LADY'S-SMOCK 73 



sepaled calyx. It is clearly shown in the right- 

 hand figure, after the withering-off of the perianth. 

 The word hepatica is Greek in its origin and 

 relates to the supposed efficacy of the plant in 

 liver trouble. 



The other two plants on our plate are also 

 foreigners. The one to the left is one of the very 

 numerous rock saxifrages, the SaxifragaElizabethece, 

 a charming plant for the rockery : its blossoms, 

 large for this genus, and of a delicate sulphur 

 yellow, being very attractive. The remaining 

 plant is the quaint Hacquetia Epipactis, a plant 

 that just misses being Swiss, since though it is 

 found at the foot of the Great St. Bernard, it 

 is upon the Italian side. These three plants 

 were flowering with us at the beginning of April. 



The delicate and graceful Lady's-smock may be 

 found in abundance in May in damp pastures, and 

 by the sides of streams and wayside ditches, 

 and it may well find a place in our regard. Its 

 old English name points to the time when this 

 grace and delicacy of form and colour caused it 

 to be specially dedicated to the Virgin Mary. 

 Its tender flowers are sometimes pure white, but 

 more ordinarily they are of lilac colour, sometimes 

 of the most delicate tinge, at others of a more 

 pronounced tint. Normally, the plant being a 

 crucifer, the flowers have four spreading petals, 

 but the blossoms may occasionally be found 



