The Wild Saxifrage Family Flowers

In this family we find a variety of plant types, from herbs to shrubs and small trees. Among the wild flower members are the various saxifrages, miterwort, grass-of-Parnassus and alumroot. Shrubby members include the currants and gooseberries; the hydrangea grows to be a small tree. Ornamentals in the family include mock orange ( Philadelphus ) and deutzia. Of the 1,200 species in the family, a great number occur in the United States. The flower of the Saxifrage family typically has five petals, five sepals, and five or ten stamens. Beneath the perianth the stem is enlarged to form a saucer-shaped or bell-shaped base to the flower. The fruit may be a juicy berry or a dry capsule.

EARLY SAXIFRAGE               

This is a plant of rocky hillsides, where the basal rosettes of toothed, ovate leaves cling close to the soil. Stout flowering stalks arise from the leaf clusters, bearing groups of small five-parted flowers. Early Saxifrage is variable in its flower colors, some plants producing white blossoms, others green ones, and still another variety with the petals replaced by stamens. Its range is from southeastern Canada to Georgia, west to Missouri; the flowering period is from April to June.

GRASS-OF-PARNASSUS 

Like the saxifrages, Grass-of-Parnassus is a stemless plant with a basal rosette of leaves; these are oval or rounded, one to two inches in length. A tall stalk, up to two feet in height, bears erect solitary flowers. Each flower.

FALSE MITERWORT         

Also known as Foamflower, False Miterwort is a slender plant with maple like basal leaves on long stalks. Amid these leaves rise stems, up to twelve inches in height, terminated with spire like clusters of small flowers. Each flower, about a quarter of an inch in breadth, has a bell-shaped calyx with five lobes and a corolla of five oblong petals. False Miterwort grows in rich woods from eastern Canada to North Carolina and Tennessee, and west to Michigan, where it can be found in flower from April to July.

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The Orpine Family Wild Flowers

VENUS FLYTRAP        

This carnivorous plant has a more restricted range than the preceding species, being found only in North and South Carolina, where it grows in wet pinelands and sandy bogs. Venus Flytrap has the most unique insect- catching leaves of all, each prostrate leaf (several inches in length) having aged midrib, with the margin of the leaf edged with sharp teeth. The Saul part of each leaf is neither hinged nor toothed, but functions as a aminmal leaf. In the center of the hinged portion are short stiff spines which act as triggers to set off the trap mechanism. When an insect chances to step on one of these spines, an impulse is transmitted to the midrib portion and the two halves of the leaf close over the insect, the marginal teeth interbcking to prevent his escape. Glands on the surface of the leaf secrete digestive juices which prepare the insect's body for absorption. During the lowering season, in spring, stalks up to a foot in height bear clusters of small flowers. Each has a calyx of five sepals and a regular corolla of five separate petals.

The Orpine family is another family with unusual members; in this case they are succulent annuals and perennials with fleshy leaves, adapted for living in arid, desert habitats. Of the 500 or more species included in the Orpine family, almost all of them inhabit south Asia, south Africa, the Mediterranean region and Mexico. Many novelty plants are found in this family, such as the "life plants," Kalanchoe and Bryophyllum, which sprout new plants from the edges of the leaves; and the cultivated houseleek and hen-and-chickens, which are species of Sempervivum.

STONECROP  

This is a species with prostrate or spreading weak stems which bear several pairs of flat succulent leaves and a terminal rosette of crowded leaves. The small flowers are borne in clusters which are often one-sided. Each flower has four or five sepals and an equal number of petals. Stonecrop grows on damp rocks, mossy banks and edges of streams from New York to Georgia, west to Michigan. The flowering period is from April to June.

BLUE COHOSH FLOWERS

Also known as Papooseroot, this species has a single compound leaf borne by the same erect stem which terminates in a small cluster of yellowish green flowers. Plants reach a height of a foot to eighteen inches, producing the flowers before the leaves are fully developed. The mature seeds burst through the ovary wall, remaining attached by their seed stalks and resembling blue one-seeded fruits. Blue Cohosh is found in rich woods from New England to the mountainous parts of North Carolina and Tennessee, also westward to North Dakota and Nebraska. It flowers from April through June.

