BUTTERCUP FAMILY—WATER LILY FAMILY 5 
plants are only a few inches tall and grow in wet or alkaline soil 
at 3000-10000 ft. 
PASQUE FLOWER  PULSATILLA HIRSUTISSIMA 
Plate 3, fig. 5 
The Pasque Flower is one of the earliest spring blossoms, as is in- 
dicated by the name which is from the French for Easter. The word 
“Pulsatilla” means wind flower and indicates its relationship to the 
anemones. The color of the flower ranges from whitish through pale 
blue or pink to purple. By the end of spring, the flowers have all 
developed into beautiful feathery clusters of fruits, very like those of 
the Clematis. The plants are 6-15 in. high and densely covered with 
fuzzy white hairs. They occur abundantly on plains and foothills 
and in mountain meadows at 4000-10000 ft. The Pasque Flower is 
the state flower of South Dakota and is sometimes cultivated in gard- 
ens. 
WATER LILY FAMILY 
YELLOW WATER LILY NYMPHAEA POLYSEPALA 
Plate 3, fig. 4 
Water-lilies are not lilies at all but are very like buttercups in the 
structure of the flower. The famous Lotus Flower of the Nile is a 
water-lily. The flowers of the Rocky Mountain species are yellow, 
tinged with red. They may be found from May to August, floating 
on the surface of lakes and slow streams up to 11000 ft. The seeds 
from the large mucilaginous pods are used as food by the Indians of 
the Northwest. They are dried and roasted, after which they taste 
very much like popcorn, or they may be ground into meal and made 
into porridge or bread. Nymphaea means “water nymph” and refers 
to the home of the plant. 
