WHITE AND GREENISH WILD FLOWERS 



unless it could change its mode of living, it would soon 

 become extinct. Such is the law governing the sur- 

 vival of the fittest. 



The Tall Meadow Rue is noted for its beautiful, 

 fern-like and feathery flowers which grow in great pro- 

 fusion. It is open and branching, and its general 

 appearance is loose and delicate. The compound 

 leaves are comparatively small for the size of the plant, 

 and remind one a little of the Maiden-hair Fern. The 

 variable, rounding, wedge-shaped leaflets are arranged 

 in groups of three or five, and three or five of these 

 groups are again arranged to form the triangulated out- 

 line of the complete leaf, which occurs alternately upon 

 the stalk. The outline of the leaflets is entire except- 

 ing the ends, which are notched into pointed or rounded 

 lobes. The centre leaflet of each group is larger than 

 the one occurring on either side of it. The colour is a 

 cool, medium green above, and of a lighter shade on the 

 under side. The texture is firm and rather thin, and 

 the surface is smooth and lustreless. The under side 

 is minutely hairy and shows a fine network of veins. 

 The stalk is rather stout, finely grooved, and round, 

 and its colour is light green, stained with purple near 

 the joints. The delicate, fairy-like flowers are arranged 

 loosely in large, fluffy clusters and their appearance is 

 at once attractive and pleasing. They have no petals, 

 but four or five early falling petal-like sepals act for a 

 short time in their place. The white, hair-like, green 

 tipped stamens are very numerous and expand into 

 pretty, fuzzy, starry, and delicately scented balls. 



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