THE ROSE FAMILY 
87 
Procumbent Sibbaldia. (Potentilla Sibbaldi, Hall, fil.) — Flowers small, £ inch 
across, few, yellow, 3-9 in close terminal clusters (corymbs). Sepals 5 ; bracts 5 ; 
petals s or o; stamens 5-7, rarely more ; carpels 5-7, rarely more. Fruit a head of pale 
yellow, shining achenes, small, dry, i-seeded fruits which decay to free the seeds (indehiscent). 
Stems 3-5 inches long, prostrate ; the leaves stalked, divided to the midrib into 3 oblong 
leaflets (pinnately-trifoliate), which are 3-toothed at the tip ; the stipules large, pointed 
egg-shaped (ovate). 
Very rare. Found in abundance on the summits of some Scotch mountains. June — July. 
Perennial. 
STRAWBERRY. (FRAGARIA, LINN.) — Flowers white, few, in terminal clusters (cymes). 
Sepals 5, united at the base, with an outer row of 5 bracts (epicalyx) ; petals 5, white, inserted in the 
throat of the calyx-tube ; stamens numerous, inserted with the petals ; carpels numerous, not united 
together (free). Fruit a roundish, juicy, fleshy berry, formed by the upgrowth of the receptacle, 
bearing its small, dry seeds (achenes) on its outer surface. Herbs with rooting stems (runners). 
Leaves divided to the base into 3 leaflets (palmately-trifoliate), with lance-shaped stipules. 
Wood Strawberry. (Fragaria vesca, Linn.) — Flowers inch across, erect, white, 
4-5 in a cluster, on long, generally leafless, hairy stalks, rising from the root (scapes). Sepals 5, 
with a row of 5 outer bracts ; petals 5, entire ; stamens numerous ; carpels numerous. Fruit 
i-f inch long, a fleshy, usually red berry, bearing its small, dry seeds (achenes) on its outer 
surface. Root-stock short and tufted, sending out long, slender stems, runners, which take root 
at the nodes, thus forming other plants ; the leaves all from the root (radical), on long stalks, 
divided to the base into 3 stalkless leaflets, which are oval, coarsely toothed (serrate), and hairy ; 
the stipules joined to the base of the leaf-stems (petioles). [Plate 42. 
Very common. Woods, shady hedge banks, bushy pastures. May — July. Perennial. 
*Hautboy Strawberry. (Fragaria elatior, Ehrh.)— Not a native. Very similar to 
the Wood Strawberry, with larger flowers, which have either stamens or carpels (dioecious), the 
whole plant larger and more hairy, and the leaflets stalked. 
Rare ; an escape from cultivation. Woods and hedge banks. May — July. Perennial. 
SPIR7EA, MEADOW-SWEET. (SPIR7EA, LINN.) — -Flowers small, numerous, in graceful 
terminal clusters (corymbs). Sepals 5, uniting into a bell-shaped tube, and separating into 5 teeth, 
remaining w T ith the fruit (persistent) ; petals 5, inserted in the throat of the calyx-tube ; stamens 
numerous ; carpels 5 or more, not united (free). Fruit of as many dry follicles as there are carpels, 
which open when ripe along the inner edge, each containing 2 seeds. Herbs or shrubs w r ith 
undivided (simple) or divided leaves, with or without stipules. 
*Willow-leaved Spiraea. (Spiraea salieifolia, Linn.)— Not a native. Flowers f inch 
across, pink, in dense, spike-like clusters. Sepals 5 ; petals 5 ; stamens numerous ; carpels 5. 
Fruit of 5 dry, 2-seeded follicles, opening along the inner edge. A bushy shrub 3-4 feet high ; the 
leaves shortly-stalked, undivided (simple), oblong, toothed (serrate), green on both sides ; without 
stipules. 
Local. Common in some localities in the North, and in north Wales. Moist woods. July — 
August. Shrub. 
Meadow-sweet, Queen of the Meadows. (Spiraea Ulmaria, Linn.)— Flowers J-finch 
across, creamy-white, in densely crowded, compound clusters (compound cymes). Sepals 5 ; 
petals s ; stamens numerous ; carpels 5-9. Fruit 5-9 dry follicles, smooth, spiral, olive-green, 
