IOO 



BRITISH FLOWERING PLANTS 



attitude which suggested that of a Sphinx to the 

 older entomologists, whence its name. But not- 

 withstanding the size and beauty of the caterpillar, 

 its colours assimilate so well with the plant that 

 its presence is often only detected, even by 

 entomologists, by noticing its droppings under the 

 bushes. The moth is pale brown, varied with 

 grey and whitish, and expands 4 inches across 

 the rather narrow and pointed forewings. The 

 hindwings are banded with black and pink, and 

 the rather stout abdomen is also transversely 

 banded on the sides with pink. Many other 

 insects feed on privet, etc., one of them being 

 the caterpillar of an extremely delicate little moth 

 {Gracilaria syringella), only half an inch across its 

 narrow yellowish brown-spotted fringed wings. 

 The caterpillar is whitish, and makes conspicuous 

 mines in the leaves of the trees on which it lives. 



Ash — Fraxinus excelsior 



(Plate LVIII) 



The Ash is a lofty tree which flourishes best in 

 a rather damp soil. The trunk is erect, and the 



bark is greyish brown, and smooth, except in old 

 trees, when it becomes rugged. The buds are 

 large and black, and surrounded with soft hairy 

 scales. The leaves are opposite, unequally pinnate, 

 and the leaflets are long, lanceolate, with a 

 prominent apex, and coarsely serrated ; the base 

 is narrowed, entire, and almost sessile. The leaves, 

 unlike those of the privet, are deciduous. The 

 flower-clusters rise from the sides of the leaf-buds, 

 near the tips of the young shoots, and the stamens 

 are attached opposite to each other on the sides of 

 the ovary ; but many trees bear only male or only 

 female flowers. The flowers appear in April or 

 May before the leaves. The seed-capsule is long 

 and tough, almost leathery, expanding into a 

 wing above. It is two-celled, but onLy one seed 

 ripens. The clusters are called ash-keys, or 

 samaras. 



The Blister Beetle (Cantharis vesicatoria), a 

 narrow, brilliantly metallic green beetle, about 

 half an inch long, feeds on the Ash, and a tree 

 loaded with them is a magnificent sight. The 

 insect, however, is scarce in Britain. It is the 



