SoME Loca PLaNTs. 55 
the woods and waysides with lovely, thrice pinnate, green 
leaves, and white umbellated flowers. 
Throughout Great Britain we find the bright, silvery 
flowers of the Daisy—botanically known as Bellis perennis— 
of which the Sunflower, the French Marigold, and the Mar- 
guerite are examples on a larger scale—springing up on 
almost every ‘‘ lawn and grassy plot,’’ but in the extreme 
north of Europe and in America it is not so common. There 
is an old Celtic belief that each new-born babe taken from 
earth becomes a spirit that scatters down on the world it has 
left some new flower to cheer the bereaved parents. The 
song of the Virgins of Morven, for instance, to soothe the 
grief of Malvina, who had lost her infant son, is well known. 
Since that day the daughters of Morven have consecrated 
the Daisy to infancy, and called it ‘‘ the flower of innocence.’’ 
The Draba verna, or Vernal Whitlow Grass, makes its 
appearance in February and blooms till May. It may be 
found on the summit of Nunland Hill, in Lochrutton, and on 
old walls and dry mossy banks almost anywhere. gine 
leaves, somewhat toothed and hairy, form a rosette, from 
the centre of which rises a leafless flower-stalk surmounted 
with panicle of small white flowers. 
In the same parish Lords-and-Ladies (Arum maculatum), 
common in most parts of England, has been found. _ It 
belongs to a curious tribe of plants extensively cultivated in 
tropical countries, the tuberous roots of which are used for 
food. Even the roots of the British species are wholesome 
and nutritious when properly prepared, though its juice is 
so intensely acrid that a single drop will cause a burning 
sensation in the mouth and throat for hours. It is a suc- 
culent, herbaceous plant, with large glossy arrow-shaped 
leaves, which are often spotted with dark purple. A won- 
derful feature is the spadix. It is club-shaped, of a light 
pink, dull purple, or rich crimson colour, and may be found 
wrapped in the young leaf-stalks before the leaves have 
hardly risen above the ground. The spathe is about twice 
as long as the spadix. 
There is another form of the spadix in the water plant 
Acorus calamus, or Sweet Sedge, growing near Lincluden. 
