登陆注册
15677900000137

第137章 YELLOW AND ORANGE FLOWERS(13)

(Capnoides aureum; Corydalis aurea of Gray) Poppy family Flowers - Bright yellow, about 1/2 in.long, with a spur half the length of the tubular corolla; irregular, lipped; each upheld by a little bract, mostly at a horizontal; borne in a terminal, short raceme.Stem: Smooth, 6 to 14 in.high, branching.Leaves:

Finely dissected, decom pound, petioled.Fruit: Sickle-shaped, drooping pods, wavy lumped, and tipped with the style.

Preferred Habitat - Woods, rocky banks.

Flowering Season - March-May.

Distribution - Minnesota to Nova Scotia and Pennsylvania.

A dainty little plant, next of kin to the pink corydalis (q.v.).

BLACK MUSTARD

(Brassica nigra) Mustard family Flowers - Bright yellow, fading pale, 1/4 to 1/2 in.across, 4-parted, in elongated racemes; quickly followed by narrow upright 4-sided pods about 1/2 in.long appressed against the stem.Stem: Erect, 2 to 7 ft.tall, branching.Leaves: Variously lobed and divided, finely toothed, the terminal lobe larger than the 2 to 4 side ones.

Preferred Habitat - Roadsides, fields, neglected gardens.

Flowering Season - June-November.

Distribution - Common throughout our area; naturalized from Europe and Asia.

"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field which indeed is less than all seeds but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."Commentators differ as to which is the mustard of the parable -this common black mustard, or a rarer shrub-like tree (Salvadora Persica), with an equivalent Arabic name, a pungent odor, and a very small seed.Inasmuch as the mustard which is systematically planted for fodder by Old World farmers grows with the greatest luxuriance in Palestine, and the comparison between the size of its seed and the plant's great height was already proverbial in the East when Jesus used it, evidence strongly favors this wayside weed.Indeed, the late Dr.Royle, who endeavored to prove that it was the shrub that was referred to, finally found that it does not grow in Galilee.

Now, there are two species which furnish the most powerfully pungent condiment known to commerce; but the tiny dark brown seeds of the black mustard are sharper than the serpent's tooth, whereas the pale brown seeds of the WHITE MUSTARD, often mixed with them, are far more mild.The latter (Sinapis alba) is a similar, but more hairy, plant, with slightly larger yellow flowers.Its pods are constricted like a necklace between the seeds.

The coarse HEDGE MUSTARD (Sisymbrium officinale), with rigid, spreading branches, and spikes of tiny pale yellow flowers, quickly followed by awl-shaped pods that are closely appressed to the stem, abounds in waste places throughout our area.It blooms from May to November, like the next species.

Another common and most troublesome weed from Europe is the FIELDor CORN MUSTARD, CHARLOCK or FIELD KALE (Brassica arvensis;Sinapis arvensis of Gray) found in grain fields, gardens, rich waste lands, and rubbish heaps.The alternate leaves, which stand boldly out from the stem, are oval, coarsely saw-toothed, or the lower ones more irregular, and lobed at their bases, all rough to the touch, and conspicuously veined.The four-parted yellow flowers, measuring half an inch or more across, have six stamens (like the other members of this cross-bearing family), containing nectar at their bases.Two of them are shorter than the other four.Honey-bees, ever abundant, the brilliant Syrphidae flies which love yellow, and other small visitors after pollen and nectar, to obtain the latter insert their tongues between the stamens, and usually cross-fertilize the flowers.In stormy weather, when few insects fly, the anthers finally turn their pollen-covered tips upward; then, by a curvature of the tip of the stamens, they are brought in contact with the flower's own stigma; for it is obviously better that even self-fertilized seed should be set than none at all.(See Ladies'-smock.) "The birds of the air" may not lodge in the charlock's few and feeble branches; nevertheless they come seeking the mild seeds in the strongly nerved, smooth pods that spread in a loose raceme.

Domestic pigeons eat the seeds greedily.

The highly intelligent honey-bee, which usually confines itself to one species of plant on its flights, apparently does not know the difference between the field mustard and the WILD RADISH, or JOINTED or WHITE CHARLOCK (Raphanus Raphanistrum); or, knowing it, does not care to make distinctions, for it may be seen visiting these similar flowers indiscriminately.At first the blossoms of the radish are yellow, but they quickly fade to white, and their purplish veins become more conspicuous.Rarely the flowers are all purplish.The entire plant is rough to the touch; the leaves, similar to those of the garden radish, are deeply cleft (lyrate-pinnatifid); the seed pods, which soon follow the flowers up the spike, are nearly cylindric when fresh, but become constricted between the seeds, as they dry, until each little pod looks like a section of a bead necklace.

