72 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



poisonous qualities ; and though many of the species are 

 employed medicinally, great care is needed in their 

 administration, and the roots of the British species are 

 very bitter and astringent in their nature. In the 

 Middle Ages its binding qualities were held in such 

 esteem that it was thought they even affected the moral 

 atmosphere, and old writers gravely advise the eating of 

 its leaves by man and wife to establish and confirm them 

 in loving confidence and close affection. 



The V. rosea may sometimes be met with in culti- 

 vation, though it is not sufficiently hardy to brave our 

 climate without protection. It is a native of Madagascar, 

 China, &c. The general appearance and size of the plant 

 is very similar to that of the species figured, but the stems 

 are more upright, and the blossom, instead of being the 

 somewhat dull purple found in both our English species, 

 is a rich crimson. 



