(Plate XXXVI.)

Family

Iris.

Colour

Blue with yellow centre.

Odour

Scentless.

Range

General.

Time of Bloom

May-August.

Flowers: solitary; growing from a pair of green bracts. Perianth: of six divisions that terminate in a sharp point. Stamens: three. Pistil: one. Leaves: linear; grass-like; pale; glaucous.

These bright little peep-eyes that attract our attention among the summer grass in the moist meadows, impress us with the idea that they have come out to show us that all the grass could bloom as beautifully, if it had the mind to do so; and that if we were good, as it is said to the children, we might some day find our fields covered with their sparkling little faces. They dislike being picked, and after they have been severed from their stem, shrivel almost immediately.