-
sixth to one-half of an inch wide; spikes lighter brown in color, not so
thick, and the staminate and pistillate spikes separated from one another.
35
36
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Figure I
Broad-leaved Cat-tail
(Typha latifolia Linnaeus)
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 37
Water Plantain Family
A 1 i s m a c e a c
Broad-leaved Arrowhead
Sagittaria lutifolia Willdenow
Plate I
A perennial aquatic herb with thickened base and numerous long,
fibrous roots. Leaves long petioled and extremely variable in form and
size, sometimes wider than long and obtuse, sometimes linear-lanceolate
and acuniinate at the apex; the basal lobes of the leaf blades one-quarter
to one-half as long as the blade. Flowers monoecious or sometimes
dioecious, pediceled and borne near the summits of the scapes in verticels
of three, the staminate usually uppemiost, each verticel subtended by
three bracts. Calyx of three persistent sepals. Stamens numerous;
anthers two-celled, dehiscent by lateral slits. Pistillate flowers with
numerous distinct ovaries and sometimes with imperfect stamens. The
ovaries ripen into a globose or compact head of achenes, each achene
broadly winged on both margins, with a beak about one-third its length
and horizontal or nearly so.
Common in shallow water almost everywhere and offered by dealers
in native plants for colonizing lily ponds and shallow waters. Such situa-
tions are scarcely complete without its presence. Flowering from July to
September.
There are several closely related species such as Sagittaria cuneat a
Sheldon, with a minute beak to the achene, which is erect over the ventral
wing; Sagittaria pubescens Muhlenberg, which is strongly pubescent ;
Sagittaria graminea IMichaux, which has long-petioled, linear, lanceo-
late or elliptical leaf blades, acute at both ends, and much smaller flowers
than S. 1 at i folia, and other less abtmdant species. A nearly related
genus is Ahsma, represented in our range by the very common Alisma
sub cor datum Rafinesque (American Water Plantain), with oblong,
elliptic, oval or ovate leaf blades which are cuneate, truncate or cordate at
38 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
the base, the flowering scapes rather tall, bearing numerous branches and
pedicels in whorls of three to ten, with very small, white flowers. Like
most other members of the Alismaceae, it inhabits shallow water or muddy
places.
Sede;e Family
C y p e race a e
Sheathed Cotton Grass or Hare's Tail Rush
LriophoriDii calUthrix Chamissu
The Cotton Grass may be regarded not so much as a wild flower as
one of the most ornamental of the sedges, since it is not a true grass. It is
an inhabitant of cold, niossy bogs. The stiff culms, forming tussocks,
rise eight to twenty inches above the surface of the bog and each culm bears
at the summit a sohtary spikelet of small, perfect flowers; each flower with
six scalelike divisions, three stamens and a three-cleft style. Within the
scalelike perianth are numerous soft, white bristles, which become greatly
elongated in fruit, at which time the bog where the plant is growing becomes
beautiful with hundreds or thousands of these waving white plumes.
Common in sphagnvim bogs from Newfoundland to Alaska, south to
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Flowering in early spring,
the white plumes being at their best in June or, in the far north, in July.
The Sheathed Cotton Grass is but one of a number of related species
which add much to the beauty of our wet meadows, swamps and bogs in
summer. Perhaps even more abundant in the north is the Thin-leaved
Cotton Grass (Eriophorum v i r i d i c a r i n a t u m (Engelmann)
Fernald) with five to thirty nodding white plumes, and the Virginia Cotton
Grass (Eriophorum virginicum Linnaeus), in which the soft
bristles of the mature plume are of a dingy brown color.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate
BROAD-LEAVED ARROWHEAD
Sagittaria latifoUa
WILD FLOWKKS OF XHW YORK 39
Arum Family
A r a c e a c-
Jack-in-the-pulpit; Indian Turnip
AristiciiKi Iriphylhi))! (Linnaeus) Torrey
Plate 3
A perennial herb, i to 3 feet tall, from a rounded, acrid corm. Leaves
one or two, nearly erect, and exceeding the scape, three-foliate, the seg-
ments or leaflets pale green beneath, ovate, acute, rounded or pointed at
the base, 3 to 8 inches long, i to 3 inches wide, unfolding with the flowers.
Flowers dioecious, bonie on the basal part of the club-shaped spadix, which
is naked, blunt and green or purple above; spathe green and purple-striped,
curving in a broad flap over the top of the spadix, long pointed, sometimes
whitish with green stripes or almost vmiformly greenish. The crowded
ovaries of the pistillate flowers ripen into a cluster of bright-red, shining,
globose berries.
A common plant of moist woods and thickets, flowering from early
spring tmtil June. The fruit ripens in July, and in late summer the leaves
frequently wither and die, leaving the stalks of bright-red berries con-
spicuous objects in the woods.
Two closely related species are sometimes recognized, A r i s a c m a
p u s i 1 1 u m (Peck) Nash, with leaves green beneath, a cylindrical spadix
and spathe deep brown to almost black in color ; A r i s a e m a s t e w-
a r d s o n i i Britton, with a conspicuously fluted spathe which is whitish
below and green or green-striped toward the tip, but otherwise resembling
A. p u s i 1 1 u m.
The Green Dragon or Dragon-root (^A r i s a e m a d r a c o n t i u m
(Linnaeus) Schott) (figure II) has solitary leaves divided into five to seven-
teen segments, and a narrow greenish or whitish, long-pointed spathe
enwrapping the spadix, the vipper part of which tapers into a slender
appendage exserted i to 7 inches beyond the spathe. The mature berries
are reddish-orange in color. This plant is less abundant than the Jack-in-
the-pulpit, and much less conspicuous.
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Figure II
Green Dragon or Dragon-root
(Arisaema dracontium (Linnaeus) Schott)
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 3
jack-ix-the-pulpit; Indian turnip
Arisaema tn'pIiyHiiiii
WILD FLOWERS OK NI':W YORK 4I
Wild Calla ; Water Arum
Calla pdliixtris Linnaeus
PInte 4
A perennial herb of swamps and bogs with long, acrid rootstocks,
covered with sheathing scales and with fibrous roots at the nodes, from
which arise numerous petioled leaves with thick, entire, glossy green,
broadly ovate or suborbicular leaf blades 2 to 5 inches wide, cuspidate or
pointed at the apex and deeply cordate at the base. Flowering scapes
about as long as the petioles, sheathed at the base, bearing at the summit
an ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, acvuninate, open spathe, white within and
greenish without, sometimes with a second spathe nearly opposite the
first and smaller in size, or rarely the two of equal size. Spadix cylindric,
much shorter than the spathe, densely covered with perfect flowers, or
the uppermost flowers staminate. The individual flowers on the spadix
possess usually six stamens and no perianth. Ovaries ripening into a large
head of red berries.
Frequent in swamps and bogs, especially northward. Rare in the
southern part of the State. Flowering from late May to early July, the
fruit ripening from June to August.
Skunk Cabbage
Spathyema Joetida (Linnaeus) Rafinesque
Plate 5
A fetid herb, and the first plant to flower in the spring. The leaves
are large, ovate, cordate, numerous in dense crowns, becoming in svunmer
I to 3 feet long and i foot wide, but at flowering time scarcely beginning
to unfold. Rootstock thick, descending, terminating in whorls of fleshy
fibers. Spathe preceding the leaves, erect, 3 to 6 inches high, i to 3 inches
in diameter, convolute, firm and fleshy, often one-fourth to one-half of an
inch thick in the middle, pointed, completely inclosing the spadix, brown
to greenish yellow, usually mottled, its short scape usually below the surface.
42 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Spadix about i inch in diameter, entirely covered by the perfect flowers,
greatly enlarged and sometimes 6 inches in diameter in fruit. The perianth
of each flower consists of four hooded sepals.
A common plant of low, wet woods, meadows and swamps. When
the spathes first appear, they possess little of the rank odor which
characterizes them when older and which renders them objects of
opprobrium. They appear almost before the last snowdrifts have dis-
appeared and indicate the first awakening of plant life in spring.
The Arum family (Araceae), to which belong the Jack-in-the-pulpit,
the Wild Calla, and the Skunk Cabbage, also contains several other
native plants usually found in wet or damp places. The Green Water
Arum (P e 1 t a n d r a vi r gi n i c a (Linnaeus) Kunth) with bright-green,
hastate-sagittate leaves, often i to 2 feet long and 3 to 8 inches wide,
possesses an inconspicuous green spathe, 4 to 8 inches long, with a strongly
involute undulate margin. The Golden Club (O r o n t i u m a q u a t i c u m
Linnaeus), found only in a few localities in the southern part of the State,
possesses a cylindric, golden yellow spadix, from which the spathe falls
at flowering time.
The Sweet Flag, Calamus or Flagroot (A c o r u s calamus Lin-
naeus) (figure III) belonging also to this family is a common plant of wet
meadows, with long, linear, flaglike leaves and the spathe a leaflike exten-
sion of the scape, the spadix spikelike, 2 to 3 inches long and about
one-half of an inch in diameter, compactly covered with minute greenish
yellow flowers.
Yellow-eyed Grass ramily
X y r i d a c e a e
Carolina Yellow-eyed Grass
Xyn's caroJ'uiiiuia Walter
Plate i\,
A small, tufted, grasslike plant of wet meadows and bogs, with
numerous fibrous roots and flat, linear, grasslike leaves 4 to 15 inches long.
Flowering scapes as long or usually much longer than the leaves. Some-
times over a foot tall, bearing at the summit a dense, ovoid, obtuse spike
r
WILD FLOWERS OF MCW YORK
Sweet Flag, Calamus or Flagroot
(A c o r u s calamus Linnaeus)
44 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
of coriaceous, overlapping bracts or scales. Flowers bright yellovv^, about
one-fourth of an inch broad, on short, slender peduncles; each flower con-
sisting of three oblong divisions to the corolla, three stamens inserted on
the corolla and a three-branched style. Flowers appearing from the axils
of the bracts comprising the spike.
In swamps, bogs and borders of streams from IMaine to Florida and
Louisiana, mostly near the coast. Flowering from June to August; in
New York usually flowering in July.
Several closely related species are recognized by botanists. X y r i s
f 1 e X u o s a Muhlenberg, of about the same range, has the scapes bulbous-
thickened at the base. Xyris m on tana H. Ries, in bogs from Nova
Scotia to Michigan and Pennsylvania, is frequent in the mountainous
parts of New York, and resembles very closely the Carolina Yellow-eyed
Grass.
Pipewort Family
E r i o c a u 1 a c e a c
Seven-angled Pipewort
Eriocaiilo}! septan giihirc Withering
Plate Oa
A small, tufted plant with pellucid, fenestrate-nerved leaves arising
from the crown, i to 3 inches long. Flowering scapes weak, twisted,
usually about seven-angled, i to S inches tall, or when submersed, both
the leaves and the scapes considerably elongated, bearing at the summit
a small subglobose head of woolly white flowers, interspersed with numerous
bracts; most of the flowers staminate and about one-eighth of an inch
long, the few pistillate flowers scarcely more than half as large.
In still water and on shores of ponds, lakes and streams, usually where
it is sandy, from Newfoundland to Minnesota, Florida and Texas. Usually
in flower in this State in July and August. In the south are numerous
other species of this and related genera.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
45
Spiderwort Family
C o m ni e 1 i n a c e a e
Asiatic Dayflower
CommcUna communis Linnaeus
Plat... 6h
A glabrous plant with decumbent or ascending branching stems, often
rooting at the nodes, i to 3 feet long with numerous oblong-lanceolate
leaves 3 to 5 inches long and i to i| inches wide, acuminate at the tips
and narrowed or rounded at the base, smooth and dark green, the stem
with white-membranous, green-veined sheaths below each leaf. Flowers
toward the ends of the branches or stems, each subtended by green leafiike
spathes about i inch long, deep blue, one-half of an inch broad or broader,
irregular, consisting of three sepals and three petals, two of them much
larger than the third; three fertile stamens, one of them incurved and
its anther larger than the others. In addition there are three sterile stamens.
Fruit a small, two-celled capsule, each cell with two seeds; seeds compressed,
dark brown and roughened.
A native of Asia, commonly naturalized or adventive in southern New
York and southward, and occasionally appearing farther north. Sometimes
called " Wandering Jew."
Spider Lily; Spiderwort
Tradesccuitia virginicnia Linnaeus
Plntc 7
A tall, smooth or slightly pubescent plant, belonging to the same
family as the Dayflower, often i to 3 feet tall, with long, linear or linear-
lanceolate, long-pointed leaves, often a foot long and one-half to i inch
wide, usually more or less channeled along the middle. Flowers in terminal
umbels or clusters on slender pedicels, one-half to 2 inches long; blue or
purplish, rarely white, i to 2 inches broad with three small sepals, three
large, obovate, similar petals, and six equal and fertile stamens.
46 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In rich soil, mostly in woods and thickets, from southern New York,
Ohio and South Dakota, south to Virginia and Arkansas. A common
plant in cultivation farther north where it is a frequent escape to roadsides
and fence rows. Although of great beauty, the flowers arc of brief dviration,
and the delicate petals soon wither, the flowers being followed by others
until all the numerous buds of each cluster have bloomed. With us it
usually flowers in June and July or sometimes as late as August, especially
since not all the stems appear to reach maturity at the same time.
Pickerel Weed Family
P o n t e d e r i a c e a e
Pickerel Weed
Poiitcdcria cordata Linnaeus
Plate 8
A perennial aquatic herb, rising from a thick, horizontal rootstock,
with thick, glossy, dark-green, ovate to lanceolate leaves, cordate-sagittate,
truncate or narrowed at the base, 2 to 10 inches long, i to 6 inches wide,
the apex and basal lobes obtuse. Flowering stems erect, i to 4 feet tall,
glandular-pubescent above, one-leaved, with several sheathing, bractlike
leaves at the base. Flowers blue, ephemeral, numerous, in a dense head
or spike (spadix) subtended by a thin bractlike spathe. Each flower is
tubular, about one-fourth of an inch long, curved, two-lipped, the upper
lip composed of three ovate lobes, of which the middle one is the longest,
and with two yellow spots at the base within, the lower lip of three linear-
oblong spreading lobes. Stamens six, the filaments, anthers and style
bright blue. After flowering, the lobes and upper part of the perianth tube
wither above, while the persistent base hardens around the fruit.
Frequent along the borders of ponds and streams and shallow margins
of lakes, where it flowers from June to September, usually at its best in
August. One of the most attractive of our native aquatic plants.
The Pickerel Weed belongs to the Pontederiaceae, represented in
our flora bv Ijut one other genus, the Mud Plantains (Heteranthera), with
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK \^
two species of small, inconspicuous herbs of sliallow water or wet muddy
shores.
Bunchflo-wer Family
Mel a n t h a c e a e
Glutinous Triantha or False Asphodel
Triaiilliii i^liitiiiosd (Michaux) Baker
PlatPQl,
A perennial, herbaceous plant, somewhat bulbous at the base; stems
6 to 20 inches high, viscid pubescent with black glands, bearing a few leaves
near the base; most of the leaves basal and tufted, linear and grasslike,
2 to 7 inches long. Flowers numerous in an oblong raceme at apex of the
stem, subtended by minute involucral bracts, each flower about one-fourth
of an inch broad, the perianth white, divided into six nearly equal oblong
segments; stamens six, with pink or reddish anthers; fruit a small oblong
capsule, the tiny seeds with a curved appendage at each end.
An inhabitant of sphagnum or marly bogs from Newfoundland to
Minnesota, Michigan and the soiithern Alleghanies. By no means a
common plant, and one which the wild flower connoisseur always likes to
locate, and which repays by its rarity rather than its beauty the inevitable
journey to the boggy place where it grows.
Glaucous Anticlea
Aiiticlcd chlorantha (Richardson) Rydbcrg
piati- 9:1
A slender, herbaceous, perennial plant from a membranous coated,
ovoid bulb which is about an inch long. Stems slender, 6 inches to 3 feet
tall; leaves linear, one-eighth to seven-eighths of an inch wide, keeled, the
lower ones 4 to 12 inches long, the upper ones much shorter. Inflor-
escence a simple, open raceme or large, loose panicle, 4 to 12 inches long,
with slender, ascending branches. Flowers perfect, greenish or yellowisli,
about three-fourths of an inch broad; perianth segments oval or obovate,
obtuse, bearing a large obcordate gland just above the short claw, the
48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
perianth persistent and adnate to the lower part of the ovary after withering.
Fruit an oblong, three-celled capsule, about i inch long.
An inhabitant of marshes, bogs and moist places, New Bnmswick to
Vermont, New York, Manitoba and Missouri. Flowering in August.
Not so rare as the Glutinous Triantha, Ijut usually growing in similar
locations.
Bunchflower
Melaiitliiiiiii virgiiiiciim Linnaeus
Plate 10
A rather tall, leafy, herbaceous plant, perennial by a thick rootstock;
stems slender to somewhat stout, 2 to 5 feet high. Leaves linear, acumi-
nate, often a foot long, but only one-third to i inch wide, the lower ones
sheathing the stem, the upper ones smaller and sessile. Inflorescence a
many-flowered panicle, 6 to iS inches long, pubescent; flowers about three-
fourths of an inch broad, greenish yellow, turning brown with age; perianth
of six spreading, separate, persistent segments, each segment consisting of
an oblong, obtuse, flat blade, sometimes obcordate, about twice as long as
the claw, and bearing two dark glands at its base; stamens shorter than
the segments and adnate to them; fruit a three-lobed capsule, about two-
thirds of an inch long.
In meadows, wet woods and marshes, Rhode Island to southern New
York and Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas. Flowering in July
and August.
The Bunchflower is not a common plant in New York, and is found
only in a few localities in the southern part of the State. Two closely
related species are equally uncommon and also restricted to the soutliern
part of the State. These are: (i) the Crisped or Broad-leaved Biuich-
flower ( M e 1 a n t h i u m 1 a t i f o 1 i u m Desvaux) , with broader leaves
and the blade of the perianth segments undulate, crisped and scarcely
longer than the claw; (2) the Pine-barren Oceanorus (O c e a n o r u s
leimanthoidcs (A. Gray) SmaU), with linear, blunt leaves, the outer
ones becoming fibrous, and small whitish flowers with oblong perianth
segments, which are sessile.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
A/Temoir 1j> N. Y. State Museum
A. GLAUCOUS ANTICLEA
Ant idea chlorautha
GLUTINOUS TRL\NTHA; FALSE ASPHODEL
Triaiitha oJutiuosa
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
BUNCHFLOWER
Mclauthium virginicuin
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 49
American White Hellebore; Indian Poke
Veratnim viride Linnaeus
Plate It
A tall, leafy, perennial herb; stem simple and branched only in the
inflorescence, stout, 2 to 8 feet tall, from a poisonous, perennial, erect root-
stock 2 to 4 inches long and i to 2 inches thick with numerous fleshy-fibrous
roots. Leaves alternate, clasping, strongly veined and plaited, all pointed
at the apex; the lower leaves broadly oval or elliptic, 5 to 12 inches long,
3 to 6 inches wide; the vipper ones successively naiTOwer and shorter, those
of the inflorescence very small; stem and inflorescence pubescent. Flowers
greenish or greenish yellow, two-thirds to i inch broad arranged in a many-
flowered panicle at the summit of the stem, the panicle often 8 to 20 inches
long, its lower branches spreading or drooping. Segments of the perianth
six, without glands or claws, oblong or oblanceolate, ciliate-serrulate, twice
as long as the curved, yellow stamens which are six in number and opposite
the perianth segments. Fruit a three-lobed, three-celled, many-seeded
capsule, three-fourths to i inch long and one-third to one-half of an
inch thick.
In swamps and wet woods. New Brmiswick, Quebec and Ontario to
Minnesota, south to Georgia and Tennessee. Flowering in May and June,
or July in the far north.
Liily Family
L i 1 i a c e a e
Day Lily
IIcDicrocallis j'ldva Linnaeus
Plate 12
A tall, glabrous herb with fibrous roots, usually growing in dense
clusters. Leaves niostly basal, linear, erect or spreading, i to 2 feet long
and one-half to two-thirds of an inch wide, channeled and tapering to
an acute tip. Flowering scapes leafless, 2 to 5 feet tall, bearing a few
short bracts above, and six to fifteen flowers on short pedicels. Perianth
50 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
funnelfomi, tawny-orange, 4 to 5 inches long, opening for a day, its lobes
oblong, somewhat spreading, netted-veined, the three outer nearly flat
and more acute; the three inner ones undulate on their margins and blunt.
Stamens six, inserted at the top of the perianth tube, shorter than the
lobes of the perianth and declined. Fruit an oblong, thick-walled, three-
angled, wrinkled capsule.
Native of Europe and Asia. Frequent in cultivation in this country
and commonly escaped to meadows, along streams and roadsides or
persistent in old yards and cemeteries. A flower of early introduction
into the eastern states where it has made itself quite at home as an
escape, and thrives and spreads with amazing rapidity under favorable
conditions.
The Yellow Day Lily (Hemerocallis flava Linnaevis), with
yellow flowers, their lobes parallel- veined, is occasionally found near old
gardens and on roadsides, but not so frequently as the tawny-orange flowered
Day Lily.
Red Lily; Wood Lily; Philadelphia Lily
LiliiDii pliiladclpliicini! Linnaeus
Plate 13
Stems I to 3 feet tall from a bulb about i inch in diameter and com-
posed of numerous narrow, jointed, fleshy scales. Leaves lanceolate,
acute at both ends, or the lower leaves sometimes obtuse, in whorls of
three to eight on the stent, or a few of the upper leaves alternate, thin, with
finely roughened margins. Flowers one to five at summit of stem, erect,
3 to 4 inches high; perianth reddish orange, its six equal segments spatulate,
somewhat spreading, pointed or obtuse, one-half to i inch wide, gradually
narrowed below, spotted with purple toward the base; stamens six, about
as long as the club-shaped style. Capsule oblong-ovoid, i to 2 inches
long.
In rather dry woods and thickets, more often in sandy regions than
elsewhere, j\Iaine and Ontario to North Carolina and West Virginia.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
AMERICAN WHITE HELLEBORE; INDIAN POKE
Veratrum viride
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 13
RED, WOOD OR PHILADELPHIA LILY
L Hill III pli ilddclpili icii iii
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 5I
Wild Yellow Lily; Canada or Nodding Lily
Lilium caiiadeiisc Linnaeus
Stems 2 to 5 feet tall, from a stout rootstock bearing several subgl obese,
scaly, white bulbs. Leaves in whorls of four to ten or some of them alter-
nate, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acvmiinate, 2 to 6 inches long, one-
fourth to i^ inches wide, finely roughened on the margins and on the
veins beneath. Flowers one to sixteen, nodding on long peduncles at the
top of the stem; perianth segments 2 to 3 inches long, yellow or red, usually
thickly spotted, recurved or spreading; fruit an oblong, erect capsule i to 2
inches long.
Common in swamps, moist meadows, and fields, Nova Scotia to
Minnesota, Georgia, Alabama and Nebraska. Flowering in July and
August. A common and most attractive wild flower of the east, more
abundant than the Turk's-cap Lily (Lilium s u p e r b u m Linnaeus),
which has similar btit usually larger flowers, usually orange-red and purple-
spotted, more strongly recurv^ed flower segments and leaves smooth and
not roughened on the margins or veins as in L. c a n a d e n s e.
Yellow Adder's-tongue ; Dog's-tooth Violet
ErytlircDiiiiiJ! aijicri('a)nt)i! Ker
Plate isa
A low, herbaceous plant arising from a deeply buried comi which
propagates by offshoots; the simple stem 6 to 12 inches long, bearing a pair
of equal or somewhat unequal, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, flat leaves,
dark glossy green, usually mottled with brown, sometimes green all over,
narrowed into clasping petioles; the flower stem arising from between
the leaves, bearing a single nodding flower; perianth yellow or rarely
purplish-tinged, the segments oblong, seven-eighths to 2 inches long, about
one-fourth of an inch wide or less, recurved, dotted within, the three inner
ones auricled at the base; style club-shaped; capsule obovoid.
52 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUiVI
In moist woods and thickets, Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota
south to Florida and Arkansas. Flowering in April and May.
One of the commonest and best known of our spring flowers, coming
in company with the Hepatica, Spring Beauty, and Squirrel Corn, but
usually in its prime a little later than these. The white Dog's-tooth Violet
(E r y t h r o n i u m a 1 b i d u m Nuttall), with leaves less or not at all
spotted and pinkish white flowers, is very rare.
Ague or Colicroot; Star Grass
Ahiris fdi-iiiosa Linnaeus
Leaves mostly basal, lanceolate and spreading, fomiing a dense cluster,
lanceolate, long pointed, nan-owed at the base, pale yellowish green, 2 to
7 inches long, one-fourth to i inch wide. Roots numerous, tough and
verv bitter. Stem or scape i to 3 feet tall, bearing a few distant bractlikc
leaves. The temiinal raceme of flowers 4 to 12 inches long; flowers erect
on short pedicels subtended l^y small bracts; perianth tubular-oblong, six-
lobed. white or the short lol;)es yellowish, about one-fourth to one-third
of an inch long and less than half as thick, mcaly-roughencd without;
capsules ovoid, about one-sixth of an incli long, inclosed by the withering-
persistent perianth .
In (lr\-, n-i(istl_\- sandy soil, Maine to Ontario and Minnesota, south to
Florida and Arkansas. Flowering in June and July. In New York rarely
seen except in the sandy regions adjacent to the coast. Extremely abun-
dant on sterile sandy fields like the Hempstead plains of Long Island, where
it is very conspicuous in early summer. It possesses a number of
vernacular names, such as Ague Grass, Blazing Star, Bitter Grass, Crow
Corn, Mealv Starwort, Aloeroot, Starroot, Huskroot, and others.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 14
WILD YELLOW LILY; CANADA OR NODDING LILY
Liliiiiu CLDiudoise
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 15
A. YELLOW ADDER S-TONCxUE ; DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET
Ervthronium aiiicricanum
B. CLIMBING FALSE BUCKWHEAT
Bylderdykia scandens
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 16
AGUE OR COLICROOT; STAR GRASS
Alctris farinosn
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 53
liily of the Valley Family
Convallariaceae
Yellow Clintonia; Dogberry
Cliiitoiiici borealis (Aiton) Rafinesque
Flowering scape or stem 6 to 15 inches high, with two to five (usually
three), oval, oblong or ob ovate, thin, glossy green leaves at the base, their
petioles sheathing the base of the stem which arises from a slender root-
stock. Leaves ciliate, 5 to 8 inches long, and i^ to 3I inches wide. Flowers
three to six, forming an umbel at the top of the stem, sometimes a secondary
cluster of flowers below the top, drooping, greenish yellow, three-fourths
to I inch long, on pedicels about as long as the flowers; perianth segments
distinct, six in number, equal and somewhat spreading, the six stamens
about as long as the perianth. Fruit an oval, dark blue, shining berry
about one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
In moist woods and thickets, Newfottndland to Manitoba, south to
North Carolina and Wisconsin. Very common in the rich, moist wood-
lands of northern New York, but rare or absent from the coastal region.
Flowering from the latter part of May imtil the last of June. The fruit
ripe in September.
The White Clintonia (Clintonia umbellulata (Michaux)
Torrey), with smaller white flowers, not drooping, and black berries, leaves
and scapes more pubescent but otherwise similar, which is common in the
southern Appalachians, reaches New York in the southwestern counties
of the State.
Wild or False Spikenard; False Solomon's-seal
Vaguera raccmosa (Linnaeus) Morong
Plate 18
Stem slender or stout, erect or ascending, sometimes zigzag, i to 3 feet
tall, simple, bearing numerous alternate, sessile or nearly sessile oblong-
lanceolate or oval, acuminate leaves, 3 to 6 inches long, i to 3 inches wide,
54 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
which are finely pubescent, especially beneath, and sometimes also above,
their margins minutely ciliate. Rootstock rather thick and fleshy with
numerous long, fibrous roots, the scars of former stems irregular and ring-
like. Flowers white; many, forming a large terminal panicle, i to 4 inches
long; each flower about 2 lines broad; perianth of six oblong, equal, separate,
spreading segments. Fruit a red, aromatic berry about 3 lines in diameter
and speckled with purple. In Bergen swamp occurs a variety with three
to six purple stripes like the fruit of V. s t e 1 1 a t a.
In moist woods and thickets. Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south
to Georgia, Missouri and Arizona.
The Star-flowered Solomon's- seal (Vagnera stellata (Linnaeus)
Morong) is scarcely less abundant, but seems to |)refer thickets and banks
with more moisture. The leaves are smaller and narrower, the flowers
fewer in number, larger, white, and racemed; the ben-ies green with six
black stripes, or entirely black.
Three-leaved Solomon's-seal
Vaiiiicrd trifflUa (Linnaeus) Morong
Plat.-- 3;a
Stem and leaves glabrous from a slender, elongated rootstock, the erect
stem 2 to 15 inches high with two to four (usually three) oval, oblong or
oljlong-lanceolate, sessile leaves 2 to 5 inches long, one-half to 2 inches
wide with sheathing bases. Flowers white, few, racemed at the top of the
stem; perianth segments oblong or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, finally some-
what reflexed and longer than the stamens. Fruit a dark-red berry about
one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
In bogs and wet woods, Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to
Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Usually abundant
in sphagnum under or near spruces and tamaracks, and therefore rare otit-
side the mountainous sections of the State except on the margins of bogs
and mossy swamps where the spruce and tamarack abound, as, for instance,
Cicero swamp in Onondaga county, and Bergen swamp in Genesee county, as
well as numerous other swamps of similar character throughout the State.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 17
YELLOW TLINTONLA.; nOGBERRY
dill ton id boreal is
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 18
WILD OR FALSE SPIKKNARD; FALSE SOLOMONS-SEAL
]^(iS.i!cra racciiipsa
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 55
False or Wild Lily of the Valley
Two-leaved Solomon's-seal
Unifolinm canadcnsc (Desfontaines) Greene
Plat- 19
A low, herbaceous perennial with slender rootstock, and slender,
erect and often zigzag stem, 2 to 7 inches high, bearing one to three (usually
two) ovate or ovate-lanceolate, pointed leaves, cordate at the base and
sessile or short-petioled ; stemless plants frequent and consisting of a
single leaf on a petiole i to 4 inches long arising from the rootstock. Flowers
white, numerous, forming a rather dense terminal raceme, i to 2 inches
long; perianth about one-fifth of an inch broad with four spreading,
separate segments, which slightly exceed the four stamens in length ; fruit
a cluster of pale-red, speckled berries, each with one or two seeds.
In moist woods and thickets, Newfoundland to the Northwest Territory
of Canada, south to the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa
and South Dakota. Flowering in May and June.
A common wild flower of most parts of New York, especially in the
moist cool forests of the northern and mountainous sections.
Sessile-leaved Bellwort
Uviilaria sessilifolia Linnaeus
Plate 20a
Stems slender, glabrous, 4 to 12 inches high, naked or with one or
two leaves below the fork. Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, i to 3
inches long when they mature, thin, sessile, acute at each end, slightly
rough-margined, pale or glaucous beneath; flowers greenish yellow, two-
thirds to i\ inches long; the six perianth segments smooth, the stamens
shorter than the styles; anthers blunt; fruit a sharply three-angled capsule,
narrowed at both ends, about i inch long and two-thirds as thick.
