Royal Gardens, which flowered in the middle of March in 

 the very early season of 1897. 



Descr. — A more or less hairy or villous perennial. 

 Leaves radical, three to five inches long, long-petioled, 

 ovate in outline, pinnatisect, pinnules two to three pairs 

 with an odd one, opposite, cuneiform, three- to five-lobed ; 

 terminal largest, three-cleft, lobes obtuse toothed. 

 Peduncle stout, erect, one-fld., green ; involucres an inch 

 long, bracts brown, shaggy, cleft to the base into narrow, 

 erect, linear segments. Flower erect, or slightly inclined. 

 Sepals six, subequal, spreading and incurved, elliptic, 

 obtuse, nearly white and glabrous within, dorsally violet- 

 purple, with a broad white margin, villous with long 

 hairs. Stamens very many, in a dense, globose head; 

 anthers small, yellow, those of the outer stamens imperfect. 

 Ripe achenes oblong, villous, produced into a long, slender, 

 silkily villous tail. — J. D. H. 



Fig. 1, Stamen; 2, 3, 4, imperfect do.: — all enlarged; 5, ovary of the n at. 

 size; 6, achene with atyle, enlarged. 



