Fig. 73. ST. JEANNET, VILLAGE AND CLIFF. 



PECULIAR PLANTS. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



" Les herbes out chascune leur propriete, leur naturel et singular! te." 



THE Aspidistra may be popularly described as a 

 tuft of leaves growing in an ornamental pot : for we 

 do not see it quite so often in the open ground. The 

 plant is peculiar because it appears to have no stem 

 or flower or fruit ; the leaves seem to come up out of 

 the soil. It is also peculiar because it haunts every 

 nook and corner of the town. You cannot escape the 

 Aspidistra. It greets you in the noisy station, and 



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