ANAGALLIS AHVENSIS. 135 



is perennial; the Scarlet, A. an'e^isiSj'is an annual. The former blooms 

 only in July and August, the latter from May to November. It is 

 included in the same natural order as the Oxlip, CowsHp, Primrose, 

 Auricula, and Cyclamen. The inflorescence consists of a single 

 flower surmounting a long stem, which springs from the axil of 

 each leaf. The leaves are opposite, and thus there is a pair of 

 flowers springing from the bases of each pair of leaves. (See PI. 

 XVIL, Fig. I.) 



The calyx of the Anagallis has five divisions or sepals united 

 at the base, and the sepals are distinctly seen in the open blossom 

 extending between the deep clefts of the corolla. The corolla is 

 of a beautiful scarlet colour, monopetalous, rotate, and with five 

 lobes. The five stamens are attached to the corolla, and when the 

 latter is fully expanded, they lie almost flat upon its lobes. The 

 anthers, covered with pollen, appear like nuggets of gold upon the 

 scarlet back ground, and the purple ring at the base of the corolla 

 adds much to the beauty of the floral display. The ovary is 

 globose, with a pink coloured style and capitate summit. The 

 capsule opens with a lid, the upper half being dehiscent, so that 

 the seeds, when the lid has fallen off, are seen closely packed 

 together in a miniature cup. (See Fig. 2.) 



The floral structure may be represented by a pentagon of five 

 equal sides, all the angles equidistant from its centre : five calyx 

 sepals, five corolla lobes, five stamens, all either uniting or lying in 

 close proximity at the centre of a mathematical pentagon. Artists 

 have caught the inspiration of Nature, and the beautiful traceries 

 of our church windows and other ornamental designs are hers by 

 sovereign right. Emerson eloquently observes — " The Gothic 

 Cathedral is a blossoming in stone subdued by the insatiable 

 demand of harmony in man ; the mountain of granite blooms into 

 an eternal flower, with the lightness and delicate finish, as well as 

 with the aerial proportions and perspective of vegetable beauty.'' 



My description of the Anagallis arvensis has been hitherto 

 connected with beauty which can be seen without the aid of the 

 microscope, and even in this, one is led to exclaim with Tegner — 

 " If so much of beauty doth reveal 

 Itself in every vein of life and nature. 

 How beautiful must be the source itself — 

 The Ever Bright One." 