In moist woods and thickets, usually most abundant where the soil
is sandy, New Brimswick and Ontario to Minnesota, south to Georgia
56 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
and Arkansas. Except in the coastal region and other sections of the
State with sandy soil, this small-flowered bellwort is not so abundant
as U. g r a n d i f 1 o r a and U. p e r f o 1 i a t a.
Large-flowered Bellwort
Uvula rill gnnidiflora J. E. Smith
Plate 20b
An erect herb with smooth, leafy, forked stem from a perennial root-
stock ; stem with one or two leaves below the fork, 6 to 20 inches high.
Leaves perfoliate, oblong, oval or ovate, pubescent beneath, glabrous above,
becoming 2 to 5 inches long, acute at the apex, rather smaller and often
scarcely unfolded at flowering time; flowers solitary at the ends of the
branches, peduncled, drooping, narrowly bell-shaped, lemon-yellow, i to i^
inches long, perianth segments six, distinct, smooth on both sides or very
slightly granular within; stamens six, longer than the styles which are
united to about the middle; anthers linear, the connective blunt; fruit a
three-angled, truncate capsule, about one-half of an inch long.
In rich upland woods, Quebec to Ontario, Minnesota, Georgia and
Kansas. Flowering in April and May. A common flower of most sections,
especially in rich woodlands. In the Ontario lowlands and Hudson valley
it is largely replaced by the Perfoliate Bellwort ( U v u 1 a r i a p e r-
f o 1 i a t a Linnaeus), which differs chiefly in having smooth and glaucous
foliage, and slightly smaller flowers with the perianth segments papillose
within.
Sessile-leaved Twisted-stalk
Streptopus roseiis Michaux
Figure IV
Stems I to 3 feet high from a short, stout rootstock covered with fibrous
roots. Branches usually three or four in number and obliquely ascending,
all leafy and sparingly pubescent. Leaves alternate, thin, many-nerved,
ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 2 to 4^ inches long, long pointed at the apex,
sessile, rounded or slightly clasping the stem at the base, green on both
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 57
sides, but usually paler beneath, their niar.^ins finely ciliate. IHrnvers
purple or rose colored, about one-third of an inch lonj,s slender-
pcduncled, soHtary or two together from the axil of each of the upper leaves
on slender peduncles, one-half to i inch long, the peduncle bent or twisted
at about the middle; perianth bell-shaped, its six segments lanceolate and
pointed, their tips somewhat recurved or spreading. Stamens six, shorter
than the perianth. Fruit a globose, red berry about one-third of an inch
or less in diameter.
In moist woods, Newfoundland to Manitoba, Georgia and Michigan.
Flowering in May and June.
The Clasping-leaved Twisted-stalk fStreptopus ample xi-
f o 1 i v; s (Linnaeus) De Candolle) is similar but the leaves are clasping
around the stem at their bases, glaucous or whitish beneath and the flowers
are greenish white in color.
The Hairy Disporum (Disporum lanuginosum (Michaux)
Nichols.) resembles the Twisted-stalks in manner of growth, but the leaves
are somewhat narrower and not clasping and the flowers are solitarv or
few together at the ends of the branches, one-half to three-fourths of an
inch long and greenish in color. It is found in woods in western New York.
Hairy Solomon's-seal
Polygonatum bifloriim (Walter) Elliott
Plate 21
Stems slender, smooth, arching, often zigzag above from a thick,
horizontal, jointed rootstock, bearing the raised orbicular scars of the stems
of former years; stem naked below, above bearing six to many opposite
or nearly opposite, oval or ovate leaves, 2 to 4 inches long, one-half to 2
inches wide, acute or acuniinate at the apex, narrowed or obtuse at the
base, pale or pubescent beneath, glabrous above, the upper leaves commonly
narrower than the lower; flowers in drooping, axillary clusters of one to
four (often two), perianth greenish or greenish yellow, tubular, one-third
to one-half of an inch long, with six short lobes; the six stamens shorter
than the tvibc, their anthers sagittate and filaments minutely roughened.
Fruit a dark blue, pulpy berry about one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Figure IV
Sessile-leaved Twisted-stalk
(S t r e p t o p u s r o s e u s Michaux)
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 21
AIRY SOLOMON'S-SEAL
PolygoiiatiDu bifloruni
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 59
A common but not sliowy plant of woods and thickets from
New Brimswick to Ontario and Alicl-iigan, south to Florida and
Tennessee.
Resembling this but usually larger in every way, with glabrous
leaves and smooth filaments, is the Smooth or Giant Solomon 's-seal
(Polygonatum commutatum (Roemer & Schultes) Dietrich),
which ranges northeastward only to Rhode Island, New Hampshire and
Ontario. It seems to prefer moist thickets and woods along streams and
on bottomlands, while the Hairy Solomon's-seal is more commonly met
with in rich upland woods.
Wake-robin Family
Trilliaceae
Indian Cucumber Root
Mcdcola virgiiiicuiu Linnaeus
Plate 2J
A slender, erect, unbranched herb from a perennial rootstock i to 3
inches long; stem i to 2^ feet high, loosely covered with deciduous wool,
bearing the lower whorl of leaves above the middle or, in flowerless plants,
at the summit; leaves of the lower whorl sessile, 2 to 5 inches long, i to 2
inches wide; acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, three to five-
nerved; leaves of the upper whorl i to 2 inches long, one-half to i inch
wide, short petioled or sessile, often turning reddish at the base; umbel
of two to nine flowers on filiform pedicels, i inch long or less, declined in
flower, erect or ascending in fruit; perianth segments one-fourth to one-
half of an inch long, obtuse, the six equal segments recurved, the three
long styles recurved. Fruit a dark blue or purplish berry one-fourth
to one-half of an inch in diameter.
In moist woods and thickets. Nova Scotia to Ontario, Minnesota,
Florida and Tennessee. Flowering in May and June. Fruit ripe in
September.
6o NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
The thick, tuberUke, white rootstock is brittle with nvimerous slender
fibrous roots and has the odor and taste of cucumbers.
Red Trillium; Wake-robin or Birthroot
Trillium erectum Linnaeus
Plate 23a
Stem rather stout, S to 16 inches high, from a thick, short rootstock.
Leaves rather dark green, ver>^ broadly rhombic, 3 to 7 inches long, often
as wide or wider, sessile or nearly so, acuminate at the apex, naiTowed
at the base, peduncle i to 4 inches long, erect or nearly so, bearing a single,
unpleasantly scented, large flower; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, spreading,
one-half to i| inches long; petals lanceolate to ovate, acute, spreading,
equalling the sepals or a little longer, dark purplish-red, varying to pink;
greenish, white, or reddish yellow in certain aberrant forms; anthers longer
than the filaments and exceeding the stigmas; ovary purple with short-
spreading or recurved styles; fruit an ovoid, somewhat six-lobed, reddish
berry, i inch thick or less.
In woods and thickets. Nova Scotia to Ontario, south to North
Carolina and Tennessee.
White Trillium; Large-flowered Wake-robin
Trill ill II! graiidifloriim (Michaux) SaUsbury
Plate 2iO
A glabrous, erect, unbranchcd herb from a stout, perennial, short,
scarred rootstock, 8 to iS inches high; bearing at the top of the stem three
light-green, broadly rhombic-ovate or rhombic-oval leaves, 2 to 6 inches
long, acuminate at the apex, narrowed and sessile at the base, peduncle
erect or nearly so, i to 3 inches long, bearing a single flower 2 to 3 inches
broad. The three sepals lanceolate, pointed and spreading. Petals three,
erect-spreading, oblanceolate, obovate, or rarely ovate-oblong, obtuse or
cuspidate, thin, strongly veined, white, usually turning pink with age,
much longer than the sepals. Stamens six, with yellow anthers which are
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 22
INDIAN CUCUMBER ROOT
liledeola virgin iana
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 23
A. RED TRILLIUM; WAKE-ROHIN OR RIRTHROOT
B. WHITE TRILLIUM; LARGE-FLOWERKI) WAKE-ROBIN
Trillium grandiflorioii
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 6l
about one-half of an inch long; the three styles slender and ascending.
Fruit a globose, black, slightly six-lobed berry, three-fourths to i inch in
diameter.
In rich woods, pi-eferring ravines and wooded upland slopes, Quebec
to Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Missouri.
Various monstrous fornis sometimes occur with two to several long-
petioled leaves, dovible flowers, and even forms with green, variegated or
leaflike petals.
Painted Wake-robin
Trillium iindiilatum Willdenow
Plate _'4:i
Stem slender, 8 to 20 inches high, bearing three ovate, petioled, bluish
green, waxy leaves, 3 to 8 inches long, 2 to 5 inches wide, long-acuminate
at the apex, obtuse or rounded at the base. Flowers on erect or somewhat
inclined pedtmcles, i to 2\ inches long; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, three-
fourths to I J inches long, spreading; petals ovate or ovate-lanceolate,
acuminate or acute, white and marked with magenta veins at the base,
thin, and longer than the sepals, widely spreading, wavy -margined ; the
ovoid ovary with three slender spreading styles, ripening into an ovoid,
obtuse, bluntly three-angled bright red shining berry.
Common in woods, especially low, moist or cool, sandy woodlands.
Nova Scotia to Ontario and Wisconsin, south to Georgia and Missouri.
Flowers in May and usually a few days later than the white or red trilliums.
Nodding Wake-robin
Trillium ceniiiiiiii Linnaeus
Plate .Mb
Stems rather slender, 8 to 20 inches high; leaves pale green, broadly
rhombic, acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, sessile or with very
short petioles, peduncle one-half to i| inches long, recurved beneath the
leaves and bearing a single drooping flower about i to ij inches broad,
sepals lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, petals white or pinkish,
62 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, rolled backward, wavy -margined,
two-thirds to i inch long, as long or longer than the sepals; anthers about
as long as the subulate filaments and overtopping the stout, recurved styles,
ovary whitish, ripening into an ovoid reddish-purple berry.
In rich, usually low woodlands Newfoundland to Ontario and
Manitolja, south to Georgia and Missouri. Flowering in May or in the
extreme northern part of its range in June, usually about ten days later
than the white or red trilliums.
Amaryllis Family
Amaryllidaceae
Yellow Star Grass
Hypoxis hirsiita (Linnaeus) Coville
Plate .'5
A low, perennial herb with the leaves all basal, narrowly linear, one-
eighth to one-fourth of an inch wide, more or less villous and mostly
longer than the flowering stems, from an ovoid or globose corm, one-fourth
to one-half of an inch in diameter; flowering stems erect, slender, villous
above, usually glabrous below, 2 to 6 inches high, bearing at the summit
an umbel of one to seven flowers; perianth six-parted, its segments narrowly
oblong, spreading, equal or nearly so, obtuse, bright yellow within, greenish
and villous without, one-fourth to one-half of an inch long; stamens some-
what unequal; the style rather shorter than the stamens and three-angled,
the stigma decurrent on the angles; capsules in fruit about one-eighth
of an inch in diameter, the black seeds angled.
In dry, especially sandy soil, in fields, thickets and open woods, Maine
to Ontario, Assiniboia, Kansas, Florida and Texas. Flowering in May
and June, but frequently putting up additional flowering scapes as late
as August and September.
5 I
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 25
YELLOW STAR GRASS
Ilypoxis hirsuta
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 63
Iris Family
Iridaceae
Larger Blue Flag
Iris versicolor Linnaeus
Plate 26
Stems round and smooth, erect, sometimes flexuous, 2 to 3 feet tall,
often branched above, leafy; leaves erect, shorter than and chiefly upon
the lower part of the stem, somewhat glaucous, one-half to i\ inches
wide; rootstock horizontal, thick, fleshy, covered with the fibrous roots.
Flowers several, the perianth consisting of six, clawed segments united
below into a tube, the three outer ones dilated, reflexed, violet-blue, varie-
gated with yellow, green and white; crestless, spatulate, 2 to 3 inches long,
and wider and longer than the three inner segments; the ovary below the
perianth tube, in fruit becoming an oblong, obscurely three-lobed capsule,
I to i^ inches long; divisions of the style petallike, arching over the
stamens, bearing the stigmas immediately under their two-lobed tips.
In marshes, thickets and wet meadows, common along streams and
ponds, Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Florida and Arkansas.
Narrow Blue Flag; Poison Flagroot
Iris prisDiatica Pvirsh
Plate 27
More slender in every way than Iris versicolor Linnaeus,
with a tuberous-thickened rootstock; stem i to 3 feet tall, bearing two
or three very narrow, almost grasslike leaves usually less than one-fourth
of an inch wide; flowers one or two at summit of each stem, blue, veined
with yellow on slender pedicels; outer perianth segments one-half to 2
inches long, smooth and devoid of a crest, the inner segments smaller
and narrower; the perianth tube about one-fourth of an inch long above
the ovary. Fruit a narrowly oblong capsule, acute at each end and sharpl3'
three-angled, i to ih inches long.
64 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Marshes, wet meadows and swamps, mainly near the coast from Nova
Scotia to Pennsylvania and Georgia. Flowering in May and June.
Pointed Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyriiichiuiii aui!^iistij'oliiim Miller
Perennial and tufted, stems stiff and erect, pale green and glaucous,
4 to 1 8 inches high. Leaves pointed, about half as long as the stems,
about one-sixth of an inch or less wide. Stem simple or rarely branched,
winged, the edges minutely serrulate. Flowers deep violet-blue, one-half
of an inch broad, umbellate from a pair of erect, green or slightly purplish
bracts (spathe), the outer bract rather less than twice the length of the
inner one, the six spreading segments of the perianth oblong and aristulate
at the tip. Capsules subglobose, often purplish tinged, about one-fourth
of an inch in diameter or less.
In fields and on hillsides, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, British
Columbia, Virginia, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah. Flowering from
May to July.
There are four other species of blue-eyed grass in New York State:
S. m u c r o n a t u m Alichaux, S. a r e n i c o 1 a Bicknell, S. g r a m i-
n o i d e s Bicknell and S. atlanticum Bicknell.
Orchid Family
Orchidaceae
The members of the Orchid family in New York State, of which several
are described and illustrated here, constitute a very important number
of our wild flowers and call for a description of the family. They are all
perennial herbs with corms, bulbs or tuberous roots and entire, sheathing
leaves, in some species reduced to scales. Flowers perfect, irregular,
solitary, spiked or racemed. Perianth consisting of six segments, the
three outer (sepals) similar or nearly so, two of the inner ones (petals)
lateral, alike; the third inner one (lip) unlike the other two, often markedly
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 26
LARGER BLUE FLAG
Iris versicolor
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 27
NARROW BLUE FLAG; POISON FLAGROOT
Iris prismatica
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 65
SO, usually larger, often spurred. Stamens variously united with the style
into an unsymmetrical column, usually one anther, sometimes two, each
two-celled; the pollen in two to eight pear-shaped, usually stalked masses
(pollinia), vmited by elastic threads, the masses waxy or powdery and
attached at the base to a viscid disc (gland). Style often terminating in
a beak (rostellum) at the base of the anther or between its sacs. Stigma
a viscid surface, facing the hp beneath the rostellum, or the cavity between
the anther sacs (clinandrivmi). Ovary inferior, usually long and some-
times twisted, three-angled, one-ceUed. Seeds very numerous and minute,
usually spindle shaped.
Small White Lady's-slipper
Cypripedinni caudidum Willdenow
Plate 29
This is one of the rarer Lady's-sHppers of the east, with rather stiffly
erect stems 6 to 12 inches high. Leaves three to five, ehiptic or lanceolate,
pointed, 3 to 5 inches long, two-thirds to i§ inches wide; flowers soHtary or
very rarely two on a stem; sepals lanceolate, as long or longer than the lip,
greenish, spotted with purple; petals somewhat longer and narrower than
the sepals, wavy-twisted, greenish; hp white, striped with purple or magenta
inside, about three-fourths of an inch long.
In marly bogs and low meadows, sometimes in sphagnum bogs, New
York and New Jersey to Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska.
Flowering in June and July.
Showy Lady's-slipper
Cypripedinni regiiiac Walter
Plate 30
The largest and most showy of our native orchids, with a stout, villous-
hirsute stem, i to 3 feet high, leafy to the top. Leaves large, 3 to 8 inches
long, I to 4 inches wide, elliptic in shape, acute. Flowers i to 3; sepals
round-ovate, white, the lateral ones united for their entire length; petals
somewhat narrower than the sepals, white, lip much inflated, i to 2 inches
long, white, variegated with crimson and white stripes.
66 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In swamps and open wet woods, Newfoundland to Ontario, Minnesota
and Georgia. Flowering in June and July, more rarely in August in the
far north. Known also as Whip-poor-will's Shoe.
It is doubtful if any wild flower surpasses this in beauty. It has been
gathered so extensively for its flowers in some localities that it has become
rather rare. It is one of the plants that above all others needs protection
in the way of education that will lead lovers of wild flowers to admire its
beauty where it grows, and to use caution in picking.
Yellow or Downy Lady's-slipper
Cypripcdiiim piihcscens Willdenow
Plate .31
Stems tall and leafy, i| to 2§ feet high; leaves oval or elliptic 3 to 6
inches long, \\ to 3 inches wide, pointed; sepals ovate-lanceolate, usually
longer than the lip, yellowish or greenish yellow and striped with purple,
petals narrower, usually twisted and elongated; lip much inflated, sub-
globose, I to 2 inches long, pale yellow to bright yellow and sometimes
with purple lines, a tuft of white, jointed hairs inside at the top; sterile
stamen triangular, the thick, somewhat triangular stigma incurved.
In rich woods and thickets, Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota,
Alabama and Nebraska. This species is usually regarded as a form of
C y p r i p e d i u m p a r v i f 1 o r u m Salisbury, which has a small, later-
ally compressed lip one-half to three-fourths of an inch long. Since
numerous intermediate fonns occur it is probable that they represent forms
of a single variable species.
Ram's-head Lady's-slipper
CriosantJies arietina (R. Brown) House
(Cypripcdiiim arietimwi R. Brown)
Plate 32b and Figure V
Stems 6 to 12 inches high, with three or four elliptic or lanceolate
leaves 2 to 4 inches long, one-third to 3 inches wide, one-flowered; sepals
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 29
V^.
SMALL WHITE LADY S-SLIPPER
Cypripediiiiii caiididiim
WILD FLOWERS OF NKW YORK
67
(Phototrjpli by G. A. Bailey)
Figure V
Ram's-head Lady's-slipper
(Criosanthes arietina (R. Brown) House)
68 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
separate, lanceolate, one-half to seven-eighths of an inch long, longer than
the lip; petals linear, greenish brown, about as long as the sepals; lip one-
half to three-fourths of an inch long, red and white, veiny, prolonged at
the apex into a long blunt spur, somewhat distorted at the upper end,
which gives the plant its common name of Ram's-head Lady's- slipper.
A very rare species of cold and damp woods from Quebec to Manitoba,
Massachusetts, New York and Minnesota. It has l^een collected but a few
times in the northern counties of this State. The colored illustration is
made from a photograph taken in southern Herkimer county by Mr
Edward H. Eames of Buffalo and the accompanying halftone from a
photograph by Mr O. A. Bailey of Genesen.
Moccasin Flower; Stemless Lady's-slipper
P'issipcs (lai nil's (Alton) Small
(Cypn'pcdiiiiii acaiilc Aiton)
Plate 3i and Figure VI
A short-stemmed plant with only two large, basal, elliptic leaves, 6 to
8 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, thick and dark green. The single
fragrant flower borne on a scape 6 to 1 5 inches high ; sepals greenish purple,
spreading, \\ to 2 inches long, lanceolate, the two lateral ones united;
petals narrower and somewhat longer than the sepals; lip a large, drooping,
inflated sac with a closed fissure down its whole length in front, i^ to 2j
inches long, somewhat obovoid, pink with darker veins, rarely white, the
upper part of the interior surface of the lip crested with long, white hairs.
Fruit an ascending capsvile, pointed at each end.
In sandy or rocky woods, Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to North
Carolina, Tennessee and Minnesota. One of the few conspicuous wild
flowers that appears to be equally at home in the pine lands of the northern
coastal plain and the rocky woods of the central and northern part of the
State. On Long Island it sometimes blooms in May but in the north it
usually blooms in June.
WILD FLO VV E R S OF NEW Y O R K
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
YELLOW OR DOWNY LADY S-SLIPPER
Cypripcdi 11)11 puhcsceiis
WILD FLOWERS OF XRW YORK
69
(Photograph bv E. A. Eames)
Figure VI
Moccasin Flower; Stemless Lady's-slipper
(Fissipes acaulis (Aiton) Small )
70
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
been found
Small Round-leaved Orchis
Orchis rot II ikI if nil a Pursh
Along with the Calypso, this
smnll orchis shares the distinction
( il being the rarest wild flower of
the State. Its slender stem rises
to a height of 6 to lo inches and
bears near the base a single oval
or orbicvilar leaf, i to 3 inches
long, with one or two scales
sheathing the stem below the leaf.
Flowers in a short temiinal spike,
usually five to ten in number, each
flower subtended by a small green
bract. Sepals and petals oval,
rose-colored, the lateral sepals
spreading and usually slightly
shorter, but sometimes longer than
the petals; lip white, beautifully
spotted with purple, longer than
the petals, three-lobed, the middle
lobe larger, dilated and two-lobed
or notched at the apex; spur
slender, shorter than the lip or
arely eqtialling it in length.
In damp, mossy woods, Green-
land to the Rocky mountains,
Maine, New York and Wisconsin.
The records of its occuiTence in
this State are very few. It has
n r)neida, Herkimer and Lewis counties, but not in recent
(Photograph by O. O. NyU
Figure VII
Small Round-leaved Orchis
(D r c his rot u n d i f n li a Pursh
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 33
MOCCASIN flower; STKMLESS LADY S-SLIl^^ER
Fissipes acaulis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 34
SHOWY ORCHIS
Gnh'orch is sl)cctahilis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 7 1
years. Our illustration is from a photograph by Olaf O. Nylander, taken
in Maine.
Showy Orchis
Galeorchis spcrtabilis (Linnaeus) Rydberg
{Orchis spectabilis Linnaeus)
Plate 34
Entire plant rather fleshy; stems short, five-angled, 4 to 12 inches
high from a short rootstock provided with numerous fleshy roots. Leaves
two, near the base of the stem, obovate, dark glossy green, 4 to 8 inches
long and 2 to 4 inches wide, clammy to the touch; the three to ten flowers
in a terminal spike, each flower about i inch long, violet-purple mixed with
Ughter purple and white, the subtending bracts sheathing the ovaries;
sepals united above forming a hood; petals connivent under the sepals and
more or less attached to them; lip whitish, wavy, produced into an obtuse
spur, about as long as the petals; column short, scarcely extending above
the base of the lip, violet on the back.
In rich woods, New Brunswick to Ontario, Dakota, Georgia, Kentucky,
Missouri and Nebraska. Flowering in May and June or as late as July in
the extreme northern part of its range.
Tall Leafy Green Orchis
Limiwrchis hypcrborcd (Linnaeus) Rydberg
A rather inconspicuous orchis with small flowers, the stem usually
stout, ID inches to 3 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, pointed, 3 to lo inches
long, one-half to if inches wide. Flowers numerous in a narrow terminal
spike, small, greenish or greenish yellow; sepals and petals free and spread-
ing, ovate, blunt; lip entire, lanceolate, blunt, about one-fourth of an
inch long; spur about as long as the lip, blunt, slightly incurved or often
thickened at the end (clavate).
In bogs, wet woods and swamps, Greenland to Alaska, New Jersey,
Colorado and Oregon. Flowering in May and Jvme or later in cold bogs
and woods of the north.
72 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
The Tall White Bog Orchis ( L i nm o r c h i s d i 1 a t a t a (Ptirsh)
Rydberg) is usvially more slender, with small white flowers; the ovate or
lanceolate sepals nearly one-fourth of an inch long; petals lanceolate,
pointed; lip entire, dilated or obtusely three-lobed at the base, blunt at
the apex, about as long as the blunt and incurved spur. In similar situa-
tions, but southward only to Maine and New York.
Large Round-leaved Orchis
Lysias orbiculata (Pursh) Rydberg
Plate 35 and Figure VIII
Flowering scape rather stout, i to 2 feet high, with a few inconspicuous
bracts, and at the base, spreading flat on the ground, two large orbicular
or orbicular-elliptical, dark-green, shining leaves, silvery beneath, 4 to 8
inches in diameter. Flowers forming a loose raceme, each flower on a
pedicel about one-half of an inch long, erect in fruit, greenish white; upper
sepal short and rounded; lateral sepals spreading, falcate-ovate and blunt;
one-third to one-half of an inch long; petals smaller and narrower; lip entire,
oblong-linear, blunt, white, about one-half of an inch long; spur longer
than the ovary, about 1 ^ to 2 inches long.
In rich woods, Newfoundland to Minnesota, south to Pennsylvania.
Flowering in June and July.
Plate 35 shows the flowers after they have begun to fade. The detail
of the flowers is shown better in figure VIII. Oakes Ames regards the loose-
flowered fomi with long spurs as H a b e n a r i a m a c r o p h y 1 1 a
Goldie, and restricts Lysias o r 1) i c u 1 a t a to the form with dense
inflorescence and spurs i to 1-4- inches long.
Hooker's Orchis
Lysias Jiookcriaiia [X. Gray) Rydberg
Plate 36
Stem or flowering scape S to 15 inches high, stout, smooth, without
bracts, but with two fleshy, shining, dark-green, oval-orbicular or obovate,
spreading or ascending leaves at the base, 3 to 6 inches long, rarely flat on
the grotmd. Flowers in a rather loose raceme, 4 to 8 inches long, yellowish
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 35
LARGE ROUND-LEAVED ORCHIS
Lvsias orbiciilata
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 36
HOOKER S ORCHIS
Lys ia s liookcriaiia
WILD FLOWERS OF NKW YORK
Fi-urc \-III
Flowers of Large Round-leaved Orchis ( L y s i a s o r b i c u 1 a t a ( Pursh)
Rydberg), left; and Large Coralroot (C o r a 1 1 o r r h i z a m a c u 1 a t a
Rafinesque) at right
74 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
green; each flower about two-thirds of an inch long; lateral sepals greenish,
lanceolate and spreading, about one-third of an inch long; petals narrowly
linear; lip linear-lanceolate, pointed, one-third to nearly one-half of an
inch long; spur slender, pointed, two-thirds of an inch or more long, as
long or longer than the ovary.
In cool, moist woods. Nova Scotia to Alinnesota, south to New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Iowa. Flowering in June and July or later, in the north.
Yellow-fringed Orchis
Blcphariglottis ciliaris (Linnaeus) Rydberg
Plate 37b
Stem slender, i to 2\ feet high. Leaves lanceolate, pointed, 4 to 8
inches long, one-half to i^ inches wide, the upper ones much smaller.
Flowers orange or yellow, large and showy in a tenninal, many-flowered
spike, 3 to 6 inches long; sepals orbicular or broadly ovate, oblique at the
base, the lateral ones mostly reflexed; petals much smaller, oblong or
cuneate, usually toothed; lip oblong, about one-half of an inch long,
copiously fringed more than halfway to the middle; spur i to i§ inches
long and very slender.
In meadows and open places in woods, especially in sandy regions,
Vermont and Ontario to Michigan, Missouri, Florida and Texas. In New
York State it is rare and local north of the coastal plain, occurring on the
Schenectady plains and several other places, especially on the Ontario
lowlands, from Rome west to Lake Erie.
White-fringed Orchis
Blcphariglottis hicpliari glottis (Willdenow) Rydberg
Plate 38
A plant similar to the Yellow-fringed Orchis, but with a densely or
rather dense, many-flowered spike of pure-white flowers, the petals toothed
or somewhat fringed at the apex, rarely entire, the lip copiously or sparingly
fringed.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 37
A. TALL LEAFY GREEN ORCHIS
Liiji I! orchis hyperborea
YELLOW-FRINX.ED ORCHIS
Bleplia ri (glottis cilia ris
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum Plate 33
WHITE-FRINGED ORCHIS
Bleplia ri glottis lilcplia ri glottis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 75
In bogs and swamps, Newfoundland to Minnesota, Florida and Missis-
sippi. When growing with the Yellow-fringed Orchis, it blooms a few days
earlier. It is found in nearly all the sphagnum bogs of northern New York
and is not uncommon in moist depressions of the sandy coastal plain.
Flowering from late June until early August in northern New York.
The Prairie White-fringed Orchis (Blephariglottis leucophaea
(Nuttall) Farwell) has larger, white, fragrant flowers, sometimes tinged
with green; the lip three-parted, the segments broadly wedge-shaped and
copiously fringed. Most abundant westward but occurring eastward to
New England.
Ragged or Green-fringed Orchis
Blephariglottis lacera (Michaux) Farwell
Plate 39b
Stems varying from slender and i foot or less high to stout and 2 to 3
feet high. Leaves firm, lanceolate, 3 to 8 inches long, two-thirds to if
inches wide, decreasing in size upward. Flowers greenish yellow or
greenish, in a loose spike, 2 to several inches long; petals linear, blunt,
abovit as long as the sepals; lip three-parted, the segments narrow, deeply
fringed or lacerate with a few threads about one-half of an inch long ; spur
one-half to three-fourths of an inch long, curved and thickened at the end,
shorter than the ovary.
Common in swamps, low meadows and wet woods, Newfoundland to
Minnesota, south to Georgia and Arkansas. Flowering in June and July.
Forms frequently occur in which the fringe of the lip is very short.
Smaller Purple-fringed Orchis
Blephariglottis psycodes (Linnaeus) Rydberg
Plate .iga
Stem rather slender, i to 3 feet high. Leaves oval, elliptic or lanceo-
late, 3 to 10 inches long, two-thirds to 3 inches wide, becoming smaller
above, dark green and glossy above. Flowers lilac-purple or rarely white,
fragrant, in a dense, many -flowered terminal raceme, 2 to 8 inches long;
petals oblong or oblanceolate, toothed on the upper margin; lip three-
76 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
parted, one-fourth to one-half of an inch broad, the segments fan-shaped
and copiously fringed, the fringe of the middle segment shorter than that
of the lateral ones; spur somewhat thickened at the tip, about three-fourths
of an inch long, and longer than the ovary.
In meadows, swamps and wet woods, Newfoundland to Minnesota,
North Carolina and Tennessee. Flowering in July and August.
The Large or Early Purple -fringed Orchis (Blephariglottis
grandiflora (Bigelow) Rydberg) has a large, dense raceme of lilac or
purplish, fragrant flowers, the lower lip, three-parted, the segments broadly
fan-shaped and copiously fringed to about the middle. The flowers average
one-third or one-half larger than those of B. psycodes; otherwise they
are very similar and this may be only a large-flowered race of that species.
Growing in similar situations.
Rose Pogonia; Snakemouth
Po'^oiiia o[)hioglossoidcs (Linnaeus) Ker
Plate 40
A slender plant with fibrous roots and stems S to 15 inches high,
propagating by runners. Leaves one to three on each stem, one-half to
4 inches long, lanceolate or ovate, erect, pointed or rather blunt. Flowers
solitary or sometimes in pairs with leaflike bracts, fragrant, pale rose-
colored, slightly nodding, i to 2 inches broad; sepals and petals similar,
two-thirds to i inch long; lip spatulate, crested and fringed with white.
Li swamps, low meadows and boggy depressions, especially in sandy
regions, Newfoundland to Ontario, Florida, Kansas and Texas. Flowering
in Jtme and July, and in the north sometimes in flower as late as August.
