The
latter flowers at about the time the ruby-throat flashes
northward out of the tropics to spend the summer. Professor
Robertson of Illinois says, "In 1886 the first hummingbird seen
was on May 5, visiting the Castilleja."
WOOD BETONY; LOUSEWORT; BEEFSTEAK PLANT; HIGH HEAL-ALL
{Pedicularis Canadensis) Figwort family
Flowers - Greenish yellow and purplish red, in a short dense
spike. Calyx oblique, tubular, cleft on lower side, and with 2 or
3 scallops on upper; corolla about 3/4 in. long, 2-lipped, the
upper lip arched, concave, the lower 3-lobed; 4 stamens in pairs;
1 pistil. Stems: Clustered, simple, hairy, 6 to 18 in. high.
Leaves: Mostly tufted, oblong lance-shaped in outline, and
pinnately lobed.
Preferred Habitat - Dry, open woods and thickets.
Flowering Season - April-June.
Distribution - Nova Scotia to Florida, westward to Manitoba,
Colorado, and Kansas.
When the Italians wish to extol someone they say, "He has more
virtues than betony," alluding, of course, to the European
species, Betonica officinalis, a plant that was worn about the
neck and cultivated in cemeteries during the Middle Ages as a
charm against evil spirits; and prepared into plasters,
ointments, syrups, and oils, was supposed to cure every ill that
flesh is heir to.
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