WHITE TRILLIUM.(DEATH FLOWER.)Trillium Grandiflorum.

[3]The name Dogs-tooth refers to the shape of the small pointed white bulbs of the common European species, so well known in English gardens.—Prof. Lawson.

[3]

The name Dogs-tooth refers to the shape of the small pointed white bulbs of the common European species, so well known in English gardens.—Prof. Lawson.

Sub Ord. Trilliaceæ.—(Trillium Family.)

“And spotless lilies bend the headLow to the passing gale.”

“And spotless lilies bend the head

Low to the passing gale.”

NATURE has scattered with no niggardly hand these remarkable flowers over hill and dale, wide shrubby plain and shady forest glen. In deep ravines, or rocky islets, the bright snow-white blossoms of the Trilliums greet the eye and court the hand to pluck them. The old people in this part of the Province call them by the familiar name of Lily. Thus we haveAsphodel Lilies,Douro Lilies,&c.In Nova Scotia they are called Moose-flowers, probably from being abundant in the haunts of Moose-deer. In some of the New England States the Trilliums, white and red, are known as theDeath-flower, but of the origin of so ominous a name we have no record. We might imagine it to have originated in the use of the flower to deck the coffin or graves of the dead in the olden times. The pure white blossoms ofT. nivale,T. cernum(nodding Trillium) andT. grandiflorum, might serve not inappropriately for emblems of innocence and purity, when laid upon the breast of the early dead. The darker and more sanguine hue of the red species,T. sessile, andT. recurvatum, might have been selected for such as fell by violence, but these are but conjecture. A prettier name has been given to the Nodding Trillium: that of “Smiling Wake-robin,” which seems to be associated with the coming of the cheerful chorister of early spring, “The household bird with the red stomacher,” as Bishop Carey calls the robin red-breast. The botanical name of the Trillium is derived from trilex, triple, all the parts of the plant being in threes. Thus we see the round fleshy scape furnished with three large sad green leaves, closely set round the stem, two or three inches below the flower; which is composed of a calyx ofthreesepals, a corolla ofthreelarge snow-white, or, else, chocolate red petals: the styles or stigmasthree; ovarythreecelled; stamenssix, which is a duplicate of three. The white fleshy tuberous root is much used by the American School of Medicine in various diseases, also by the Indian herb doctors.

Trillium grandiflorumis the largest and most showy of the white species.Trillium nivaleor “lesser snowy Trillium,” is the smallest; the last bloomsearlyin May. May and June are the months in which these flowers appear. The white flowered Trilliums are subject to many varieties and accidental alterations. The green of the sepals is often transferred to the white petals inT. nivale; some are found handsomely striped with red and green, and in others the very short foot-stalk of the almost sessile leaves are lengthened into long petioles. The large White Trillium is changed previous to its fading to a dull reddish lilac.

The Red Trilliums are rich but sombre in colour, the petals are longish-ovate, regular, not waved, and the pollen is of a greyish dusty hue while that of the White species is bright orange-yellow. The leaves are of a dark lurid green, the colouring matter of the petals seems to pervade the leaves; and here, let me observe, that the same remark may be made of many other plants. In purple flowers we often perceive the violet hue to be perceptible in the stalk and under part of the leaves, and sometimes in the veins and roots. Red flowers again show the same tendency in stalk and veins.

The Blood-root in its early stage of growth shews the Orange juice in the stem and leaves, so does the Canadian Balsam and many others; that, a little observation will point out. The colouring matter of flowers has always been, more or less, a mystery to us: that light is one of the great agents can hardly for a moment be doubted, but something also may depend upon the peculiar quality of the juices that fill the tissues of the flower, and on the cellular tissue itself. Flowers deprived of light, we know, are pallid and often colourless, but how do we account for the deep crimson of the beet-root, the rose-red of the radish, the orange of the rhubarb, carrot, and turnip, which roots, being buried in the earth, are not subject to the solar rays? The natural supposition would be that all roots hidden from the light would be white, but this is by no means the case. The question is one of much interest, and deserves the attention of all naturalists, and especially of the botanical student.

Nat. Ord. Ranunculeæ.

