68 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



judged ; the beautiful gradation of the buds, and the grace- 

 ful spiral form of the stem that bears them, have little in 

 common with the poisonous sting of a creature that is as 

 repulsive in general form as these are elegant. 



The forget-me-not varies a good deal ; three recognised 

 types may be found, and though these run a good deal into 

 each other by a series of intermediate forms, they are by 

 some writers classed as distinct species. 



The wood scorpion-grass (M. sylvatica] is a very hand- 

 some allied species. It is not very common, and only 

 occurs in a wild state in any abundance in Scotland and 

 the north of England. The flowers are large and the plant 

 blossoms very freely, so that it has been somewhat exten- 

 sively used by gardeners as a plant for the flower-border. 



The mouse-ear scorpion-grass, already referred to, is 

 very common throughout Britain in fields, hedges, &c. 

 Though much smaller than the M. pahtstris, it is suf- 

 ficiently like it to make it easily recognisable as a near 

 relation. It flowers throughout the summer and autumn. 



