624 



THE NATURE BOOK 



and have no wool ; all the leaves are name ; Prior considers that it is, in all 

 spiny. The flower head itself is sur- probability, a corruption of some other 

 rounded by brownish yellow bracts (these word, perhaps Heather Bell. The name 

 are also spiny) which gi\'e the whole Campanula means a little bell, and comes, 

 flower a somewhat dried-up look ; these of course, from the shape of the flower. 



When the plant is seen grow- 

 ing, the amateur botanibt 

 may wonder why it is called 

 the Round-leaved Cam- 

 panula, since all the leaves 

 that are to be seen are 

 small and narrow. The ex- 

 planation will be found by 

 digging up a young plant 

 carefully, or else by scraping 

 away the grass which is 

 growing around the thin, 

 wiry stem just where it joins 

 the ground, for then a few 

 round or heart-shaped leaves, 

 coming up from the roots, 

 will be seen ; these wither 

 when the plant is in flower. 

 The flowers secrete honey at 

 the base, and are much 

 sought after by insects. The 

 hanging position of the blos- 

 soms serves to protect the 

 honey from the rain, and 

 the fact that the sensitive 

 part of the stigma is turned 

 downwards, prevents the pol- 

 len falling on to it, and so 

 self - fertilisation is avoided. 

 This i^lant is the true Blue- 

 bell of Scotland. 



HARE BELLS. 



bracts keep their form and colour long 

 after the florets have bloomed. 



The name Carlina (or Carolina) comes 

 from the tradition that the root of Carlina 

 acaulis, another member of tlie genus. 

 was shown by an angel to Charlemagne 

 as being a remedy for the plague that 

 was devastating his army. 



THE H.^RE BELL 



One of the most graceful and deUcate 

 of plants is the Hare Bell {Campanula 

 rotundifolia), a general favourite amongst 

 our wild flowers. It is im})()ssible to say 

 what is the origin of the common English 



CLUSTERED BELL FLOWER 



A near relation to the 

 Hare Bell is the Clustered 

 Bell flower {Campanula 

 gloinerata), which is to be found growing 

 in dry pasture land. This plant sends 

 up a stiff, erect stem, about a foot high 

 — often dwarfed to about three or four 

 inches — generally covered with stiftish 

 hairs ; the lower leaves are stalked, but 

 the uj^per ones clasj:) the stem ; all of 

 them are rough and hairy. At tlie to]) 

 of the stem is a cluster of dark blue 

 bell-shaped flowers, but they are not pen- 

 dulous as in the case of the Hare Bell. 

 One or two flowers will also be found 

 singly or in pairs below the terminal 

 cluster. None of the flowers have stalks : 

 they grow out of the stem, in the axils 



