LIST OF FLOWERS

YELLOW FLOWERS

Plate.Page.

I.1. Lesser Celandine,1

2. Bulbous Buttercup,2

3. Meadow Buttercup,3

4. Marsh Marigold,4

II. 1. Wallflower,5

2. Wild Mustard,6

3. Hedge Mustard,7

III.1. Yellow Horned Poppy,8

2. Rock Rose,9

3. Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage,10

IV. 1. Common Whin or Gorse,11

2. Broom,12

3. Needle Whin,13

V. 1. St John's Wort,14

2. Common Avens,15

3. Tormentil,16

VI. 1. Birdsfoot Trefoil,17

2. Hop Trefoil,18

3. Lady's Fingers,19

4. Meadow Vetchling,20

VII. 1. Creeping Cinquefoil,21

2. Silver Weed,22

3. Common Agrimony,23

VIII. 1. Common Nipplewort,24

2. Autumnal Hawkbit,25

3. Yellow Goatsbeard,26

IX. 1. Coltsfoot,27

2. Common Groundsel,28

3. Common Ragwort,29

X. 1. Crosswort,30

2. Biting Stonecrop,31

3. Yellow Bedstraw,32

4. Mugwort,33

XI. 1. Wild Mignonette,34

2. Common Dandelion,35

3. Tansy,36

XII. 1. Primrose,37

2. Cowslip,38

3. Bog Asphodel,39

XIII. 1. Honeysuckle,40

2. Yellow Water Iris,41

3. Daffodil,42

XIV. 3. Common Comfrey,43

WHITE FLOWERS

XIV. 1. Sneezewort Yarrow,44

2. Mountain Everlasting,45

XV. 1. Traveller's Joy,46

2. Wood Anemone,47

3. Water Crowfoot,48

XVI. 1. Shepherd's Purse,49

2. Common Scurvy Grass,50

3. Hairy Rock Cress,51

XVII. 1. Common Chickweed,52

2. Mouse-eared Chickweed,53

3. Greater Stitchwort,54

XVIII. 1. Goutweed,55

2. Wild Angelica,56

3. Upright Hedge Parsley,57

4. Hemlock Water Dropwort,58

XIX. 1. Cow Parsnip,59

2. Wild Chervil,60

3. Sea Carrot,61

4. Common Hemlock,62

XX. 1. Meadow Sweet,63

2. Wild Strawberry,64

3. Wood Sorrel,65

XXI. 1. Goosegrass or Cleavers,66

2. Woodruff,67

3. Yarrow or Millfoil,68

XXII. 1. Ox-eye Daisy,69

2. Daisy,70

3. Scentless Mayweed,71

XXIII. 1. Snowdrop,72

2. Common Star of Bethlehem,73

3. Ransoms,74

XXIV. 1. Mossy Saxifrage,75

2. Marsh Pennywort,76

3. Intermediate Wintergreen,77

XXV. 1. Grass of Parnassus,78

2. Common Bladder Campion,79

3. Sea Campion,80

XXVI. 1. Common Eyebright,81

2. White Dead Nettle,82

3. Spotted Orchis,83

XXVII. 2. Chickweed Wintergreen,85

XL. 2. Burnet Rose, 125

GREEN FLOWERS

XXVII. 1. Red-Berried Bryony,84

3. Cuckoopint or Wake Robin,86

XXVIII. 1. Common Mare's Tail,87

3. Greater Burdock,89

XXIX. 1. Mouse-Tail,90

2. Ribwort Plantain,91

3. Knotty Figwort,92

XXX. 1. Lady's Mantle,93

2. Dog's Mercury,94

3. Common Nettle,95

PURPLE FLOWERS

XXXI. 1. Purple Sea-Rocket,96

2. Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock,97

3. Marsh Cinquefoil,98

4. Water Avens,99

XXXII. 1. Dog Violet, 100

2. Heartsease, 101

3. Common Mallow, 102

XXXIII. 1. Scotch Thistle, 103

2. Marsh Plume Thistle, 104

3. Field Scabious, 105

XXXIV. 1. Common Ling or Heather, 106

2. Black Knapweed, 107

3. Wild Thyme 108

XXXV. 1. Early Purple Orchis,109

2. Purple Loose-strife,110

3. Common Butterwort, 111

XXXVI. 1. Common Bugle, 112

2. Ground Ivy, 113

PINK FLOWERS

XXVIII. 2. Common Butterbur,88

XXXVI. 3. Hairy Water Mint, 114

XXXVII. 1. Common Fumitory,115

2. Ragged Robin, 116

3. Red Campion,117

XXXVIII. 1. Dove's-foot Crane's-bill, 118

2. Herb-Robert, 119

3. Stork's Bill,120

XXXIX. 1. Rest Harrow, 121

2. Saintfoin, 122

3. Red Clover, 123

XL. 1. Dog Rose, 124

3. Lousewort, or Red Rattle, 126

XLI. 1. Great Wild Valerian, 127

2. Small Bindweed,128

3. Foxglove,129

XLII. 1. Broad-Leaved Willow Herb, 130

2. Corn Cockle, 131

3. Cross-Leaved Pink Heath, 132

BLUE FLOWERS

XLIII. 1. Blue Meadow Crane's-bill, 133

2. Milkwort, 134

3. Corn Flower or Blue Bottle, 135

4. Tufted Vetch, 136

XLIV. 1. Wild Succory, 137

2. Blue Bell or Harebell, 138

3. Sea Holly, 139

XLV. 1. Germander Speedwell, 140

2. Brooklime Speedwell, 141

3. Great Water Forget-me-not, 142

XLVI. 1. Common Borage, 143

2. Evergreen Alkanet, 144

3. Wood Hyacinth, 145

XLVII. 1. Field Gentian, 146

2. Sea Aster, 147

3. Viper's Bugloss, 148

RED FLOWERS

XLVIII. 1. Red Poppy, 149

2. Scarlet Pimpernel, 150

3. Common Sorrel, 151

Plate I

1. LESSER CELANDINE

This is one of the first flowers you will see in springtime. It covers the ground in patches in every wood, and you will find it too under the hedges and on banks by the roadside.

The flower has eight long narrow petals, which are much narrower and more pointed than those of the Buttercup.

When the Celandine is still in bud the outside of these petals is beautifully streaked with purple. But when the flower opens in the sunshine, the petals are a bright yellow colour, and are as glossy as if they were wet.

In the centre of the flower there is a ring of yellow stamens with a cluster of green seed-vessels amongst them.

Behind the coloured petals are three narrow pointed sepals. These protect the flower when it is in bud.

The green leaves of the Celandine are dark and glossy, with wavy edges, and each leaf has a stalk of its own.

If you look carefully at one of these leaves you will see that the stalk is flattened at the foot. This helps it to clasp the main stem more easily.

The root is divided into five or six hard little brown fingers. These brown fingers are called tubers, and each tuber, if planted separately, will produce a new plant.

2. BULBOUS BUTTERCUP

In spring the Bulbous Buttercup is found everywhere, filling the meadows with its sunshiny flowers.

Each flower has five glossy yellow petals which do not lie flat open as in the Celandine, but form a cup, a yellow cup or Buttercup.

At the base of each petal you find a small honey pouch, which the bees love to visit.

When the flower is still in bud, the yellow petals are almost covered by five pale-green hairy sepals. You can see only the yellow tips peeping out. But when the flower opens, these hairy green sepals fold back close round the stalk.

In the centre of the flower is a thick cluster of yellow-headed stamens with a knot of green seed-vessels in the middle.

The stalk on which the flower grows is slightly hairy, and has a narrow groove on one side.

The root is shaped like a small turnip, and has a great many white threads growing out of it.

The leaves of this Buttercup are dark green, with soft hairs all over them. They are shaped very irregularly, and are deeply cut up all round the edges.

3. MEADOW BUTTERCUP

The Meadow Buttercup is abundant all over the country. It grows beside the Daisy in every field and hedge-bank.

In this Buttercup the flower has five bright glossy yellow petals, which open out flat and are not cup-shaped as in the Bulbous Buttercup.

There is a hard green knot of seed-vessels in the centre of the flower, with a ring of yellow stamens all round it. When the yellow stamens and petals fall off, this bunch of seed-vessels grows bigger and bigger, until it looks like a small green raspberry.

Outside the yellow petals are five pale-green sepals. These remain close behind the yellow flower and do not fold back against the stalk as in the Bulbous Buttercup.

The flower-stalk is slightly hairy, but it is not grooved.

The green leaves are dark, and are covered with soft hairs. Each leaf is divided into three parts, which are very deeply cut up all round the edge.

You will easily recognise this Buttercup if you remember three things.

1. The flower-stalk has no groove.

2. The little green sepals do not fold back close to the stalk.

3. The root has no bulb.

4. MARSH MARIGOLD

This is one of our handsomest wildflowers. It grows abundantly in springtime by the side of ponds, or on the marshy edge of a slow-running stream. It looks like a large, thick Buttercup.

The Marsh Marigold is closely related to the Buttercup family, though it differs from the Buttercups in various ways.

The five bright yellow petals of the flowers are glossy, and have little veins running up from the bottom.

In the centre of these petals there is a big bunch of yellow stamens, with a group of green seed-vessels amongst them.

If you look at the back of an open flower you will see that there are no green sepals such as there are in the Buttercups.

The flower-stalks are thick and hollow, with ridges along the sides. They snap off easily when gathered, but very soon they lose their stiffness and become soft and flabby. This means they are thirsty, and if you give them plenty of water to drink they will soon be as stiff as when they were growing.

