18923. The Philosophy of Flower Seasons. 777 
structure is the Sarracenia. It blossoms in latest May and 
early June. Among the earliest blossoms is the so abundant 
little normal type, Claytonia.: ' Viola is a large, distinctive, and 
cosmopolitan genus, rather specialized-normal in character. 
Oddly enough it has species in bloom from April to October, 
some blossoming both spring and fall, besides producing 
cleistogamous flowers all summer. Yet even in so constantly 
present blossoms we easily recognize a period during which 
they reach by far their greatest abundance and perfection, viz. : 
May and June. Two unique orders belong to summer, 
Cistaceze and Hypericaces, the second the later and remark- 
able particularly for its polyadelphous stamens. The incom- 
plete flowered Urticacee belong mainly to summer, all save 
the group of spring-flowering shrubs and trees, Morus, Celtis, 
Planera, and Ulmus. All these are diclinous or polygamous, 
and Ulmus seems to possibly and probably connect its order 
with the Diclinz,—like these it flowers in March and early 
April. Turning back to the near relatives of the Ranun- 
culacese we find in mid-summer the aquatic genera Cabomba, 
Brasenia, Nympheea, Nuphar, and Nelumbo, all specialized- 
normal, practicularly Nelumbo, the “latest to flower. The 
so-called .Discifloral Hypogyns rank somewhat above such 
typical forms as the Ranunculacee and Cruciferz, and among 
them stand several important summer orders :—Caryophyl- 
lace: ; Malvaceg ; the strange Euphorbiaceæ of July, August, 
and Saptember; and the Geraniaces, of which the aberrant 
Impatiens is latest. Anacardiacee belong to June. But the 
two tree-families, Tiliacee and Sapindace come in spring and 
early June. 
In the Perigynz the preéminently normal and typical order 
is Rosacem, standing here as the Ranunculacee among 
Hypogyne. Somewhat later than the latter order in starting 
the Rosace: reach perfection in late May and through June. 
At much the same time, but scattered along later into the 
summer, comes the less normal order Saxifragaces, of which 
the aberrant genus Parnassia, an odd little type, holds an iso- 
lated place in the late autumn flora. The distinctive order 
Leguminose, by far the most numerous of our Choripetale, 