Whorled Pogonia
I sot rid vcrticillata (Willdenow) Rafinesque
Figure- IX
Stems 10 to 15 inches high, from long, perennial, horizontal, fleshy
rootstocks, which give rise to new stems by bvids. Stems bearing a whorl
of five leaves at the summit. Leaves obovate, abruptly pointed at the
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Fijjure IX
Whorled Pogonia
(I s o t r i a v e r t i c i 1 1 a t a (Willdenow) Rafinesque)
78 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
apex, sessile, i to 4 inches long, usually only partially developed at flowering
time. Flowers solitary, erect or declined, on a peduncle one-half to two-
thirds of an inch long; sepals linear, dull reddish purple, spreading, i^ to 2
inches long and about one-twelfth of an inch wide; petals linear, erect, blunt,
light green and arching above the lip, about five-sixths of an inch long; lip
three-lobed at the end, middle lobe broadest, white and crenulate on the
margin; two lateral lobes of the Hp and the lateral margins tinged and
veined with bright crimson -purple, most vivid at the apex of the two lateral
lobes, crest of the lip green and papillose. Capsule erect, i to i§ inches
long.
In moist soil of woods and thickets, often around cold sphagnum bogs,
Ontario and Massachusetts to Michigan, Indiana and Florida. Flowering
in May and June.
Arethusa; Dragon' s-mouth; Wild Pink
AniJiitsa biilbosa Linnaeus
Plate 43I.
A low, scapose, smooth plant, 5 to 10 inches high from a small bulb,
stem bearing one to three loose sheathing bracts on the stem and a single
linear leaf hidden at first in the upper bract and developing after the flower
has faded. The single flower arising at the top of the stem from between
a pair of small unequal scales, rose-purple, i to 2 inches high; sepals and
petals similar, linear to ellijitic in shape, obtuse, connivent, hooded, and
arching over the column ; lip usually drooping beneath the sepals and petals,
the apex broad, variegated with purplish blotches and crested down the
face with three hairy ridges, the margin fringed or toothed. Capsule about
I inch long, ellipsoid, strongly six-ribbed.
In bogs, low meadows and mossy depressions or moist thickets, New-
foundland to Ontario and Minnesota, South Carolina and Indiana. Flower-
ing in May and Jvme. One of the most dainty and beautiful of our native
orchids.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 39
A. SMALLER PURPLE-FRINGED ORCHIS
Blepharigloftis psy codes
RAGGED OR GREEN-FRINGED ORCHIS
BlepJiarioJflttis lacera
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
ROSE pogonia; snakemouth
Pogon ia opli ioglossoides
WILD FLOWERS OF \FW YORK 79
Grass Pink; Calopogon
Li)iiodoni)n tiihcrosiDii Linnaeus
Plate 4l^>
Scape slender, 12 to iS inclies higii from a round, solid Ijulb, arisinsj;
from the bulb of the previous year, a single leaf appearing the first season,
followed the next year by the flowering stem and a single linear-lanceolate
leaf, 8 to 12 inches long, one-fotirth to i inch wide. Flowers three to fifteen,
forming a loose, tenninal spike or raceme, each about i inch broad, purplish
pink; sepals and petals nearly alike, separate, obliquely ovate-lanceolate,
acute; lip broadly triangular and dilated at the apex, bearded along the
face with yellow, orange and rose-colored hairs.
Common in bogs or boggy meadows. Newfoundland to Ontario and
Minnesota, south to Florida and Missouri. Flowering in Jime and July.
Wide-leaved Ladies'-tresses
Ibidiiiiii phiiitagiiieuni (Rafinesciue) House
A rather inconspicuous little orchid, 4 to 10 inches high with tulierous-
fleshy roots. Leaves three to five to a stem, mostly near the base, lanceo-
late, 2 to 5 inches long. Flowers spreading in a dense, terminal spike,
I to 2 inches long, one-third to one-half of an inch thick, each flower about
one-fourth of an inch long; petals and sepals white, the lateral sepals free,
narrowly lanceolate, the upper sepals somewhat united with the petals;
lip pale yellow on the face, oblong, not contracted in the middle, the wavy
apex rounded, crisped or fringed, the base short clawed, bearing mere traces
of callosities at the base.
Moist banks, meadows and bogs, Nova Scotia to Minnesota, sovitli to
Virginia and Wisconsin. Flowers in June and July.
The most showy species of Ladies'-tresses is I b i d i u m c e r n u vi m
(Linnaeus) House (figure X) , which is 6 to 24 inches high and pubescent
above. Leaves mainly toward the base of the stem, linear-lanceolate or
linear, 3 to 14 inches long; flowers very fragrant, white or yellowish, forming
80
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Figure X
Showy Ladies' -tresses
(I b i d i u ni c e r n u u m (Linnaeus) House)
a spike, 4 to 5 inches long
and one-half to two-thirds of
an inch thick; flowers spread-
mg or nodding, each about
live-twelfths of an inch long in
three rows ; lip oblong or ovate,
roinided at the apex, crenulate
or crisped on the margin.
Flowering in late summer and
autumn.
Another common species
of Ladies'-tresscs is I b i d i u m
s t r i c t u m ( Rydberg) House,
l^erhaps only a race of I b i d -
ium romanzof f ianum,
which has the sepals and
]X'tals coherent and connivent
into a hood. It is common in
l)Ogs and swamps during July
and August.
Southern Twayblade
iOplirys (lustnilis (Lindley)
House)
(Listcra aiistnilis Lindley)
Figure XI
Tlie Twayblades are
lUK-ing the smallest of our
11 itive orchids and recjuire
luirp eyes to detect them
among the recesses of the
forest or bogs. The Southern
Twayblade is about 5 to 10
inches tall, with tw^o ovate,
rather pointed, smooth and
shining sessile leaves slightly
above the middle of the stem
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
^temoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 41
A. GRASS PINK; CALOPOGON
Limodorum tuberosum
LODDIGES S RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIX
Pcraniiiim tesselatitm
Aii,7^^,-^L^*^,., . ^
^
■^^^yii^^=^ — ^
B^^^^p
9^^
^
■>:.^
< i
a ^
WILD I'LOWERS OF NEW YORK
81
at the top of which is a loose
raceme of six to fifteen small, yellow-
ish green flowers; sepals and petals
minute, the lip one-fourth to one-
half of an inch long, and two-parted
or split nearly to the base four to
eight times as long as the tiny petals.
A rare plant of cold, sphagnous
bogs in the northern counties, west
to Wayne and Onondaga counties and
south to Fulton county. In the
Appalachian region south to Georgia,
this is not a rare species.
Very similar to the Southern
Twayblade is the Heart-leaved
Twayblade (Ophrys cordata
Linnaeus) in which the two sessile
leaves are rounded or slightly heart-
shaped , and the lip of the flower only
two or three times as long as the
petals. It is not rare in the Adiron-
dack region but on account of its
small size is easily overlooked. It
has also been found in deep cedar
swamps in certain other portions of
the State.
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain
Peraniiuni piihesccns (Willdenow)
MacMillan
Figure Xn
Flowering scape 6 to 20 inches
high, densely glandular-pubescent, (0 p h r y s a
Southern Twayblade
s t r a 1 i s (Lindley) House)
82
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Fi-ure XJI
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain
r a m i um p u h e s c e n s ( Willdenow)
(MacAIillan)
bearing several lanceolate scales,
tVom a branching, fleshy, perennial
rootstock. Leaves all near the base
of the scape, i to 3 inches long, two-
thirds to I inch wide, pointed at the
apex, rather abruptly contracted into
short petioles, oval or ovate in shape,
rather strongly reticulated with white
along the principal veins on the upper
surface, pale green beneath. Flowers
white or tinged with green, forming
a rather dense temiinal spike which
is not one-sided; each flower about
one-fourth of an inch long or slightly
less; lateral sepals ovate; upper
sepals united with the petals to form
an ovate hood (galea) ; lip saccate
with a short broad blunt recurved
or spreading tip.
In dry woods, Maine to Ontario
and Alinnesota, south to Florida and
Tennessee. Flowering in July and
August.
The Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain
( P e r a m i u m o p h i o i d e s (Fer-
nald) Rydberg) is only about 6 to
10 inches high, with smaller, ovate,
white-blotched leaves and small,
greenish white flowers, one-eighth
to one-sixth of an inch long in
a one-sided spike. Frequent in
woods.
WILD I'L0\V1;RS of new YORK
83
Loddiges's Rattlesnake Plantain
Pcniminm tessdatum (Loddiges)
Heller
Plate 41b
Leaves oblong-ovate or ovate-
lanceolate, I to 2 inches long, one-
third to one-fourth of an inch wide,
bright green, abruptly narrowed into
the petioles which sheathe the base of
the stem, more or less marked on the
upper surface with white ; stem 6 to 1 4
inches high, glandular-pubescent and
scaly, bearing at the summit a loosely
spiral spike of flowers i to 5 inches
long; flowers whitish, lateral sepals
free, the upper ones rmited with the
petals to form a hood (galea), 2 to 3
lines long, broad and recurved at the
tip; lip roundish-ovate, slightly saccate
at the base, the long tip somewhat
recurved.
In coniferous woods, more rarely
in open places, Newfoundland to On-
tario, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Flowering from July to September.
White Adder' s-mouth
Malaxis moiiophylla (Linnaeus) Swartz
FiKure XIII
Stem very slender, 4 to S inches
high, smooth, bearing below the middle (^^j^
a single leaf which sheathes the stem.
11-0 XIII
White Adder's-moutli
I X i s m o n o p h \- 1 1 a (Linnaeus)
(^Swartz)
84 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
the blade i to 3 inches long, one-half to if inches wide. Flowers whitish,
very small, in a slender raceme, i to 4 inches long; each flower about one-
half of an inch long on a very short, nearly erect pedicel; lip triangular or
ovate and long pointed.
In woods, thickets and recent clearings, Quebec to Manitoba, south
to Pennsylvania and Nebraska. Flowering in July.
The Green Adder' s-mouth (Malaxis unifolia Michaux) has the
single leaf clasping the stem near the middle; flowers greenish on slender
pedicels; lip broad and three-toothed at the apex. Small and incon-
spicvious as well as rather rare.
Large Twayblade
Li Paris liliifolia (Linnaeus) L. C. Richard
F.KUrf XIV
Scapes 4 to 10 inches high, striate and smooth from a perennial solid
bulb, the base of the stem sheathed by several scales and two ovate or oval,
blunt, shining, light-green leaves, 2 to 5 inches long, i to 2§ inches wide.
Flowers yellow, numerous, rather showy, forming a loose terminal raceme;
petals very narrow and threadlike; lip erect, large, fully one-half inch long,
wedge-obovate in shape. Capsule club-shaped and about one-half inch
long.
In moist woods, thickets and recent clearings, Maine to Minnesota,
south to Georgia and Missouri. Flowering from latter part of May to July.
Fen Orchis; Loesel's Twayblade
Liparis locsclii (Linnaevis) L. C. Richard
Plato 42b
A low bog orchis with two light-green, shining, elliptic or elliptic-
lanceolate leaves, 2 to 6 inches long, one-half to 2 inches wide and obtuse,
arising with the short stem from a solitary bulb which, with the base of the
stem, is sheathed by several scales and the remains of leaves of former
seasons; flowers greenish yellow, about one-fourth of an inch long, in a
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW Y(
Figure XIV
Large Twayblade
(Liparis liliifolia (Linnaeus) L. C. Richard)
»5 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
terminal, loosely flowered raceme; petals linear, somewhat reflexed; lip
obovate, pointed, a little shorter than the petals and sepals, its tip incurved;
capsules about one-half of an inch long, wing-angled.
In wet thickets, springy banks, and bogs or boggy meadows, Nova
Scotia to Saskatchewan, south to Alabama and Missouri. Flowering from
late May to July and sometimes later.
Calypso
Cythcrca hulbosa (Linnaeus) House
{Cdlypso boreal is Salisbury)
Plate 4.)a
Stetn or scape 3 to 7 inches high from a perennial bulb one-half of an
inch or less thick with coralloid roots. The scape bears two or three loose
sheathing scales and at the base a single round-ovate leaf, i to 2 inches
long, blunt or pointed at the apex and rounded or heart-shaped at the base,
the petiole i to 2 inches long. Flower showy, solitary, i to i| inches broad,
at the summit of the scape, variegated with purple, pink and yellow ; petals
and sepals similar, nearly equal, linear, erect or spreading, each with three
longitudinal purple lines. Lip saccate, large, two-divided below, spreading
or drooping, with a patch of yellow woolly hairs. Column erect, broadly
ovate and petallike, shorter than the petals, bearing the lidlike anther
just below the summit.
In bogs and cold Arbor A'itae swamps, Labrador to Alaska, south to
Maine, New York, Michigan, California and in the Rocky mountains to
Arizona and New Mexico. Also in Europe.
One of the rarest and at the same time most beautiful of our native
Orchids, appearing much like a small Cypripedium (Lady's-slipper). In
New York it has been found in several localities in southern Herkimer, in
Lewis, Oswego and Onondaga counties. The writer found it several years
ago in Lodi or Tamarack swamp near Syracuse, bvit the place has since been
obliterated by the growth of the city. For the ihustration used here we
are indebted to Edward A. Eames of Butfalo.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 87
Large Coralroot
Corallorrhiza macidata Rafinesque
Figure VIII. page 73
Stems stout or slender, 8 to 20 inches high, with a large mass of coral-
like branching rootstocks, the stem purpUsh, clothed with several appressed
scales, devoid of green leaves or green color. Flowers ten to thirty, form-
ing a terminal raceme 2 to 8 inches long, purplish brown; sepals and petals
linear-lanceolate, about one-fourth of an inch long; lip white, spotted and
lined with crimson, oval or ovate in outUne, deeply three-lobed, crenulate;
spur yellowish. Fruiting capsules ovoid or oblong, one-half to two-thirds of
an inch long and drooping.
In woods, Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south to Florida, Missouri,
New Mexico and California. Flowering from July to September.
The Early Coralroot (Corallorrhiza corallorrhiza (Linnaeus)
Karsten) blooms in May and June. It has smaller flowers of a dull-
purple color; sepals and petals about one-fourth of an inch long and a
whitish, oblong lip; spur reduced to a small protuberance adnate to the
summit of the ovary. Common in moist woods.
The Small or Late Coralroot (Corallorrhiza odontorhiza
(Willdenow) Nuttall) blooms from July to September. It is 6 to 15 inches
high and very slender. Flowers purplish; sepals and petals about one-
sixth of an inch long or less, marked with purple lines; lip entire or den-
ticulate, whitish, spotted with purple. A rather rare plant of moist woods.
All the species of Coralroot are devoid of green leaves or green coloring
matter in the stems, because of their parasitic or saprophytic habit.
liizard's-tail Family
S a u r u r a c e a e
Lizard's-tail
Saiiruriis cerniins Linnaeus
Plate 44
Stem 2 to 5 feet high from a slender rootstock, jointed, pubescent when
young, becoming smooth. Leaves ovate, thin, palmately five to nine-
ribbed, dark green, entire, deeply cordate at the base, acuminate, 3 to 6
<>* NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
inches long, 2 to 3I inches wide; petioles sheathing the stem at the enlarged
nodes; the stem terminating in one or two elongated white spikes, their tips
drooping in flower. Flowers fragrant, small, white, withotit any perianth;
stamens six to eight, white, spreading; ovary consisting of three or four
carpels united at the base, becoming slightly fleshy and strongly wrinkled
in fruit.
In swamps and shallow water, Rhode Island to Florida west to southern
Ontario, Minnesota and Texas. Flowering from June to August.
Nettle Family
U r t i c a c e a e
False Nettle
Boclnncn'd cyVnidriat (Linnaeus) Swartz
Plate 45
A perennial, rough-pubescent or nearly smooth, erect plant, i to 3
feet tall, not provided with stinging hairs as are the true nettles. Leaves
mostly opposite, thin, petioled, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, coarsely toothed,
I to 4 inches long, one-half to i^ inches wide. Flowers greenish, small and
dioecious, that is, some of the axillary spikes containing only staminate
flowers, and others only pistillate flowers, or some of the spikes containing
both kinds of flowers (androgynous); the staminate spikes interrupted, the
]:)istillate mostly continuous, one-fourth to i^ inches long, often terminated
by small leaves.
In moist soil and thickets, Quebec and Ontario to Minnesota, Florida,
Texas and the West Indies. Flowering from July to September. Not an
attractive plant but figured here as a representative of the Nettle family,
none of our species having conspicuous flowers. The True or Stinging
Nettle (L^rtica dioica Linnaeus) , naturalized in the eastern states
froni Europe, the Slender Wild Nettle (L'rtica gracilis Alton) and
the Wood Nettle ( L^ r t i c a s t r u m d i v a r i c a t u m ( Linnaeus) Kuntze)
are all j^rovided with stinging hairs and are most unpleasant plants to
encounter unexpectedly in the woods.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y, State Museum
LIZARD S-TAIL
Sauninis rcnuiits
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 45
FALSE XKTTLE
Boehmcria cvliiulrica
WILD FLOWERS OF NKW YORK 89
Sandal\(rood Family
S a n t a 1 a c c a c
Bastard Toadflax
Coiiiaiidrd nmhdlata (Linnaeus) Nuttall
Plate 28b
Stems numerous from a horizontal, branching rootstock, said to be
parasitic on the roots of adjacent herbs, 6 to i8 inches tall, usually branched
and very leafy. Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, pale green, pointed
at each end, sessile, one-half to i\ inches long, the lower ones smaller.
Flowers numerovts in terminal cymes, corymbose at the summit of the stem,
or also axillary, their branches divergent or ascending, greenish white,
white, or purplish, about one-fifth of an inch long, calyx usually five-lobed,
corolla none. Fruit a globose drupe about one-fourth of an inch in
diameter, crowned by the upper part of the calyx tube and its five oblong
lobes.
\n dry fields and thickets, especially sandy soil, Cape Breton Island to
Ontario and Assiniboia, south to Georgia, Kansas and Arkansas. At
Bergen swamp in Genesee county, New York, it grows in an open marl
bog, which, however, is dry in certain seasons, in company with Arethusa
b u 1 b o s a, C y p r i p e d i u m c a n d i d u m, S c i r p u s c a e s p i t o s u s ,
A n t i c 1 e a c h 1 o r a n t h a, T r i a n t h a g 1 u t i n o s a, vS o 1 i d a g o hough-
tonii, and other bog plants, a habitat most unusual for this species.
Birth-wort Family
A r i s t o 1 o c h i a c e a e
Wild or Indian Ginger
Astintiu auiadciisc Linnaeus
Platf .16
Leaves clustered in pairs from a slender, branching, aromatic root-
stock, having the flavor of ginger. Leaf blades long petioled, reniform,
thin, short pointed at the apex, 3 to 7 inches broad, dark green, the base
9U NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
deeply cordate. Entire plant densely and finely pubescent. Flowers on
a short, slender peduncle from between the bases of the petioles, often
concealed or partly buried in old leaves on the ground, i inch or more broad,
brownish purple; calyx ovoid, its tube completely adnate to the ovary, its
three lobes inflexed in bud, ovate -lanceolate, acute or long- acuminate,
spreading; stamens twelve in number, the stout, short filaments inserted
on the inferior six-celled ovary.
In rich woods. New Brunswick to Manitoba, south to North Carolina,
Missouri and Kansas. Flowering in April and May.
In southern New York occurs also the Short-lobed Wild Ginger
(Asarum reflex um Bickneh) with smaller flowers, the calyx tube white
within, and the triangular, acute lobes strongly reflexed.
Buckwheat Family
P o 1 y g o n a c e a e
Swamp Smartweed
Pcrsicaria mithlcubergii (S. Watson) Small
Plate 47a
Perennial by long rootstocks, rooting in the mud or in the water, stem
erect, glabrous, or somewhat pubescent, enlarged at the nodes, i to 3 feet
high. Leaves ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, the upper ones often
narrower, 2 to 8 inches long, acute or acuminate at the apex, rounded or
cordate at the base, petioled, ocreae cylindric, becoming loose, not ciliate.
Flowers in linear-oblong, dense, terminal racemes, i to 3 inches long; calyx
dark rose-colored, five-parted; stamens five in nvimber.
In swamps, marshes and moist soil, Ontario to British Columbia,
Virginia, Louisiana and Mexico. Flowering from July to September.
Lady's-thumb ; Heartweed
Pcrsicaria pcrsicaria (Linnaeus) Small
Plate .171-'
Annual, smooth or somewhat puberulent, stems one-half to 2 feet high,
erect or nearly so, simple or branched. Leaves lanceolate or linear-Ian ceo-
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 46
WILD OR INDIAN GINGER
A SO rum cunadoise
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 91
late, 2 to 6 inches long, nearly sessile, acuminate at both ends, conspicuously
dotted, usually with a triangular or lunar dark blotch near the center; ocreae
cylindric, fringed with short bristles. Flowers in dense, erect, ovoid or
oblong racemes, one-half to 2 inches long, pink to dark purple; stamens
usually six.
Native of Europe but naturalized and often an abundant weed in
waste places throughout North America, except in the extreme north.
Arrow-leaved Tearthumb
Tracaiilon sagittutit})! (Linnaeus) Small
Plate 4Sa
Stems slender, weak, annual, decumbent, or climbing over other plants
by the numerous sharp, recurved prickles which arm its four prominent
angles. Leaves lanceolate-sagittate or oblong-sagittate, i to 3 inches long,
pointed at the apex, slightly rotigh margined, the lower leaves petioled,
upper ones sessile or nearly so, prickly on the petioles and beneath on the
midribs; ocreae oblique, not ciliate. Flowers in terminal heads or racemes,
rose-colored or greenish; stamens usually eight in number; style three-
parted.
In wet soil, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to the Northwest Territory,
south to Florida and Kansas. Flowering from July to September.
Halberd-leaved Tearthumb
Tracaidon ari folium (Linnaeus) Rafinesque
Plate 48b
Stems angled, reclining, 2 to 6 feet long from a perennial root, armed
with recurved prickles. Leaves broadly hastate, long petioled, i to 8 inches
long, pubescent or glabrous beneath, the apex and basal lobes sharp pointed;
petioles and larger nerves prickly; peduncles and pedicels glandular; ocreae
oblique, fringed at the summit with short bristles and at the base with
slender prickles. Flowers in terminal and axillary heads or racemes, rose-
colored or greenish, four parted. Stamens six; style two-parted.
92 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In moist or wet soil and tliickets, New Brunswick and Ontario to
Minnesota, south to Georgia. Flowering from July to September.
Climbing False Buckwheat
Bildcrdykiii scamlois (Linnaeus) Greene
{Polygonum sanidcns Linnaeus)
Plate isb
Stems slender or stout, glabrous, high climbing, 2 to 20 feet long from
a perennial root, somewhat rough on the ridges which mark the stem.
Leaves ovate, sharp pointed, cordate at the base, i to 6 inches long, or the
upper ones smaller, finely dotted, ocreae oblique, smooth and glabrous.
Flowers in numerous paniclcd racemes, 2 to <S inches long, usually inter-
rupted with small leaves, yellowish green or whitish ; calyx five-parted ;
stamens eight; calyx in fruit about one-half of an inch long with crisped
wings.
In woods, thickets and on banks and along fence rows. Nova Scotia
to Ontario and British Columbia, south to Florida, Nebraska and Texas.
Flowers in August and September.
Coast Jointweed
Polviioncllii articidahi (Linnaeus) Meisner
Plate 4va
Stems slender, wiry, erect or somewhat diffusely spreading, annual,
glaucous, simple or the larger ones often much l;)ranched, 4 to 12 inches high.
Leaves linear or linear-subulate, with rcvolute margins, sessile, one-third
to i§ inches long, jointed to the summits of the ocreae. Flowers small, in
numerous terminal racemes on reflexed pedicels; calyx five-parted, its
segments white with a conspicuous purple midrib.
In sand near or on the seashore from Maine to Florida, and inland on
the Schenectady plains, those east of Oneida lake, and along the Great
Lakes.
*-^>-^~-^^
g '■
oir 15 N. Y. State Museum
^
5
-i
^
1- x^
^^^^
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 93
Goosefoot Family
C li e n o ]) o (li a c e a e
Slender or Jointed Glasswort; Saltwort
Sidiconiiti ettropaca Linnaeus
A fleshy, glabrous annual plant, 4 to 20 inches high, usually erect and
much branched, with opposite, ascending branches, their joints two to
four times as long as thick. Leaves reduced to mere scales. P>uiting
spikes I to 3 inches long. Flowers three at each joint, the middle one as
high as the lateral ones. Each flower consists of a fleshy, obpyramidal
three-toothed calyx, two stamens and an ovoid ovary. Seed inclosed by
the spongy fruiting calyx.
Common in salt marshes along the coast from Anticosti to Georgia,
and at the head of Onondaga lake.
Pokeiveed Family
Phytolaccaceae
Poke ; Scoke ; Pigeon Berry ; Garget
Phytolacca americana Linnaeus
Plate 50
A tall, strong-smelling, succulent and glabrous plant witli an erect
herbaceous stem 3 to 10 feet tall, from a large, perennial, poisonous root,
the pith of the stem divided into discs separated by lens-shaped cavities.
Leaves oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, pinnately veined, acute or
acuminate at both ends, petioled, 5 to 12 inches long. Flowers in terminal
racemes, which become opposite the leaves by continued growth of the
stem. Each flower about one-fourth of an inch broad, consisting of four
or five rounded, white sepals; ten stamens, slightly shorter than the sepals;
and a ten-celled green ovary. Fruit a long raceme of dark-purple berries,
each one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch in diameter.
In waste places, fields, woods and thickets, usually in moist soil, often
in stony fields and frequently a troublesome weed. Distributed from Maine
94 ^'EW YORK STATE MUSEUM
and Ontario to Minnesota, Arkansas, Florida, Mexico and Bermuda.
Europe has contributed many weeds to America, but the Pokeweed or
Scoke is one of the few American plants, often reckoned as a weed, which
has become thoroughly naturalized in many parts of Europe.
Purslane Family
P o r t u 1 a c a c c a e
Narrow-leaved Spring Beauty
Chiytoiiia virgin ica Linnaeus
Plate 5ia
Stems 6 to 12 inches long, ascending or decumbent from a deep, tviber-
ous, perennial root. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, glabrous and some-
what fleshy, blunt or pointed, narrowed below into a petiole, the lower
leaves 3 to 7 inches long, one-eighth to one-half of an inch wide, the two-
stem leaves opposite and shorter. Flowers one-half to seven-eighths of an
inch broad, white or pink with darker pink veins, in a loose terminal raceme,
often becoming 3 to 6 inches long. Sepals two, ovate, persistent; petals
five, emarginate; pedicels slender, becoming recurved.
In moist woods, Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, south to Georgia,
Montana and Texas. Flowering in early spring. More frequently found
in low woodlands and along streams in the upper part of the State, and not
so frequent as the next species except near the coast.
Carolina or Wide-leaved Spring Beauty
Claytonia caroliniana Michaux
Plato 69a
Closely resemljling the Narrow-leaved Spring Beauty, but usually
more erect. Basal leaves ovate-lanceolate or oljlong, i to 4 inches long,
one-half to 1 inch wide, obtuse; stem leaves petioled; flowers fewer. The
corm is usually thicker and depressed at the top.
In damp woods, Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, Connecticut, south to
North Carolina along the mountains, and to Ohio and Missouri. Rare or
absent near the coast in New York, but very abundant in the interior where
it occurs in almost every moist woodland. Flowering in the early spring.
^H
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^^^■^^w^^^ •» ""^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 50
poke; score; pigeon berry; garget
Phytolacca aniericana
WILD FLO^^■ERS OF NEW YORK 95
Chick-weed Family
A 1 s i n a c e a e
Field or Meadow Chickweed
Ccrastiiiii! arvcnse Linnaeus
Plate 63a
A densely matted or tufted perennial plant, usually more or less
pubescent. Flowering stems 4 to 10 inches high, simple or sparingly
branched. Lower leaves and those of the numerous sterile shoots linear-
oblong, close together, slightly narrowed at the base. Leaves of the
flowering stems more distant, linear or narrowly lanceolate, one-half to
i^ inches long, one-eighth of an inch wide or slightly wider. Flowers white,
one-half to three-fourths of an inch broad, several in a cymose inflorescence.
Petals five, obcordate or deeply notched at the ends, mtich longer than the
lanceolate, acute sepals. Fruit a small, cylindrical capsule, a little longer
than the sepals and slightly oblique at its apex.
In dry, rocky places, stony fields or ledges, Labrador to Alaska, south
to Georgia, Missouri, Nevada and California. Also found in Europe and
Asia. Flowering from April to July. In New York usually in bloom
during some part of May.
This is a much larger flowered and more attractive plant than the
Mouse-ear Chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum Linnaeus), which is
naturalized almost everywhere, especially in the stony or rocky places
where the Field Chickweed is found.
Pink Family
C a r y o p h y 1 1 a c e a e
Bladder Campion; "White Ben
Silenc latifolia (Miller) Britten & Rendel
PlatL- 53
Stems herbaceous, from a perennial root, glaucous and glabrous, or
rarely pubescent, extensively branching from the base, 6 to 20 inches high.
g6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, pointed, variable in size, the lower ones
often spatulate. Flowers white, two-thirds to seven-eighths of an inch
broad, in loose cymose panicles, often drooping; calyx tubular- campanula te,
becoming globose and much inflated, about one-half of an inch long, strongly
veined, with five triangular, acute lobes; petals five, each two-cleft, with or
without a small crown.
In fields, meadows and waste places, New Hampshire to Ontario,
New Jersey and Missouri. Native of Europe and naturalized in this
country. Flowering in July and August.
Wild Pink
Si I cue caroliiiidini Walter
Piatt- 5 3
Denselv tufted and perennial from a stout root, 4 to lo inches high,
viscid-pubescent, especially above, often glabrous below. Basal and lower
leaves spatulate or oblanceolate, pointed or bhint, 2 to 4 inches long; stem
leaves sessile, shorter, oblong or lanceolate. Flowers pink, about i inch
broad, in terminal cymes. Calyx narrow and tubular, much enlarged by
the ripening pod, its teeth ovate, pointed; petals cuneate, emarginate, eroded
or finely toothed at the apex, crowned at the base of the claw.
In drv, sandy or rocky soil, Maine to Georgia, west to central New
York, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
Cuckoo-flower; Ragged Robin
Lychnis flos-cuculi Linnaeus
Plate 54a
Stems slender, erect, i to 2 feet high, simple or branching, from a
thick, perennial root, downy-pubescent below, slightly viscid above. Lower
and basal leaves spatulate or oblanceolate, 2 to 4 inches long; upper leaves
lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, opposite and sessile, the uppermost leaves
redticed to small bracts; flowers pink, purplish, blue, or white, three-
fourths to I inch broad, in many-flowered panicles at the summit of the
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 51
i^P^#^f ^\i ' ^ jL\
wmm ^ .1:^.^
A. NARROW-LEAVED SPRING BEAUTY
Claytonia virginica
ROUND-LOBED HEPATICA OR LIVERLEAT
Hcpatica Iwpatica
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 52
BLADDER CAMPION; AVHITE BEN
Si 1 671 e kit i folia
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 53
WILD PINK
Silene carol iiiiana
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 97
stems; calyx one-fourth of an inch long, ten-nerved, cylindrical, becoming
campanulate in fruit, its apex with five triangular, pointed teeth; petals
five, narrowly clawed, the spreading limbs each cleft into four linear lobes,
of which the middle pair is longest.
