is it probable he so combined flowers having different seasons of bloom? Dr. Prior suggests that the purple orchis (0. mascula) might have been the flower Ophelia wore; but, as long purples has been the folk name of this loosestrife from time immemorial in England, it seems likely that Shakespeare for once may have made a mistake. BLUE WAX-WEED; CLAMMY CUPHEA; TAR-WEED (Parsonia petiolata; Cuphea viscosissima of Gray) Loosestrife family Flowers - Purplish pink, about 1/4 in. across, on short peduncles from leaf axils, solitary or clustered. Calyx sticky, tubular, 12-ribbed, with 6 primary teeth, oblique at mouth, extending into a rounded swelling on upper side at base; 6 unequal, wrinkled petals, on short claws; 11 or 12 stamens inserted on calyx throat; pistil with 2-lobed stigma. Stem: 6 to 20 in. high, branched, very sticky-hairy. Leaves: Opposite, on slender petioles, lance-shaped, rounded at base, harsh to the touch. Preferred Habitat - Dry soil, waste places, fields, roadsides. Flowering Season - July-October. Distribution - Rhode Island to Georgia, westward to Louisiana, Kansas, and Illinois. A first cousin of the familiar Mexican cigar plant, or fire-cracker plant (Cuphea platycentra), whose abundant little vermilion tubes, with black-edged lower lip tipped with white, brighten the borders of so many Northern flower-beds. Kyphos, the Greek for curved, from which cuphea was derived, has reference to the peculiar, swollen little seedpod. From a slit on one side of the clammy cuphea's capsule the placenta, set with tiny flattened seeds, sticks out like a handle. Probably the flower has already fertilized itself in the bud, although, from the fact that the plant has taken such pains to punish crawling insect foes by coating itself with sticky hairs, one might imagine it was wholly dependent upon winged insects to transfer its pollen. What an unworthy relative of the purple loosestrife, whose elaborate scheme to insure cross-fertilization is one of the botanical wonders! MEADOW-BEAUTY; DEER GRASS (Rhexia Virginica) Meadow-beauty family Flowers - Purplish pink, 1 to 1 1/2 in. across, pedicelled, clustered at top of stem. Calyx 4-lobed, tubular or urn-shaped, narrowest at neck; 4 rounded, spreading petals, joined for half their length; 8 equal, prominent stamens in 2 rows; pistil. Stem: 1 to 1 1/2 ft. high, square, more or less hairy, erect, sometimes branching at top. Leaves: Opposite, ascending, seated on stem, oval, acute at tip, mostly 5-nerved, the margins saw-edged. Preferred Habitat - Sandy swamps or near water. Flowering Season - July-September. Distribution - United States, chiefly east of Mississippi.