broad, solitary or a pair, borne on elongated
peduncles, generally with pair of leaves at their base. Calyx of
5 lapping, pointed sepals; 5 petals, woolly at base; 10 stamens;
pistil with 5 styles. Fruit: A slender capsule pointed like a
crane's bill. In maturity it ejects seeds elastically far from
the parent plant. Stem: 1 to 2 ft. high, hairy, slender, simple
or branching above. Leaves: Older ones sometimes spotted with
white; basal ones 3 to 6 in. wide, 3 to 5 parted, variously cleft
and toothed; 2 stem leaves opposite.
Preferred Habitat - Open woods, thickets, and shady roadsides.
Flowering Season - April-July.
Distribution - Newfoundland to Georgia, and westward a thousand
miles.
Sprengel, who was the first to exalt flowers above the level of
mere botanical specimens, had his attention led to the intimate
relationship existing between plants and insects by studying out
the meaning of the hairy corolla of the common wild geranium of
Germany (G. sylvaticum), being convinced, as he wrote in 1787,
that "the wise Author of Nature has not made even a single hair
without a definite design.
Pages:
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266