Moist meadows, fields and waste places. New Bnmswick to New
Jersey and Pennsylvania. Frequent in cultivation. A native of Europe
but thoroughly naturalized in many places in the eastern states. Flowering
in July and August.
Sacred Bean Family
N e 1 u m b o n a c e a e
American Nelumbo or Lotus
NeliDiibo I II tea (Willdenow) Persoon
Plate 55
Rootstock stout, nearly horizontal, tuberiferous, in mud beneath 2 to
6 feet of water. Leaves i to 2 feet broad, orbicular, or somewhat con-
stricted in the middle, centrally peltate, floating or raised a foot or two
out of the water, prominently veined, smooth and dark green above, more
or less pubescent and finely scaly beneath; leaf petioles and flower stems
3 to 7 feet long, rigid and tough, with several large air canals. Flowers
pale yellow, fragrant, 4 to 10 inches broad; petals concave, obovate, blunt,
numerous, surrounded by four or five overlapping scales. Carpels
numerous, contained in pits in the large convex receptacle which becomes
3 to 4 inches long and obconic in fruit. Seeds abovit one-half of an inch
in diameter.
In rivers and lakes, locally distributed from Massachusetts to Minne-
sota, Nebraska, Louisiana and Cuba. Flowering in August at Sodus bay,
where a large colony of it exists. Tubers and seeds farinaceous and edible.
The local distribtition in the north may be due to introduction by the
Indians. The Indian Lotus or Sacred Bean (Nelumbo nelumbo
(Linnaeus) Karsten), with large pink flowers, is frequent in cultivation.
98 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Water Liily Family
N y m p h a c a c e a c
Large Yellow Pond Lily; Spatter-dock
XyiJ![)l!iu'a advcini Solander
Plato s6
Floating and emersed leaves 5 to 12 inches long and 5 to 9 inches
broad, ovate or orbicular-oval, thick, with a sinus 2 to 5 inches deep and
generally open; subnierged leaves, when present, thin and membranous;
petioles, peduncles and lower surfaces of the leaves usually pubescent.
Flowers i§ to 2h inches broad, depressed, globose, yellow, usually tinged
with purple within; sepals six, oblong; petals fleshy, oblong truncate, one-
half to two-thirds of an inch long; stamens numerous in five to seven rows;
carpels numerous, united into a compound pistil which is surmounted by
an undulate, yellow or pale-red stigmatic disc with twelve to twenty-four
rays, ripening into an ovoid, berrylike fruit, i to 2 inches long and about
I inch thick, maintained at the surface of the water or above it.
In ponds, lakes, slow streams or often subterrestrial in boggy meadows,
Labrador and Nova Scotia to the Rocky mountains, south to Florida, Texas
and Utah. Flowering from May to September. Consists of several races
or perhaps species, differing in the character of the pistil, stigmatic disc
and leaf outline. In the lakes and ponds throughout the north the small
Yellow Pond Lily (Nyniphaea microphylla Persoon) is also
found, with flowers i inch broad or less, and small leaves 2 to 4 inches long
and I to 3 inches broad. The northern form of the larger Yellow Pond
Lily is described in some books under the name of Nymph aea vari-
e g a t a (Morong) Greene, and a hybrid between the two, Nymph aea
r u b r o d i s c a (Morong) Greene, is of frequent occurrence, having fewer
stigmatic rays than N. v a r i e g a t a and spatulate petals. Our illustra-
tion is from a plant on Long Island.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 55
AMERICAN NELUMBO OR LOTUS
Xcliiinbo III tea
WILD FLOWERS OF NF.W YORK 99
Sweet-scented White Water Lily
Castnl'ui odorata (Aiton) Woodville & Wood
Plate 57
Aquatic, with a thick, horizontal rootstock. Leaves floating, orbicular
or nearly so, 4 to 12 inches in diameter, glabrous, green and shining above,
purple and somewhat pubescent beneath, the sinus open or almost closed,
petioles and peduncles slender with four main air channels. Flowers white
or in some varieties pink or rose-colored, 3 to 6 inches broad, very fragrant,
with four greenish sepals and numerous, narrowly oblong, blunt petals, the
inner ones shorter and narrower and gradually passing into stamens;
stamens numerous and yellow. Carpels numerous, united into a compound
pistil with radiating, linear, projecting stigmas, becoming a globose, fleshy
fruit and ripening beneath the surface of the water by the coiling of the
peduncles.
In ponds, lakes and slow streams, Newfoundland to Manitoba, south
to Florida, Louisiana and Kansas. Flowering from June to August.
Tuberous White Water Lily
Costal id tiibcrosa (Paine) Greene
Plate iS
Leaves orbicular, 5 to 12 inches in diameter, floating, green on both
sides, sometimes slightly pubescent beneath, sinus open or closed. Root-
stock thick, with numerous lateral tuberous- thickened branches which
become detached and propagate the plant. Flowers white, 4 to 9 inches
broad, slightly fragrant or inodorous; petals oblong, broader than those of
C. odorata, obtuse. Fruit depressed-globose.
In shallow water of bays and protected coves. Lake Champlain, Lake
George, Oneida lake and along the Great Lakes to Michigan, south to
Delaware and eastern Nebraska and Arkansas. Flowering in July and
August.
lOO NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Crowfoot Family
R a n u 11 c u 1 a c u a c
Marsh Marigold; Cowslip
CaltJid Ixihistris Linnaeus
A succulent, herliaceous plant witli stout, glabrous, hollow stems,
erect or ascending, i to 2 feet high, branching and bearing several or
numerous bright-yellow flowers. Lower leaves long petioled, the blades
cordate or rcniform, 2 to 8 inches broad, with a narrow sinus, crenate,
dentate, or nearly entire on the margin. Upper leaves smaller, with short
petioles or sessile with nearly truncate bases. Flowers i to ih inches
broad; sepals oval, obtuse, petallike. True petals none. vStamens numer-
ous, obovoid. Carpels several, in fruit forming follicles which are
slightly compressed, about one-half of an inch long, and slightly curved
outward .
In swamps, wet meadows and marshes, Newfoundland to South
Carolina, west to Saskatchewan and Nebraska. Flowering in May and
June.
Goldenseal; Orange-root
Ilydnisiis canadensis Linnaeus
Figm-r X\-
An erect, perennial herb with a thick yellow rootstock. Stems 10 to
15 inches high. Usually each plant with a single, long-petioled basal leaf
which is ,s to 8 inches broad and palmately 5 to 9-lobed, the lobes broad,
pointed, sharply and unequally toothed. Stem leaves two, borne at the
summit of the stem, similar in shape but smaller than the basal leaf, the
uppemiost leaf just below the solitaiy, greenish white flower, which is
one-third to one-half of an inch broad. Sepals three, petallike and falling
away as the flower opens. Petals none. Stamens numerous, their filaments
widened and about one-sixth of an inch long; anthers oblong, obtuse.
Carpels several, ripening into an ovoid, crimson head of fruit about two-
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 57
-\vki:t-s( KXTi;n white water lily
Castalia odorata
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State IMuseum
Plate 58
:uBKR()is wiiiTi': \\Ari;R lilv
Castolia tiihcrosa
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
lOI
thirds of an inch long, each carpel in fruit tipped with a short recurved
beak.
In moist or low woodlands, Connecticut to Minnesota, Ontario, Kansas
and Missouri, south to Georgia.
Figure X\
Goldenseal or Orange-root
(Hydrastis canadensis Linnaeus)
American Globefiower
TrolUns laxiis Salisbury
Stems few or several from a perennial fibrous root, erect or ascending,
often slightly fleshy but weak, from a few inches to 2 feet long. Lower
102 - NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
leaves long-stalked ; upper ones short-stalked or sessile ; blades 3 to 5 inches
broad, parted into five to seven wedge-shaped, cleft or toothed segments,
the blades small at flowering time, much enlarged later. Flowers i to i^
inches broad, with five to seven spreading, yellowish green, petallike sepals;
true petals minute, fifteen to twenty-five in number and much shorter than
the numerous yellow stamens. Fruit about i inch broad, consisting of
several small pods (follicles) each about one-fourth of an inch long and
tipped with a straight, slender beak of about one-fourth its length.
A rare or local plant of low or swampy woodlands, New England to
Delaware, central and western New York to Michigan. Flowering from
April to June.
Goldthread
Coptis trifolia (Linnaeus) Salisbury
A low, herbaceous plant with a slender or filiform bright-yehow, bitter
rootstock. Leaves all basal, evergreen, long petioled, the blade reniform,
I to 2 inches broad, divided to the petiole into three wedge-shaped, obtuse
segments, dark green, shining above, paler beneath, sharply toothed.
Scape one-flowered, slender; sepals five to seven, oblong, obtuse, white;
petals small and club-shaped; carpels three to seven, spreading, about
one-fourth of an inch long, on stalks of about their own length, tipped
with a beak.
In damp, mossy woods and bogs, Newfovmdland to Virginia and
eastern Tennessee, Iowa, Minnesota and Alaska.
In the Memoirs of Bastram and Marshall, page 20, it is stated that
John Ellis, the eminent naturalist, in a letter to Linnaeus, dated London,
April 25, 1758, says: " Mr Golden of New York, has sent Dr Fothergill
a new plant, described by his daughter (Miss Jane Golden). It is called
Fibraurea, gold thread. This young lady merits your esteem and does
honor to your system. She has drawn and described 400 plants in your
method only. She uses the English terms. Her father has a plant called
after him, Goldenia; suppose you should call this Coldenella, or any other
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 59
MARSH marigold; cowslip
CaltJia pdliistn's
WILD FLOW E R S OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y.
State Museum
Plate 60
::^
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A. COLDTHREAD
Coptis trifolia
B. HISPID BUTTERCUP
Ranunculus hispidus
WILD FLOWERS OK NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 61
AMERICAN GLOBEFLOWER
Trollias laxus
WILD FLOWERS OF Xi:\V YORK IO3
name that might distinguish her among your genera." Linnaeus, however,
referred the plant to his genus Helleborus, and when it was subsequently
ascertained to be distinct, SaHsbury, regardless alike of gallantry and
justice, imposed on it the name of Coptis.
Red Baneberry; Black Cohosh
Aclaea rubra (Alton) Willdenow
Plate 62
Stems erect, i to 2 feet high, from a perennial root, pubescent or
smooth. Leaves temately divided, the divisions pinnate with the lower
ultimate leaflets sometimes again compound ; leaflets ovate or the terminal
ones obovate, toothed or more or less cleft or incised with pointed or
rounded teeth. Flowers small in a dense terminal, ovoid raceme; sepals
three to five, petaloid and fugacious. Petals four to ten, spatulate, shorter
than the numerous white stamens; pedicels slender, one-half to two-thirds
of an inch long. Fruit consisting of a raceme of bright-red, oval or
ellipsoid berries, each berry about one-half of an inch long.
In woods, thickets and shaded banks. Nova Scotia to New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, west to South Dakota and Nebraska. Flowering from April
to early June. A variety with red berries on slender pedicles (Actaea
neglect a Gillman) is occasionalh' found.
White Baneberry; Snakeroot
Actoea alba (Linnaeus) Miller
Platr 63b
Resembling the Red Baneberry in general habit and aspect. Leaflets
usually more cut and the teeth and lobes sharply pointed. Flo\\-ers in
oblong racemes; petals truncate at the apex; fruiting pedicels as tliick as
the peduncle or in fruit even thicker, with swollen ends, often reddisli;
berries short-oval, white, sometimes purplish at the ends. A variety witli
berries on thickened pedicels is occasionally seen.
In ricli woods, Nova Scotia to Georgia, west to Minnesota and Mis-
souri. Flowering in April and May or as late as the middle of June.
104 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Black Snakeroot; Black Cohosh
Ciiuicifiiga niccmosa (Linnaeus) Nuttall
Plate c,4
Stems tall and slender, 3 to 8 feet high, leafy above, rootstock thick
and perennial. Leaves ternate with pinnate divisions; leaflets ovate or
oblong, the tenninal ones usually obovatc, pointed at the apex, truncate
or narrowed at the base, margins coarsely toothed, cleft or divided, rather
thick texture, smooth or nearly so. Flowers white, with a somewhat
fetid odor, in tall, terminal, simple or compound racemes, 6 to 30 inches
long, each flower about one-half of an inch broad; petals four to eight,
two-cleft; stamens very numerous; pistils one or two, sessile. Fruiting
follicles oval, about one-fourth of an inch long, minutely beaked.
In woods and shaded rocky places, Maine and Ontario to Wisconsin,
south to Georgia and Missouri. Flowering in July and August.
Wild Columbine; Rock Bells
Aqiiilegia cdiiadciisis Linnaeus
Plate 6.5
Erect and brandling, glabrous or somewhat pubescent, i to 2 feet
high, from a perennial root. Leaves ternately decompound, the lower and
basal leaves slender-petioled , 4 to 8 inches broad, the ultimate leaflets
I to 2 inches broad, sessile or short stalked, obovatc, obtuse, cuneate,
obtusely lobed and toothed, pale beneath; leaves of the upper part of the
stem lobed or divided. Flowers nodding, i to 2 inches long, scarlet or
rarely white or yellow; sepals five, regular, petaloid; petals concave,
produced backward between the sepals into hollow, nearly straight spurs,
one-half to three-fourths of an inch long, thickened at the end ; stamens
numerous, with the styles long exserted. Fruit erect, consisting of five
united carpels with slightly spreading filiform beaks.
In rocky woodlands and clearings. Nova Scotia to the Northwest
Territory', south to Florida and Texas. Flowering from the latter part of
April until June.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 105
Known in many localities as Honeysuckle, a name which should more
properly be applied to species of the genus Lonicera. The European
Columbine ( A q u i 1 e g i a vulgaris Linnaeus) with showy, blue, purple
or white flowers is an occasional escape from gardens into woods and fields.
Tall Anemone; Thimbleweed
Anemone virgiiiiaiui Linnaeus
Pbtc 65
Stem stout, hairy, 2 to 3 feet tall, branching above at the involucre
which is composed of two to five, usually three, short-petioled leaves; the
lateral peduncles often bearing secondary involucres of smaller leaves.
Basal leaves long petioled, broader than long, three-parted, the divisions
broadly cuneate-oblong, variously cleft and divided into acute, serrate
lobes; those of the involucres similar. Flowers two- thirds to ih inches
broad, on peduncles 4 to 10 inches long; sepals five, white, obtuse; stamens
numerous, shorter than the sepals. Carpels numerous, forming an oblong
to subcylindric head, two-thirds to i inch long and about one-half as thick.
In woods, thickets and clearings. Nova Scotia to Alberta, south to
South Carolina, Arkansas and Kansas. Flowering from May to July or
August. Consists of several races, differing in size and color of flower, shape
of fruit, and in the styles. Of these, the most distinct is A n e m o n e
r i p a r i a Fernald, with smaller greenish flowers and pointed sepals.
The Slender-fruited Anemone (Anemone c y 1 i n d r i c a A. Gray),
which is frequent in sandy woods and thickets in the eastern states has
silky hairy stems and tufted basalleaves with narrower divisions, white or
greenish flowers about three-fourths of an inch broad and the head of fruit
cylindric, i inch long or often longer and one-fourth to one-third as thick.
Canada or Round-leaved Anemone
Anemone canadoisis Linnaeus
Plati- 67
Stems slender or stout, i to 2 feet tall, somewhat hairy, especially on
the lower surfaces of the leaves, branchinsj at the involucre. Basal leaves
I06 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
long petioled, broader than long, three to five-pointed, the divisions broad,
ol)long, acute, variously cleft or toothed, those of the primary and secondary
involucres similar but sessile. Flowers i to i^ inches broad; sepals white
or sometimes tinged with pink, oblong, obtuse; head of fruit globose, con-
sisting of numerous flattened, orbicular, pubescent achenes, tipped with
stout, persistent styles.
Low grounds, along roadsides, railroads and in open woods, Labrador
to Assiniboia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, Kansas and Colorado
Very closely related to A n e m o n e d i c h o t o m a of Siberia. Flower-
ing from May to August, by the development of secondary involucres.
Windfiower; Wood Anemone
Aiioiwiie qiiinqucjoJia Linnaeus
Plate 683
Smallest of our wild anemones. Stems simple, glabrous, 4 to lo inches
high, from horizontal, perennial rootstocks. Basal leaves long petioled,
usually developing after the flowering stem, five-parted, the divisions
oblong, cuneate, dentate; those of the single involucre on slender petioles
one-half to i inch long, three- to five-parted, the divisions about i^ inches
long, acute, variously cut and lobed. Flowers solitary, about i inch broad;
sepals four to nine, obovate or oval, white or purplish without; head of
fruit globose, inclined, consisting of several pubescent, oblong achenes,
tipped with hooked styles.
Common in moist or low woodlands. Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south
to Georgia and Tennessee. Flowering in April and May.
Round-lobed Hepatica or Liverleaf
Ilcpdtica licpatica (Linnaeus) Karsten
Plate 5>b
Leaves long petioled, arising with the flowering scapes directly from
the fibrous roots, reniform, hairy, 2 to 2§ inches broad when mature,
spreading on the ground, three-lobed (occasionally the lateral divisions
again lobed), obtuse. Flowers blue, purple or white, one-half to i inch
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 64
BLACK SNAKEROOT; black COHOSH
Cinn'cifiigd lutcciiiosa
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 65
WILD columbine; rock bells
.4 qu il Cilia ai iKideiisis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 66
TALL ANEMONE; THIMBLKWEED
Aue}}io>ic virsiiiiona
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK IO7
broad on hairy scapes 4 to 6 inches high. Each flower subtended by an
involucre of three sessile, obtuse, oblong, small leaves immediately under
the flowers. Sepals oval or oblong, obtuse, longer than the numerous
stamens. Fruit consisting of several oblong, acute, hairy achenes.
In woods, often in large tufts. Nova Scotia to northern Florida, west
to Manitoba, Iowa and Missouri. Also in Alaska, Europe and Asia. Flow-
ering in earliest spring, with us usually early in April but sometimes in
March, and even unseasonably warm spells in midwinter may find it in
flower. The leaves of H e p a t i c a li e p a t i c a in central Europe
possess blunt lobes, while our form usually has perfectly rounded lobes.
Sharp-lobed Hepatica or Liverleaf
Ilepaticii aciitilohd DeCandolle
Plate 6pb
Resembling in most respects the Round -lobed Hepatica but the leaf
lobes and the leaves nf the involucre are pointed, the scapes usually a little
longer, and the flowers somewhat larger. The flowers are often dioecious.
In woods, Maine, Quebec and Ontario; south in the Alleghanies to
Georgia; west to Missouri and Minnesota. Rare or absent near the
Atlantic coast.
Puzzling forms sometimes occur which are intermediate between this
and the preceding species.
Rue Anemone
Syndesmou thalictroidcs (Linnaeus) Hoft'mannsegg
Plate 681)
Stems slender and weak, glabrous, 4 to 10 inches high; the flowering
stem appearing in early spring from a cluster of tuberous roots, the
temately compound basal leaves appearing later and resembling those
of the Meadow Rue, but smaller. Leaves of tlie involucre similar, sessile,
the leaflets long petioled. Flowers perfect, few or several forming a loose
umbel immediately above the involucre, white or pinkish, one-half to i
inch broad; sepals five to ten, thin and soon falling, longer than the
numerous stamens.
I08 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In woods, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to Florida, Ontario,
Minnesota and Kansas. Flowering in early spring, March to early June.
Swamp or Marsh Buttercup
K(ii!ttin'ii!ti.s septentrional is (Linnaeus) Poiret
Plate 70
vStenis branching, i to 2 feet long, or becoming longer in summer,
ascending, the later branches procumbent and often rooting at the nodes.
Roots simply fibrous; stems glabrous or ptibescent. Leaves large, petioled,
three-divided, the divisions mostly stalked, usually euneate at the base,
cleft into broad lobes; petioles of the lower leaves sometimes a foot long.
Flowers bright yellow, i to i\ inches broad; petals five, obovate, twice as
long as the spreading sepals. Stamens nvimerous. Fruit a globose or oval
head of fiat, strongly margined achenes, each achene tipped by the subulate,
persistent, sword-shaped style.
Marshes, swamps, ditches and low meadows. New Brunswick to Mani-
toba, Georgia and Kansas. Flowering from Aj^ril to July.
Hispid Buttercup
Rdiuiiictilits liispidiis Michaux
Plat..- 60I.
Plant usually hairy when young, sometimes merely appressed-
pubescent or glabrate when old; stems ascending or spreading, visually
several from a thickened, fibrous, perennial root; at flowering time the
stems only a few inches long, later becoming i to 2 feet long, but not
stolonifcrous. Leaves pinnately three to five divided, the divisions
ovate, oblong or obovate, narrowed or euneate at the base, sharply cleft
or lobed, usually thin; flowers one-half to iHnches broad; petals usually
five, oblong, about twice as long as the spreading sepals and entire or
sometimes slightly notched at the apex; achenes of fruit oval, lenticular,
narrowly margined, abruptly tipped by a subulate style of about one-half
their length.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 67
CANADA OR ROUND-LEAVED ANEMONE
A i/i'iJioiic ainadensis
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WILD FLOWERS OF XEW YORK IO9
In dry woods and thickets, \>rmont and Ontario to North Dakota,
south to Georgia and Arkansas. Flowering from March to May.
Stiff White Water Crowfoot
Batrachiiiin circiiiatuni (Sibthorp) Reichenbach
Plate 79a
Plant entirely submerged, except the flowers. Stems branching,
usually I foot long or longer. Leaves about i inch long, spreading nearly
at right angles from the stem, only slightly or not at all collapsing when
drawn from the water, repeatedly forked into capillary divisions. Flowers
white, one-third of an inch broad on stout peduncles, i to 2 inches long
opposite the leaves, flowering just above the surface of the water; sepals and
petals five; petals oblong-oval and blunt. Fruit a small cluster of tiny,
apiculate achenes.
In ponds and slow streams. Nova Scotia to British Cohimbia, south
to North Carolina, also in Europe and Asia. Flowering from Jime to
September.
The fonn illustrated here has the beak of the achenes about i mm long,
so that it should be classed as Batrachium longirostre (Godron)
F. Schultz.
Early Meadow Rue
Thai ict nun dioicuiii Linnaeus
Plate 7 1
Stems glabrous, erect, i to 2 feet high, slender and leafy from brown
perennial roots. Leaves three to four-ternate. Leaflets thin, pale beneath,
orbicular or broader, often cordate and the terminal one somewhat cuneate
five to nine-lobed. Flowers dioecious, greenish or greenish yellow, drooping
or spreading; panicle elongated, of numerous lateral corymbs or umbels;
sepals usually four, blunt; petals none; stanrens numerous, filaments longer
than the sepals; anthers linear, blunt, longer than the filaments. Achenes
in fruit ovoid, sessile or minutely stipitate, strongly ribbed, much longer
than the style.
no NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In woods and on shaded banks, Maine to Alabama, Saskatchewan and
Missouri. Flowering in April and May.
Fall Meadow Rue
'riitilirtniiii pol Vila mil II! Muhlenberg
Plate 7-'
Stems stout, smooth or ptibescent but not glandular or waxy, 3 to lo
feet high, branching. Leaves three to f our-ternate ; leaflets thickish, light
green above and pale beneath, oblong or orbicular with three main apical
pointed or blunt lobes; panicle compound, leafy, a foot long or more.
Flowers polygamous, white or purplish, usually the pistillate flowers pur-
plish and the staminate flowers white; filaments broad, narrowly clavate;
anthers oblong, short. Fruiting achenes ovoid, sessile or short-stipulate,
six to eight-winged, glabrous or pubescent.
Marshes, open sunny swamps and low meadows. Newfoundland to
Florida, Ontario and Ohio. Flowering from July to September.
Virgin's Bower; Woodbine; Wild Clematis
Clematis virgiiiiaiia Linnaeus
Figure XVI and Plate 73
A long vine, climbing over bushes in low woodlands, and along fences
and watercourses. Stems somewhat woody below but only the root peren-
nial in the north at least. Leaves opposite, glabrous, trifoliate; leaflets
broadly ovate, acute at the apex, toothed or lobed, sometimes slightly
cordate. Flowers in leafy panicles, white, polygamo-dioecious, two-
thirds to 1 1 inches broad when expanded. Sepals usually four, spreading,
petallike; petals none; stamens numerous, spreading; filaments glabrous;
pistils numerous. In fruit the styles become an inch long or more,
plumose and persistent on the achenes (figure XVI).
Nova Scotia to Georgia, west to Manitoba and Tennessee. Flowering
in midsummer, July to September.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 70
SWAMP OR MARSH BUTTERCUP
Rail ituatl Its scp>tcutrioiinUs
WTT.n Fl.OWFRS OF \i:\V YORK
"^'i^^
Figure X\']
Virgin's Bower (Clematis virginiana Linnaeus), in fruit
112 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Purple Virgin's Bower
Atragoie (imci-icuint Sims
(Ch'iiKitis vcrticillaris Dc Candolle)
A trailing or partly climbing vine, somewhat woody and perennial
below, glabrous or nearly so. Leaves trifoliate; leaflets thin, ovate, acute,
toothed or entire and more or less cordate; petioles and petiolules slender.
Flowers purplish blue, 2 to 4 inches broad, solitary on slender pedvmcles
in the axils of the leaves or at the ends of the branches. Sepals four, thin
and translucent, strongly veined, silky along the margins and veins; petals
four, spatulate, one-half to two-thirds of an inch long; stamens very
numerous, the outer ones usually with broadened filaments; styles long,
persistent, plumose throughout and about 2 inches long in fruit.
Rocky woodlands and thickets, Hudson bay to Manitoba, south to
Connecticut, Virginia and Minnesota. Flowering in May and June. One
of our rarest wild flowers.
Erect Silky Leather Flower
Vioniii ocJiroleiica (Aiton) Small
Plate 74
Stems erect, silky-hairy, i to 2 feet high and somewhat woody at the
base from a thickened, woody, perennial root. Leaves opposite, simple,
sessile, ovate or elliptical-ovate, blunt, smooth and glabrous above, silky
and reticulate-veined beneath, entire or rarely somewhat lobed; each stem
with a single terminal nodding flower about i inch long or less. Calyx
rather broadly cylindric in shape, composed of four or five thick sepals,
very silkv without, their yellowish-green tips recurved; petals none.
Stamens numerous, parallel with the sepals, their anthers very narrow.
Pistils very numerous, their styles silky or plumose. In fruit the fleshy
sepals fall away leaving an erect head of small achenes plumose with the
long, yellowish -brown, persistent styles which are i to 2 inches long.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 71
EARLY MEADOW RUE
TJtaUctnui! dicicam
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 72
FALL MEADOW RUE
Thalictriiiii polyganjiini
WILD FLOWI.K^ (ll~ M W >r)RK
113
Figure XVII
Purple Virgin's Bower
(A t r a g e n e a m e r i c a n a Sims)
114 ^'EW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Sandy fields and thickets, Staten Island and Pennsylvania, south to
Georgia. Flowering in late May and June. In the southern states several
additional species of Leather Flower (Viorna) are found, but this is the
only one which enters New York.
Barberry Family
Berber id aceae
Blue Cohosh
Caulopliylltiiii tlialictroidcs (Linnaeus) Michaux
Plate 75
Stems erect, glabrous and glaucous when young, i to 3 feet high from
a thickened, perennial rootstock; the base of the stem with two or three
large, sheathing bracts, near the top of the stem a single, large, triternate,
nearly sessile leaf and usually a similar but smaller leaf near the base of
the inflorescence. Leaflets thin, oval, oblong or obovate, i to 3 inches
long when mature, usually only partly developed at flowering time, three
to five-lobed at the apex. Flowers several in a loose terminal panicle,
greenish purple, one-quarter to one-half of an inch broad; sepals six, oblong;
petals six, smaller, cucullate and opposite the sepals; stamens six. Each
flower contains a single pistil with two ovules, which ripens into a globose,
blue, glaucous, berrylike fruit, about one-third of an inch in diameter. As
the seed grows it ruptures the thin, transparent pericarp before maturity.
In woods and thickets. New Brunswick to South Carolina, west to
Manitoba, Tennessee, Nebraska and Missouri. Flowering in April
and Alay.
May Apple; Wild Mandrake
Podop>liylliiiii pcUtitiim Linnaeus
Plato 76
Stems erect, i to i^ feet high, from a perennial, horizontal, poisonous
rootstock. Basal leaves centrally peltate, often nearly a foot in diameter,
long petioled, deeply five to nine-lobed, glabrous or pubescent and light
green on the lower surface, darker above; lobes two-cleft and toothed at
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 73
virgin's bower; woodbine; wild clematis
Clematis virgin iana
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
ERECT SILKY LEATHER FLOWER
Vior)ia ochroleitca
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK II5
the apex. Flowering stems appearing from different rootstocks, bearing
one to three, usually two, similar leaves (rarely leaflets). Flowers i| to 2
inches broad, white, fragrant, on stout, nodding peduncles one-half to 2
inches long, appearing from the base of the upper leaf or usually from the
fork between the two leaves; sepals six, petallike and soon falling. Petals
six to nine, flat, obovate, longer than the sepals; stamens twice as many as
the petals. Ovary ovoid, forming in fruit a large, yellowish, ovoid, edible
berry, i^ to 2 inches long, the numerous seeds inclosed in fleshy arils within
the fruit.
In low woods, moist banks and clearings, western Quebec and southern
Ontario to Alinnesota, Kansas, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Flowering
in May and June.
The fruit is edible and harmless, although somewhat insipid and to
many people its taste is disagreeable. Both foliage and root are said to
be poisonous and serious results have followed the use of the leaves as
greens. The root is a violent purgative, resembling jalap in its action.
Its popular name, Mandrake, relates it in no way to the Mandrake or
Mandragora of the ancients and, notwithstanding its poisonous character
it is a very respectable herb in comparison with the traditions of the
Mandrake of the ancients, described as flourishing best imder a gallows,
with a root resembling a man in shape, uttering terrible shrieks when it
was torn from the ground, and possessing the power of transforming men
and beasts.
Twin-leaf
Jeffersonia diphylla (Linnaeus) Persoon
Figure XVIII
A smooth, perennial, fibrous-rooted plant, 6 to 8 inches high when in
flower, later becoming 10 to 18 inches high. Leaves and flowering stems
arising from a scaly base. Leaves glaucous beneath, long petioled, cordate
or renifomi, 3 to 6 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide when mature, parted
longitudinally into two obliqviely ovate, blunt, lobed or entire divisions;
lobes rounded with sinuses sometimes three-fourths of an inch deep. At
Ii6
NEW YORK STATEi MUSEUM
Fi,i,an-e XVIII
Twin-leaf
(J e f f e r s o n i a d i p h y 1 1 a ( Linnaeus) Persoon)
PhotM^raph b\ G. A. Bailey)
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 75
BLUE COHOSH
Caiilopli villi II! thalictroides
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK II7
flowering time the leaves are but partially developed. Flowering stems
without leaves and one-flowered. Flowers white, about i inch broad;
the calyx with four (.some times three or five) caducous, petallike
divisions. Petals eight, flat, oblong, longer than the sepals. Stamens
eight with slender filaments. Fruit a short-stalked capsule about i
inch long, opening at maturity near the summit by a half-circumscissle
cleft.
In moist woods. New York, Ontario and Pennsylvania to Wisconsin,
lovva, Virginia and Tennessee. Flowering in April and May.