The Poppy Family

The Poppy family is a group of herbaceous plants, some annuals and some perennials, with about 250 species distributed chiefly in the temperate and subtropical portions of the northern hemisphere. A fairly reliable characteristic of the family is the presence of milky or colored sap, alternate leaves, regular flowers with a showy corolla, and a capsular fruit splitting open at maturity by pores or valves. Native wild flowers in the family in the East include less than a dozen species, of which the best known are bloodroot, prickly poppy, and celandine poppy. On the Pacific coast perhaps the best known member of the family is the California Poppy ( Eschscholzia ), famous for its painting of the landscape with acres of golden- yellow flowers.

BLOODROOT         

The common name of this plant is derived from the fact that the sap of the thick rootstock, as well as the stems, is red. Fortunately the bitter taste makes most animals ( and humans) avoid it; the sap contains a toxic alkaloid which affects the heart, nervous system and muscles; there have been reported deaths from this source. The sap was used as a dye by the American Indians Basal leaves, at first tightly rolled, spear their way through the accumulation of dead leaves and twigs on the woodland floor in late March. Within is the protected flowering stalk with its single terminal flower. Each flower, with two short-lived sepals and eight to twelve delicate petals which fall at a touch, is safely seated just above the notched base of the lobed and rounded leaf. The fruit is a narrow capsule, pointed at both ends. Bloodroot often grows in colonies along the edges of thickets and in open woods, from southern Canada to Florida and west beyond the Mississippi river; the first flowers appear with the hepaticas, in March, and continue through May. The leaves increase in breadth after the flowers are gone.

Snowy Orchis Wild Flowers

Because of its stiffly erect appearance, the Snowy Orchis is also appropriately known as Bog-torch. The narrow pointed leaves grow at the base of the stem, which reaches a height of a foot, sometimes slightly more. The flower petals are smaller than the sepals, and unlike the other species in the genus the lip is not fringed. Snowy Orchis is a southeastern coastal plain plant of swampy meadows and bogs, from New Jersey to Florida and Texas. The flowers appear in August and September.

RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN             

The Rattlesnake Plantains are distinguished by their basal rosette of peculiarly marked leaves, strongly veined and marked with white. Because of this netted pattern they are also known as Lattice-leaf. The leaves sheathe the lower part of the erect leafless flowering stem. In the common Rattlesnake Plantain the stem is six to twelve inches tall, bearing at its summit a loose spiral spike of flowers. The upper sepals are united with the petals to form a hood over the rest of the flower. The saclike lip has a slightly re- curved tip. This is essentially a northeastern species, chiefly found from southeastern Canada to New York and west to Michigan and Wisconsin, with flowers appearing in summer.

DOWNY RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN

This related species can be recognized by its glandular and hairy flowering stalk, growing somewhat taller than the preceding species. The white flowers, tinged with green, form a dense terminal spike. The Downy Rattlesnake Plantain grows in dry woods throughout eastern United States, where its flowers can be found during late summer.

Yellow Fringed Orchis Flowers

Also known as Orange-plume, this showy species is of smaller size than the preceding, being only one to two feet tall. The brilliantly colored flower clusters are conspicuous objects in the meadows and woods where the Yellow Fringed Orchis grows. It shows a strong preference for sandy and dryish habitats. Oval, pointed leaves clothe the stem, as in the other fringed orchises; many flowers are clustered in the terminal spike. Each flower consists of three rounded, reflexed sepals, two narrow petals, and an oblong lip which is conspicuously fringed; the lip projects rearward in a long slender spur. The Yellow Fringed Orchis grows from New England to Florida and Texas, and westward in the north central states to Wisconsin.

PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIS         

This is a robust member of the Fringed Orchis group, plants in favorable locations reaching a height of four feet. The flowers, grouped in an open cluster, are very fragrant. The lip is fringed as in the other species of Habenaria already described. The Prairie, or Prairie White, Fringed Orchis is found in wet meadows and open swamps from Nova Scotia to the Dakotas and from Indiana to Arkansas The flowers appear in July and August.

