39 



VII. THE SPRING BEAUTY. 



Description. Early in Spring, in the grassy meadow, 

 along the shady margins of the woods, or under tangled thick- 

 ets, often in company with the Dog-tooth Violet, lo ! the 

 Spring Beauty ! Its roots, -like those of its neighbor, strike 

 deep into the soil, and in order to lift the plant entire we 

 must make careful use of the trowel. Viewed as a whole, 

 the Spring Beauty in outline, surface, and substance, resem- 

 bles the Dog-tooth Violet. It is also divisible into the same 

 regions and parts. 



Analysis. THE LEAF REGION. The ftoot is a new 

 and singular structure. There is a massive body, irregularly 

 rounded, brown without, white and starchy within. To 

 this tuber,* as it is called, are attached the ordinary fibers 

 and fibrils. These are the true working roots, absorbing plant- 

 food from the ground, while the tuber serves as a reservoir 

 for its reception after being digested and changed to starch. 



The Stem is a simple, slender column, a few inches in 

 height. In substance, it is herbaceous, that is, tender, juicy, 

 flexible, greenish. In attitude, it is erect and upright; for, 

 though weak, it stands unsupported. 



The leaves, 2 in number, grow opposite each other in 

 the air and light at the top of the stem. In outline, they 

 are narrowly lance-shaped, nearly as in the Pigeon-wheat, 

 linear-lanceolate, or almost linear. They are fixed to the 

 stem by their base without the intervention of a petiole; that 

 is to say, they are sessile (sitting), while the upper end, the 

 apex, as in all plants, is free ; their margin is entire, and 

 color, green. 



THE FLOWER REGION. The Flower is a curious gem, 



* Botanists generally consider the tuber as a member of the stem. But to avoid 

 subtle distinctions at this early stage, we here incline to the popular view regarding 

 it as a member of the root. 