Poppy Family
Papaveraceae
Bloodroot; Fuccoon-root
Siuigninuria canadensis Linnaeus
Plate 77
Leaves and stems glabrous, especially when young, from a stout, hori-
zontal rootstock, one-half to i inch thick, densely clothed with thick, fibrous
roots. Juice of the roots and stems red. Leaves basal on petioles 6 to 14
inches long, palmately five to nine-lobed, the lobes repand or cleft at the
apex and palmately veined. Flowering scapes, one-flowered, at length
overtopped by the mature leaves, but at flowering time longer than the
partially unfolded immature leaves. Flowers white or sometimes pinkish,
I to i^ inches broad; sepals two, soon falling. Petals eight to sixteen,
oblong- spatulate, arranged in two or three rows and soon falling; stamens
numerous, yellow. Fruit a narrow, one-cefled, two-valved capsule, pointed
at both ends, about i inch long.
In rich woods and on shaded banks, Nova Scotia to Manitoba and
Nebraska, south to Florida, Alabama and Arkansas. Flowering in Apnl
and May.
Il8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
FuTneivort Family
F u m a r i a c e a e
Dutchman's-breeches
BicncuUd niculhirid (Linnaeus) Millspaugh
PlUe 7S
A rather delicate, smooth and somewhat tufted herbaceous plant from
a bulbous, perennial base. Leaves all basal, numerous and slender-stalked,
pale beneath, finely divided into many narrow segments. Flowers nodding,
fragrant, few or several on a slender stalk which rises above the leaves;
each flower about one-half to two-thirds of an inch long, and somewhat
broader than long across the spreading basal spurs, white or faintly pink,
yellow at the summit; the four petals in two pairs, the outer pair oblong,
concave, each with a divergent spur at the base and the tip spreading, the
inner pair narrow and minutely crested. Fruit an oblong pod, opening
into two parts to the base when mature.
In rich woods, Nova Scotia to North Carolina, west to Minnesota,
Kansas and Missouri. Flowering in April and May.
The Scjuirrel Corn or Turkey Corn (Bicuculla canadensis
(Goldie) Millspaugh) is similar, but the spin's of the two outer petals are
shorter, rounded and not divergent, the inner pair of petals is conspicu-
ously crested and the roots have numerous small tubers. The Wild
Bleeding Heart (Bicuculla c .x i m i a (Ker) Millspaugh) of the
western part of the State has pink flowers.
Mountain Fringe; Alleghany Vine
Adhiiiiia fuiigosa (Aiton) Greene
Plate 79b
Stems weak, slender, climbing several feet over other plants by its
slender petioles from a biennial root. Leaves two to three-pinnate, the
leaflets slender stalked, lobed or entire, very thin, ovate or cuneate, about
one-fourth of an inch long and pale beneath. Flowers numerous in axillary
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK IIQ
drooping cymes; petals four, united into a narrowly ovate-cordate, spongy
corolla about one-half of an inch long and one-fourth of an inch broad
at the base, four-lobed at the apex, greenish purple, or pink, usually rather
persistent, dry and brownish with age; stamens six, united below and
adherent to the petals. Fruiting capsule oblong, included in the persistent,
dry corolla.
In moist woods, thickets and shaded cliffs, New Brunswick to Ontario
and Michigan, south to North Carolina and Tennessee. Flowering from
June to October. Frequent in cultivation.
Pink or Pale Corydalis
Capnoides sempervireiis (Linnaeus) Borkhausen
Plate 80
Stems and leaves glabrous, glaucous, erect or ascending, 6 inches to
2 feet high and freely branching. Lower leaves i to 5 inches long, short
petioled, the upper leaves sessile or nearly so, all divided into numerous
obovate or cuneate segments, toothed or entire, obtuse. Flowers numerous,
panicled, borne in cymose clusters at the ends of the branches. Each
flower one-half to two-thirds of an inch long, pink or rarely white with a
yellow tip; sepals two, small; corolla irregular, deciduous; petals four,
erect-connivent, one of the outer pair with a spur at the base about one-
eighth of an inch long, the inner pair narrower, keeled at the back. Cap-
sules narrowly linear, erect, i to 2 inches long.
In rocky places, Nova Scotia to Alaska, Georgia, Minnesota, Montana
and British Colunibia. Flowering from May to September.
Two other species of this genus are occasionally fovmd in this State,
both with low, diffu^sely spreading stems and with }-ellow flowers. They are
the Yellow Corydalis (Capnoides f 1 a v u 1 u m (^Rafinesque) Kimtze)
with flowers about one-fourth of an inch long and short spurred; and the
Golden Corydalis (C. a u r e u m (Willdenow) Kuntzc) with flowers
slightly more than one-half of an inch long and spurs one-half the length
of the corolla.
I20 NE^^■ YORK STATE MUSEUM
Mustard Family
C r u c i f e r a e
Lyre-leaved Rock Cress
Ai'dhis lyrata Linnaeus
Plat- ,;4b
A low, tufted perennial or biennial plant with ascending or erect stems,
4 to 12 inches high, smooth above, pubescent below or glabrous throughout.
Basal leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, i to 2 inches long, spatulate or oblanceolate,
pubescent or glabrous; stem leaves entire or toothed, spatulate or linear,
one-half to i inch long. Flow^ers white, one-fourth of an inch broad
or less, several or numerous in a terminal raceme which elongates in
fruit; pedicels ascending, about one-third of an inch long or longer in fruit;
petals four, much longer than the four stamens. Fruit a linear, slightly
flattened pod three-fourths to i-^- inches long; seeds in one row, oblong
and wingless.
Rocky and sandy places, Connecticut and Ontario west to Manitoba
and Alaska, south to Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and British Columbia.
Flowering from April to September.
Bulbous Cress; Cuckoo-flower
Canlamiuc bnlhosa (Schreberj Britton, Sterns & Poggenberg
Plat. 9oa
A slender, erect, herbaceous plant with smooth stems, 6 to 20 inches
high from a perennial, tuber-bearing root, simple or rarely branched.
Leaves of two sorts, those of the stem sessile and clasping or the lower ones
very short petioled, rather distant from one another, oblong or lanceolate,
blunt, toothed or entire, i to 2 inches long; the basal leaves oval or
orbicular, one-half to 2 inches broad, often slightly heart-shaped, toothed
or usually entire, with long, slender petioles. Flowers white, about one-
half of an inch broad, in a terminal, several to many-flowered cluster;
petals four, three to four times the length of the fotir sepals. Fruit a
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate
PINK OR PALE CORYDALIS
Capiioidcs scmpervirens
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 121
number of erect, verj- slender pods, narrowed at each end and about an
inch long.
In low, wet woods, thickets and wet meadows. New Brunswick to
Vermont, southern Ontario and Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas.
Flowering in April and May, or in cool woods as late as early June.
The Purple Cress (Cardamine douglassii (Torrey) Britton)
has leaves which are more angularly toothed and showy purple flowers
often three-fourths of an inch broad. It is foimd in cold, spring}'- places
in the northern part of the State.
The True Water-cress (Sisymbrium n a s t u r t i u m-a q u a-
t i c u m Linnaeus) is a native of Evirope, but is common in brooks and
streams in most parts of New York.
Cut-leaved Toothwort or Pepperroot
Doituria luciiiinta Muhlenberg
Plat- 8la
Stems erect, pubescent or glabrous, 8 to 15 inches high from a deep,
perennial, tubercled, jointed rootstock, the joints easily separable. Leaves
all petioled, 2 to 5 inches broad, those on the stem usually three and forming
a whorl, rarely distant, three-parted nearly to the base, the divisions lanceo-
late, linear or oblong, the lateral ones often deeply cleft, all deeply toothed
or lobed; basal leaves similar, usually developing later than the flowering
stems. Flowers numerous in a stout, broad raceme, two-thirds to three-
fourths of an inch broad, pink or white. The four petals longer than
the sepals. Stamens six. Fruiting pod linear, ascending, 1 to i^ inches
long.
In moist or rich woods, Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota, Kansas
and Louisiana. Flowering in April and May.
Two-leaved Toothwort or Crinkleroot
Dcnituria diphyUa Michaux
PlatL- 8lb
Stems stout, simple, glabrovis, 6 to 14 inches high from a perennial,
notched but continuous rootstock. Basal leaves long petioled, 4 to 5 inches
122 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
broad, with three broadly ovate, dentate or somewhat lobed leaflets each
about 2 inches long; stem leaves usually two, opposite or nearly so, short
petioled and also three-divided, the leaflets often narrower than those
of the basal leaves. Flowers white, one-half to two-thirds of an inch
broad.
In rich woods. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Minnesota, south
to South Carolina and Kentucky. Flowering usually in late April and
in May.
The Large Toothwort (Dent aria maxima Nuttall) has a
jointed rootstock and three stem leaves (sometimes two or as many as five
or six), alternate, with ovate and obovate toothed and cleft leaflets and
large pale-purple flowers. It is rare and local in distribution.
The species of Dentaria are members of the Mustard family ( Cruciferae)
which contains a very large number of small-flowered, inconspicuous plants,
many of them weeds, as well as a number of cultivated species which have
become naturalized or established throughout the State.
American Sea Rocket
Ciikilc cdciitiila (Bigelow) Hooker
Plate 82a
Plant very fleshy throughout, bushy branched from a deep, annual root,
the lower branches spreading or ascending, the center ones erect, a few
inches to a foot high. Leaves oblanceolate or obovate, oi:)tuse, lobed or
toothed, narrowed at the base, the lower leaves 2 to 5 inches long, the
upper leaves smaller. Flowers light purple, less than one-fovirth of an inch
broad, the four petals long-clawed, more than twice the length of the sepals;
fruit one-half to i inch long, the upper joint slightly longer than the lower,
ovoid, angled, flattened, narrowed above into a beak; lower joint obovoid,
not flattened.
Sandy places along the seashore, Newfoundland to New Jersey and
Florida, and along the Great Lakes, New York to Minnesota.
c ^
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW Y () R K
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 82
A. AMKRICAX SKA ROCKET
Cakilc edciiliila
YFXLOW MOUNTAIN SAXIKRAC
Lcptdsid aizoidc's
•LOWERS OF NEW YORK I23
Pitcher Plant Family
S
;i c c n
Pitcher Plant; Sidesaddle Flower
Sarracoiia purpurcd Linnaeus
PI ite 8 j
Leaves ttifted, ascending, hollow, much inflated and trumpet-shaped,
4 to 12 inches long, with a broad, lateral wing and an erect terminal lid or
lamina, glabrous except the inner side of the lamina and the inner surface
of the pitchers, which are densely clothed with stiff, reflexed hairs, purple-
veined or sometimes green, yellowish or reddish all over, narrowed into
petioles below, persistent over winter. Roots large, stout and fibrous.
Flowers solitary on slender scapes, i to 2 feet high, nodding, deep purple
or rarely yellow, nearly globose, i^ to 2-} inches broad; sepals five, green,
with three or four bracts at the base ; petals five, obovate, narrowed in the
middle, incurved over the yellowish style. Style dilated at the apex into
a peltate umbrellalike structure with five rays which terminate under its
angles in hooked stigmas.
In peat bogs and wet sphagnous places, Labrador to the Canadian
Rocky mountains, Florida, Kentucky and Iowa. Flowering in May and
June. The pitcher-shaped leaves usually contain more or less water in
which are numerous drowned insects which furnish food for the larvae of
a fly which is instrumental in the cross-pollination of the flowers.
Sundeiv Family
Droseraceae
Spatulate-Ieaved Sundew
Droscru intermedia (Linnaevis) Hayne
Plate S4
A tufted bog plant with erect, flowering scapes, 2 to 8 inches high,
and elongated rootstocks. Leaf blades ascending, spatulate, obtuse at the
apex, one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch long, one-half to one-third as
124 ^'EW YORK STATE MUSEUM
wide as long, clothed above with long, glandular hairs secreting a fluid
which entraps insects, narrowed below into glabrous petioles one-half to
1 1 inches long; usually the entire foliage reddish or greenish red in color.
Flowers several in one-sided racemes; petals five, white, slightly longer than
the greenish sepals; the one-celled ovary surmounted by three styles, each
deeply two-parted so as to appear like six.
In bogs and sphagnous places, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, south
to Florida and Louisiana, and also in northern Europe. Flowering from
June to August.
The Spatulate-leaved Sundew is not so common as the Round-leaved
Sundew (D r o s e r a rotund i folia Linnaeus), with orbicular leaf
blades. Two additional Sundews occur in New York, namely the Oblong-
leaved Sundew (Drosera longifolia Linnaeus), with leaf blades
elongated-spatulate, six to eight times as long as wide; and the Thread-
leaved Sundew (D. filiformis (Linnaeus) Rafinesque), with linear
leaves ten to fifteen times as long as wide and purple flowers. The last
grows in wet sand near the coast, the others in bogs.
Virginia Stonecrop Family
P e n t h o r a c e a c
Ditch or Virginia Stonecrop
Poitliorniii sedoidcs Linnaeus
PhUe R7h
Stems erect, glabrous, often branched and angled above, 6 inches
to 2 feet high, from a perennial root. Leaves alternate, sessile, lanceolate
or narrowly elliptic, acuminate at each end, finely toothed, 2 to 4 inches
long, one-half to i inch wide. Flowers pert'ect, yellowish green, in two
or three forked, one-sided cymes, the branches i to 3 inches long. Each
flower about one-fifth of an inch broad; calyx five-parted, the sepals
triangular-ovate, pointed, shorter than the flatfish capsule; stamens ten;
petals often lacking, when present, linear or linear-spatulate. Fruit a
depressed, five-lobed capsule with five divergent tips.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 83
PITCUliR plant; SinKSADDI.F. FLOWER
Sarraccuia purpurea
Pi
o
z
O
o
Q
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 125
Common in ditches and swampy places, New Brunswick to Florida,
west to Nebraska, Kansas and Texas. Flowering from July to September.
Not a very attractive plant, but the only American representative
of the Penthoraceae (Virginia Stonecrop family), which is joined with
the Saxifrage family by some authors and to the Orpine family by others.
Grass-of -Parnassus Family
Parnassiaceae
Carolina Grass-of-Parnassus
Panuis.sia caroliiiiaiia Michaux
Plate 8s
Flowering scape 6 to 20 inches high, with a sessile, ovate, clasping
leaf below the middle. Basal leaves very numerous, ovate, oval, or nearly
orbicular, obtuse at the apex, rounded or slightly cordate at the base, or
decurrent on the petiole, i to 2 inches long, on petioles 2 to 6 inches long.
Flowers three-fourths to i§ inches broad; calyx lobes five, ovate-oblong,
obtuse and much shorter than the five broadly oval, white, greenish veined
petals; each petal with a set (usually three) of gland-tipped staminodia at
the base which do not exceed the five fertile stamens in length, the latter
alternate with the petals. Fruit a one-celled capsule about one-half of an
inch long.
In swamps, low meadows and boggy places, New Brunswick to Mani-
toba, south to Virginia, Illinois and Iowa. Flowering from Juh' to Sep-
tember, rarely earlier than July in our latitude. At Taberg growing on wet
cliffs with the Yellow Mountain Saxifrage and Dwarf Canadian Primrose.
Saxifrage Family
S a X i f r a g a c e a e
Yellow Mountain Saxifrage
Leptasea aizoides (Linnaeus) Haworth
Plate 82b
Stems tufted, forming loose or dense leafy mats, 2 to 7 inches high.
Leaves alternate, linear, thick, fleshy, sharply pointed at the apex, sessile,
126 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
one-third to three-fourths of an inch long, one-eighth of an inch wide or
tisually less, sometimes sparingly ciliate on the margins. Flowers several,
corymbose, one-third to two-thirds of an inch broad on slender pedicels;
petals five, oblong, yellow and often spotted with orange, longer than
the ovate calyx lobes and alternate with them. Stamens ten; ovary almost
superior, the two capsules united to above the middle.
On wet or dripping rocks, Newfoundland and Labrador to Vermont,
northern and western New York, and west through Arctic America to the
Rocky mountains. Also in Alpine and Arctic Europe and Asia. Flowering
in July and August.
Early Saxifrage
Micranthcs virgiiiiciisis (Linnaeus) Small
Plat.. S7a
Flowering stem 4 to 12 inches high, viscid -pvibescent with whitish
hairs, leafless or with a few green bracts at the base of the inflorescence.
Leaves all basal, i to 3 inches long, obovate, or oval, toothed, blunt or
pointed at the apex, spatvilate at the base and narrowed into a margined
petiole; inflorescence cymose, becoming paniculate by the elongation of
the lower branches. Flowers white, less than one-fourth of an inch broad;
calyx of five erect, triangular, pointed lobes; petals five, oblong-spatulate,
obtuse, longer than the calyx; stamens ten, carpels of the fruit usually
two, nearly separate, widely divergent when mature.
Li dry or rocky woodlands, banks and ledges. New Brunswick to
Minnesota, south to Georgia and Tennessee. Flowering from April imtil
June.
Swamp Saxifrage
Micra utiles pcinisylvai/iai (Linnaeus) Haworth
Plate- Sf>
Flowering scape stout, viscid-pubescent, i to 3^ feet high, with green
bracts at the inflorescence, otherwise leafless. Leaves all basal, large,
oval, ovate, obovate or oblanceolate, pubescent or nearly glabrous, 4 to
10 inches long, obtuse at the apex, narrowed below into a broad petiole,
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 85
GRASS-OF-PARNASSLS
Paniassia caroliiiiaiia
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 127
the margins denticulate or repand. Flowers in elongated, loose, terminal
panicles, greenish. Each flower about one-eighth of an inch broad or
slightly broader; the obtuse calyx lobes reflected; petals five, lanceolate
or linear-lanceolate, twice as long as the calyx.
Swamps, wet banks and wet woods, Maine to Ontario, Minnesota,
Virginia, Iowa and Missouri. Flowering in May and June.
Foamflower; False Miterwort
Tin reiki cord if alia Linnaeus
Plate 8S
Flowering scapes 6 to 12 inches high, slender and pubescent, from
a rather stout, perennial root. Leaves all basal, long petioled, broadly
ovate or nearly orbicvilar, cordate at the base, three to seven-lobed, blunt
or pointed at the apex, 2 to 4 inches long, margins crenate or dentate,
pubescent above with scattered hairs, glabrate or downy along the veins
beneath. Flowers white, forming a terminal raceme, i to 4 inches long.
Each flower about one-fourth of an inch broad; petals five, oblong, entire
or slightly toothed, somewhat longer than the five white calyx lobes; stamens
ten, anthers reddish or yellowish. Fruit of two very unequal carpels, about
one-fourth of an inch long, reflexed on slender pedicels.
In rich, moist woods. Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota, south
along the mountains to Georgia, and west to Indiana and Michigan.
Flowering from April to June. Also known as Coolwort.
Alumroot
Heuchera am erica na Linnaeus
Pl.ite Sg
Flowering stem rather stovit, i^ to 3 feet high, leafless, glandular,
hirsute. Leaves basal, long petioled, 3 to 4 inches wide with seven to
nine rounded, crenate-dentate lobes; the older leaves glabrous or with
scattered hairs on the upper surfaces, new leaves usually somewhat pubes-
cent. Flowers greenish yellow, in elongated panicles; calyx tube broadly
128 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
campanulate, nearly regtilar, somewhat less than one-fourth of an inch
long, five-lobed; petals five, very small, greenish and alternate with the
lobes of the calyx which they do not exceed in length. Stamens five,
projecting out from the calyx more than one-half their length, anthers
orange.
In dry or rocky woods and banks, Ontario to Connecticut, west to
Minnesota, south to Alabama and Louisiana. Flowering from May to
August.
Two-leaved Bishop's Cap; Miterwort
Mitella diphylla Linnaeus
Plate gob
Stems erect, often several together from a perennial root, S to 17
inches high, pubescent, each stem bearing a pair of opposite, sessile or
nearly sessile leaves near or above its middle. Basal leaves broadly ovate,
cordate at the base, acute or long pointed at the apex, three to five-lobed,
toothed, rather rovigh-hairy on both sides, i to 2 inches long. Flowers
small, white, rather distant from one another, in a very narrow, elongated,
erect raceme, 3 to 8 inches long; calyx tube bell-shaped, five-lobed; petals
five, finely pinnatifid. Fruiting capsules one-celled, two-valved at the
apex, many seeded, somewhat flattened and broad, seeds smooth, black
and shiny.
In rich woods, Quebec to Minnesota, North Carolina and Missouri.
Flowering in April and May.
In cold woods and bogs of the northern ]3art of the vState occurs a
smaller species of Miterwort, M i t e 1 1 a n u d a Linnaeus, with reniform-
orbicular, basal leaves and the stems usually without leaves; flowers
greenish yellow. Another species, M. oppositifolia Rydberg, has
been described from central New York which difters from M. diphylla
only in having long-petioled stem leaves, lanceolate calyx lobes and filiform
divisions to the petals.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 86
SWAMP SAXIFRAGE
Micra utiles pen nsylva ii iea
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate
foamflower; false miterwort
Tiarella cordijolia
WILD FLOWERS OK NEW YORK 1 29
Rose Family
R o s a c c a c
Meadowsweet; Quaker Lady
Spiraea hit i folia (Aiton) Borkhausen
Pl.ite g.\?
An erect shrub, 2 to 6 feet high, usually more or less branched above
and smooth with reddish stems. Leaves short petioled, blades oblanceolate
or obovate, glabrous or nearly so, coarsely toothed, i to 2 inches long, one-
half to i^ inches wide, usually larger on young shoots, obtuse or slightly
pointed at the apex, rounded or tapering at the base, pale beneath. Flowers
white or pinkish, in dense terminal panicles, each flower about one-fourth
of an inch broad or less; petals four or five, inserted on the calyx; stamens
numerous. Pistils commonly five, alternate with the calyx lobes.
In moist or rocky places, in open woods, or in old meadows and along
roadsides, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, Virginia and western Penn-
sylvania. Flowering from June to August.
The Narrow-leaved Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba Du Roi) has
yellowish brown branches, narrowly oblanceolate to oblong leaves and
white flowers. It is much less abundant than Spiraea 1 at i folia,
and is found in wet soil, Ontario to New York, south to North Carolina,
west to Indiana, Missouri and Saskatcliewan.
Hardback; Steeplebush
Spiraea tomentosa Linnaeus
Plate 94a
Erect, shrubby and perennial at least below, the tops usually dying
back, I to 3 feet tall, usually simple; stems floccose-pubescent. Leaves
short petioled, ovate or oval, i to 2 inches long, one-half to i inch wide,
unequally toothed, blunt or pointed at the apex, narrowed or rounded
at the base, smooth and dark green above, woolly-pubescent with whitish
hairs beneath. Flowers pink or purplish, rarely white, in dense terminal
130 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
panicles, each flower about one-fifth of an inch broad; divisions or folhcles
of the fruit pubescent.
In wet meadows, swamps and low ground, Nova Scotia to Manitoba
south to Georgia and Kansas. Flowering from July to September.
The Corymbed Spiraea (Spiraea c o r y m b o s a Rafinesque),
with oval, ovate or orbicular leaves, slightly cordate at the base, or rounded,
and with small white flowers in dense terminal, often leafy corymbs, is
found occasionally <m rock\' banks and in wood of the southern part of
the State.
Indian Physic; Bowman's Root
Poiicniiitliits IrifoUatiis (Linnaeus) Britton
Stems erect, herbaceous, 2 to 4 feet high, from a perennial root, usually
branched, glabrous or slightly pubescent. Stipules small, one-eighth
to one-fourth of an inch long, entire or toothed. Leaves sessile or nearly
so, three-foliate; leaflets oval, ovate, lanceolate or slightly obovate, long
pointed at the apex, narrowed at the base, 2 to 3 inches long, irregularly
toothed. Flowers white or pinkish, one-half to two-thirds of an inch
long on slender peduncles, in loose, terminal, leafy panicles; calyx reddish,
five-toothed, ten nerved; petals five, linear-lanceolate, somewhat unequal.
In woods and thickets, Ontario and New York to Michigan, Georgia
and Missouri. Flowers in June and July.
A closely related species, P o r t e r a n t h u s s t i p u 1 a t u s
(Muhlenberg) Britton, has incised leaflets, liroad, foliaceous, incised
stipules and slightly smaller flowers. Its range is about the same.
Common Five-finger or Cinquefoil
Potent ilia ciuiadciisis Linnaeus
Plate g2 i
Stems ascending, a few inches high, spreading by slender runners
3 inches to i or 2 feet long; the pubescence of the stem, petioles and peduncles
spreading. Leaves petioled, digitately five-foliated; leaflets oblanceolate
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 89
ALUMROOT
Ilciirliera am erica na
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 90
:/•
\
\
A. BULBOUS cress; CUCKOO-FLOWER B. TWO-LEAVED BISHOPS CAP OR MITERWORT
Cardaiiiiiie bnlbosa Mitella dipliylla
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 91
INDIAN PHYSIC; BOWMAN S ROOT
PorteraiitJiHs trifoliatiis
WILn FLOWERS OF NEW YORK I3I
to oblong, bhmt at the apex, narrowed at the base, one-half to i inch long,
toothed. Flowers yellow, one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch broad
on slender, axillary, one-flowered peduncles; the first flower appearing
from the axil of the second stem leaf; petals five, broadly oval, slightly
longer than the acute calyx lobes and the linear-lanceolate bractlets;
stamens about twenty.
In dry soil of meadows and fields. New Brunswick to Georgia,
Minnesota and Texas. Flowering from April to August.
The genus Potentilla contains a number of representatives in New
York, several of which are introduced species. Of these, the most common
is the Rough Cinquefoil (Potentilla monspeliensis Linnaeus),
with stout, erect, hairy stems and leaves, and yellow flowers in which the
calyx lobes exceed the petals in length.
The Silvery Cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea Linnaeus) is a
native species of dry soils or rocky places, with spreading or ascending,
white, woolly-pubescent stems, leaflets green and smooth above and white-
tomentose beneath, the margins re volute, and small yellow flowers.
Rough-fruited Cinquefoil
Potentilla recta Linnaeus
Stems erect, stout, branched above, villous-pubescent, i to 2 feet
high from a stout, perennial root, with ovate-lanceolate stipules, the
lower foliaceous and cut. Leaves digitately five to seven-foliate, petioled
or the upper leaves nearly sessile; leaflets oblanceolate, blunt at the apex,
narrowed at the base, pubescent with scattered hairs above, more densely
pubescent beneath, sharply toothed, i to 3 inches long. Flowers numerous,
bright or dull yellow, about three-fourths of an inch broad, in terminal,
cymose clusters; stamens about twenty.
Roadsides, fields and waste places, Maine to Ontario, New York,
Virginia and Michigan. Naturalized from Europe and Asia. Flowering
from June to September.
132 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Silverweed; Wild or Goose Tansy
Argoitiiia aiiscriiia (Linnaeus) Rydberg
Plate a;h
Stems and leaves herbaceous and tufted from a perennial root ; spreading
by slender runners, 8 inches to 3 feet long. Leaves pinnate, 3 to 18 inches
long; leaflets seven to twenty-five, oblong, oblanceolate or obovate, obtuse,
the lower leaflets usually smaller, often with still smaller ones interspersed,
all sharply toothed, nearly glabrous above, white or silky-pubescent beneath.
Flowers yellow, three-fovirths to i^ inches broad, solitary on erect axillary
peduncles; petals five, broadly oval or obovate, longer than the five ovate,
pointed sepals and the five oval bractlets; stamens about twenty, borne
around the base of the hemispheric, villous receptacle.
Lake shores, sandy fields and salt meadows, New Jersey to Greenland,
west to Nebraska, British Columbia and Alaska, south in the Rocky
mountains to New Mexico and CaHfornia; also in Europe and Asia.
Flowering from May to vSeptember. Consists of several or numerous
races, differing in the size and shape of the leaflets, and slightly in the
achenes. Small northern plants havp been referred to A . e g e d i i of
Greenland, and a form from Oneida lake has been described as A. b a b-
c o c k i a n a Rydberg.
Purple or Marsh Cinquefoil; Purplewort
Ci>)iiiint)}i pitlitstre Linnaeus
Plate <)6a
Stems decumbent, often rather long, somewhat woody and perennial
at the base; pubescent above. Leaves pinnate, upper leaves three to
five-foliate, nearly sessile, lower ones successively longer petioled, five
to seven-foliate; leaflets oblong or oval, sharply toothed, blunt or pointed
at the apex, narrowed at the base, i to 3 inches long; petioles sheathed
at the base by large membranous stipules. Flowers conspicuous, three-
fourths to 1 1 inches broad ; calyx deeply five-lobed with five narrow bractlets,
W I L D I L () W E R S OF N E W ^' () R K
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 92
A. CO^IMON FIVE-FINGER OR riX(jUEFOIL
Poloiiillii ca linden sis
SILVI'RWKI'O; WILD OR GOOSE TANSY
\r<icnlinti luiscrimi
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 94
A. hardhack; steeplebush
spiraea tonwiitosa
AMERICAN GREAT BURNET
Sa II gu isorha ca )iadeiisis
WILD FLOWERS OF \F\V YORK J33
the calyx lobes ovate, acuminate, red or purple within, much exceeding
the purple, ovate-lanceolate petals; pistils numerous, seated on an enlarged,
pubescent receptacle which becomes spongy in fruit.
In swamps and peat bogs, Greenland and Labrador to New Jersey,
Iowa, British Columbia, Wyoming, Alaska and California: also in northern
Europe and Asia. Flowering from June to August.
Wild or Scarlet Strawberry
Fragaria virgin /ana (Linnaeus) Duchesne
Plate 9-a
Plants tufted, usually several or many together, dark green, foliage
villous-pubescent with spreading hairs. Leaves tliick, with three broadly
oval or obovate, coarsely toothed leaflets, the terminal one usually narrowed
at the base; petioles 2 to 6 inches long. Flowering scapes as long or shorter
than the leaves, bearing several white flowers on appressed -pubescent
pedicels. Flowers one-half to three-fourths of an inch broad, white, petals
obovate. Fruit red, ovoid, the achenes imbedded in pits.
In rather dry soil, fields, hillsides etc., Newfoundland to South Dakota,
Florida and Oklahoma. Flowering in April and May.
The European Wood Strawberry (Fragaria vesca Linnaeus) is
a common escape everywhere in the east and frequently hybridizes with
F. virginiana, so that some forms are difficult to classify. The
American Wood Strawberry (Fragaria a m e r i c a n a (Porter)
Britton), with longer flowering scapes and elongated-conic fruit, with
achenes borne on its shining, even surface and but slightly attached to it,
is a common species in rocky woodlands. The Northern Wild Strawberry
(Fragaria canadensis Michaux) has a long, slender fruit with
the achenes sunk in pits and oblong or narrowly obovate leaflets. It ranges
across the northern part of the state.
134 NEW YORK statp: museum
Shrubby Five-finger or Cinquefoil
Dasipliora fniticosa (Linnaeus) Rydberg
Plate 96b
A branching shrub with ascending or erect, leafy branches, i to 4 feet
high. Leaves pinnate, leaflets five to seven, linear-oblong or oblanceolate,
]TOinted at each end, one-half to i inch long, silky-pubescent, the margins
entire and revolute; stipules membranous, ovate-lanceolate, entire and
pointed. Flowers terminal, in dense or loose cymose clusters, or solitary,
bright yellow, three-fourths to i\ inches broad; the five calyx lobes ovate,
with five bractlets; petals five, nearly orbicular and longer than the calyx
lobes. Achenes of the fruit covered with long straight hairs.
