278 NATURE NOTES. 
or at any rate was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and strewed 
before the doors of the churches on festival days. The 
plant, both when fresh and dry, possesses an agreeable scent 
like that of Anthoxanthum odorutum (the sweet vernal grass), 
hence no doubt its use for the above purpose. Hooker also 
records that in Iceland it was used for scenting apartments 
and clothes. 
This grass, though so rare with us, has a wide distribution, 
being found in Arctic, Alpine, and Northern Europe, North 
and West Asia, and North America. 
J. FREDK. JEFFREY. 
WALLFLOWER WITH NO COLOURED PETALS. 
Last summer I found that among a number of wallflowers 
growing together, one of them had no coloured petals. At 
the end of each spray the ordinary green leaves were 
grouped very closely, and formed rosettes. In the centre 
of each rosette were stamens and pistil. The transition 
from leaf to stamen was, in many cases, clearly marked. 
Some of the green leaf-petals bore a dark spot of colour at 
the tip, but this was exceptional. 
The plant bore no seed. I made a drawing of the 
curious green flowers, and I should be glad to know if this 
is a common freak among the Crucifera. 
ELIZABETH _M. JOHNSTONE. 
THE ACACIA IN FLOWER. 
Ir seems to me unusual to see an acacia tree in bloom in 
Scotland, therefore it may be of interest to mention that 
during the months of June—July 1899, an acacia (Robinia 
pseudo-acacia) which grows a few yards from my home on , 
the South Side of Edinburgh, was decked with sprays of 
