288 YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1961 mixtures for broadcasting may sell for 2 or 3 dollars an ounce. Many of the seeds are so small that an ounce may contain i thousand or more. Dealers sometimes find that the high, The Seeds of cost of time, labor, and travel to collect a large amount and variety of seeds Wild Flowers from the wild often makes such work unprofitable unless they use seeds first to establish gardens, where their col- p. L. RICKER lecting can be done at small cost. Wild flower enthusiasts will get a great deal of pleasure from collecting OUTSIDE the city limits is a bounty of their own seed. Many beautiful non- Nature for all to enjoy. A bounty free, weedy species may be found along colorful, rewarding. A bounty that roadsides, and particularly secondary gives and gives and wants only protec- roads, and adjoining flclds near pas- tion against destruction. A bounty all tures and wooded areas. the more precious in a civilization of pavements, machines, noise, economics. SEEDS mostly can be collected about It is the bounty of wild plants. It is a month after the flowering period. a large bounty: Probably about 20 Each kind, with stem and often basal thousand species of trees, shrubs, and leaves to help identify the species, herbaceous—nonwoody—plants in the should be placed in an envelope or United States are classified as wild. paper bag of an appropriate size. On About 15 percent are well-established the envelope also, as a guide to proper species that came from other countries planting, should be the date and place or escaped from cultivation. Most of of collecting; the type of soil, whether them are herbaceous. A goodly num- dry, moist, or wet; and details of the ber have leaves and flowers so attrac- surroundings, whether open or dense tive that many persons want to grow woods and the predominant type of them in home gardens, along road- tree growth. sides, and in other suitable places, Seed capsules and pods, if few, can large and small. be stripped from the stems. The seed Some natural difficulties, which per- in them can be crushed out by hand or tain also to cultivated plants and in- on a newspaper on a table by light volve the age-long adaptation to a pounding with a small block of wood. particular soil, the amount of moisture, For a larger amount of seeds, the sunlight, heat, and so on, are en- threshing is best done by light pound- countered when one tries to domesti- ing in a large paper or cloth bag, in cate the Wildlings. Growing them is which they were collected. The seeds worth the efí'ort, however. will fall to the bottom of the bag and Knowing that, many persons want most of the coarse material can be re- information about sources of seed of moved readily. wild flowers. For further cleaning, a series of sieves There are a few dealers in seeds of 10 by 10 by 2 inches (or larger, if wild flowers, but not all of them have a needed) is easily made with J^-inch large number of species. Their cata- wood frames. Screen material may be logs usually give directions for cultiva- obtained from hardware stores in gal- tion. A list of them may be obtained vanized, copper, or brass wire, in a from the U.S. National Arboretum, mesh of 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 30 wires Washington 25, D.G. to the inch. Small packets of seeds of wild flowers For cleaning, the sieves are stacked sell for 25 to 50 cents each. Packets of with the No. 30 mesh at the bottom THE SEEDS OF WfLD FLOWERS 289 and the No. 4 at the top. For shaking that of the Department of the In- seeds through the sieve, these stacks terior, Patuxent Wildlife Research should be held together with an easily Center, at Laurel, Md. It has about loosened, strong cord or strap. Coarse 7,500 species. Particular attention is material in the top sieve should be re- given species that are used as food by moved. Any uncrushed capsules or birds and game. pods in the sieve should be placed on Scientists for many years conducted a newspaper on a table and the seed extensive studies on the food prefer- crushed out of them. The same is done ences of birds, as indicated by an with each succeeding smaller sieve. examination of their stomachs. From The seeds of most wild flowers vary this and other sources, a large catalog so in size that seeds may be found in