Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-10-22
TELL THE TIME BY FLOWERS
Petals Have Regular Hours for OPEN
ing and Closing.

Anybody who has flowers enough
and sufficient knowledge Of them
need never be at a loss to ascertain
approximately the correct time, for
there are any number Of blossoms
that open and shut at regular hours.
A practical botanist has made a list
Of a few of them and says that as far
as he is concerned he Is willing to
order his time according to it,
The common dandelion orders its
daily life Systematically. II opens for
the days work about $3.50 a. m. and
closes at $3.50 p. m, being a model Of
department, indeed To be sure, there
are other plants that get busy earlier,
but they observe shorter hours. In the
temperate regions the plant that
wakes up first is the dainty, satin
petalcd morning glory. 1t starts to
disclose its tints at a. m, and with
the increased strength Of the morning
light, continues to open, but when the
sun becomes hot, the tubes begin to
close and at 10 a. m. they are through
| for the day
The Rutland Beauty is an hour
glass. 1t opens its eyes at 3 o'clock
I'm the morning and closes them at II.
Rutland Beauty sounds like a new
I kind Of apple or potato, but it is a
twining trailing flower that grows
both wild and under cultivation. The
blossom is white or light rose-Colored
and the leaves are triangular or ar
row shaped. Any industrious person
who likes to tell the time at "a. m.
can do so by the oyster plant It
wakes up then, but finishes its day at
noon and goes to sleep again. Those
who do not recognize the oyster plant,
either by that name or by IT'S botanical
name of tragopogOn pOrrifolium. will
a ways know what you mean If YOU
call IL goats beard.
The poppy scarlet and gorgeous,
opens its petals at a. m, but has no
regular hour for closing time Bitter
sweet can be relied upon to come to
life about a. m, thus preceding the
water lily by an hour The water lily
is lclsurely about preparing for the
day but she has usually made her
toilet and is smiling at the sun at 7
a. m Eight o'clock in the morning
is announced by the scarlet pimpernel.
This plant however, is less reliable as
la clock than as a barometer. IL is
so dependable in the latter respect
that II is commonly called the poor
mans weather glass but it's extreme
senstiveness to darkness will keep il
from telling the time on a cloudy day.
The field marigold does the honors
g.
ing o o'clock in the morning the red
sandwOrt wakes up. Unfortunately,
not many persons in need Of a time
piece will know where to look for the
red sandwoTt
The white star OF Bethlehem opens
at ii a. M. In Europe they call 1t the
10 o'clock, but the newest observation.
even in stoke Poges churchyard,
where nothing changes and star Of
Bethlehem runs all over everything,
places its opening hour later than 10
o'clock. At noon comes the passion
flower. Its white and purple blossoms
should take their time at opening. and
so lap over to / p. m. for so far
neither nature nor the art OF the gard
cner seems TO have developed a flower
that opens then, although there is a
little meadow flower. called the snow
thistle which closes exactly at
O'Clock.
Two o'clock in the afternoon is an
nounced by a flower with the startling
name of feyerfew Feverfew is culu-
waited in old-fashioned gardens. and is
also found running wild. Again, there
lis a lapse IN the floral timepiece. At
3 p. m. no flower either wakes up or
goes to sleep. but at p. M. the Mar
vel of Peru" or 4 o'clock. opens its
eyes on the evening sun At o'clock.
when most other flowers are begin
ming to nod, the vlscid catchfly
wakes up.
The evening primrose. true TO its
name, opens at p. m. Seven o'clock
is announced by the lycus vespertina.
Like so many others Of the time
blooms. this is a weed. and grows in
waste ground The last flower Of the
day 20 tell the time Is the night
blooming cereus. which opens at
o'clock. just in time for a half-hour's
chat with the dandeHon before u goes
10 bed.-New York Times