THE LIME-TREE. 261 



thrown open, and the pyramidal outline destroyed : the 

 summit too becomes somewhat more tufted. Under these 

 circumstances the Lime is a stately and even picturesque 

 tree, especially when standing alone or in groups of three 

 or four on a sloping lawn. It is very patient of clipping, 

 and, consequently, in the suburbs of large towns it more 

 frequently disfigures than adorns, sometimes appearing as 

 a mere leafy hedge, unmeaningly elevated on equidistant 

 columns. 



The leaf is bright green, pointed, and heart-shaped at 

 the base, smooth above, and either uniformly downy 

 beneath, or bearing small tufts of down in the angles of 



9 . 



\ 



LEAF AND FLOWER OF THE LIME-TREI:. 



the veins. The flowers are scarcely less profuse than the 

 leaves, and rendered very conspicuous by large yellowish- 

 green bracteas, from the centre of which spring three or 

 more stalked flowers. These consist of a five-parted calyx 

 and five petals, which are nearly of the same colour as the 

 bracteas. The stamens are numerous, and the whole flower 

 is deliciously fragrant, especially towards evening, — 



"At dewy eve 

 Diffusing odours." 



