34 THE FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY-SIDE 



some authorities, from the Latin word Solamen^ in reference 

 to the medicinal value of some of the plants of the genus. 

 The specific name Dulcamara is compounded from the two 

 Latin words diilcis, sweet, and amara, bitter ; and so an 

 alternative popular name for the plant is the bitter-sweet. 

 These names are suggested by the fact that if one tastes 

 a piece of the stem it is at first bitter in the mouth, but 

 afterwards sweet. The monkish name, Amaradulcis^ places 

 matters in their proper order, while the botanical Dulcamara 

 does not. 



The somewhat weak stems vary in colour from ash- 

 colour to dull purple. They ordinarily force their way 

 amongst the other and sturdier plants of the hedgerow 

 or copse, finding amongst these a welcome support. The 

 leaves, it will be observed, grow alternately on the stem, 

 the lower ones being somewhat egg or heart-shaped, 

 while those higher on the plant have the form we have 

 depicted in our illustration. The flowers are to be found 

 during June, July, and August, so that before the later 

 ones appear we have the first transformed into fruits, and 

 we can ordinarily gather at the same time whichever we 

 desire. The corolla is divided into five very deeply cut 

 segments that are turned sharply back ; it is ordinarily 

 deep purple in colour, but may sometimes be found of 

 a pure white. The bright yellow anthers in the centre 

 are a very noticeable feature.^ The blossoms are similar 

 in form to those of the tomato, a near relative of the 

 bitter-sweet. The berries, it will be noted, are not 



' The Flowers come forth at the top and sides of the Branches, 

 standing many together upon short stalks, which consist of five narrow 

 and long violet-purple coloured leaves, with a long yellow Pointel in the 

 middle sticking forth. — Adam in Eden, 1657. 



