Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-08
FLOWERS OF THE FALL
Take on Glorious Hues to Stir the
Activities Of Sluggish Insect
Pollen Carriers
NATURE doesn't wait till September 81
' to start the fall season officially; +,

nuehuy autumn 1S on IN tne buDurDS unu
country IL one takes the flowers, instead OF
the almanac, as the criterion even in city
lots q stray goldenrod puts a Midas touch
10 the jungle of ragwecd. In formal
gardens the big white hydrangeas are lifting
their opulent beauty, dahlas are ablow,
ana even the pompous chrysanthemums are
preparing to break into bloom.
But the richness of fall Towering is in the
outlying districts and the parks, both OF
which Philadelphia possesses in plenty and
IN accessibility for the hiker or the motorist
or even the trolley-ca traveller.
Autumn .wildnowers hereabouts are many
and readily recognizable with little
guidance. To be on speaking terms with
them Is well worth the trifing trouble Of
s s conscious A psasas nSoss
wildfowers is to find out their names.
Once you wish to identify them, nothing
escapes, not even the chickweed OF the path
or the moss on the walk.
WILDFLOwERs of the fall have several
w noticeable characteristics. Lavish col
oring,, broadly brushed on, marks the sea
sons floral pictures. This Turneresque tint
ing is to attract the attention of the insects,
already sated by the honeyed treasures of the
summer Corolas. or floral envelopes, are
gorgeous, their purely decorative purpose be-
ing to 'vamp" the insects that bear the
fertilizing pollen from blossom to blossom.
Insect life is on the wane as fall enters and
SO a special lure is needful.
The preponderance Of yellow Is another
trait of autumnnl blooming; its massed
splendors draw the philandering insects. Pre-
dominance of flowers Of the composite fam
lily is final token Of the season--to 1t
belong the daisy, dandelion, aster and
goldenrod. the blossoms of which are not
unitary but an aggregation of flowers In
The aureate hue Of the goldenrod sets
the hillsides aglow, lightens the thickets'.
gloom, brightens brooksides and beautifies
even humble stretches of road. 1t is the
variety and in mass effect. More than
eighty. species are native to this country.
Hereabouts the common varieties are the
lanceolate, SO labeled on account Of the shape
OF the leaves; the scented, with its somewhat
elusive aniseed odor, and the hairy, with its
readily recognized hairy stalk.
0F THE prevalent autumn yellow, too, is
~ the bur. .margold, a tricksy wilding that
travels under several aliases. As stick
tight, pitchfork and beggar stick it is
familiar in various localities from It's habit
OF attaching its burrs to the clothing. Thus
it is carried to pastures new, for the burrs
are really seedpods and the passerby the
agent of transmission. This is one of
natures tricks of seed distribution. Gray
calls the flower "homely." He said some
thing.
The dandelion, Lowells dear common
flower of childhood.' may well be included
in the autumn list, for its blossoms are
among the latest, as they are among the
earliest of the year. Other yellow flowers
are the low lying snapdragon, called butter
and eggs by the children the cone flower,
often known as the black eyed Susan, with
its genuinely handsome flowers surmounr-
ing tall, erect stem, and the rare evening
primrose. whose faint fragrance is diffusrd
only at nightfall, when it opens. There Is
Hpwpr 1n1 nu
Susan, q low growing plant, also more
familiarly known as the yellow daisy Some
of the gorgeous mallows of the marsh are
also yellow they are also found in white and
pink.
THE gcntians are the most beautiful and
l. the asters the most abundant of the blue
and purple group. The former, like the
spring arbutus, has of late years become
very, very rare. The fringed variety to those
who reach the secret of its sequestered haunt
is the most beautiful flower of the season.
1t is more familiar through Bryant's classic
poem than through actual acquaintance:
Thou waitest late and cemst alone
When woods are bare and birds are 1own,
And frosts and short'ning days portend
The aged year is at his end.
Those who know it will concede the poets
ascription:
Blue--blue--as II the sky let fall
A flower from It's ceruean wall.
for its color is as celestial as anything on
earth may well be- Not so fine or cerulcan
is it's cousin in science, the clubbed gentan,
but it is no mean flower. Its blue corola,
its club shape and its characteristic cloture
give the flower the aspect of being n bud.
1t, too, is fond of the deep woods.
Asters vie with goldenrod in pentude
and surpass it in color with Il spectrum
ranging from whitish through lavender
gray to reddish purple. The tints are almost
innumcrable. The asters' masses of
variegated and profuSe bloom redden or en-
purple their favored localities of watered
hillsides or marshy hollows and turn many
waste spots to pictorial beauty. OF the
on n common heed. There are many species.
Around here the commonest are the New
England to be distinguished by finely
hairy stem, and the heart leaved kind,
carrying it's identification in the shape of the
leaves.
THE joe e-pye weed has flowers, pinkish
l. flowers, and is found on cylindrical heads
from damp meadows to dry uplands The
pokeweed is conspicuous with its garnet.
stained stalks five feet or more in height,
set against woodland background. The
staghorn sumac is another gorgecously
red berries are a sign of safety as against
its poisonous variety. The following little
rhyme is a good test to safeguard wayfarers
from resort to sugar OF lead water:
Berries red
Have no dread;
Berries white,
Poisonous sight;
Leaves three
Quickly fee,
the final injunction applying to the poison
ivy, which is dangerously attractive this
time Of year, when its trefol leaves are
changing color to resplendent autumn tones
that rival the glories of the naples and oak
soon to come.
THE floral largess of autumn is rich. 1t is
l. not time of decadence and melancholy.
despite the plants of super sentimental and
gently pessimistic poets. but season OF
opuIence and ample variety. 1t is the tide
of fruition and harvest. It's treasures in
the hills and uplands. meadow levels and
H. It,