The Topeka state journal., 1916-06-03

woodland family blooming IN May ana
June are the burning-bush, dogwood
and smooth sumac.
The vines of the woodland family
are the Virginia creeper (also a
climber), the wild grape, the climbing
| ivy nonpoisonous, poison ivy, low and
climbing bitter-swet, milkweed vine,
wild cucumber and, most beautiful of
all, the climbing prairie rose.
The herbs of this family appearing in
March or April are the blood-root,
white adder-tongue (without bloom)
white hly-like flowers; ''Dutchman's s
breeches" appear as soon as the snow
has disappeared and golden corydalis
In April the blue" phlox or wild,
fragrant sweetwilliam is abundant in
the woods. accompanied by the coarse
weedy-looking tooth-wort or pepper
| root, and the blue hood-leaf violet.
| best beloved of all; the yellow violet
follows a little later.
Wilderness of Beauty.
In May the tantalizing May apples
appear with their promise of unusual
fruit and umbrella-like leaves; and the
royal blue larkspur, a runaway garden
flower lost in the woods, the wild
coIumbine also is seen in inaccessible
/ places.
In June in rich woods may be found
the waterleaf. the little Solomon-seaI l.
and the great Solomon-seal; blue let
! tuce and campanuia, the American
/ bell-flower resembling blue lobelia. In
August white snake-root grows in pro-
! fusion and the wood asters, purple,
| blue and white.
| What a wilderness of beauty is sug-
gested to the minds eye by the mere
mention of prairie flowerSi In April
we find the wild hyacinth and the
field violet; in May the bird-foot violet
resembling the pansy and the field
verbena coming as soon as the April
SHOWS disappear, blooms everywhere
on the Kansas prairies till snow falls
again; its fragrant blossoms make
Prairie peas in many varieties are
found in colors from straw to rich
crimson. Yellow indigo, pink sQrrel,
wild dandelions, wild onion and the
Carolina anemones, purple, blue, pink,
rose color or white.
In May the Pennsylvania anemones
appear, the crimson poppy mallow
from May to July; the spiderwort, in
ming primrose. wild potato vine. spe-
cies of morning glory called also Man
of the Earth' "Red-root'' or Jersey
tea is found in abundance where the
prairies show dry and rocky soil. The
wild four-o' clock aboundS on our prai-
ries and the white larkspur, the
downy phlox and the common white,
and the rare pink yarrow.
In June the yellow sorrel is abun-
dant; the 'leather-root, star grass.
sensitive brier. white, indigo, wild let
| tuce with colors from straw to scar
| let coreopSis. crimson and white;
the orange red butterfly-weed, a low
plant of the milkweed family; the wild
/ lilies are also found, brlllant as the
garden tiger-lily.
In July and August the wild SALIVA
| is found. with deep blue flowers in
stead of the brilliant red of the cul-
| tivated plant, with an occasional Whlte
| blossoming variety; wild petunlas, cas-
sia or sensitive pea, prairie acacia also
The prairies in autumn are even more
gorgeous than through the glad sum
mer days. with goldenrod, blazing star,
button snake root, Haunting its gay
| purple, crimson or Wh1te 1eathers'
| boneset and thoroughworth; the
| many-f1owered white aster, the beau
tiful blue gentian and over all the
glory of the Kansas Sunfloweri
Included in the sandhil vegetation
are the sand-hill plum, the fruit rival
| ing in size and flavor the common
wild red plum; the narrow-leaved
Yucca or Spanish dagger with it's long
| ''soap-root;" woolly loco and Lam
bert's loco, so decorative with its
! crimson blossoms in May, so dreaded
| of stockmen, for it's inebriating or
crazy effect upon cattle and horses
the hairy golden aster; the sweet
4
with gorgeous reddish-purple trumpet
| like blossoms; mountain mint with
handsome aromatic pink flowers;
sandhiH sunflowers, sandburs, and
sandhill tumble-weed. A delicate
hairy plant worthy of special mention
| is Neptune's trident. and with the
fragrant wild heliotrope is a reminder
to California visitors of two of that
states chief attractions.
Plants of Plains
Plants found on the Atlantic coast
are found here in the Kansas salt reg
! ion, where the sea left part of itself
when it went away, as souvenir FOR
the sea lovers who should some day
come to Kansas for homes. Conspic-
uous among these are the salt-grass,
and ''fine-top;" glasswort. bite, salt
wort and goosefeet; eustoa, gentian-
| like plant, with large purple flowers,
and f1averia.
| Plants of the plains include buffalo
grass or curly mesquite, summer mes
quite, leather-root with it's racemes OF
handsome purp1e-blue pea blossom
| flowers; shoestring, wild honey
suckle; bush morningglory, wild
gourd, narrow-leaved yucca, the
scarlet mallow and along water
courses blue grass, bluer than the
Kentucky blue grass.
In May the straw-colored pin
cushion cactus opens its blossoms, star
! colored to amber, followed closely by
the red pin-cushion cactus. with bios
| SONS shading from pale pink to bright
red; squirre1-tail grass, sandworts,
smoke-weed, a species of plantain, the
abundance of which in that vicinity
gave its name to Smoky Hill river; en-
gelmannia, a plant resem bling core
opsis; the cone flower, thistle poppy,
Indian bread-root, prairie zinnia, and
in the far western portions of the
state, the hedgehog cactus and wild
sage.
No matter from what part of our
! land one may have come, no matter
what ones taste may be, in the wild
flowers of Kansas each and all may
| find qualification