April 8, 1905,] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
27 Q 
The April Wild Flowers. 
No event in the whole calendar of the year is of 
more significance to the lover of the outer world than 
the finding of the first wild flower. It makes little 
difference what the species is, so that it is really a 
blossom from which we may learn that spring at last 
has come. It is the more welcome, however, when the 
flower is a' familiar one, around which unconsciously 
cluster memories of other days, and fortunately, so 
regular is the sequence of the seasons, the first blos- 
som we find is likely to be one of two or three kinds 
with which we have long been familiar. 
Of these first spring flowers, the Hepatica or Liver- 
leaf is perhaps the one most likely to be found. Al- 
though in many places it is strangely local in its distri- 
bution, yet it is distributed over a very wide range and 
is familiar to a great number of people. It certainly 
is a very fitting leader for the light-footed procession 
that is to follow through the golden days of spring. 
All winter the buds have waited, with seeming im- 
patience, the word to start, and as soon as the snow 
begins to disappear upon the southern slopes, they 
creep upward, the three large bracts that cover the 
blossom open slightly and the tender flowers unclose, 
revealing the pollen and seed-laden treasures within. 
The flowers are freely visited by various bees and flies 
which are abroad during the sunshiny hours of early 
spring. These visitors gather pollen in abundance, 
and possibly they also get a little nectar as a reward 
for their helpful work in cross-pollination — or cross- 
breeding by the transfer of pollen from one plant to 
another. 
The variation in the color of the blossoms is one 
of the most interesting things about the Hepatica. 
Some are ptu'e white; others have a pinkish lilac hue, 
and others — especially those exposed to direct sunshine 
— exhibit lovely tones of lavender and mauve. There 
seems to be little difference in these color variations in 
the two American species of Hepatica which are now 
generally recognized — the Round-lobed Liverleaf and 
the Sharp-lobed Liverleaf. 
It may be that the Bloodroot is the first wild flower 
you find. For this is one of the earliest, as it is one 
BLUETS. 
of the most evanescent of the spring blossoms. In 
the South it "takes the winds of March with beauty," 
while further north it comes with the April showers. 
The tender blossoms arise from between the folded 
leaves, being at first enclosed between two large sepals 
which drop off when the petals open. _ These flowers 
are very sensitive to atmospheric conditions, closing at 
the slightest suggestion of dampness and opening 
broadly only in the clearest weather. During then- 
brief existence the flowers are freely visited by small 
bees and flies, which are rewarded with pollen. These 
visits generally bring about the cross-pollination of the 
flowers because the pistils mature before the stamens 
shed their pollen. 
In a few favored localities one may be so fortunate 
as to find for the first wild flower the beautiful little 
Snowy Trillium or Early Wakerobin. This, however, 
is not a very widespread species, occurring especially m 
the Middle Western- States, where it is decidedly local 
in its distribution. It grows in damp woods and along 
river banks, and it seems a miniature reproduction of 
the common Large-flowered Wakerobin or _ White 
Trillium. It is scarcely more than six inches high, the 
pure white blossoms being held upon a short stem. 
Only once have I ever seen this flower growing wfld, 
when in March a friend showed it to me along the 
bank of a small river in central Ohio. 
To a large proportion of the people of New England 
the first spring blossom is the Mayflower or Traihng 
Arbutus. Probably no other plant in the whole coun- 
try serves to send so many people on spring pilgrim- 
ages as this. Having interesting historical associa- 
tions, and a delightful odor which greatly enhances the 
charm of its delicate beauty, it is not strange that, to 
Ihe average New Englander, the Mayflower is the 
wild flower of spring. It is also of absorbing interest 
to several species of queen bumble bees .which are 
abroad during the late April and the early .May days, 
and which hunt persistently for the Arbutus blossoms, 
rifling them ol the sweet nectar which they hold and 
carrying it to the hidden nest where the bee is storing 
up food for her future progeny. 
The flowers of the Arbutus are also of decided in- 
terest to the nature student, who finds that there is a 
curious diversity in the structure of the stamens and 
MAY FLOWER OR TRAILING ARBUTUS. 
pistils, which indicate that the plant has not yet 
reached a perfect adaptation to its conditions of life. 
He also sees in the transverse hairs found on the in- 
side of the flower-cup a device for excluding ants and 
other short-tongued insects which would be likely to 
rob the flower of its nectar without paying for the 
same by carrying pollen to other blossoms. 
On one or two occasions my first spring wild 
■flower has been the beautiful little Bluets or Innocence, 
the slight and delicious fragrance of which has given 
it in some localities the fitting name of Babies' Breath. 
It is in some sheltered corner of a pasture where the 
woods keep off the chill spring winds, and the after- 
noon sun beats down with an almost summer heat, 
that you are likely to find these early Bluets. Some- 
times near at hand there will be an adventurous garter 
snake basking at full length in the warm sunshine, ap- 
parentl}' very grateful for it after the long, cold months 
of hibernation. It will be several weeks later before 
the Bluets really come into their own, when they will 
tinge the hillsides with their white blossoms in a way 
to remind you of a belated snowfall. 
