6 . SPUING FLOWERS. 



a multitude of small starry blossoms of a small Ranunculace- 

 ous plant. These are the blossoms of the Wood Anemone,^ 

 a dwarf herb, which has fleshy underground stems, from which 

 spring up three-parted leaves and white cup-like flowers, below 

 which latter an involucre or guard of three leafy parts resem- 

 bling the true leaves is placed. 



Here, then, we have an illustration of a very different kind 

 of flower from any of those which have been previously noticed. 

 We have in fact one of the group of Polypetalous (that is, 

 many-petaled) Exogens or Dicotyledons. Passing over all but 

 the flower itself, what do we find ? There is first a single row 

 of what look like petals and appear to form a corolla, and 

 within these is a large tuft of small yellowish bodies, which 

 are the stamens and pistils. The petal-like bodies are how- 

 ever in reality a coloured calyx, divided into many (about six) 

 separate pieces or sepals, standing in place of petals, which 

 are entirely wanting. It is because such flowers have several 

 distinct and separate parts to form their floral envelopes that 

 they are called polypetalous, and our subject represents one 

 condition of a large group, in which however both calyx and 

 corolla are generally present. The rule is, that when only one 

 floral envelope is found — the calyx and corolla are called 

 floral envelopes — it is regarded as a calyx, whether it be green 

 or coloured. In our W^ood Anemone the pistils will be found 

 to be numerous and distinct, and they consequently grow up 

 into a group of distinct fruits or carpels, which contain each 

 one seed. This little spring flower can only be seen in perfec- 

 tion when the atmosphere is dry, for in humid weather and at 

 night the petal-like calyx closes up. 



A purple-flowered variety, with smaller flowers, generally 

 formed of eight, rarely of six, narrow-ovate sepals, of a uni- 



* Anemone nemorosa — Plate 1 A. 