of plants whose seeds are food for birds sieves of two or three sizes. Often seeds was compiled. Among them are a in the smallest sieve may be immature number of attractive wild flowers, al- and will give less good germination though most are seeds and fleshy fruits than the larger seeds. For home use, of shrubs and trees. Seeds of small- however, they may be mixed with the flowered and abundant weedy plants, larger ones. grasses, and grasslike plants supplied a One who collects seeds should not large proportion of bird food. overlook those with fleshy coverings. The Wild Flower Preservation So- The covering can be removed by ciety of Washington, D.C., also has a soaking the seed in warm water for 10 large collection of about 5 thousand or 15 minutes. Then the seeds are species. It stresses the more attractive placed in a sieve with a mesh smaller flowered herbaceous ones, and prob- than the seeds. The coadng is scrubbed ably has at least 2 thousand species off with a stiff-bristled or wire brush. that are not in the Patuxent collection. This process is not required in Nature, as the covering naturally disintegrates MOST WILD seeds ripen and fall to after planting. the ground about a month after flower- Keeping a collection of samples of ing. Those that are light or have wings all seeds of wild flowers one obtains is or hairy appendages are blown some an interesting hobby. One becomes distance by the wind before falling. familiar with the many types of seed A few species, particularly of annuals found in some families and often with or biennials, like the daisy-fleabane two or three types of seed in a genus. and fringed gentian, may germinate Small seeds are best kept in straight- and develop leaf rosettes in the fall. walled glass vials % by 1% inches in Seeds of wild flowers in most temper- size with cork stoppers. The Latin ate regions require one winter in the name of the species should be printed ground before germinating. If they do on %' by 2-inch gummed labels with not get the right conditions of moisture the date and place of collecting and and temperature to germinate the reference to the herbarium specimen, following spring, they may go dormant if one keeps a herbarium. The label and not germinate until conditions are should be pasted around the top of the right—maybe another year or two. vial. The vials are kept in shallow Some wild flowers are diflScult to boxes about 11 by 17 inches that have establish if the roots are disturbed in 4 rows of 25 cardboard partitions. transplanting. The seeds of such species Larger seeds are placed in larger vials should be planted in a small, tough, in deeper boxes that have 54 or 26 fiber paper pot, which is to be placed compartments. The larger seeds may in the ground in the spring when the be kept loose in boxes with 18 com- seedlings are 3 or 4 inches tall or long. partments. When seeds are broadcast along A large collection of seeds of mostly roadsides that are covered with more native plants in the United States is aggressive vegetation, the seedling Í50GS8S°- - 01 20 290 YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1961 plants may be choked out. The same Seeds of most wild flowers of the six may happen if they are broadcast in geographic areas given below grow woodland areas. well in the average conditions of soil, Much better results will be obtained light, and moisture of each area and if the ground is cleared and a good habitat of each species, unless other- seedbed is prepared. Along some road- wise noted or given in catalogs and sides in Texas, the State highway books on the subject. department has obtained good results by mowing areas of attractive flowers NORTHEASTERN SPECIES just before the seed is fully ripe and spreading this material along roadsides Meadow anemone {Anemone cana- not too thickly covered with other densis). The plants prefer damp thick- vegetation. ets or meadows and in gardens should For home gardens it is best to sow have partial shade. The seeds are thin, the seed of wild flowers in the fall in broadly oval, and about 4x4 mm. about 3-inch-deep boxes of soil, which They have a curved beak as long as the are placed in glass and lath-covered seed. cold frames. Seedling plants can be Wild columbine {Aquilegia canaden- transplanted in the spring when they sis). The plants prefer