Liverwort. Liver-leaf.
Hepatica triloba. Crowfoot Family.
Scape.—Fuzzy, one-flowered. Leaves.—Rounded, three-lobed, from the root. Flowers.—Blue, white, or pinkish. Calyx.—Of six to twelve petal-like sepals; easily taken for a corolla, because directly underneath are three little leaves which resemble a calyx. Corolla.—None. Stamens.—Usually numerous. Pistils.—Several.
The liver-leaf puts forth her sister blooms
Of faintest blue—
soon after the late snows have melted. Indeed these fragile-looking, enamel-like flowers are sometimes found actually beneath the snow, and form one of the many instances which we encounter among flowers, as among their human contemporaries, where the frail and delicate-looking withstand storm and stress far better than their more robust-appearing brethren. We welcome these tiny newcomers with especial joy, not alone for their delicate beauty, but because they are usually the first of all the flowers upon the scene of action, if we rule out the never-tardy skunk-cabbage. The rusty leaves of last summer are obliged to suffice for the plant’s foliage until some little time after the blossoms have appeared, when the young fresh leaves begin to uncurl themselves. Some one has suggested that the fuzzy little buds look as though they were still wearing their furs as a protection against the wintry weather which so often stretches late into our spring. The flowers vary in color from a lovely blue to pink or white. They are found chiefly in the woods, but occasionally on the sunny hill-sides as well.
The generic name, Hepatica, is from the Greek for liver, and was probably given to the plant on account of the shape of its leaf. Dr. Prior says that “in consequence of this fancied likeness it was used as a remedy for liver complaints, the common people having long labored under the belief that nature indicated in some such fashion the uses to which her creations might be applied.”
Common Blue Violet.
Viola cucullata. Violet Family.
Scape.—Slender, one-flowered. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, all from the root. Flowers.—Varying from a pale blue to deep purple, borne singly on a scape. Calyx.—Of five sepals extended into ears at the base. Corolla.—Of five somewhat unequal petals, the lower one spurred at the base. Stamens.—Short and broad, somewhat united around the pistil. Pistil.—One with a club-shaped style and bent stigma.
Perhaps this is the best-beloved as well as the best known of the early wild flowers. Whose heart has not been gladdened at one time or another by a glimpse of some fresh green nook in early May where
—purple violets lurk,