In swampy or marshy places, often in moist rocky places, Labrador and
Greenland to Alaska, south to New Jersey, Illinois, Minnesota, Rocky
mountains and California; also in northern Europe and Asia. In northern
New England it is often a troublesome, biishy weed. Flowering from
June to September.
American Great Burnet
Saiigiiisorba canadensis Linnaeus
Plate 94b
An erect, leafy, herbaceous plant from a thick, perennial root; stems
sometimes decumbent at the base, glabrous or somewhat pubescent below,
simple or branched above, i to 6 feet high. Leaves odd-pinnate, the lower
leaves long petioled, sometimes i to i§ feet long; leaflets seven to fifteen,
ovate, oblong or oval, blunt or pointed at the apex; pointed, blunt or even
cordate at the base, sharply toothed. Flowers white, in dense terminal
spikes, I to 6 inches long; petals none; calyx tube turbinate, constricted at
the throat, four-winged, four-lobed, the lobes petallike, concave and
deciduovis; stamens four, their filaments long and white.
In swamps and low meadows, sometimes in bogs, Newfoundland to
Michigan, south to Georgia. Flowering from July to September or even
later.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 95
ROUGH-FRUITED CINQUEFOIL
Potcntilla recta
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK T35
Common Agrimony
Aiiriiuoiiiii striata Alichaux
{Agi'ii)ioiiia hrittoiiiana Bicknell)
Plate gSb
Stem rather stout and usually with some straight, nearly erect branches,
2 to 6 feet tall from a perennial fibrous root, pubescent with short, spread-
ing, brownish hairs, somewhat appressed above. Leaves numerous, alternate,
compound with seven to nine, or rarely eleven, oblicjue leaflets, tetragonal-
elliptic to rhomboid-lanceolate, pointed and sharply toothed, rather thick
and somewhat rough, dull green above, softly pubescent beneath, usually
several pairs of small, interposed leaflets; stipules lanceolate, pointed and
cut-toothed. Flowers numerous in long, erect or ascending racemes; each
flower about one-fourth of an inch wide; petals five, bright yellow; calyx
tube in fruit long-turbinate, about one-fourth of an inch long, deeply grooved,
unmargined; the bristles nvimerous, often purplish, short, crowded, inflexed
and connivent over the sepals.
Thickets, open woods and roadsides, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan,
sovith to West Virginia, Nebraska and Mexico. Flowering from June
to September.
Barren or Dry Strawberry
Waldstcinia fragarioidcs (Michaux) Trattinnick
Pl.ite 99
A perennial, herbaceous plant resembling a strawberry, with creeping,
rather stout rootstock. Leaves tufted, mainly basal, long petioled, glabrous
or somewhat pubescent, three-foliate; leaflets obovate, obtuse at the apex,
tapering at the base with crenate or sometimes incised margins, i to 2
inches long. Flowering scapes slender, erect, bracted, corymbosely three
to eight-flowered; pedicels slender, often drooping; flowers yellow, one-half
to two-thirds of an inch broad; petals five, obovate and longer than the
five ovate-lanceolate, acute calyx lobes; stamens eight, inserted on the
throat of the calyx; achenes of the fruit four to six, finely pubescent.
Rocky woods, shaded hillsides and banks. New Brunswick to Ontario.
Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana and Oregon. Flowering in May and June.
J 76 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Yellow Avens; Camproot
Geiiin strictnm Alton
Plato y8a
Stems erect or nearly so, pubescent, somewhat branched, 2 to 4 feet
high, basal leaves lyrate-pinnate with five to seven obovate, cuneate,
toothed or lobed leaflets, with a few smaller leaflets interspersed, terminal
leaflets largest, broadly ovate or cuneate; stem leaves short petioled or
sessile with three to five ovate or oblong, acute segments. Flowers
yellow, several, terminal and short peduncled, one-half to three-fourths
of an inch broad; petals obovate, exceeding the five calyx lobes. Stamens
numerous.
In low, shaded ground, swamps and wet meadows, Newfoundland
to British Columbia, south to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri and
New Mexico. Flowering from June to August.
Purple or Water Avens
Geiim rival e Linnaeus
Plato 100
Stems simple or nearly so, erect, pubescent, i to 3 feet high, from
stout perennial roots. Basal leaves lyrately and interruptedly pinnate,
petioled, the lateral segments generally few and small, the terminal one
to three leaflets much larger, all sharply and irregularly lobed and toothed;
stem leaves rather far apart, short petioled or sessile, simple or three-
foliated. Flowers few, terminal, purple or purplish, nodding, three-fourths
to I inch broad; petals obovate emarginate, abruptly narrowed into a
claw; calyx lobes spreading, purple; head of the fruit stalked in the calyx;
achenes pubescent, style jointed, plumose below, about one-fourth of an
inch long.
In swamps and low grounds, Newfoundland to British Columbia,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Colorado; also in northern Europe
and Asia. Flowering from early June until the latter part of Ji.ily.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 98
A. YELLOW AVENS; CAMPROOT
Geiun strictitiu
}. COMMON AGRIMONY
.■[oriiiioiiia striata
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 99
BARREN OR DRY STRAWBERRY
U'aldslchiiii fnigdn'oidcs
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK I37
There are several other Avens in New York, all except G. rivale
with reflexed calyx lobes. G. Virginian urn Linnaeus and G. cana-
dense Jacquin have white flowers. G. v e r n u m (Rafinesque)
Torrey & Gray; G. strictum Alton (described above), and G.
meyerianum Rydberg, have yellow flowers. G. m a c r o p h y 1 1 u m
Willdenow, a boreal species found only in the Adirondacks, in this State,
also has yellow flowers. For complete descriptions of these additional
species the student should refer to Gray's Manual or Britton and Brown's
Illustrated Flora.
Purple-flowering Raspberry; Thimbleberry
Rnbiis odoratiis Linnaeus
Plate lOl
Shrubby, erect and branched, perennial; new growth glandular-pubes-
cent and somewhat bristly but not prickly, 3 to 5 feet high. Leaves simple,
petioled, large, 5 to 10 inches broad, three to five-lobed, cordate at the base,
pubescent, especially on the veins beneath, the lobes long pointed, the
middle lobe usually longer than the others; flowers rather numerous in
corymbose, terminal clusters, purple, i to 2 inches broad; calyx lobes tipped
with long, slender appendages; petals five; fruit red when ripe, broad and
thin, scarcely edible.
In rocky woods and thickets. Nova Scotia to Ontario and Michigan,
south to Georgia and Tennessee. Flowering from June to August.
New York contains a large number of native raspberries and black-
berries. The principal species of Raspberries are R. strigosus Michaux
(red) ; R. neglect us Peck (purple) , and R. occidentalis Linnaeus
(Black Raspberry) . The Blackberries are R. triflorus Richards (Dwarf
Red Blackberry) , R. canadensis Linnaeus (Northern Blackberry) ,
R. allegheniensis Porter (Mountain Blackberry), R. argutus
Link (Tall BlackberrvO, and also the Dewberries. See Britton and Brown's
Illustrated Flora for complete descriptions.
138 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Dewberry; Low Running Blackberry
Riihiis jprociiiiibciis I\Iuhlenberg
Plate aib
Stems trailing, shrubl:)y and perennial, often several feet long, armed
with numerous or very few prickles. Branches erect, 4 to 12 inches long,
slightly pubescent, often prickly and glandular. Leaves three to seven-
foliate, usually three-foliate; leaflets ovate or ovate-lanceolate, thin, pointed
at the apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, sharply toothed. Flowers
few in terminal racemes, white, about i inch broad; the five petals usually
as long or slightly longer than the calyx lobes. Fruit black, usually at
least one-half of an inch long and sometimes i inch long, fine flavored but
with large seeds.
In dry soil, especially in sandy sections. Nova Scotia to Ontario and
Michigan, south to \^irginia, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Flowering in Alay
and June. Fruit ripe in June and July.
A similar species, R u b u s h i s p i d u s Linnaeus ( Hispid or Run-
ning Swamp Blackberry), with the stems densely beset with weak, retrorse
bristles, is also common in swamps and low grounds throughout our area.
Dalibarda; Dewdrop or False Violet
Dali/xirdd rcpciis Linnaeus
Plato 97l.
Stems very slender, much tufted, several inches long. Leaves downy-
pubescent on both sides, three-fourths to 2 inches broad, long petioled,
ovate-orbicular, cordate, the margin with low, blunt or sometimes mucronu-
late crenations; stipules setaceous. The scapclike peduncles i to 5 inches
long, bearing one or two large, perfect white flowers, each flower about one-
half of an inch broad; calyx deeply five or six-parted, three of the divisions
larger than the other two or three; petals five; stamens numerous. Fruit
composed of five to ten nearly dry drupelets, inclosed by the calyx segments.
Stems also have short, recurved peduncles bearing several or numerous
small clcistogamous flowers.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 100
PURPLE OR WATER AVENS
Gc 11)11 riviilc
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK I39
In rich woods, Nova Scotia to Minnesota, sovith to Pennsylvania,
southern New Jersey, North Carohna, Ohio and Michigan. Flowering
from June to September.
Low or Pasture Rose
Rosa virgin iiuui Miller
Plate 102
A bushy shrtib, a few inches to 3 or 4 feet high, sometimes higher; the
stems armed with slender or stout, straight or curved infrastipular spines,
and more or less prickly. Stipules entire. Leaves alternate with five or
sometimes seven rather thin ovate-oval or obovate leaflets, dull green or
somewhat shiny, coarsely toothed, one-half to 2 inches long, usually pointed
at the end, glabrous or pubescent beneath. Flowers few or solitary, 2 to 3
inches broad; pedicels and calyx usually glandular; calyx five-lobed, the
segments lanceolate, long pointed, sometimes dilated toward the end,
spreading and deciduous; petals five, obcordate, rose or pink, fading after
opening. Fruit globose or depressed-globose, glandular-hispid, about one-
third of an inch high.
In dry or rocky soil, Newfoundland to Ontario and Wisconsin, south to
Georgia, Louisiana and Missouri. Flowering from May to July. The
Swamp Wild Rose (Rosa Carolina Linnaeus) is frequent in open or
wooded swamps and marshes.
Apple Family
Malaceae
Black Chokeberry
Aroniii iiiclaiioiarpa (Michaux) Britton
Plate in,;
An extensively branching shrub, 3 to 8 feet high. Leaves obovate to
oval, the apex varying from blunt to pointed, narrowed or cuneate at the
base, short petioled, the margins crenulate, dark green above, paler beneath,
glabrous or nearly so when mature. Flowers numerous in terminal, com-
potmd, leafy cymes; each flower about one-half of an inch broad; cah-x and
140 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
pedicels glabrous or nearly so; calyx lobes glandular; petals five, concave,
white or tinged with pink, spreading; stamens numerous, filaments rose-
colored to white; anthers black or dark red. Fruit globose or oval, nearly
black, or ptirplish black, aboiit one-quarter of an inch in diameter.
In low grounds, swamps or open woods, sometimes in drier situations,
Nova Scotia to western Ontario, south to Florida and Michigan. Flowers
in April and May. Fruit ripe in August and September.
The Red Chokeberry (A. arbutifolia (Linnaeus) Elliott) has the
cymes and lower surface of the leaves woolly and the mature fruit is bright
red. The Purple-fruited Chokeberry (A. atropurpurea Britton) also
has the cymes and lower leaf surfaces woolly but the mature fruit is
purple-black.
Senna Family
Caesalpiniaceae
Wild or American Senna
Cassia marilandica Linnaeus
Plate 104
Stems 3 to 7 feet high, sparingly branched or simple, glabrous or w'ith
scant pubescence, from a perennial root. Leaves evenly pinnate, not
sensitive to the touch, petioled and with a club-shaped gland near the base
of the petiole; leaflets twelve to twenty, oblong, blunt but mucronate at the
apex, rounded at the base, ciliate, i to 2 inches long, one-fourth to two-
thirds of an inch wide. Flowers yellow, about two-thirds to three-fourths
of an inch broad, numerous, in pubescent axillary racemes on the upper
part of the plant. Calyx lobes five, nearly equal, ovate or oblong, obtuse;
corolla nearly regular, of five spreading, nearly equal, clawed petals;
stamens ten, the upper three imperfect. Fruit a flat linear pod, 3 to 4
inches long and about one-fourth of an inch wide, curved, pubescent, con-
taining flat, suborbicular seeds. The segments of the pod are about as
long as broad.
In moist meadows, marshes and swamps, sometimes on springy hill-
sides, Massachvisctts to central New York, Ohio, Tennessee and North
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 102
LOW OR PASTURE ROSE
Rosa virginiana
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 10.^
*i .
BLACK CHOKEBERRY
Aronia uielaiiocarpa
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK I4I
Carolina. Rather rare and local in New York, frequently seen along the
Hudson River valley and vip the Mohawk, northward along West Canada
creek to Newport in Herkimer county, which appears to be the northern
limit of its range. Flowering in July and August.
Sensitive Pea; Wild Sensitive Plant
Chamaecrista nictitans (Linnaeus) Moenchhausen
Plate 105a
An annual plant, 5 to 16 inches high with erect or decumbent, branching
and somewhat pubescent stems. Leaves evenly pinnate, sensitive to the
touch, bearing a small gland near the base of the petiole; leaflets twelve to
forty, linear-oblong, blunt and mucronate at the apex, rounded and oblique
at the base, ineqtiilateral, one-fourth to two-thirds of an inch long, about
one-fourth as wide. Flowers two or three together in the axils, one-fourth
of an inch broad or less; calyx lobes five, pointed; corolla yellow, some-
what irregular, three of the five petals smaller than the others; stamens
five, all perfect. Fruit a small, linear, pubescent or smooth pod, i to i^
inches long.
In dry and sandy soil, Maine to Georgia, west to Indiana, Kansas
and Texas. Flowering from July to September.
Partridge Pea; Large-fiowered Sensitive Pea
Chcuiiaecrista fasciciilata (Alichaux) Greene
Plate I05h
Stems annual, rather widely branched and pubescent with spreading
hairs or nearly smooth, i to 2 feet high. Leaves with a sessile gland on
the petiole, sensitive, similar to the preceding species but the twenty to
thirty leaflets somewhat larger. Flowers two to four together in the axils,
I to if inches broad and slender-pediceled ; calyx lobes long pointed; petals
yellow, sometimes ptirple spotted; stamens ten, all perfect; four of the
anthers yeUow, six of them purple. Fruit a linear, pubescent, or glabrous
flattened pod, i\ to 2\ inches long and one-fourth of an inch wide or less.
142 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In dry or sandy soil, Massachusetts to Florida, Minnesota, Texas and
Mexico. Flowering from July to September.
Pea Family
Fabaceae
Wild Indigo; Horsefly Weed
Baptisia tiuctoria (Linnaeus) R. Brown
Plate 107a
Stems glabrous, erect, much branched, 2 to 4 feet high from a perennial
root, blackening in dying. Leaves petioled, three-foliate, alternate; leaflets
obovate, one-half to \h inches long, nearly sessile, blunt, tapering at the
base, entire. Flowers bright yellow, rather showy, in numerous, few-
flowered, terminal racemes. Each flower about one-half of an inch long;
calyx campanulate, the upper two lobes united into a lobe larger than the
other three; corolla consisting of a standard (upper petal), two wings (lat-
eral petals), and a keel (two lower petals); stamens ten, distinct; fruit a
short ovoid or nearly globose pod, one-fourth to one-half of an inch long,
and tipped with the subulate style.
In dry or sandy soil, Maine to Vermont, Ontario, Minnesota, Florida
and Louisiana. Flowering from June to September.
The Blue Wild or Bkie False Indigo, Baptisia australis
(Linnaeus) R. Brown, has indigo blue flowers nearly an inch long and is
naturalized in eastern and southern New York from the south.
Wild or Perennial Lupine
Liipiiiits pereiniis Linnaeus
Figurr XIX and Plate io5
Stems 8 to 24 inches high, erect, pubescent and often branched, from
a perennial root. Leaves digitately compound with seven to eleven (usually
about eight), oblanceolate, sessile leaflets, blunt and mucronate at the
apex, tapering to the base, i to 2 inches long, one-fourth to one-half of an
inch wide, appressed-pubescent or glabrate; flowers blue, rarely white
or pink, in terminal racemes; each flower one-half to two-thirds of an inch
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 106
WILD OR PERENNIAL LUPINE
Lit pi )i lis pcrciniis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW VOKK
143
long, on pedicels one-fourth to one-half of an inch long; calyx two-lipped;
standard (upper petal) orbicular with reflexed margins, wings (two lateral
petals) obovate; stamens monadelphous, with two forms of anthers. Fruit
a linear-oblong, very hairy pod, i;^- to 2 inches long and aljout one-
fourth of an inch wide, with three to six seeds; the two valves of the pod
coiling when it dehisces.
In dry, sandy soil, Maine and Ontario to ^Minnesota, Florida, Missouri
and Louisiana. Flowering in May and June. This is the only native
species of Lupine in New York, althovigh there are about fifty species in
the western states.
Wild or Perennial Lupine
(L u ]i i n u s p e r e n n i s Linnaeus)
144 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Rabbit-foot, Old Field, or Stone Clover
Trifoliion arveiisc Linnaeus
Platv In.Sa
An erect, usually much-branched annual, 5 to 18 inches high, silky-
pubescent. Leaves very short petioled, three-foliate, oblanceolate or
linear, minutely toothed, blunt and sometimes notched at the apex, nar-
rowed at the base, one-half to i inch long. Flowers sessile in dense, ter-
minal, peduncled, oblong or cylindric heads, one-half to i inch long; calyx
very silky; corolla whitish, shorter than the elongated, slender, plumose
calyx lobes. Fruiting pod very small.
In waste places, dry and sandy fields, roadsides etc., Quebec and
Ontario to South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Missouri. Naturalized
from Europe. Flowering from May to September.
The only Clover native to New York is the Buffalo Clover
(T r i f o 1 i u m r e f 1 e x u m Linnaeus), which occurs from the western
part of the State westward and southward. Our flora contains a large
number of introduced species of clovers and related plants. Among them
are the following:
Yellow or Hop Clover Trifolium agrarium
Low or vSmaller Hop Clo\'er " ]j r o c u m b e n s
Crimson Clover " i n c a r n a t u m
Red or Meadow Clover " p r a t e n s e
Alsike or Alsatian Clover " h y b r i d u m
White Clover " r e p e n s
Alfalfa M e d i c a g o s a t i ^' a
Black or Hop Medic " 1 u p u li n a
White Sweet Clover Melilotus alba
Yellow Sweet Clo^•e^ " officinalis
Bird's-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 107
A. WILD INDIGO; HORSEFLY WEED
Baptisia tiiictnrin
WHITE OR TRUE WOOD SORREL' ALLELUIA
Oxalis acctosella
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 1 45
Goat's-rue ; Wild Sweet Pea
Cracca virginiana Linnaeus
Plate 1 08b
Stems from a few inches to nearly 2 feet high, few or many in a dense
cluster, erect or nearly so, from a stout, perennial root which is elongated,
tough and fibrous. Stems and leaves silky with whitish hairs. Leaves
odd-pinnate, short petioled; leaflets nine to twenty-five, oblong, linear-
oblong or the terminal one oblanceolate, narrowed at the base, rounded and
mucronate at the apex or sometimes notched, three-fourths to i inch long
and one-eighth to one-third of an inch wide. Flowers crowded in a ter-
minal, often compound and nearly sessile racemelike cluster; each flower
one-half to three-fourths of an inch long on a short pedicel. Calyx with
five nearly equal teeth; petals clawed, the standard rounded, yellow and
conspicuovis, wings and keel reddish or purpUsh. Fruiting pod narrow,
densely hairy, i to 2 inches long.
In dry and sandy soil, Maine to Minnesota, Arkansas, Florida, Louisi-
ana and Northern Mexico. Flowering in June and July or sometimes as
late as August in the north.
Coronilla; Axseed; Axwort
Cor fli! ilia varia Linnaeus
Plate 109
Stems ascending or straggling, glabrous and usually much branched,
I to 3 feet long from perennial roots. Leaves sessile; odd-pinnate; leaflets
eleven to twenty-five, oblong or obovate, blunt and mucronate at the apex,
narrowed or rounded at the base, one-half to three-fourths of an inch long,
one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch wide. Flowers numerous in dense
umbels terminating peduncles several inches in length; each flower one-
third to one-half of an inch long on very short pedicels; standard (upper
petal) pink, wings (lateral petals) white or purple-tipped. Fruit pod
coriaceous, linear, four-angled, with two or three joints, each about one-
fourth of an inch long or slightly longer.
146 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Waste places, fields and roadsides, Massachusetts to southern New
York, Maryland and Missouri. Adventive or naturalized from Europe.
Flowering from June to August.
THE TICK TREFOILS
M e i b o m i a
The Tick Trefoils are all perennial herbs, often with stout roots, erect,
ascending or trailing stems and three-foliolate leaves. The flowers are
usvially rather small, purplish in terminal or axillary, compound or simple
racemes or panicles. Calyx two-lipped, the upper lip two-toothed, the
lower lip with three acute or attenuate teeth. Stamens monadelphous
or diadelphous (nine and one) ; anthers all alike. Fruit (loment) flat, sessile
or stalked with several joints which are easily separable at maturity.
A large genus of plants with about sixteen representatives in New
York State. The following key is given as an aid in placing the various
species not fully described and illustrated here.
Loment not constricted above, deeply constricted below, long-stalked; leaflets broad
Panicle terminal on the leafy stem
Leaves crowded at the base of the jjanicle AI. g r a n d i f 1 o r a
Leaves scattered along the stem AL p a u c i f 1 o r a
Panicle arising from the base of the plant, its stalk tisually leafless
AI. n u d i f 1 o r a
Loment constricted on both margins, more deeply below than above
Stems trailing or reclining
Leaflets orbicular, i to 2 inches long and pubescent M. m i c h a u x i i
Leaflets ovate or oval, dull green M. glabella
Stems erect or ascending
Leaves sessile or nearly so; leaflets linear or lanceolate j\L sessilifolia
Leaves petioled
Joints of the loment notably longer than broad
Leaflets obtuse, yellowish green, rough-pubescent. . . . M. canescens
Leaflets long-acuminate M. bracteosa
Joints of the loment little longer than broad
Loment distinctly long-stalked in the calyx
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 109
%~\
jW
^
7
\^k
4 >>
m 1 f^^^'"'"/'.;
coronilla; axwort: axseed
CoroiiiHd varia
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK I47
Plants glabrous or nearly so (except varieties of M. p a n i c u 1 a t a)
Leaflets lanceolate or oblong M . p a n i c u 1 a t a
Leaflets broadly ovate or oval, glaucous beneath
M. laevigata
Plants [iubescent
Leaves velvety-pubescent beneath, thick and coriaceous
M. V i r i d i f 1 o r a
Leaves appressed-pubescent or villous beneath and scarcely
coriaceous M. d i 1 1 e n i i
Loment sessile in the calyx or nearly so
Loment joints four to seven, flowers showy; leaflets not coriaceous. .
M. canadensis
Loment joints one to three
Leaflets scabrous, i to 2 inches long AL r i g i d a
Leaflets not scabrous, one-half to i inch long
Plant nearly glabrous throughout . . M. m a r y 1 a n d i c a
Stem pubescent; leaflets and petioles ciliate. M. o b t u s a
Prostrate Tick Trefoil
Alcihoiiiid iiiicJiaiixii Vail
Plate no
Stems prostrate, 2 to several feet long, softly pubescent or villotis.
Leaves petioled; leaflets nearly orbicular, pubescent, i to 2 inches long;
stipules triangular- ovate, persistent, pointed, striate. Flowers in loose
terminal and axillary panicles, purple, one-fourth to one-half of an inch
long; calyx lobes ciliated. Loment about i inch long, three to five-jointed,
the joints obliquely rhomboid below, slightly concave above, pubescent
with hooked hairs, on a stipe about equaling the calyx lobes or slightly
longer.
Dry or sandy woods, New England and Ontario to Minnesota, Florida,
Missouri and Lotdsiana. Flowering from July to September.
148 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Large-bracted Tick Trefoil
Mcihoniia hracteosa (Michaux) Kvmtzc
Plate III
Stems erect, 2 to 6 feet high, glabrous or pubescent below, finely
pubescent above in the panicle. Leaflets 2 to S inches long, longer than
the petioles, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, long pointed, smooth or nearly so
above, usually pubescent beneath; stipviles lanceolate, sharp pointed.
Flowers large, purple, one-third to one-half of an inch long with cuspidate,
striate, deciduous bracts; calyx deeply two-lipped, the upper lip two- toothed.
Loment i to 3 inches long, three to seven- jointed, the joints obliquely
oblong, about twice as long as wide, ptibescent with hooked hairs, on a
stipe about as long as the lower calyx lobes.
In open woods and thickets, Maine to Ontario, Minnesota, Florida,
Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. Flowering in August and September.
Dillen's Tick Trefoil
Mcibouiia dill en ii (Darhngton) Kuntze
Plate 112
Stems erect, pvibesccnt with scattered hairs, 2 to 3 feet high. Leaflets
rather thin, oval or oblong-ovate, blunt, i| to 4 inches long, one-half to
\\ inches wide, sparingly pubescent or glabrous above, softly pubescent
beneath; petioles much shorter than the leaflets. Flowers one-fourth to
one-third of an inch long, purple, in loose, terminal, compound racemes
with small, deciduous bracts. Loment i to 2 inches long, two to four-
jointed, the joints nearly triangular, about one-fourth of an inch long,
slightly convex on the back, pubescent with hooked hairs, with a stipe
shorter than the calyx lobes.
In woods and thickets, Maine to Ontario, Minnesota, Alabama,
Tennessee. Missouri and Texas. Flowering from the last of June to
September.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
PlMv 110
PROSTRATE TICK TREFOIL
Meibomin micha itxii
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 111
LARGE-BRACTED TICK TREFOIL
Mciboiiiia hracteosa
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 112
DILLEX'S TICK TREFOIL
Mribomia dillenii
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK I49
THE BUSH CLOVERS
Lcspedeza
Herbs, often with perennial roots and erect or ascending stems. In
a few species the stems traiHng. Leaves three-foHolate. Flowers small,
pvirple or whitish, in axillary clusters, heads or panicles. Freciucntly
the flowers are of two kinds intermixed, one petaliferous but sterile, the
other minute, apetalous and fertile. Calyx lobes nearly equal, those of
the petaliferous flowers usually longer than those of the apetalous flowers.
Upper petal (standard) obovate or oblong, the lower petals forming an
incurved keel. Stamens usually diadelphous (nine and one) ; anthers all
alike. Ovary one-ovuled, ripening into a flat, indehiscent, reticulated,
mostly one-jointed and one-seeded pod.
Key to the New York Species of Lespedeza
Corolla purple or purplish; plants bearing both petaliferous and apetalous flowers
Stems prostrate or trailing
Foliage glabrous or somewhat appressed-pubescent L. repens
Foliage downy-pubescent or tomentose L. procumbens
Stems erect or ascending
Peduncles distinct and mostly longer than the leaves
Bushy-branched ; petaliferous flowers paniculate L. violacea
Stems simple or little branched; flowers racemose or subspicate
Stems tomentose ; leaves tomentose beneath L. b r i 1 1 o n i i
Stems and leaves glabrate or appressed-intbcscent; leaflets oval to
suborbicular L. nuttallii
Peduncles shorter than the leaves or the flower clusters sessile
Leaflets densely tomentose beneath; cal\-x of the petaliferous flowers less
than one-half as long as the pod L. s t u v e i
Leaflets appressed pubescent beneath or glabrate
Calyx of petaliferous flowers less than one-half as long as the pod;
leaflets oval to oblong L. frutescens
Calyx of the petaliferous flowers two-thirds as long as the pod or more;
leaflets silvery-pubescent beneath L. simulata
150 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Corolla whitish or yellowish; flowers all complete; pod included or scarcely exserted from
the calyx
Leaflets oblong, ovate-oblong, or nearly orbicular
Peduncles mostly exceeding the leaves L. h i r t a
Peduncles shorter than the leaves L. capitata
Stuve's Bush Clover
Lcspedeza stiivei Ntittall
Plate 113b
Stems erect or nearly so, simple and wandlike or slightly branched,
densely velvety or downy-pubescent all over, 2 to 4 feet high; petioles
as long as the leaves or ustially shorter; leaflets oval, oblong or stiborbicular,
blttnt or retttse at the apex, one-half to i inch long. Flowers of both kinds
in nearly sessile, axillary clusters; corolla violet-purple, one-fourth of an
inch long or less. Pod oblong-ovate to orbicular, pointed, about one-fourth
of an inch long or less, downy-pubescent, much longer than the calyx.
In dry or sandy soil, Vermont and Massachusetts to Virginia, Alabama,
Michigan, Arkansas and Texas. Flowering in Augvist and September.
Wandlike Bush Clover
Lcspedeza frntescois (Linnaeus) Britton
Plate 114
Stems erect, i to 3 feet high, simple or somewhat branched, finely
pubescent or nearly smooth; petioles as long as the leaflets or shorter;
leaflets oval, oblong or elliptic, blunt, truncate or notched at the apex,
nan-owed or rounded at the base, one-half to i| inches long, smooth and
dark green above, paler and pubescent beneath. Flowers of both kinds
in short-stalked axillary clusters which are more or less crowded toward
the summit of the stem; corolla violet-purple, abotit one-fourth of an inch
long; pod ovate, pointed, pubescent, about one-fifth of an inch long.
Dry soil in open woods, old fields, etc., Maine to Ontario, Minnesota,
Florida, Illinois and Texas. Flowering in August and September.
WILD FLOWERS O F NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. Stale Museum
Plate 113
A. HAIRY BUSH CI.OVER
Lespedeza liirto
STUVE S BUSH Cl-0\ KR
Lespedeza stiivei
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 114
WANDLIKE BUSH CLOVER
Lespedeza fnUescens
WILD FLOWKRS OF NEW YORK I5I
Hairy Bush Clover
Lcspedcza hirtti (Linnaevis) Horneniann
Plate ii.ja
Stems rather stiff, erect and usvially stout, simple or l^ranched above,
densely hairy or softly pubescent, 2 to 5 feet high. Leaflets three, oval
or suborbicular, blunt at each end, or often notched at the apex, one-half
to 2 inches long; the petioles shorter than the leaflets. Flowers in oblong-
cylindric, rather dense heads on stalks which are much longer than the
leaves; flowers all complete; corolla yellowish white, usually the standard
with a purple spot near its base. Fniiting pod oval, pointed, hairy and
about as long as the slender calyx lobes.
In dry or sandy soil, Maine to Ontario and Minnesota, south to
Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Flowering from August to October.
The Round-headed Bush Clover (Lespedcza capitata
Michaux) is similar but the stalks bearing the flower clusters are shorter
than the leaves, forming a more compact inflorescence. Its range and
period of flowering are about the same.
Beach Pea; Seaside Pea
Lothynis maritimus (Linnaeus) Bigelow
Plate 115
Root perennial, stem glabrous or nearly so, stout, somewhat fleshy
and slightly glaucous, angled, decumbent, i to 2 feet long with broad
foliaceous, hastate, pointed stipules i to 2 inches long. Leaves nearly
sessile, pinnate, the rachis terminating in a slender, forked tendril; leaflets
six to twelve, oblong, oval or obovate, blunt and mucronulate at the
apex, usually narrowed at the base, i to 2% inches long, one-half to
three-fourths of an inch wide. Flowers six to ten on peduncles 3 to 4
inches long, purple, three-fourths to i inch long; calyx teeth often ciliate.
