152 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[July 1, 1869. 



mounted by one blossom only, is a pedicel. In the 

 Cranesbills, this pedicel is prolonged through the 

 centre of the flower, forming a beak, or axis; and 



Fig. 117. Carpels of Fig. 118. Geranium rotundifulium, 

 G. pusillum. showing the carpels adhering to the axis. 



to the top of this axis the carpels, five in number, 

 are attached by a long awn (the persistent style) ; 

 when the seed is ripe, the awn curls up towards 

 the top of the beak, and then drops off, carrying 

 with it the matured carpel. This peculiar method 

 of dispersing the seed is confined to the Geraniacece . 



Fourteen species of Geranium have been ad- 

 mitted into our flora ; but of these three have pro- 

 bably been introduced. They may, for the sake of 

 convenience, be divided into two groups, one con- 

 taining the perennial, the other the annual species. 

 An ingenious writer once observed that " seeds 

 may be divided into four kinds, according to their 

 size ; viz., large, middle-sized, small, and minute ;" 

 and our division of the Cranesbills may appear to 

 favour this simple style of classification : as our 

 first group, the perennials, contains the seven larger 

 species, while the remaining seven, forming the 

 annual group, are smaller and less conspicuous, 

 although more widely distributed. 



I. Perennials. — Six out of the seven species of 

 this division are characterized by a short thick 

 rhizome, or underground stem, from which the roots 

 spring. The Bloody Cranesbill {Geranium san- 

 guineum) may be at once distinguished by its one- 

 flowered peduncle. A handsome species indeed it 

 is, and one which is often welcomed as a border 

 visitor. Many branches'spring from one root ; the 

 general outline of the leaves (which grow in pairs) 

 is round, but each is divided into six or seven lobes, 

 and these again are deeply cut: both leaves and 

 stems arc very hairy and soft. The flowers are 

 very handsome, of a glowing purplish-red, and 

 about the size of a florin in circumference. A white- 

 flowered variety has been observed by Mr. J. C. 

 Melvill, at Silverdale, in Yorkshire, which ap- 

 proached in habit G. lancastriense (a form of this 

 species, found at Walney Island, Lancashire, having 

 white flowers veined with pink, which retains this 

 pecubarity under cultivation). Mr. Melvill also 

 mentions a small form of 67. sanguineum having 

 notched petals, which he noticed on serpentine at 

 the Lizard, Cornwall. Those who have only seen 

 the Bloody Cranesbill in gardens, where its stems 



are usually prostrate, or nearly so, can form no idea 

 of its beauty and luxuriance when in a wild state. 

 We remember, while staying near Filey, in York- 

 shire, some few years since, turning away from the 

 grassy cliff — fragrant with the sweet-scented Orchis 

 (Gymnaienia conopsea), and radiant with the Grass 

 of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) — and passing up 

 a miniature glen, where this species, with the 

 Meadow Cranesbill, grew in masses, in beauty not 

 to be imagined or described, the rich red of the one 

 contrasting with the delicate blue of its congener: 

 a sight worth walking many miles to see. Although 

 widely distributed, the Bloody Cranesbill can 

 scarcely be considered a common plant ; it is un- 

 doubtedly native in most of its localities, but occa- 

 sionally establishes itself on railway banks. The 

 Meadow Cranesbill (67. pratense), in common with 

 all the remaining species, has its peduncle two- 

 flowered : the blossoms are nearly as large as those 

 of 67. sanguineum, but the petals are blue, delicately 

 marked with white or pinkish veins, and are nar- 

 rower in shape. The leaves are larger and very 

 much more deeply cut, somewhat resembling those 

 of the Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris), and 

 the species is hence sometimes called Crowfoot 

 Cranesbill. As its name implies, this Cranesbill is 

 au inhabitant of pastures, but it is by no means 

 confined to such situations : we may usually find it 

 in the nature-garden with which the banks of the 

 Thames and other rivers are fringed ; nor is it un- 

 frequent in lanes, preferring, though not absolutely 

 requiring, a damp locality. The plant is usually 

 erect in habit, about two feet in height ; its blos- 

 soms expand from May until August, becoming 

 smaller towards the close of the summer; it is 

 generally distributed, and is not unf'requent in 

 gardens. The blue flowers at once distinguish it. 

 With the Wood Cranesbill (G. sylvaticum) we have 

 never had the good fortune to meet, so our descrip- 

 tion of it must be gleaned from the works of more 

 favoured observers. [Mr. Bentham thus describes it : 

 — "Stem erect or ascending, one to two feet high, 

 or rather more. Radical leaves on long stalks, pal- 

 mately divided almost to the base with five or seven 

 pointed lobes more or less cut or serrated. Stem 

 leaves few, on much shorter stalks. The upper 

 part of the stem is repeatedly forked, forming a 

 rather dense corymbose panicle of handsome purplish 

 flowers." Judging from dried specimens, this species 

 retains its colour more satisfactorily than most of 

 the Cranesbills. It is more northerly in its distri- 

 bution than any other of our species ; Mr. Watson 

 says that its "chief prevalence appears to run from 

 Yorkshire into the Highlands ; southward, it reap- 

 pears in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, 

 and Norfolk," and the last three counties form its 

 southern limit ; for although more southerly stations 

 have been recorded, some mistake is suspected. 

 The nativity of this first instalment of the rhizo- 



