VARIATIONS -AKD, WgtlDJO^ <ff PLANTS. 101 



the spring, greett is the predominant color; and so varied 

 are the shades of this general vestment, or clothing, that it is 

 hardly possible to find two different varieties of plants of the 

 same shade of color. This general clothing of plants also 

 undergoes many changes during the season from spring to 

 autumn ; the most general change that takes place, is the 

 expanding of the leaf of most plants, when the color is com- 

 monly of a light green, inclined to a yellow, and the forests 

 have at that time a tinge of yellow in their appearance ; this 

 coloring is soon changed into a deeper green, which, when 

 the leaf is at its maturity, is then at its deepest color. From 

 the maturity of the leaf to its decay, or dropping from the 

 plant which is shorter or longer in different varieties a 

 gradual change takes place, from a deep green to a yellow, in 

 most plants ; and in some varieties it is again changed to a 

 dark red, or purple, as in most of the native shrubs, which is 

 owing to the acid they contain. Leaves of plants are also 

 variegated or checkered in many ways, with two or three 

 distinct colors, which is exemplified in the Amaranthus tri- 

 color, Variegated Geraniums, and many evergreens, as Hol- 

 lies, Box, &c. Some leaves of plants have distinct colors on 

 each side, as the Tradescantia discolor ; and in some cases, 

 the color of plants is entirely extracted and a white is substi- 

 tuted, which is caused by the absence of light and air, as in 

 the case of blanched Celery. 



Tn the flowers of plants, many changes are observable, 

 from their first expanding to their decay. The calyx, or 

 covering of the flower, is mostly green; there is, however, 

 an exception to this rule in some few flowers, as the Ear- 

 drop, or Fuschia coccinea, which has a beautiful scarlet 

 calyx, or covering, that is often taken for the flower cups, 

 which are purple ; and the changeable part of the Hydrangea 

 hortensis, is nothing more than a changeable calyx, or cover- 

 ing, the flowers being no larger than a pin's head. The 

 petals, or flower leaves, are the most changeable ; as in most 

 flowers, when they begin to expand, their petals are of a light 



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