FLOWERS OF THE WOODS AND COPSES 7 
its petals intact. In hazel copses in the south we shall find with good 
fortune the Green Hellebore. An oak wood carpeted with Bluebells 
in spring, and clad in a rich russet coat of bracken in autumn, where 
rocky knolls abound, is the place for the Columbine. A shade-lover, 
the Sweet Violet adds richly to the heavy perfume of the woods, 
aromatic already with the smell of humus, leaf-mould, and resin, per- 
chance, from the pines. A new setting is conveyed by the bright 
pink masses of Red Campion blooms which give a bright colour to the 
green depths around. The Linden, when summer is at its zenith, is 
like attar of roses to the bees which hover amid its boughs on honey 
intent. Wood Sorrel is here the sensitive plant of the woods, by some 
called Shamrock. It luxuriates in the sides of a mossy leafy dell. 
Holly makes thick coverts for the pheasants on stony banks. The 
Wild Cherry dangles its ‘““whitehearts” in the wooded seclusion, fit 
treasures for the birds. Open banks in the glades are spread with 
luscious fruits of the Wild Strawberry by Midsummer Eve. The grey 
undersides of the leaves in the well-roofed shelters of White Beam 
flicker in the breeze, thus revealing themselves. Close by Mountain 
Ash spreads wide mealy panicles of white flowers, ready for the 
autumn’s promise of a rich red feast for the woodland tribes. 
On the open rocky slopes in the woods the rose-purple clumps of 
bloom of the Rosebay enliven the grey-clad stony banks. Beneath 
the dripping oaks the lowly Enchanter’s Nightshade and Sanicle hide 
with retiring modesty. Along the pathways through the woods rise 
the noble umbels of Axge/ca, with spreading foliage. Ivy clings to 
the Oak like a parasite upon some scion of a noble house. Wayfaring 
Tree fills the damp hollows forming dense coverts by the decoys. 
Clambering up the stem of Hawthorn, or bole of Oak or Ash, the 
Honeysuckle or Sweet Eglantine disperses sweet perfume in the night. 
Woodruff, too, in the daytime makes the air heavy with the odour of 
new-mown hay. 
A sulphur hue is lent by the sweet-tinted Primrose, which finds 
shade and safety in the woodland depths. Wood Loosestrife or Yellow 
Pimpernel trails delicately over the damper soil. The Small Peri- 
winkle brings again to the woods the colours of the deep-blue skies, 
and the versicolorous Lungwort is as gay here as in the long borders 
in the garden. In sheltered, open glades a wide patch of Wood 
Forget-me-not makes the woods blue, and so choice a beauty is not so 
soon forgot. 
The tall spikes, with spotted blooms of the Foxglove into which 
the humble bees come and take their toll, stand gracefully on the 
