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Bulletin - Summer 1979 - North American Rock Garden Society

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Vol. 37 <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>1979</strong> No. 3<strong>Bulletin</strong> of the<strong>American</strong><strong>Rock</strong> <strong>Garden</strong> SooetnTWO EASTERN DICENTRASH. LINCOLN FOSTERFalls Village, ConnecticutDrawings by Laura Louise FosterFleeting but elegant are the two speciesof dicentra that grace the earlyspring flora of Eastern United States:D. cucullaria and D. canadensis.Similar they are to the point of confusion,with only slight above groundand yet conspicuous below ground differences.D. cucullaria, most commonly knownas Dutchman's Breeches, has green fernyfoliage early in the spring toppedby a one sided raceme of nodding,white, dancing flowers most curiouslyformed. The structure of the blossomis intricately arranged with the fourpleated and folded petals assuming suchunlikely postures that their basic poppyrelationship is not only concealed butflouted. Instead of raising a cup ofcrinkled petals upward to bask in thesun D. cucullaria wraps two of its petalsupward to form puffed wide-spreadinghorns — yes, like an upside-down pairof Dutch pantaloons, suspended by analmost invisible pedicel and filled onlywith air. Two other petals curl downto form a pouch that expands at themouth into two cupped wings tippedwith gold. Wrapped within are the functionalstamens and pistils. Theseblossoms dance for a week or so inearliest spring above the lacy platformof deeply cut, slightly glaucus greenfoliage. Then, after this ballet, all collapseswith remarkable suddenness; theballarinas sink as they sway, their gar-105

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