HOW TO KNOW THE SEASIDE FLOWERS 



879 



SEA M11.KV.OI 



mentioned ; it is one of the 

 handsomest of onr maritime 

 plants, and should be looked 

 for on muddy and sandy 

 shores and in the salt marshes. 



KIDNEY VETCH 



The Kidney Vetch, or 

 "Lady's Fingers" {Anthyllh 

 vnlneraria), is one of the 

 Leguminous family ; it is in- 

 cluded here because it grows 

 in great abundance on the 

 chffs and in the pastures near 

 the sea ; but it is also very 

 common inland. The dense 

 heads of flowers are generally 

 in pairs (at the top of the 

 stem). The blossoms are 

 either yellow or reddish ; the 

 colour seems to depend very 

 much on the soil in which tin- 

 plants are growing. The calyx 

 is inflated and very hairy, as 

 indeed is the whole of the 

 plant ; it is this soft, inflated 

 calyx that is the origin of the 

 name " Lady's Fingers," as 

 several of them together are 

 supposed to resemble gloved 

 fingers. 



PENNYWORT 



Those who have been along 

 the south coasts will have 

 probably come across the 

 Pennyw(;rt or Navelwort 

 {Cotyledon umbilicus), v/ith 

 its round, fleshy leaves sup- 



ported on the top of the 

 leaf-stalks. The flower 

 stems grow sometimes 

 nearly a foot high, and 

 bear a long succession of 

 pendant, yellowish-green 

 blossoms. The succulent 

 nature of the plant pro- 

 claims it at once to be a 

 member of the Sedum 

 or Stonecrop family 

 [Crassulacece). It seems 

 to enjoy growing 

 amongst rocks and on 

 old walls, and flowers 

 from June to Sep- 

 tember. 



HKNNYWOKT. 