wooded or open are about 3 or 4 inches tall. rocky areas. In some of its range, blos- soms appear from spring to late fall. SOME WILD FLOWERS have a m.arked They do well in partly shaded gardens. preference for soils that are loamy or The elliptic or pear-shaped seeds are sandy, dry to damp or wet, acid to al- glossy black and about 2 mm. long. kaline, and open to dense woodland Butterfly-weed {Asclepias tuberosa). conditions. When you collect your own The seeds are thin, brown, pear seeds, these conditions of natural growth shaped, and about 5x7 mm. long and should be noted on your package. have a tuft of about 20 mm. white Inexpensive soil-testing sets are avail- hairs at the top for distribution by able that give a list of soil preferences wind. The plants eventually develop for 500 species of plants. In time, you a large, spindle-shaped root 2 to 3 feet should learn to tell the soil reaction deep in the ground. from the plants growing there. Areas Marshmarigold {Calfha palustris). A of pine, fir, spruce, hemlock, rhododen- native of wet meadows, open woods, dron, mountain laurel, and oak vary and swamps which in the garden must from slightly to strongly acid, depend- have similar conditions. In a small ing on the decomposed leaves. water garden the i x 2.5 mm., elliptic Some books on the cultivation of to pear-shaped, brown seeds should be wild flowers list the soil preferences of planted a quarter of an inch deep in many species. the wet margin, or in a pot that can be A list follows of some of the more kept constantly wet until ready for popular and attractive flowered species transplanting. across the country. Some have been Dwarf-cornel {Cornus canadensis). A photographed on a glass slide ruled cool mountain woods, acid soil plant into square millimeters (a millimeter that cannot be grown in gardens away being approximately one twenty-fifth from such areas. Seeds, ovoid, buflf, of an inch), so that one can determine about 2x3 mm, in a 5-6-mm. bright the size of the seed before enlargement. red fleshy fruit. Brief descriptions of some seeds not Pink ladyslipper {Cypripedium acaule). illustrated are given with common The seeds are i .5-2 mm. long, straight names when they exist in the standard or curved, colorless, and hairlike. They manuals of botany. The photographs have no food supply, as most seeds do. appear at the end of the first picture They can be grown only in the labora- section. tory in sterilized glass flasks on culture THE SEEDS OF WILD FLOWERS 291 media. They are borne in ovoid, three- tubercled seeds ripen in capsules the valved capsules about the size of a latter half of October. They should be walnut and contain 30 thousand or sown at once in a damp, low meadow. more seeds. When ripe, the pods open They cannot be grown in gardens. The aJong the valve edges, and the wind seeds and flowers are similar to those of may carry the seeds considerable dis- the Rocky Mountain Gentiana elegans. tances. Probably not i seed in 10 thou- Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum). sand falls on a suitable place to germi- The dark, ovoid seeds, 2-2.5 x 4 i^n^-? nate. The plants require very acid soil arc borne on the lower end of stifí', and are almost impossible to grow in strap-shaped fruit segments. When gardens. ripe, the straps curl up abruptly and Trailing-arbutus {Epigaea repens). may throw the seed several feet. The minute oval-oblong reddish- Beach pea {Lathyrus maritimus). The brown, finely pitted seeds are borne on seeds are spherical, smooth, dark a waxy receptacle about the size of a brown, and about 5 mm. in diameter. pea, enclosed in a membranous cap- A sea beach plant, it has typical pea- sule that is covered with short, stiff, like pods and can be grown only under glandular hairs. The ripe capsule splits natural conditions. into five parts, which turn back to ex- Tigerlily (Lilium superhum). The seeds pose the seeds. Within a short time, a are thin, brown, oval, about 5 mm. in line of ants will be found carrying the diameter, and surrounded by a papery, waxy material, with the seeds, into triangular wing about 8 mm. wide. their nests as food for their young, and The plants eventually develop a scaly it may be a long time before the seeds bulb, which in old plants may be 2 are returned to the surface. feet or more deep in the