54 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



not furnish numerous specimens. Any one wandering in 

 the open spaces in the woodlands any time between the 

 beginning of June and the end of August will scarcely 

 fail to see its yellow blossoms amongst the general under- 

 growth. As the stem is only about a foot or so in height 

 it does not force itself on the eyes of the unobservant, but 

 a very slight search for it will scarcely fail to furnish as 

 many examples as one could wish, for when met with at all 

 it seems to be always found freely. The cow- wheat is an 

 annual, but the supply seems unfailing. The stems are 

 slender and erect, and at intervals, from the axils of the 

 lower leaves, slender straggling branches are thrown out in 

 pairs. These lateral shoots spread widely from the central 

 stem, and the whole plant is smooth to the touch, and bas 

 not the hairy or downy covering so commonly seen in many 

 plants. The leaves grow in pairs, with a considerable por- 

 tion of bare stem between each pair, and each of these is at 

 right angles to those that are next to it. The foliage is 

 long and pointed in character, entirely without serration, 

 and each leaf, as we may clearly see in our illustration, 

 stands boldly out from the stem that bears it. The floral 

 leaves are much smaller, much shorter in proportion to 

 their length, and have one or more pairs of projecting lobes 

 or points at their bases. A glance at the figure will show 

 this difference of form far better than any lengthened verbal 

 description. 



A variety, which was at one time elevated to specific 

 rank under the title of Melampyrum montanum, is found in 

 some mountainous districts of the north; in this variety 

 the plant, as a whole, is smaller, and these floral leaves are 

 what is termed in botanical language entire, that is to say, 

 they show none of the lobing or toothing that is so cha- 



