Mitre-Wort.Mitella diphylla.Bishop’s Cap.
Found on moist banks and in light woods in May.
Leaves and flowering stems, to the height of 8 to 15 inches, or more, spring from the root.
The leaf is somewhat triangular in shape, with a pointed tip and deeply heart-shaped base; 3- to 5-lobed, each lobe being slightly cut into 3 or 5 notches, the ribs and veins noticeable, the texture thin and loose, and hairy on both sides, the underside being also glossy; in color a full green. The leaf is borne singly on a long very hairy stem, which is tinged with red near the foot. Small, very short-stemmed leaves also occur in single pairs upon the flower-stems.
The flower is small, exquisitely shaped, with its 5 white petals cut into little branching threads in the semblance of a snow crystal; the 10 little yellow stamens just show within their hollow center; the yellow-white cup-shaped calyx is slightly 5-parted. The flowers are set on tiny foot-stems, and arranged in a spire upon a tall, slender, somewhat hairy stem.
Several leaves and two or three flower spires rise from the earth together, each protected by purple-red sheaths. The sole occasion for its name lies in the quaint shape of the seed.