long,
from 1 to 4 on short, slender peduncles from among upper leaves.
Calyx of 5 unequal sepals, of which 2 are wing-like and highly
colored like petals. Corolla irregular, its crest finely fringed;
6 stamens; pistil. Also pale, pouch-like, cleistogamous flowers
underground. Stem: Prostrate, 6 to 15 in. long, slender, from
creeping rootstock, sending up flowering shoots 4 to 7 in. high.
Leaves: Clustered at summit, oblong, or pointed egg-shaped, 1 1/2
in. long or less; those on lower part of shoots scale-like.
Preferred habitat - Moist, rich woods, pine lands, light soil.
Flowering Season - May-July.
Distribution - Northern Canada, southward and westward to Georgia
and Illinois.
Gay companies of these charming, bright little blossoms hidden
away in the woods suggest a swarm of tiny mauve butterflies that
have settled among the wintergreen leaves. Unlike the common
milkwort and many of its kin that grow in clover-like heads, each
one of the gay wings has beauty enough to stand alone, Its oddity
of structure, its lovely color and enticing fringe, lead one to
suspect it of extraordinary desire to woo some insect that will
carry its pollen from blossom to blossom and so enable the plant
to produce cross-fertilized seed to counteract the evil
tendencies resulting from the more prolific self-fertilized
cleistogamous flowers buried in the ground below.
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