Catharine Parr Strickland Traill

“ VEN the most casual observer can hardly pass a bed of these most remarkable plants without being struck by their appearance, indeed, from root to flower, it is every way worthy of our notice and admiration.
The Pitcher Plant is by no means one of those flowers found singly and in inaccessible bogs and dense cedar-swamps, as are some of our rare and lovely Orchids. In almost any grassy swamp, at the borders of low lying lakes, and beaver-meadows, often in wet spongy meadows, it may be found forming large beds of luxuriant growth. ”

“ A time will come when these rare productions of our soil will disappear from among us, and can be found only on those waste and desolate places where the foot of civilized man can hardly penetrate; where the flowers of the wilderness flourish, bloom and decay unseen but by the all-seeing eye of Him who adorns the lonely places of the earth, filling them with beauty and fragrance. ”

“ 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 the Chimaphila umbellata in our Canadian flora. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It lingers long within the forest shade, coyly retreating within its sheltering glades from the open glare of the sun: though for a time it will not refuse to bloom within the garden borders, when transplanted early in spring, and doubtless if properly supplied with black mould from the woods and partially sheltered by shrubs it would continue to grow and flourish with us constantly. ”

“ The largest species of our native Anemones is A. Virginiana, “Tall Anemone.” This handsome plant loves the shores of lakes and streams; damp rich ground suits it well, as it grows freely in such soil, and under moderate shade when transferred to the garden.
The foliage of the tall Anemone is coarse, growing in whorls round the stem, divisions of the leaf three parted, sharply pointed and toothed. In this, as in all the species, the coloured sepals, (or calyx leaves) form the flower. ”

“ Mothers of America teach your little ones to love the Wild Flowers and they will love the soil on which they grew, and in all their wanderings through the world their hearts will turn back with loving reverence to the land of their birth, to that dear home endeared to their hearts by the remembrance of the flowers that they plucked and wove for their brows in their happy hours of gladsome childhood. ”

“ This slender trailing plant may be found in open grassy thickets, by road side wastes, at the foot of old stumps, and similar localities, with the common Cinquefoil or Silver Leaf. This last species is much the most attractive plant to the lover of wild flowers. It abounds in dry gravelly and sandy soil, courting the open sunshine, rooting among stones, over which it spreads its slender reddish stalk, enlivening the dry arid wastes with its silvery silken leaves and gay golden rose-shaped blossoms. ”

“ The violet, like the rose and lily, has ever been the poet’s flower. This is not one of our earliest violets; it blossoms later than the early white violet, V. rotundifolia or than the early Blue Violet, V. cucullata, or that delicate species V. striata, the lilac striped violet, which adorns the banks and hill sides on some of our plain lands, early in the month of May. ”

“ Numerous species of these charming flowers belong to our Canadian flora; lingering with us
“When fairer flowers are all decayed,”
brightening the waste places and banks of lakes and lonely streams with starry flowers of every hue and shade—white, pearly blue, and deep purple; while the Solidagoes (golden rod) , are celebrated for the valuable dyes that are yielded by their deep golden blossoms. But to return to the subject of our artist’s plate, the Cone Flower:
The plant is from one to three feet in height, the stem simple, or branching, each branchlet terminating in a single head. ”

“ In suitable soil the crop could hardly prove a failure, with care and attention to the selection of the plants at a proper season.
The Cranberry forms one of the sub-orders of the heath family (Ericaceæ) , and its delicate pink-tinted flowers are not less beautiful than many of the exotic plants of that tribe, which we rear with care and pains in the green-house and conservatory; yet, growing in our midst as it were, few persons that luxuriate in the rich preserve that is made from the ripe fruit, have ever seen the elegant trailing-plant, with its graceful blossoms and myrtle-like foliage. ”

