196 



THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



HERB-ROBERT (Geranium Robertianum, L.). 



There are many points of interest in the Common Wild 

 Geranium or Herb-Robert that will repay careful study. This 

 plant can be found in any hedgerow, and flowers throughout 

 the whole summer. It is an annual, and grows rather loosely 

 attached to the soil by a main root bearing lateral branches. 

 At the base of the main stem are a number of closely crowded 



foliage-leaves with long 

 stalks, and from the 

 axils of some of these, 

 branches resembling 

 the main shoot may 

 spring. The internodes 

 of the upper portion of 

 the shoot become longer, 

 while at each of the 

 rather swollen nodes a 

 pair of leaves is borne. 

 The stem and leaf-stalks 

 at the base of the plant 

 have a bright red colour, 

 and this is also found 

 at the nodes and the 

 bases of the leaf-stalks 

 in the upper part of the 

 shoot. The surface of 

 these parts is clothed 

 with projecting whitish hairs. The plant has a peculiar and 

 rather unpleasant odour, and is noticeably brittle, the leaves 

 and stems separating readily at the nodes. The general appear- 

 ance of a shoot bearing leaves, flowers, and fruits is represented 

 in Fig. 90. 



Each leaf has a pair of small stipules, which remain on the stem 

 when the leaf breaks away. These are green and pointed, and 

 hairy on their lower surface and edges. The almost cylindrical 

 leaf -stalk shows hardly any distinction of upper and lower surface. 

 It tapers gradually till the compound blade, consisting of three 



FIG. 90. Flowering shoot of the Herb-Robert. 

 (After Baillon.) 



