BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
35 
1.—THE COMMON WALL-FLOWER. (Ciieirantuus Cheiri, Lin.) 
Symonyme. —C. fruticulosus, Smith. 'with simple close hairs. Stem shrubby. Branches angular. Style 
Engravings.— Eng. Bot., t. 1934 ; 2d ed., t. 946. prominent, (Smith.) 
Specific Character. —Leaves lanceolate, acute; most hoary beneath, 
Description, &c.— The wild Wall-flower is easily known by its resemblance to the garden varieties, though 
it is easily distinguished from them by its being of a pure yellow, and by its single flowers being remarkably 
fragrant; as Clare says, 
“ The single Wall-flowers have a luscious smell— 
Old-fashioned flowers which housewives love so well.” 
The plant is said not to be a true native of Britain ; but whether that be the case or not, it has become so 
thoroughly naturalised, that there is scarcely a ruin in England that has not some of it growing on its walls. It 
takes its name of Wall-flower, indeed, as I have already observed, from this peculiarity ; and it is certainly 
extremely ornamental in such situations. The following lines by Bernard Barton, addressed to Leiston Abbey, 
give a beautiful picture of the effect of the Wall-flowers on that ruin :— 
“ The mantling ivy’s ever verdant wreath. 
She gave thee as her livery to wear ; 
Thy wall-flowers, waving at the gentlest breath, 
And scattering perfume on the summer air. 
Wooing the bee to come and labour there. 
The clinging moss, whose hue of sober grey 
Makes beautiful what else were bleak and bare ; 
These she has given thee as a fit array 
For thy declining pomp, and her increasing sway.” 
The Wall-flower is as great a favourite as a garden flower as the Stock, and it is almost as much improved 
by cultivation. Few flowers, indeed, are more valuable in gardens, as it continues in blossom nearly all the 
summer, and it has not only a gay and cheerful appearance, but a most delightful fragrance. In many country 
places it is considered a sign of good luck to receive a present of Wall-flowers on a birthday ; but notwith¬ 
standing this superstition, the plant cannot be said to be a favourite with the poets, though it has had the 
honour of being celebrated by Moir, the well-known Delta of Blackwood’s Magazine. 
“The Wall-flower—the Wall-flower, 
How beautiful it blooms; 
It gleams above the tower. 
Like sunlight over tombs; 
It sheds a halo of repose 
Around the wrecks of Time :— 
To beauty give the flaunting Rose, 
The Wall-flower is sublime. 
Flower of the solitary place ! 
Grey ruin’s golden crown ! 
That lendest melancholy grace 
To haunts of old renown ; 
Thou mantlest o’er the battlement, 
By strife or storm decay’d ; 
And fillest up each envious rent 
Time’s canker-foot hath made. 
In the season of the tulip cup, 
When blossoms clothe the trees, 
How sweet to throw the window up, 
And scent thee on the breeze. 
The butterfly is then abroad, 
The bee is on the wing, 
And, on the Hawthorn by the road, 
The linnets sit and sing. 
Rich is the Pink, the Lily gay ; 
The Rose is summer’s guest ; 
Bland are thy charms, when these decay,- 
Of flowers—first, last, and best ! 
There may he gaudier on the bower, 
And statelier on the tree ; 
But Wall-flower—loved Wall-flower ! 
Thou art the flower for me!” 
