i8 



THE NATURE BOOK 



{Potentilla anserina). which, by the beautv 

 of its silvery leaves and large flowers, is 

 sure to attract the attention of the passer- 

 by. The leaf, as the photograph shows, 

 is of a feathery, or pinnate, form, and it 

 is closely covered with a silky, white 

 down, especially underneath, whilst each 



fancy that geese are fond of grubbing it 

 up and eating the roots. Other common 

 names are Goose Potentil and Prince's 

 Feather. 



BARREN STRAWBERRY 



The Barren Strawberry is another of 

 the same family, its botanical name being 



BARREN STRAWBERRY 



large, yellow blossom is borne on a some- 

 what long stalk. The plant spreads 

 rapidly by means of creeping runners, 

 much in the same way that the Straw- 

 berry does, and may be seen in flower 

 during May, June, and July. To be 

 seen at its best, it should l)e looked for in 

 damp, poor pasturages ; those found by 

 the dusty roadsides generally are not so 

 well developed. The flower will ])e found 

 to have five yellow petals, and twice as 

 many green sepals behind. The name 

 Potentilla is derived from the Latin 

 potens, powerful, as some of the family 

 were formerly supposed to have strong 

 medicinal properties ; anserina comes 

 from anscr, a goose. Exactly why it was 

 so called I cannot say for certain, but I 



Potentilla Fragariastrum. You must be 

 careful to distinguish this from the Wild 

 Strawberry {Fragaria vesca), for which it 

 is very often mistaken, since the general 

 habits and the leaves and flowers of both 

 plants resemble each other very closely. 

 In the Barren Strawberry the petals are 

 generally somewhat shorter than the divi- 

 sions of the calyx (the sepals), and the 

 whole blossom is smaller than that of the 

 Wild Strawberry ; but the principal and 

 most noticeable difference lies in the fruit — 

 in the former, this does not sweU or become 

 succulent, but is always hard and hairy, 

 and as the fruit and flower arc very often 

 to be found on the same ])lant, it is easy 

 to distinguish it. The Barren Straw- 

 berry begins to flower about March, and 



