412 THE SEA SHOES 



leaves are glaucous and bi-ternate, the leaflets being narrow, fleshy, 

 and tapering towards both ends. On cliffs near the sea, especially 

 in chalky districts, we meet with the Fennel, with its finely- 

 divided leaves, split up into numerous capil- 

 lary leaflets, and its small yellow flowers 

 without bracts. It may be distinguished 

 from other closely-allied plants by the form 

 of the fruit, which is flattened at the sides. 

 It is grown in some parts for use as a potherb, 

 and an aromatic oil is also obtained from the 

 FIG' 2<J9 T* SE see ^ s - The plant grows to a height of four or 

 SAMPHIRE nve ^ ee * Du ^ there is a smaller variety known 



as the Sweet Fennel, and distinguished by 



the stem being compressed at the base. Our next example of 

 the UmbellifercB is the Sea Holly (Eryngium mwritimum), easily 

 distinguished from the other umbellifers by its spiny glaucous 

 leaves, and the thistle-like heads of blue flowers surrounded by a 

 whorl of spiny bracts. Its fleshy creeping roots were formerly 

 gathered largely for the purpose of converting them into the 

 once-prized ' candied eryngo root,' which is still prepared in a few 

 of the fishing villages of our coast. The lower leaves of this plant 

 are spinous and very glaucous, and the upper ones palmate. The 

 venation is particularly strong and durable, so that the leaves and 

 flowers are used largely by the sea-side cottagers in the construction 

 of skeleton bouquets and wreaths. Another plant of the same 

 genus The Field Eryngo (E. campestre) is occasionally seen on 

 sandy shores. It differs from the last in having ternate radical 

 leaves with pinnatifid lobes, and the upper leaves, bi-pinnatifid. 

 Our last example of the sea-side umbellifers is the "Wild Celery 

 (Apium graveolens) of salt marshes and ditches. This is the plant 

 from which our highly-valued garden celery has been produced, 

 and it is remarkable that this sweet crisp and wholesome vegetable 

 has been derived from a wild plant of coarse taste and odour, the 

 acrid sap of which is highly irritating if not dangerous. The plant 

 may be known by its furrowed stem, and ternate leaves, the leaf- 

 lets of the lower leaves being round and lobed, while those of the 

 upper ones are notched. The umbels are sessile or nearly so, the 

 flowers have no calyx, and the fruit has five prominent ridges. 



On the sandy shores of the south-western counties we may meet 

 with the very local Four-leaved Allseed (Polycarpon tetrapTiyllum) 

 of the order Illecebracece. It is a small plant, only four or five 