ground. Trout-lily {Erythronium americanum). Cardinal flower {Lobelia cardinalis). A The plants are found in moist to dry plant of low, wet ground and swamps. open woodlands. The seeds are pale The ovoid to oblong, tubercled seeds, brownish, pear shaped, and about 3 0.7 mm. long, should be sown only in mm. long. The first year, the plants moist soil. develop a small bulb with a small, nar- Oswego-tea {Monarda didyma). It pre- row leaf. Each succeeding year to the fers moist, open thickets and woods but seventh, when they flower, they de- does well in garden soil. The seeds are velop larger and deeper rooting bulbs oval, light to dark brown, and about with larger leaves. E. hartwegii and I-1.5 X 2 mm. in size. several similar species found in the Rosebay {Rhododendron maximum) and Rocky Mountains, the Cascades, and related eastern and northwestern spe- Sierras are difficult to establish in the cies, including azaleas, as well as most East. Some of them have flowered from other plants of the Heath family, have seeds in 2 years. small, slender seeds. For germination, Wintergrecn {Gaultheria procumbens), fill a shallow pot with sandy wood's Seeds are somewhat pear shaped, red- mold from under oak trees or laurel dish brown, and about i mm. long. The bushes, wet down, and allow to settle plants may be grown in an acid soil over night. Sow seeds thinly and cover that is rich in humus. with a thin layer of sphagnum moss Closed gentian {Gentiana andrewsii). rubbed through a i6-mesh sieve, cover The seeds diflfer markedly from the with glass, and protect from direct next species in that they have thin, sunlight. oval seeds about i mm. long, sur- Golden ragwort {Senecio am eus). Seeds rounded by a whitish i x 2 mm. wing. are linear and about 3 mm. long. An It is the easiest gentian to grow, but it equal tuft of hairs is at the top. This, prefers a damp soil. the similar S. smallii, and several Fringed gentian {Gentiana crinita). southern species are among the earliest The 0.5-0.7 mm. oblong, angular- flowers of the Composite family. It is 292 YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1961 well adapted to gardens, but most seed The seeds are pear shaped and about heads should be cut before they are 0.3 mm. long. ripe to prevent too much spreading. Rosepink {Sabatia angularis). The Large - flowered trillium ( Trillium plants grow in open woods and fields. grandiflorum). A plant of rich woods and The seeds arc oval-oblong, pitted, and thickets, it grows well in partly shaded 0.4-0.7 mm. long. gardens. The reddish-brown, ovoid, 2 Firepink {Silène virginica). The plants X 3 mm. seeds have a conspicuous grow in open woods, thickets, and hilum (point of attachment) on the dry rocky or sandy slopes. The seeds edge at one end. The plants bloom in are globular, 1,3 mm. in diameter, 5 to I o years. and finely tubercled. Blue violet {Viola papilionacea), This Goatsrue ( Tephrosia lirginiana). These is typical of several common, blue- are plants of dry, acid soil. The 2x4 flowered species that develop normal mm., bufl'-colored seeds have a con- I X 2 mm. seeds in a two-valved spicuous hilum at the middle of one capsule; other seeds come from incon- edge. spicuous, nonopening flowers and Aarons-rod {Thermopsis caroliniana). ripen at the base of the stems. These plants of wooded mountain The birdsfoot violet {Viola pedata) areas grow well in gardens. The seeds requires dry, acid soil and is difficult arc buff, ovoid, and 2x4 mm. in to establish in gardens. size. They have a conspicuous hilum on the edge near one end. SOUTHEASTERN SPECIES PRAIRIE AND PLAINS SPECIES Yellow jessamine {Gelsemium semper- virens). An attractive, yellow-flowered The prairie and plains area is char- vine with an oval 4x5 mm. seed at acterized by a deficiency of rainfall, one end of a 4 x 10 mm. membranous increasing progressively towards the wing for wind dispersal. west and south. Most plants of this Purple gerardia {Gerardia purpurea). area are not well adapted to eastern The seeds are pear shaped or irregu- and far western conditions, but some larly angular, 1.3 mm. long, and of them can occasionally be induced to dark brown and are in an ovoid, grow in other areas, notably in rock pointed, 2-celled capsule up to 7 mm. gardens, if one provides sandy and long. The plants arc parasitic on grass gravelly