WHITE ADDER'S-MOUTH

The Adder's-mouths are low-growing plants which produce simple stems bearing one or several rounded or oval leaves, and an erect raceme of small greenish-white flowers. The White Adder's-mouth grows to a height of* eight inches and possesses a single sheathing leaf near the base of the stem. Each flower is about half an inch long, with threadlike petals and a triangular or pointed lip. It grows in woods and clearings, mainly in the northeastern states, flowering in midsummer. It also occurs in Alaska.

Showy Wild Flowers Lady's-Slipper

This is one of the largest and most spectacular of our native terrestrial orchids. The stout stem grows to a height of three feet, and may be leafy to the top. Elliptic leaves, tapering to pointed tips, reach a length of eight inches. One to three flowers grow at the summit of the plant, conspicuous in their bicolored attire. Because of its spectacular beauty this species has been picked unwisely by those who are not satisfied to enjoy the sight of a flower in its natural state. The Showy Lady's-slipper should be rigidly protected if it is to remain a member of our native flora. It grows in cool swamps and bogs from Newfoundland to the mountains of North Carolina, west to Tennessee, Missouri, and North Dakota. The flowers appear in June and July, rarely in May or August.

SMALL WHITE LADY'S-SLIPPER

This slender plant of sphagnum bogs and marshy meadows is not as common as the preceding species. Three to five elliptical, pointed leaves clothe the erect stem, which rarely is more than a foot in height. The flowers occur usually singly at the tip of the flowering stalk; they bear slender twisted sepals which taper to a point, and a plump saclike lip. This species flowers in May and June, and can be found mainly in restricted areas from New York to North Dakota.

RAM'S-HEAD LADY'S-SLIPPER

The slender stem is leafy nearly to its tip, with several small elliptical leaves two to four inches long. The flowering stalk, six to twelve inches in height, bears a single flower at its summit. The red-and-white strongly veined lip is prolonged at its tip so that there is a striking resemblance to a ram's head. This is a rare species of cold woods from Quebec and Ontario in New York, west to Michigan and Wisconsin. The flowers appear in May and June.

Introduction About Wild Flower Growing

Technically a flower is the reproductive structure which produces fruit and seeds. This is slightly different from the popular usage which often asesms the entire plant, as when we speak of the "wild flowers of the United Saks." Many flowers are brilliantly colored, but such a feature is not necessarily the criterion of a flower. Some flowers are an inconspicuous green or Isaank others are small and easily overlooked. Still others, in themselves insignificant, are associated with colored accessory parts, as in jack-in-the- pulpit, Bunchberry and Pearly Everlasting.A typical flower consists of four parts. In the center is the pistil in which the seeds are formed and from which all or part of the fruit is developed. Its tip may be a striking feature of the flower, as in Pitcher-plant and Blue Flag. Surrounding the pistil is a group of stamens which produce the powdery yellow pollen. Stamens are sometimes a conspicuous portion of the flower, as in Meadow Rue. In the majority of flowers, however, it is the floral envelope or perianth which is the showy portion. This may consist of undifferentiated colored segments as in Lily flowers, or it may be differentiated into an inner corolla and an outer calyx.

The calyx is usually green and may consist of separate segments known as sepals. However, the calyx is the conspicuous portion of the Dutchman's- pipe flower, and the sepals are the colored flower parts in Marsh Marigold and Hepatica. The corolla is usually the colored portion of the flower; its segments are known as petals. Thus a complete flower consists of pistil stamens, petals and sepals in that order. Occasionally leaf-like structures or bracts are present beneath the flower, adding to its conspicuousness. Such are the red-tipped bracts of Painted Cup, the white spathe of Water Arum and the white petallike bracts of l3unchberry.

Not all flowers possess all of these floral parts, or the same numbers of each. Hence it is possible to identify many flowering plants by careful observation of the flower structure. In some families there is no perianth, as in the Spurges and Cattails. In others the perianth is present but not differentiated into calyx and corolla, as in the Lily family. In most cases there is both a calyx and corolla, but again there may be a great variation in the number of petals and sepals, and the degree of their fusion with each other. The Buttercup and Rose families include many species with separate petals and sepals; in the Morning-glory and Composite families the petals are fused to form a tubular or funnel-shaped corolla.