BLUE AND PURPLE 



neath the snow, and form one of the many instances which we 

 encounter among flowers, as among their human contemporaries, 

 where the frail and delicate-looking withstand storm and stress 

 far better than their more robust-appearing brethren. We wel- 

 come these tiny newcomers with especial joy, not alone for their 

 delicate beauty, but because they are usually the first of all the 

 flowers upon the scene of action, if we rule out the never-tardy 

 skunk-cabbage. The rusty leaves of last summer are obliged to 

 suffice for the plant's foliage until some little time after the blos- 

 soms have appeared, when the young fresh leaves begin to uncurl 

 themselves. Someone has suggested that the fuzzy little buds 

 look as though they were still wearing their furs as a protection 

 against the wintry weather which so often stretches late into our 

 spring. The flowers vary in color from a lovely blue to pink or 

 white. They are found chiefly in the woods, but occasionally 

 on the sunny hill-sides as well. 



The generic name, Hepatica, is from the Greek for liver, and 

 was probably given to the plant on account of the shape of its 

 leaf. Dr. Prior says that " in consequence of this fancied like- 

 ness it was used as a remedy for liver-complaints, the common 

 people having long labored under the belief that Nature indicated 

 in some such fashion the uses to which her creations might be 

 applied. " 



COMMON BLUE VIOLET. 



Viola palmata ; var. cucullata. Violet Family. 



Scape, Slender; one-flowered. Leaves. Heart-shaped, all from the 

 root. Flowers. Varying from a pale blue to deep purple, borne singly on 

 a scape. Calyx. Of five sepals extended into ears at the base. Corolla. 

 Of five somewhat unequal petals, the lower one spurred at the base. Sta- 

 mens. Short and broad, somewhat united around the pistil. Pistil. One, 

 with a club-shaped style and bent stigma. 



Perhaps this is the best-beloved as well as the best-known of 

 the early wild flowers. Whose heart has not been gladdened at 

 one time or another by a glimpse of some fresh green nook in 



early May where 



'* purple violets lurk, 



With all the lovely children of the shade ? " 



273 