“ The flowers of the Pond-Lily grow singly at the summit of the round, smooth, fleshy scape. Who that has ever floated upon one of our calm inland lakes, on a warm July or August day, but has been tempted, at the risk of upsetting the frail birch-bark canoe or shallow skiff, to put forth a hand to snatch one of those matchless ivory cups that rest in spotless purity upon the tranquil water, just rising and falling with the movement of the stream ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 shrub is more attractive for its flowers than its insipid fruit. We have indeed few that are more ornamental among our native plants than the Rubus 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. ”

“ EEP hidden in the damp recesses of the leafy woods, many a rare and precious flower of the Orchis family blooms, flourishes, and decays, unseen by human eye, unsought by human hand, until some curious, flower-loving botanist plunges amid the rank, tangled vegetation, and brings beauties to the light.
One of these beautiful Orchids, the Orchis spectabilis or Showy Orchis, is here presented in our group.
This pretty plant is not, indeed, of very rare occurrence; its locality is rich maple and beechen woods all through Canada. ”

“ 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; in D. cucullaria assuming 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.” ”

“ They are emblems of man’s beauty and of his frailty. They lend us by flowery paths from earth to heaven, where the flowers fade not away. Shall we then coldly disregard the flowers that our God has made so wondrously fair, to beautify the earth we live on? ”

“ HE Yellow Pond Lily is often found growing in extensive beds, mingled with the White, and though it is less graceful in form, there is yet much to admire in its rich orange-coloured flowers, which appear at a little distance like balls of gold floating on the still waters. The large hollow petal-like sepals that surround the flower are finely clouded with dark red on the outer side, but of a deep yellow orange within, as also are the strap-like petals and stamens: the stigma, or summit of the pistil, is flat, and 12-24 rayed. ”

“ A not uncommon slender variety occurs, of a pale buff, and also of a bright lemon color. The American botanists speak of Castilleia coccinea, as being addicted to a low, wettish soil, but it is not so with our Canadian plant; if you would find it in its greatest perfection, you must seek it on the high, dry, rolling plains of Rice-lake, Brantford, to the north of Toronto, Stoney lake, the neighbourhood of Peterboro, and similar localities; it is neither to be found in swamps nor in the shade of the uncleared forest. ”

“ Perhaps there are but few among the inhabitants of this well-watered country that have as fully appreciated the value of the Pitcher Plant as did our poor uneducated Irish pensioner, who said that he always thought that God in His goodness had created the plant to give drink to such as were athirst on a hot and toilsome march; and so he looked with gratitude and admiration on its representative in Canada. Many a lesson may we learn from the lips of the poor and the lowly. ”

“ The root leaves are broadly lanceolate and coarsely toothed; the upper or stem-leaves narrower, and nearly clasping the stem. The flowers grow on long branching stalks in a loose panicle.
The plant is perennial, from one to two feet in height; it seems addicted to dry gravelly soil on river banks and dry pastures. The Beard-tongue would be well worthy of cultivation; though less showy than the garden varieties, it is not less beautiful and keeps in bloom a long time, from July to September; it might be mixed with the red flowering plants of the garden to great advantage. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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? ”

“ Many splendid species of the Cone Flower are to be found in the wide-spread prairies of the Western States, where their brilliant starry flowers are mingled with many a gay blossom known only to the wild Indian hunter, and the herb-seeking medicine men of the native tribes, who know their medicinal and healing qualities, if they are insensible to their outward beauties. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ This pretty delicate species loves the moderate shade of groves and thickets, it is often found in open pinelands of second growth, and evidently prefers a light and somewhat sandy soil to any other, with glimpses of sunshine stealing down upon it. ”

“ The sepals may be distinguished from the petals; the former being longer than the latter, and by being united at the back of the flower. The column on which the stamens are placed is three-lobed; the two anthers are placed one on either side, under the two lobes; the central lobe is sterile, thick, fleshy, and bent down—in our species it is somewhat blunt and heart-shaped. The stigma is obscurely three-lobed. The root of the Lady’s Slipper is a bundle of white fleshy fibres. ”

“ N 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. ”