90 



l-'I.OWl'.RS Ol' 'rill'. CORNl'Iia.DS 



ilittcnnt tlowcr. In the .Mousc-lail it is yellow, aiul t 

 clawed. The tlowcrs are borne on single scapes. 



The sepals. 5 7, are closely parallel with the scape, a 

 scale at base. The Mouse-tail is 26 in. high. It is ii 



petals are 



there is a 

 lowci- from 



April to June. It is annual, coming up year Ijy xcar in ilic same 

 (listriit. 



The (lowers are proterandrous, i.e. the anthers ripen lirst. .\tter 

 the anthers have withc-rcxl. the lop of the ovary elongates into a long 

 cone antl develops the stigmas. The elongation of the pistil a.xis makes 

 {)ossibIe the self-pollination of the neighl)ouring 

 stigmas liy means of the few anthers, which 

 lie close around, the pollen emerging gradually 

 by two lat('ral slits, the elongated axis (i Ij: 

 in.) bringing fresh stigmas in contact with 

 the anthers. The Mouse -tail is pollinated 

 b\- flies, Diptera, Sc/ara, Cliironomus, Scat ope, 

 P/iora, Cccidonivia, Osciiiis. Micropliorus, 

 Ptcronialidcc. IchiiaiDioiiidii'. Haltna, .liitho- 

 iiivia, Mclaiioitoiiia mc/fiiia. 



The fruit of the Mouse-tail is dispersed 

 by the plant's own special mechanism. The 

 achenes or fruits are small, numerous, and dis- 

 persed by the falling of the fruits around the 

 parent plant. The styles do not fall off. 



The Mouse-tail is a sand plant, freciuent- 



ing cHstricts with a .sand soil, derived chiefly 



from the older sandy formations, from which 



are deri\ed sand\ loam, or one inclined to be oolitic, not lim\' or 



gritt)-. It is also fouml on the chalk. 



No fungal pests attack it, nor is it a food plant for insects. 

 Dodonaeus invented the name Jl/yosiinis (Greek iniios, mouse, and 

 oiira, tail) from the shape of the scape, while minimus is Latin for 

 very small. 



Mouse-tail and ISlood Strange are its only names. 

 Parkinson in the last connection refers to it as styi^tic, and says: 

 " Blood-strange, I think corruptly from blood-staying". 

 Essential SrEciFic Ch.\racters: — 



4. Mvosiinis ntiiiiiinis, L. — Sepals 5, spurred, petals with filiform 

 claw, tubular, honey gland at base, 5 stamens, carpels imbricate, borne 

 on a long scape, the seed pendulous. 



MmsK-TAii. {Myosiinis 



