Moneywort; Myrtle (Lysimachia Nummular-Ia) (European)

Moneywort; Myrtle (Lysimachia Nummular-Ia) (European) is a very dainty and beautiful trailing or creeping vine, often spreading over large-surfaces of ground. It is found in this country as an escape from cultivation; it is a most beautiful plant for rockeries and does well in the house in hanging pots, the long slender, beautifully leaved branches drooping over the edge of the pot, giving a very decorative effect. When in bloom, its beauty is greatly enhanced by the large, yellow, star-like flowers. The leaves, that grow oppositely all along the stem, are almost round; it is from their shape and the fact that they are about the size of the English twopence that they originally received the name of Moneywort. It blooms from June until August.

Fringed Loosestrife. Steironema ciliatum.

Fringed Loosestrife (Steironema Ciliatum)

Fringed Loosestrife is a very branching herb not at all like the other varieties. The smooth stem rises to heights of from 12 to 24 inches. The species receives its specific name Fringed, (ciliatum,) because of the fine hairs on the upper side of the leaf stems, the rest of the plant being smooth.

The smooth, light green leaves are lance-shaped and pointed, on short petioles or stems growing oppositely an the plant stem. The flowers grow on slender pedicels from the axils of the terminal leaves; the golden-yellow corolla is divided into five ovate lobes, each terminating in a sharp, twisted or mucronate point; around the center of the corolla is a reddish brown ring, formed by small spots at the bases of the five lobes. The pale green pistil in the cen-. ter is surrounded by ten stamens, five being fertile and the other alternating ones being abortive.

The sight of any familiar plant usually recalls to our minds some particular incident connected with it, usually the place in which we have previously found it most abundantly. The present species always brings before me a certain swamp, regarded as utterly worthless by persons not interested in living creatures or plant life, but a veritable paradise for the botanist, entomologist and ornithologist. I have never seen the present species growing as abundantly anywhere as in this swamp.

Fringed Loosestrife is common in low ground and thickets from Newfoundland to British Columbia southwards to the Gulf of Mexico.

S. lanceolatum is a similar but more slender spe-ies with narrow leaves and smaller flowers, the latter measuring about one-half inch across. It is found from Me. to Minn, and southwards in the same habitats as the preceding.

A. Star Flower.

Trientalis americana.

B. Pimpernel.

Anagallis arvensis.

Star Flower (Trientalis Americana)

Star Flower (Trientalis Americana) is a very dainty little plant often called the "Star Anemone," because of its color, the position of the flower above the whorl of leaves and the fact that it is often found blooming very closely to the Anemones.

The perennial rootstalk is long and horizontal and throws up a single, smooth, slender stalk from 3 to 9 inches high; at the top of this stalk is a whorl of from five to ten, thin, smooth, veiny light green leaves; they are lance-shaped and sharply pointed. During May and June a solitary blossom, (rarely two,) appears above the whorl of leaves on a very slender pedicel. The delicate white petals are sharply pointed and range from six to eight in number; the wide-spread stamens have tiny golden anthers that mature later than the little stigma. Fertilization is effected by the visits of small bees that visit the attractive little flower for pollen. The Star Flower is found in thin woodland from Labrador to Manitoba and south to Va., 111., and Minn.

Pimpernel; Poor Man's Weather-Glass (Anagallis Arvensis) (European)

Pimpernel; Poor Man's Weather-Glass (Anagallis Arvensis) (European) is a flower readily identified; in the first place there are very few red flowers to be found and no others with the shade of red of this one, a salmon or coppery-red. The square stem is smooth, slender and rather weak, often lying prostrate on the ground. The small oval leaves clasp the stem oppositely.

• The flowers grow singly, either on slender pedicels terminating the stem or from the axils of the outer leaves. They are five-parted, wheel-shaped, each division being finely toothed at its apex. They are very sensitive, opening only in sunshine and closing quickly when the sun is obscured, and usually at four o'clock anyway. It is found in waste sandy places especially near the coast.