300 



GLIMPSES INTO PLANT-LIFE 



heii;"ht, a mere rosette of leaves shaped like a 

 battledore, radiating from a very short root stock, 

 and bearing, in early summer, a central flower- 

 stalk from four to six inches high, furnished with 

 a few tiny white flowers. The whole plant lies 



close to the ground, and is 

 often embedded in bog- 

 moss, and, were it not for 

 the bright colour of the 

 leaves ^ and their si^arkling 

 p dewy effect, it would be 

 a difficult plant to find. 

 With the naked eye we 

 can see that the leaves 

 are covered with hairs, and 

 a lens will show still more 

 plainly that these hairs 

 have each a club-like 

 suNOKw. end bearing a gummy 



fluid, in appearance not unlike glycerine. These 

 globules of fluid sparkle in the sun ; hence the 

 name of sundew and the botanical name of 

 drosera, from the Greek " aroseros" or dewy. 



' On .sunny heaths they are dften of a rich crimson tint. 



