48 The Romance of Wild Flowers 
but the white petals are small and narrow, so that 
the blossoms are not particularly conspicuous, and 
are but little visited by insects. Honey is produced 
by a fleshy ring near the base of the stamens, but is 
not very accessible. Both anthers and stigmas 
mature together, and self- fertilisation frequently 
takes place. As the numerous and closely-packed 
drupes ripen and become yellow or red, they separate 
from the long and slender spongy receptacle, so that 
when the fruit is gathered it is free from the calyx, 
thimble-shaped, and hollow. The habit of this species 
should be noted: the erect stems arise in a group 
from the rootstocks, new shoots, or “suckers” as 
they are called, continually arising round the old 
ones, which die off in turn. 
tue The Bramble, or 
’) As Blackberry (Rubus 
fruticosus), does not 
produce suckers, and 
its shrubby stems 
» are more woody and 
Bade persistent, covered 
~ with stiff, sharp 
2 bristles, gland- 
AED tipped hairs, and 
ty < 2 . 
Biaokeene sates strong curved spines. 
With the aid of 
these hooks it has become a climbing plant, clamber- 
ing between the close branches of other bushes and 
hedgerow trees, even making its way up the rough 
bark of a tree and rooting among the vegetable 
mould that accumulates where the trunk forks. It 
is quite a common thing for a Bramble stem to grow 
