WALIS, RUINS, ETC. 135 



walls. Its ovate, deeply-cut leaves gave it its commou 

 name of ground oak. The bright pink flowers are 

 something like the white dead nettle in shape,, and 

 grow between the leaves and the stem. 



We all know the common purple, pink, or white 

 Snapdragon, or Dragon's Mouth (Antirrhinum majus) 

 from its frequent cultivation in gardens. It bends its 

 wild head to the wind on churchyard walls in July, 

 though probably not truly indigenous. Its large cap- 

 sules and plentiful seeds (from which an oil can be 

 extracted) have probably aided its extension. The 

 flowers are perfect insect traps: the mouth of the 

 corolla closes when an insect enters in search of the 

 nectar which lies at the foot of the cup, and the im- 

 prisoned creature has no means of escape, save gnawing 

 an aperture through the walls of its prison. 



All the summer long we shall find the Hemlock 

 Stork's-bill (JErodium cicutarium) peering out of the 

 crevices of the walls, while its small umbels of purplish 

 flowers peep from its deeply-cut foliage and hairy 

 stem. The tapering awn of the seed-vessel gave the 

 name to the species. 



"We must look on waste ground and on mountain 

 pastures for the Musky Stork's-bill (JErodium moscha- 



