34 HANDBOOK Of NATURE STUDY 



In April and early May the Marsh Marigold is the most 

 conspicuous flower in cold, wet places; but in May and 

 June every pond, every brook, is fringed by the well-known 

 Blue Flags. Sometimes they grow in the water, sometimes 

 near it; but always in wet places. 



The stems and leaves grow from a stout, branched root- 

 stock, which remains alive in the ground. In very wet and 

 rich soil they grow about three feet high; while on soil 

 which is rather poor and has insufficient moisture, they are 

 often not more than a foot high. 



The leaves are all sword-shaped, and near the ground, each 

 lower one straddles the one above it. Where the leaves 

 straddle, the side towards the stem is the upper and the one 

 turned away from it is the lower side, and the leaf is simply 

 folded upward along the sharp ridge. Where the leaves 

 become free of one another, the two folds have grown together 

 and the leaves now seem to stand vertically and not hori- 

 zontally as on most other plants. A superficial observer 

 would say they have a right and a left side, but only an 

 upper and lower edge. The short leaves which grow near- 

 est to the flowers are called bracts. 



What is the most common number of flowers on a stem ? 

 The flower consists of three large outer divisions and three 

 smaller inner ones. You must look close to find the pistil 

 and the stamens. The pistil bears three leaf -like styles, 

 and under these the stamens with their long anthers are 

 hidden. The stigma or scar is quite concealed ; but if you 

 look sharply, you will find it on each one of the styles as a 

 small membrane with delicate hair and covered with a sticky 

 substance. You will see at once that pollen and stigma of 

 the same flower cannot come in contact. But when a 

 bumblebee wishes to get at the honey, it carries away 

 some of the pollen of one flower and brushes it off on the 

 stigma of another. 