ROCK COLUMBINE.Aquilegia Canadensis.

“The graceful Columbine all blushing red,Bends to the earth her crownOf honey-laden bells.”

“The graceful Columbine all blushing red,

Bends to the earth her crown

Of honey-laden bells.”

THIS graceful flower enlivens us all through the months of May and June by its brilliant blossoms of deep red and golden yellow.

In general outline the Wild Columbine resembles its cultivated sisters of the garden, but is more light and airy from its nodding habit. The plant throws up many tall slender stalks from its centre, furnished with leafy bracts, from which spring other light stems terminated by little pedicels, each bearing a large drooping flower and bud which open in succession.

The flower consists of five red sepals and five red petals; the latter are hollowed trumpet-like at the mouth, ascending; they form narrow tubes, which are terminated by little round knobs filled with honey. The delicate thready pedicels on which the blossom hangs cause it to droop down and thus throw up the honey bearing tubes of the petals; the little balls forming a pretty sort of floral coronet at the junction with the stalk.

The unequal and clustered stamens, and five thready styles of the pistil project beyond the hollow mouths of the petals, like an elegant golden-fringed tassel; the edges and interior of the petals are also of a bright golden yellow. These gay colours are well contrasted with the deep green of the root leaves and bracts of the flower stalks. The bracts are lobed in two or three divisions. The larger leaves are placed on long foot stalks; each leaf is divided into three, which are again twice or thrice lobed, and unequally notched; the upper surface is smooth and of a dark rich green, the under pale and whitish.

As the flowers fade the husky hollow seed pods become erect—a wise provision in this and many other plants of drooping habits, giving the ripening seed better access to the sun and wind, and preventing them from being prematurely scattered abroad upon the earth.

The wild Columbine[4]is perennial and very easily cultivated. Its blossoms are eagerly sought out by the bees and humming birds. On sunny days you may be sure to see the latter hovering over the bright drooping bells, extracting the rich nectar with which they are so bountifully supplied. Those who care for bees, and love humming birds, should plant the graceful red-flowered Columbine in their garden borders.

In its wild state it is often found growing among rocks and surface stones, where it insinuates its roots into the clefts and hollows that are filled with rich vegetable mould; and thus, being often seen adorning the sterile rocks with its bright crown of waving blossoms, it has obtained the name, in some places, ofRock Columbine.

[4]If two sepals with a petal be separated from the rest of the flower, they will be found to resemble adoveflying, hence the name Columbine, from the Latincolumba, a dove.—Dr. Bell.

[4]

If two sepals with a petal be separated from the rest of the flower, they will be found to resemble adoveflying, hence the name Columbine, from the Latincolumba, a dove.—Dr. Bell.

PLATEIII.

Nat. Ord. Fumariaceæ.—(Fumitory Family.)

SQUIRREL CORN.Dicentra Canadensis.

THIS graceful plant belongs to the fumitory family, of which we have many cultivated varieties in Britain and elsewhere. Here our lovely flower grows wild in rich black mould in the forest, and in recently cleared spots within its protecting shadow, where its drooping bells and rich scent have gained for it the not very inappropriate name of “Wild Hyacinth.” The common name of “Squirrel-Corn” is derived from the round orange tubers at the roots, resembling in size and colour grains of Indian-Corn, and from their being a favourite food with the ground squirrel.

The blossoms are of a pellucid whiteness, sometimes tinged with reddish lilac; they form a drooping raceme on a round smooth scape, springing from a scaly bud; the corolla is heart-shaped, composed of four petals, in two pairs, flattened and sac-like, the tips united over the stigma, and slightly projecting; inD. cucullariaassuming the likeness of the head of a fly, the cream-coloured diverging petals presenting a strong resemblance to the deer-fly of our lakes. This very charming species is known by the somewhat vulgar name of “Breeches Flower” and “Dutchman’s Breeches.” A more descriptive name would be “Fly-Flower.”

All the species flourish under cultivation, and become very ornamental early border flowers; but care should be taken to plant them in rich black vegetable mould, the native soil of their forest haunts.

