ALPINE FLOWERS. 



31 



it is an important plant, as it flowers and dies down before the 

 fronds of the ferns sprout forth. The double variety (fig. 676) is also 

 beautiful, but I think the single has the greater charm. The flower 

 has a faint odour, which some persons cannot detect. ' The anemones 

 of Italy (fig. 677), which literally carpet the ground near Rome, are 

 grand flowers. Well do I remember the delight with which I first saw 



Fig. 675- — Anemone 

 nemorosa. 



Fig. 676. — A. nemorosa 

 (double). 



Fig, 677. — Purple Anemone 

 of Italy. 



them in the island of Capri ; and afterwards, at Rome, the eagerness with 

 which I possessed myself of roots, when the ground was literally 

 covered with them, at the celebrated Villa Doria. The Anemone 

 apennina (fig. 678) gives vivid sky-blue flowers. The A. Pulsatilla, or 

 Pasque flower (fig. 679), is a true native of Britain, and is said to grow 

 on chalk downs. The A. pahnata (fig. 680) is another beautiful species. 



T 



Fig. 678. — A. apennina. Fig. 679. — A. Pulsatilla. Fig. 680. — A. palmata. 



Amongst the bulbous plants, the Camassia esculenta (fig. 68 1), a plant 

 that grows on the west coast of North America, is particularly inter- 

 esting, as it constitutes the chief vegetal food of the Indians. The 

 flower itself is very simple, but nevertheless very attractive to me, and 

 I prize my plant far beyond its intrinsic worth. 