conditions. roots. In the southwestern plains and often Puccoon {Liihospermum canescens). The in adjoining desert areas of low annual seeds are turnip shaped, pale, glossy, rainfall, one may occasionally see miles 2x3 mm. and have a short, conic of a 3-foot-wide hedge of a single hilum at the top. weedy species, like swcetclover, along Passionflower {Passißora incarnata), paved highways, often accompanied in This is an attractive, purple-flowered the background by many plants of less vine, whose flower parts bear a fancied weedy species. This growth may occur resemblance to a cross and crown. a short time after a sudden, heavy The seeds are about 4x6 mm., dark downpour and is caused by the heavy brown, ovoid, and netted veined. runoff from the paved road. Scorpionwecd {Phacelia bipinnatifida), Farther away from paved roads in The plants grow in rich, open wood- these areas, unusual heavy rainfall, lands and require partially shaded such as happens once in 5 to 10 years garden conditions. The seeds are dark, or longer, will produce an almost un- wedge shaped to angular, and about believable riot of color, in which flow- 2x3 mm. in size. ers of the Composite family often pre- Meadowbcauty {Rhexia mariana). It dominate. This will give a good idea of prefers damp and sandy to peaty areas. what one might do experimentally THE SEEDS OF WILD FLOWERS 293 with seeds of wild flowers of the area Large-flowered beardtonguc {Pen- by following a dry spell with brief but stemon grandiflorus). The seeds are buff, copious watering. oblong-angular, pitted, and about 2 x Sandverbena (Abronia Jragrans). 3 mm. in size. This species has pink, Seeds are about 3x7 mm. in size and 40-mm. flowers and is one of the larg- tapering; the sides are fluted and est flowered and more easily grown reticulate veined. over a wider area than most of the 250 Pasqueflower {Anemone pulsatilla var. American species. The few eastern spe- woljgangiana). The seeds are slender, cies are mostly white to pale pink or about 4 mm. long, silky, and sharp bluish. In the southwestern plains and pointed at the base. They are borne at desert area, several are bright red. the base of a 30-mm., short, feathery Most of the others are of a purple awn. color. Some at high altitudes are deep Poppy-mallow {Callirhoe involucratd). blue or tend to become pale when cul- The seeds are semicircular, wedge tivated at low altitudes. shaped, about 4 mm. long, and thinner Texas-sage {Salvia coccínea). The at the side of attachment. I^he surface seeds are oblong, angular or bowed, often is reticulated. and about 2x3 mm. in size. Indian paintbrush {Castilleja lind- heimeri). The seeds are brownish, pear ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPECIES shaped, about 1.5 mm. long, and netted veined. The many species across Sego-lily {Calochortus nuttallii). The the country are parasitic on roots of seeds are oval, about 3 mm. long, and grass or shrubs. surrounded by a transparent coat, i Purple cactus {Coryphaniha vivipara). mm. wide. The ovoid seeds are reddish brown, Sulphurflower {Eriogo7ium umbella- minutely pitted, about i x 2 mm., and tum). The seeds are dark or light, borne in green, fleshy receptacles. spindle shaped, angular, and i x 4 mm. Plains-gentian {Enstoma russelliana). in size. The seeds are oval, about 0.2 mm. Skyrocket {Gilia aggregata).ThG seeds long, and finely pitted. are bufl' and oblong-angular or bowed Bindweed-heliotrope {Euploca con- and I X 4 mm. in size. volvulaca). The bufl', spherical, two- Panicled bluebell {Mertensia panicu- parted seeds are about 2 mm. in lata). Similar far-western species arc diameter. plants of rich, damp, open woods but Bluebonnet (Liipinus texensis). The also grow well from seeds in partially seeds arc bufí' to grayish, quadrangu- shaded gardens if kept well watered lar, and about 5x6 mm. in size. until seedlings are established. The Blazing-star {Mentzdia decapetala). oblong-angular seeds, about 3x5 mm., The seeds are thin, oval, and about 3 of the eastern M. virginica produce a mm. long. They have a narrow wing. carrotlike root i to 2 inches long, and Wild four-o'clock {Mirabilis nycta- do not flower until the second year. ginea). The bufl^, oblong, pear-shaped Stemless locoweed {Oxytropis lam- seeds, about 2x5 mm. in size, are berti). This and several related purplish