Our artist has chosen the delicate rosy-tinted variety as the subject of the right hand flower of the plate.

PURPLE TRILLIUM.(DEATH-FLOWER.—BIRTH-ROOT.)Trillium erectum.

“Bring flowers, bring flowers o’er the bier to shedA crown for the brow of the early dead.Though they smile in vain for what once was ours,They are love’s last gift, bring flowers, bring flowers.”Hemans.

“Bring flowers, bring flowers o’er the bier to shed

A crown for the brow of the early dead.

Though they smile in vain for what once was ours,

They are love’s last gift, bring flowers, bring flowers.”

Hemans.

GRAY and other botanical writers call this striking flower (T. erectum) the “Purple Trillium;” it should rather be calledRed, its hue being decidedly moreredthan purple, and in the New England States it is called by the country folks, “The Red Death-Flower,” in contrast to the larger White Trillium, or “White Death-Flower.” For further remarks on this singular name we refer the reader to the description of that flower where all the native varieties of the genus are dwelt upon, including the one now before us, which forms the central flower in the present group, and shall merely add that like the rest of this remarkable family,T. erectumis widely spread over the whole of Canada. It appears in the middle of May and continues blooming till June, preferring the soil of rich shady woods.

“Few of our indigenous plants surpass the Trillium in elegance and beauty, and they are all endowed with valuable medicinal properties. The root of the Purple Trillium is generally believed to be the most active. Tannin and Bitter Extract form two of its most remarkable ingredients.” So says that intelligent writer on the medicinal plants of North America, Dr. Charles Lee. There are three of the dark flowered Trillium enumerated by Gray, two of which appear to be common to our Canadian soil,T. erectumandT. sessile. The latter is smaller, and often the dull chocolate colour of the pointed petals assumes a livid greenish hue. It is earlier in flowering, appearing at the beginning of May, at the same time withT. nivale, the “Dwarf White” or “Snowy Trillium.”

Under cultivation the flowers of all the species become very ornamental; they require black leaf mould and moderate shade, and, if left to grow undisturbed, increase and continue to flower year after year, in the borders or shrubbery.

The seeds when ripe are easily obtained; they are hard and bony, several in each division of the three celled capsule. The roots of these plants are thick, wrinkled, fleshy, and contain the medicinal principle described by Dr. Lee.

Nat. Ord. Geraniaceæ.

WOOD GERANIUM.(CRANES-BILL.)Geranium maculatum.

THERE are but few flowers of the Cranes-bill family in Canada. The one most worthy of notice is the Wood Geranium (Geranium maculatum). This is a very ornamental plant: its favourite locality is open grassy thickets among low bushes, especially those tracts of country known as Oak-openings, where it often reaches to the height of from 2° to 3°, throwing out many branches adorned with deep lilac flowers; the half-opened buds are very lovely. The blossom consists of five petals, obtuse and slightly indented on their upper margins, and are lined and delicately veined with purple. The calyx consists of five pointed sepals; stamens ten; the anthers are of a reddish brown; styles five, cohering at the top. When the seed is mature these curl up, bearing the ripe brown seed adhering to the base of each one. The common name Cranes-bill has been derived from the long grooved and stork-like beak which supports thestigma. The Greek name of the plant means a Crane. The whole plant is more or less beset with silvery hairs. The leaves are divided into about five principal segments; these again are lobed and cut into sharply pointed irregularly sized teeth. The larger hairy root leaves are often discoloured with red and purplish blotches, from whence the specific name (maculatum) spotted, has been given by botanists to this species.

The flower stem is much branched and furnished with leafy bracts; the principal flowers are on long stalks, usually three springing from a central branch and again subdividing into smaller branchlets terminating in buds mostly in threes, on drooping slender pedicels; as the older and larger blossoms fall off a fresh succession appears on the side branches, furnishing rather smaller but equally beautiful flowers during many weeks. Gray gives the blooming season of the Cranes-bill from April to July, but with us it rarely appears before June, and may be seen all through July and August.

