142 WILD FLOWERS OF SUMMEH. 



the well-known narcotic is extracted, gives it its 

 The plant was introduced by old Gerarde. The Poi- 

 sonous Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is known by its 

 foetid smell, spotted stem, and dark foliage among 

 umbelliferous plants. Quite a different plant is the 

 Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger). The much-branched, 

 rounded stem and foliage are all covered with unctuous 

 foetid hairs. The clustered dingy yellow flowers are 

 streaked with purple, and it has often a purple eye. 

 It is a valuable medicine, and its leaves were formerly 

 smoked for asthmatic affections. 



The Dwarf Elder, or Banewort (Samlucits elulus), 

 sometimes haunts the ruined castle and abbey. It 

 also is a noxious plant, with a foetid odour. Its serrated 

 leaflets, dwarf growth, white clusters, red externally, 

 but with purple anthers, distinguish it from the com- 

 mon elder. The berries are reddish-black. Its common 

 name, Danewort, is supposed to have been derived 

 from a tradition that it grew up only where blood had 

 been spilt in the Danish wars. 



During the summer, in the south, on rocky places, 

 the whorled leaves of the Madder (Rulia peregrinia) 

 may be seen. About midsummer the greenish-white 

 flowers begin to appear, as the creeping stem attains 



