Anemone.
the growth of the anemone. The plant may be found in flower during the months of March, April, and May, the blossoms being pure white, with a bright yellow centre, and the outer surface of the sepals of a delicate purple tinge. It abounds in moist woods throughout the country, generally in such profusion as to cover large tracts of ground with a snowy whiteness; and the plant being perennial, we shall, when it is once established in any spot, find it regularly recurring as each spring-time comes round. The manner of growth of the anemone is very distinct and characteristic, and not being subject to any variation, cannot well be modified in the employment of the plant in ornamental art without destroying its individuality, as from the single stem thrown up from the ground three equal-sized leaves, identical in form, are produced from a point about six inches from the soil, and the stalk is then continued for about the same distance again before bearing at its summit its single flower; each and every plant, therefore, consists of a central stem, a terminal flower, and about midway up the stem a group of three leaves. This rigid law, though extremely beautiful in itself, and admirably adapted for treatment for some ornamental purposes, may, perhaps, somewhat restrict its use in decorative art. We are not aware of any examples of its employment in past art. In our illustration, the plan of the plant, the view with which we are most familiar, as we see it in its natural position, is shown, having the single central flower, and below it the three leaves radiating from the stem. It will be found that this strong individuality of growth more especially adapts itself to the trefoil, or any other form based on the figure three.[A] The garden-anemone (A. coronaria) is an allied species of the same family, modified by cultivation: in its wild state it is a native of the South of Europe.
The Arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia), one of our most beautiful aquatic plants, must be so well known to our readers that any lengthened description of it will be superfluous. Its generic, specific, and English names all alike point out its leading characteristic, the beautiful arrow-headed shape of its leaves;—sagitta, Lat., an arrow. The calyx and corolla are each composed of three parts, the petals being a brilliant white, with a pale pink irregular blotch at their bases. The forms of the flowers, fruit, and leaves are all equally adapted for decorative purposes, though it does not appear to have received in the past the attention which its merits might very fairly claim, the only instances of its application in ornamental art with which we are acquainted being in a running band of ornament round a tomb, fourteenth century, in the cloisters, Burgos. The flowers are incorrectly represented in that example as having four petals, but the general effect is, nevertheless, very good. See E. B. 1436 and P. F. 72 for drawings of the natural plant.
Arrow-head.
The Arum (Arum maculatum) is a plant of very common occurrence throughout England, though rarely to be found either in Scotland or Ireland. It may be met with in shady groves and thickets, and nestled among the long grass and other herbage upon our hedge-banks. The plant will be found in flower during April and May; but from the mode of growth, and also from the pale green colour of the spathe surrounding the central organs, it is by no means conspicuous among the surrounding foliage. The upper portion of the central body or spadix—that part of it which is seen in our illustration—is generally of a dark crimson colour. The plant is far more likely to attract attention in the autumn and winter than during its season of flowering, as towards the close of the year the leaves of the arum die away, and the hedgerows also being stripped of the greater part of their
Arum.
foliage, we notice the brilliant scarlet berries of the present plant rising in a dense mass to the height of some three or four inches from the ground. If the fresh root of the plant be tasted, it excites a burning and pricking sensation in the mouth that will remain for several hours; and if sliced and applied to the skin, it will frequently produce blisters. This virulence, however, like the acrimonious principle met with in the leaves, yields to the influence of heat, and in former times an excellent starch was prepared from the root. In the writings of the old medical authors and poets we meet with the wild arum under a great variety of names, many of them, through the lapse of time and from disuse, being now meaningless to us; such, for example, as abron, janus, barba-aron, calf’s-foot, ramp, and wake-robin. A very common name for the plant at the present day with country children is lords-and-ladies; and an equally familiar name, both with children and also in descriptions of the plant in botanical works, is the cuckoo-pint: this may possibly allude to the slight resemblance of the enclosing spathe to a measure for liquids. Another old name for the plant is the starchwort, in obvious allusion to its domestic use. Like most other plants, it was held by the medical practitioners of the Middle Ages to possess very considerable and valuable remedial qualities. A small portion of the leaf, either dried or in the green state, was esteemed a sure remedy for the plague or any poison. “The water wherein the root hath been boiled, dropped into the eyes, cleanseth them from any film or mists which begin to hinder the sight,” or under circumstances to which the writer delicately hints, “when, by some chance, they become black and blue.” Though the bold, simple forms of the flower and bud and the rich arrow-headed shape of the leaves appear, in an especial manner, to fit it for valuable service in ornamental art, it has been but very rarely thus employed. Illustrations of the natural growth of the plant will be found in F. L. vol. ii. 63; S. C. 22; and P. F. 41.
The Avens (Geum urbanum), belonging to the same natural order, Rosaceæ, as the tormentil and wood-strawberry, possesses also the same peculiarity of flower, the petals being five in number, while the calyx is composed of five large segments, alternating with five others of a much smaller size. The root is very astringent in its nature, and of sufficient value to be included in the Materia Medica. The avens may be generally found growing in hedges and woods, flowering during June and July, and attaining to a height of from one to two feet. The leaves are very ornamental in character, and will, equally with the flowers, prove of valuable service to the designer. For illustrations of the growth of the plant refer to F. L. vol. ii. 36, and P. F. 81.