After the flowering time come the vivid green crowns of leaves that at
least please the eye. Lizards make their home beneath them, and many a
yellowthroat, taking advantage of the plant's foul odor, gladly puts up
with it herself and builds her nest in the hollow of the cabbage as a
protection for her eggs and young from four-footed enemies. Cattle let
the plant alone because of the stinging acrid juices secreted by it,
although such tender, fresh, bright foliage must be especially tempting,
like the hellebore's, after a dry winter diet. Sometimes tiny insects
are found drowned in the wells of rain water that accumulate at the base
of the grooved leafstalks.




SPIDERWORT FAMILY _(Commelinaceae)_


Virginia, or Common Day-flower

_Commelina virginica_

_Flowers_--Blue, 1 in. broad or less, irregular, grouped at end of stem,
and upheld by long leaf-like bracts. Calyx of 3 unequal sepals; 3
petals, 1 inconspicuous, 2 showy, rounded. Perfect stamens 3; the anther
of 1 incurved stamen largest; 3 insignificant and sterile stamens; 1
pistil. _Stem:_ Fleshy, smooth, branched, mucilaginous. _Leaves:_
Lance-shaped, 3 to 5 in. long, sheathing the stem at base; upper leaves
in a spathe-like bract folding like a hood about flowers. _Fruit:_ A
3-celled capsule, 1 seed in each cell.