covered with short, stiff, spreading species are found from mountain slopes hair. to the plains and prairies. The seeds Fern-leaf evening-primrose {Oeno- are dark brown, about 2x2 mm., and thera laciniata). The seeds are light notched on the hilum edge. brown, pear shaped, and about 1.3 Shrubby cinquefoil {Potentilla Jruti- mm. long. cosa). One of the species that is found Pricklypear {Opuntia polyacantha). in many places from East to West and The pale, oval seeds are about 5 mm. in some Eurasian countries in both in diameter and have a depressed w^et and dry-rock areas. It will grow center and margin. in average garden soil. The seeds are 294 YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1961 pear shaped, brown, and about 0.5 x i PACIFIC STATES mm. in size. Spiderwort {Tradescantia scopulorum). Firecracker plant {Brodiaea ida-maia). This and many other species prefer The seeds are black, oblong, and damp or wet places. Some, like the angular and 2x4 mm. in size. eastern T. virginiana, have been cuUi- Tall clarkia {Clarkia pulchella). The vated over a wide range and do well plants are annuals. The pear-shaped in partial shade and average garden to oblong, dark-brown seeds are about soil. The seeds are ovate to oblong, I X 1.5 mm. in size. light to dark brown, and about 2x3 Springbeauty {Clayionia linearis). The mm. in size. The hilum is depressed seeds are glossy black and disk shaped and transversally ridged around the and about 2 mm. in diameter. The seed. very similar appearing eastern C. Globe-flower (Trollius laxus). It and virginica and various other species de- the smaller white-flowered western velop a small bulb 4 to 6 inches deep marshmarigold {Caltharotundifolia) pre- at the end of a slender, fragile stalk. fer wet mountain meadows. The Chinese-houses {Collinsia bicolor). The flowers are creamy to bluish tinted. plants are annuals and prefer a partly The seeds are oval, dark brown, and shady situation. The seeds are ovoid about 0.5 X 2 mm. and brownish and about i x 2 mm. in size. They are hollowed from one side. SOUTHWESTERN SPECIES Wallflower {Erysimum asperum). The seeds are cylindric, pale reddish-brown, Century-plant {Agave americana). The about I X 1.5-2 mm. in size, often seeds are thin, black, pear shaped, and swollen or slightly winged at one end, about 7 mm. in diameter. and borne in a long, four-sided pod. Pricklepoppy {Argemone m.exica?ia). California-poppy {EschschoUzia cali- The seeds are brown, nearly spherical, fornia). The plants are annuals. The 2x2 mm. in size, and reticulate; they dark-brown, subspherical seeds, about have a small, obtuse, projecting hilum. 1.5 X 2 mm., are finely roughened. Barrel cactus {Ferocactus wisHzeni). Summer's-darling [Godeiia amoena). The seeds are in a small, fleshy recep- The plants are annuals. The seeds are tacle; are black, pear shaped, 1.5-2 brown, ovoid to pear shaped, and mm. in size; and have a slight pro- about 1.3 mm. long. jecting hilum. Baby-blue-eyes {Nemophila insignis). Blanketflower {Gaillardia pulchella). The seeds are ovoid to oblong, pale The dark, turnip-shaped seeds are brown, about i x 2 mm., and coarsely 2-2.5 ^^- ^^^S ^^<^ have a fringe of roughened. The plants are annuals. 1.5-mm. stiflf hairs at the base and Owlclover {Orthocarpus purpurascens). top, surrounded by a membranous The seeds are narrowly elliptic, about collar that has bristly teeth. I mm. long, and surrounded by a Small-flowered gaura {Gama par- slightly larger roughened membrane. viflora). The seeds are buff, 2.5 x 7 The plant is parasitic on grass roots. mm. in size, smooth, four angled, and Prostrate verbena {Verbenaprostrata). tapering at both ends. The seeds are linear-oblong, light to Pincushion cactus {Mammillaria hem- dark brown, about i x 2 mm., and isphaerica). The oval or pear-shaped, transversely and longitudinally ridged. tubercled seeds are about 1 mm. long. Fishhook cactus {Thelocactus uncina- P. L. RIGKER retired in ig48 after many tus). The seeds are black, spherical to years of service as a botanist in the Crops ovoid, and about i mm, long. Research Division^ Agricultural Research Spanish-bayonet {Tueca haccatd). The Service. As president of the Wild Flower black, pear-shaped seeds are about 11 Preservation Society, he is widely known as mm. long. a leader in the conservation of wild plants.