148 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



a string of names as Mrs. John H. Smith, the practice becomes 

 absurd. Are there so few poetic and euphonious words in 

 our language that we have to resort for flower names to the 

 Lizzies, Mamies, and Gerties in the head gardener's family? 

 It would be well to frown on the practice of giving German 

 names or the names of non-Germans to plants unless the ones 

 for which they are named are already distinguished. 



Flowers of Hepatica. — When a hepatica opens, the 

 stamens are spread out stiffly with anthers against the bright 

 sepals, turning their backs on the bunch of pistils in the middle 

 and not at all interested in them. But the pistils have tiny 

 points of yellow and are standing erect in a receptive man- 

 ner. Presently the tips turn brown and the portion below 

 begins to grow. Now it is the stamens' turn to arise and 

 open their packets of pollen for the little bees. The sepals 

 fade and fall ; the stamens dry and drop ; the three little green 

 leaves draw themselves up over the pistils and protect them. 

 'Sometimes, however, they are deprived of this work for the 

 pistils fail to grow. — Nell McMiirray, Clearfield, Pa. 



Name of Peant Wanted. — A correspondent sends us 

 for name a very familiar plant, but though so familiar we 

 have been obliged to give it up and pass it along to our readers 

 in the hope that someone may recognize it from its description 

 and forward the name. The plant is one of the unbellifers 

 and has long been a favorite l)order plant in old gardens. 

 The leaves are ample and ternately divided and (what ought 

 to make the identification easy) are blotched and bordered 

 with white. It appears to l)e the commonest umbellifer 

 grown for decorative purposes and doubtless some of our 

 readers will recognize it. 



PELORIA. — Since the publication, in the August number, 

 of a so-called peloric foxglove, some question has arisen as to 

 the exact definition of the term peloria. The name peloria 