The green leaves of the Marsh Marigold are dark above, but underneath they are much lighter. They are very glossy and smooth, and each leaf is covered with a fine network of veins.

In shape they are like a heart with crinkled edges.

Plate II

1. WALLFLOWER. 2 WILD MUSTARD. 3. HEDGE MUSTARD.

1. WALLFLOWER

The Wallflower, as its name tells you, likes to grow on walls. In early spring you will see it on the top of old walls or high up on the broken roof of a ruined castle. How did it get there? The wind or the birds must have carried the seed.

The flowers are a rich golden yellow, and they have a delightful scent. Each flower has four beautiful petals, which are broad above with a long strap forming the lower part.

In the centre where these four petals meet, you can just see the tips of the stamens peeping out: but the seed-vessel is hidden from sight.

The four sepals are a dark purple colour, and they form a cup in which the lower or strap-shaped part of the petal is held.

Those flowers which are nearest the foot of the stem open first. You will often find eight or ten yellow flowers blooming at the same time and a bunch of dark purple buds at the end of the stem.

The stem of the Wallflower is tough and woody near the ground, but further up it is green and smooth.

The leaves are narrow pointed straps with smooth edges. They are dark green, but sometimes they have a touch of purple at the tips.

2. WILD MUSTARD

This is a plant the farmers are very sorry to see. They do not want it among the corn, but in springtime the fields are often covered with its yellow flowers.

The flowers grow in a cluster near the top of the stem. There are often four or five in full bloom at once, gathered round a bunch of green buds which rises in the centre of the cluster. While the first cluster is in flower, the stem continues to grow, and by the time these flowers fall off, another cluster appears at the end of the lengthened stem, and so on.

If you pull off one of the flower-petals you will see that the lower half is strap-shaped. But the petal is much broader at the other end, and it is round, with a tiny nick in the outer edge.

In the centre there are six stamens whose tips you can just see where the four petals meet. But the seed-vessel is hidden until the petals and sepals and stamens fall off. It then grows into a thin green pod, and you will find many of these slender pods standing out from the hairy stem.

Behind the yellow petals are four thin sepals. When the flower is fully out these lie flat open. They do not form a cup.

The leaves of the Wild Mustard are dusty green. They are each in one piece and are broadly pointed, with the edges cut like the teeth of a saw.

3. HEDGE MUSTARD

This is a very common little plant, but it is not at all attractive. You find it by the roadside and in waste places in early summer, and it always looks very dusty.

The flowers are quite small. They grow in little clusters at the end of a long spike, and there are usually four or five flowers out at the same time. These flowers have each four tiny petals of a pale yellow colour, and unless you look very closely, and pull these petals gently apart, you will not see either the stamens or the seed-vessel, which are almost hidden from sight.

The little green sepals at the back of each flower stand straight up from the stalk and form a cup. This cup has slits down the sides and it holds the flower.

The stalk is almost covered with thin, hairy, green pods pressed closely against it. These pods hold the seeds, and they look like green caterpillars creeping up each side of the stem.

The leaves of the Hedge Mustard are a dull grey-green colour and are very rough and hairy. Those nearest the ground have no stalks, they grow like a rosette, with one leaf close above another.

But the leaves further up the stem are each separate. They are very much cut up, and their edges are toothed like a saw.

Plate III

1. YELLOW HORNED POPPY 2. ROCK ROSE 3. OPPOSITE-LEAVED GOLDEN SAXIFRAGE

1. YELLOW HORNED POPPY

The Yellow Horned Poppy grows all summer on sandy seashores or among stones. It is a showy plant, with large, orange-yellow flowers.

Each flower has four petals which open almost flat. These petals are very soft and are daintily waved round the edges.

In the centre of the petals rises a big bunch of stamens. In the middle of these stamens stands a curious green horn. This is the seed-vessel, and it is divided at the tip into three little forks.

As soon as the yellow stamens and the petals fall off, this horn grows into a long curved pod, and in this pod are the seeds.

The Horned Poppy has two green sepals which are very rough and hairy. They cover the flower so long as it is in bud, but whenever the flower begins to expand these sepals burst open, and as soon as the yellow petals have smoothed out their crinkles in the sun these little green coverings fall off.

The leaves of this Poppy are thick and leathery, and are covered with hairs which make them look grey.

These leaves have no separate stalks, but grow close to the stem as if they were clasping it.

2. ROCK ROSE

This is a delicate little branching plant which trails in summer-time along the ground, on grassy hills, and among rocks and gravel.

The flowers grow singly on short stalks, and each flower has five bright yellow petals which lie flat open. These petals are not stiff and glossy like those of the Buttercup, but soft and easily crinkled like the Poppy petals.

If you touch very lightly the yellow stamens in the centre of the flower, they will spread out and lie down.

The Rock Rose has five little green sepals. Three of these have their tips slightly tinged with pink, and these pink-tinged sepals are large enough to cover the flower when it is in bud. The other two are much smaller, with sharply-pointed tips, and they grow at the end of the little flower-stalk behind the pinky sepals.

The leaves of the Rock Rose are long and narrow with smooth edges, and they grow opposite each other on the stem.

These leaves are always dark green above, but underneath they are covered with fine white woolly down, and if you hold them up to the light you will see that the edges are fringed with soft hairs.

3. OPPOSITE-LEAVED GOLDEN SAXIFRAGE

This small plant grows in damp places by the side of ditches and on wet rocks. It is commonest in the north of Britain, but in spring you will find its soft stems creeping close to the ground in the south of England also.

The Golden Saxifrage has no petals. The yellow flowers grow at the end of the stem in small clusters, which are sunk among the leaves.

Each flower has a yellow calyx tube, which is divided at the mouth into four parts. These divisions are yellow inside, but on the outside they are green.

There is a ring of tiny stamens standing out all round the mouth of the calyx tube, and in the very centre of the flower stands a fat seed-vessel, like a beak, which splits open into halves when the seeds are ripe.

The leaves of the Golden Saxifrage grow in pairs on each side of a pale green, juicy stem.

This stem is covered with clear white hairs. The leaves are pale green and are round in shape, with crinkled edges. They are very soft, and, like the stem, they have fine white hairs all over them.

When you gather a handful of the Golden Saxifrage you find a great many slender white roots hanging from the stem wherever it has lain along the ground.

Plate IV

1. COMMON WHIN OR GORSE. 2. BROOM. 3. NEEDLE WHIN.

1. COMMON WHIN OR GORSE

This is a shrub children like better to look at than to gather. It is very common on heaths and banks and in dry fields, and it blooms in early summer.

The flowers are curious, because the five petals are so strangely shaped. One broad petal stands up highest and is called 'the Standard.' Then there are two narrow petals at the side; these are called 'Wings.' And in between these narrow petals there are two joined together like a tiny boat, which are called 'the Keel.'

There is a bunch of curved stamens with their slender stalks all joined together at the bottom into a green tube.

Amongst these stamens you can see the tip of the seed-vessel.

When the flower is in bud it is enclosed in a rough, yellowish-green covering which has many black hairs all over it. This covering usually opens in two pieces, and these pieces remain below the flower until it is withered.

Instead of leaves the Gorse has many sharp prickly spikes or leaf-thorns. You will notice that there are many of these sharp spikes which have little groups of two or three shorter spikes branching from them, and each branch ends in a sharp spike.

2. BROOM

This is one of our most beautiful spring shrubs. It grows on heaths and by the roadside, and sometimes you will see a low hill covered with it, and glistening like gold in the sunshine.

The flowers are very like those of the Common Whin, but they are much larger, and the yellow colour is deeper and more golden.

The petals are shaped the same as in the Common Whin, and if you look at the green tube into which the stamens are joined, you will see that it has a curious green thread at the end which is twisted into a curl. The seeds are in this tube, and when the petals and stamens have all fallen off, this tube becomes a flat green pod tinged with purple. The curly green thread still remains at the end.

There are green sepals at the back of the flower which form a cup. This cup looks as if it was only in two pieces; but, as in the Common Whin, it is really made up of five sepals, and you can often see five little teeth at the mouth which show where each sepal begins.

The leaves of the Broom are very small, and they grow in groups of three. Those close to the flowers have no stalks, but the others have each a stalk with the three little leaves at the end.

3. NEEDLE WHIN

The Needle Whin is not so well known as the Common Whin or the Broom, though it belongs to the same family. It is very common, and you will find plenty of it in spring and early summer growing close to the ground among the heather.

The flowers are pale yellow, with six petals very like those of the Common Whin or the Broom, only much smaller. You find five or six flowers growing close together on a trailing woody stem.

Each flower sits in a green cup, which is made up of five sepals joined together. Round the mouth of the cup are five sharp teeth, and you can see, much more clearly than in the Common Whin or in the Broom, where each separate sepal begins.

After the petals and stamens fall off, the seed-vessels grow into large, fat pods which are commonly tinged with purple.

If you are not in the country until the petals have fallen, you will easily recognise the Needle Whin by these fat pods. Sometimes five or six or more grow near the top of each short stem.

The leaves of this tiny Whin are very small and have scarcely any stalks. Growing up the main stem are many very fine spines or leaf-thorns, as sharp as needles.

From these the plant gets its name.

Plate V

1. ST. JOHN'S WORT. 2. COMMON AVENS. 3. TORMENTIL.

1. ST. JOHN'S WORT

This is a tall, handsome plant, whose flowers appear late in summer among low-growing bushes or on the hedge-banks.

Each flower has five pale yellow, pointed petals, which open like a star. On these petals there are often many small black dots.

