13 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS. 



the petal that is hidden within the calyx is a narrow claw. 

 The long ovary is surmounted by the two-lobed stigma, and 

 develops into a long pod, 2 or 2-|- inches long, containing a 

 large number of reddish seeds. It flowers in May and June 

 chiefly, but also irregularly in mild winters. 



It is the only species occurring wild, but in the garden it has 

 produced many grand varieties. The name is most probably 

 derived from the Greek, cheir, the hand, and anthos, flower 

 that is a flower suited by its fragrance to be held as a bouquet. 



The Cruciferae, to which these plants belong, is an important Natural Order, con 

 taining five-and-twenty British genera and a great many species. All are distin- 

 guished by the cruciform flowers, by means of which a botanist can distinguish a 

 crucifer at once. Many of our most important garden and kitchen herbs are 

 crucifers, including the majority of our green vegetables and roots, such as cabbage, 

 turnip, radish, mustard (see p. 90), cress, kale, etc. 



Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris). 



In marshes and river-meadows in spring this is the most 

 conspicuous plant, and to acquire it the rambler will not 

 hesitate to risk getting wet feet. What time the sallow first puts 

 out her silvery " palm," the Marigolds then " shine like fire in 

 swamps and hollows grey" (Tennyson). In some districts it is 

 the May-blob, Mare-blob, and Marybud. It has a thick, 

 creeping rootstock, and broadly heart-shaped glossy leaves 

 with very large stipules. After flowering the leaves increase 

 in size considerably, and in some places they reach an 

 enormous size for so small a plant. The flower has no petals, 

 but the five sepals are enlarged and richly coloured, as with 

 gold, and burnished. The centre of the cup is occupied by a 

 number of carpels, which are surrounded by an indefinite 

 crowd of stamens, and which develop after fertilization into as 

 many follicles containing great store of seeds. The plant is 

 poisonous. The flowering time lasts from April till August. 



There is one other British species some say it is a mere 

 variety of the foregoing Rooting Marsh Marigold (C. radicans\ 



