RIVER-SIDE FLOWERS. 383 



has a more pungent taste, and some think more wholesome, 

 than the cultivated is generally found in pebbly, gravelly 

 streams in July. 



" Her way is o'er the dewy meads 



And by the violet dell, 

 To where a plank her footsteps leads 



By the old haunted well ; 

 And then she steps from stone to stone 

 In the brook's gurgling water's throne, 



To where the cresses grow." 



There are three other British species of this genus 

 N. sylvestre, N. terrestre, and N. amphibium, all found in 

 watery places, the latter the most common. 



Of the Bur-Reeds, Spctrganum (from the Greek word 

 sparganon, a band or ribbon, in allusion to the shape ot 

 the leaves), there are three species, distinguished by the 

 shape of the leaves : 



1. The BRANCHED BUR- REED (S. ramosum) Fig. in " E. 

 B.," J 337 nas tne leaves triangular at the base, the sides 

 concave ; found on the banks of ditches and stagnant pools. 



2. The UNBRANCHED BUR-REED (S. simplex) Fig. in 

 " E. B.," 1338), leaves with flat sides; found in pools and 

 slow-running rivers. 



3. The FLOATING BUR-REED (S. natans) Fig. in " E. B.," 

 1339 leaves very long and pellucid; found in lakes and 

 stagnant waters. 



All three species prefer a gravelly to a muddy bed. 

 Flowers July. 



The WATER- FIGWORT or WATER-BETONY (Scrophularia 

 aquaticd) Fig. in " E. B.," 947 (from scrofula, a disease 

 which this plant is supposed to cure). Somehow or other 

 the plant always pokes its branched head up just where 

 you do not want it, and seems to take a pleasure in twist- 

 ing your line should you unfortunately get caught in it, 

 particularly after the efflorescence, when the seeds are 

 getting ripe. The stems rise to four feet in height. The 

 flower panicles terminal and branched. Flowers dark 

 purple at the mouth, with a scale on the upper lip. 

 Flowers July. 



