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BRITISH FLOWERING PLANTS 



3 white petals, 9 stamens and 6 pistils. The fruit 

 is 6-celled, opens towards the centre, and contains 

 numerous seeds. 



Arrow-grass — Triglochin maritimum 

 (Plate CI) 



This is a plant which grows in small tufts near 

 the sea. The stalk is long, slender, and rather 

 thicker at the base, with long slender straight 

 leaves, and small flowers on a long stalk. They 

 have 6 petals stamens and pistils soldered 

 together. The fruit is a capsule, with 6 carpels, 

 each containing a seed. The pistils mature before 

 the stamens, and the flowers are fertilised by the 

 wind. 



Order XCVI. Asparagacece (5 genera) 



In this Order the perianth has 4, 6, or 8 lobes, 

 and there are an equal number of stamens. The 

 styles, if more than one, are united at the base ; 

 but the fruit is a berry, and not a capsule, and the 

 root is not bulbous. 



Among the plants included in this Order is 

 the Asparagus {Asparagus officinalis), which grows 

 wild in some places on the west coast of England, 

 Wales, and the opposite coast of Ireland. It is a 

 branching feathery plant, with small green flowers 

 and red berries. 



Lily of the Valley — Convallaria majalis 

 (Plate CII) 



The Lily of the Valley grows in shady woods, 

 and is local in Britain, though common where it is 

 found, as it is a gregarious plant, with a creeping 

 root-stalk, and multiplies rapidly. The flowers are 

 sweet-scented bells, drooping on one side the stalk ; 

 with a 6-lobed perianth and 6 stamens. They 

 are succeeded by a red berry. The leaves are 

 long and broad, tapering at each end, and generally 

 rising in pairs within a sheath. A preparation of 

 the flowers is used in heart disease, its action being 

 similar to that of Digitalis. 



Allied to this are the different species of 

 Solomon's Seal {Polygonatum), grown in gardens, 



