WOODS AND THICKETS IN SUMMER 



149 



fruit is an ovate, pointed capsule tliat splits into two valves and 

 contains many seeds. It is remarkable that this plant does not 

 grow freely on chalk and lime- 

 stone soils, yet it will often 

 make a sudden appearance in 

 great profusion as we pass 

 over the edge of a calcareous 

 district. The flower is shown 

 on Plate II. Fig. 2. 



Of the order Labiatce we 

 shall note one sijecies only, 

 and that is the pretty Wood 

 Betony {Stachys Betonica), a 

 very common plant in the 

 woods and thickets of the 

 south of Britain. It is a 

 hairy species, with a slender, 

 simple or shghtly-branched 

 stem from one to two feet 

 high ; and deeply -crenate, ob- 

 long leaves. The lower leaves 

 have long stalks, and are heart- 

 shaped at the base; but those 

 of the stem are narrower, 

 sessile or shortly stalked, taper- 

 ing at the base. The flowers, 

 which bloom from June to 

 August, vary much in colour, 

 ranging from a deep purple or 

 crimson to a rose-pink or 

 (rarely) white ; and they form 

 a dense oblong, terminal spike, 

 consisting of whorls of six or 

 more, with a bract at the base 

 of each calyx, and a pair of 

 sessile leaves just below the 



lowest whorl. The calyx is ribbed, with five very sharp teeth ; and 

 the corolla, which is much longer than the sepals, has an erect, 

 oval, upper lip, and a spreading, three-Iobed, lower lip. The 

 stamens are in two pairs, immediately under the upper lip ; and 

 the fruit consists of four little rounded nuts. 



Slender False Brome. 



