16 



FLOWERING. 



361. Examples. At Savannah the red maple, shad-bush, blood-root, flower in 

 February ; in the District of Columbia in March ; at Concord, N. H., in ApriL In 

 New England the witch-hazel flowers in February ; Hepatioa in April ; dogwood in 

 May ; elder in June ; lilies in July ; boneset in August ; asters and Sohdagos in 

 September and October ; and chrysanthemum in November. 



368. The floral olook. Bach plant has also its definite hours in the day for 

 opening its flowers and for closing them — ^for waking and sleeping ; and a careful 

 record of these facts (as once made by Linnasus) may seem to indicate the hour of 

 the day. Thus, 



The morning glory opens at (about) 2 A. M., and closes about 10 A. M. 



Rutland beauty " " 3 " " " 11 



Vegetable oyster " " 4 " " " 12 



Poppy " 



Bitter-sweet " 



"Water-lily " 



Scarlet pimpernel " 



Calendula arvensis " 



Arenaria rubra " 



Ornithogalum umbellatum " 



Passiflora coerulea " 



Pyrethrum " 



Marvel of Peru " 



SileuB noctiflora " 



Evening primrose " 



Lychnis vespertina " 



Cereus grandiflora " " 8 " 



369. The colors of flowers constitute one of tMir chief attrac- 

 tions, and are of special interest to the florist. By various modes of 

 culture lie may often change at will those colors, thus producing nu- 

 merous varieties, as in the tulip and dahlia. But in scientific descrip- 

 tions the colors are seldom employed as characteristics on account of 

 their variableness. 



370. Classification of colors. De Candolle divides the colors 

 of flowers into two series ; 1, those having yellow for their type and 

 capable of yarying to red and white, but never to blue ; 2, those having 

 blue for their type, and capable of varying to red and white, but not to 

 yellow. The first series is called Xanthic, the second, the Cyanic. 

 Both series commence with green (which is composed of blue and yel- 

 low) and end in red, thus : 



Green. 



Blue-green. 



Blue. 



Blue-violet. 



Violet. 



Violet-red. 



Red. 



Yellow-green. 



Yellow. 



Yellow-orange. 



Orange. 



Orange-red. 



