Evening star., 1925-06-21
Flowers Which Are Found in Woods of Capital

loveliest of all white flowers in the
forest opens up. display wing a circlet
of snowwhite petals to the warm
rays of the sun. As the latter goes
down IL closes its petals, opening to
the sun again next day, which per
formance is repeated several times.
Soon stiff gust of April wind will
scatter the petals-of which there are
from eight to twelve-hringing the
glorious display to an untimely end,
and there remains but the golden
center of the fower-its stamenS.
our hloodroot receives its name from
the TACT that It's root stock is filled
with an orange-red fluid. which will
leave a near blood stain upon ones
fingers, should one happen to break
the root and handle il. AS the seed
pod develops the single leaf of the
plant rises above ii and unfoldS
spreading out horizontally and dis
playing most beautiful outline and
structure. Once in great while we
may come across a bloodroot in which
the petals exhibit A slight pink tinge.
hut such examples are very rare.
AS we stroll through the forest
these early Spring days we are sure
10 meet with another early conner
the above mentioned hepatics or
liverwort. and one or two fine speci-
companving illustration. Some stu
dents of nature, and of flowers in
particular. record instances where
blooming hepaticas have come up
through the snow covering the floor
of the forest during the last days of
Winter. Indeed, one writer gives
December to May as the Towering
season" Usually they precede the
skunk cabbage of the marshlands, TO
which plant snowstorm is no
novelty.
I.iverwort gets its name from its
three e-lobed leaves. and the plant IS
rarely more than six inches in height
when fully grown; its flowers are sim
gle. and have finished blooming be-
fore the bright green leaves appear.
One of its principal characters is the
fuzzy growth upon bud and stem,
which some of our more sentimental
botanists claim is a protection against
the cold to which the plant is sub
jected at the time of its appearance.
Some of it's flowers are fragrant.
while others entirely lack this char
acter, and there is no way TO tell
which possess fragrance than to smell
them; their purple, pinkishwhite. blue
or lavender petals in no way indicate
the difference. With respect to this
Burroughs said: The gift seems as
capricious as the gift of genius in
families.
A s the season advance other flow
"A ers of the forests come on apace,
and where the soil is rich. we soon
meet with the purple trillium Sor
wakerobin. Its solitary dull purple
flower possesses q most diSa greeable
odor; and the circumstance that the
blossom is sometimes greenish, pink
ish, or even white, in no way alters
it's foul scent resembling decaying
meat. which is SO deceptive that car
rion. flies gather upon it as upon the
real thing. However, ii is through the
visits of these insects that the wake
robin is fertilized. There are other
plants called wake-robins. such as the
large -fowered trillium. the painted
trillium and the nodding wake-robin-
all interesting and attractive forest
flowers. though generally found in
moist places where the soil is rich
and scanf number of trees are in
evidence.
The well known mandrakes and vio-
let's are very likely to be found grow
ing in the same localities, or where
the ground is, perhaps, somewhat
drier: and, passing up the hillside
among the tall poplars and naples.
we will see, in places where the soil
is yet moist and to some extent rocky,
plenty of wild blue phlox-a plant so
familiar to most of us. Zig. ID
Should we find ourselves among the
chestnut oaks or beeches we will come
across those singular growths known
as beech.drops, curious plants that
are anything but fragrant, have brit
tie roots and no green to enliven their
leafiess stems, which may grow to be
a couple of feet high. They flower
from August to October, and belong
in a class with Indian pipe, broom
rape and similar parasitic plants.
1t is usually dry and open where
beeches grow, and in such woods we
are almost sure to meet with the wood
betony. called by some people louise
wort-at least some farmers do. as not
few of them still believe that if
sheep chance TO eat it a minute louise
will attack them and produce trou-
blesome disease Of the skin. Solomon's
seal frequently f1ourishes in the same
woods with Jack-in-the- pulpit. and.
lower down, where the ground Is more