230 FLOWERS OF WASTE PLACES, ETC. 



to the south coast; up to 1200 ft. in the north of England. It is 

 common in Ireland and the Channel Islands. 



Good King Henry was so often cultivated at one time as a salad 

 that it is now not uncommon near houses, and indeed it is to be found 

 usually in one or more spots, at least, in every village, as well as in 

 towns, growing in or near the churchyard, or within or hard by the yard 

 of a farmhouse or other dwelling. It is almost always in evidence also 



on waste ground of every 

 description. 



The stem is erect, pyra- 

 midal, with widely-spreading 

 branches or leaves below, 

 tapering above. The leaves 

 are flat, succulent, angular, 

 on long, furrowed leaf-stalks, 

 arrow-shaped or triangular, 

 mealy below, bright -green, 

 entire, and succulent. The 

 stem is covered with wart- 

 like projections, and has 

 alternate red and green 

 bands. 



The flower is green, 

 apetalous, the flowers being 

 compound, with a corolla 

 arranged in a terminal taper- 

 ing spike, leafless, with a 



GOOD KING HENRY (Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus} hollow, membranous calyx, 



and a long stigma which 



is bipartite, acute, and white. The fruits are smooth, exceeding the 

 perianth. 



This plant is usually about i ft. high. It flowers in May up till 

 August. It is perennial, and can be propagated by division. It is 

 cultivated as Spinach. 



Good King Henry has very long styles and from 2-3 anthers, and 

 is proterogynous, the stigma ripening before the anthers. Like other 

 species it is anemophilous, or pollinated by the wind. The fruit is a 

 utricle which falls when ripe, or being enclosed in a membranous calyx 

 is wafted some distance away by the wind. 



Being addicted to a sand soil it is a sand-loving plant, and being 

 cultivated is improved by humus. 



