PLANTS OF THE MOORLAND 103 



The vegetation of the high moor may include the 

 Common Heather, the Cranberry, the Cowberry, the 

 small shrub called Andromeda which is a member of 

 the Heather family, the delicate little Milkwort (Poly- 

 gala), and some Sedges. There is also the handsome 

 tall Cinqu^foil (Potentilla comarum), with purple- 

 brown stems over a foot high and with purplish 

 flowers. Its rootstock yields a purplish dye. Very 

 characteristic of bogs is the Lousewort (Pedicularis 

 palustris), a leafy annual with a stout, rather fleshy 

 stem that grows to a height of six to eighteen inches 

 and bears dull pinkish flowers. It has a strange 

 appearance of prosperity; it looks too well-to-do for 

 these places, where it is hard to find a living. Such 

 suspicions are well grounded; the plant is a thief. It 

 attaches its roots into the roots of neighbouring 

 plants and sucks nourishment from them. The name 

 "Lousewort" refers to the idea that the plant gives 

 the Sheep lice, the fact being that sheep fed where 

 there is little to eat become weak, and weakly animals 

 tend to have parasites. 



On the outskirts of the bog and on drier islands 

 here and there there is often abundance of Bog 

 Myrtle or Sweet Gale (Myrica gale), which is very 

 characteristic of the meadow moor. We cannot pass 

 it without an appreciation of its aromatic fragrance, 

 so pleasant when we press the leaves between our 

 fingers, and finer still when it steals into the air like 

 frankincense. The scent seems to be due to an 

 ethereal oil, a sort of by-product of the plant's living. 

 From the leaves the cottagers used to "brew" a 

 potent medicinal tea. 



Very characteristic is the Cotton Grass (Brio- 



