THALAMIFLORZ 39 
flower. In the daytime the stem bearing the flower 
and bracts is erect, but droops at night and when the 
sun is too hot. The flower stalk is long in proportion, 
and the leaves are divided into three or five lobes. 
The flower is pure white, with six sepals. Some- 
times a pink variety is found, or one inclined to blue. 
It is a perennial plant, and is in flower in March 
and April. 
There is no honey in the flower. It is the sepals 
that make the flower so conspicuous. The stamens 
are numerous and cover up the stigma on the opening 
of the flower, both ripening at the same time. When 
insects visit the flower they settle in the centre, and 
the anthers are exposed and are first touched. As 
the flower is drooping the pollen is liable to become 
attached to the stigma without the agency of the 
insects which visit it, which consist of bees, flies, 
and beetles. Bees bite a hole in the bottom of the 
flower and feed upon the pollen. The seed is scat- 
tered by the wind. 
In Scotland it is called Darn Grass, because it is 
supposed to cause a disease termed darn or black 
water in cattle, and is also said to cause flux. A 
pretty country name is Bowbells. A corruption of 
Anemone, or Enemy, is used in some districts for 
the Windflower. ‘Doon i’ the wild enemies”’ 
(Tennyson, “ Northern Farmer”). “ Drops of snow” 
is a very expressive name. 
Fairies are, of course, associated with so truly 
woodland a plant, for in wet weather they were sup- 
