174 WILD FLOWERS OF SUMMER. 



far oft' will be the common Tormentil (Potentilla tor- 

 mentilla), with its slender stems and its three leaflets, 

 which number five as they approach the flower-stalks. 

 Here, too, is a plant which furnishes not only a dye 

 from its large woody roots, but also a valuable tanning 

 for leather. Our Lady's Bed or Beadstraw (Galium 

 venm) is common on heathy soils, with its multitu- 

 dinous little yellow flowers. 



The greyish-blue heads of the Sheepsbit (Jasione 

 montana) is sometimes mistaken for the scabious, but 

 it grows on slender stems by hundreds and thousands 

 amongst the grass on the downs and hiJl-sides, where 

 it is eaten by the sheep and decorates the landscape. 

 Its smell when crushed is very disagreeable. 



The Trailing St. John's "Wort (Hypericum Tiumi- 

 fusum) grows on slender stems some six inches long 

 on the heathlands, and both flower and cup are dotted 

 with black. It has all the characteristics of its tribe. 



The Cotton or Cudweeds are very singular-looking 

 woolly-looking plants. The common Heath variety 

 (Filago Germanica) has a sturdy stem of about a foot 

 high, and from its head, which is scarcely larger than 

 a hazel nut, grow two or three flower-stalks bearing a 

 head of blossont It is alFed to the everlasting plants 



