86 FAMILIAR GAEDEX FLOWERS. 



situation. The indented petals^ the acute segments of the 

 calyx — which sometimes exceed the length of the petals — 

 the five-divided root-leaves, and three-divided stem-leaves, 

 are signs by which this pretty plant may be known, and 

 of which P. rerna may be regarded as a small edition. 

 Another near relation is Potentilla anserina, or goose- 

 grass, a most beautiful plant, that geese have the good 

 sense to appreciate, for they eat it, as the books say, 

 " with avidity/' The roots of this potentilla have been 

 eaten as bread in times of scarcity in Northern Europe, 

 and in places where the plant grows with vigour they are 

 worth cooking as a table vegetable. As a garden plant 

 VolentiUa anserina has considerable merit; its silveiy 

 leaves are beautiful, and the yellow flowers are peculiar 

 in texture, and their colour singularly pure. Pot eni ilia 

 f^plendewH and P. gracilis closely resemble P. aljiestri-i. 



Having thus stumbled into the midst of the poten- 

 tillas, we shall embrace the opportunity to recommend 

 P. pynniuica, a fine plant, bearing golden flowers; 

 P . mtida, a silvery-leaved plant with extremely j)i'ett\- 

 rose-coloured flowers ; and P . calahrica, also silvery- 

 leaved with yellow flowers. But the glory of this family 

 is P. atrosanguinea, the blood-red cinquefoil, that the 

 florists have toyed with until they have secured manv 

 showy varieties with scarlet, crimson, orange, and jnirjjle- 

 eoloured flowers of the most brilliant character, and all 

 of them adapted for growing in the common border. The 

 common avens, or Herb-Bennet, of the English woods, 

 (ienm urhaHum, although not good enough for the 

 garden, bears a near resemblance to the plant before us. 

 At certain times it is decidedly pretty, but its petals 

 fall so soon that, unless we see it in a certain state of 



