Wild Floivers 391 



from 2 to 8 inches long, and bear one flower each. The 

 sepals are oval, and thickly covered with stiff dark- 

 brown hair. The petals are yellow, inversely egg- 

 shaped, i to f inches long, nearly twice as long as the 

 sepals. The seed-vessels are oval, about \ inch long, 

 and thickly covered with brown stiff hairs. Tlie seeds 

 are crescent-shaped, blunt at both ends, and striped 

 lengthwise. It flowers in July. 



FLOWERS BLUE. 



11. Oxytropis lapponica, a mountain plant, belonging 

 to the Leguminosse. The leaves are unequally pinnate, 

 growing in from 8 to 1 2 pairs, leaflets narrow and pointed, 

 with white hairs on both sides. The root is strong and 

 tough, and sends out numerous spreading upright 

 hairy stems from 1 to 2 inches long. The stalk on which 

 the raceme of flowers grows is very long. The flowers 

 are nearly sessile (without stalks), and of a dark-blue 

 colour. It flowers in July and August. 



Of the eight species of gentians found in Norway three 

 are selected for description here, one of which will be 

 found amongst the flowers with red corollas. 



12. Gentiana nivalis has a square, upright stem from 

 1 to 6 inches high, usually branched from the base. The 

 stalks are also upright, and of about the same length as 

 the stem. The root-leaves grow in a rosette, and are 

 oval and blunt, the stem-leaves opposite each other, and 

 are entire and egg-shaped. The flowers grow singly at 

 the end of the stem and stalks. The calyx is divided 

 to about the middle, into five narrow pointed sepals. 

 The corolla is from | to f inches long, with five entire 

 petals which stand out horizontally. The corolla, 