No consideration of the flowers of early spring would 
be adequate which did not include some reference to 
that strange plant, which we are scarcely willing to 
recognize as a flower, although it has as much right to 
that title, so far as its structure is concerned, as has 
the familiar Calla Lilly of our conservatories. I refer 
of course to the Swamp Cabbage or the Skunk Cab- 
bage. This is really the first herbaceous plant to dis- 
cover the return of spring. I have often found it in 
WOOD ANEMONE. 
full bloom in sunny corners of bogs, where near at 
hand, beneath the shade, an abundance of ice was to 
be found. In their structure, the flowers of this plant 
are peculiar. The large, hood-like part which cor- 
responds to the white portion of the Calla Lily, is 
called the spathe; inside of it there is a rounded mass 
called the spadix. This spadix is completely covered by 
the tiny florets in which the pistils mature before the 
stamens. The pollen is shed in great abundance in the 
closed chamber of the spathe, so that it may easily be 
carried to other plants through the visits of insects, 
though there is little likelihood of its being blown 
from plant to plant. Certain small flies find inside the 
Cabbage blossoms shelter and|warmth, consequently at 
night and in damp weather these flies seek such snug 
retreats, where they become covered with pollen, which 
they finally carry to other plants. - 
Soon after the very earliest of. the spring wild flowers 
have become abundant, a group of most attractive 
species begins to blossom. To a considerable extent 
these are found in" different situations from each other, 
each giving to its particular habitat a charm that could 
be given by no other flower.- 
One of the most widely distributed and generally 
attractive of this group of blossoms is the Wood An- 
emone. In open groves and along the margins of 
woods and by-ways this delightful flower hangs its 
fragile blossom in the path of every breeze, and justifies 
its name Anemone, or wind flower, by the grace with 
which it swings upon its slender stalk. These flowers 
are attractive not alone to human eyes, for they are 
seen and visited by many bees and flies which collect 
pollen and apparently also nectar from the inside of 
the blossoms. In the Wood- Anemone there is but a 
single flower to each plant. The perennial root stock 
is continually spreading out in all directions and send- 
ing up leaves, which eventually develop into blossom- 
l^earing plants. 
The group of flowers with which the Anemone comes 
into blossom appear when most of the trees are push- 
ing their buds out into leaves. Dr. Van Dyke has well 
expressed this time of blooming in these well-known 
lines: , 
"The flocks of young Anemones 
Are dancing round the budding trees." 
The Rue Anemone, which was lately graced with the 
delightful scientific name Anemonella, is found over 
much the same range as the Wood Anemone, and in 
much the same situations. It is at once known on ac- 
count of having several blossoms on each plant. These 
blossoms individually are smaller than those of the 
other sort. The main leaves are compound, and arise 
directly from the roots, which are small tubers that 
look like miniature sweet potatoes. In this respect the 
■MARSH MARIGOLD. 
Rue Anemone differs from a somewhat similar plant 
found in the Middle Western States and called the 
False Rue Anemone. In this latter sort the roots are 
fibrous, and the flowers are somewhat larger. 
In open groves and along the margins of the deeper 
woods, especially if the soil is somewhat moist, one 
should look for that most delightful of wild flowers, the 
Spring Beauty. Although there are two species of 
these plants, called, rather unfortunately, the Carolina 
Spring Beauty and the Virginia Spring Beauty, they 
are curiously local in their distribution.. Where found 
at all, they are generally abundant, and their range ex- 
tends throughout the eastern United States. But it is 
only here and there in many of these States that they 
occur. 
Along the margins of streams, and in fields from 
which the forest has recently been cleared, one may 
often find the tender grace of the Yellow Trout Lily 
or Adder's Tongue or Dog's Tooth Violet, as the 
flower is variously called. In every part this plant 
is full of grace and beauty. The smooth and shining 
leaves, the slender stem, the bell-like blossom, the 
color of both leaf and flower, all combine to form a 
picture of exceeding charm. To one who has felt the 
fascination of this blossom, it always brings a new 
delight as season after season it springs up in its ac- 
customed places at that turn of the year which is fullest 
of hope and inspiration. 
The Anemones, the Spring Beauties, and the Trout 1 
Lilies appeal to one both in groups and as individuals^; 
but the Marsh Marigolds, which come into bloom i 
about the same time, make their appeal through the . 
decorative effect of broad masses. As individuals, they . 
lack the grace and charm of their upland sisters, but 
by the very virtue of their brilliant coloring, and their 
somewhat coarse structure they are able to adorn, the 
landscape more effectively than any other spring flowers. 
There are two situations in which the Marsh Marigolds 
are especially effective; one is when they outline the 
course of a shallow meadow stream, appearing as a 
