Wild Flowers

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Read about Wild Flowers in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Wild Flowers: Their appeal and conservation. In many countries some kind of wild flower holds first place in the love and sentiment of the inhabitants. The rose, the thistle, the shamrock, the iris, the edelweiss and alpine rose, the chrysanthemum, the poppy and the lotus have all contributed their share to the literature and art of the Old World. Thirty of the states have adopted some native American plant for the state flower, including the arbutus, bitter-root, black-eyed Susan, columbine, gentian, goldenrod, laurel, lupine, magnolia, mistletoe, moccasin-flower, Oregon grape, pasque flower, golden poppy, pine cone and tassel, rhododendron, rose, Sego lily, sunflower, syringa, and violet. Of these the goldenrod and violet lead in popularity, with the arbutus, magnolia, and rhododendron next in public favor. Nine states have chosen either cultivated plants of economic value or introduced weeds like the daisy. Thus far, no national flower has been adopted, principally because no wild flower grows or could be grown in all the states and territories, owing to the diversity of climate and flora. An attempt has been made recently to adopt the mountain laurel, but as this is a plant which grows only in the Appalachian regions of the eastern states it has not met with unanimous approval. That a widespread interest in native plants exists there can be no question. Local and popular floras abound, poems and songs appear frequently, yet the people as a whole are still barbarians when it is a question of real love and protection. Arbutus is still pulled up from the roots and sent through the mails in frail and broken pasteboard boxes, having been nearly or quite exterminated where formerly it was abundant. Orchids and lilies are gathered by the basketful to adorn college commencements and church services. Ropes of laurel and ground-pine are used at balls and Christmas festivities, and the holly which used to be abundant is rapidly becoming scarce and hard to find. All these supplies come from wild sources and few of them would pay to cultivate. Moderation and protection are recommended for all of them. Some few of our wild flowers take kindly to cultivation, and are grown for their beauty: laurel, rhododendron, azalea, dogwood, and magnolias perhaps lead in popularity, but some of the smaller herbaceous plants such as bloodroot, hepatica, columbine, lilies, jack-in-the-pulpit, forget-me-nots, and many of the native ferns may be readily grown if given suitable conditions of soil, moisture, and shade. Most wild flowers prefer an acid soil with plenty of leaf-mold to the ordinary garden soil, and should be planted in some place by themselves where natural conditions can be maintained. A hopeful sign of advancing appreciation is that the best landscape architects and park superintendents are recommending the planting and preservation of native plants and in many of the national parks and public reservations the native flora is protected from depredation. With the increase of motors has come an interest in good roads and roadside planting, but some of the railroads in Colorado still run "flower excursions" where a lot of vandals are taken to some beautiful spot and come home loaded with wild flowers which they promptly throw away. It is this spirit of selfish and thoughtless destructiveness which should be combated by all true lovers of native plants, and various organizations for their conservation have been formed to try to accomplish it. Arbor Day might fitly be called Conservation Day and used to impress on school children the importance of this work. The following associations are interested and will supply information to those wishing to cooperate: Conservation Department, General Federation of Women's Clubs; Conservation Society of National Educators; American Association of Forestry; State Associations of Forestry; Garden Clubs of America, Philadelphia; Lincoln Highway Commission; Society for the Protection of Native Plants, Boston; Stokes Fund for the Preservation of Native Plants, New York Botanical Garden; American Association of Park Superintendents, Portland, Oregon; Wild Flower Preservation Society of America, Brooklyn Botanic Garden. List of state and provincial flowers. Alabama Goldenrod. Alaska Forget-me-not. Arkansas Apple blossom. California Golden poppy. Canada Sugar maple. Colorado Blue columbine. Connecticut Mountain laurel. Delaware Peach. Florida Orange blossoms. Georgia Cherokee rose. Idaho Syringa. Illinois Native violet. Indiana Carnation (pink). Iowa Goldenrod. Kansas Sunflower. Kentucky Goldenrod. Louisiana Magnolia. Maine Pine cone and tassel. Maryland Black-eyed Susan. Massachusetts Arbutus, May-flower. Minnesota Moccasin flower. Mississippi Magnolia. Missouri Goldenrod. Montana Bitter-root (Lewisia). Nebraska Goldenrod. New Jersey Violet. New York Rose. North Carolina Daisy. North Dakota Wild rose. Nova Scotia Arbutus. Ohio Red carnation. Oklahoma Mistletoe. Oregon Oregon grape (Mahonia). Pennsylvania Laurel. Rhode Island Violet. South Dakota Pasque flower (Anemone). Tennessee Daisy. Texas Blue bonnet, lupines. Utah Sego lily (Calochortus). Vermont Red clover. Washington Rhododendron. West Virginia Rhododendron. Wisconsin Violet. Wyoming Gentian. Hawaii Lehua (Metrosideros). The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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