CHAP. I.] THE GENUS ANEMONE. 19 



carpels open naturally on the side when ripe, to 

 discharge their seeds. The herbaceous Peonies 

 with double flowers, now so common in our 

 gardens, have generally only two carpels, each 

 containing about twenty seeds, arranged in two 

 rows ; and the Chinese tree Peony (P. Moutan) 

 has from five to ten carpels, with only a few 

 seeds in each. This last species is distinguished 

 by the receptacle being drawn out into a thin 

 membrane-like substance, which rises between 

 the carpels like the remains of withered leaves, 

 and partially covers them. 



THE GENUS ANEMONE. 



I HAVE already mentioned (p. 10) that some 

 of the genera included in the order Ranuncu- 

 laceee have only a coloured calyx and no corolla; 

 and the Anemone is an example of this peculi- 

 arity of construction. The pasque-flower 

 (Anemone pulsatilla) is divided into six dark 

 purple sepals, which are covered on the outside 

 with long silky hairs. The leaves are so much 

 cut as almost to resemble those of parsley ; and 

 at a short distance below the flowers there are 

 three small floral leaves, or bracts, which grow 

 round the stem, and form what is called an in- 

 volucre. The carpels are small, oblong bodies, 

 pressed close together, and each is furnished 

 with a long, feathery point, called an awn. The 



