148 FLOWERS OF THE CORNFIELDS 



A fungus, Peronospora myosotidis, attacks the leaves. Two moths, 

 Anescychia pusiella and A. decemguttella, and a fly, Ckromatomyia 

 albipes, are the chief insect pests. 



Lithospermum, Dioscorides, is from the Greek lithos, stone, and 

 sperma, seed, alluding to the hard stone-like seeds; and arvense indi- 

 cates its occurrence on arable land. 



Gromwell is possibly from granum milii. It is called Bastard 

 Alkanet, Lichwale, Painting Root, Pearl-plant. Salfern. Corn Grom- 

 well is called Painting Root because girls in the north were said to 

 paint their faces with the juice of the root on festival days. 



The stony seeds were, by the " Doctrine of Signatures ", used in 

 cases of " Stone ", hence lich wale, lythe wale, and stone switch. A 

 red dye has been prepared from it for paper and linen. In Sweden 

 the women stain their faces with it as rouge. The dye is readily 

 applied to oily substances, hence the name Bastard Alkanet. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



218. Lithospermum arvense, L. Stem erect, branched, leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, hispid, flowers creamy-white, nutlets tuberculate. 



Small Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Orontium, L.) 



This is a southern type of plant, and does not occur in early 

 deposits. It is found in the N. Temperate Zone, South of Denmark, 

 North Africa, N. and W. Asia, N.W. India, and is introduced in N. 

 America. In Great Britain it is found in the Peninsula, Channel, 

 Thames, and Anglia provinces, except in Hunts and Northants; in the 

 Severn province, except in Monmouth and Warwick. In S. Wales 

 it is found in Glamorgan, Carmarthen, Pembroke; in N. Wales in 

 Merioneth, Carnarvon, Denbigh, Anglesey; and in N.E. York and 

 Cumberland. It is very rare in Ireland, and occurs in the Channel 

 Islands. It was regarded by Watson entirely as a colonist. 



The Small Snapdragon is found chiefly on chalky and cretaceous 

 soils in the south and centre of England, especially in cornfields, but 

 sometimes on railway banks; and in cultivated ground it is accom- 

 panied by such plants as Mousetail, Larkspur, Candytuft, Flax, Corn- 

 flower, Venus's Looking Glass, and similar southern types of plants. 



The Small Snapdragon is a simple or branched, erect, hairy- 

 stemmed, low plant, with the leaves linear, narrowly elliptical, without 

 stalks, opposite below, the upper ones alternate, turned back, and entire. 



The flowers are reddish, solitary, stalkless, in the axils or in a leafy 

 raceme, with a calyx with 5 linear segments that do not fall, equalling 



