Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 131 



MONKSHOOD; ACONITE (Aconitum uncinatum) 



is an attractive wild flower with a slender, rather weak, 

 stem often supporting itself against other species. 

 Some of its traits remind one of the Columbine, to 

 which it is closely related, but it lacks the hardy qual- 

 ities of that species. The flowers are quite large and 

 handsome; they grow in a loose, few-flowered raceme. 

 The five sepals are very unequal in size and shape; 

 the upper one is large and hood-like, and conceals 

 two small petals within it; it has three to five pistils, 

 numerous stamens and three other abortive petals. 

 The leaves are firm, three to five-lobed and notched, 

 on slender petioles. It grows in rich, moist woods 

 from Pa. southwards, flowering from June to Septem- 

 ber. 



HEPATICA; LIVERWORT (Hepatica triloba). It 

 is always with a feeling of ecstacy that we find or 

 hear the first reported blooming of the Ti erotica, 

 each year; its coming is the first sign of the break- 

 ing up of winter. If we except the early-Mowering 

 Skunk Cabbage, and many refuse to consider this at 

 all as a flower, the beautiful Hepatica is the first of 

 our flowers to appear. It is seemingly well clad for 

 low temperatures, for its stems are thickly covered 

 with fuzzy hairs; the three-lobed, smooth-ed.^ed 

 leaves are rather thick and coarse, lasting through 

 the winter but turning a ruddy color, while t;:e new 

 ones, that appear with the buds, are light green ari.l 

 radiate above the older prostrate ones. A single bius 

 som appears at the end of each long fuzzj -cape; it 

 is about one inch broad, has five to ten Male pur- 

 ple or lilac sepals and numerous greenish i> !v :iil:s 

 and yellow anthers; they have a slight fr?-v .nee. 



Hepaticas grow in smaV .. Uorie. blooming, from 

 March to May in open 'v- .u ti'iiii N. S to Manitoba 

 and southwards. 



