ROSE FAMILY. 63 



The Pasque Flower is one of the most beautiful plants 

 of the prairie, but is not confined to this region, extend- 

 Th Pi * n& a ^ so ^ British Columbia. The large pur- 

 plish flowers appear early in March on leaf- 

 less stalks. Later the three-divided leaves appear. At 

 first these and the stalk are covered with a dense coat 

 of silky hairs which persist, but are more scattered, 

 when the plant is fully grown. They form a valuable 

 means of identification. The flower resembles in shape 

 and size a small crocus and this has probably led to one 

 of its popular names the Prairie Crocus. It owes its 

 beautiful crocus-like appearance to its coloured sepals,* 

 the petals being small and stamen-like. The stamens and 

 pistils are numerous, the latter, in fruit, forming a fluffy 

 head, with the long styles developed into feathery tails. 



ROSE FAMILY Rosaceae. 



WILD CHERRIES Prunus spp. 



The Wild Black or Rum Cherry, Prunus serotina Ehrh., 

 is a common tree extending from the east to the prairies. 

 The danger from it lies in the presence of prussic acid 

 in the wilted leaves. Animals may thus be poisoned by 

 eating the leaves from broken branches. The toxic sub- 

 stance is also contained in the seeds. The symptoms and 

 treatment for prussic acid poisoning are given under 

 Sorghum where they may be consulted. 



The tree is large, with reddish brown branches, and 

 an aromatic inner bark. The latter is bitter, as in all 

 the cherries, and is valuable for distinguishing their 



* There are five of these in the Pasque Flower while in the 

 Crocus proper there are six. 