Fruit a sessile, linear-oblong, nearly glabrous, veined pod, U to 3 inches
long and about one-half of an inch wide.
152 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Sea beaches and sandy fields near the coast, New Jersey to Arctic
America, also Oneida lake. Great Lakes, Pacific coast and in northern
Europe and Asia. Flowering from May to August.
Myrtle-leaved Marsh Pea
LatJiynis iiiyrtifolins Aluhlenberg
Plate ii6
Stems very slender, smooth, angled but not winged, weak, i to 3 feet
long with obliquely ovate or half-sagittate stipviles, one-half to i inch
long, one-third to one-half of an inch wide and toothed; leaflets usually
six, varying from four to eight, oval or ovate, pointed and mucronate at
the apex, narrowed at the base, three-fourths to 2 inches long, one-fourth
to two-thirds of an inch wide, the rachis terminating in a forked tendril.
Flowering peduncles as long as the leaves or shorter, with three to nine
flowers, yellowish in btid but turning purple as the flower opens; each
flower about one-half of an inch long. Fruit a narrow, smooth pod without
visible stalk, i to 2 inches long and somewhat less than one-fourth of an
inch wide.
In moist thickets, wet ground, swamps and shores. New Bnmswick
to Manitoba, south to North Carolina and Tennessee. Flowering from
late in May until Jime or July.
The members of the genus Lathyrus are often called V^tchlings, because
of their close relationship to the true Vetches (genus Vicia), most of which
are cultivated or naturalized species in our State. Another native Vetch-
ling is the Marsh Vetchling (Lathyrus palustris Linnaeus), a
boreal species found in the northern part of the State. It has linear leaflets
and the stems are usually winged. The flowers are purple. The Cream-
colored Vetchling (Lathyrus o c h r o 1 e u c u s Hooker) with rather
large cream-colored flowers, and broadly oval, acute leaflets, occurs
throughout the western part of the State.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 115
BEACH pea; seaside pea
LdtJivnis iiuiritiiiiiis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 116
MYRTLK-LKAVKI) MARSH PEA
Lath vnis in vrt if alius
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 153
Groundnut; Wild Bean
Glychic tipio.s Linnaeus
Stems slender, hairy or nearly smooth, with milky juice, climbinj,'
over herbs and bushes to a height of several feet, from a perennial root-
stock of several necklace-shaped, edible tubers. Leaves pinnately com-
pound, five- to seven-f oHolate ; leaflets ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed
at the apex, rounded at the base, i to 3 inches long. Flowers brownish
purple, fragrant, about one-half of an inch long, in axillary racemes;
peduncles shorter than the leaves; rachis of the inflorescence knobby;
calyx two-lipped, the two lateral teeth very small, the two upper united
and short, the lower one long and acute; standard ovate or orbiciilar and
refiexed, wings obliquely obovate, adherent to the elongated, incurved
and at length twisted keel; pod narrow, straight or slightly curved, 2 to
4§ inches long and about one-fourth of an inch wide or less, many-seeded
and rather thick in texture.
Moist thickets along streams, bottomlands, or low woods. New
Brunswick to Florida, west to Ontario, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and
Texas. Flowering from July to September.
Wild or Hog Peanut
Falcata comosa (Linnaeus) Kuntze
Plate 1 18a
Stems very slender, simple or somewhat branched, twining and
climbing over herbs and shrubs, i to 6 feet long, more or less pubescent.
Leaves with three rhombic-ovate or broadly ovate leaflets pointed at the
apex, rounded at the base, i to 3 inches long. Flowers purplish or nearly
white in axillary, slender- stalked clusters or racemes. In the lower axils
are solitary, apetalous, fertile flowers. Calyx of the petaliferous flowers
four to five-toothed, tubular: the oblong wings of the corolla curved
and adherent to the recurved, blunt keel and inclosed by the erect.
154 ^'I^-^^' VORK STATE MUSEUM
obovate standard; pods oblong-lanceolate, pointed and hairy, about i
inch long.
In moist, shaded places, New Bninswick to Florida, west to Manitoba,
Nebraska and Louisiana. Flowering from early in August until late in
September.
Falcata pitcheri (Torrey & Gray) Kuntze, very closely
related to the preceding species, has leaves of a firmer texture and the
stems, petioles and flowering stalks villous-pubescent with conspicuous
brown hairs.
Trailing Wild Bean
Stropho.stylcs hclvohi ( Linnaeus) Britton
Plate 1 1 8b
A twining or trailing and climbing, herbaceous, rough-pubescent vine.
Stems more or less branched below, 2 to 7 feet long, or dwarfed and almost
erect, from an annual root. Leaves pinnately three-f oliolate ; leaflets ovate,
pointed or blunt at the apex, the base rounded, thickish in texture, usually
bluntly lobed, i to 2 inches long, the two lower leaves unequal at the base.
Flowers greenish purple, about one-half of an inch long, three to twelve
together in dense, capitate clusters at the ends of long, axillary stalks which
are longer than the leaves; keel of the corolla strongly curved and slender.
Fruiting pod round in cross-section, somewhat hairy, linear and without a
stalk, i§ to 3 inches long.
In sandy fields and thickets, mainly near the coast, Quebec to Massa-
chusetts and Florida, less frequent westward through Ontario to South
Dakota and Kansas. Flowering from the latter part of July to September
and October.
A closely related species of Long Island and southward, S. u m b e 1-
1 a t a (Muhlenberg) Britton, has shorter pods, slightly larger flowers,
entire leaflets and perennial roots.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 117
groundnut; wild bean
Glycine apios
^^MJif^fk
^,
rWT/
'^
A / ^X^Tv/ I^
r
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^
wii.n i-i.o\vi:ks ov xkw vc^rk 155
Geranium Family
(i (.' r a n i a c e a l'
Herb Robert; Red Robin
Robert iclla robcrtitnui (Linnaevis) Hanks
{Geraniiuii robertiiuiiiiii Linnaeus)
Plate im
Roots mostly biennial, sometimes annual, giving rise to one or several
ascending or nearly erect, glandular-pubescent stems 5 to 18 inches high.
Entire plant with a strong, disagreeable odor. Leaves rounded-ovate in
outline, the divisions deeply cleft or lobed, the margins with oblong, mucro-
nate teeth. Flowers reddish purple, about one-half of an inch broad, two
on each stalk; sepals five, each tipped with an awn. Petals five, each with
a slender claw and an obovate, rounded blade. Stamens ten; ovary five-
lobed and five-celled. Fruiting capsule about i inch long, awn-tipped,
separating at maturity into five carpels, the bodies deciduous from the
styles at maturity, each with two fibrous appendages near the top.
In rich soil of rocky woodlands, Nova Scotia to Manitoba south to
Pennsylvania and Missouri; also in Europe and Northern Africa. Flow-
ering from May to September.
Wild Geranium; Wild or Spotted Crane's-bill
GeraiiiuD! nuicidatiini Linnaeus
Plate 120
Stems mainly simple from a stout, perennial rootstock, often much
branched above, hairy, 10 to 20 inches high. The basal leaves nearly
orbicular, broadly heart-shaped, on long leaf-stalks; the blades 3 to 5 inches
wide, deeply three to five-lobed with wedge-shaped divisions, the margins
cleft or toothed; leaves of the stem two, opposite, short-stalked, similar
to the basal leaves. Flowers rose-purple, i to i^ inches broad, terminal
in two to five-flowered, loose, leafy-bracted umbels; sepals sharp pointed;
petals five, woolly at the base, thin, broad and overlapping one another.
Fruit an elongated capsule tipped with the persistent compound style,
156 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
which in fruit is i or more inches long; carpels of the fniit permanently
attached to the styles, separating from the base and curved upward in
dehiscence.
In rich or moist woodlands, Maine and Ontario west to Manitoba,
south to Georgia and Alabama. Flowering from late in April to June
or July.
There are several other species of Geranium in New ^'ork, most of
them small-flowered, introduced species. Of the native ones, Bicknell's
Geranium (Geranium bicknellii Britton) is an annual with small,
purple flowers, somewhat less than one-half of an inch broad in a loose
cluster, on two-flowered peduncles, with the beak of the fruit long pointed.
The Carolina Geranium (Geranium carolinianum Linnaeus)
has a more compact inflorescence and a short-pointed fruit.
Wood Sorrel Family
() X a 1 i d a c c a e
White or True Wood Sorrel; Alleluia
Oxalis (Kctosclld Linnaeus
Plau- 107b
Rootstock perennial, slender, scaly and little branched. Leaves basal,
three to eight together, each 2 to 6 inches high, pubescent; petioles broad-
ened at the base and jointed. Leaflets three, obcordate, wider than long,
one-half to i inch wide. Flowers one-half to three-fourths of an inch
broad, solitary on stalks as long or longer than the leaves; petals white
or pink with deep pink veins, three or four times longer than the
calyx; stamens ten. Fruit a subglobose, cylindric capsule about one-
sixth of an inch long. At the base of the leaves are also found short-stalked
flowers.
In cool, damp woods, or shaded mossy banks. Nova Scotia to the north
shore of Lake Superior, south to North Carolina. Also in Europe, Asia
and northern Africa. Flowering from May to July.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 119
HERB ROBERT; RED ROBIN
Robert icUa rohertia )ia
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 120
WILD GERANIUM ; WILD OR SPOTTED CRANE S-BTLL
Gera)tiiiiii uiariilaliDU
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 1 57
Violet Wood Sorrel
lojioxdlis violacea (Linnaeus) Small
Plate iji.-i
Flowering stalks and leaves smooth, 3 to 8 inches tall, arising from a
perennial, brownish, scaly bulb. Leaves few or several, slender-stemmed,
one-half to i| inches wide. Leaflets three, broader than long, notched at
the apex. Flowers three to ten, or rarely more on each stalk, forming a
loose, umbellate inflorescence at the summit, which is taller than the leaves.
Each flower two-thirds to three-fourths of an inch long on a short, slender
pedicel; sepals blunt, five in number, with tubercles at the apex; petals five,
rose-purple, lighter toward the base, blunt, about three times as long as the
sepals; stamens ten; capsule ovoid, about one-fifth of an inch in diameter.
In open, usually rather dry woodlands, shaded hillsides and thickets;
sometimes in open, recently cleared land, ]\Lassachusetts to Florida and
Texas, west to Minnesota. Flowering in May and June.
Tall Yellow Wood Sorrel
Xaathoxalis cymosa Small
Plate 12 lb
Stems ascending or erect, branched above, 6 inches to 3 or 4 feet high
and frequently reclining on surrounding vegetation, usually hairy, reddish
or brown. Leaves bright green, three-fourths to i§ inches broad on petioles
I to 3 inches long; leaflets broader than long, sharply notched. Flowers
yellow, in forking cymes; each flower on a pedicel one-fourth to one-third
of an inch long, which is more or less hairy and erect or ascending. Sepals
five, lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, one-sixth to one-fourth of an inch long,
spreading in fruit; petals five, obtuse or notched at the apex, one-third to
nearly one-half of an inch long. Fruit a slender, columnar, erect capsule,
about one-half of an inch long, gradually narrowed to the summit; seeds
obovoid-oblong with nearly continuous ridges.
In fields, thickets and woods, Ontario to Michigan, south to Florida
and Texas. Flowering from May to October.
158 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
There are several closely related species of Yellow Sorrel. Those of
the northeastern states are illustrated and described by Britton & Brown
(lUus. Flora, 2:432-35, ed. 2) (X. s t r i c t a, X. b u s h i i, X. rufa
and X. b r i 1 1 o n i a c ) .
Jewelweed Family
B a 1 s a m i n a c e a e
Spotted or Wild Touch-me-not
Impatiois biflora Walter
Plate i;;a
A tall, glabrous annual, 2 to 6 feet high and much branched, more
or less purplish. Leaves alternate, thin, ovate and elliptic, glaucous
beneath, i to 3 inches long, blunt, the margins toothed. Flowers horizontal,
orange-yellow, mottled with reddish brown, or rarely nearly white and
not mottled, three-fourths to i inch long, on slender, pendant stalks. Sepals
three, the two lateral ones small, green, nerved, the other one large, conic,
petallike, saccate and spurred, longer than broad, contracted into a slender
incurved spur, two-toothed at the apex. Petals three, with two of them
two-cleft into dissimilar lobes; stamens five. Fruit an oblong capsule,
violently and elastically dehiscent at maturity into five spirally coiled
valves, expelling the oblong, ridged seeds. Also developing small,
cleistogamous flowers later in the season.
Low grounds, thickets, ditches, along streams and low, moist wood-
lands, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, south to Florida and Nebraska.
Flowering from July to September.
Pale Touch-me-not; Jewelweed
Impatiois pallida Nuttall
Plate I. '2b
Resembling the Spotted Touch-me-not, but usually stouter and higher.
Flowers pale yellow, sparingly spotted with reddish brown or without
spots, I to 1 1 inches long, the saccate sepal dilated-conic, as broad as
long, abrtiptly contracted into a short, scarcely incurved spur, which is
less than one-third the length of the saccate sepal.
Si
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 1 59
In situations similar to the preceding species but more common north-
ward. Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, south to Georgia and Kansas.
Flowering from July to September.
Milkivort Family
Polygalaceae
A family of small herbs (our species) with alternate, opposite or
whorled leaves. Flowers racemose, spicate or capitate, rarely solitary
and axillary, sometimes also with cleistogamotis and subterranean flowers.
Sepals very unequal, the two lateral ones large and petallike. Petals
three, united into a tube which is split on the back, and more or less adnate
to the stamens. Stamens eight or six, monadelphous below, or diadelphous.
Capsule membranaceous, compressed, dehiscent along the margin. Seeds
one in each cavity of the capsule and usually hairy.
Our species all belong to Polygala, a very large genus of plants, con-
taining abovit sixty species in North America, of which about eleven are
found in New York State. The following key may be of service in
identifying them.
Flowers orange-yellow in a dense oblong spike ; basal leaves spatulate i P. 1 u t e a
Flowers rose or purple, distinctly racemose 2 P. pol>-gama
Flowers rose-purple to white, one to four in number, axillary, but apparently tenninal ....
3 P. p a u c i f o 1 i a
Flowers in tenninal, more or less elongated spikes, or if the spikes oblong, flowers not
yellow and no basal leaves
Leaves at least the lower, verticillate, spikes 4 to 9 lines thick, blunt; flowers purple
to greenish white
Spikes sessile or nearly so; wings deltoid 4 ?■ cruciata
Spikes peduncled; wings lanceolate-ovate 5 P. b r e v i f o 1 i a
Leaves verticillate and alternate; spikes 2 to 3 lines thick and acute
Verticillate leaves predominating; spikes dense; flowers green to purplish
6 P. V e r t i c i 1 1 a t a
Alternate leaves predominating; spikes loose; flowers more jjurplc
7 P. ambigua
l60 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Leaves all alternate
Petals united into a tube which is cleft and about one-fourth of an inch long;
flowers pink 8 P. i n c a r n a t a
Petals not conspicuously united into a tube
Spikes ovoid to globose; bracts persistent; flowers rosc-piu-ple to white
0 P. V i r i d e s c e n s
Spikes cylindric
Leaves oblanceolate to linear, 2 to 6 lines long; flowers greenish to
purplish 10 P. n u t t a 1 1 i i
Leaves lanceolate, i to 2 inches long; flowers white to greenish
II P. senega
Orange Milkwort; Wild Bachelor's-button
Poly^ahi Iiitca Linnatais
Plate 123a
Stems annual, smooth, tufted from fibrous roots, erect or ascending,
sometimes becoming branched, 6 to 12 inches higli. Stem leaves oblong-
lanceolate, pointed or blunt, three-fourths to i^ inches long, one-fovtrth
of an inch wide or less, entire; basal leaves broader and tisually larger,
obovate or spatulate, blunt. Flowers in terminal, blunt, spikelike racemes
which are dense and ovoid or obloiig in shape, one-half to i^ inches long,
one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick. Individual flowers about one-
fotirth of an inch long, orange-yellow, preserving their color in drying;
wings oblong-ovate, abruptly pointed; crest of the corolla ttibe minute;
caruncle lobes linear, about equaling the hairy seed, or shorter.
In pine-barren depressions and swamps, Long Island to New Jersey
and eastern Pennsylvania to Florida and Louisiana. Flowering from
Jime to August or September.
Cross-leaved or Marsh Milkwort
Polygala cniciafa Linnaeus
Plate 123b
A small annual, 3 to 15 inches tall, with three or four alternate branches
above, the stems angled or sciuare. Leaves all on the stem and mostly
^ij
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= — ^'^^31
'^^■MjiSPw
^>ra
ifei
-^^^mk
\
^
p ^
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK l6l
verticillatc in fours, oblanccolate or linear-lanceolate, one-half to il inches
long and about one-eighth of an inch wide, entire, blunt and mucronulate
at the apex. Flowers in short-stalked, oval, blunt racemes, about one-
third to one-half of an inch thick, purplish green or nearly white; wings
triangtilar-ovate, sessile, somewhat heart-shaped, pointed or awned, one-
fourth of an inch long or less, longer than the pods; crest of the corolla
mintite; seeds oblong and somewhat hairy.
In low grounds and marshes along the coast and sandy swamps inland,
Maine to Florida west to Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Louisiana.
Flowering from Jtily to September.
Field or Purple Milkwort
PoJygala viridesccus Linnaeus
Plate l.Ma
Stems leafy, branched above, annvial, smooth and somewhat angled,
5 to 15 inches high. Leaves all on the stem, oblong to linear-oblong
in shape, three-fourths to \\ inches long, one-eighth or one-sixteenth of
an inch wide, pointed and mucronulate. Flowers purplish, greenish purple,
whitish or greenish in terminal, globose, blunt heads about one-half
of an inch thick, becoming oval; wings of the flowers sessile, ovate, often
slightly cordate, longer than the pod, bracts usually persistent on the
elongating axis as the lower flowers fall away.
In meadows, fields and sandy depressions, Nova Scotia to Ontario
and Minnesota, south to North Carolina, Kansas and Arkansas. Flowering
from June to September.
Seneca Snakeroot; Mountain Flax
Poly^iiht scjiegd Linnaeus
Plate ijja
Stems usually several from a perennial, woody rootstock, ascending
or erect, 5 to 18 inches high, usually simple, occasionally branched above,
glabrous or nearly so. Leaves alternate, the lowest ones very small, closer
together and scalelike, the upper ones oblong-lanceolate or ovate, some-
1 62 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
times lanceolate, sessile, i to 2 inches long, about one-fourth to one-third
of an inch wide, minutely toothed. Flowers white, sometimes tinged with
green, in dense, terminal, pointed spikes, i to 2 inches long. Each flower
about one-eighth of an inch long; wings of the flower orbicular-obovate,
concave; crest of the corolla short and few-lobed.
In dry or rocky woodlands. New Brunswick to Hudson bay and
Alberta, south along the mountains to North Carolina and west to Missouri
and Arkansas. Flowering in May and June.
Racemed Milkwort
Polyj^ala po/y^^ttiiia Walter
Plate 124b
Stems usually several or many from a deep, slender, perennial root,
smooth and simple, 4 to 15 inches high. Leaves crowded along the stems,
oblong or broadly lanceolate, blunt, mucronulate, two- thirds to i inch
long and about one-sixth of an inch wide or less, the lower leaves usually
smaller. Flowers purple, rarely whitish, in a loose, terminal raceme, i to
3 inches long or less; wings of the flower broadly ovate; crest of the corolla
large and fringed; stamens eight. Numerous cleistogamous flowers are
developed upon conspicuous, whitish subterranean branches which rise from
the base of the stems.
In dry or sandy fields and meadows, Nova Scotia to Manitoba, south
to Florida, Texas and Michigan. Flowering in June and July.
Fringed Milkwort; Flowering Wintergreen
Polygaki pa lie i folia Willdenow
Plate iJ5b
Flowering and leaf-bearing stems smooth, ascending or erect, 3 to 7
inches high from slender, prostrate, perennial stems and rootstocks which
are often several inches in length. Leaves few, clustered at the summit of
the stems, ovate or oblong, i to i| inches long, two-thirds to i inch wide,
pointed at each end, rough-margined. Flowers one to five on a stem,
axillary to the upper leaves, rose-purple or rarely white, two-thirds to
WILD FLOWERS OF NICW YORK 163
I inch long on slender, short flower stalks; wings of the flower obovate;
crest of the corolla beautifully fringed. The base of the stems and root-
stocks bear numerous cleistogamous flowers on short, lateral, subterranean
branches.
In rich, moist woods. New Brunswick to Saskatchewan south to
Georgia, Illinois and Minnesota. Flowering in May and June.
Buckthorn Family
R h a m n a c e a e
New Jersey Tea; Redroot
Ceanothiis aiuericniiiis Linnaeus
Plate ij6
A low shrub with several or many ascending stems from a deep
reddish root. Leaves alternate, ovate or oblong-ovate, i to 3 inches
long, one-half to ih inches wide, pointed at the apex, blunt or slightly
heart-shaped at the base, pubescent, especially beneath, the margins finely
toothed, the blade conspicuously tnree-nerved ; petioles usually less than
one-half of an inch long. Flowers small and white, in dense, oblong clusters
on terminal or elongated axillary stalks; limb of the calyx tube five-lobed;
petals five, with naiTow claws and bearded blades; stamens five, their
filaments slender and elongated. Fruit dark colored or nearly black when
mature, three-lobed, about one-sixth of an inch long.
In sandy or dry open woods and fields, Maine to Ontario and Manitoba
south to Florida and Texas. Flowering from the latter part of May to
July.
Mallow Family
M a 1 V a c e a e
Marsh Mallow; Wymote
Althaea officiualis Linnaeus
Pkltu I. .7
An introduced plant, well established in certain salt marshes along the
coast, with erect, herbaceous stems, 2 to 6 feet high from perennial roots,
1 64 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
densely velvety-pubescent all over. Leaves ovate, pointed or blunt at
the apex, toothed and usually somewhat three-lobed, the lower leaves
usually cordate, veins conspicuously raised on the lower surfaces. Flowers
pink or nearly white, about i^ inches broad in terminal and axillary leafy
clusters. Calyx segments five, ovate-lanceolate, subtended by six to nine
linear bractlets; petals five; stamens numerous, forming a central column
around the pistil and united with the bases of the petals; styles united
below. Carpels fifteen to twenty, each one-seeded, arranged in a circle
around the axis of the fruit.
Flowering in June and July. The photograph for the illustration of
this species was taken near Port Washington, Long Island.
Musk Mallow; Musk Plant
Mdlva iiwscliata Linnaeus
Stems erect, i to 2§ feet high, more or less branching and hairy, from
a perennial root. Leaves orbicular in outline, 3 to 4 inches broad with
several broad, rounded, toothed lobes; stem leaves deeply cut into narrow
segments. Flowers ih to 2 inches broad, pink or white, slightly musk-
scented, clustered in leafy racemes at the summits of the stems and branches;
petals five, notched at the apex, several times longer than the pointed,
triangular-ovate calyx lobes; stamens ntmierous, forming a column in the
center of the flower ; carpels of the fruit fifteen to twent}' in number, densely
hairy, rounded at the back.
Roadsides, fields and waste places throughout the eastern states.
Native of Europe and thoroughly naturalized in many places. Flowering
from July to September.
r)ther Mallows, native of the Old World and adventive or natural-
ized in the eastern states, are the High Mallow (M a 1 v a s y 1 v e s t r i s
Linnaeus), the Low, Dwarf or Running Mallow, also known as Cheeses
(Malva rotundifolia Linnaeus'), the Whorled MaUow or Curled
Mallow (Malva verticillata Linnaeus) and the Vervain Mallow
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 126
NEW JERSEY TEA; RICDROOT
Ceanothiis anicricaiius
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 127
MARSH MALLcnV; WYMOTE
Altliaci! flificimdis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N, Y. State Museum
Plate 128
MUSK mallow; musk plant
Malva luoschata
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 1 65
(Malva alee a Linnaeus). Descriptions of these maybe found in the
current floras or manuals of botany of the northeastern states.
Swamp Rose Mallow; Mallow Rose
Ilihisciis Dioscheutos Linnaeus
Plate 1J9
Stems tall and canelike from a perennial root, 3 to 6 feet high. Leaves
ovate-lanceolate or ovate, blunt or rounded and often slightly heart-
shaped at the base, pointed or blunt at the apex, 3 to 5 inches long, the lower
ones sometimes lobed, all conspicuously palmately veined, toothed, densely
hairy with white stellate hairs beneath, green and finely hairy or nearly
smooth above. Flowers 4 to 7 inches broad, pink, clustered at the top of
the plant; calyx lobes five, ovate, pointed, subtended by several narrow
bractlets; petals five, broadly obovate; stamens numerous in a column
surrounding the style which is five-cleft at the summit with five stigmas.
Fruit a five-chambered pod about i inch long, blunt or slightly pointed.
In marshes along the ocean or near the coast from eastern Massachusetts
to Florida and in saline situations and marshy lake shores inland, especially
throughout the Great Lakes region. Flowering in August and September.
The Crimson-eye Rose Mallow (Hibiscus oculiroseus Britton)
is similar, but the flower is white with a dark-crimson center and the fruit
pod is long pointed. It is found on Long Island, Staten Island and in New-
Jersey.
Saint John's-w^ort Family
Hypericaceae
A family containing aljout sixteen species in New York State, mostly
herbs, some of them shrubs, chiefly with opposite leaves and yellow or
rarely reddish flowers in terminal clusters. In many of them the foliage
is pellucid-punctate or dotted. Flowers regular and perfect. Sepals
four or five. Petals four or five. Stamens numerous or few, often in
three or five sets.
1 66 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Key to the New York State Species of the Saint John's-wort Family
Sepals four, in unequal yjairs; petals also four
Stems erect, i to 2 feet high; leaves clasping, styles three to four
I A s c y r u m s t a n s
Stems diffusely branched, 5 to 10 inches high; leaves sessile; styles two
2 Ascyrum hypericoides
Sepals and petals usually five
Petals pink or greenish ]jurple, imbricated in the bud; leaves sessile; capsules red-
purple 3 T r i a d e n u m v i r g i n i c u m
Petals yellow, convolute in the bud
Leaves reduced to minute appressed scales ...4 Sarothra gentianoides
Leaves normal
Styles five, large perennials
Flowers i to 2 inches broad; capsules three-fourths of an inch long
5 Hypericum ascyron
Flowers one-half to i inch broad; capsules about one-half of an inch
long 6 Hypericum k a 1 m i a n u m
Stvles three or rarely four
Tall leafy shrubs with numerous flowers
Flowers one-half to three-fourths of an inch broad; pods one-third
to one-half of an inch long ... 7 Hypericum p r o 1 i f i c u m
Flowers one-third to one-half of an inch broad; pods one-sixth to
one-fourth of an inch long. . . 8 Hypericum d e n s i f 1 o r u m
Herbaceous perennials, or woody at the base only
Stamens numerous (fifteen to forty); flowers one-fourth to i inch
broad
Capsules one-celled or incompletely three to four-celled
Capsules incompletely three to four-celled by the pro-
jecting placentae; leaves oblong
9 Hypericum adpressum
Capsules strictly one-celled; placentae parietal; styles
united into a beak, separate above; leaves elliptic
10 Hypericum e 1 1 i p t i c u m
Capsules completely three-celled; styles separate
Leaves linear or oblong; sepals lanceolate. Introduced
from Europe 11 Hypericum perforatum
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 129
SWAMP ROSE mallow; mallow rose
Hibiscus moscheiitos
WILD I'L()\\i;kS OF Niav YORK 167
Leaves broadly oblons^, oval or ovate-lanceolate, native;
sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute
12 Hypericum p u n c t a t u m
Stamens few (fi\-c to t\vel\-e) ; flowers one-tenth to one-fourth of
an inch broad
Cyme leafy-bracted 13 Hypericum boreale
Cymes subulate-bracted
Leaves ovate, oval or oblong; capsules one-twelfth to
five-twelfths of an inch long
14 Hypericum m u t i 1 u m
Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate; capsule one-third
to one-half of an inch long
15 H y p e r i c u m m a j u s
Leaves linear, blunt, three-nerved
16 HyjTcricum canadense
Great or Giant Saint John's-wort
Ilypcricuiii dscyron Linnaetts
Plate ijMa
Stems herbaccotis, 2 to 5 feet tall from a pereiinial root, anj^led,
braiiching and smooth. Leaves sessile, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate,
2 to 5 inches long and three-fourths to i| inches wide, clasping the steni.
Flowers bright yellow, showy, i to 2 inches broad, few or several in a loose,
terminal cluster. Sepals five, ovate-lanceolate, about one-half of an inch
long, pointed; petals five, obovate or oblanceolate; stamens numerous,
united into five sets. Styles itstially five in nutiiber, tinited below, the
stigmas capitate. Fruit pod ovoid in shape, three-fourths to seven-eighths
of an inch long.
Chiefly along streams, Quebec to Vermont and Manitoba south to
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Missotiri. Flowering in Jttly
and August.
The St Peter's-wort (A s c y r ti m stans Michaux) and the St
Andrew's Cross (Ascyrtim hypericoides Linnaetis), two small,
leafy, shrtibby species of the coastal region, differ from the species of
1 68 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Hypericum by liaving four instead of five petals, as pointed out above in
the key to the species of the family.
Elliptic-leaved or Pale Saint John's-wort
IlypcriciDH cllipticuiu Hooker
Plate I job
Stems herliaceous, slightly four-angled, mainly simple or with a few
branches, erect, 6 to 20 inches high from a perennial root. Leaves oval
or elliptic, sessile, spreading, thin in texture, three-fourths to i| inches
long and one-fourth to one-half of an inch wide, lilunt at the apex. Flowers
pale yellow, few or several in terminal cymes, each flower about one-half
of an inch broad, central flower of each cluster opening first, the lateral
branches of the cluster developing later; sepals slightly shorter than the
petals; styles three, miited below; capsules or fruit ovoid-globose, about
one-eighth of an inch long and one-celled. Sepals and petals occasionally
four instead of five.
In low grounds, swamps and along streams, Nova Scotia to Manitoba,
south to New Jersey, Maryland and Minnesota. Flowering in July and
August. Our illustration was made from plants just beginning to flower,
before the lateral branches of the cyme were developed.
Common Saint John's-wort
Ilypcricitui pcrforattiiii Linnaeus
Plate 131a
Stems herbaceous, smooth, slender, i to 2 feet high from a perennial
root, usually much branched and with several barren shoots at the base.
Leaves sessile, linear or oblong, one-half to i inch long, one-tenth to one-
third of an inch wide, blunt, black dotted. Flowers three-fourths to i
inch broad, bright yellow, several or many in terminal cymes; petals five,
black dotted, longer than the lanceolate pointed sepals; stamens numerous,
united by their base into three sets; styles three; fruit pod or capsule ovoid,
about one-fourth of an inch long or less, three-celled.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 130
A. GREAT OR GIANT SAINT JOHN S-WORT
Ilypen'ciiii! (iscyi-oii
B. i:liji>tu-i.i:avei) ok pale
SAINT JOHN's-WORT
Hypericum ellipticum
WILD FLOWERS OF NKW YORK 169
Native of Europe and naturalized as a weed in fields and waste places
throughout the East.
