MADDER TRIBE " 109 



8. Great Hedge Bedstraw {G. mollugo). — Leaves 8 in a whorl, 

 oblong, tapering at both ends, having a bristly point and roughish margins. 

 This species, though not frequent in Scotland, is among the common flowers 

 of England, bearing its blossoms in loose spreading panicles, and having long, 

 soft slender stems three or four feet in length. It presents some resemblance 

 to the goose-grass ; its prickles, however, point forwards, while those of that 

 plant point backwards. A variety has been found by Dr. Bromfield in the 

 Isle of Wight, with greenish flowers. The plant was, some years since, 

 highly eulogized by M, Jourdain, the Director of the Hospital at Tain in 

 Dauphiny, as a valuable remedy for epilepsy, and marvellous cases have been 

 related of its efficacy, though very little reliance is placed by other medical 

 men on its powers. The roots afford a good red dye, and colour the bones 

 of birds. 



9. Cross-leaved Bedstraw {G. boredle). — Leaves 4 in a whorl, 

 lanceolate, 3-nerved, smooth ; stems erect. This species, which is not 

 uncommon on moist rocky places, is easily distinguished by its four leaves 

 placed crosswise, and its fruit rough with hooked bristles. It has straggling 

 stems about eighteen inches long, with many leafy branches, and it bears in 

 June and July its compact terminal panicles of flowers. This plant is, by 

 the North American Indians, termed Sawayan, and the roots are used to dye 

 the porcupine quills with which they embroider the boxes, baskets, and 

 other ornamented articles made of birch-bark, so often brought to this 

 country. The roots, after being carefully w^ashed, are boiled gently, and a 

 quantity of the juice of the mooseberry, cranberry, or strawberry, is added. 

 The quills are placed in the liquor before it becomes cold, and in most 

 cases quickly acquire a rich scarlet tint, though occasionally the dye fails, 

 and only a dingy brown colour is produced. This is probably the conse- 

 quence of too much acid having been mingled w^ith the dye. The Crees use 

 several plants in tinting the quills, taking indiscriminately either this or an 

 allied species for the scarlet hue, and giving the black colour wdth elder bark, 

 the yellow wdth a juice obtained from the Dutch myrtle, and various other 

 tints by means of lichens which abound on the barren rocks. Both the 

 quills and the skins which the Indians prepare for their dresses are also dyed 

 yellow with a colour derived from a species of hellebore, growing commonly 

 in the woods throughout Canada, and called by the French Tissavoijaune 

 jaune. The Cross-leaved Bedstraw must not be sought south of a line drawn 

 from Brecon to York. North of that and in Ireland it may be looked for 

 creeping among moist elevated rocks. 



* * * Boots annual ; floicers ichite or greenish. 



10. Wall Bedstraw (G. parisidnse). — Leaves about 6 in a whorl, 

 lanceolate, bristle-pointed, prickles on the margins pointing forAvards ; flower- 

 stalks axillary ; stem slender, rough, wdth prickles bending backwards ; fruit 

 in one variety bristly, in another smooth. This is a plant inhabiting dry 

 sandy soils and w^alls, and flow^ering in June and July. It is found, though 

 rarely, in Kent, and other parts of the east and south-east of England. It is 

 also known as G. anglicum. 



11. Warty-fruited Bedstra\v [G. sacchanitum). — Leaves 6 in a whorl, 