This Wood Geranium is a beautiful species, and would no doubt repay the trouble of cultivation. Besides being very ornamental our plant possesses virtues which are well known to the herbalist as powerful astringents, which quality has obtained for it the name of ‘Alum root’ among the country people, who apply a decoction of the root as a styptic for wounds; and sweetened, as a gargle for sore throats and ulcerated mouth: it is also given to young children to correct a lax state of the system.

Thus our plant is remarkable for its usefulness as well as for its beauty.

A showy species, with large rose-coloured flowers and much dissected leaves, may be found on some of the rocky islets in Stoney Lake, Ont. The slender flower stem is about six inches in height, springing from a leafy involucre which is cut and divided into many long and narrow segments; flowers generally from one to three, terminal on the little bracted-foot-stalks. The seed vessels not so long as in the Wood Geranium.

Besides the above named we have two smaller species. The well knownHerb Robert—G. Robertianumor fœtid geranium—which is said to have been introduced from Britain, but is by no means uncommon in Canada, in half cleared woodlands and by waysides attracting the eye by its bright pink flowers, and elegantly cut leaves, which becomes bright red in the fall of the year. This pretty species is renowned for its rank and disagreeable odour when handled.

Another small flowered species, with pale insignificant blossoms is also common as a weed by road sides and in open woods, probably this isG. pusilum, smaller Cranes-bill; it also resembles the British plant, but is of too frequent occurrence in remote localities to lead us to suppose it to be otherwise than a native production of the soil.

Nat. Ord. Primulaceæ.

CHICKWEED WINTERGREEN.Trientalis Americana.

THIS pretty starry-flowered little plant is remarkable for the occurrence of the number seven in its several parts, and was for some time regarded by botanists of the old school as the representative of the Class Heptandria.

The calyx is seven parted; the divisions of the delicate white corolla also seven; and the stamens seven. The leaves form a whorl at the upper part of the stem, mostly from five to seven, or eight; the leaves are narrow, tapering at both ends, of a delicate light-green, thin in texture, and of a pleasant sub-acid flavour. The star-shaped flowers, few in number, on thread-like stalks, rise from the centre of the whorl of leaves, which thus form an involucre to the pretty delicate starry flowers. This little plant is frequently found at the roots of beech-trees; it is fond of shade, and in light vegetable mould forms considerable beds; the roots are white, slender, and fibrous; it is one of our early May flowers, though, unless the month be warm and genial, will delay its opening somewhat later. In old times, when the herbalists gave all kinds of fanciful names to the wild plants, they would have bestowed such a name as “Herbe Innocence” upon our modest little forest flower.

PLATEIV.

Nat. Ord. Ericaceæ.—Sub. Ord. Pyroleæ.

SWEET WINTERGREEN.Pyrola elliptica.

THE familiar name “Wintergreen” is applied by the Canadians to many species of dwarf evergreen plants without any reference to their natural affinities. The beautiful family of Pyrolas share this name in common with many other charming forest flowers in reference to their evergreen habit.

Every member of this interesting family is worthy of special notice. Elegant in form and colouring, of a delicate fragrance and enduring verdure, they add to their many attractions the merit of being almost the first green thing to refresh the eye long wearied by gazing on the dazzling snow for many consecutive months of winter.

As the dissolving crust disappears from the forest beneath the kindly influence of the transient sunbeams of early spring, the deep glossy-green shoots of the hardy Pyrolas peep forth, not timidly, as if afraid to meet

“The snow and blinding sleet;”

not shrinking from the chilling blast that too often nips the fair promise of April and May, but boldly and cheerfully braving the worst that the capricious season has in store for such early risers.

All bright, and fresh, and glossy, our Wintergreens come forth as though they had been perfecting their toilet within the sheltering canopy of their snowy chambers, to do honour to the new-born year just awakening from her icy sleep.

P. ellipticaforms extensive beds in the forest, the roots creeping with running subterranean shoots which send up clusters of evergreen leaves, slightly waved and scalloped at the edges, of a deep glossy green and thin in texture.

The name Pyrola is derived from a fancied likeness in the foliage to that of the Pear, but this is not very obvious, nevertheless we will not cavil at it, for it is a pretty sounding word, far better than many a one that has been bestowed upon our showy wild flowers, in compliment to the person that first brought them into notice.

