really grow from a short stem at the top of the root--a stem so short
that it does not appear above the ground at all.

Among the bushes of the coppice itself we will notice the flowers which
first catch our eye--the pretty blossoms of the Wood Anemone. The whole
coppice is starred with the beautiful white flowers. We pick one and see
that it has six--six what? "Six petals," you say. No, these are not
petals, for the Anemone has none. They are sepals. The sepals of a plant
generally enclose the blossom before it is opened, and they are usually
green. In the Anemone the petals are absent; the sepals take their place
and are white instead of green. Their under side is often not pure
white, but is streaked with pale pink.

Several blossoms which we pick have six of these sepals. That is the
usual number, but sometimes there are only five, and sometimes more than
six.

The blossoms of the Anemone grow on longer and stronger stalks than
those of the Primrose, and on each stalk are three leaves. These leaves
grow round the stalk in a ring. Each leaf is "tri-partite"--in three
parts or divisions; the edges of these divided leaves are deeply
serrated. Besides the three leaves on each flower-stalk similar leaves
grow from underground stems which creep along not far below the surface
of the soil. Such creeping underground stems are usually called
"rhizomes."

At the further side of the coppice, where a hedge separates it from the
little meadow called Home Close, are Sweet Violets. We catch their
fragrant scent before we see them, for the tiny flowers are half hidden
among broad green leaves. Each blossom has five petals of a dark purple