WILD FLOWERS [153]
the outer side of its stem more than on the inner side, the former becomes convex, the latter concave; that is to say, a section of spiral is formed by the new shoot, which, twining upward, devitalizes its benefactor as it goes. Abundant, globular seed vessels, which develop rapidly, while the blossoming continues unabated, soon sink into the soft soil to begin their piratical careers close beside the criminals which bore them; or better still, from their point of view, float downstream to found new colonies afar. When the beautiful jewelweed - a conspicuous sufferer - is hung about with dodder, one must be grateful for at least such symphony of yellows.
VIRGINIA WATERLEAF (Hydrophyllum Virginicum) Waterleaf family
Flowers - White or purplish tinged, in a single or forking cluster on a long peduncle. Calyx deeply 5-parted, the spreading segments very narrow, bristly hairy. Corolla erect, bell-shaped, deeply 5-lobed; 5 protruding stamens, with soft hairs about their middle; 2 styles united to almost the summit. Stem: Slender, rather weak, to 3 ft. long, leafy, sparingly branched, from a scaly rootstock. Leaves: Alternate, lower ones on long petioles, 6 to 10 in. long, pinnately divided into 5 to 7 oblong, sharply toothed, acute leaflets or segments; upper leaves similar, but smaller, and with fewer divisions. Preferred Habitat - Rich, moist woods. Flowering season - May-August. Distribution - Quebec to South Carolina, west to Kansas and Washington.
So very many flowers especially adapted to the bumblebee are in bloom when the cymes of the waterleaf uncoil, like the borages, from their immature roll, that some special inducement to attract this benefactor were surely needed. In high altitudes the clusters became deeper hued; but much as the more specialized bees love color, food appeals to them far more. Accordingly the five lobes of each little flower stand erect to increase the difficulty a short-tongued insect would have to drain its precious stores; the stamens are provided with hairs for the same reason; and even the calyx is bristly, to discourage crawling ants, the worst pilferers out. By these precautions against theft, plenty of nectar remains for the large bees. To prevent self-fertilization, pollen is shed on visitors, which remove it from a newly opened flower before the stigmas become receptive to any; but in any case these are elevated in maturity above the anthers, well out of harm's way.
Early in spring the large lower leaves are calculated to hold the drip from the trees overhead, hence the plant's scientific and popular names.
JIMSONWEED; JAMESTOWN WEED; THORN APPLE; STRAMONIUM; DEVIL'S TRUMPET (Datura stramonium) Potato family
Flowers - Showy, large, about 4 in. high, solitary, erect, growing from the forks of branches. Calyx tubular, nearly half as long as the corolla, 5-toothed, prismatic; corolla funnel-form, deep-throated, the spreading limb 2 in. across or less, plaited, 5-pointed; stamens 5; 1 pistil. Stem: Stout, branching, smooth, 1 to 5 ft. high. Leaves: Alternate, large, rather thin, petioled, egg-shaped in outline, the edges irregularly wavy-toothed or angled, rank-scented. Fruit: A densely prickly, egg-shaped capsule, the lower prickles smallest. The seeds and stems contain a powerful narcotic poison. Preferred Habitat - Light soil, fields, waste land near dwellings, rubbish heaps. Flowering Season - June-September. Distribution - Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, westward beyond the Mississippi.
When we consider that there are over five million Gypsies wandering about the globe, and that the narcotic seeds of the thorn apple, which apparently heal, as well as poison, have been a favorite medicine of theirs for ages, we can understand at least one means of the weed reaching these shores from tropical Asia. (Hindoo, dhatura). Our Indians, who call it "white man's plant," associate it with the Jamestown settlement - a plausible connection, for Raleigh's colonists would have been likely to carry with them to the New World the seeds of an herb yielding an alkaloid
VIRGINIA WATERLEAF (Hydrophyllum Virginicum) Waterleaf family
Flowers - White or purplish tinged, in a single or forking cluster on a long peduncle. Calyx deeply 5-parted, the spreading segments very narrow, bristly hairy. Corolla erect, bell-shaped, deeply 5-lobed; 5 protruding stamens, with soft hairs about their middle; 2 styles united to almost the summit. Stem: Slender, rather weak, to 3 ft. long, leafy, sparingly branched, from a scaly rootstock. Leaves: Alternate, lower ones on long petioles, 6 to 10 in. long, pinnately divided into 5 to 7 oblong, sharply toothed, acute leaflets or segments; upper leaves similar, but smaller, and with fewer divisions. Preferred Habitat - Rich, moist woods. Flowering season - May-August. Distribution - Quebec to South Carolina, west to Kansas and Washington.
So very many flowers especially adapted to the bumblebee are in bloom when the cymes of the waterleaf uncoil, like the borages, from their immature roll, that some special inducement to attract this benefactor were surely needed. In high altitudes the clusters became deeper hued; but much as the more specialized bees love color, food appeals to them far more. Accordingly the five lobes of each little flower stand erect to increase the difficulty a short-tongued insect would have to drain its precious stores; the stamens are provided with hairs for the same reason; and even the calyx is bristly, to discourage crawling ants, the worst pilferers out. By these precautions against theft, plenty of nectar remains for the large bees. To prevent self-fertilization, pollen is shed on visitors, which remove it from a newly opened flower before the stigmas become receptive to any; but in any case these are elevated in maturity above the anthers, well out of harm's way.
Early in spring the large lower leaves are calculated to hold the drip from the trees overhead, hence the plant's scientific and popular names.
JIMSONWEED; JAMESTOWN WEED; THORN APPLE; STRAMONIUM; DEVIL'S TRUMPET (Datura stramonium) Potato family
Flowers - Showy, large, about 4 in. high, solitary, erect, growing from the forks of branches. Calyx tubular, nearly half as long as the corolla, 5-toothed, prismatic; corolla funnel-form, deep-throated, the spreading limb 2 in. across or less, plaited, 5-pointed; stamens 5; 1 pistil. Stem: Stout, branching, smooth, 1 to 5 ft. high. Leaves: Alternate, large, rather thin, petioled, egg-shaped in outline, the edges irregularly wavy-toothed or angled, rank-scented. Fruit: A densely prickly, egg-shaped capsule, the lower prickles smallest. The seeds and stems contain a powerful narcotic poison. Preferred Habitat - Light soil, fields, waste land near dwellings, rubbish heaps. Flowering Season - June-September. Distribution - Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, westward beyond the Mississippi.
When we consider that there are over five million Gypsies wandering about the globe, and that the narcotic seeds of the thorn apple, which apparently heal, as well as poison, have been a favorite medicine of theirs for ages, we can understand at least one means of the weed reaching these shores from tropical Asia. (Hindoo, dhatura). Our Indians, who call it "white man's plant," associate it with the Jamestown settlement - a plausible connection, for Raleigh's colonists would have been likely to carry with them to the New World the seeds of an herb yielding an alkaloid