SMALL WOODmJYY.—AsperuIa 



Cyncmchica, 



Class Tetrandeia. Order Monogynia. Nat. Orel. Rubiaceje. 

 Madder Tribe. 



This lovely little flower can scarcely be called 

 common, because we might often wander for 

 miles in tlie country without seeing it. Yet 

 in several of our counties, where chalk prevails 

 in the soil, it grows in great abundance on 

 warm sunny banks ; and small as it is, its 

 numerous clusters form no inconsiderable 

 ornament to such places. During the months 

 of June and July, large patches of the white 

 or lilac little blossoms look like remnants of 

 a snow-storm, left among the grassy hills of 

 Cambridgeshire. So too, upon the cliffs of 

 Dover, the plant may be seen from beneath, 

 far beyond our reach, adorning their steep 

 sides and short green verdure. A familiar 

 name of the flower, Squinancy-wort, origin- 

 ates in its having been formerly considered 

 as a specific for the squinancy, or as it is now 

 called, the quinsey : and its botanical name, 

 from the Greek word to choke, aUudes also to 

 its supposed virtues. It is not found in Wales 

 or Scotland. 