Rockrose Family
Cistaceae
Frostweed; Rockrose
Crocaiilhrniniit cauadense (Linnaeus) Britton
Plate 131b
Stems erect or diffuse from a perennial root, 5 to 20 inches high, finely
canescent and becoming branched. Leaves nearly sessile, linear-oblong to
oblanceolate, one-half to i^ inches long, one-third of an inch wide or less,
green above, canescent beneath. Flowers bright yellow, usually one or two,
I to 1 1 inches broad; sepals five, the two outer ones much smaller; petals
five, broadly obovate, soon withering and falling; capsule ovoid, about one-
third of an inch long. After the petaliferous flowers fade and fall, the
axillary branches elongate and bear numerous apetalous sessile flowers,
which develop fruiting capsules about one-sixth of an inch in diameter.
In sandy fields or rocky soil, Maine to Ontario and Wisconsin, south
to North Carolina and Mississippi. Flowering from Alav to July.
A closely related species of similar sitviations, C r o c a n t h e m u m
m a j u s (Linnaeus) Britton, is more canescent, the primary flowers
clustered at the summit of the stem and not surpassed by the branches;
the secondary or apetalous flowers very small and producing capsules
which are only about one-twelfth of an inch in diameter.
Woolly Hudsonia; False Heather
II lid sou ill touiciitosu Nuttall
Plate 132a
A diffusely branched, low-tufted or matted perennial, somewhat
woody, 3 to 8 inches high, pale and hoary-pubescent, the branches stout and
ascending. Leaves small and scalelike, about one-tenth or one-twelfth of
an inch long, overlapping one another and appressed to the stem. Flowers
numerous, almost sessile or on short, stout stalks less than one-fourth of an
170 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
inch long, yellow, about one-fourth of an inch broad or slightly less; petals
five, obovatc-oblong ; stamens numerous, nine to eighteen in number;
sepals blunt. Fruit a small, ovoid, smooth and one-seeded capsule.
In sandy pine barrens and sandy shores along the coast, New Bruns-
wick to Virginia and inland on sand hills and lake and river shores, west
to Manitoba and North Dakota. Flowering from May to July.
Violet Family
\' i o 1 a c e a e
Because of their abundance and beauty, the violets take rank with the
favorites among our native flowers. Our species of violets are all low
herbs, either leafy-stemmed or stemless, that is, the leaves and flowers arising
directly from the rootstock. The flowers possess five stamens, the two
lowest with appendages that project into the spur or nectar sac of the lower
and odd petal. Only these two stamens are developed in the apetalous
flowers which come after the petaliferous flowers in most stemless species
except the Bird's-foot Violet. The petaliferous flowers are somewhat
irregular, the lower petal extended into a spur or sac back of the flower, the
lateral petals usually narrower than the two upper petals, and usually only
the spur and lateral petals adorned at the base in some species with hairs.
Allied species of some groups freely hybridize when growing together.
The hybrids commonly display characters niore or less intermediate to those
of the parent species, and show marked vegetative vigor, but very often
also impaired fertility. These violets of hybrid origin are frequently unlike
the inother plant and unlike one another, reverting variously in succeeding
generations to the characters of the two original species.
Two cultivated species of violets are common in the east, and some-
times escape from cultivation. They are the English, Marsh or Sweet
Violet (Viola o d o r a t a Linnaeus ) , and the Pansy or Heartsease
(Viola tricolor Linnaeus) with variously colored flowers. The
original form, and the one which the cultivated forms revert to sooner or
later, has violet or purple flowers. The large Garden Pansy is the product
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 132
4 ^ '"i^'^'
A. WOOLLY HUDSONIA; FALSE HEATHER
Iludsoin'd toDiciitnsd
B. DWARF GINSENG OR GROX'NDNUT
Panax trijolinni
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 171
of various crosses of ^' i o 1 a tricolor witli allied species of the
Old World. In addition to these, there are about thirty-three native
species of violets in New York, beside the many natural hj^brids. The
following key to the native species may be useful in determining certain
species not illustrated here.
I Stemless; the leaves and scapes directly from a rootstock or from runners
Petals bright yellow; leaves orbicular i V. r o t u n d i f o I i a
Petals violet, purple or white
Cleistogamous flowers wanting; petals all beardless; leaves divided
2 V. p e d a t a
Cleistogamous flowers present, at least later in the season
Rootstock thick, often stout, without stolons; lateral petals bearded
Cleistogamous flowers ovoid on short prostrate peduncles; their capsules
mostly purplish
Leaves except rarely the earliest, palmately five- to eleven-lobed
or parted; foliage villous-pubescent
Leaf -lobes blunt, lateral ones broad 3 V. p a 1 m a t a
Leaf-lobes acuminate, lateral ones linear. ..4V. p e r p e n s a
Early and late leaves uncut; others three- to seven-lobed or parted
5 V. triloba
Leaves all uncut; blades ovate to reniform, cordate, crenate-
serrate
Plants nearly or quite glabrous; petals violet-purple; seeds
brown
Petioles smooth ; plants of moist soil
6 V. p a p i 1 i o n a c e a
Petioles glandular roughened; plants of dry soil
7 V. 1 a t i u s c u 1 a
Leaves very hairy, especially beneath and on the petioles;
seeds dark brown 8V. sororia
Leaves hirsutulous above, otherwise smooth ; seeds buff
9 V. h i r s u t u 1 a
Cleistogamous flowers ovoid on ascending peduncles, soon elongated
Leaves pubescent beneath and on the petioles; sepals and their
auricles ciliolate; blades broadly ovate, cordate
10 V. s e p t en t r i o n al i s
172
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Leaves glabrous beneath and on the petioles 1 1 V. a f f i n i s
Cleistogamous flowers on erect peduncles, their capsules green
Leaves broadly ovate, blunt at the apex; sepals obtuse
Cleistogamous flowers ovoid; spurred petal villous
12 V. n e ]3 h r o p h y 1 1 a
Cleistogamous flowers long and slender, s]Dun-ed petal glabrous
13 y. cu c u 1 1 a t a
Leaves lobed or the margins shar]:)ly incised or toothed toward the
subcordate or titmcate base; spurred petal villous, lateral ones
with capillary beard
Blade of the mature leaves ovate-oblong, ciliate, finely pubes-
cent; petioles short 14 V. f i m b r i a t u 1 a
Blade of the mature leaves lanceolate, usually smooth; petioles
long 15 V. s a g i 1 1 a t a
Blade of the mature leaves broadly ovate or deltoid
Margin coarsely toothed near the base; blades sometimes
lobed 16 V. e m a r g i n a t a
Margin sharply toothed toward the Ijase and more or less
pectinately incised 17 \'. p e c t i n a t a
Blade of mature leaves primarily three-lobed or three-parted,
the segments two to three-cleft into linear or oblanceolate
lobes 1 S V. b r i 1 1 o n i a n a
Rootstock slender (or thicker and scaly with age); plants usually from
stolons
Petals pale violet; leaves minutely hairy on the upper surface; spur
large, 3 Hnes long 19 V. s e 1 k i r k i i
Petals white, with dark purple lines on the lower three
Cleistogamous capsules ovoid, usually purplish; woodland plants
Leaves renifonn, lateral petals beardless; stolons short
20 V. r e n i f o 1 i a
Leaves broadly ovate, acute; lateral petals bearded; seeds
obtuse at the base 21 V. incognita
Leaves ovate, acute or acuminate; lateral petals beardless;
seeds acute at base 22 V. b 1 a n d a
Cleistogamous capsules ellipsoid; always green; peduncles erect;
bog and wet meadow species
WII.D FLOWERS OF NKW YORK 1 73
Leaves broadly ovale or orbicular, cordate, obtuse
23 V. p a 1 1 e n s
Leaves oblong to ovate, the base slightly cordate to tapering
24 v. p r i m u 1 i f o li a
Leaves lanceolate to elliptical 25 V. lanceolata
2 Leafy-stemmed; the flowers axillary
Style capitate, beakless, bearded near the summit, spur short; stipules nearly entire,
soon scarious
Petals yellow
Sparingly pubescent; root-leaves usually one to three. . . 26 V. e r i o c a r p a
Markedly pubescent; root-leaves usually wanting 27 V. pubescens
Inner face of the petals white with yellow base, outer face usually violet; leaves
usually broadly ovate, acuminate, subglabrous 28 V. canadensis
Style not capitate; spur long; stipules bristly toothed, herbaceous
Spur 2 to 4 lines long; lateral petals bearded; styles bent at tip, with short beard
Petals white or cream-colored 29 V. striata
Petals violet -blue
Herbage glabrous or nearly so; leaves orbicular or suborbicular
Stipules ovate-lanceolate, bristh' serrate; leaves often if inches
wide 30 V. c o n s p e r s a
Stipules linear, entire except at base; leaves not over three-fourths
of an inch wide ; alpine 31 V. labradorica
Herbage puberulent; stems ascending; blades mostly ovate
32 V. adunca
Spur 4 to 6 lines long, lateral petals beardless; style straight and smooth
33 V. r o s t r a t a
Style much enlarged upward into a globose, hollow summit; stipules large, leaflike,
pectinate at base; upper leaves and middle lobe of stipules entire or nearly so; drj"-
sandy places 34 V. r a f i n e s q u i i
Bird's-foot Violet
Viola paliitii LiniKietts
Leaves nearly smootli from a short, stout, erect rootstock, three-
divided, the lateral divisions pedately three to five-parted or cleft, the
174 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
segments linear to spatulate, often two to four-cleft or toothed near the
apex. Early leaves usually smaller and less deeply dissected. Corolla
two-thirds to U inches broad, the upper petals dark violet, the lower three
lilac-purple, or as in the common northern variety (var. lineariloba
DeCandoUe) here illustrated, all the petals lilac-purple, all beardless, the
orange tips of the stamens large and conspicuous in the center of the
flower. Seed pods smooth, green; seeds copper-colored.
Apetalous or cleistogamous flowers are never formed in this species,
but petaliferous flowers are frequent in late summer and autumn.
Common in dry or sandy fields and open woods from Massachusetts
to Florida and Louisiana, less abundant or locally common inland to
Minnesota. Flowering in May and June.
Early Blue or Palmate-leaved Violet
I'iolii pahniitd Linnaeus
Plate ij4a
Leaves palmately five to eleven-lobed or parted, erect or nearly so,
from a thick, usually oblique, simple or branched rootstock, the leaf seg-
ments variously toothed or cleft, the middle segment usually the widest,
more or less villous beneath, especially on the veins and on the petioles,
the upper surface of the leaves often smooth; early leaves smaller and
ustially less divided than the later ones. Flowers on stalks about as long
as the leaves, two-thirds to i inch broad, violet-pvirple ; sepals blunt;
cleistogamous flowers on prostrate peduncles; seeds brown.
In woods and thickets, rarely in open fields and most abundant in
rather dry, rich soil on wooded hills, Massachusetts to Minnesota, south
to Florida. Flowering from April to June. Like several of the other
blue-flowered violets it is locally known as Johnny-iump-up.
Among its close relatives in the east is Viola triloba
Schweinitz, in which the earliest leaves and those put forth in late summer
are usually with uncut, reniform, cordate blades, the summer leaf blades
4 to 6 inches wide, densely villous beneath and on the petioles, three-lobed
or three-parted.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 133
bird's-foot violkt
Viola pedata vur. liucariloba
WILD FLOWKKS Ol' NKW YORK 175
Viola p c r p (.' n s a Greene, of the Great Lakes region, possesses
linear, acuminate lateral leaf lobes.
Coast or Britton's Violet
I'iold hrittoiiicnni Pollard
Plate ij6b
Early leaves reniform to ovate in otitline, entire or incised, from a
thick, erect rootstock; mature leaves three-parted and the segments two
to four-cleft into linear or oblanceolate, acute lobes, the middle lobe some-
what the widest ; smooth except for minute pubescence on the upper surface
and margin. Flowering scapes as long or longer than the leaves. Flowers
large, i to i^ inches broad, rich purple with a conspicuous white throat.
Sepals linear-lanceolate, acuminate.
In peaty or moist, sandy soil along the coast, southern Maine to Vir-
ginia. Flowering in May and June. Next to Viola p e d a t a, one of
the most showy of our native species of violet.
Woolly Blue Violet; Sister Violet
Viohi sororia Willdenow
Plate 135a
Leaves ovate to orbicular from a stout, simple or branched rootstock;
petioles and under surfaces of the young leaves, and often the scapes, villous-
pubescent; leaf blades blunt or pointed, heart-shaped, the margins crenate-
serrate, sometimes becoming 4 inches wide when mature. Corolla violet
to lavender, and occasionally white; sepals broad, usually blunt, finely
ciliate below the middle; petals rather broad, the lower and lateral ones
densely bearded with white toward the center of the flower. Cleistogamous
flowers ovoid on short, horizontal peduncles, usually underground, but
lengthening and ascending as the capsule ripens; capsules green, mottled
with brown; seeds dark brown.
In rocky or rich woodlands, moist meadows and on shady ledges.
Quebec to Minnesota, south to North Carolina. Flowering in April
and May.
1/6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Quite as alDtmdant is the Meadow or Hooded Blue Violet (Viola
papilionacea Pursh) with nearly glabrous foHage, very large leaf
blades which are reniform or ovate, deep-blue flowers, the odd petal often
narrow and boat-shaped, usually beardless; capsules eUipsoid, green or
dark purple. Common in moist fields and groves, frequently about
dwellings.
The Broad-leaved Wood Violet (V iola latiuscvila Greene)
possesses broadly ovate-deltoid leaf blades, the earliest ones blunt and
tinged with purple beneath; petioles glandular-roughened; flowers violet-
purple. In dry, open woods in sand or gravel.
The Southern Wood Violet (Viola h i r s u t u 1 a Brainerd) enters
our range only in sotithem New York. It is a small species with leaves
lying close to the groimd, the blades orbicular to renifomi, purplish
beneath, silvery pubescent above; flowers reddish purple.
The Northern Wood Violet (Viola septentrionalis Greene)
is common in moist, open woodlands south to Connecticut and Pennsyl-
vania. The foliage, except the earliest leaves, is hirsutulous. The leaf
blades are ovate to reniform, heart-shaped, ciliate and blunt; sepals bkmt,
closely ciliolate nearly to the tip; flowers deep violet to pale lilac.
LeConte's Violet
I'iola (iffiiiis LeConte
Plate ij5b
Foliage nearly or quite smooth; rootstocks slender, branching, or the
plants growing in matted clusters. Early leaves narrowly ovate and heart-
shaped, more or less long pointed toward the apex, the margins crenate-
serrate; petioles slender and smooth. Flowers violet with a conspicuous
white center; the cleistogamous flowers small, on ascending stalks.
Common in moist meadows, low woodlands and shady borders of
streams. New England to Wisconsin, south to Georgia and Alabama.
Flowering from April until June. The mature leaves of midsummer are
about 2 inches wide.
The Northern Bog Violet (Viola nephrophylla Greene)
resembles LeConte's Violet in some respects, but the leaves are broader
and more blunt. It occurs in cold, mossy bogs and sometimes along
borders of streams and lakes from Quebec to British Columbia south to
Connecticut and Wisconsin. It appears to be abundant in a bog in Bergen
swamp, Genesee county.
WILD FLOWHKS OK M:\V YORK I77
Marsh Blue Violet
I'iola ciiciillata Aiton
Plate l3Sb
Leaves and stems smooth or nearly so; leaf blades, except the earliest,
broadly ovate to reniform, heart-shaped at the base, the margins strongly
cucuUate (rolled inward) when the leaves are young, the apex pointed,
margins crenate-serrate ; when mature 2 to 4 inches broad. Flowering
stalks much longer than the leaves. Flowers violet-blue with a dark -blue
throat or center, or sometimes entirely white; lateral petals bearded, the
lower or spur petal smooth and usually shorter than the lateral ones. Clcis-
togamous flowers on long, slender, erect stalks, their capsules green; seeds
nearly black.
In moist meadows, springy places in woodlands and along streams,
Quebec to Georgia. Flowering from late in April tmtil June.
Ovate-leaved Violet
r/('/(; jhubriatnla J. E. Smith
Rootstock long and stout, sometimes branching. The earliest leaf
blades ovate and blunt; the later ones oblong-ovate, acute, finely pubescent,
especially beneath, the margins crenulate toward the apex, the bases usually
somewhat heart-shaped or truncate and sharply toothed, incised or auricu-
late. Flowering stalks about as long as the leaves when first in bloom or
longer than the leaves in later flowers; the corolla violet-purple. Capsules
green ; seeds brown. Cleistogamous flowers on erect peduncles.
Dry fields and hillsides, throughout the eastern states and south to
Georgia. Flowering in May and June.
Arrow-leaved Violet
Viola sagittatti Ailon
Plate i,i7l.
Leaves erect from a stout rootstock, smooth, or sometimes ciliate or
finely pubescent; their petioles longer than the blades which are lanceolate
I7<S NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
or oblong-lanceolate, i to 4 inches long, truncate or heart-shaped at the
base and blunt or pointed at the apex, the base hastately or sagittately
toothed or cleft, the earliest leaves often deltoid-ovate, blunt, and merely
crenate at the base. Flowers on stalks about as long as the leaves, the
corolla violet-purple.
Moist banks, fields and wet meadows, Massachusetts to Minnesota,
south to Georgia and Louisiana. Flowering in May and June. The
smooth form appears to be the commoner on the coastal plain, while around
the Great Lakes region and eastward to the Hvidson River valley occurs a
form with pubescent foliage.
Triangle-leaved Violet
Viola ouarginata (Nuttall) LeConte
Plate Ij6a
Foliage glal;)rous, succulent, frequently in dense tufts from stout or
matted rootstocks. Leaf blades at flowering time naiTowly ovate or
triangular, slightly heart-sliaped ; the later ones broadly ovate or deltoid,
I to 3 inches wide, often as broad as long, the base trimcate or slightly
heart-shaped, coarsely toothed or incised toward the base. Flowering
scapes usually longer than the leaves; flowers violet-blue, the petals often
notched at the ends.
Dry woods, hillsides and fields, southeni New York southward. Flow-
ering in April and May.
\' i o 1 a e m a r g i n a t a a c u t i 1 o b a Brainerd, found on Staten
Island, possesses leaf blades (of mature leaves) which are five-cleft or five-
parted, the middle lobe long and narrow, the lateral ones shorter and
narrower than the middle lobe.
Closely related to the Triangle-leaved Violet is the Cut-leaved Violet
(Viola p e c t i n a t a Bicknell) in which the blades of the mature
leaves are ovate-deltoid, wider than long, the margin deeply dentate or
pectinate with numerous small linear acute, entire lobes. Low meadows
and edges of salt meadows near the coast.
a 5
> So
< G
2 ^
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate l.?8
A. MEADOW REAUTY; DEER i.RA^S
Rlivxia riroiiiica
MARSH BLUE V10LI:T
I 'iolii ciiaiUatti
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 179
Great-spurred or Selkirk's Violet
Hold Selkirk a Pursh
Plate ijga
Leaves and scapes 2 to 4 inches high from a slender rootstock or stolon.
Leaf blades thin, crenate margined, ovate to suborbicular, deeply heart-
shaped, the basal lobes converging or overlapping; leaves small at flowering
time, when mature i to 2| inches wide, smooth except for minute, spreading
hairs on the upper surface of the leaves. Flowers pale violet, not bearded,
the spur 2| to 4 lines long and much enlarged toward the rounded end.
In shaded ravines and cool motmtain forests. New Brunswick to Penn-
sylvania and Minnesota, north to Greenland. In central New York its
favorite habitat is the moss-covered rocks and boulders beneath limestone
cliffs and shaded by dense forests of mixed hardwoods and hemlock. Flow-
ering in April and May.
Large-leaved "White Violet
Viola incognita Brainerd
Plate 139b
Foliage somewhat pubescent with soft, white hairs, especially when
young, upper leaf surfaces smooth. Leaves ascending from slender root-
stocks. Leaf blades at flowering time orbicular or reniform, two-thirds to
2 inches wide, abruptly short pointed at the apex, cordate at the base;
summer leaves with large, somewhat roughened blades, broadly ovate,
cordate with an open sinus, acute, 2 to 4 inches wide or larger. Flowers
white, on stalks as long as the leaves at flowering time, the lateral petals
bearded, the upper pair obovate; seeds brown. In summer the plants
produce numerous filiform runners.
Mountainous and low, moist woodlands, Newfoundland to Dakota and
south to Tennessee.
The Kidney-leaved White Violet (Viola r c n i f o 1 i a A. Gray) is
densely pubescent throughout, with reniform leaf blades which are dis-
tantly crenate-serrate on the margins and rounded at the apex; petals
white, all beardless, the three lower with brownish veins. In Arbor Vitae
l80 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
swamps and cold woods, Newfoundland to Mackenzie river, south to Penn-
sylvania and Minnesota and along the Rocky mountains to Colorado.
The Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda Willdenow) has the
petioles and scapes smooth and often tinged with red ; smaller leaves, longer
flowering stalks with very fragrant white flowers; lateral petals beardless,
the upper pair of petals often long, narrow and strongly reflexed or some-
times twisted; seeds dark brown and minutely roughened.
The Northern White Violet (Viola p aliens (Banks) Brainerd)
has small, broadly ovate or orbicular, smooth, pale-green leaves; scapes
much longer than the leaves, bearing white, slightly fragrant flowers.
Common in mossy bogs and wet meadows.
Primrose-leaved Violet
]'io!a priuinlifolia Linnaeus
Leaf Ijlades oblong to ovate, obscurely crenate-serratc on the margins,
smooth or somewhat hairy, especially toward the base of the petioles; the
leaves and flower stalks arising from slender rootstocks or stolons. Flow-
ering scapes 2 to lo inches high, usually longer than the leaves. Flowers
white, the three lower petals pvirple- veined, the lateral ones slightly or not
at all bearded; capsules green; seeds reddish brown. Numerous leafy
stolons are developed in late summer.
A frequent violet of moist, open, especially sandy soil near the coast
from New Brunswick to Florida and Louisiana. Flowering in May
and June.
Lance-leaved or Water Violet
Viola laiiceolatd Linnaeus
Plate Moh
Foliage smooth and plants usually profusely stoloniferous in late
summer, the stolons rooting at the nodes and bearing numerous apetalous
flowers; the rootstocks slender. Flowering stalks 2 to 4 inches high or
higher; mature leaves lanceolate or elliptical in shape, the Ijlade 2 to 6
inches long and one-eighth to three-fourths of an inch wide, tapering
gradually l)clow into the margined reddish petiole; margins of the leaves
obscurely crenulate. Flowers white, the three lower petals striped with
purplish veins. Fruiting capsules green; seeds dark brown.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plato 1,^9
A. GREAT-SPURRED OR SELKIRK'S VIOLET
]'ioIn Selkirk a
B. LARGE-LEAVED WHITE VIOLET
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WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK l8l
Open bogs, marshes and moist meadows, Nova Scotia to Minnesota
and southwaixl. Flowering in May and June or sometimes as early as the
latter part of April.
The Romid-leaved Yellow \'iolet (V iola rotundifolia
Michaux) possesses oval or orbicular, blunt leaves, heart-shaped with
repand-crenulate margins; at flowering time about i inch wide; in mid-
summer 2 to 4 inches wide and flat upon the ground; flowers bright yellow,
the three lower petals wnth brown lines. In cold woods, Maine to Ontario,
south to Georgia. Very common in the Adirondack and Catskill mountains.
In other parts of the State rather rare or local.
Smoothish Yellow Violet
Viola eriocarpa Schweinitz
Plate 134b
Commonly with two to four ascending stems from a single rootstock.
Basal leaves often several, long petioled with ovate to reniform blades,
smooth except for minute pubescence on the upper part of the stem and
on the lower leaf surfaces along the veins; the stems bearing one to three
short-petioled leaves, each broadly ovate, slightly heart-shaped at the
base and long pointed at the apex, the uppermost ones smaller and nearly
sessile. Flowers in the upper axils, yellow, the lateral petals bearded.
Fruiting capsules ovoid, woolly white or rarely nearly sinooth ; seeds brown.
In low, open, moist woods, Nova Scotia to Manitoba, sotith to Georgia
and Texas. Flowering in ^lay and June.
The closely related Hairy or Downy Yellow \"iolet (V iola
p u b e s c e n s Alton) is softly pubescent throughout ; stems usually but
one from a rootstock ; usually without basal leaves, but bearing one to three
leaves on the stem, which are broadly ovate or reniform. In dry, rich
woods, Nova Scotia to Dakota, south to Virginia and Missouri.
Canada Violet
Viold canadensis Linnaeus
Plate 141
Stems 6 to 18 inches high, usually several or many together from a
perennial root, smooth or nearly so. Leaves broadly ovate, heart-shaped,
l82 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
pointed at the apex, the margins toothed. Basal leaves numerous on long
petioles. Flowers in the axils of the stem leaves, often appearing throughout
the season from May to July, whitish with a bright-yellow eye, the upper
petals more or less tinged with violet on the outside, the lower petal striped
with fine, dark lines.
In upland and mountainous forests. New Brunswick to Saskatchewan,
south to South Carolina and Alabama.
The Pale or Striped Violet (Viola striata Alton) possesses less
ascending and more angular stems than V. canadensis, 6 to 12 inches
high when in flower; the flowers white or cream-colored, densely bearded
in the center. In low and shaded places. New York to Minnesota, south
to Georgia.
American Dog Violet
Viola conspcrsa Reichenbach
Plate 142b
Usually several stems ascending from an oblique, branched rootstoclc,
3 to 6 inches long at flowering time. Leaf blades orbicular, heart-shaped,
crenate-serrate on the margins, blunt, one-half to 2 inches wide, the upper
ones smaller and more pointed. Flowers numerous, usually pale violet
or rarely white, raised above the leaves on axillary stalks, 2 to 3 inches
long.
Common in low ground or moist, shaded woods, Quebec to Minnesota,
south to Georgia. Flowering from early spring until late in May.
Closely related, but more dwarfed, with small, orbicular blades
and deep violet flowers is the Alpine Dog Violet (Viola labradorica
Schrank) occurring in New York only on the higher mountains of the
Adirondacks.
The Sand Violet (Viola a d u n c a J. E.Smith; V. subvestita
Greene) is finely puberulent, the stems only 2 to 6 inches long; leaf
blades ovate, one-half to i inch long, crenulate, blunt, subcordate; flowers
deep violet, with a straight, blunt spur about 3 lines long. Rather local in
sandy or sterile soil or on dry stony ridges, Quebec to Maine and westward.
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Phiti- 141
CANADA \I()LET
\'ia/(i ca linden sis
WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 183
Long-spurred Violet
J'iola rostrata Pursh
Plate 142a
Stems usually numerous from an elongated, jointed rootstock. 4 to 8
inches high. Leaves orbicular to broadly ovate, heart-shaped, nearly or
quite smooth, serrate on the margins, the upper ones pointed, the lower
and basal leaves blunt. Petaliferous flowers on long, slender stalks, violet
with a dark purple- violet center, not bearded, the spur slender and one-
half of an inch long or longer.
Shady hillsides and moist woods in leaf mold, Quebec to Michigan,
south to Georgia. Flowering in May and June.
The Field Pansy (Viola r a f i n e s q u i i Greene) is an annual
plant with slender, smooth, erect stems, 3 to 8 inches high, sometimes
branched. Leaves small, somewhat roimded on slender petioles; their
stipules large, conspicuous and deeply cut or fringed. Flowers small,
bkiish white to cream-colored. In fields and open woods, southern New
York to Michigan and southward to Georgia and Texas. Flowering in
April and May.
Loosestrife Family
Salicariaceae
(Lythraceae)
The Swamp Loosestrife and the Spiked or Purple Loosestrife belong
to this family, which in addition to these two species illustrated here, is
represented in this State by two smaller flowered species of Lythrum
(Lythrum hyssopifolia Linnaeus and L. a 1 a t u m Pursh) and
the Clammy Cuphea or Blue Waxweed (P a r s o n s i a p e t i o 1 a t a
(Linnaeus) Rusby).
Swamp Loosestrife; Willow-herb
Decodoii vcrticillatus (Linnaeus) Elliott
Plate 143a
An herblike perennial growing usualh' in swamps or shallow water.
Although appearing like an herbaceous plant it is more or less shrubby.
The stems are angular, recurved, smooth and somewhat woody below,
3 to 10 feet long, often rooting at the tip when they reach the soil or mud.
Leaves lanceolate, opposite or verticillate, 2 to 5 inches long, one-third
184 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
to I inch wide, smooth above, somewhat hairy beneath, pointed at both
ends, on very short petioles. Flowers numerous in cymelike axillary
clusters; calyx broadly campanulate; corolla abovit an inch or less broad,
petals cuneate at the base, pink-purple, the slender filaments of the stamens
projecting from the flower. Fruiting capsule about one-fourth of an inch
in diameter or slightly less.
In swamps, shallow water around the edges of lakes and ponds, or
along slow streams, often forming thickets, Maine to Florida, west to
Minnesota, Tennessee and Louisiana. Flowering in June and July. Also
known as peatweed or slink-weed, wild oleander and grass poly.
Spiked or Purple Loosestrife
LytliriDii siili((iri(i Linnaeus
Plate :4jb
Stems four-angled, 2 to 4 feet high or sometimes taller from a perennial
root, smooth or somewhat pubescent or tomentose above and more or less
branched. Leaves opposite or sometimes in threes, sessile, lanceolate,
clasping and heart-shaped at the base 2 to 3 inches long, one-fourth to
one-half of an inch wide. Flowers purple, one-half to two-thirds of an
inch long and half as broad, in dense, terminal, branched racemes inter-
spersed with numerous small leaves; petals four or five, usually five;
stamens eight or ten, the longer ones scarcely projecting beyond the flower.
Native of Europe but thoroughly naturalized and common in wet
places and swamps throughout the east. Very common along the Hudson
river from Albany to New York. Flowering in July and August.
Meadow Beauty Family
Melastomaceae
Meadow Beauty; Deer Grass
Rhexia virginica Linnaeus
Plate uSa
Stems square, S to 18 inches high, the angles of the stem usually slightly
winged, hairy or nearly smooth; roots perennial and fibrous with a few small
WILD FL
() W F. R S
OF
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Y O R K
Memoir 15 N. Y, State Museum
Plate 142
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A, LONG-SPURRED VIOLET
Viola rostrata
B. AMERICAN DOG VIOLET
Viola conspersa
WILD FLOWERS OK NEW Y O R K
Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum
Plate 14.^
A. SWAMP loosestrife; willow-herb
Decodon vcrticillatus
Lvlliniiit salican'a
WILD FLOWERS OK NEW YORK 185
tubers. Leaves opposite, sessile or nearly so, ascending, ovate or elliptical-
ovate, pointed at the apex, narrowed or rotmded at the base, i to 2 inches
long, one-half to i inch wide, with a few scattered hairs on both surfaces,
conspicuously three to five-nerved, the margins ciliate-serrulate. Flowers
bright purple, i to i§ inches broad, few or several in terminal clusters;
calyx-tube urn-shaped, constricted above with four triangular-pointed
lobes, and like the stalk of the flower glandular-pubescent; petals four,
broadly obovate; stamens eight, equal; anthers yellow, linear, curved and
minutely spurred on the back. Fruit a four-celled, four-valved capsule
with numerous small rough, bent seeds.
In moist, sandy meadows and marshes, Maine to northern New York,
Ontario and Iowa, south to Florida, Louisiana and Missouri. Flowering
from July to September. Common on the coastal plain, but rare or local
inland, except east and north of Oneida lake, where it is very abundant in
certain places.
The Maryland Meadow Beauty (Rhexia mariana Linnaeus)
occurs from Long Island southward. It is more densely hairy, the stems
are not angled and the leaves are narrower and more spreading.
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