WOOD LOOSESTRIFE. 95 



scorpion-grass, Myosotls si/lcatica, are neither more nor 

 less plants of the forest than the wood loosestrife itself. 



The root of the present loosestrife is perennial, and 

 composed of numerous long whitish fibres. From this 

 spring several slender spreading stalks, weak and pros- 

 trate in character, often rooting near their bases, and 

 generally bright red in colour; the leaves grow in 

 pairs, on short foot-stalks, and are of a broadly 

 oval form, but pointed at their extremities. They are 

 glossy 011 both the upper and under surfaces, somewhat 

 prominently veined, and have their margins waved. In our 

 illustration it will be seen that in one case the leaf stands 

 alone, and so far seems to dispute our assertion that the 

 leaves always grow in pail's, but it will also be seen that 

 the foot-stalk of the second leaf is visible, and that it is 

 only some accidental circumstance that has deprived the 

 plant of that particular leaf. The botanist desires to see 

 the absolute facts of plant structure, and runs some little 

 risk of making his drawings too suggestive of diagrams, 

 while the artist often too little regards these facts, and 

 draws the object as he thinks he sees it, trusting to the 

 artistic eye and accuracy of perception to supply all that 

 is needed. Our aim has been in all our drawings to try 

 and combine these two things the absolute facts of the 

 case and those picturesque accidentals that tell somewhat 

 of the history and vicissitudes of the particular plants. 



The flowers of the wood loosestrife have a deeply 

 five-cleft corolla, broadly displayed and a brilliant yellow 

 in colour. Each flower is supported on a long and slender 

 stalk, rising from the axils of the leaves. The five long 

 and narrow segments of the calyx may be seen in the 

 flower that turns its back on us. The globular capsule 



