290 
YOU ARE MY DIVINITY. 
AMERICAN COWSLIP. 
Smile like a knot of cowslips on the cliff. 
BLAIR. 
The elegant stem of a single root of this 
plant springs from the centre of a rosette of 
large leaves couched on the earth. In April 
it is crowned with twelve pretty flowers with 
the cups reversed. Linnaeus has given it 
the name of “ Dodecatheon,” which sig- 
fies “ twelve divinities,” a name perhaps 
somewhat too extravagant for a small plant 
so modest in its appearance. An American 
writer says that, in their indigenous soil, 
they resemble a cluster of bright yellow po¬ 
lyanthuses. “ Our gold cowslips,” he adds, 
“ look like a full branch of large clustering 
king-cups ; they carelessly raise themselves 
on their firm stalks, their corollas gazing up¬ 
ward to the changing spring sky, as they 
grow amidst their pretty leaves of vivid 
green. They adorn almost every meadow, 
and shed a glow of beauty wherever they 
spring.” 
