BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
89 
1.—THE DUSKY CRANE’S-BILL. (Geranium piiajum, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 322 ; 2nd ed., t. 965 ; and our fig. slightly pointed. Fruit keeled ; hairy below ; wrinkled at the sum - 
3, in PI. 20. mit. Stamens hairy. (Smith.) 
Specific Character. —Stalks two-flowered, panicled, erect. Calyx 
Description, &c. —This species is only found wild in thickets in the north of England ; but it is often 
cultivated in gardens. The flowers vary in colour from a rich dark crimson to a purple ; but they have always 
a dark hue, though they are glossy. The plant is a perennial, and it flowers in May and June. The stem 
grows about two feet high ; it is much branched, and hairy. The leaves are alternate, deeply lobed, and 
strongly veined ; and they are covered with a downy pubescence. The stipules and bracts are chaffy. 
2.— THE MEADOW CRANE’S-BILL. (Geranium pratense, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 401 ; 2nd ed., t. 968 ; and our fig. deep segments, sharply pinnatifid and serrated. Fruit hairy all over. 
2, in PI. 20. Stamens smooth, much dilated at the base. (Smith.) 
Specific Character. —Stalks two-flowered. Leaves in about seven 
Description, &c. —This very handsome species is common in moist, shady places in every part of England ; 
and it is very often cultivated in gardens, where the flowers occasionally become double. The leaves differ from 
those of most of the other species in being first distinctly cut into five very deep lobes, and then each of these 
lobes being again cut into very deep, narrow segments. The flowers are very large and handsome, and the 
stems usually grow about two feet high. The species is a perennial, and it flowers in June and July. 
3.— HERB ROBERT. (Geranium Robertianum, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1486 ; 2nd ed., t. 971 ; and our fig. 6, I pedate, pinnatifid, five-angled. Calyx with ten angles. Fruit 
in PI. 20. wrinkled, simply keeled. (Smith.) 
Specific Character. —Stalks two-flowered. Leaves somewhat j 
Description, &c. —This is a little annual plant which is common in every part of England, and in almost 
every kind of soil and situation. It is particularly abundant on hedge-banks by the road-side, where it varies 
in colour, according to the soil in which it grows, from white to a deep rose-colour, or crimson, and sometimes 
even to purple. The leaves also vary in being more or less deeply cut, and in the breadth of their segments. 
The flowers are generally very pretty ; but the plant has a disagreeable smell. Humble as this plant is, it has 
attracted the notice of a poet, and the following lines are abridged from a poem on the subject. 
“ There is a small but lovely flower, 
With crimson star and calyx brown, 
On pathway side, beneath the bower, 
By Nature’s hand profusely strown. 
Inquire you when this flow’rct springs ?— 
When Nature wakes to mirth and love, 
When all her fragrance summer flings, 
When latest autumn chills the grove. 
And, should you ask me where it blows, 
I answer, on the mountains bare, 
High on the tufted rock it grows. 
In lonely glens and meadows fair. 
Oh 1 emblem of that steadfast mind, 
Which, through the varying scenes of life, 
By genuine piety refined, 
Holds on its way ’midst noise and strife. 
Though dark the impending tempest lour, 
The path of duty it espies, 
Calm ’midst the whirlwind and the shower, 
Thankful when brighter hours arise. 
Oh ! could our darkened minds discern 
In thy sweet form this lesson plain, 
Could wo it practically learn, 
Herb Robert would not bloom in vain.” 
N 
