单项选择题
Artificial flowers are used for
scientific as well as for decorative purposes. They are made from a variety of
materials, such as wax and glass, so skillfully that they can scarcely be
distinguished from natural flowers. In making such models, painstaking skill and
artistry are called for, as well as thorough knowledge of plant structure. The
collection of glass flowers in the Botanical Museum of Harvard University is the
most famous in North America and is widely known throughout the scientific
world. In all, there are several thousand models in colored glass, the work of
two artists-naturalists, Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph. The intention was to have the collection represent at least one member of each flower family native to the United States. Although it was never completed, it contains more than seven hundred species representing 164 families of flowering plants, a group of fruits showing the effect of fungus diseases, and thousands of flower parts and magnified details. Every detail of these is accurately reproduced in color and structure. The models ate kept in locked cases, as they are too valuable and fragile for classroom use. |