The flowers grow on short stalks, which always rise between a small green leaf and the stem. These flower-stalks are in pairs, exactly opposite each other on each side of the stem.

Inside the flower there are a great many stamens. These stamens are grouped in bunches, and do not form a ring all round the centre as in many flowers.

Seated among these bunches is a pear-shaped seed-vessel with three horns at the top.

At the back of the flower, lying flat open, are five thin green sepals, whose tips you can see appearing, as you look down into the flower, between the yellow petals.

The stalk is smooth and stiff, with two edges which look as if the sides had been joined together.

The green leaves grow in pairs opposite each other. They taper to a point and have edges that are smooth all round. If you look closely you will see that each leaf is covered with tiny black dots.

There is another St. John's Wort very like this, but its stalk is square, with four edges.

2. COMMON AVENS

The Common Avens grows abundantly all summer in woods and on shady hedge-banks, but it is not very attractive.

The flowers are small, with five separate yellow petals which lie flat open. As you look down into the flower, you can see the tips of the five green sepals appearing between the yellow petals.

Each flower grows at the end of a short stalk, but two or three of these stalks often spring from the main stem at the same place.

Half way up this stem you will find a pair of tiny green leaves with very small buds appearing between them and the stalk. These buds will come out later, when their stalks have time to lengthen.

In the centre of the ring of stamens there is a small green bunch of seed-vessels. Each seed-vessel has a thin stiff hair at the top, and after the yellow petals fall off you will see this bristly bunch of spikes still at the end of the flower-stalk, with the tiny green sepals standing out like a frill behind.

Each leaf is divided into three or more parts. Those close to the ground are large and coarse, with the edges cut like the teeth of a saw.

But there are leaves further up the stem, and these are frequently divided quite differently from the root leaves.

3. TORMENTIL

This is a dainty little plant which grows all summer in open woods, and on heaths, where its masses of small yellow flowers look like gold stars among the tangle of green leaves and stems.

The flowers are small, with four pale yellow petals which lie wide open, and rising from amongst them there are yellow stamens with a bunch of green seed-vessels in the centre. Behind these yellow petals there is a green star-circle of sepals. Four of these sepals are long and green, and their tips can be seen in front between the yellow flower-petals.

There are also four much smaller green sepals which stand between each of the larger ones, so the calyx is really a beautiful green star with eight points.

Each flower has a stalk of its own, and each stalk rises from between a leaf and the stem. Sometimes they are deeply tinged with purple.

The green leaves of the Tormentil are soft and fine, with a few downy hairs on the front. They are divided into five fingers, and each of these fingers has its edges cut into large teeth all the way round.

Very often these edges turn quite yellow when the plant is just beginning to fade.

The Tormentil root is rather curious. It looks like a thick brown finger, but if you cut it, the inside is a delicate rose red.

Plate VI

1. BIRD'S FOOT TREFOIL. 2. HOP TREFOIL 3. LADY'S FINGERS. 4. MEADOW VETCHLING.

1. BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL

The golden Birdsfoot Trefoil grows nearly everywhere. You can gather its tufts of bright yellow flowers all summer in the fields and woods and waste places.

The flowers grow in heads at the end of a long flower-stalk, and each head may have from four to eight flowers close together in a bunch.

The five petals are golden-yellow streaked with red, and they are strangely shaped. There is one big petal which stands up behind. Then there are two long-shaped petals which lie sideways, and two small ones that are joined together in a curious point.

After the petals fall off, the seed-vessel in the centre of the stamens grows into a long, thin red pod; and when there are four or five of these narrow pods at the end of the flower-stalk, they look like the claw of a bird.

That is why this Trefoil is called Birdsfoot.

The leaves are very pretty. There is a single small green leaflet, with smooth round edges, at the end of a short stalk. Just below this little leaflet there is a pair of tiny leaflets. And further down, where the stalk joins the main stem, you will find still another little pair. So that the name Trefoil, which means 'three leaves,' is not correct, as there are really five small leaflets on each short stalk.

2. HOP TREFOIL

The Hop Trefoil is a cousin of the Birdsfoot Trefoil, and is quite as plentiful. It grows all summer by the edge of the fields and in grassy pastures.

You will easily recognise it by the flowers. These cluster together in small round yellow heads like a tiny clover. In each head there are from twenty to forty little flowers closely packed together. When you pick one of these tiny flowers to pieces, you find that the petals are very much the same as those of the Birdsfoot Trefoil. But they are so small that you would require a magnifying glass to see them clearly, and to discover the stamens and seed-vessels which are hidden inside.

When the flowers begin to fade, the petals do not fall off at once, but they shrivel and become a pale-brown colour. Sometimes you find a flower of which the lower half is quite brown and withered, while the upper half remains golden yellow.

At the end of the flower-stalk you find a small oval green leaflet, and close below this single leaflet comes a pair of dainty leaflets. On each stalk there is always this triplet. The main stem is covered with fine downy hairs, and you will notice that wherever a leaf-stalk joins this stem there are two small green sheaths with points, which look as if they were meant to cover the join.

3. LADY'S FINGERS

This showy plant grows abundantly all summer on dry banks and pastures. You will easily recognise it by the large heads of pale yellow flowers with their woolly sepals.

The flowers are grouped in two heads at the end of a stout stalk, and there are usually ten to twenty separate flowers in each head. The petals seem very similar to those of the Trefoils, but each petal ends in a long claw, and these claws are hidden in the cup formed by the sepals.

This calyx-cup is edged round the mouth with sharp teeth, and it is covered with grey fluffy down. The grey down gives a woolly appearance to the flowers.

You also find a frill of narrow green pointed leaves without stalks underneath each head of flowers.

When the petals and stamens have fallen off, the yellow calyx-cup becomes much swollen, and inside it there remains a small pod which bears the seeds.

On the upper side the leaves are a delicate blue-green, with fine silky hairs all over them. But underneath these leaves are much paler. Each leaflet is long and narrow and is placed the one opposite the other on the leaf-stalk, at the end of which there is always a solitary leaflet.

4. MEADOW VETCHLING

The Meadow Vetchling is not nearly such a stout plant as the Lady's Fingers. Its stem is feeble and requires to find support by holding on to the hedges, or to some other strong plant.

The flowers are a beautiful golden yellow. They grow in loose bunches near the end of a straight, stiff flower-stalk. Notice that all the flowers face one way, and that in each flower the largest yellow petal is daintily streaked with purple.

You cannot see either the stamens or the seed-vessel, which are hidden inside the flower.

The sepals are joined so that they form a green cup which has five sharp points round the mouth.

The leaflets grow in pairs at the end of the leaf-stalk. They are long and narrow, like a lance, with fine lines running from end to end. In between each pair of leaflets you find a green twisted thread called a tendril. This tendril curls round the stem of plants that are stronger than the Meadow Vetchling, and they support it.

Wherever the leaf-stalk joins the main stem you will find another pair of green leaves. These leaves are shaped like the head of an arrow, and they have a name of their own, which you will learn when you know more about plants.

Plate VII

1. CREEPING CINQUEFOIL 2. SILVER WEED 3. COMMON AGRIMONY

1. CREEPING CINQUEFOIL

This pretty plant is common everywhere. You will find it all summer by the roadside, in meadows, and by the edge of the cornfields.

The flowers are bright golden yellow: they have five petals which open out like a rose, and in the centre there is a ring of yellow stamens with a knot of green seed-vessels among them.

In between each of these yellow petals you see a narrow green point appearing. These are sepals, and if you look at the back of the flower you find that the calyx is really a star made up of ten pointed green sepals.

The flowers grow on long, slender stalks. Both the flower and the leaves rise from what looks like another slender stalk creeping close to the ground. The creeping stalk comes from a root which resembles a small carrot. This root goes straight down into the ground, and it sends out three long, stalk-like creepers which lie along the surface. Wherever a bunch of leaves and flowers rises from the creeper, two or three little white roots go down into the ground. These take firm hold of the earth and help to keep the plant steady.

The leaves are beautiful. Each leaf is divided into five fingers, which are cut round the edges like the teeth of a saw. They are dark green, and have long, slender stalks like the flowers.

2. SILVER WEED

The Silver Weed prefers to grow in damp meadows and on the banks of ditches. You find it in abundance all summer.

The flowers are not unlike those of the Cinquefoil. They have five golden yellow petals which are not cup-shaped, but lie flat open. These petals are larger than those of the Cinquefoil, and you can only see the smallest tip of the green sepals appearing in between each.

There are really ten sepals in the calyx. Five of these are narrow little pointed leaves, but the others are each divided at the tip. If you remove all the yellow petals, this green calyx, with its ten green points, is just like a beautiful star.

The Silver Weed sends out long creepers. These are thicker than in the Cinquefoil, and are often tinged with pink.

When the leaves are half-open they look almost entirely white, because they are covered with a fine silvery down. But when they are fully out they become dark green above, and it is only the underside which remains white and silvery.

Notice that the leaves grow in pairs, with big leaflets and very little leaflets alternately on each side of the leaf-stalk, and that their edges are deeply toothed all round.

3. COMMON AGRIMONY

This plant likes to grow in dry places, such as hedge-banks or at the side of fields, and it blooms in summer.

The flowers grow one above the other on a tall spike, and they look like small yellow stars. Those that grow lowest down on the spike come out first, and the small green buds are crowded together near the top.

In the centre of the five yellow petals there is a ring of stamens, and amongst those stands a fat, green seed-vessel with two horns at the top.

