170 WILD FLOWEES. 



conspicuous. The tall hemp agrimony (Eupa- 

 torium cannaMnum) is often five feet high. Its 

 flowers grow in crowded clusters of a pale flesh 

 colour, and are not unlike those of the garden 

 valerian, which is sometimes seen v/ild also on 

 walls. The hemp agrimony is shghtly fragrant, 

 and has been used medicinally. Indeed it is 

 of old renown, for Mithridates, king of Pontus, 

 first discovered its good properties. 



That very lovely flower, the grass of Par- 

 nassus, {Parnassia jmlusti-iS)) blooms now in 

 marshy grounds, and near streams, but, though 

 common in Scotland, is rather a rare plant in 

 the south. It is a large flower, of a yellowish 

 white tint, situate on an angular stem, a few 

 inches high, its leaves proceeding from the 

 root on long footstalks, and heart-shaped. Its 

 beauty may be inferred from the name with 

 which it is honoured, and which it obtained 

 not only because of its growing so often on 

 hilly places, but also because it was deemed a 

 fit flower for the muses. 



One of the handsomest reed plants is now in 

 flower, and it is common not only in England, 

 but in almost every part of the world where 

 streams are to be found. This is the great 

 cat's tail, or reed-mace, {Typha JatifoUa,) and 

 it is very flourishing along the borders of many 

 ponds and lakes. Its long catkins are of a 

 greenish brown colour, and its greyish green 

 leaves are often an inch wide, and a yard long. 

 The downy seeds of the reed-mace are used in 

 stuffing pillows aud mattresses, and they are a 



