140 WOOD LOOSESTRIFE. 



rivers. We have five native species. The 

 Great Yellow Loosestrife {Lysimachia vulgaris) 

 is by no means an uncommon flower during 

 July, by the river side, or on moist meadows 

 or bogs of England, though in Scotland it is 

 rare. It is sometimes two or three feet high, 

 with large clusters of golden blossoms. It has 

 scarcely any odour, and no modern botanist 

 has any high opinion of its properties or uses ; 

 but of old times, if Ave may trust to poets, it 

 was thought to possess some powers which 

 rendered it serviceable to man. Some lines in 

 the Faithful Shepherdess allude to it : — 



" Yellow Lysimachus, to give sweet rest 

 To the faint shepherd ; killing, where it comes, 

 All busy gnats, and every fly that hums." 



The tall Tufted Loosestrife {Lysimachm 

 thyrsiflorct), and the Four-leaved Loosestrife 

 {Lysimachia punctata), are rare flowers ; but 

 the Creeping Loosestrife {LysimacJiia minimu- 

 larid) is, like our yellow Pimpernel, common in 

 watery places, flowering in June. It is called 

 also Moneywort and Herb Twopence, and 

 has creeping stems. It is a hardy plant, and 

 is often cultivated in gardens upon rock- work. 



