402 SPRING FLOWERS, AND 



endowed it, our purpose in including the Dandelion in our 

 catalogue of spring flowers will be answered. 



The early Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dioicum) is con- 

 spicuous on hills and in rocky woods in April and May. 

 The flowers are greenish, with yellow anthers, and are 

 noticeable for blooming so early in the spring ; the 

 foliage is very delicate. The white flowers of the larger 

 species (Thalictrum cornutum, or corynelluni), are very or- 

 namental in meadows in June and July. The foliage is 

 ornamental, and for this reason both of these plants would 

 be additions to the flower border. They are too common 

 and too well known to need further description. 



TRILLIUM. A strikingly beautiful plant is the Trillium, 

 in all its species. It is a gem among spring flowers, but is 

 rarely met with in gardens, and is not common in the woods 

 and swamps. It seems to delight in old woods, and locali- 

 ties where the axe of the woodman has never found its 

 way, but where the old, moss-hung trees still maintain the 

 grandeur of the primeval forest. In such situations the 

 Trillium is at home. In early spring, the stem pushes up 

 from the short, tuber-like root, bearing at the top three 

 large, broad, ovate leaves, and a terminal flower. The plant 

 delights in shade and moisture, and the root is commonly 



