86 



BRITISH FLOWERING PLANTS 



the roots. The root is perennial, creeping, and 

 reddish yellow. It throws out in spring trailing 

 quadrangular stems and shoots to the length of 

 4 or 5 feet, which are set with small prickles 

 on the angles of the stem. The leaves are oval, 

 stiff, and pointed, and the midribs and borders 

 are also prickly. The leaves are arranged round 

 the stem in threes or sixes. The flowers are 

 yellow, and are placed at the ends of the stem 

 and shoots. 



The berries are smooth and round ; the fruit is 

 first red, and then black. The plant can be grown 

 either from seed or cuttings. It is a native of 

 South Europe. 



A small plant, about 6 inches high, with pink 

 or blue flowers, which is common in cornfields, is 

 the Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis). The fruit 

 is surmounted by the lobes of the calyx. 



Several species of Bedstraw {Galium) are found 

 in fields, hedges, and marshy places. They are 

 moderate-sized plants, with heads of white or 

 yellow flowers, the yellow-flowered Ladies' Bed- 

 straw (Galium verum) being one of the commonest 



and most familiar. The caterpillars of a great 

 number of handsome moths feed on Galium, 

 among others those of the Humming-Bird Hawk- 

 moth (Macroglossa stellatarum) and the Madder 

 Hawk-moth (Deilephila Galii). The caterpillar of 

 the former is greenish, with a white line on the 

 back, and a bluish tail near the extremity of the 

 body ; the moth measures nearly two inches across 

 the forewings, which are dark brown ; the hind- 

 wings are dull orange, and there is a large tuft at 

 the extremity of the body. It hovers over flowers, 

 both in the daytime and at dusk, in the manner 

 of a humming-bird, from which allied American 

 species cannot be distinguished on the wing. It 

 never settles, except on walls or tree-roots, where 

 its colour conceals it from observation. The 

 Madder Hawk-moth is a much rarer species in 

 England. The caterpillar is green, with a yellow 

 line and a grey horn on the back, and a row of large 

 yellowish black-bordered spots on the sides. The 

 moth, which flies over flowers at dusk, measures 

 nearly three inches across the forewings, which are 

 rather narrow and pointed, and dark green, with a 



