CLAYTONIA. 39 



VII. THE SPRING BEAUTY. 



Description. Early in Spring, in the grassy meadow, 

 along the shady margins of the woods, or under tangled thick- 

 ets, often in company with the Dog-tooth Violet, lo ! the 

 Spring Beauty! Its roots, like those of its neighbor, strike 

 deep into the soil, and in order to lift the plant entire we 

 must make careful use of the trowel. Viewed as a whole, 

 the Spring Beauty in outline, surface, and substance, resem- 

 bles the Dog-tooth Violet. It is also divisible into the same 

 regions and parts. 



Analysis. THE LEAF REGION. The ffioot is a new 

 and singular structure. There is a massive body, irregularly 

 rounded, brown without, white and starchy within. To 

 this tuber* as it is called, are attached the ordinary fibers 

 and fibrils. These are the true working roots, absorbing plant- 

 food from the ground, while the tuber serves as a reservoir 

 for its reception after being digested and changed to starch. 



The Stem is a simple, slender column, a few inches in 

 height. In substance, it is herbaceous, that is, tender, juicy, 

 flexible, greenish. In attitude, it is erect and upright; for, 

 though weak, it stands unsupported. 



The Z,eaves, 2 in number, grow opposite each other in 

 the air and light at the top of the stem. In outline, they 

 are narrowly lance-shaped, nearly as in the Pigeon-wheat, 

 linear-lanceolate, or almost linear. They are fixed to the 

 stem by their base without the intervention of a petiole; that 

 is to say, they are sessile (sitting), while the upper end, the 

 apex, as in all plants, is free ; their margin is entire, and 

 color, green. 



THE FLOWER REGION. The Flower is a curious gem, 



* Botanists generally consider the tuber as a member of the stem. But to avoid 

 subtle distinctions at this early stage, we here incline to the popular view regarding 

 it as a member of the root. 



