The Romance of a Wayside Weed, 49 



on Claverton Down ever since the end of the last 

 glacial epoch ; and it is a relic of the flora which once 

 bloomed among the lowlands that connected Eng- 

 land and Ireland with Brittany, Spain, and the 

 Pyrenees. It dates back, in short, to the time when 

 Britain was still an integral part of the European 

 continent. 



A few minutes' examination with my pocket-lens 

 is quite enough to assure me that the flower I have 

 picked is truly the wood-spurge of which I am in 

 search. It is a queer, insignificant little plant, with 

 funny cup-like green flowers, and odd jelly-bag 

 glands, very much like most other English spurges ; 

 but I see at once on a closer examination that it has 

 all the distinguishing marks of the hairy species — the 

 woolly underside to the leaves, the dotted seed-cap- 

 sules, the loose umbels of blossom, and the long 

 branched rays supporting the straggling flower-heads. 

 I regard it, therefore, as a decided find ; for the lane 

 that bounds the Prior Park estate, and this bit of 

 woodland on the summit of Claverton Down, are the 

 only spots in England where this particular plant is 

 now found. But that is not all. In itself, the fact of 

 its rarity would not be enough to arouse any special 

 interest ; for there are many other wild flowers found 

 in only one spot in Britain — sometimes garden kinds 



