176 THE OPEN BOOK OF NATURE 
poor affairs ; usually a little so fc in a hollow 
in a bank near water. F 
I suppose you know the Yellow Tris (Iris pseud- 
acorus), the flowers of which are sometimes called 
“ Flags.” I see a clump growing down there on the 
moist ground by the brook. The leaves of this 
plant are like swords. There are plenty of buds, 
but no flowers yet; some buds are beginning to 
burst, and a few flowers will be open in less than a 
week if the weather continues favourable. The Iris 
is a true Monocotyledon ; it could not be mistaken 
for anything else. Its beautiful showy yellow 
flowers glorify damp and muddy places, which, 
without them, would be thought uninteresting, and 
far from wholesome. The styles of the pistil of the 
Iris are very like petals, so much so that the unskilled 
observer might declare they were petals. I have 
known two or three persons who used to collect Iris 
seeds and roast them ; they said they made a good 
substitute for coffee. 
& The Water Avens (Geum rivale) grows abundantly 
at the side of the brook. This is a member of the 
Rose tribe, Natural Order Rosacese. The flowers, 
which have a drooping habit, have a dull appear- 
ance, the calyx being tinged with a dull purple, 
while the petals are a blend of purple, pink, and 
orange. The name of the plant is a clear indication 
of its love of damp places, particularly by the sides 
of streams. Our friend “ Johns ” gives the months 
of June and July as the flowering time of the Water 
Avens, but I have’seen it in splendid bloom as early 
as April 30, and it has flowered by this brook during 
the whole of the present month (May). 
