The hepaticas and cornel-buds
On a literal level, hepaticas are plants of the buttercup family, with anemone-like flowers, native to north temperate regions. Similarly, cornel-buds are buds of a cornel flower, a nickname for several types of flowers. In this poem, it's likely that the speaker, in referencing "cornel-buds," refers to a plant of the dogwood family, given their white hue. Though evocative purely on a visual level, the flowers' experience in "Evening" also functions as a symbol of human existence. As they (and the reader) witness the shift from light to darkness, their physical transformation alludes to comparable shifts that occur in human life. The flowers endure the gradual waning of light, reminding the reader of instances when clarity, perception, presence, or certitude are lost. Significant as well is the flowers' loss of their visual individuality upon nightfall. Bending at the mercy of larger, universal forces, the flowers become one with their foreground and background—just as humans must do when they pass away.
