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<v Speaker 1>Section twenty three of Birds and All Nature, Volume seven, No. Two,

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<v Speaker 1>February nineteen hundred, recorded for LibriVox dot org by Tavarish

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<v Speaker 1>The Scarlet Painted Cup Professor William Kerr, highly Secretary of

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<v Speaker 1>the Chicago Academy of Sciences. These children of the meadows,

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<v Speaker 1>born of sunshine and of showers. Whittier. The scarlet painted

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<v Speaker 1>cup belongs to a large and interesting group of plants

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<v Speaker 1>known as the figwort family scrofolariaca. The common name of

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<v Speaker 1>the family is derived from the reputed value of some

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<v Speaker 1>of the species in the cure of Phycus or figwort,

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<v Speaker 1>a disease caused by the growth of a stalked excrescence

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<v Speaker 1>on the eyelids, tongue, or other parts of the body

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<v Speaker 1>that are covered with the mucous membrane. The technical name

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<v Speaker 1>is derived frommescropula, as some of the species are considered

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<v Speaker 1>efficacious in the treatment of that disease. This family includes

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<v Speaker 1>about one hundred and sixty five genera and over twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred species. They are common all over the world,

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<v Speaker 1>reaching from the equator into the regions of constant frosts.

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<v Speaker 1>It is claimed by some authorities that fully one thirty

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<v Speaker 1>fifth of all the flowering plants of North America are

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<v Speaker 1>classed in this family. Besides the painted cup, there are

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<v Speaker 1>classed in this group the malin, the common toad flax,

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<v Speaker 1>the foxglove digitalis, the Gerardius, and the calceolarias. The fox glove,

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<v Speaker 1>though causing death when the extract is taken in excess,

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<v Speaker 1>is one of the most highly valued medicinal plants known.

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<v Speaker 1>Nearly all the species of the family are herbs without fragrance.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of the species are known to be partially parasitic.

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<v Speaker 1>True parasites are usually white of very light colored and

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<v Speaker 1>contain no green coloring matter, which is essential when the

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<v Speaker 1>plant is self supporting. The parasitic forms of this family, however,

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<v Speaker 1>do contain green coloring matter, and others not entirely dependent

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<v Speaker 1>on their host for the preparation of their food supply.

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<v Speaker 1>The Gerardias false fox gloves are frequently found attached to

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<v Speaker 1>the roots of oaks, large shrubs, and even on the

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<v Speaker 1>roots of grasses. It has also been shown that there

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<v Speaker 1>is a cannibalistic tendency in some of the species of Gerardia.

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<v Speaker 1>They will not only fasten their succa like roots on

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<v Speaker 1>those of other species, but also upon those of other

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<v Speaker 1>individuals of the same species, and even upon the root

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<v Speaker 1>branches of their own plants. This double parasitism is not rare.

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<v Speaker 1>The scarlet painted cup of our illustration Castilia Coxinia linaeus

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<v Speaker 1>is a native of the eastern half of the United

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<v Speaker 1>States and the southern portion of Canada. It prefers the

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<v Speaker 1>soil of meadows and moist woods, and has been found

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<v Speaker 1>growing abundantly at an elevation of from three to four

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<v Speaker 1>thousand feet. The generic name was given this plant by Linaeus,

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<v Speaker 1>in honor of a Spanish botanist. The specific name is

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<v Speaker 1>from the Latin meaning scarlet. Nearly all of the forty

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<v Speaker 1>species are natives of North and South America. The flowers

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<v Speaker 1>are dull yellow in color and are obscured by the

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<v Speaker 1>rather large floral leaves or bracts, which are bright scarlet

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<v Speaker 1>rarely bright yellow in color. These conspicuous leaves broader toward

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<v Speaker 1>the apex and usually about three cleft. By the novice,

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<v Speaker 1>They are usually mistaken for the flower, which is hardly noticeable.

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<v Speaker 1>The stem seldom exceeds a foot in height and bears

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<v Speaker 1>a number of leaves that are deeply cut in narrow segments.

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<v Speaker 1>The bright color of this plant has given it many

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<v Speaker 1>local names, more or less descriptive. Prominent among these is

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<v Speaker 1>the Indian paint brush. A pretty myth tells us that

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<v Speaker 1>the painted cup was originally yellow, but at Venus, when

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<v Speaker 1>lamenting the death of Apollo, pressed a cluster of the

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<v Speaker 1>blossoms to her parched lips and drank the dew from

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<v Speaker 1>the flowers, the outer leaves of which have ever since

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<v Speaker 1>retained the color of her lips end of Section twenty three.

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<v Speaker 1>This recording is in the public domain.