ANEMONE CAROLINIANA. — CAROLINA ANEMONE. I',; 



It will be noticed that Ovid's "purple head" agrees quite 

 well with the variety represented by our drawing, while Shake- 

 speare's " purple, chequered with white," answers tolerably well 

 to Torrey and Gray's " white, spotted with purple." 



We must, however, break through the spell of these poetical 

 illusions, which have carried us far away to the sunny lands of 

 Greece and Italy, and return to the truth of reality by remem- 

 bering that our Anemone Caroliniana cannot be absolutely iden- 

 tical with the flower born from the blood of Adonis, as it is 

 specifically American. It differs from many of its kindred also 

 in its places of growth; for while some Anemones prefer to grow- 

 in the recesses of deep forests, and while the delicate A. nemo- 

 rosa seeks the shade of scattered woods, the Caroliniana delights 

 in open places, and in the full blaze of the western sun. If we 

 may be permitted once more to indulge in a poetical revery, we 

 might almost imagine our flower as fleeing from the dangerous 

 localities which, in their cosy seclusion, are so well fitted to be 

 the abodes of lovers, and seeking the broad light of day, so as to 

 avoid the sad fate which befell her unfortunate sister, whom she 

 had seen — 



" Loving with all the wild devotion, 

 That deep and passionate emotion ; 

 Loving with all the snow-white truth 

 That is found but in early youth ; 

 Freshness of feeling, as of flower, 

 That lives not more than spring's first hour." 



We have just said that the Carolina Anemone delights in the 

 blaze of the western sun, and indeed its geographical range 

 extends across the plains to the base of the Rock)' Mountains, 

 and thence takes a southerly course (if Mr. Watson's view be 

 adopted, that it is the same as A. decapetald), through Utah, 

 Arizona, and New Mexico, to Peru, Chili, and Brazil. This 

 shows that its geographical centre must be to the south, while 

 the centres of most other common kinds of Anemone lie towards 

 the north. It also becomes evident from this that the name of 



