628 



THE NATURE BOOK 



flowers. It often grows between 

 two and three feet high. It bears 

 a long, one-sided, flowering spike, 

 with flowers of a reddish purple 

 colour when they first emerge from 

 the pink bud ; afterwards they 

 turn a beautiful bright blue ; the 

 flowers appear in June and July. 

 The lea\-es are rough and hairy, 

 and this has gi\'en to the plant 

 the name Bugloss, which is derived 

 from two Greek words, signifying 

 an ox's tongue ; the Latin name, 

 Echium, means a viper. The reason 

 for this name is a little obscure ; it 

 may be that the plant \\'as supposed 

 to be an antidote for a snake's bite, 

 or because the stem of the plant is 

 speckled Hke a viper's skin. 



H. PUREFOY FiTZGeRALD. 



are, are of no use for 

 picking, as they close 

 almost immediately ; 

 anyhow, their life is a 

 very short one, which 

 fact has given rise to 

 the names " Day's Eye " 

 and " Sunflower." 



viper's bugloss 



The Viper's Bugloss 

 (E chi II m viilgare) is 

 another plant that is 

 fond of chalky pastures, 

 although it is by no 

 means restricted to 

 these locahties. This 

 plant is a robust rela- 

 tion of the Borage, and 

 is one of the hand- 

 somest of all our wild 



RbCK ROSE. 



