Evening star., 1925-06-21
BY DIR. X. W. SHUFELDT.

7 7 is fact well known To the stu
/ dent of nature that. in all coun-
| tries where forests and flowers
i are found. there is usually a more
or less extensive list of the latter
that thrive best within the confines Of
the former. This is true of rather "A
long list of the wild flowers known to
grow only beneath forest trees. al
though some Of these may also be
found growing more or less in the
open.
Where trees grow in such way as
to form a forest. the area covered
may he of either small or great
extent; and. as we know. some of
them cover miles Of territory in All
directions. although such forests may
not be long left to us. as the demand
for timber iS constant menace to
their preservation. These forests
may he composed of trees all of one
kind. such as we see in pine and
other coniferous forests: but upon the
other hand. oaks. beeches. and certain
NAPLES may constitute forest. Often
mountains. hills and undulating coun-
try. as the case may be. are clothed
with an open or heavy growth of
timber and through its extension.
the intervening valleys may be in
cluded.
AS to the character of the woodla nd
floor. it may be OF rich. black loam;
it may be sandy or sravelly, rocky.
moist. or dry. or be an actual swamp
or bog. Where forests cover hill and
mountain side. il is not unusual TO
meet with rocks OF varying sizes
among the trees. and these may run
all the way from few hundred
pounds to boulders of great size
weighing thousands of tons. Natur-
ally the varying character of the
woodland floor influences such plants
as flourish beneath the trees of a for.
est: AS we would not find arbutus
growing in a bog. nor dog-tooth
violets among the rocks.
In the forests of Eastern United
States we find growing at different
seasons many species of most inter
esting and often very beautiful flow
ers, and these greet us from beneath
the trees. all the way from the rocky
hillsides to the rich, loamy levels. and
the bogs and swamps of the lowlands
and valleys. Their dates of appear
ance vary with the ATTITUDES in
which they normally occur; and this
not only for different species of flow
ers. but for the same species. accord
ing to whether it is a southern or
northern latitude. For example, when
early saxifrage has gone to seed in
Georgia in February. or even earlier.
we may not see it in the District of
Columbia until the first week in
April, certainly not before the last
days of March, even in the case of a
very early Spring. Although not
rock breaker" as it's name would
indicate, this myth doubtless arose
from the fact that the saxifrage is
generally found growing in soil that
has accumulated in the clefts of such
rocks as are found in the forests of
its normal habitat. 1t is not always
seen in such localities, however. for
we may meet with it at some little
distance from the rocks that occur on
the hillside where we first observe it
in early Spring. 1t is a most inter
esting and hardy little plant. which
first puts forth an attractive little
rosette of leaves close TO the ground.
in the center of which we see small,
tight bunch of white blossoms. At
first the stem is not in evidence, but
it soon develops and grows rapidly
with the flowers atop of it. the plant
presenting a very different appear
the blossoms were close to the ground.
THE first days of Spring, with the
coming of the birds, the first
flowers and the awakening of the
naples and other trees, are, to most
people, the loveliest days of all the
year; nor is saXifrage the only flower
that greets us early, for in the same
piece of woods we are more than
likely to come across both bloodroot
and hepatica in full bloom Gig. u.
The first named are usually found in
little colonies not far from some big
forest tree, although. now and then
single plant in bloom may be the
only one in sight.
From first to last. the growth of a
bloodroot Is surely a floral dream-a
fairy's f1eeting visit, for no other
flower behaves as does this one. 1t
arises perpendicularly from the
ground in most deliberate manner,
its straight stem bearing aloft the
single white bud, protected by the soli-
tary, silvery-green leaf, which is
curled about 1t in a clasping way.
Soon the bud rises above it's protector
for an inch or 90, when one of the