December 9, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



579 



Now, as to the ray-flowers of May-weed becoming white 

 from yellow, we have already proved them (above, under 

 white-flower section) to be derived from green, and therefore 

 primary ; as to the central florets, which are yellow and whole- 

 colored, we have, of course, usually no direct proof, but sim- 

 ply because they occupy a central position is not sufficient 

 evidence that yellow is their primary color. Among the Asters 

 similarly with white rays, as in A. dumosus, A. diffusus, etc., 

 indeed, in many others we find yellow central florets, also red- 

 purple, and both on the same plant, and also mixed in the 

 same head ! In A. diffusus and several other species the colors 

 change directly from yellow to purple. Here we have, accord- 

 ing to that theory, the lowest color and " the latest fabrication " 

 growing side by side under exactly the same conditions, and 

 yet no white or intervening color between them ! 



But in regard to the central florets of Maruta Cotula, not- 

 withstanding the very short tube and the usually well-covered 

 corolla, it has been noticed that the yellow is much paler at 

 the base, and, moreover, some specimens growing in the 

 shade were found in which the tube showed no yellow. Then, 

 too, Aster diffusus has central florets varying from deep yellow 

 to nearly white. If specimens of this lightish variety growing 

 in the shade, as, for instance, in a grove or open wood, are 

 examined, flowers can easily be obtained without a trace of 

 yellow in corolla or stamens, and of that apparently colorless 

 but really faint white character noticed in Spiranthes gracilis. 

 The tubes of several of the larger species, as Aster Novtz 

 Anglice, A. Herveyi, etc., and Senecio vulgaris, are at first white. 



There is a greater natural tendency to yellow than to red or 

 blue, as shown in the number of yellow-colored flowers, which 

 exceed all others but white. The color, too, responds very 

 quickly to the sunlight, and varies in the smaller Asters, ac- 

 cording to the amount of light. Why this tendency exists is 

 not known, but certainly yellow in its lightest shades is nearer 

 to white than any other color — so near that the eye cannot de- 

 tect its commencement, and on that account alone it would 

 seem to be most natural to diverge in that direction. 



A breeder of Cochin fowls of large experience, and himself 

 an artist, and therefore well versed in color, informed the 

 writer that to obtain a perfectly white color the fowls must be 

 kept in the shade, and that if exposed to the sun the white be- 

 came a straw-color ! Another artist remarked : " Yellow color 

 has a great deal of sunlight." 



The foregoing examples are of themselves ample proof that 

 yellow is derived from white ; but if any one should prefer to 

 see with his own eyes the actual development of a rich, pure 

 yellow from a snow-white petal his wish can be gratified ; let 

 him observe Lonicera Chinensis Halli, now very common in 

 our gardens. This flower opens a pure white corolla, with 

 pure white stamens and pistil ; almost immediately a change 

 of color begins — the precise moment it would be difficult for 

 human eyes to determine— and in a few hours both corolla and 

 stamens become a beautiful yellow. The flower has not wilted 

 nor faded in the least, but, while still fresh, the transformation 

 from white to yellow has been accomplished. Both the pure 

 white and the pure yellow blossoms, with intermediate shades, 

 can always be seen at the same time upon the same vine, the 

 yellow continuing fresh several days. Some flowers show 

 color in the bud, others delay their permanent coloration, like 

 the Fringed Gentian, which is green in the bud and only be- 

 comes blue as it unfolds its fringed lobes to the sunlight ; 

 others still, like Cobea scandens, do not change the green 

 corolla for a day or two after full expansion. 



With the example of Lonicera Chinensis Halli, before one, 

 the evidence is complete. There appears to be a misappre- 

 hension regarding the prevalence of yellow-flowered species ; 

 they are not as supposed, at least in this region, in excess of 

 white; the writer, in his "Flora of New Bedford and the Shores 

 of Buzzard's Bay," estimated their number to be equal to the 

 white ; but in that estimate the main color only was counted, 

 as, for instance, a flower with a white ground and purple dots 

 or streaks was called purple ; a Thistle, with a chalky white 

 tube much longer than the colored part, was counted rose- 

 purple, and disk tubular florets were not counted in ; if, how- 

 ever, each species were credited with all its colors, it is plain 

 from the preceding and following examples, which show white 

 in nearly every instance, that that color greatly predominates, 

 and, of course, it cannot be said that " nearly all stamens," if 

 filaments are intended, "are yellow," when not more than 

 one-third of the flowers are of that color. The proportion, 

 however, in tropical or arctic regions may vary from this. 