The GARDEN RADISH of the market (R.sativus), occasionally escaped from cultivation, although credited to China, is entirely unknown in its native state."It has long been held in high esteem," wrote Peter Henderson, "and before the Christian era a volume was written on this plant alone.The ancient Greeks, in offering their oblations to Apollo, presented turnips in lead, beets in silver, and radishes in vessels of beaten gold." Pliny describes a radish eaten in Rome as being so transparent one might see through the root.It was not until the sixteenth century that the plant was introduced into England.Gerarde mentions cultivating four varieties for Queen Elizabeth in Lord Burleigh's garden.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 十五月十五日

    十五月十五日

    一个普通的高中生正在纠结期末考试的时候被拉入了试炼世界。。并被告知世界会在十五月十五日这个莫名其妙的日子里毁灭。念力,神秘的世界之树,三十三层的通天塔。。。一切既是早已开始又是刚刚开始。。
  • 增高

    增高

    我的4本著作《气功点穴按摩术》、《美容减肥增高术》、《常见疾病自疗术》和《中国传统健身术》由华夏出版社出版后,深受广大读者朋友的欢迎,收到大量国内外读者来信。许多读者来信说,按照书中介绍的方法自我习练,收到了意想不到的美容、明目、减肥、增胖、丰胸健美、增高、保健和治病效果。为此,我感到非常高兴和欣慰。
  • 波西米亚校园魔法师

    波西米亚校园魔法师

    柳莺絮和她的妹妹柳莺绘,当上了波西米亚魔法学院的学生会会长。同时,也就意味着一个对她们的魔法考验即将降临......
  • 莫忘最初的清晨

    莫忘最初的清晨

    林晨是一个普通的初三女生,过着三点一线的生活,临近中考,她满以为可以安安静静的过完最后两个月。可..她没想到,两个月,闺蜜的疏远与受伤、群架,面对种种算计,她只能打起精神一一反击。
  • 重生之全能风水师

    重生之全能风水师

    杨伊然意外重生,捉鬼,空间,重生奖励,冷清护短,欺负我的人,百倍讨还,精彩人生就此开始。。。
  • 寻伊千百度

    寻伊千百度

    寻他千百度:苦苦暗恋着的意中人突然对她表白,是惊喜却也是痛苦悲情的开始;他和他正处萌情状态,他却突然放手;她欲绝过后,她不敢再拥有。是冥冥之中的天意,还是命运的捉弄?经过一连串的兜兜转转,寻寻又觅觅,阴差阳错,轰轰烈烈,撕心裂肺,寻他千百度,于灯火阑珊处,是怎样的结局?合久必分?分久必合?他们是否还可再拥有,执子之手,与子偕老?
  • 武侠之带着系统闯天下

    武侠之带着系统闯天下

    一个怀有武侠梦的少年,带着能够穿越各大武侠位面的系统穿越异世界的故事,结交乔峰,大战双龙,叶孤城紫禁之巅与我一战,这是个纷乱的世界,这里有跌宕的剧情。你不点一下吗?
  • 宠婚溺爱:老公,亲一亲

    宠婚溺爱:老公,亲一亲

    “我们一起洗澡吧”“好啊”调戏不成反被拖下泳池喝了几口水,她仓皇逃跑。“这个片子不好看,我给你拿个好看的”“不如我们来试试?”拿出某夜市买来的A片耍宝,被险些压倒,她踉跄而逃。“听说这些小哥那种功夫超级棒。”某人脸彻底黑了,一把把她摁下“我觉得还是我最棒,你说是不是?”重生到慕家不受宠的大小姐身上,并与某腹黑总裁一纸婚约,从此复仇的路上又多了一件事,那就是调戏他再调戏他,可为什么每次都是调戏不成反被调戏呢?
  • 我只是个看家鬼

    我只是个看家鬼

    守着一个地儿不动,才能谈得上有立场。方一平吃惊地发现自己换了时间、地点、身边的所有人。他不得不谨慎地观察,慢慢地融入环境,守护身边那些对他来说最重要的人。然而他发现身不由己变化太大,后世那点知识根本不够用。而且自己从经常性心虚力怯,变成了偶尔乃至理直气壮。这让他在夜深人静时很惶惑,不知道躯体里住着的到底是谁,并一再地叩问上苍:我到底还是不是那个看家鬼?
  • 剑魔一之独孤求败

    剑魔一之独孤求败

    金庸大师《神雕》之言:“纵横江湖三十余载,杀尽仇寇,败尽英雄,天下更无抗手,无可柰何,惟隐居深谷,以雕为友。呜呼,生平求一敌手而不可得,诚寂寥难堪也。”扬州,武林第一大剑家独孤山庄庄主独孤世近而立之年喜得幼子,名之求败,表字惊虹。此子天生聪颖,委实千年难遇的武学奇才。弱冠前,空掌劈南北,一剑挑四方,浴血战河朔,豪情震九霄……时逢北宋末年,外敌环视,君主昏庸,佞臣当道,国运日下。正可谓,国不国,家不家,背天道,逢罹难!热血男儿若有性,自将驱虏扫颓荒,二十余万仁义士,独孤一帜振武纲……若奈何,天妒英才,不佑善侣,殁却三代红颜,还经六岁蒙寐。终勘破,生死之门,自此携手爱侣,隐于山谷,而游于天地!