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 Wild or American Senna Wild Indigo; Yellow or Indigo Broom; Horsefly-Weed Rattle-Box Yellow or Hop Clover Wild or Slender Yellow Flax Jewel-weed; Spotted Touch-me-not; Silver Cap; Wild Balsam ; Lady's Eardrops ; Snap Weed; Wild Lady's Slipper Velvet Leaf; Indian Mallow; American Jute St. Andrew's Cross Common St. John's-wort Long-branched Frost-weed ; Frost-flower; Frost-wort; Canadian Rock-rose Read More Articles On Flowers |
( Originally Published 1916 ) St. Andrew's Cross (Ascyrum hypericoides) St. John's-wort family (A. Crux-Andreae of Gray) Flowers—Yellow, 1/2 to 3/4 in. across, terminal and from the leaf axils. Calyx of 4 sepals in 2 pairs ; 4 narrow, oblong petals; stamens numerous ; 2 styles. Stem : Much branched and spreading from base, 5 to 10 in. high, leafy. Leaves: Opposite, oblong, small, seated on stem. Preferred Habitat—Dry, sandy soil ; pine barrens. Flowering Season—July—August. Distribution—Nantucket Island (Mass.), westward to Illinois, south to Florida and Texas. Because the four pale yellow petals of this flower approach each other in pairs, suggesting a cross with equals arms, the plant was given its name by Linnaeus in 1753. St. Peter's-wort (A. stans), a similar plant, found in the same localities, in bloom at the same time, has larger flowers in small clusters at the tips only of its upright branches. |