i2 4 FLOWERS OF THE CORNFIELDS 



anthers and stigma ripening together, or the anthers first. The 

 staminate flowers are usually in the middle, or absent, but those in 

 the umbels of the third order are male as a rule. The points of the 

 petals are turned inwards. The styles are straight, the disk expanded. 

 The whole contrivance of the flower shows that it lends itself to self- 

 pollination, the flowers being little visited or liable to be visited by 

 insects, because like other cornfield plants they are not generally 

 accessible to insects. 



SHEPHERD'S NEEDLE (Scandix-Pecten-Veneris, L.) 



Flatters & Garnett 



The long needle-like pods open and expel the seeds by an elastic 

 movement. 



Being a sand plant, Venus's Comb is addicted to a sand soil, and 

 may also be a lime -loving plant growing freely on a lime soil on 

 calcareous rock soils. 



Like other plants of cultivated ground there are no fungal or insect 

 pests that infest it. 



Scandix, Theophrastus, is the Greek name for Chervil; pecten 

 veneris, Dodonseus, is the Latin for Venus's Comb. 



This plant has many common names: Adam's Needle, Beggar's 

 Needle, Needle Chervil, Clock-needle, Lady's Comb, Venus's Comb, 

 Shepherd's Comb, Coombs, Crake -needle, Crow -needle, Crowpecks, 



