A small family of herbs, shrubs or trees with entire-edged, opposite leaves, usually with stipules, and with regular, perfect, four or five-parted flowers; forming a connecting link between the Gentian, Dogbane and Rose Families.

Yellow False Jessamine (Gelsemium Sempervirens.)

This beautiful vine is very common in the Southern States where it may be found climbing the trunks of trees, trailing over bushes or even creeping over the ground. During March and April, large, handsome yellow flowers appear in one-sided spikes. The blossoms are tubular-funnel-form and range from one to two inches in.length; the opening is spreading and divided into five lobes. The five stamens are tipped with saggittate anthers and the two slender pistils have two-parted stigmas.

The ovate-pointed leaves, that grow oppositely on short petioles, are evergreen; the short flower spikes grow from their axils. The stem is smooth, woody and twining. This species ranges from Va. to Fla. and Texas.

A. Yellow False Jessamine. Gelsemium sempervirens.

B. Indian Pink; Pink Root.

Spigelia marilandica.

Indian Pink; Pink-Root (Spigelia Marilan-Dica)

Indian Pink; Pink-Root (Spigelia Marilan-Dica) is an erect herb found in rich woods from Ohio and Ky. to Fla. and Texas. It is a perennial with a simple stem rising from 1 to 2 feet high. The pointed, ovate-lanceolate leaves are seated oppositely on the stem, united by stipules. The flowers grow in a short, one-sided spike; the corolla is tubular-funnel-form, 5-lobed at the end and about one or two inches in length. The inside of the tube is a bright yellow and the outside a dull red. The five stamens, with their linear anthers, are long and appear beyond the end of the tube. The single style is slender and hairy above.

The roots have a pink juice that may be used for coloring, a property instrumental in giving the plant its common names.