FLOWERS OF VARYING COLOR 



By Willard N. Clute. 



A good many years ago, the French botanist, DeCandolle, 

 -*■-** observed that flowers tend to fall into one of two series. 

 In one of these the color of the blossom varies from green 

 through blue-green, blue, blue-violet, violet, and violet-red to 

 red, and in the other it varies from green to yellow-green, 

 yellow, yellow orange, orange and orange-red to red. The 

 first series, called the cyanic series, may be said to have blue 

 for its type and to be capable of varying to red or white, but 

 never to yellow. The second, or xanthic series, has yellow 

 for its type, and may vary to red and white but never to blue. 

 Roses, dahlias and tulips belong to the xanthic series and really 

 blue roses, therefore, are probably beyond the possibilities. 

 The phlox and larkspur, on the other hand, are members of 

 the cyanic series and do not give clear yellows. A second 

 interesting difference between the flowers of the two series 

 is that in the xanthic series the colors are usually due to small 

 colored bodies, called chromoplasts, in the substance of the 

 cell, while in the cyanic series the colors are dissolved in the 

 cell sap. For some unexplained reason, pure white (albino) 

 flowers are much rarer in the xanthic than in the cyanic series. 

 In the latter we expect to find white forms if we search long 

 enough. In typically yellow specimens of the other series, we 

 rarely if ever find them. As abundant as dandelions are, no- 

 body has ever reported a pure white one. It is worth men- 

 tioning that while single species keep pretty closely to one or 

 the other of the series, the genus as a whole may not do so. 

 Different species may be blue, red, white or yellow. 