The calyx or green covering of the flower is the part you must notice most closely.

It rises from a short stalk, and is shaped like a bell. There are ten deep lines running from top to bottom of this green bell, and round its mouth there are five large points.

Below these points is a curious ring of tiny hooks like a fringe, and these cling to whatever touches them. You often find a dozen of these little green bells fastened to your skirt if you have been where the Agrimony grows.

The leaflets are dark and hairy. They grow opposite each other in pairs, on each side of the leaf-stalk: first a large pair, then a small pair, turn about, and you always find a single large leaflet at the very end.

Each leaflet is deeply cut round the edge and has teeth like the teeth of a saw.

Plate VIII

1. COMMON NIPPLEWORT 2. AUTUMNAL HAWKBIT 3. YELLOW GOATSBEARD

1. COMMON NIPPLEWORT

The Nipplewort is very common everywhere. It grows both in waste places and in cultivated ground or by the roadside, and you find it in flower all summer and autumn.

It has a slender round stem, which branches a good many times, and at the top of each of those branches you find a tiny yellow daisy. These daisies are made up of many yellow tubes, each with a broad yellow strap at the mouth. The straps have the edges cut into sharp teeth, and they stand out in a circle all round the small yellow daisy.

The small yellow heads are held by a green cup made up of two sets of narrow pointed green leaves, and you will notice that there is always a single very tiny grey-green leaf where each branch forks from the main stem.

The leaves of the Nipplewort vary much in shape. Some are like a feather of which the lower part is cut away almost to the centre stalk. Others are regularly oval, with wavy edges all round, and these leaves end in a sharp point. They are dark green in colour, with hairs all round the edge.

2. AUTUMNAL HAWKBIT

The Hawkweeds are a very large family, and it will be a long time before you learn to recognise them all.

The Autumnal Hawkbit is the commonest, and it is found nearly everywhere, in meadows, in pastures, and in waste places. It flowers in late summer and autumn.

The leaves grow in a rosette close to the ground. They are dark green, rather smooth, and are shaped like narrow feathers, with the edges irregularly cut into deep, rounded teeth. They all spring from the centre root.

The heads of yellow flowers grow on tall, slender, wiry stalks. Very tiny scale-like green leaves grow up the stalks at intervals. Each yellow head is made up of many small yellow tubes with a strap at the mouth, and these strap tubes are crowded together all over the flower-head.

When the yellow flowers are withered, the seed-vessels remain, each with a tuft of feathery cotton down attached to it But the down ball is not a perfect one as in the Dandelion; and the down looks grey.

The top of the flower-stalk is clothed with layers of narrow pointed green leaves which are tinged with red, and are sometimes woolly. These layers are pressed tightly one above the other like the scales of a fir-cone, and they cover the yellow flower completely when it is in bud.

3. YELLOW GOATSBEARD

The Yellow Goatsbeard is fairly common in this country. It grows in meadows and pastures and in waste places, and it is in flower all summer and autumn.

It belongs to a large family of plants which are very difficult to distinguish the one from the other, and you will find several Goatsbeards that seem very much alike.

This Goatsbeard is a wiry, straight, slender plant. The dark green stem is round, and the leaves grow close to it without stalks. These leaves are like a broad blade of grass at the bottom where they join the stem, but near the top they get very narrow and are folded together, so that they appear almost round, and they end in a sharp point.

The flowers grow singly on round, smooth stems. They look like small Yellow Dandelions with fewer yellow rays, and like the Dandelion they are made up of many little yellow tubes grouped together, some of which have yellow straps at the edge, while others have none. When the flower is half open you will notice that it stands in a green cup made up of eight narrow leaves with long, fine points. These points are much longer than the yellow rays of the flower, and stand up beyond them when the flower is closed. The flowers of the Goatsbeard have the curious habit of closing at midday, even when the sun is shining.

Plate IX

1. COLTSFOOT 2. COMMON GROUNDSEL 3. COMMON RAGWORT

1. COLTSFOOT

The Coltsfoot is a very common plant. You find it all over the country, and along with the Celandine it is one of the first flowers to appear in spring. The flowers come out before the leaves. They grow singly at the end of straight, woolly stalks which have many little pink scale-like leaves, from top to bottom. When the flowers are withering, their heads begin to droop; but when the downy seed-ball is ready to open, the flower-stalks stand straight up again.

The flowers are bright yellow, and like the Daisy and Dandelion, which belong to the same family, they are made up of a great many tiny tubes grouped close together. Those tubes round the edge have a long, narrow, yellow strap at the outside.

After the flowers are withered, the seeds remain at the end of the stalk, and each seed sends out a tuft of beautiful, straight, white down which forms a delicate ball as in the Dandelion. But the Coltsfoot down-ball is neither so starry nor so beautiful as that of the Dandelion.

The leaves of the Coltsfoot are entirely covered with cotton wool when they are small; as they grow bigger, they become glossy grey-green above, and are white only underneath.

Each leaf is nearly round, with beautiful pointed scollops at the edge, and it has a long stalk.

2. COMMON GROUNDSEL

This plant is one of the very commonest we have. It is in flower all the year round, and grows everywhere. We have all gathered it to give to the canaries, who love to pick the tiny seeds.

The Groundsel flowers grow in small heads of two or three together at the end of short stalks which branch at intervals from top to bottom of the stem. These stalks are not very strong, and as the flower-heads are heavy, they make the stalks bend over.

This is another plant whose flowers are composed of a great many small tubes tightly packed together. These tubes are yellow, and some have a broad, short strap at the mouth of the tube, and in some the mouth is evenly nicked all round. They grow in a tiny green cup, which is made up of narrow strap-shaped green leaves tightly pressed together, and you can only see the tips of the yellow flowers at the mouth of this cup. After the flowers are withered, a bunch of white down is seen coming out of the mouth of the green cup.

The stem of the Groundsel is soft and juicy, and it has a good many hairs upon it.

The leaves are glossy dark green, and are shaped like a feather, with large, regular divisions up the sides. Each division is finely waved all round the edges.

3. COMMON RAGWORT

The Ragwort is a very common plant. It grows everywhere, and is in flower in late summer and autumn.

It is a stout and rather coarse plant, with bunches of small yellow daisies growing on short forks which branch from the top of the main stem.

These daisies are rather poor looking, and they are made up of a great many little flowers crowded together inside a green cup, and a few of the flowers round the edge of the cup have yellow straps which are thin and straggling.

The yellow tube flowers in the centre are evenly nicked all round the mouth, and they have yellow stamens whose heads you can see forming a circle round the yellow tip of the seed-vessel with its two curled points.

The stems of the Ragwort are sometimes white and woolly, and they are covered all over with deep ridges.

The leaves are dark green and shiny. They are long and feather-shaped, and are deeply cut up almost to the centre rib, forming narrow green horns on each side of it.

Plate X

1. CROSSWORT. 2. BITING STONECROP. 3. YELLOW BEDSTRAW. 4. MUGWORT.

1. CROSSWORT

The Crosswort is common in England and in the South of Scotland, but it does not grow far North. It is in flower all spring and summer, and you find it abundantly in woods and thickets. This is rather a soft, weak plant, which you will easily recognise by the curious way the leaves are placed on the stem.

These leaves are small, and pointed, and they grow in form like a cross. The crosses appear about an inch apart all the way up the stem, and their leaves are soft and thin, and are covered all over with fine hairs.

The flowers grow in clusters on very short stalks close to the stem where the four leaves meet. They are yellow and very tiny. Each flower has four petals, and these petals are joined together and show four points standing out round the edge. You will notice four tiny stamens, one of which lies flat between each of the petals, and there are also two narrow green leaves springing from among the small groups of flowers, as well as the four which form a cross.

The stem of the Crosswort is four-sided, and, like the leaves, it is covered with fine hairs.

2. BITING STONECROP

The Biting Stonecrop is common all over Britain. It is abundant in summer on rocks and in sandy places by the seaside, and you find it growing inland too.

The Stonecrop grows in large tufts close to the ground. It is a small plant with a great many little branches, and these branches are of two kinds. Some are thickly covered with fat, juicy leaves. These leaves are very tiny, and they are laid thickly all round the stem in the same way as the scales are laid on a fir-cone. Those leaves nearest the end of the branch are often tinged with red.

On the other branches of the Stonecrop the fat green leaves are not nearly so closely packed together, and near the end of each branch grow two or more flowers.

These flowers are golden yellow, and they have five pointed petals which resemble the rays of a star, and there are ten yellow stamens lying flat out, on and between these petals.

In the centre of the flower you see five fat little seed-vessels standing up. After the yellow petals have all fallen off, these seed-vessels lie down and show five points like a small green star.

3. YELLOW BEDSTRAW

The Yellow Bedstraw is to be found all over the country. It grows in pastures, and on the hedge-banks, and it is in flower all summer and autumn.

There is a white bedstraw as well as a yellow, and you will often find great masses of both growing like a carpet on the grassy hedge-banks. The stems of the Yellow Bedstraw are not strong, although they grow to a great length, and the plant is usually lying in a tangled mass near the ground.

The flowers are very tiny. They grow in dense clusters. Each cluster has a short stalk which branches opposite another stalk on the main stem. The flowers have four petals and four stamens, and these stamens have almost no stalks. They look just like dots lying on the yellow petals.

The leaves of the Yellow Bedstraw are very tiny. They resemble small green straps, and they grow in circles, with eight to ten leaves in a circle round the main stem, close to where the flower clusters grow. You also find a circle of leaves growing on the short stalks which hold the clusters of flowers. These tiny leaves are hairy underneath.

