OBSERVATIONS 



ON 



THE COLORS OF FLOWERS. 



SEQUENCE OF COLORS. 



CHAPTEK I, 



It has l)een thought that as tlowers arc morphoktgically 

 modified leaves, that green is the primitive color; others 

 favor yellow, making purple and blue later developments. 



Let us first consider the relation of green to other colors. 

 It is the most prominent of all hues ; we find that it is not 

 confined to foliage, but that a very large and important 

 portion of the Floral Kingdom existing at the present day 

 is wholly green,- or has green as its ground color, and that 

 this color is not restricted to small, weed-like plants which 

 may be degraded specimens of more highly developed an- 

 cestors, but it is also found among the choicest plants of 

 gai-dens and conservatories. 



Neither are these green fiowers limited to primary forms, 

 but they are found in every stage of advancement from the 

 simplest to the most complex. The green color of the bud 

 of course, as every one knows, as a rule precedes all other 

 colors, and when in this green state it is generally impos- 

 sible to say what color will follow, for however bright the 

 future color may prove to be, for the time being, it is com- 

 pletely concealed, but greeri in its more permanent forms 

 also yields directly to any hue. 



We will glance for a moment at a few prominent green 

 fiowers. Some of the most conspicuous of these found in 



