The Globe Flower 



Globe Flower never properly expands. 

 The stamens lie concealed within, and 

 we like to know that they are there, 

 but they will scarce be seen till the 

 beauty of the flower is gone. The clear 

 moonlight tint is something like that of 

 the Mimosa, and is one of the most ex- 

 quisite we know. It makes us think of 

 some strange metal in which gold and 

 silver are combined, and there is further 

 a metallic cast about the plant which 

 enforces this suggestion — a peculiar hue, 

 and a smoothness in the stems and leaf- 

 stalks as we slip them through our fingers, 

 like the smoothness of a brazen wire. 

 All this fits in admirably with the dark 

 green leaves and cool poisonous habits of 

 the Ranunculacese. The strength of the 

 Globe Flower accordingly lies in the im- 

 pressive brightness, the large size and 

 peculiar form of the blossom, and in the 

 general smoothness and compactness, and 

 the darkness and keenness of the leaves. 

 Nothing about it looks common from the 

 first moment of its issuing from the 

 ground. And see how peculiarly those 

 leaves are dotted in the angles for em- 

 phasis. We find the same thing in the 

 Buttercup {^Ranunculus repens), with which 

 the Globe Flower may be advantageously 

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