WHITE AND GREENISH WILD FLOWERS 
unless it could change its mode of living, it would soon 
become extinct. Such is the law governing the sur- 
vival of the fittest. 
The Tall Meadow Rue is noted for its beautiful, 
fern-like and feathery flowers which grow in great pro- 
fusion. It is open and branching. and its general 
appearance is loose and delicate. The compound 
leaves are comparatively small for the size of the plant, 
and remind one a little of the Maiden-hair Fern. The 
variable, rounding, wedge-shaped leaflets are arranged 
in groups of three or five, and three or five of these 
groups are again arranged to form the triangulated out- 
line of the complete leaf, which occurs alternately upon 
the stalk. The outline of the leaflets is entire except- 
ing the ends, which are notched into pointed or rounded 
lobes. The centre leaflet of each group is larger than 
the one occurring on either side of it. The colour is a 
cool, medium green above, and of a lighter shade on the 
under side. ‘The texture is firm and rather thin, and 
the surface is smooth and lustreless. The under side 
is minutely hairy and shows a fine network of veins. 
The stalk is rather stout, finely grooved, and round, 
and its colour is light green, stained with purple near 
the joints. The delicate, fairy-like flowers are arranged 
loosely in large, fluffy clusters and their appearance is 
at once attractive and pleasing. ‘They have no petals, 
but four or five early falling petal-like sepals act for a 
short time in their place. The white, hair-like, green 
tipped stamens are very numerous and expand into 
pretty, fuzzy, starry, and delicately scented balls. 
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