V 

 BLUE AND PURPLE 



LIVERWORT. LIVER-LEAF. 



Hepatica triloba. Crowfoot Family. 



Scape. Fuzzy, one-flowered. Leaves. Rounded, three-lobed, from the 

 root. Flowers. Blue, white, or pinkish. Calyx. Of six to twelve petal- 

 like sepals ; easily taken for a corolla, because directly underneath are three 

 little leaves which resemble a calyx. Corolla. None. Stamens. Usually 

 numerous. Pistils. Several. 



The liver-leaf puts forth her sister blooms 

 Of faintest blue 



soon after the late snows have melted. Indeed these fragile- 

 looking, enamel-like flowers are sometimes found actually be- 

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

 encounter among flowers, as among their human contempo- 

 raries, where the frail and delicate-looking withstand storm and 

 stress far better than their more robust-appearing brethren. 

 We welcome 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 blossoms have appeared, when the young fresh leaves 

 begin to uncurl themselves. Some one 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- 



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