KERRIA 



Kerria. Double-flowered 

 Form. 



the botanical affinities of the plant ; a name that should 

 be supplanted by Kerria, which sounds quite as well 

 and is correct. Botanically the plant 

 is allied to the spiraeas. 



The double-flowered form was the 

 first introduced from Japan, and im- 

 mediately became a great favorite. 

 The blossoms are bright yellow and 

 so very double that the name Globe 

 Flower does not seem inappropriate. 

 The single form from which the 

 double was developed came later, and is the more 

 beautiful of the two. It is an error to suppose that a 

 double flower is always better than its type, for the 

 multiplication of petals is frequently gained at the ex- 

 pense of grace and delicacy. In this single form the 

 flowers, often an inch and a half across, are solitary, 

 on slender stalks, and look not unlike great buttercups, 

 only the petals are an orange yellow and not lustrous. 

 The plant does best where it can have partial shade, 

 as the petals, curiously enough, bleach 

 white in the sunlight, and in a sunny 

 location it is rare to find a flower with- 

 out one or more white petals. 



The leaves are broad-lanceolate, long- 

 pointed, deeply serrate-toothed, bright 

 green above and paler beneath. There 

 is a variety with single flowers and va- 

 riegated leaves, but it is not the equal 

 of either of the others. In winter the 

 stems are such a brilliant green that they attract atten- 

 tion standing among the stems of other plants. 



135 



Kerria. Single-flow- 

 ered Form. 



