CORONARIE^ 323 



sheathing stalk, and the stalks are enclosed in each 

 other so that this gives the plant the appearance of 

 having a stem. The blade, which is oblong, is tapered 

 at each extremity. 



The scape is leafless, semi-cylindrical, angular, 

 radical, not so long as the leaves. The flow^ers are 

 drooping, bell-shaped, pure white. Shelley recalls 

 their form and beauty in " The Sensitive Plant " : 



"And the Naiad, lily of the vale, 

 Whom youth makes so fair and passion so pale. 

 That the light of its tremulous bells is seen, 

 Through their pavilions of tender green." 



The flowers are sweet scented, and as Thompson 

 in '' The Seasons — Spring " writes : 



" Where scattered wild the Lily of the Vale 

 Its balmy essence breathes." 



The flowers are in a loose raceme, six to twelve, on 

 curved flower-stalks. Rarely they are rose-coloured. 

 In form they are nearly round. The perianth- 

 segments have the tips free and are bent back. The 

 bracts are membranous. The globular berries are 

 red. 



Usually the Lily-of-the-Valley is 6 in. high, but it 

 varies from 4 to 9 in. It is in bloom in May and June, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Though there is no free hone}^, the tissues contain 

 a sweet sap. The flowers are visited by insects, how- 

 ever, for pollen. Their pendulous position protects 

 the pollen from rain or drops from the overhanging 

 boughs of trees. The anthers may ripen in advance 



