POPPY FAMILY 
PAPAVERACE/E 
EvEeRYONE who has seen the Poppies of our gar- 
dens in blossom has had an excellent opportunity. 
to note the chief characteristics of the Poppy 
family. As the blossom buds appear each flower 
is covered by two large sepals, which generally 
fall off when the petals open. There are com- 
monly four to six or more petals, which also fall 
off rather early in the development of the flower, 
being succeeded by the capsule-like fruit in which 
the numerous tiny seeds are produced. All mem- 
bers of the family are herbaceous plants and have 
a sap which is milky or colored in appearance. 
The group contains comparatively few of our wild 
flowers, although some of them are very beautiful. 
Biooproot. The Bloodroot is one of the ear- 
liest, as it is one of the most evanescent, of the 
spring blossoms. In the south it “ takes the winds 
of March with beauty” while farther north it 
comes with the April showers. When the leaf 
first appears it is curled over the blossom, enclos- 
ing its delicate tissue until both leaf and flower 
are well above the soil surface. Then, even be- 
fore the leaf has time to flatten out, the bud shoots 
upward to unfold its linear petals of glowing 
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