WILD FLOWERS BLUE AND PURPLE 



colour, and several yellow-tipped stamens are set effec- 

 tively within the corolla. The tips of the five-parted 

 green calyx just show at the edge of the blossom. One 

 or two flowers open at a time throughout the summer. 

 The Salt Marsh Sand Spurry or Seaside Sandwort, 

 S. marina, is a similar species, having numerous, lighter 

 coloured flowers. The stalk is much branched, and 

 grows from four to eight inches high. The leaves are 

 very fleshy and the roots are fibrous. It is found in 

 salt marshes along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, 

 and in saline regions of the interior, during the summer. 



HEPATICA. LIVERLEAF. KIDNEY-LEAF. 

 NOBLE LIVERWORT 



Hepatica tnloba. Crowfoot Family. 



The well-developed flower beds of the Liverworts can 

 hardly await the final thaw and the first warm rain to 

 start them as pace-makers in Nature's annual spring 

 race for first honours. They are probably the earliest 

 of our spring flowers, earlier even than the Bloodroot, 

 and if we except the cold, stiff and unattractive Skunk 

 Cabbage, the beautiful Hepaticas invariably lead them 

 all. The buds must necessarily have many favour- 

 able conditions to cause their early appearance. The 

 leaves of the passing year do not wither and dry up 

 like those of most wild flowers. Instead, they sur- 

 vive the winter, and who will deny the reasoning 

 that they contribute no small part toward the early 

 appearance of the flowers. The evergreen leaves offer 

 shelter from the frosts and assist in accumulating 



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