The pale-greenish white flower of our Pyrola forms a tall terminal raceme, the five round petals are hollow; each blossom set on a slender pedicle, at the base of which is a small pointed bract; the anthers are of a reddish orange colour, the stamens ascending in a cluster, while the long style is declined, forming a figure somewhat like the letter J. The seed vessel is ribbed berry-shaped, slightly flattened and turbinate; when dry, the light chaffy seeds escape through valves at the sides. The dry style in this and most of the genus remain persistent on the capsule.

The number 5 prevails in this plant; the calyx is 5 parted; petals 5; stamens 10, or twice five; stigma one, but 5 rayed; 5 knobs or tubercles at the apex; seed-vessel 5-celled and 5-valved. The flowers are generally from 5 to 10 on the scape. Most of our Pyrolas are remarkable for the rich fragrance of their flowers, especiallyP. rotundifolia,P. elliptica,P. incarnataandP. minor.

These flowers are, for the most part, found in rich woods, some in low wet ground, but a few prefer the drier soil of piny forests, and one of the finest and most fragrant of the species grows freely on grassy uplands, the larger floweredP. rotundifolia(round-leaved Pyrola).

The exquisitely beautiful evergreen plant known by Canadian settlers asPrince’s Pineis a member of the family of Pyrola. From root to summit this plant is altogether lovely. The leaves are dark, shining and smooth, evergreen and finely serrated; the stem of a bright rosy-red; the delicately pink-tinted flowers look as if moulded from wax; the anthers are of a bright amethyst-purple, set round the emerald-green turbinated stigma. The flowers are not many, but form a loose corymb springing from the centre of the shining green leaves. There is scarcely a more attractive native plant than theChimaphila umbellatain our Canadian flora.

The leaves of this beautiful Wintergreen are held in high estimation by Indian herbalists who call itRheumatism Weed, (Pipissewa). It is bitter and aromatic in quality.

Nat. Ord. Ericaceæ.—Sub. Ord. Pyroleæ.

ONE FLOWERED PYROLA.Moneses uniflora.

THIS exquisitely scented flower is only found in the shade of the forest, in rich black leaf mould, where, likeP. elliptica, it forms considerable beds; it is of evergreen habit. The leaves are of a dark green and smooth surface, clustered at the base of the running root-stalk and sending up from the centre one simple scape, bearing a gracefully nodding flower; each milk-white petal is elegantly scalloped; the stamens, 8 to 10, are set close to the base of the petal; the anthers are of a bright purple amethyst colour; the style straight, with five radiating points at the extremity forming a perfect mural crown in shape: it is of a bright green and much exceeds in length the stamen.

The scent of the flower is very fine, resembling in richness that of the hyacinthe. This species is not common. There is another variety of the single-flowered Pyrola that is of more frequent occurrence in our woods. The flower is of a greenish white, the anthers of a brownish fawn colour, the whole height of the plant scarcely exceeding four or five inches, and the scent is less fragrant than that of the pure white single Pyrola (Moneses uniflora).

Nat. Ord. Rosaceæ.

FLOWERING RASPBERRY.Rubus Odoratus.

IN English gardens our beautiful Red-Flowered, Sweet-Scented Raspberry is deemed worthy of a place in the shrubberies, but in its native country it is passed by because it is not an exotic, and therefore regarded as of little worth.—Like a prophet it has no honour in its own country.—Yet what can be more lovely than its rose-shaped blossoms, from the deep purplish-crimson bud wrapped in its odorous mossy calyx, to the unfolded flower of various shades of deep rose and paler reddish lilac. The flowers of the Red Raspberry derive their pleasant aromatic odour from the closely-set coating of short bristly glandular hairs, each one of which is tipped with a gland of reddish hue, containing a sweet-scented gum, as in the mossy envelope of the moss-rose of the garden. These appendages, seen by the aid of a powerful microscope, are objects of exquisite beauty, more admirable than rubies and diamonds, living gems that fill us with wonder while we gaze into their marvellous parts and glorious colours.

All through the hot months of June, July and August, a succession of flowers are put forth at the ends of the branches and branchlets of our Sweet Raspberry⁠—

“An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds.”

