l6 BRITISH WILD FLOWERS 



ing plants, they should be carefully studied. 

 The composites and umbels are mostly in evi- 

 dence now, but a number of hardy plants, such 

 as appear in spring and summer, still linger. 

 Among these are different members of the 

 buttercup and mint families (Group iv), some 

 crucifers (Group x), polygonums, and the like. 

 The pretty grass of Parnassus (79), the stately 

 foxglove (40), and the bell-flowers (59) are also 

 to be found. As the year approaches its close, 

 the ivy (72) and a few other plants come into 

 bloom, and the fruits glitter in the hedgerows. 



II. THE FLOWERS IN SITUATION 



It is often easy to decide what a flower is w by 

 means of its habitat. Some plants can only live 

 in water, others only by the seashore. It is 

 always well to begin study near home, and as 

 most of the young people who will use this little 

 volume live in the country, we may take them, 

 first, to look for the flowers which grow in 



I. Hedgerows, Banks, and Ditches 



Sweet violets appear early, as well as the 

 celandine (167). Dead nettle, treacle mustard, 

 adoxa (112), avens follow. Then come the 

 barren strawberry and the real strawberry, the 

 little geranium (131) known as herb robert, 

 the campion, stitchwort, various plants called 

 umbels (Group vi) because their flowers spread 



