By Thomas Bruges Flower, Esq. 



343 



larger, pods not quite straight on longer, and more spreading pe- 

 dicels. Whether really distinct or merely a form of the preceding, 

 am quite unprepared to state, after a careful examination of numer- 

 ous specimens of both, collected in many parts of the county. 

 Bentham, in his excellent " Handbook of the British Flora," con- 

 siders this plant only a luxuriant form of " 0. hirsuta" Koch 

 with Grenier and Grodron, in their " Flore de France," describes 

 them as distinct In the Cybele its distribution is combined with 

 that of "C. hirsuta. 



4. C. pratensis, (Linn.) Meadow Ladies'-smock Cuckoo Flower. 

 Engl. Bot. t. 776. Reich. Icones, ii. 28. 



Locality. Meadows and marshy places. P. April, June. Area, 

 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Common in all the Districts. Frequently producing 

 double flowers. 



This is perhaps one of the most delicate and beautiful of our 

 native plants, which Shakspeare enumerates among the beauties of 

 Spring. 



" When daisies pied, and violets blue, 

 And Lady-smocks all silver white, 

 And Cuckoo-buds of yellow hue, 

 Do paint the meadows with delight." 



The happy expression " silver white," exactly describes the tint of 



these flowers, some of which are nearly of a pure white colour, 



whilst others have that purple cast so peculiar to highly polished 



silver. As this plant flowers in April, and is in full beauty in the 



month of May, it generally forms with the cowslip, primrose, and 



harebell, a conspicuous figure in the May-day garlands of the 



children of our Wiltshire peasantry. The flowers appearing with 



the Cuckoo, hence one of their English names, and covering the 



meadows as with linen bleaching, is supposed to be the origin of 



the other. The Cuckoo-bud of Shakspeare is thought to be the 



wild Yellow Ranunculus, he mentions the Cuckoo Flower as one of 



those that formed the crown of the wretched Lear. 



5. C. amara, (Linn.) large flowered Bitter Cress. Engl. Bot. t. 

 100. Reich. Icones. ii. 27. 



Locality. Moist meadows, near streams, rare in the county. P. 

 Fl. May, June. Area, 1. * 3. 4. * 



y 2 



