122 NAT. ORDER. — PAPAVERACEjE. 



broken in removing it from the ground; the scape, vvhicli is uniformly 

 terminated by a single flower, proceeds from one end of the root, 

 and rises perpendicularly to the height of six or eight inches. In 

 the early part of the season, that Is, about the last of March or fn-st 

 of April, it flowers much under this height; and not unfrequently 

 the flowers are expanded at these periods, when the scape lias just 

 appeared above ground ; the leafstalks, which are thicker tlian the 

 scape, are long, and arise from the same part of the root. This has 

 relation to a plant in the state of forwardness represented in the 

 plate. In common, by the time the flower is expanded, the leaf-stalk 

 is not more than half the length of the scape ; and it then supports 

 a small convoluted leaf, with its lower lobes embracing this part. 

 Both the leaf-stalks and scape, which are encircled at their origin 

 from the root by a common sheathe, are of an orange color, deepest 

 towards their junction with the c.iudex, and becoming paler near 

 the leaves and flowers, where it is blended with green. When bro- 

 ken or .squeezed, they emit a colored liquor, like that of the root, — 

 but paler. The stain made by this fluid on paper, is a faint yellow. 

 When this plant first comes up, the young loaf is rolled round both 

 scape and flower-bud ; and not unfrequently the flower is opened 

 immediately over the convoluted leaf; the under side of the leaf is 

 glauiious, the disc pale yellowish green, and on both sides the orange- 

 colored veins are very conspicuous. 



In favorable situations the plant has often one or two expanded 

 leaves, like that in the plate; and these are also of a pale green 

 color on their upper surface, and glaucous or bluish-white under- 

 neath, interspersed on either side with numerous orange-colored 

 veins. The whole plant becomes much increased in size after the 

 flowering is passed about a month ; frequently attaining at this 

 period the height of fifteen inches, but commonly not exceeding 

 twelve. The leaves are then enlarged to twice or thrice the size of 

 that in the plate, are heart-shaped, and deeply lobed. The number 

 of lobes is mostly five or seven, and their edges have many smdU 



