IRIS FAMILY 



But to the Greek, whose oneness with nature is still the marvel of 

 the ages, spring came in the cup of the Crocus, in the trumpets 

 of narcissus and amaryllis. They to him showed "the first 

 coming of the breath of a renewed herbage, and they are the 



only golden flowers that are to 

 bum on the trees and float on 

 the streams of paradise." 



Instead of a bulb like the 

 daffodil the Crocus has a solid 

 corm, which is a depressed and 

 thickened stem. From this 

 corm arise the grass-like leaves 

 in a bundle, the outer series 

 wrapping the inner and giving 

 such support to each other that 

 they really do duty as a stem. 

 The flowers and leaves arrive 

 in the upper world together and 

 like the snowdrop arise early in 

 the year. The flower will open 

 while the snow and frost are 

 still supreme; its own little spot 

 must be warm, it matters not 

 how much cold there is else- 

 where. 



However much the Crocuses 

 ■ are hybridized, the changes 

 come chiefly in size and color; 

 the structure of the flower, so 

 far, has not been broken down. 

 The blossom rises amid the leaves; and the long tube with six 

 segments, three stamens, and long style, appears in every species. 

 The stamens stand up against the style, the anthers open along 

 their outer faces, and the stigmas arch slightly over them. The 

 anthers mature first. As the flower gets older the stigmas bend 

 apart and press down between the anthers in such a way that they 



90 



Crocus. Crbcus verna. Half of Entire Plant 



