78 SEA-SIDE PLANTS. 



leaves are mealy, and it is much like the Bird's-eye 

 Primrose of the mountainous pastures of the north 

 of England, which, though rare in most places, is 

 not unfrequent in Yorkshire. 



The Sea Stork's Bill (Er odium maritimum) is a 

 little rare sea-side plant which grows among the 

 sands in some parts of the Welsh coast, and on the 

 southern shores of England. It flowers from May 

 until September, but its little pale red petals seem 

 no sooner to make their appearance than the wind 

 carries them off, and it is difficult to find specimens 

 in full flower. Like the other storks' bills, its 

 seed-vessels have so great a resemblance to the 

 beak of the stork as to enable any one to recognise 

 it by their form. 



Several pea-shaped flowers grow on our shores, 

 but the Sea Pea (Lathyrus maritimus), which 

 thrives on stony beaches in several parts of the 

 eastern and southern shores of England, as well as 

 on the coasts of the Shetland Isles, is the largest 

 and prettiest of them all. It bears a good many 

 purple flowers, finely veined with crimson, and it 

 yields enough leaves and stems to be a welcome 

 food to cattle ; while its long and deeply-spreading 

 roots are almost as useful in binding down the 

 sand as are the mat-grasses. The seeds are of 

 bitter flavour, yet they were once very valuable 

 as food to many when England suffered from 

 famine. 



Another pea-shaped flower, the rough-podded 

 Yellow Vetch ( Vicia lutea) , is found on rocky or 

 stony ground, especially near the sea ; but it is not 

 confined to the shore, and is not a common flower. 

 It has large blossoms, growing singly. It is 

 abundant about the rocks of Dunure Castle, and 