The shrub is from two to five feet in height, branching from the woody perennial root-stock; the leaves are from three to five lobed, the lobes pointed and roughly toothed. The leaves are of a dullish green, varying in size from several inches in length, to mere bracts. The blossoms are often as large as those of the sweet-briar and dog-rose, but when first unfolded more compact and cup like. The fruit consists of many small red grains arranged in the form of an inverted saucer on the receptacle, and is somewhat dry and acid, more tempting to the eye than the palate, but not injurious in any degree. The shrub is more attractive for its flowers than its insipid fruit. We have indeed few that aremore ornamental among our native plants than theRubus Odoratus. Canada cannot boast of the Rhododendrons and Azaleas that adorn the Western and Northern States, but she possesses many attractive shrubs that are but little known, which flourish year after year on the lonely shores of our inland lakes and marshy beaver meadows, Ledums and Kalmias, with many a fair flower that withers unnoticed and uncared for in its solitary native haunts.

Veronica.—Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceæ.

SPEEDWELL.(AMERICAN BROOKLIME.)Veronica Americana.

“Flowers spring up and die ungathered.”

IN the language of flowers the blossoms of the Veronica or Speedwell are said to mean undying love, or constancy, but the blossoms of the Speedwell are fugacious, falling quickly, and therefore, one would say, not a good emblem of endurance.

Sweet simple flowers are the wild Veronicas, chiefly inhabiting damp overflowed ground, the borders of weedy ponds and brooks, from whence the names of “Brooklime” and “Marsh Speedwell,” “Water Speedwell,” and the like. Some of the species are indeed found mostly growing on dry hills and grassy banks, cheering the eye of the passing traveller by its slender spikes of azure flowers, and this is often known by the pretty name of Forget-me-not, though it is not the true “Forget-me-not,” which isMyosotis palustris, also called “Scorpion-grass;” the derivation of which last name we should find it difficult to trace.

The subject of the elegant little flower on the right hand side of the plate isVeronica Americana—“American Brooklime”—one of the prettiest of the native Veronicas, and may easily be recognized by its branching spikes of blue flowers, and veiny, partially heart-shaped leaves.

PLATEV.

Nat. Ord. Orchidaceæ.

YELLOW LADY’S SLIPPERS.Cypripedium parviflorum and Cypripedium pubescens.

“And golden slippers meet for Fairies’ feet.”

THIS ornamental family are remarkable alike for the singular beauty of their flowers, and the peculiar arrangement of the internal organs. In the Linnæan classification they were included in common, with all the Orchis tribe, in the class Gynandria, but in the Natural Order of Jussieu, which we have followed, the “Lady’s Slipper” (Cypripedium), forms one of the sub-orders in the general OrderOrchidaceæ.

Of the two species represented in our Artist’s group, the larger and central flower isCypripedium pubescens, the smaller,C. parviflorum, orLesser Lady’s Slipper. The latter is, perhaps, the more elegant and graceful plant, and is also somewhat fragrant. The sepals and petals are longer and more spiral, but the colouring of the lip is not so rich and vivid as in the larger flower,C. pubescens.

The small flowered plant affects a moist soil, such as low wet meadows and open swampy woods; while the larger species, better known by its more familiar name Moccasin flower, loves the open woodlands and drier plains; where, in the month of June, it may be seen beside the gay Painted Cup (Castilleia coccinea), the Blue Lupine (L. perennis), the larger White Trillium, and other lovely wild flowers, forming a charming contrast to their various colours and no less varied forms.

The stem of the larger Moccasin flower is thick and leafy, each bright green, many-nerved leaf sheathing the flowers before they open. The flowers are from one to three in number; bent forward; drooping gracefully downwards. The golden sac-like lip is elegantly striped and spotted with ruby red; the twisted narrow petals, and sepals, two in number of each kind, are of a pale fawn colour, sometimes veined and lined with a deeper shade. Like many others of the genus, the organs of the flower assume a singular and grotesque resemblance to the face of some animal. On lifting up the fleshy petal-like middle lobe which protects the stamens and pistil, the face of an Indian hound may be imagined; the stamens, which are two in number, situated one on either side of the sterile depressed central lobe, when the flower is mature, turn of a deep brown, and resemble two round eyes; the blunt stigma takes the form of the nose, while the sepals look like ears. There is something positively comical in the appearance of the ape-like face ofC. spectabile, the beautiful showy Lady’s Slipper, the description of which will be found to face the plate in which it forms a prominent feature.

