102 \VILD JTLOWEKS OF SPHLNO. 



tion as an antiscorbutic. The Horse Kadish (Coch- 

 learia armoracia) is another species of scurvy grass ; 

 but the appearance of the plants is very different. 



The once favourite pot-herb Alisander or Alexander 

 (Smyrnium olustratwn) flowers in May, but its dark 

 green leaves, not much unlike celery, appear earlier in 

 the year. It was formerly cultivated, and is frequently 

 found near the neglected gardens of old castles and 

 ruined abbeys ; but it loves the salt air. It is an um- 

 belliferous plant, and the flowers are greenish-yellow. 

 The leaves grow out of a swollen sheath. 



Another May flower, the Sea-Gromwell (Mertensia 

 maritimd), is not so common, being chiefly confined to 

 the Scotch and Welsh coasts, where it blooms among 

 the pebbles on the beach. It may be known by the 

 delicate green tint of both stems and leaves, which 

 are covered with a mealy bloom. The flowers are of 

 a rich purple hue, with yellow dots inside. As the 

 foliage withers and the bloom is rubbed off, rough 

 callous points are seen upon the surface, which become 

 stony or ivory-like in drying, when the rest of the 

 plant is black. The flavour of the plant is thought to 

 resemble that of oysters. The floral beauty of the 

 sea-shore belongs rather to sumip^r than the spring. 