4. MUGWORT

The Mugwort, or Wormwood as it is often called, is common all over the country. It grows in waste places and by the borders of the fields, and it blooms in autumn.

You will easily recognise this plant by its greeny-white woolly flowers, with their yellow or red centres. These flowers grow in short clusters, and each little woolly head is made up of a number of separate flowers shaped like tubes. These yellow or red tubes are grouped together as in the Daisy.

The stem of the Mugwort is pale green, and has red ridges running from end to end. The leaves are very handsome. They are large and broad and feather-shaped, with big leaflets in pairs opposite each other on the stem, and there is always a single long leaflet at the end. Each of these leaflets is deeply cut round the edges into large teeth.

The back of the Mugwort leaves is covered with silvery white down, and often the green edges are curled back on to this white underside.

Plate XI

1. WILD MIGNONETTE 2. COMMON DANDELION 3. TANSY

1. WILD MIGNONETTE

The Wild Mignonette does not grow close to the ground like the sweet-scented Mignonette we have in our gardens. It is a tall, spiked plant, which you find in summer-time on waste ground and among stone heaps, and it is not at all noticeable.

The flowers grow on short, thin stalks. Those flowers at the bottom open first, and the little buds are always at the top of the tall spike.

These flowers are little yellow balls, which seem to be entirely made up of stamens. But if you gently pick one of these yellow balls to pieces, you will find that there are six greenish-yellow petals.

The four largest petals are so deeply cut round the edge that they appear to be fringed. But there are two long thin ones which are each in one piece. These petals are all joined together at the bottom, with the bunch of fluffy stamens and the seed-vessel inside.

Behind this little ball there are six thin green sepals. These are very narrow and pointed, and they stand round the flower like the legs of a spider.

The leaves are dark green, and they are very much lighter underneath than above. They are very narrow, with crinkled edges, and the upper half of the leaf branches into three or four parts, like a stag's horn.

2. COMMON DANDELION

The Dandelion is as well known as the Buttercup and Daisy. It grows in all kinds of places, and it is in flower from early spring to late autumn. The large yellow flower-heads are made up of a great many separate little flower-tubes, which widen out at the mouth into a long yellow strap. These yellow tubes are placed on a round disc with the straps standing out in a circle, like a rosette. Each flower-head grows singly at the end of a long green stalk. The stalks are hollow, and when you break them a white milky juice oozes out. At the top of the stalk you find a cup made up of narrow pointed green leaves. Some of these leaves curve back over the top of the stalk.

When the yellow flowers are withered, the round disc is covered with the tiny seed-vessels. Each seed-vessel ends in a slender green spike which has a beautiful tuft of starry down at its tip. This ball of starry down is one of the most beautiful things in the flower world.

The leaves of the Dandelion are a smooth glossy green. They are shaped like a blunt arrow-head, and they have a white line running up the centre. The edges are cut up into huge teeth which are said to resemble the teeth of a lion. From this the plant gets its name.

3. TANSY

The Tansy is to be found in hedge-banks, and by the roadside, or on the borders of the fields in many places all over the country, though in the North it is not very common. It flowers in autumn, and is a tall, bushy plant, with large green, ferny leaves.

The Tansy has a short, green stem rising stiff and straight from the ground, and this stem branches at the top into three or four forks. Each of these forks divides again into two or three smaller forks, and there is a flower which looks like a yellow button at the end of each fork.

If you pick one of these yellow buttons to pieces you find that it is made up of a great many yellow tubes, with a swollen green part at the bottom. These yellow tubes are of two kinds. In some the mouth of the tube is cut evenly all round into small scollops, and in others there is a yellow strap at one side of the tube. These tubes stand on a round disc, and at the back of this disc there is a thick double row of small green pointed leaves, which form a green cup behind the yellow buttons.

The leaves of the Tansy are like coarse ferns. They are feather-shaped, with deeply cut divisions, and each division is toothed at the edges. The Tansy has a strong scent, especially when you crush its leaves or stalks.

Plate XII

1. PRIMROSE. 2. COWSLIP. 3. BOG ASPHODEL.

1. PRIMROSE

Is there any child who does not know the Primrose? In spring and early summer you will find its yellow blossom starring the woods and hedge-banks, and you will see it too by the seashore.

The flowers grow singly on fine stalks rising from the middle of the root. A long yellow tube is hidden in the deep calyx-cup, and the mouth of this tube opens out into five pale lemon-yellow petals. Each petal has a notch in the outer edge, and there are two orange-coloured streaks running from the base. In the centre of the petals, you can see the mouth of the tube with the heads of the stamens in its throat. The slender thread with its pinhead top, which rises from the seed-vessel, can just be seen. Yet you will also find Primroses where the heads of the stamens are hidden from sight, but where this seed-vessel thread reaches beyond the mouth of the tube.

The calyx-cup is pale-green and hairy, and has fine, sharp teeth round the edge.

The Primrose leaves grow in a rosette, rising with short, juicy stalks from the root. They are covered with a fine network of veins, which are much raised on the underside of the leaf. The leaf is crinkled all over.

Before the leaves are full grown, the edges are often rolled back so as nearly to meet on the silvery underside.

2. COWSLIP

The Cowslip is the Queen of our meadow flowers. It is common in England and Ireland, and in many parts of Scotland. The spring, or early summer, is the best time to find it.

The flowers grow, a dozen or more together, in a loose cluster, at the end of a stout, round stalk. Each flower has a yellow tube which is sunk out of sight in a swollen calyx-cup. This cup is a beautiful light green colour, with five sharp teeth at the mouth, and it is covered with soft hairs. Sometimes you find it tinged with brown streaks.

Round the mouth of the yellow flower-tube stand five small lemon-coloured petals, each with a V-shaped nick in the outer edge, and a bright, reddish-orange spot at the base. If you look at the back of a cowslip, you will see that the yellow tube is swollen just below the petals.

There are five stamens, whose heads are just visible in the throat of the tube, with the tip of the seed-vessel amongst them. In some flowers this slender pillar comes a good way beyond the mouth of the tube, and the stamens are hidden out of sight.

The Cowslip leaves are crinkled all over, and have swollen veins which are much raised on the underside. In the young leaves the edges are rolled very far back.

3. BOG ASPHODEL

This wiry little plant is fond of marshy places and wet bogs and heaths. It grows all over the country, and is in flower in late summer and autumn.

The Bog Asphodel has a tall, wiry flower-stalk, near the top of which you find a spike of orange-yellow flowers. There are three narrow-pointed orange petals, and three orange sepals; but these are so much alike, you will not be able to distinguish between them. When the flower is in full bloom, these petals and sepals open out, like the rays of a star; then when the seeds are ripening, they close and form an orange cup.

In the centre of the star there are six stamens, with woolly yellow stalks and bright red heads. There is also a small pear-shaped green seed-vessel.

Each flower has its own short stalk. Notice the tiny green leaves which grow at intervals on the wiry flower-stalk, tightly pressed against it.

The leaves of the Bog Asphodel are like coarse grass. They have no stalks, and look as if they had been slightly folded together from end to end. Each leaf has long lines running from base to tip.

Plate XIII

1. HONEYSUCKLE 2. YELLOW WATER IRIS 3. DAFFODIL

1. HONEYSUCKLE

The Honeysuckle grows in all parts of the country. You will find its sweet-scented flowers in thickets and woods during summer and autumn. It is a shrub with long, feeble, woody stems. These stems twist themselves round young trees and hedges, which support the plant and raise it up towards the sun.

The Honeysuckle flowers grow in loose heads at the end of the leaf-stem. They are shaped like long trumpets, and these trumpets are very narrow at the one end, and widen out at the mouth into two unequal lips. The lower lip is merely a long strap curled over at the end. But the upper lip is very much broader, and it is fringed at the edge. These beautiful flower-trumpets are yellow-pink, sometimes almost purple on the outside, and inside they are pale yellow. There are often seven to ten of these trumpets close together in one cluster, and you can see the heads of the stamens, and the long green tip of the seed-vessel coming out of the mouth of each trumpet.

After the flowers are withered, the seeds grow into clear dark crimson berries, of which the birds are very fond.

The leaves of the Honeysuckle grow opposite each other in pairs. They are blue-green in colour, are very smooth, and have a network of tiny veins all over them. Each leaf is oval, and its edges are smooth all the way round.

2. YELLOW WATER IRIS

The Yellow Iris with its lily flowers and sword-like leaves is found in summer-time by the side of ditches, and marshes, and ponds.

In the Iris the petals and the sepals are almost the same colour. The flower has a short yellow tube which folds back at the mouth into three broad, handsome yellow sepals, beautifully marked with deep orange streaks.

Between each of these sepals stands a small pale yellow petal.

Rising from the centre of the flower are what look like other three pale yellow petals, with fringed ends which curl upward. These are really three branches of the slender column which rises from the seed-vessel, and they bend backwards over each sepal. Half hidden under each of these fringed petals, you can see the dark purple head of a stamen, closely pressed against the broad yellow sepal.

The yellow flower-tube stands above the seed-vessel. This seed-vessel becomes very large in autumn, and it bursts lengthways into three parts, showing rows of dark brown seeds tightly packed together inside.

Before the flower opens, the Iris is enclosed in a green sheath.

The leaves are sword-shaped, with long lines running from base to tip. They are smooth, and in colour they are a dim green.

3. DAFFODIL

The Daffodil is one of our loveliest spring flowers. It is found abundantly in woods, and in meadows and pastures in England, but in Scotland it does not grow wild, and it is doubtful whether it really does so in Ireland.

