(Plate CXLVII.)

Family

Gentian.

Colour

Greenish white, striped-inside with purple.

Odour

Scentless,

Range

Southern New Jersey to Florida.

Time Of Bloom

September-November.

Flowers: solitary, or clustered; sessile; axillary along the stem and terminal. Calyx: of unequal linear lobes. Corolla: short; funnel-form. Leaves: opposite; ubovate; long; narrowed at the base. Stem: six to eighteen inches high.

These tender blossoms, with their silky stripes, are as delicate and misty in colouring as many graceful cups of Venetian glass. They grow in dry, shady places, and although they entertain royally their insect friends, they are shy of welcoming more mundane mortals. Those that are fortunate enough to find them appreciate them as a rare floral treasure.