SEA-SIDE PLANTS. 57 



and is frequent upon the stony beach of most of 

 the Western Islands, where it highly ornaments 

 the shores with its beautiful flowers, and the ele- 

 gant glaucous colour of its foliage. It is reckoned 

 by Dillenius the most beautiful plant that is native 

 to England. It is remarked by Linnaeus as being 

 sometimes annual and sometimes perennial, but 

 upon the shores of the Hebrides it appears to be 

 constantly biennial. Upon the coast of Ireland, 

 however, where it likewise grows, it will probably 

 be an annual plant, and perennial in a warmer 

 climate than that of Britain." The sea-side Grom- 

 well has been again seen on the shores of Berwick 

 within the last few years. It is quite a plant of 

 the north, extending even to the dreary arctic 

 regions. Its blossoms are of the most brilliant 

 purplish-blue tint. Sir William Hooker remarks 

 of it, that when the bloom is rubbed off, rough 

 callous points are seen upon the surface, which 

 become white, and almost stony in drying, when 

 the rest of the plant is nearly black. This genus 

 of plants contains a good deal of flint in their 

 composition, and it was from their shining, hard 

 nuts, that their botanic name was formed, of two 

 words, signifying a stone and seed. This hardness 

 was noticed of old in our own land ; for the English 

 name, Gromwell, has the same origin in Celtic 

 graun, a seed, and wt'Z, a stone. It has been ob- 

 served that the flavour of this maritime species 

 resembles that of oysters. 



Very frequent on sandy sea-shores is the showy 

 flower called the Purple Sea-rocket (CaJcile mari- 

 tima), with large, cross-shaped blossoms, of a 

 purplish-lilac colour, growing in thick clusters. 

 The whole of the plant is smooth and glaucous, and 



