FLOWERS AND GRASSES. 6 1 



which stand together, half way up the stalk, support- 

 ing the flower, are not the true leaves, which latter 

 proceed direct from the root, but bracts, or false 

 leaves. The curious little black root-stocks lie dor- 

 mant in the ground during the winter, but begin to 

 sprout as soon as the snow has passed away. 



The Crowfoot is another early flower, or, as it is 

 more commonly called, " Buttercup." There are 

 several species, but all of them are only known to 

 the majority of people as buttercups. Yet the true 

 buttercup of the woods is a different plant from those 

 of pastures or roadsides. There is another name. 

 that of Goldilocks, which is sometimes applied to the 

 wood buttercup. 1 The yellow flowers of all the 

 species are very similar in form, though differing in 

 size, and hence the whole plant must be studied in 

 order to distinguish one species from another. It is 

 worthy of note that although other kinds of butter- 

 cup, if the leaves are tasted, will be found acrid and 

 biting to the tongue, those of the wood crowfoot are 

 mild. 



All the violets more or less flourish in the reputa- 

 tion of the sweet-scented violet. It might be pro- 

 pounded that the scentless violets have assumed the 

 form and colour of the scented species as a protec- 

 tion; or that the odorous violet has been evolved 

 from the inodorous by natural selection, for some in- 

 scrutable purpose. Conjectures of this kind are by 

 no means rare, and equally probable. All poets in 

 all ages have sung in praise of this " lowly flower," 



1 Ranunculus atiricomus. 



