The bloodroot has a large round leaf which folds close about the flower-bud until the snow-white blossoms open. Its root is a sort of underground stem, and has a bright orange or red juice, from which the plant is named.
Find some of the root growths of early spring. Dig them up carefully, without shaking the earth from the roots, and place them where their whole growth can be seen. Make charcoal or brush drawings of the whole plant.
The Growth of Leaves.
There are certain forms of growth that belong to different plant families. In drawing from flowers and plants, these family likenesses must always be truthfully shown. A rose leaf does not grow like the leaf of a thistle, and a pine needle is not at all like the thick, round pad of a water-lily.
On this page are shown different growths from trees and plants that you know. Find the sketch of the slender leaves of the pine; the palmate or hand-like leaves of the horse-chestnut, with its seven leaflets growing from one footstalk; the honeysuckle, whose leaves sit closely on the stem; the familiar clover, with its three-parted leaf; the rose, and the wandering jew, or joint plant. Study the ways in which these different growths are expressed.
Bring twigs or sprays of different trees and plants, and draw them carefully with pencil. These are good studies for your sketch-book.