The most beautiful of all the species is the “Stemless Lady’s Slipper,”Cypripedium acaule, of which we will treat at some future time. It bears removal to the garden if planted in a suitable situation; but all these native flowers require attention to their peculiar habits and soil, or they will disappoint the expectation of the cultivator and end in failure. All wild flowers transplanted from the woods require shade, and bog plants both moisture and shade.

Nat. Ord. Iridaceæ.

LARGE BLUE FLAG.Iris Versicolor.Fleur-de-luce.

Lilies of all kinds,The fleur-de-luce being one.Winter’s Tale.

Lilies of all kinds,

The fleur-de-luce being one.

Winter’s Tale.

THIS beautiful flower, the blue Iris, which forms the right hand figure in the group of Moccasin flowers, abounds all through Canada, and forms one of the ornaments of our low sandy flats, marshy meadows and over-flowed lake shores; it delights in wet muddy soil, and often forms large clumps of verdure in half-dried up ponds and similar localities. Early in spring, as soon as the sun has warmed the waters after the melting of the ice, the sharp sword-shaped leaves escaping from the sheltering sheath that enfolded them, pierce the moist ground, and appear, forming beds of brilliant verdure, concealing the swampy soil and pools of stagnant water below. Late in the month of June the bursting buds of rich purple begin to unfold, peeping through the spathe that envelopes them. A few days of sunshine, and the graceful petals, so soft and silken in texture, so variable in shades of colour, unfold: the three outer ones reflexed, droop gracefully downwards, while the three innermost, which are of paler tint, sharper and stiffer, stand erect and conceal the stamens and petal-like stigmas, which lie behind them: an arrangement so suitable for the preservation of the fructifying organs of the flower, that we cannot fail to behold in it the wisdom of the great Creator. The structure of the cellular tissue in most water plants, and the smooth oily surface of their leaves, has also been provided as a means of throwing off the moisture to which their place of growth must necessarily expose them; but for this wise provision, which keeps the surface dry though surrounded with water, the plants would become overcharged with moisture and rot and decay too rapidly to perfect the ripening of their seeds—a process often carried on at the bottom of streams and lakes, as in the case of the Pond-lily and other aquatics. Our blue Iris, however, does not follow this rule, being only partly an aquatic, but stands erect and ripens the large bony, three-sided seeds in a three-sided membraneous pod. The hard seeds of theIris versicolorhave been roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. The root, which is creeping, fleshy and tuberous, is possessed of medicinal qualities.

At present we know of only two varieties of the Iris,Iris versicolor, and a tall slender variety with paler blue flowers and rounder scapes. The former is the handsomer flower, being beautifully varied with lighter and darker shades of blue, purple and yellow—the latter shade being at the base of the flower leaves. These are again veined with delicate lines and veinings of darker purple.

The nameIris, as applied to this genus, was bestowed upon it by the ancient Greeks, ever remarkable for their appreciation of the beautiful, on account of the rainbow tinted hues displayed in the flowers of many of the species; especially are the prismatic colours shown in the flowers of the large pearly white garden Iris, a plant of Eastern origin, and also in the Persian or Susian Iris.

The Fleur-de-lis, as it was formerly written, signified whiteness or purity. This was changed to Fleur-de-luce, a corruption of Fleur-de-Louis. The blossoms of the plant having been selected by Louis the Seventh of France as his heraldic bearing in the Holy Wars. The flowers of the Iris have ever been favourites with the poet, the architect, and sculptor, as many a fair specimen wrought in stone and marble, or carved in wood, can testify.

The Fleur-de-lis is still the emblem of France.

Longfellow’s stanzas to the Iris are very characteristic of that graceful flower:

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