144 THE CAKNATION FAMIIiY. 



4. Rose Lychnis — (^Lychnis dio'ica.) 



Hedgebanks and shady lanes, everywhere. Plentiful also in damp 



woods, of which it forms one of the most striking decorations in May 



and June, as soon as the blue of the forget-me-not has faded. The 



woods at Styal and about Baguley are perfectly crimsoned with it. 



It often opens a flower as early as April, and is sometimes found white. 



Curtis, i. 105 ; E. B. xxii. 1579. 



Doubled by the art of the gardener, it makes a good and frequent border flower. 



5. White Lychnis — {Lychnis vespertina.) 

 Fields and hedgebanks on the South and South-west, plentifully 

 disseminated, though nowhere in masses like the preceding. Very 

 fine and conspicuous about Sinderland, between Bowdon and Carring- 

 ton Moss. Fl. June — August. 



E. B. xxii. 1580 (as Lychnis dioica, fore dlbo). 



The stamen and pistil-bearing flowers of these two species are readily dis- 

 tinguished, without taking the trouble to open them, by simply compressing the 

 calyx between the fingers, when, if it be a female flower, the ovarj' will be felt, 

 solid and round, whereas in the male flower there is no resistance. They may 

 be told by the very look of the calyx, which the presence of the ovary renders 

 bulging and ovate in the female, while in the male it is narrow and contracted. 

 In both species the female plant is usually taller and more robust, but with fewer 

 blossoms than the male, and tliough seldom distant memy yards, rarely grows 

 intermingled with it. No plants better shew the structure of a capsule and free 

 central placenta ; and as they ripen seeds abundantly, it is easy to procure 

 specimens. 



The white-flowered variety of the dioica may be distinguished from the vespet- 

 tina by the reflexed teeth of the capsule, those of the latter being erect. More- 

 over, the flowers of the dioica are open all day, but those of the vespertina do 

 not expand fully until evening. 



6. CucKOO-FLOWEE Lychnis — [Lychnis Flos-cuculi.) 

 Moist places in old meadows, and on the borders of ponds, where 

 the ground is saturated with wet, and the summer vegetation is rich 

 and various, common. Fl. June. 



Curtis, i. :j:3 ; E. B. viii. 573 ; Baxter, i. 71. 



The pretty and delicate pink flowers, which always have a torn and tattered 

 look, are in perfection just before liay-making, or when tlie cuckoo is in full cry, 

 and quiver till the scytlie of tlie mower comes, after which they are seldom seen 

 in plenty. A white variety is met with now and then. It is difficult to carry 

 home either before thev wither. 



