130 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



name of weasel- snout ; while Galeobdolon is made up of 

 two words, also from the Greek, the first being our friend 

 the weasel again for the idea, though somewhat recon- 

 dite and far-fetched, has a charm that prevents its being 

 willingly abandoned and a second word signifying a 

 disagreeable odour, in allusion, probably, to the somewhat 

 strong and not altogether pleasant smell that the stems 

 and leaves of the plant have when crushed in the hand. 



The yellow nettle is much more local in its habitat than 

 either the white or red nettles, and though common 

 enough when met with at all, will in many localities be 

 searched for in vain. Woods and shady hedgerows 

 are its favourite spots, therefore it does not come so 

 readily before the eye as do its relatives; while a further 

 reason why it is less known is, that whereas the red and 

 white species may almost all the year round be found more 

 or less in flower, the yellow dead-nettle will only be thus 

 met with from the middle of April to the middle of June. 

 The leaves of the present species are somewhat longer in 

 proportion to their width than in the case of either of its 

 congeners, and the whole plant has a more delicate look. 

 The inflorescence, or arrangement of the flowers, is the same 

 as in the white dead-nettle, a ring of blossoms surrounding 

 the stem at the points from whence the leaves are given 

 off, and the leaves, as in that plant, are arrayed in pairs, 

 placed at right angles to those that precede them on 

 the stem. The lip of the corolla, it will be noticed, is 

 spotted with a darker and richer colour than that of the 

 rest of the flower. The whole plant stands about one foot 

 in height : it is a perennial. The yellow dead-nettle is of 

 no economic value, though, as the other dead-nettles may 

 in time of scarcity be eaten as food, and are, in fact, so 



