Then comes the pretty snow flower, or hepatica. Its
pretty tufts of white, pink, or blue starry flowers may be seen on the
open clearing, or beneath the shade of the half cleared woods or upturned
roots and sunny banks. Like the English daisy, it grows everywhere, and
the sight of its bright starry blossoms delights every eye. The next
flower that comes in is the dog's tooth violet." [Footnote: Erythronium]
"What a droll name!" exclaimed Lady Mary, laughing.
"I suppose it is called so from the sharpness of the flower leaves
(petals), my lady, but it is a beautiful yellow lily. The leaves are also
pretty, they are veined or clouded with milky white or dusky purple. The
plant has a bulbous root, and in the month of April sends up its single,
nodding, yellow spotted flowers. They grow in large beds, where the ground
is black, moist, and rich, near creeks on the edge of the forest."
"Do you know any other pretty flowers, nurse?"
"Yes, my lady, there are a great many that bloom in April and May. white
violets, and blue and yellow of many kinds. And then there is the spring
beauty, [Footnote: Claytonia] a delicate little flower, with pink striped
bells, and the everlasting flower, [Footnote: Graphalium] and saxifrage,
and the white and dark red lily, that the Yankees call 'white and red
death.
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