Zunaed ebooks

When there is
no longer need for the stalk to crook, that is to say, after the
flower has begun to fruit, it gradually straightens itself out so
that the little seed capsule, with the style and its five-lobed
stigma still persistent, is held erect. The thin, rounded, finely
notched leaves, measuring barely an inch in length, are clustered
in whorls next the ground. Whether one comes upon colonies of
this gregarious little plant, or upon a lonely straggler, the
"single delight" (moneses), as Dr. Gray called the solitary
flower, is one of the joys of a tramp through the summer woods.

INDIAN PIPE; ICE-PLANT; GHOST-FLOWER; CORPSE-PLANT
(Monotropa uniflora) Indian-pipe family
Flowers - Solitary, smooth, waxy, white (rarely pink),
oblong-bell shaped, nodding from the tip of a fleshy, white,
scaly scape 4 to 10 in. tall. Calyx of 2 to 4 early-falling white
sepals; 4 or 5 oblong, scale-like petals; 8 or 10 tawny, hairy
stamens; a 5-celled, egg-shaped ovary, narrowed into the short,
thick style.


Pages:
535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559