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The book, "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs William Starr Dana has some rather harsh things to say about this plant and its relative, Circaea lutetiania. Says the author, "C. alpinia is a smaller, less common species, which is found along the mountains and in deep woods. Both species are burdened with the singularly inappropriate name of enchanter's nightshade. There is nothing in their appearance to suggest an enchanter or any of the nightshades. It seems, however, that the name of a plant called after the enchantress Circe, and described by Dioscorides nearly two thousand years ago, was accidentally transferred to this unpretentious genus."

Ouch! Someone give this plant a hug! Also, I think Shakespeare said something about, "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet."

The book, "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs William Starr Dana has some interesting information about this plant, which may be the reason it was introduced from Europe. (I'm not sure if it was brought intentionally or not.) Anyway, the author says "the flowers are said to serve as flavoring in Gruyere cheese, snuff, and smoking tobacco, and to act like camphor when packed with furs to preserve them from moths."

The book, "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs William Starr Dana says this plant flowers in great masses in May or June in the dry, open woods. She further states that the roots of this plant form parasitic attachments to the roots of trees.

In the book, "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs William Starr Dana, she gives the common names as Mayweed and Chamomile. She notes that they bloom in midsummer and look very similar to the common daisy. However, she says you can tell the difference because this plant has "smaller heads, with the yellow disk-flowers crowded upon a receptacle which is much more conical than that of the daisy." It can also be differentiated by the finely dissected, feathery leaves. As for medicinal use, she adds that the country folk brew "chamomile tea" from the leaves, "and through their agency raise painfully effective blisters in an emergency."

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana says the following about this plant:

"They spring from a ball of matted rootlets, and are parasitic, drawing their nourishment from decaying vegetable matter. In fruit the plant erects itself and loses its striking resemblance to a pipe. Its clammy touch, and its disposition to decompose and turn black when handled, has earned it the name of corpse-plant. It was used by the Indians as an eye lotion, and is still believed by some to possess healing properties."

According to "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana, the name Shinleaf arose from an early custom of applying the leaves of this genus to bruises or sores. The English peasantry referred to any kind of plaster as a "shin-plaster", regardless of where they placed it on their body.

The author says you can find these in the woods in June and July, often in close company with Pipsissewa. She also says from a distance these plants bear a similarity to lillies-of-the-valley.

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana has some fun information about this plant. It can be found in boggy places from Pennsylvania and New Jersey northward and flowers in June. The flowers are usually bright red before they expand. Linnaeus was said to have named this plant Andromeda because he found it "always fixed on some little turfy hillock in the midst of the swamps, as Andromeda herself was chained to a rock in the sea."

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana refers to this plant by the common name Sweet Cicely. The author notes that it is one the earliest flowering of the white parsleys. Its roots are prized by country children for their flavor. However, she warns the reader not to confuse this plant with the very poisonous Water-Hemlock which it greatly resembles. According to her, Sweet Cicely blooms earlier in the year than the poisonous Water-Hemlock.

According to "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana, in parts of the country where this plant thrives, it can form veritable Rhododendron jungles, termed "hells" by the mountaineers. The branches reach out and interlace with each other making the area nearly impassable.

Apparently, little attention had been paid to the plant until the Centennial Celebration was held in Philadelphia. Exhibits of the plant attracted thousands of admirers. The plant has also been carefully cultivated in English gardens, as well.

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana has a lot of interesting information about this plant. First, as to its name, Kalmia was named by Linnaeus after Peter Kalm, one of his pupils. Another name for the plant, Spoonwood, came from its use by the Indians for making eating utensils. It is said that the wood is of fine grain and takes a good polish. The name Calico Bush may have come from the markings of the corolla which might suggest the cheap cotton prints sold in stores.

The shrub was highly prized and carefully cultivated in England. According to the author, Barewood Gardens (then the home of the editor of the London Times) was celebrated for its specimens. The English papers would announce the flowering season and the estate would open for visitors to come view the flowers. The author apparently had trouble convincing the head gardener of the estate that in parts of America, "the waste hillsides were brilliant with its beauty every June."

