WILD PLUMS. 
93 
abundant growth of the Grey Lichen {Evernia prunastri). In 
this, the typical form, the branches and twigs turn in every 
direction, so that it is impossible to thrust one’s hand into a 
Blackthorn bush without getting considerably scratched. The 
well-known flower consists of a five-lobed calyx, five white petals. 
A, flowers. 
and from fifteen to twenty stamens round the single carpel. 
The stigma matures in advance of the stamens, so that it has 
usually been fertilized by bee-borne pollen from another Sloe 
before its own anthers have disclosed their pollen. The fruit 
is about half an inch across, globose in form, and held erect 
