July 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



155 



The Cut-leaved Crancsbill (as 0. dissectum is 

 called par excellence) is a common and very variable 

 species. When it grows"; on the hedgebank we are 

 attracted to it in April or May by the deeply-cut, 

 usually rather hairy, root-leaves, which staud con- 

 spicuously forward on their long stalks : these 

 leaves die off in the summer, and the stem becomes 

 much branched. At the beginning of June this 

 species is in perfection; the small rose-coloured 

 flowers then appear, and the graceful root-leaves 

 have not begun to wither ; and a bank covered with 

 it, such as we not unfrcquently come across in 

 some country lane, is very ornamental. The stem- 

 leaves, which are much cut, and but slightly stalked, 

 are opposite. Although a tall plant, it is (except 

 in spring) one of the least conspicuous of the 

 Cranesbills, the petals being small, not longer than 

 the calyx, notched, and very fugacious ; the -flowers 

 seldom expand fully, save in bright sunshine ; 

 the peduncles are shorter than the leaf-stalks, and 

 the axillary blossoms are often concealed by the 

 leaves above them : the carpels are not wrinkled. 

 In some situations. the plant assumes a procumbent 

 habit, and in open places the root-leaves are on 

 shorter stalks, and less conspicuous. The stem, 

 though erect, is usually weak, varying in height 

 from eight inches to two feet. The Cut-leaved 

 Cranesbill is generally distributed, and blossoms 

 from May until late in the season. 



The Shining Cranesbill (67. lucidum) is a de- 

 servedly admired species, which often finds a place 

 in the gardens of flower lovers. No stain, however, 

 rests upon its character as a native plant : if the 

 gardens have given the woods the Dusky Craues- 

 bill, it is to the hedgebanks that they are indebted 

 for this pretty little plant. The leaves are round 

 in outline, with broad segments, and shining as if 

 brushed over with gum ; at the latter end of June 

 they become bordered with red, sometimes red alto- 

 gether : the stem is much branched, usually from 

 the axils of a pair of leaves. When G. lucidum first 

 flowers, the blossoms appear to lie close to the root, 

 so imbedded are they in the dark shining leaves; 

 but as the stem elongates and branches, the plant 

 becomes straggling, and less ornamental than in the 

 earlier stage. It is useful to grow with the Wood 



Scorpion-grass {Myosotis sylvatlcd), as both can be 

 pulled up at the beginning of June to make room 

 for summer plants ; and both have by that time 



perfected and dispersed a sufficient quantity of seed 

 to ensure a supply of each for the next spring. Or 

 the plants, when pulled up, may be shaken over 



any spare bit of ground, and the produce of the 



seed thus scattered may be planted out the follow- 

 spring in the beds where required. The calyx 



ins 



of G. lucidum is worth noticing; it is pyramidal, 

 the edges of the sepals forming projecting angles. 

 But it is only three of the sepals that are conspi- 

 cuous ; these are broad, transparent, and greenish- 



white ; the other two are narrow and white, with a 

 central green line. The petals are of a bright rose- 

 pink, with a white claw, usually entire, but some- 

 times slightly notched ; they contrast prettily with 

 the pale yellow anthers. Although the flowers are 

 small, they are conspicuous from their brightness 

 and abundance. It is to be wished that, for garden 

 growth, a form could be obtained in which the pro- 

 cumbent habit should be retained, and the blossoms 

 increased in size and number : probably by careful 

 selection such a result might be attained. The 

 segments of the upper leaves are more pointed, and 

 somewhat approach those of Herb Robert in ap- 

 pearance ; the whole plant has, in a less degree, the 

 scent of that species. Although not a rare, it is by 

 no means a common plant : it prefers chalky dis- 

 trcts, and usually grows on hedgebanks, covering 

 large spaces ; sometimes it may be found on roofs of 

 cottages ; and Withering says it is frequent among 

 corn on a chalky soil, a habitat in which we have 

 not detected it. Lastly, we may note the elasticity 

 with which the carpels, when mature, spring from 

 their axis: in G. rotundifolium, they adhere by 

 their awns for some time, and even after the seed 

 is dropped; but in G. lucidum they go off at a 

 touch, almost as suddenly as those of the Wood- 

 sorrel. 



" There are worse things than the common weed, 

 67. Robertianum for twining itself round the sides 

 of a rustic basket, or crawling over a rockwork." 

 This is the qualified praise which "The Cottage 

 Gardener's Dictionary " condescends to bestow up- 

 on Herb Robert, one of the commonest, and one of 

 the prettiest of our Cranesbills. Not only are there 

 " worse things," but, in our humble opinion, there 

 are few better for such purposes. Who, that has 

 seen a stoneheap by the woodside, covered in April 

 with the delicate fern-like foliage of this plant, the 

 two bright red seed-leaves still adhering to the 

 stem, can have passed; such a natural rockwork by 

 without an admiring glance ?— or, later in the season 

 when the stems become red, and the numerous pink 

 flowers expand, who has not been struck with the 

 elegance of its growth and the beauty of its colours? 

 There are people who care for none of these things, 

 but we would not be reckoned among them. It is 

 hardly necessary to describe so well-known a plant : 

 its elegant foliage and white-veined flowers are 

 familiar to almost every one : so is its strong aro- 

 matic scent, which some, with Gerarde consider 

 disagreeable, while others (ourselves among the 

 number) think it pleasant. A variety with pure 

 white flowers is cultivated in gardens, and some- 

 times occurs in a wild state ; we have found it with 

 but a faint tinge of pink at Capel Curig, North 

 Wales : both these variations are permanent. The 

 outline of the leaves is pentagonal, and the sepals 

 are unequal, as in G. lucidum. We have before 

 referred to the former L use of this plant as a 



