ILLUSTRATIONS. 87 



panicle at the top of the stem, and are yellow, with five broad 

 obtuse sepals united nearly to the middle,, and fringed at top 

 with black glandular teeth ; five oblique but regular petals ; 

 an indefinite number of stamens, clustered and united at the 

 base into from three to five parcels, which is one of the most 

 particular marks of the Order. This little plant is frequently 

 found in dry woods, and on open heaths and wastes. 



The Gcraniaceous family finds a representative in the Mea- 

 dow Crane's-bill,^ a handsome species, often cultivated in 

 gardens, but also met with in the wild state in meadows, 

 woods, and thickets. It is a perennial herb, of vigorous habit, 

 with five-parted leaves, the lobes of which are multipartite, 

 with numerous acute segments. The flowers are large, circu- 

 lar, bluish-purple, and loosely panicled. They consist of a five- 

 leaved calyx; a five-petaled regular corolla, the petals of which 

 are broad and obovate, with ciliated claws; ten stamens of un- 

 equal length, having the filaments flattened out in the lower 

 part ; and a five-lobed ovary, with elongated styles which are 

 joined to a central axis, from which they partially separate 

 when the ripe fruit breaks up. Before this takes place, the 

 fruit has a long tapering beak, which has suggested for the 

 genus the name of Crane's-bill. The Pelargonium is often 

 falsely called Geranium. 



Extensively cultivated for its fibre and its seeds, but sowing 

 itself readily as a weed of cultivation, the Flax or Linseed f 

 may be occasionally met with in a semi-wild condition. This 

 belongs to the Linaceous family, a regular-flowered polype- 

 talous group, consisting of herbs and undershrubs, having entire 

 or simple leaves. The Common Flax is a tall erect annual, 

 with smooth slender stems, slightly branched towards the top, 



* Geranium pratense — Plate 10 B. 

 t Linmn tisitatissimum — Plate 10 C. 



