^'LOWERING PLANTS OF THE GUEEN LANES. 233 



name of " sell-heal," expresses all that is implied in 

 " carpenter's herb " and " sickle-wort. A herb for 

 which it is frequently mistaken is the Bugle (Ajuga 

 reptans), often to be met with in the same situation. 

 The latter plant, however, flowers earlier in the year, 

 and, as its specific name implies, is not erect like 

 the self-heal, but of a creeping character. 



The month of June is the time for the more shady 

 parts of the lanes to be literally aglow with the 

 showy flowers of the Ked Campion (Lychnis diurna). 

 There is no mistaking its oblong, hairy, palish-green 

 leaves, or the rosy petals of the flower, supported by 

 their dark-coloured calyx. From June to October, 

 and even into the winter months, you are sure to 

 find it in flower somewhere. Associated with it is 

 the White Campion (Lychnis vesp&rtina) that loves to 

 climb among the bushes and brambles, especially on 

 the borders of corn-fields. In the summer evenings, 

 its delicate perfume scents the air, for that is the 

 time of day when its flowers are expanded the most, 

 a fact which has procured for it its other name of the 

 " Night-flowering Campion." A few specimens of the 

 Ragged Kobin (Lychnis Flos-cueuli] grow near the 

 Lied Campion, but in the moister meadows or marshes 

 a few yards off it occurs in such abundance as to 

 give a tinge to the vegetation. Its colour is a 

 delicate rose, but you will observe that its petals are 

 so deeply cleft that the slightest puff of air sets them 

 a fluttering, a circumstance which has earned for 

 the flower its name of " ragged." 



