THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



99 



original plant we find that the numerous 

 leaves are almost all radical, spreading 

 in a rosette-like cluster directly from 

 the root. The dilated base of the 

 leaf-stalk forms a clasping sheath, and 

 the long petiole is less or more furrowed 

 on the upper side, the blade varies very 

 much in shape, being sometimes when 

 young quite round, then kidney, heart, 

 or arrow-shaped, with prolonged back- 

 ward lobes, the spreading or convergent 

 character of which has been deemed 

 sufficient to break the species up into 

 two varieties, incumbens, and divergens, 

 but the differences are too inconstant 

 to be relied on. Although the leaves 

 of the pilewort are always entire, 

 they show a little of the batter- 

 cup tendency to become lobed 

 or angled by the slightly wavy 

 or crenate margin. The distribution 

 of the veins in the leaf forms a beau- 

 tifully delineated network. Yiewed 

 against the light they are seen to be 

 pellucid, and every detail of the tracery 

 stands out with charming distinctness. 

 The light green colour of the surface 

 is often, although not invariably, 

 splashed with lighter patches, and 

 these again are frequently marked 

 with dark, almost black blotches, like 

 the markings on a plover's egg. The 

 flowers are borne singly on long stalks. 

 At first sight they seem to spring 

 from the root, like the primrose ; but 

 in vigorous plants several flowering 

 stems are seen to spread in different 



directions, each as it lengthens pro- 

 ducing two or three solitary flowers 

 which spring from the axils of succes- 

 sive leaves. The flower itself is ex- 

 cessively variable, and forms an ex- 

 cellent text for various evolutionary 

 theories. The number of the parts of 

 the outer whorls are very inconstant : 

 although there aie usually three sepals 

 on the calyx, it is not uncommon to 

 find four or five. They are always 

 small and of a light yellowish green. 

 The petals vary from six to twelve, 

 nine being perhaps the most common 

 number. They are oblong in shape, 

 of a bright yellow colour on the inner 

 side, the surface having that highly 

 glazed or varnished appearance, and 

 with the little scale or nectary at the 

 base, which is characteristic of the true 

 buttercups. The lower third of the 

 petal is often of a darker shade, form- 

 ing a livid ring around the disk. When 

 fully expanded, the flower measures an 

 inch-and-a-half in diameter, and then, 

 as Wordsworth has happily expressed 

 it, they might stand as the type of the 

 rising sun on village signboards. The 

 blossoms close at night and only open 

 freely to the bright sunshine. After 

 fertilisation the petals fade white, roll 

 back, shrivel up, and soon drop off. 

 The outer surface of the petals are 

 usually of a yellowish green ; but very 

 frequently, especially in robust plants, 

 they are of a dark purple or chocolate 

 colour : this is especially noticeable in 



