56 WILD FLOWERS. 



sorrel in their acid flavour only : botanists 

 class them among the dock plants. A red 

 dye is procured from the field-sorrel. The 

 smaller species is an invariable indication of a 

 dry soil. Both kinds are very nutritious to 

 cattle. 



From the old wall, the sweet wallflower {Chei- 

 ranthus cheiri) now greets us with its odour. 

 Many are the flowers which we value for their 

 fragrance, but scarcely one is sweeter than this. 

 It is much prized in the east. 



The common white bryony {Bryonia dioica) 

 is now abundant, its large vine- shaped leaves 

 covering the hedges, and twining among the 

 bushes, both by their twisting form and by the 

 numerous and long curling tendrils which grow 

 on every stem. It is often called wild hop ; but 

 those who live in the counties in which hops 

 are cultivated, know it to be very different from 

 that plant. We have no wild trailing plant, 

 which better than this merits the old name of 

 white vine. The flowers are mariced with green 

 veins, and though not showy, are when ex- 

 amined found to be very beautiful ; but it is the 

 luxuriant growth of the bryony, which renders 

 it an elegant plant. The stems often extend 

 four or five feet, and grow much faster than 

 those of plants in general. Their rapid growth 

 is attributed, by Linnaeus, to the immense size 

 of its white branching root, which was formerly 

 miich used as a medicine. It is very acrid, 

 while fresh, but, when dried, it yields a flour 

 which has often supplied food to the poor in 



