MOUNTAIN FLOWERS 203 



the perfect flowers ; the stems, on the contrary, though sUm, 

 are remarkably tough. A really blue flower is a rarity in 

 the mountains. There are many mauves, heliotropes, violets, 

 purples, and lilacs, but few true blues. 



The word Ihium comes from the Celtic word lin, meaning 

 *' thread," and from it also is derived the English word " linen," 

 together with all its variations. The seeds of the Flax con- 

 tain oil. 



ASCENDING VETCH 



Astragalus adsurgens. Pea Family 



Stems : rather stout, ascending or decumbent. Leaves : odd-pinnate ; 

 leaflets oval to linear-oblong, obtuse, fifteen to twenty-five, peduncles 

 exceeding the leaves. Flowers: erect, in short dense spikes ; tube of the 

 calyx long-campanulate, twice as long as the setaceous teeth, subvillous 

 with partly black hairs; petals clawed; standard erect, ovate; wings 

 oblong ; keel obtuse. Fruit : pods erect, sessile, coriaceous. 



This is a common species of purple Vetch in the mountain 

 regions. It has much foliage, composed of from fifteen to 

 twenty-five tiny oblong leaflets borne on each of the leaf -stalks, 

 which branch from the main stems. The flowers grow in dense 

 roundish heads, and the little leaflets are rounded and entire 

 at the apex. 



Each individual flower, like many of those of the Pea Family, 

 is composed of five irregular petals, the large upper one, called 

 the standard, being turned backwards when in full bloom, and 

 the two side ones forming wings, while the two lower ones are 

 united to form a kind of pouch, called the keel, which encloses 

 the stamens and style. 



The traveller will note that an easy way to distinguish 

 Astragalus adsurgens from Oxytropis viscida (which it much 

 resembles) is by observing two things. In the first place, the 

 flower-stalks of the Astragalus branch out from all parts of the 

 main stems of the plant, together with the leaf -stalks ; whereas 

 the flower-stalks of the Oxytropis are naked and grow directly 



