156 CUCKOO FLOWER. 



wliich is so often its companion on the borders 

 of the stream. The Cuckoo FloAver is very 

 plentiful in moist meadows, and the double 

 variety is remarkably proliferous, as the leaflets 

 produce new plants when they come in contact 

 with the ground, and when the flowers wither, 

 a stalked flower-bud rises from their centres. 



This genus received its name from two 

 Greek words, signifying the "heart," and '^ to 

 fortify ; " because of its supposed strengthening 

 properties. It contains five native species, 

 and one other is as abundant in the moist 

 meadow, as is the Cuckoo Plower. This is 

 the Hairy Bitter Cress {Cardamine Jursida), 

 Its flowers are small and quite white, and its 

 height varies from four inches to a foot. In 

 dry situations it ripens its seeds in March 

 or April, but on moist shady places it con- 

 tinues in flower from March till the end of the 

 summer. The leaves and young flower-stems 

 afford a pleasant salad. 



