THE GROUND-IVY. 127 



the type known as labiate, from a remote resemblance to a 

 human mouth and lips. In this form of corolla the upper 

 lip is ordinarily divided into two parts, and the lower one 

 into three, and the blossom of the ground-ivy is no ex- 

 ception to this general characteristic. The whole order 

 consists of flowers having this lip-like form; they are 

 hence termed Laliataz. The white and red nettles already 

 figured, and the bugle, the thyme, the betony, and the 

 self-heal are other examples of the order. 



The ground-ivy may be met with freely on hedge-banks 

 and waste ground throughout Britain, the flowering season 

 being from about the middle of March to the middle of 

 July. The flowering shoots are often very rich in colour, 

 the stems and leaves are of various shades of red and purple, 

 and render the plant very conspicuous when growing in a 

 large mass amidst the bright green leaves of the surrounding 

 plants. Great variation of colour exists ; in some cases the 

 whole of the flowering stem is rich with this warm glow 

 of colour, while in others only the few crowning leaves at 

 the top of the spray show any deviation from the general 

 green tint of the plant. It would appear ordinarily that 

 when the plant is exposed to strong sunlight this richness 

 of colour manifests itself, while the plants that grow in 

 shady spots are larger and ranker, but without this beautiful 

 variation of colour. 



The ground-ivy is the Nepeta Glechoma of science, a 

 name that is wrapped in a very decided degree of obscurity. 

 Some writers affirm that the generic name is so called from 

 Nepi, a town in Italy, though what a town in Italy has to 

 do with the ground-ivy is a point that they do not en- 

 lighten us on ; other authorities, no less valuable, derive it 

 from nepa, a scorpion, affirming that the plant was a 



