WASTES AND WAYSIDES IN SUMMER 



161 



flowers, one of which — the Haii'y Tare {Vicia hirsuta) — is very 

 common in fields and hedges, flowering from June to August. The 

 stems of this plant are slender, hairy, and are so much branched 

 that they form tangled masses, often mixed up in a confused 

 manner with neighbouring plants. The leaves have from six to 



THE HEJOiOCK STORK'S-BILL. 



eight pairs of leaflets ; and the minute, pale blue flowers, in clusters 

 of from one to six, are on long peduncles. The pods have only two 

 seeds, and are hairy and sessile. 



The other Tare referred to is the Slender Tare ( V. tetrasperma), 

 found principally in the South of England. It owes its specific 

 name to the fact that its pods usually contain four seeds. It is 

 more slender and much less branched than the Hairy Tare, and 

 its leaves have generally only from three to five pairs of leaflets. 

 The flowers are pale blue, appearing from June to August, and are 



