282 



FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



downward at the base into a short spur ; five very narrow, tubular 

 petals ; a few stamens ; and a spike-Uke cluster of many carpels in 

 the centre. As the fruit ripens the cluster of carpels lengthens into 

 a slender spike from an inch to an inch and a half long. This 

 species is rather common in the South and South-East of England, 

 and is to be seen most frequently in moist fields. 



The Corn Crowfoot {R. 

 arvensis) is a slightly hairy 

 plant, with a branched stem 

 from six to eighteen inches 

 in height. The whole is of 

 a pale green colour, and the 

 leaves are deeply cut into 

 narrow, lobed segments. 

 The flowers are pale yellow, 

 about half an inch in dia- 

 meter, with spreading sepals ; 

 and are usually placed oppo- 

 site the leaves. Their carpels 

 are few in number, compara- 

 tively large, flattened, and 

 covered with hooked spines. 

 This is an abundant species, 

 especially in the southern 

 counties, and is most com- 

 mon in weedy fields in 

 which corn-crops have been 

 previously raised. It flowers 

 from May to July. 



The same order {Ranun- 

 culacece) includes the Field 

 Larkspur {Del2)hinium 

 Ajacis) which [sometimes 

 grows wild in corn-fields. 

 It is not indigenous, but has been introduced from South Europe ; 

 and the wild plants are probably escapes from cultivation. The 

 stem is from nine to eighteen inches high, with a few spreading 

 branches ; and the leaves are all deeply cut into very narrow 

 segments. The flowers are blue, pink or white, and are arranged 

 in a long, terminal raceme. The five sepals are coloured, the posterior 

 one prolonged into a narrow, hollow spur about half an inch long. 



THE Mouse-tail. 



