File:Wild flowers of Canada (microform) (1895) (20621180955).jpg

Title: Wild flowers of Canada (microform)
Identifier: cihm_25728 (find matches)
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: Iles, George, 1852-1942
Subjects: Wild flowers; Flowers; Botany; Fleurs sauvages; Fleurs; Botanique
Publisher: Montreal : Montreal Star
Contributing Library: www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookcontributorCanadiana_org
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Alberta Libraries

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Text Appearing Before Image:
^-^ r YELLOW FLAG. PI,ATS II. IRIS PSEUDACORUS. (IRIS FAMILY.) /Www a deep and thickenrd tootstofk ; slrm f^trd, two fffl high: loiiyi It^ivn swordthaptd, ir* v long and frrct, utancont. the iUm Uavfi thoyUr ,â flowtrt tuv or three at mmmft o/stem, yettow, outir segments o/ the peiianth spreading, the inner erect. lyrennial. LNH (rf tile liaiulsoiiiest of bog plants. We are glad to note that it is l)ecoming naturalized in America. It was reported long ago from some of the Kastcrn States, and is well established in Canada. It has donbtless spread as an assi.sted innnigrant from gardens into the neighboring marshes and ditches. It prefers a heavy clay soil in which the thick rootstocks imbed themselves, M> that it is a difficult matter to jmll tliem up. It is sometimes almost aquatic, the lower part of the plant being occasionally under water. The leaves are very long and rigid. The large, bright yellow flowers are singularly attractive, contrasting well with the more connnou blue flags. The rootstocks, like those of the blue flag, are used in medicine. They much resemble those of acorns calamus, whence the specific name, pseudacorusâfalse acorns. One of the showiest of the numerous luiropean s;iecies of iris, iris germanica. the common flag of gardens, is naturalized in Virginia. An odd s)Kcies is a small woodland plant in linglandâthe " ro.ast lieef plant." It has rather inconspicuous, dull purple or yellowish flowers. Its most striking peculiarity is its odor, suggesting that of roa.st lieef
Text Appearing After Image:
"^ % CANADA MINT. PLATE 12. MENTHA CANADENSIS. (MINT FAMILY.) Perennial, hairy or almost smooth ; stems deeumtient . neatly erect, four angled, leaxrs oppt^sste, ot^te-lanceolate, the tou-et on long, slender petwles, the uppermost neatly sessile, acute at each end, serrate, thin ; fiowet s in dense, axillaty clusters, small, white labtale. LTHOUGH several kinds of mint have been imported frotii Europe into this countrj*, we have but one native species in eastern North .\merica, the Canada mint. This is not a decidedly showy plant, .although the dark green foliage and the clusters of tiny white flowers are rather pleasing. The very liairj' form is less attractive, having a grayish asjiect. It has not the warm, aromatic fragrance of the peppermint and the six^armiut. Gray compares the (wlor of the ordinar>' form to tliat of pennyroyal, likening the odor of the .smooth variety to the horsemint, monarda. Nearly all the members of the mint family 1 ave little glands on the leaves, in which is .secreted a volatile oil. To this oil is due the strong and often delightful odor characteristic of these plants. ICvery one is familiar with the spicy ()eppermint, the aromatic sage, the fragrant thyme, the lemon-scented balmâ^tiud, among our own native plants, the jieculiar perfumes of the horsemint, the dittany and the American pennyroyal. Perhaps no other single family of plants furnishes such a v.aricty of odors. The Canada mint grows in low ground, esiiecially near the banks of rivers. It flowers in August and Septemlier. The stems usually lie on the grounds, rising at the ends. The name mentha is of mythological origin. According to the fable, a nymph was transfonned by Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, into the plant that now bears her name. ^

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