168 shepherd's needle. 



small clusters of tiny white flowers, and is very 

 abundant in corn-fields during June and July. 



Its foliage is of a bright green, its stems 

 and seed-vessels are rather rough on the sur- 

 face, and the plant varies in height from a few 

 inches to a foot. Its botanic name is taken 

 from the Greek word to prick, because of its 

 sharp-pointed seed-vessels ; and in some rural 

 districts it has also the familiar names of Venus's 

 Comb, and Needle Chervil. It is thought to 

 be the same plant named by the Greeks, and 

 to have been eaten by them boiled as greens. 

 We have but one British species of the genus. 



It is an umbelliferous plant, and belongs 

 to a family the plants of v»diich have a great 

 resemblance to each other. They have all 

 white or yellow flowers, growing on rays around 

 a central point, like the spokes of an umbrella. 

 The corolla has five petals, five stamens, and 

 two pistils. Their flowers enliven the grassy 

 spots in early spring-time and through the 

 summer. Several of our table vegetables, as 

 the carrot, are umbelliferous plants. 