Greenish yellow in petals appears to result from imperfect 

 elimination of chlorophyl from the thicker parts of the petals, 

 such as the veins, etc. The effect is seen in white flowers, as 

 Chelone and Parnassus, also in Fringed Gentian, where the 



green, frequently remaining on the outside of the lobes, gives 

 them a dingy appearance, or it may result from the develop- 

 ment of some blue in a yellow ground, as purples often follow 

 yellow. 



Red.— We now direct our attention to the reds, which are 

 the easiest of all the colors to trace, for the reason that the 

 change can always be seen in progress, and that whereas the 

 inception of yellow in its lightest shades cannot be detected, 

 any one can recognize a red on a white ground. It will re- 

 quire but a few illustrations to prove what is already so well 

 known, that red is derived from white, namely : 



Achillea Millefolium. Turns from white to rose ; speci- 

 mens occurring wholly rose-colored. 



Rhododendron viscosum. White Swamp Honeysuckle is 

 often tinged with pink, while R. nudiflorum is wholly pink. 



Burdocks. Both white and red occur on the same plant. 



White Clover becomes red. 



White Pond Lily (Nymphtza) becomes pink in varieties. 



Cornus florida has a pink variety. 



Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora. Changes from white 

 to red. 



Daucus Carota is generally tinged with red on its outer 

 circle of umblets as it opens, and in, perhaps the majority of 

 cases, the central floret of the entire umbel, composed of 1,000 

 or more separate flowers, is usually of a reddish color. 



Saponaria officinalis has a white base. 



Pluchea camphorata. Base of perfect tubular flowers, color- 

 less to white ; the lobes only are reddish. 



Many plants, commonly red, often revert to white, as, Ge- 

 rardia purpurea, Cnicus pumilus, Polygala sanguinea, Rosa 

 Carolina, Spiraa tomentosa, Convolvulus sepium, and others 

 fade to nearly white ; and it is a fact proved from observation, 

 that yellow, red and blue colors all fade toward white. 



Blue. — All of the following blue or purple flowers have 

 their tubes or the bases of the corollas of a white color : 



Lobelia inflata. Base white ; also the tube of garden 

 Lobelia. 



Trichostema dichotomum. Lower half lip and tube white. 



Sisyrinchium. Occurs white. 



Lathyrtcs maritimus. Keel white. 



Liatris scariosa. Tube white. 



Gentiana crinita. Base white. 



Ilysanthes riparia. Tube white. 



Chicory. Has a nearly white eye. 



Mikania scandens. Varies from white to red-purple. 



Cakile. Claw colorless to faint white ; limb purple. 



Brunella. Throat and tube white. 



Aster patens. Shows white at base, forming a whitish eye. 



Morning Glory (Ipomcea). Tube white. 



Centaurea Cyanus (Batchelor's Button or Corn-flower). Base 

 of central florets half pure white and half pure blue. This is a 

 very interesting study ; the white turns rose-color, the rose 

 coalesces with the blue, and the whole becomes purple. 



It is a common occurrence that when blue and red develop 

 nearly simultaneously, or even in adjacent parts of the flower, 

 that they soon blend into purple. A blue Morning Glory of a 

 light color changes to a very light red-purple, and a dark blue 

 one changes to a dark purple. Other instances are seen in 

 Symphytum officinale, Lathyrus maritimus and in many of 

 the Asters, etc. Colors are affected by the proximity of other 

 colors; the reds in a Turk's-cap Lily, -the "honey-guides" in 

 Oxalis and the " eye " in Coreopsis, all having a yellow founda- 

 tion, are not so vivid as the reds in white flowers. The honey 

 guides in a white Snap Dragon of the gardens are light lemon- 

 color, in Gerardia tenuifolia a darker yellow, in a light blue 

 Lobelia a different tone of yellow, and in a dark blue Lobelia 

 they are substantially green. 



One exception only has been found in our wild flowers 

 where the base apparently was not white, namely, Myosotis 

 palustris (True Forget-me-not). Here the tube is clearly 

 yellow, but the blue lobes are not attached in the usual man- 

 ner, that is, on the end of the tube, making one continuous 

 cylinder, but the tube extends above the lobes, forming a 

 crown, while the lobes are attached a little below on the out- 

 side of the tube, giving them an exceptional character. This 

 flower is also remarkable in color changes ; the lobes of the 

 corolla, at first white, become tinged with rose and then 

 change to pure blue, while the tube remains yellow. Thus 

 four colors appear in its development. It is no more difficult 

 to believe that this yellow tube was originally white than that 

 other whole-yellow flowers were derived from white. The 

 blue, it will be noticed, was derived from white, and a small 

 portion remains at the base of the lobes. In Centaurea it also 

 should be noticed that blue appears much before red, as it 

 does also in Ipomcea. There was discovered in an examina- 



