24 WILD FLOWERS 



flowers, which turn brown with age : the flowers have a fine aroma, 

 and are much visited by bees for their honey : common in pastures 

 and meadows, flowering throughout summer and autumn. 



25. Meadow-Sweet, Spircea Ulmaria, Rose family. The 

 " Queen-of-the-Meadow" is frequent in meadows and on river- 



25. Meadow-Sweet 



i. Great Bed-straw. 



banks : the tall (2 to 3 ft.) stem bears handsome spikes, com- 

 posed of many cream-coloured flowers, and large feather-com- 

 pound leaves, with alternate pairs of 

 large and small, serrate leaflets: stem 

 and leaves alike have a reddish tinge : 

 flowers throughout summer: very fra- 

 grant. 



26. Great Bed-straw, Galium Mollugo, 

 Bed-straw family. The stem is long, 

 branched, and scrambling amongst grass 

 and bushes : it bears small, narrow leaves 

 in whorls of 6 to 8 : the small white 

 flowers are grouped in a large, loose, 

 much-branched terminal brush : flowers 

 in late summer. 



27. Stone Bed-straw, Galium Saxatile, 

 Bed-straw family. A small plant creep- 

 ing amongst rocks and on short turf : the 



stem is branched, and has whorls of a^out 6 small, sharply- 

 pointed leaves : the small white flowers are grouped in loose, 

 branched clusters at the ends of the flowering steins : flowers in 

 late summer. 



27. Stone Bed-straw. 



