68 THE POPPY. 



caducous calyx, numerous Jiypogynous stamens, and a com- 

 pound 1-celled capsule. Let these be remembered as the 

 marks of the Order, which will be named in the next lesson. 

 The Record (on page 67) should be used by the learner 

 not to copy, but for comparison with his own, previously 

 and independently sketched ; also as a guide in the record 

 of the Poppy and other similar plants. 



XIV. THE POPPY. 



Description. Toward the end of May some of the Pop- 

 pies may be found in bloom in gardens and fields. Their 

 graceful form attracts the eye, while the richness of their 

 scarlet tint harmonizes with the green verdure around. Their 

 own verdure is sea-green, somewhat hairy, and like the 

 Bloodroot, contains a colored juice white instead of red. 

 The Poppy never springs from the last year's root, but from 

 the seed alone, flowering, fruiting, and perishing, all in one 

 season. It is therefore an annual herb (often thus denoted ). 

 The Bloodroot with its ever-growing rhizome is necessarily 

 perennial (2). 



Analysis. The root is axial (p. 50) a tap-root growing 

 from the seed downward, branching, tapering. 



The Stem stands firmly erect, terete, somewhat branch- 

 ing, and with bristly spreading hairs. 



The Z/eares are cauline, sessile, pinni-veined, and oblong 

 in general outline, with the margin more or less lobed, or 

 divided into segments (pinnatifid). 



The Flowers are few and large, each supported on a 

 stout peduncle, nodding in the bud (#), finally erect. The 



* These notes apply only to the natural, single, or simple-ftowereA Poppy. Should 

 the specimens have double fiowers, they will open a new field of inquiry, for which 

 see the lesson on the Rose (XXVIII). 



