222 FLOWERS OF THE SUN 



flowers of the sun, however, I mean only those 

 that we associate with the brilliant light of the 

 summer landscape and its heavy, full-fed greens 

 flowers that need the direct sun rays to develop 

 the most perfect luxuriance of form and color. 

 Some we also find in early autumn, before any 

 thought of decay dims the plant horizon and while 

 the few prematurely red leaves that decorate Maple 

 and Sumac do not suggest hectic color, but serve 

 merely to heighten the opulence of maturity. 



In the fields we do not look for the delicate 

 half-tones and stipplings such as we find in woods 

 and along the waterways though, to be sure, the 

 Water Lilies are all sun -lovers but for strong 

 primary colors; so we are constantly meeting with 

 surprises. Of the three primaries, red, blue and 

 yellow, the last is the only color found in its purity 

 in large quantities, red ranking next, and blue, 

 with flowers, as with the plumage of birds, being 

 the rarest pigment of all. 



There is another curious fact about the distri- 

 bution of these primary colors in the plant world. 

 When left to natural selection the three are not 

 often found in the same genus, if at all. Thus we 

 have a red and a blue Lobelia, but no yellow; a 

 red and a yellow Field Lily, but no blue; a blue 



