WOODS AND THICKETS IN SUMMER 



135 



•racemes, each flower having a lanceolate bract at the base of its 

 short stalk, and very small bracts at the base of the calyx. The 

 calyx has five teeth, the tliree lower ones much narrower than the 

 other two, all terminating in a sharp point ; the corolla is much 

 longer than the calyx, with an oblong standard or upper petal ; 

 the stamens are all united by their filaments, forming a complete 

 sheath round the ovary; and the pods are smooth, about an inch long, 

 and compressed. 



In the thickets of 

 most parts of Britain, 

 but more especially 

 those of the eastern 

 counties, we may 

 often meet with the 

 Sweet Milk Vetch 

 {Astragalus glycy- 

 phyllos) of the same 

 order. It is a pro- 

 strate plant, with pale 

 yellow or cream- 

 coloured flowers that 

 bloom from June to 

 August. The flowers 

 are about half an inch 

 long, in short, dense, 

 shortly-stalked 

 racemes. The calyx 

 has five teeth ; the 

 upper stamen is free 

 from the other nine, 

 which form a divided sheath round the ovary ; and the pod is 

 smooth, round, cm'ved, over an inch long, and divided by a double 

 membrane into two cells, each of which contains about seven seeds. 



In the same order are two species of Everlasting Pea {Lathyrus), 

 both of which grow in thickets and other bushy places. One is 

 the Tuberous Everlasting Pea or Tuberous Bitter Vetch {L. macror- 

 rhiziis), an erect plant, from six inches to a foot in height, flowering 

 from May to July. Its rootstock has small tubers, and the stem 

 is winged. The leaves are pinnate, A\'ith from two to four pairs 

 of narrow leaflets and half arrow-shaped stipules ; they have no 

 tendrils, but the leafstalk terminates in a fine point. The flowers 



The Wild Raspberry. 



