THE FLOWERS OF THE HEDGE-CLIMBERS 435 



four or fi\-e petals : the five stamens 

 protrude from the mouth, and are gener- 

 ally curled and twisted, the long style 

 of the pistil being in the centre. Each 

 blossom secretes a large quantity of 

 hone}' which is inaccessible to small 

 insects, and the flowers are fertilised 

 chiefly by the bigger moths. For this 

 reason the Honeysuckle is most fragrant 

 in the evening, when the other insects 

 have retired to rest. The fruit assumes 

 various tints before it is ripe — green, 

 yellow and orange. In the autumn it is 

 to be seen in the form of red, trans- 

 parent berries. 



Another species of Honeysuckle, which 

 has been introduced into this country 

 and, consequently, is somewhat local, 

 is the Perfoliate Honeysuckle {Lonicera 

 caprifoIiiiDi). The leaves of this plant 

 are joined together at the base, so that 

 the stem appears to be coming through 

 the centre of one leaf. The flowers are 



much longer than those of the common 

 kind, and appear during the late si)ring 

 and early summer, being succeeded by 

 bright orange berries. 



WILD ROSE 



The species and varieties of the Wild 

 Rose are very numerous, and botanists 

 find it very chfficult to distinguish between 

 them all ; but with these subtle cUfferences 

 we need have nothing to do. The com- 

 monest hedge rose is the Dog Rose {Rosa 

 canina). The flowers are large, pink or 

 white, and only faintly scented ; the 

 flowering stems are weak and straggling, 

 and bear curved, very pointed prickles. 

 The green sepals are usually turned back 

 towards the stem when the blossom is 

 open, and this fact will help us to dis- 

 tinguish this species from the Field Rose 

 {Rosa arvensis), for in this plant the 

 sepals drop off when the flowers open. 

 The Field Rose has more of a trailing 



DOG ROSE HEDGE. 



