THE FLOWERS OF THE HEDGEROWS 



703 



The name Celandine comes from the 

 Greek Chelidon. a swallow, antl it may be 

 that both the plants of this name were so 

 called because they come into flower 

 about the same time that the swallows 

 appear. But Pliny and Aristc^tle have a 

 different story; they relate that the juices 

 of the plant were used by the swallows 

 to restore sight to the young ones when 

 their eyes had been put out. 



GROUND IVY 



The httle herb that is commonly called 

 Ground Ivy (Xepeta glechoma) is no re- 

 lation of (and indeed bears no resem- 

 blance to) the common Ivy, and why it 

 should ha\-e been so named it is hard to 

 imagine. It is one of the somewhat 

 large family of Labiafce. or lipped plants, 

 so called from the irregular shape of the 

 flower, and well represented by the Dead- 

 Netties. The petals are united 

 to form a tube, and the outer 

 extremity of this is divided so 

 as to make two lips. The 

 plant trails along the ground, 

 sending out root fibres at in- 

 ter\^als, and upright flowering 

 stems from six to eight inches 

 high ; the leaves are circular 

 with kidney-shaped divisions 

 at the base, the lower leaves 

 being larger and on longer 

 stalks than the upper ones. 

 The purple flowers are borne 

 in semicircular clusters round 

 the stem, and the plant, when 

 bruised, gives out an aromatic 

 smell. Most of the flowers will 

 be foimd to bear both stamens 

 and pistils, but on looking 

 over the plants carefully, 

 smaller flowers will frequently 

 be found bearing pistils only ; 

 in the case of the former the 

 stamens shed their pollen and 

 wither away before the pistils 

 waken, in order to prevent 

 self-fertihsation. The Ground 

 Ivy, at one time, was used 

 for making beer, whence come 

 the old local names, '• Ale- 

 hoof," - Tun-hoof," and '■ Gill- 

 go-by-ground " ; a decoction of 

 it was also used as a cure for 

 consumption. It blooms from 



March well 

 ai)undant 

 waste places 



on into the 

 in nearly all 



summer, and is 

 hedgerows and 



WHITE DE.\D-XETTLE 



The White Dead-Xettle {Lamiitm album) 

 is a well-known plant, the leaves of whi( h 

 resemble those of the Stinging Nettle, 

 and probably gain some immunity in 

 so doing, for protective resemblance is 

 not confined to the animal world. The 

 shape of the flower will at once show it to 

 be one of the LabiatcB. There is a supply 

 of honey secreted at the base of the tube, 

 which is well protected from the wet by 

 the arching upper lip. and also from the 

 ravages of small, undesirable insects 

 by a fringe of hairs ; the flower is adapted 

 especially for humble bees, whose pro- 

 boscis is long enough to reach the honey. 

 Examine a flower carefully and notice the 





YELLOW NETTLE. 