The flowers grow singly on tall stalks. Each Daffodil is enclosed in a light brown sheath, which stands erect. But when the growing flowers have burst this covering, they droop their heads.

Each flower has a short yellow tube, divided about half way down into six deep points.

These points do not fold back, they enclose a long yellow trumpet, which is beautifully scolloped round the mouth.

Inside this trumpet are six stamens with large yellow heads, and the slender stalks of these stamens cling to the sides of the yellow trumpet. There is also a short pillar rising from the fat green seed-vessel, which you can see outside the coloured petals, below the yellow tube.

In the Daffodil, the sepals and petals are the same colour.

The stalk of the Daffodil is slightly twisted, and has fine lines running up it. It rises straight from the centre of the bulb which forms the root.

The leaves are long, narrow straps with blunt points, and they are thick and juicy.

Plate XIV

1. SNEEZEWORT YARROW. 2. MOUNTAIN EVERLASTING 3. COMMON COMFREY.

3. COMMON COMFREY

This tall, harsh-leaved plant is to be found all over the country in moist places, by the sides of streams and ditches, and by the roadside. It blooms in spring and autumn.

The flowers of the Common Comfrey are not always the same colour. Sometimes you find them pale yellow, and in other places they are a rich purple, and the buds are pink. These flowers grow in drooping clusters on short little stalks which curve in a curious serpent manner before the buds open.

The five petals joined together form a bell, which is cut into deep teeth at the edge. Within this bell, there are five stamens clinging to the sides, and from the seed-vessel, a long, slender white thread rises. You can see this white thread best after the yellow bell is withered, and the seed-vessel is left sitting in the centre of the calyx. The green calyx-cup is very shallow, with fine, sharply pointed teeth round the mouth.

The stem of the Comfrey is covered with hard, rough hairs. It has ridges running from top to bottom, and it is hollow in the middle. The leaves on the stem grow in tufts of three or four, without any stalks. They are narrow and pointed, with wavy edges, and are covered with hairs.

Many other coarse leaves rise from the root. These leaves, too, have no stalks, and they are broad and hairy.

1. SNEEZEWORT YARROW

This sturdy flower is the parent of the snow-white Bachelor's Buttons, which grow in our garden: it is a cousin of the Millfoil or Yarrow. It is common all over the country, where you find it in meadows and ditches, and by the roadside. It blooms in autumn.

The flowers resemble small daisies. You find about a dozen growing together on short stalks, near the top of the main stem.

Each daisy consists of a disc which is closely covered with greenish-white tube-flowers. The mouth of these tube-flowers is cut into points which bend outward, and coming out of the centre of each tube, you can see the yellow tip of the seed-vessel, round which the heads of the stamens are placed edge to edge like a deep collar.

Round the outer edge of the disc there is a small circle of tube-flowers, each of which has a broad white strap, and these straps are nicked at the ends.

Underneath these small daisies stands a circle of tiny green pointed leaves; these form a cup which protects the plant when it is in bud.

The stem of the Sneezewort is very sturdy. The leaves are sword-shaped, with long veins running from the base to the tip. They clasp the stem, and all round the edge they are cut into very fine teeth, like a saw.

2. MOUNTAIN EVERLASTING

This woolly little plant is common over most of the north country, on heaths and sandy pastures and in upland districts; but you do not find it in the south of England. It is in flower all summer.

The root of the Mountain Everlasting is like a thin brown worm lying on the surface of the ground, and from this root, long, slender brown threads go down into the ground and keep the flower steady.

The flowers resemble small woolly daisies. They grow in clusters of four or more, at the end of the main stem, and each cluster has a short, stiff stalk of its own.

These woolly daisies are made up of a great many tiny pink flower-tubes, each with a ring of fine white hairs round it. These tubes are surrounded by a double row of woolly, downy leaves which stand out like the strap-shaped rays of the daisy.

Underneath these woolly rays is a green cup, made up of a double row of narrow strap-shaped brown or green leaves, pressed close together.

The main stem rises straight and firm from the creeping root. It is closely covered with white down, and at intervals it is clasped by narrow, pointed green leaves. These leaves are dark green on the upper side, but underneath they are covered with white woolly down.

Plate XV

1. TRAVELLER'S JOY 2. WOOD ANEMONE 3. WATER CROWFOOT

1. TRAVELLER'S JOY

You will have no difficulty in recognising this plant. It has masses of grey-green flowers, and big bunches of feathery tufts; and you will find it growing in summer right over the tops of the hedges.

There are some unusual things about this flower. It has really no petals. There are four pretty sepals of a grey-green colour, which are covered with soft white woolly down. These woolly sepals soon fall off, and within you find a big bunch of whitish green stamens. When the seeds which grow in the centre of the bunch of stamens begin to ripen, they each send out a long feathery tail. These tails wave in the air, and look like tufts of down clinging to the hedges.

The leaves are dark green above and paler green below. They grow opposite each other on the stem. Sometimes their edges are quite smooth, and sometimes they are cut like the teeth of a big saw.

The stem of the Traveller's Joy is very tough and woody. It is easily bent, and would not be able to rise from the ground were it not that there are little curly green threads called tendrils below the small leaves. These tendrils twist themselves round the stems of the hedges, and with this support the plant can climb as high as the top of the hedge.

2. WOOD ANEMONE

This is one of the daintiest of our wild plants. You find the woods carpeted with it in early spring.

The flower has six delicate white sepals. These are long and rather narrow, and on the outside they are often tinged with purple or pink. The buds are usually quite pink until they open. These pink sepals form the calyx. There are no petals.

Within the pink sepals are many stamens with little yellow heads set on stems as fine as a hair, and in the centre of these stamens there is a small green knot of seeds.

The Wood Anemone has two kinds of green leaves. The flower grows on a short, smooth stalk, which rises from the centre of three soft, dark green leaves. These leaves are each divided into three parts, which are deeply cut up round the edge, and their short stalks are covered with fine hairs.

The second leaves rise on slender stalks straight from the root. They are divided very much the same as the others. If you dig up the Wood Anemone root you find that it is like a rough brown bit of stick. It creeps along underneath the ground instead of going straight down into it, and you can see that the flower and the first set of three leaves rises at a different part from the stalk which bears the other leaves.

3. WATER CROWFOOT

The Water Crowfoot is really a white Buttercup, and it likes to grow in ponds or in rivers that run very slowly. The flowers are at their best in May and June.

These flowers have five glossy white petals, and each petal has a yellow patch at the foot. Behind these beautiful white petals there are five green sepals which fold back close round the flower-stalk.

Within the flower there are stamens with thick yellow heads, growing in a circle round a small green knot which holds the seed-vessels.

This Water Crowfoot has two kinds of leaves. Some grow underneath the water, and these leaves are divided into fine hairs, which are each forked at the end. The water runs very easily through these hairs.

But those leaves which are above the water are solid. They are dark green and glossy, and are nearly round. Each leaf is divided into three parts, and sometimes the edges are cut up, and often they are quite smooth.

You may sometimes find a leaf with one-half made up of hairy threads while the other half is solid.

Plate XVI

1. SHEPHERD'S PURSE 2. COMMON SCURVY GRASS 3. HAIRY ROCK CRESS

1. SHEPHERD'S PURSE

The Shepherd's Purse is a very common plant, and it is not at all attractive. It is found all summer by the roadside and in waste places.

The flowers grow close together on short stalks near the top of a spike. They are very small, with tiny white petals, and those flowers which grow lowest on the spike always come out first. The buds are in a cluster at the very tip of the spike.

After the flower is withered, the seed-vessel, which still clings to the end of the short stalk, begins to swell. It looks like a small green heart, with a hard knot in the centre. You will easily recognise the Shepherd's Purse by these seed-vessels, which are far more noticeable than the tiny white flowers.

This plant has two kinds of leaves. Those that grow close to the ground have short stalks, and they spring from the root in the form of a rosette. Each leaf is long and narrow, and the edges are deeply cut up, nearly to the centre vein of the leaf.

But the Shepherd's Purse has other leaves which grow further up the flower-stem. These are shaped like the head of an arrow, and at the bottom they clasp the stem closely.

Both kinds of leaves are usually hairy all over, and so are the stalks, but sometimes you find plants where they are quite smooth.

2. COMMON SCURVY GRASS

The Common Scurvy Grass likes to grow on muddy shores and on rocks by the seaside, where you will find its masses of white flowers all summer.

The flowers grow close together in a cluster on short stalks. Each flower has four white petals, which are sometimes tinged with purple. The four tiny sepals are tinged with purple too. And the buds which are crowded together at the end of the cluster are nearly all purple.

After the flowers are withered, the seed-vessels still cling to the end of the flower-stalks. In this plant the seed-vessels are round, like small berries, and they are greenish-brown in colour. You usually find eight or ten of these berries halfway up the stem; then there will be several white flowers still in full bloom, and at the top of the stem comes a cluster of purple buds.

The Common Scurvy Grass has two kinds of leaves. Those that spring directly from the root have long stalks. They are broad, with smooth edges, which are slightly waved, and they are thick and fleshy. The second kind of leaves has no stalks; they grow clasping the stem closely, and they are shaped like arrow-heads.

The stem of the plant is hollow, and four-sided.

3. HAIRY ROCK CRESS

This dusty-looking plant grows on dry places such as rocks, or on the top of old walls or on hedge-banks.

