138 WILD FLOWEB8 OF BTJMMEB. 



of which are more obtuse, and somewhat wrinkled at 

 the edges. The Alpine Dock, or Monks' Rhubarb 

 (Eumex Alpinus), was frequently cultivated for the 

 gake of its root in the abbey gardens, near \vhich its 

 large and very obtuse wrinkled leaves are sometimes 

 found. 



A frequent companion of the dock is the big burly 

 Burdock (Arctium lappa), whose large heart-shaped 

 foliage forms a remarkable cluster by the road-side. 

 Their ball-like flowers, of a dull purplish hue, are armed 

 with prickles set in a spiny seed-cup ; these are the 

 burrs of schoolboys. Shakespeare frequently alludes 

 to their clinging qualities. Celia says to Eosalind in 

 "As you Like it," " They are but lurs, cousin, thrown 

 upon thee in holiday foolery : if we walk not in the 

 common paths, our very petticoats will catch them." 

 The leaves, when laid on the part affected, have some 

 virtue in relieving rheumatic pains. 



The spiny foliage and stiff stems of the Rest Harrow 

 (Ononis arvensis) are frequently seen in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the burdock. Its pink butterfly-shaped 

 blossoms are but seldom found now in cultivated 

 fields, but they make their home in waste places, and 

 ou the common, or the sides of the grassy lanes. It 



