QUEENOFTHEPRAIRIE
(Ulmaria rubra; Spirea lobata of Gray) Rose family
Flowers - Deep pink, like the peach blossom, fragrant, about 1/3
in. across, clustered in large cymose panicles on a long
footstalk. Calyx 5-lobed; 5-clawed, rose-like petals; stamens
numerous; pistils 5 to 15, usually 10.
Stem: 2 to 8 ft. tall,
smooth, grooved, branched. Leaves: Mostly near the ground, large,
rarely measuring 3 ft. long, compounded of from 3 to 7 leaflets;
end leaflet, of 7 to 9 divisions, much the largest; side leaflets
opposite, seated on stem, 3 to 5 lobed or parted; all lobes
acute, and edges unequally incised. Prominent kidney-shaped
stipules.
Preferred Habitat - Moist meadows and prairies.
Flowering Season - June-July.
Distribution - Western Pennsylvania to Michigan and Iowa, and
southward.
A stately, beautiful native plant, seen to perfection where it
rears bright panicles of bloom above the ranker growth in the low
moist meadows of the Ohio Valley. When we find it in the East, it
has only recently escaped from man's gardens into Nature's.
Butterflies and bees pay grateful homage to this queen. Indeed,
butterflies appear to have a special fondness for pink, as bees
have for blue flowers. Cattle delight to chew the leaves, which,
when crushed, give out a fragrance like sweet birch.
Previous: PURPLEFLOWERING OR VIRGINIA RASPBERRY
Next: WILD ROSES
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