The flowers of the Hairy Rock Cress are white and very tiny. They have four petals, which are not at all attractive, and they grow on each side of a tall spike. After the flowers are withered, the seed-vessel, which is in the middle of each flower, grows into a long thin pod like a needle. The green needle remains at the end of the flower-stalk, and you will see ever so many of these slender green pods standing straight up round the flower-spike.

You will easily recognise this plant by these green needle pods.

The leaves of the Hairy Rock Cress are very rough, and have coarse hairs all over them. Some are long and narrow, and cling closely to the stem. Others are broader, and they have short stalks and wavy edges. Those leaves which have stalks usually grow close to the ground at the foot of the main stem.

Plate XVII

1. COMMON CHICKWEED 2. MOUSE-EARED CHICKWEED 3. GREATER STITCHWORT

1. COMMON CHICKWEED

The Common Chickweed is found all over the country. It grows in fields, in waste ground, and on hedge-banks, and it is in flower from spring till autumn.

The Chickweed is a feeble, straggling plant, and it grows in an untidy mass near the ground. It is one of those plants that look very different in different places. It does not thrive well in dry, stony ground, where it looks small and dried up. But in untidy gardens where there is good soil you will find it in large bunches, with many white flowers and good-sized leaves. The canary birds like it best when there are many white flowers and seeds.

The white flowers are small, with tiny strap-shaped petals, and there are five small, green sepals with sharp points which show like the rays of a green star behind these tiny white petals.

Each flower grows at the end of a stalk which rises between the leaf and the main stem. The Chickweed leaves are oval, with smooth edges, and they grow in pairs up the stem. If you look closely at this stem you will see a line of fine hairs running down one side, and if you break this stem in two you will find that there is a green thread inside, which is more difficult to break than its soft green covering.

2. MOUSE-EARED CHICKWEED

The Mouse-eared Chickweed is very common all over the country. It grows in dry places, on old walls or on sandy ground, and it is in flower all summer.

It is a much smaller plant than the Common Chickweed. The white flowers are very tiny, and most of them grow in clusters at the end of short stalks which branch from the main stem. But you will also find a single flower appearing between the green leaves which grow in pairs at intervals up the main stem.

These leaves are very hairy. Sometimes they are sticky, and the whole plant is usually covered with dust, and is not at all attractive.

The Mouse-eared Chickweed is not such a feeble, straggling plant as the Common Chickweed. Its stems are stronger, and they rise straight from the ground without requiring support.

3. GREATER STITCHWORT

You will find the Greater Stitchwort in many places. It grows in grassy meadows, in woods and in thickets, and also on rocks among the mountains; and it blooms in spring or early summer.

The Stitchwort is a tall, slender plant, and the flowers are large and very pretty. They grow singly at the end of short stalks, which usually branch in pairs again and again from the main stem, oftenest where two leaves join. These flowers have five snowy white petals, each of which has a deep notch cut in the outer edge, and there are delicate green veins all over the petals. Within the flower there are ten yellow-headed stamens. Some of these stamens are long, and some are quite short; and in the middle there is a fat green seed-vessel.

Behind these beautiful white petals grow five narrow pointed sepals, which have very little colour. These sepals are like tiny scales, slightly tinged with green, and they lie flat behind the white flower.

The stem of the Greater Stitchwort is not very strong, and it has always a line of hard, short bristles, running up each side. The leaves are like blades of grass, narrow and pointed, but they are harder than grass, and the edges curl backwards. On these edges are hard bristles, the same as those on the stems.

Plate XVIII

1. GOUTWEED. 2. WILD ANGELICA 3. YELLOW BEDSTRAW. 4. HEMLOCK WATER DROPWORT.

1. GOUTWEED

This plant grows in all parts of Britain. You find it among old ruins, and by the roadside on damp hedge-banks. It blooms in summer.

The flowers are white and very small. They grow in clusters at the end of long green spokes, like the ribs of an umbrella, and you will notice that there are no little green pointed leaves either at the back of the separate flower clusters, or at the top of the stem where all the green spokes join.

The seed-vessels are almond-shaped, with little hollows running from top to bottom, and they have two long green hairs hanging out at the top.

The stalk of the Goutweed is hollow. It is very glossy and smooth, and has many ridges.

The leaves are shaped rather like rose leaves. They are pale green and are softer than rose leaves, and there is only one other plant with umbrella spokes whose leaves are at all similar. They are quite different from the fern-like leaves of so many other umbrella plants.

Notice the broad sheath where each leaf joins the main stem.

2. WILD ANGELICA

This bushy plant is common all over Britain. It flowers in summer and autumn, and it likes to grow in damp places, especially beside streams. At first you might mistake the Wild Angelica for Goutweed, as the leaves are very similar, but there are several differences. The Wild Angelica flowers are small and white, sometimes they are tinged with lilac, and they grow in clusters at the end of green spokes like the ribs of an umbrella.

At the back of each cluster of flowers you will find three tiny pointed green leaves, and at the top of the stem where all the spokes join there are other three. This is the first difference.

The seeds of the Wild Angelica are quite a different shape from the Goutweed seeds. They are much broader, with rough ridges running up them, and they have no bristles standing up at the top. This is the second point to notice.

The Wild Angelica stalk is beautifully tinged with rich purple, not in spots as in the Common Hemlock, but all over; and it is smooth, with fine lines running up and down. This is a third point.

And lastly, the leaves grow from the end of a curious large round sheath. This sheath is pale green and is very smooth and silky. It clasps the stem, which seems to grow right through the middle of it.

3. UPRIGHT HEDGE PARSLEY

In summer you will find the Upright Hedge Parsley all over the country, on hedge-banks and in waste places.

The tiny flowers are white, and are very often tinged with pink. They grow in clusters on green spokes which rise from the end of the main stem like the ribs of an umbrella. These green spokes are rough and hairy, and you will recognise this plant by these rough spokes.

There is a ring of narrow pointed green leaves at the top of the main stem where all the spokes join, and there are also little leaves at the back of each cluster of flowers.

In the Upright Hedge Parsley the seed-vessels are different from those of any of the other umbrella plants in this book. They are a dark pinky purple in colour, and are covered with short, thick bristles. At the top of each seed-vessel there are two long, thin bristles which bend over, very much like those in the Goutweed. You will always be able to recognise this plant by these bristly, purple seed-vessels.

The leaves of the Upright Hedge Parsley are dark green and hairy. They are like ferns, and have many divisions, which are cut into teeth all round the edge.

4. HEMLOCK WATER DROPWORT

This is one of the most poisonous plants that grow in Britain. A great many accidents have been caused by cattle and human beings eating its leaves and roots.

The Hemlock Water Dropwort is common all over the country, and it is in flower most of the summer.

The flowers grow in large clusters at the end of green spokes. They are white, and they have each five stamens with large pink heads, so that from a distance the clusters look pink. There are little pointed green leaves at the back of the flower clusters as well as where the spokes join the main stem.

The seed-vessels of the Hemlock Water Dropwort are a light brown colour, with slight ridges, and they have two little points standing up at the top. You will know this plant by these seed-vessels and by the curious roots.

The stems are tall and straight, with grooves running from top to bottom. They are hollow, and so tough that they are very difficult to gather. The roots are shaped like the fingers of your hand, long, fleshy fibres that grow very thick. These poisonous roots have sometimes been mistaken for Water Parsnips. The leaves are dark green and glossy. They are not fern-like, as are those of so many of the other umbrella plants.

Plate XIX

1. COW PARSNIP 2. WILD CHERVIL 3. SEA CARROT 4. COMMON HEMLOCK

1. COW PARSNIP

The Cow Parsnip is a common plant which you find all over Britain in summer and autumn.

It is one of a large family of plants which have from eight to twenty stiff green spokes at the end of the stem. These spokes are all about the same length, and they stand up like the ribs of an umbrella. In late autumn, when the flowers are withered, the brown ribs still remain on the plant.

Each green rib carries a flat bouquet of flowers. In the centre of this bouquet there are green buds, and all round the buds is a ring of small white flowers.

The stem of the plant is rough and hairy, and it is deeply grooved. The inside is hollow, and when the winter comes, small insects creep into these hollow stems for shelter.

The Cow Parsnip has large, rough leaves. These are covered with coarse hairs, and they always look dusty and shabby. You will notice curious green knobs which appear close to the stem.

These knobs are covered with a thin green sheath, and the flower-bud, with all its spokes still closed, is inside.

This bud grows bigger and bigger until it bursts the sheath. Then the flowers unfold, leaving the green covering still growing from the stem, with a curious green leaf coming out of the end.

2. WILD CHERVIL

This is a slender plant which is very common on hedge-banks and in open woods. It blooms all spring and summer.

The flowers are white, and they grow in clusters at the end of green spokes which look like the ribs of an umbrella. Notice that there is no ring of feathery green leaves where these spokes join the main stem. Before the flowers open, these green spokes bend downward.

There is a ring of tiny pointed leaves at the back of each cluster of flowers. These tiny leaves are tinged with pink, and when the flowers are fully opened, they fold back close to the main stem.

In the centre of each flower there is a long, thin seed-vessel. After all the white petals have fallen off, these seed-vessels grow into fat green beaks, each on a short stalk, and with two green points at the end.

The Wild Chervil is easily recognised by these clusters of green beak-like seed-vessels.

The leaves of the Wild Chervil are pale green, with fern-like divisions. Wherever they join the main stem there is a broad sheath.

The Wild Chervil has a stem which is deeply grooved. This stem is not spotted, but you will find another Chervil, the Rough Chervil, which is very like this one.

In it the stem is covered with purple blotches, and the leaves are blunter and less fern-like.

