HEATH TRIBE 217 



of the filament ; they open by a large orifice at the end, and so resemble 

 scoops. 



6. Mediterranean or Irish Heath {E. mediterrdnea). — Leaves 4 in 

 a whorl, linear, smooth, flat above, convex, with a central furrow below ; 

 corolla cup-shaped, twice as long as the calyx ; anthers without awns ; 

 llowers in leafy racemes ; bracts above the middle of the flower-stalk ; 

 perennial. This plant, which is common in our gardens, and which there 

 grows slowly to a large size, has, even when wild, a stem from two to five 

 feet high, with many upright rigid branches; these terminate in flesh- 

 coloured flowers about twice as long as the calyxes, the latter are also 

 coloured. It is found on mountain bogs in the west of Mayo and Galway, 

 Ireland, and on a few other spots in this kingdom. The plants which we 

 have in the garden were introduced here from Spain long before it was 

 knoAvn to be a native of this kingdom. 



2. Ling (CalMna). 



Common Ling, or Heather (C. vulgaris). — Leaves small, more or less 

 downy (in one variety hoary), arranged in 4 rows on opposite sides of the 

 stem and branches, each leaf having 2 small spurs at the base ; corolla 

 small, bell-shaped, shortly-stalked, drooping, nearly sessile ; perennial. This 

 plant, which is very abundant on heaths and moors, is a small shrub, with 

 tiny bright-green leaves, and its little flowers of a rich purplish-lilac are very 

 numerous and beautiful in July and August. The flowers remain on the 

 plant long after the seed has ripened, and will preserve their colour not 

 alone on its rigid branches, but long after being gathered, often forming a 

 bouquet for the winter mantelpiece. It is an exceedingly beautiful plant, 

 varying from a slightly downy condition to an absolute hoariness of foliage, 

 and occasionally bearing white blossoms. It is not often that the foliage is 

 white with down, but Mr. George Luxford relates that, on one occasion, 

 when visiting Mosely Common soon after dawn, his attention was arrested b}^ 

 the appearance of water at a spot where on a previous visit he knew that he 

 had not seen any. On arriving at the place, he found that this appearance 

 was occasioned by the reflection of the rays of the morning sun on a very 

 heavy dew lying on the hoary Ling which at that place quite covered some 

 gently-sloping ground. " Calluna vulgaris, in all its states," says this botanist, 

 "is a very elegant plant. The red and the white-flowered varieties, with 

 their smooth, deep green, closely imbricated leaves, are pretty and delicate ; 

 the hoary one is very beautiful, although not possessing the exquisite silvery 

 appearance of the stems and under side of the leaves of the lady's mantle 

 and hoary cinqviefoil ; but of all the varieties the pre-eminentlj^ lovely one 

 is that with double red flowers. This variety is found wild in Cornwall ; a 

 specimen in my herbarium has its branches covered for nearly its whole 

 length with the crowded flowers, and sweeter resemblances of wreaths of 

 roses cannot be conceived." The Ling is always one of the most ornamental 

 plants in our British herbarium ; we scarcely know of any othea: which so 

 well preserves the tint both of its flowers and foliage for many years. 



The Ling grows in abundance on barren Alpine moors, where scarcely 

 any other plant is to be found. It occura in every part of Europe, and is 



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