46 FL()\V1:RS Ol" THK I'lKI.DS AM) MJ-.ADOWS 



Gerardc remarks, "The; whcilc Uift (of tlovvcrs) is drawn together when 

 the scfdc is ripe, resemliline;- a l)ir(.rs nest". He speaks of it as "scrv- 

 in<;' for love matters ". 



The Wild Carrot is the origin of the t^anlcii lornis, it contains 

 much sLii^ar, and a spirit lias been prepared from it, 



ESSKNTIAL Sl'iaiKIC ClIARACTKRS : 



132. Daiicits Caroia, L. — Root lon;^, stem erect, rigid, downy, leaves 

 tripinnate, leallets pinnaliiid, llnwcrs while, central red, in large umbels, 

 with trilid bracts below. 



Devil's Bit Scabious (Scabiosa succlsa, L.) 



In Interglacial beds at West W^ittering seeds of the Devil's Bit 

 Scabious have been met with. It is found to-day throughout the 

 Northern Temperate and Arctic Zones in Arctic I'^urope, Siberia, and 

 N. Africa. Devil's liit Scabious is found in every part of Great 

 Britain, ascending to 2500 ft. in the Highlands. 



This plant is a meadow species growing" in fields and meadows at 

 low as well as high elevations. It forms quite a feature of the fields 

 laid to grass in summer, and is equally common upon the hillsides and 

 along the roads and lanes all over the country, being widely dispersed 

 and growing in some (juantity. 



The tall-fiowered stems of this plant are conspicuous in the 

 meadows in summer, and are easily recognized by the mode of branch- 

 ing of the flowering stems. The stem is simple — that is, not branched 

 below, but branched above. The smooth leaves are hairy, are narrowly 

 elliptical, egg-shaped at the base, the stem-leaves being linear and 

 nearly entire. 



Its principal feature, however, is its blunt rootstock, termed pre- 

 morse, as though bitten off abruptly below, hence the name. 



The beautiful lilac or blue flowers are borne on hemispherical 

 heads, which have numerous bracts below, and the flower-stalks are 

 long. The flowerhcafl contains many florets in its involucre or whorl 

 of floral organs. The outer involucre or whorl of leaflike organs has 

 membranous plaited scaly bracts, the receptacle being hemispherical. 

 The corolla is equal and 4-cleft. The caly.x is crowned by five 

 bristles; the fruit Is sub-cylindrical, with eight furrows. 



The ])]ant is about 18 in. in height. The flowers are late, 

 opening in August, up to October. It is a perennial plant, increasing 

 by division. 



The flow'erhead is hemispherical, the florets all one size, 50-So, 