3. SEA CARROT

The Sea Carrot is common in many parts of Britain, where it blooms on the seashore all summer and autumn.

It belongs to the large family of plants that carry their flowers on green spokes like the ribs of an umbrella, and as these flowers are very confusing, you must notice the differences carefully.

The flowers of the Sea Carrot are usually small and white, though sometimes they have a pinky tinge. They grow in masses at the end of the green spokes. Before the flowers are fully out, these spokes stand straight up in the air, very close together, with the clusters of flower-buds all turned inwards.

But when the buds begin to open, these green spokes fold down so as to give the flowers room to look up towards the sun.

You will always know the Sea Carrot by the curious way the spokes stand close together until the flowers open.

At the top of the main stem, where all the spokes join, there is a circle of feathery green leaves. These feathery leaves each end in three points, and they have a special name which you will learn some day.

The leaves of the Sea Carrot are like fine soft ferns. They are so pretty that people use them for decoration among flowers.

4. COMMON HEMLOCK

The Hemlock is a common plant which is found all summer in waste places by the roadside and in open woods. It is poisonous, and you should look at it carefully, so as to know and avoid it.

The flowers grow in clusters at the end of green spokes like the ribs of an umbrella, which do not droop before they are fully out.

At the back of each little cluster of flowers you find three tiny pointed green leaves which are all turned to one side. This is the first point by which to recognise the Common Hemlock.

The stem is covered with purple blotches, and there is only one other umbrella plant which has a spotted stem.

The Common Hemlock stem is not hairy. It is smooth, with green ridges running up it, and it is not swollen where the leaves branch from it. This is the second point to notice.

The third point, and a very important one, is the shape of the seed-vessels. In the Wild Chervil these are little green beaks, rather long and thin, standing up in clusters. But in the Common Hemlock the seed-vessels are short and round; they are like two small apples stuck close together, and each has a little green swelling at the top. These seed-vessels are covered all over with rough ridges.

The leaves are fern-like, and resemble many of the other umbrella plants.

Plate XX

1. MEADOW SWEET. 2. WILD STRAWBERRY. 3. WOOD SORREL.

1. MEADOW SWEET

The Meadow Sweet grows abundantly all summer by the side of streams and in damp places. Many a time its delightful scent has tempted us to gather it in handfuls.

The flowers are creamy white, and are very small, with a great many yellow stamens in the centre. They grow in large clusters on short branching stalks, and the buds look like tiny ivory balls set in small green cups. You often see two or more branched stalks which shoot high above the mass of open flowers, bearing a great many closed buds. When the flowers are withered, the five green sepals fold back against the stem.

The green leaves of the Meadow Sweet are dark and rough above, but underneath they are covered with white down. They have a central leaf-stalk, and on each side of the stalk grow a pair of big leaflets and a pair of small leaflets alternately. Sometimes two pairs of very small leaflets may come together, and at the end of the stalk you always find one big leaflet which has several points.

The stem of this plant is hard, and it has lines running from end to end. Where the flower-stalk and the leaf-stalk join this stem, you find a curious green sheath, which seems to clasp them all together, and this sheath has sharply cut edges.

2. WILD STRAWBERRY

The Wild Strawberry is common all over Britain. In early summer you find it in woods and on shady hedge-banks. This pretty plant is related to the Wild Rose. It has dainty little flowers, with five small white petals, and behind these petals is a star of ten green pointed sepals. Five of these sepals have large points which show in between the white petals as you look down into the flowers, and the five which are smaller you can only see at the back of the flower.

The stamens grow in a ring close round the seed-vessel, and as they are joined to the sepals, they do not fall off when the white petals wither.

As the fruit ripens, the seed-vessel swells into a bright red berry, and you can see the tiny yellow seeds clinging all over this juicy berry.

The green leaves of the Wild Strawberry are beautiful. They are dark and crinkled, with soft hairs on the edges, and these edges are cut into large teeth. There are always three leaflets at the end of each stalk.

This Strawberry plant sends out long green shoots which lie close to the ground. Wherever a tuft of leaves rises from one of these shoots, a little bunch of white roots grows down into the ground, and these help to keep the plant steady.

3. WOOD SORREL

The dainty Wood Sorrel is common all over the country. It grows in damp woods and in shady places, and it blooms in spring.

The flowers grow singly at the end of slender pink stalks. They are large, and have five beautiful white petals, slightly tinged with pink. These petals are covered all over with fine veins, and when the sun shines on the plant they open out almost flat.

If you look closely at the bundle of yellow stamens in the centre of the flower, you will find that five are long and five are short.

Behind the white petals there is a tiny green cup, which is made up of five sepals joined together. The mouth of this cup is edged with five sharp points.

The leaves of the Wood Sorrel are very pretty. Each leaf has a slender pink stalk which springs straight from the root, and every leaf is divided into three delicate leaflets, which are pale green above, and a delicate pale pink below. These leaflets are heart-shaped, and before they have fully opened, they droop close to the stem.

If you taste one of the Wood Sorrel leaves, you will find it is bitter but not unpleasant.

Plate XXI

1. GOOSEGRASS OR CLEAVERS 2. WOODRUFF 3. YARROW OR MILLFOIL

1. GOOSEGRASS OR CLEAVERS

This clinging plant is common everywhere. It grows abundantly on every hedge-bank, and it is in bloom all summer and autumn.

The flowers are so small that you scarcely notice them. Each flower has four tiny white petals, and four yellow-headed stamens. Behind the flower there is a ring of narrow pointed pale green leaves.

When the white petals fall off, you see two pale olive or dull purple seeds, shaped like little balls. These balls always grow in pairs, and they are covered with sharp, prickly hooks, which cling to everything they touch. You find them clinging to your clothes, and they get caught in the hair of a dog's back, and you see them sticking to the wool of the sheep who nibble at the hedge-banks.

The square stem of the Goosegrass is rather weak. It, too, has hooks on its four sides, and these hooks catch hold of stronger plants in the hedge-bank, and so help the Goosegrass to rise well above the ground.

The leaves are long and narrow, and they have little hooks along the edge. They grow in a circle of eight round the square stem, with a short space between each circle. You will notice that the stalks which bear the tiny white flowers spring from the same part of the main stem as the leaf circles.

2. WOODRUFF

The sweet-smelling Woodruff is common all over the country, and when dried its perfume is like new-mown hay. It grows in woods and on shady hedge-banks, and it flowers in early summer.

The flowers are small and white, with four petals which stand round the mouth of a tiny tube. Inside this tube are four yellow-headed stamens, and there is a small green sepal-cup in which the white tube stands. The flowers grow in clusters at the end of the main stem. They do not rise from each circle of leaves as in the Goosegrass. The tiny seeds are black, and each seed is thickly covered with soft bristles, which are hooked at the end.

The ridged stem of the Woodruff is often a dull red colour. This stem is very feeble, so the Woodruff is usually found lying in a tangle along the ground. It has not so many hooks as the Goosegrass with which to catch hold of other plants, and so raise itself.

The leaves grow about an inch apart on the stem, in beautiful circles. In each circle there are eight narrow leaves which are pointed at the end. The circles nearest the foot of the stem lie flat open like a rosette, but those that are further up are usually half closed, with all their points standing upwards.

3. YARROW OR MILLFOIL

The Yarrow or Millfoil is a very common plant all over Britain. It grows on waste ground and in the corners of fields, and it is in flower in late summer and autumn.

It is one of the daisy plants, and you must look at it carefully. The flowers grow in clusters, three or four together, at the end of stalks which branch from the main stem. They are white, and look like tiny daisies. You must pick one of them gently to pieces, and then you will find that each daisy is really made up of a great many small flowers crowded together on a disc. The outer flowers consist of a white tube, with one long white strap, and there is a row of these white straps standing out like a frill round the yellow centre. Inside this white border there are a great many tiny yellow tube flowers, with five points at the mouth of each tube, but these you will not see without a microscope.

Outside this mass of flowers grows a ring of small green leaves, which are closely packed together and are very woolly.

The stem of the Yarrow is stiff and smooth and is slightly tinged with red. The leaves are long and narrow, and each leaf is made up of many tiny pairs of leaflets placed opposite each other on the stem. Each leaflet is cut up into many divisions, so that the whole leaf is light and feathery like a small fern.

Plate XXII

1. OX-EYE DAISY 2. DAISY 3. SCENTLESS MAYWEED

1. OX-EYE DAISY

The handsome Ox-eye Daisy is common all over Britain. You find it in flower from summer to the end of autumn.

It is a plant with a tall, stiff stem that has ridges running from top to bottom.

Notice how different its leaves are from those of the small Daisy, though both plants belong to the same family.

The flowers in the Ox-eye Daisy are very large. The yellow tube flowers in the centre are crowded together on a flat disc, and outside this disc there is a double ring of tiny white tubes, each of which has one broad white strap. These straps form the beautiful border to the flower.

At the top of the green flower-stalk there is a double ring of narrow green pointed leaves. When the flowers are in bud they look like thick green buttons, with a yellow spot in the middle, as these green leaves are tightly folded in a circle round the flat yellow centre.

The leaves are straggling and very poor-looking for such a handsome plant. They are feather-shaped, with the edges deeply cut up into many blunt points. They have no stalks of their own, but spring from the main stem.

2. DAISY

This well-known plant is to be found all over Britain. It is in flower from spring to late autumn, and I think it is the first flower little children learn to recognise.

But it is often a long time before they get to know anything more about the Daisy than its name, and yet it is an interesting flower, as well as a pretty one.