FLOWERS AND WEATHER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12784, 30 October 1919, Page 9

FLOWERS AND WEATHER.

Many flowers are said to bo excellent barometers. For instance, it is when the blooms of dandelions hare and are in the fluffy, feathery condition, .that the weather-prophet faculties come to the fore. In fine weather the ball expands to the full, but when the rain approaches it shuts up like an umbrella. If the weather is inclined to be showery, it keeps shut all the time, only opening when the danger from the wet is passed. The ordinary clover and all its varieties, including shamrock, are also barometers. When rain is coming the leaves., shut together' like the shells of an oyster. For a day or two -before rain _ comes their stems swell to an appreciable extent, and stiffen so that the leaves are borne more uprightly than usual. This stem swelling when rain is expected js a feature of many flowering grasses. ' The figures of which the leaves of the horse-chestnut are made up keep flat and fanlike so long as the fine weather is likely to continue. With the coming of rain, however, they droop, as if to offer less resistance to the weather. The scarlet pimpernel is known as the poor man’s weatherglass, and opens its flowers only when the weather is fair.