94 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



yellow blossoms and glossy verdant leaves creeping amidst 

 the herbage of the hedgerow. The only species we have 

 not figured is the L. thyrsifolia or tufted loosestrife. 

 In this the stems are some two feet high, the leaves are 

 numerous and lanceolate, and the small yellow flowers 

 spring in dense bunches from the axils of the leaves. 

 It is found in wet marshy ground, or by the sides of 

 streams, but is very rarely met with in England, and chiefly 

 in the northern counties when found at all, though it 

 occurs somewhat more frequently in Scotland. 



The wood loosestrife, the subject of our present illus- 

 tration, is one of the smaller species, its slender stems 

 being rarely a foot in length. It should be looked for in 

 woods and shady copses, from the end of May to the 

 beginning of September, and it seems to thrive more 

 especially where there is a considerable amount of moisture 

 in the soil. All lovers of woodland scenery will be aware 

 that beneath trees the ground is often decidedly soft, and 

 when we come to a place where we more especially hesitate 

 whether to go on or to turn back, we may expect to find 

 the wood loosestrife not far off. 



The meaning of the generic title LysimacJiia we have 

 already referred to in our comments on a preceding species 

 in the genus; the specific name is Latin in its origin, and 

 means that which pertains to woods or groves. We re- 

 cognise it again in the botanical name of the wood 

 anemone Anemone nemoro.m and some few others. A 

 good many other plants have the terms si/lvestris or 

 it/lvatlca applied to them, but these would appear to be 

 distinctions without any real difference, as the sylvan 

 shades are equally those of the woodland or the grove. 

 The houndVtongue, Cynoglossum sylcaticitm, and the wood 