The author also points out that this is not the laurel of the ancients which was a symbol of victory and fame, although its leaves are similar in appearance. The leaves of Kalmia latifolia were said to be poisonous and supposedly used by the Indians for suicidal purposes. There was also a popular belief that the flesh of a partridge that had fed upon its fruit would become poisonous.

According to "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana, this plant flowers in June with bright red berries appearing in late summer. Though, she notes that it sometimes flowers into late summer, as well. According to her book, Bunchberry is called the "plant of gluttony" in the Scotch Highlands on account of its supposed power of increasing the appetite. She also notes that it is said to form part of the winter diet of the Eskimo.

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana has some interesting information on this plant. The author notes that it can be found alongside other plants like Columbine, Wild Ginger, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and Solomon's Seal as they seek "the same cool shaded nooks". The author further states that the berries "look strikingly like the china eyes that small children occasionally manage to gouge from their dolls' heads."

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana lists this plant under the Latin name Cornus circinata, but Kew Gardens says Cornus rugosa is the accepted name. According to Mrs. Dana, the bark of this genus has been "considered a powerful tonic, and an extract entitled 'cornine', is said to possess the properties of quinine less strongly marked. The Chinese peel its twigs, and use them for whitening their teeth. It is said that the Creoles also owe the dazzling beauty of their teeth to this same practice."

Melanie recommends regular trips to the dentist, a Sonicare toothbrush, and your preference of toothpaste!

According to "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana, this violet can bloom quite late into the year. She reports finding them blooming high up on the Catskill Mountains late in September, and has known them to continue to appear in a New York City garden into November.

Some history from "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana:

"This plant is well known by name, but is yearly becoming more scarce. The aromatic root is so greatly valued in China for its supposed power of combating fatigue and old age that it can only be gathered by the order of the emperor. The forked specimens are believed to be the most powerful, and their fancied likeness to the human form has obtained for the plant the Chinese title of Jin-chen (from which ginseng is a corruption), and the Indian one of Garan-toguen, both which, strangely enough, are said to signify, "like a man". The Canadian Jesuits first began to ship the roots of the American species to China, where they sold at about five dollars a pound. At present they are said to command about one-fifth of that price in the home market."

My grandfather and his brothers dug ginseng in Lincoln County, West Virginia to make extra money. My grandfather was born in 1923, a year after Mrs. Dana published the above quoted book. As she stated, it was already becoming scarce.

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana uses the Latin name Saxifraga virginiensis which is listed as a synonym now. She gives it the common name of Early Saxifrage. The author notes that the plant's white blossoms can be seen in rocky cliffs and hillsides in April. As for the name, the author explains that the generic and common names come from "saxum", meaning a rock, and "frangere", meaning to break. The Germans call it Steinbrech, or stonebreak. This is because of the plant's habit of growing from "the minute clefts in the rocks and which has been supposed to cause their disintegration by their growth."

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana tells us that the flowers of this plant are "unpleasantly odoriferous". The author also notes that the fruit, which ripens in July, has been called "wild lemon" in some areas on account of its shape. She further states that it was valued by the Indians for medicinal purposes. However, she also states that the "leaves and roots are poisonous if taken internally, and are said to have been used as a pot herb, with fatal results." Still, she says an extract from the plant has been used in medicine.

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana states that this plant is also commonly called "Wild Lily of the Valley". The author notes that in late summer the red berries are commonly found in close proximity to the fruit of shin-leaf and pipsissewa.

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana discusses some of the mythology of this plant. "The Greek tradition claims the flower sprang from the tears shed by Venus over the body of the slain Adonis. At one time it was believed that the wind which had passed over a field of anemones was poisoned, and that disease followed in its wake." The flower was also adopted as the emblem of illness by the Persians. In Dana's book, the plant is also called Wind-Flower in addition to Wood Anemone.

According to "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana, the names for this shrub come from different sources. "Shad-bush" is because of it flowering at the season when the shad "run". "June-berry" because the fruit appears at the beginning of summer, and "Service-berry" because of the use made by the Indians. According to the book, the Indians gathered the fruit in great quantities, and after much crushing and pounding, made it into a sort of cake.