NATIVE WILD FLOWEES 



eye, so full, so soft and delicate is the hue. Some species 

 of the Evening Primrose, true to their descriptive name, 

 open their blossoms only at sunset; others bloom during 

 the daytime and endure the light and heat of a July or 

 August sun. One form of the grandiflora is from, 

 three to four feet high, with stout branching stems and 

 many-flowered spikes; others are low in stature, with rough 

 hoary leaves and smaller flowers. (E. pumila, a dwarf 

 species, about six inches in height, has small flowers of 

 pale color and of little floral beauty. (E. biennis (L.), var. 

 muricata (Gray), which is common in open fields and 

 plains, is a large branching species with smooth, red- 

 veined leaves, a red bristly stem, and smaller flowers than 

 grandiflora. It is less fragrant but is a handsome species and 

 continues flowering all through the summer till cut off by 

 early frosts. But by far the finest and most interesting of 

 our Evening Primroses is the large-flowered fragrant 

 grandiflora under consideration. No sooner has the sun set 

 than one after another may be seen, in quick succession, 

 the bursting of the closely-shut sepals of the calyx. One 

 by one the petals begin to unfold slowly, slowly. You 

 notice a slight movement in the corolla; first one petal is 

 loosened from its plaited folds, then another, till in a few 

 seconds the whole flower expands and opens its beautiful 

 deep sulphur-colored cup with its eight stamens and yellow 

 anthers, giving out a delightful scent upon the dewy air. 

 What an object of interest is this flower to children as they 

 gaze with watching, wondering eyes upon its fair unfolding 

 blossoms. One little fellow, almost a baby, cried out, " Oh, 

 look! it's waking now!" when he saw the first pure petal 

 softly rolled back as the blossom commenced opening. The 

 diagonal lines which cross the surface of the flower are 

 caused by its twisted aestivation, or folding in the bud, and 



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