WILD FLOWERS BLUE AND PURPLE 
colour, and several yellow-tipped stamens are set effec- 
tively within the corolla. The tips of the five-parted 
green calyx just show at the edge of theblossom. One 
or two flowers open at a time throughout the summer. 
The Salt Marsh Sand Spurry or Seaside Sandwort, 
S. marina, is a similar species, having numerous, lighter 
coloured flowers. The stalk is much branched, and 
grows from four to eight inches high. ‘The leaves are 
very fleshy and the roots are fibrous. It is found in. 
salt marshes along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, 
and in saline regions of the interior, during the summer. 
HEPATICA. LIVERLEAF. KIDNEY-LEAF. 
NOBLE LIVERWORT 
Hepdtica triloba. Crowfoot Family. 
The well-developed flower beds of the Liverworts can 
hardly await the final thaw and the first warm rain to 
start them as pace-makers in Nature’s annual spring 
race for first honours. They are probably the earliest 
of our spring flowers, earlier even than the Bloodroot, 
and if we except the cold, stiff and unattractive Skunk 
Cabbage, the beautiful Hepaticas invariably lead them 
all. The buds must necessarily have many favour- 
able conditions to cause their early appearance. The 
leaves of the passing year do not wither and dry up 
like those of most wild flowers. Instead, they sur- 
vive the winter, and who will deny the reasoning 
that they contribute no small part toward the early 
appearance of the flowers. The evergreen leaves offer 
shelter from the frosts and assist in accumulating. 
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