48 WAYSIDE -WEEDS. 



lated to form foundation lines for your futuret 

 knowledge. 



We mentioned the white meadow saxifrage and 

 the willow herb as included in our present handful 

 of weeds. To such as know them by their familiar 

 names they will offer examples of other,, but per^ 

 haps less strongly marked, plant families, which, 

 still have the distinct-petal character and the caly» 

 cine attachment of stamen and petal, The white 

 meadow saxifrage is an elegant plant, often found 

 very abundantly during May, bearing its collection 

 of white blossoms on a stem from four to six inches 

 high, and springing from a root which seeins made 

 np of a number of bead-like granules, the size of 

 small peas. It represents well a plant family, the 

 Saxifrages, which contains many beautiful mem- 

 bers, but from which man draws but little that is 

 useful. The willow herbs are still more common 

 than the saxifrages, and towards the end of June, 

 and in July, are to be found by nearly every hedge- 

 side— at least the lesser species with their small 

 pink flowers, A httle later, the great hairy willow 

 herb of our ditches and ponds offers its handsome, 

 large, rose-coloured blossoms. If you know the 

 plants, or can find them, you will recognize the 

 same structural arrangement of petal and stamen 

 that we have dwelt so much upon, and when 

 you come to examine the pistil (Fig. 38) you get- 

 another variety of the organ ; for here the stigma 



