82 



BRITISH FLOWERING PLANTS 



Order XXXIX. Cornacecs (i genus) 



Dogwood — Cornus sanguinea 



(Plate XLV) 



This is a tall shrub which is common in woods, 

 bushy places, and rocky slopes in England and 

 Ireland. The branches are opposite to each other, 

 and are blood-red in autumn and winter, so that 

 the plant is always easily recognisable. The young 

 shoots are clothed with appressed hairs in the 

 young plant only, but the leaf-stalks, the branching 

 flower-stalks, and the calyx are always hairy. The 

 leaves are opposite, elliptical, pointed, and with 

 almost entire margins. They are dark green above 

 and paler below, and turn red in autumn. The 

 veins of the leaves are parallel, and extend almost 

 to the tip. The flower-clusters are terminal, are 

 placed on a long stalk without bracts, and are 

 only slightly convex. At the base of the flower- 

 stalks are small narrow stipules, which are soon 

 shed. The flowers are white. The calyx is 

 quadridentate, and there are 5 petals and stamens. 

 The petals are lanceolate, and downy on the 



outside. The glandular ring is yellow. The 

 fruit ripens in autumn, and consists of round black 

 berries with whitish dots. They are not edible. 



The only other British species of this Order is 

 the Dwarf Cornel {Cornus suecica), a. small plant 

 throwing up annual shoots about 6 inches high, 

 found on moors in Scotland and the North of 

 England. The Dogwood grows to the height of 

 5 or 6 feet. 



Sub-class III. Corolliflorae 



The corolla is inserted on the ovary, and the 

 stamens are attached to the petals. 



Order XL. LorantJiacecz (1 genus) 



Mistletoe — Viscum album 



(Plate XLVI) 



This a parasitic shrub, and the only representative 



of its Order in Britain. It grows on Apple, Poplar, 



and other trees, to which it is highly injurious, 



its roots penetrating beneath the bark. The stem 



is much branched, the leaves long and leathery, 



