Leaves and leaf-stalks slightly hairy. Calyx the upper segment with two teeth larger than those of the lower. Blossom-standard nearly circular, slightly notched at the end. Keel the petals rather hooked, united at the lower edge by an intertexture of very fine, soft, woolly hairs. Stamens four long and six short. Style bowed almost into a circle, and after flowering, into a spiral; the very end, which one would be inclined to regard as the summit, not hairy. Blossom yellow.—Withering. THIS gay shrub, with its bright yellow blossoms, like chains of gold hung upon its branches, is too well known to require further description. It was formerly called Planta Genista, and under this name possesses much historical interest, as from hence was derived the word Plantagenet. Géfroi, duke of Anjou, father of our Henry the Second, was in the practice of wearing a sprig of Planta Genista in his cap; or, as an old writer quaintly expresses it, "he wore commonly a broom-stalke in his bonnet;" and from this circumstance he acquired the name of Plantagenet, which he transmitted to his princely descendants, who all bore it, from Henry, who has been called the first royal sprig of Genista, down to Richard the Third, the last degenerate scion of the plant of Anjou. AFAR from the cultur'd haunts of men, Where Nature hath chanced thy seed to fling, In the turf-cover'd wild, or the woodland glen, I've seen thee unfold, 'mid the blossoms of spring. Time was, when thy golden chain of flowers The chieftain who bore thee high on his crest, And one by one, to the silent tomb, Though the feeblest thing that nature forms, Yet thy race has survived a thousand storms The storied urn may be crumbled to dust, Erica vulgaris. Common Heath. Ling. Octandria Monogynia. Anthers with two tooth-serrated awns at the base. Leaves opposite. Leaves arrow-shaped. Anthers shorter than the blossom. Style longer. The calyx has close to its base four or five circular, concave, coloured leaves, fringed with soft hairs; and on the outside of these, two or three others partly resembling these, and partly the leaves of the cup. Proper cup coloured, so as in every respect to resemble the blossom, which is of a pale rose-colour, sometimes white, not distended; four or five cleft. Seedvessel inclosed by the proper cup. THIS plant, but little regarded in happier climates, is made subservient to a variety of purposes, in the bleak and barren highlands of Scotland. The poorer inhabitants make walls for their cottages with alternate layers of heath, and a kind of mortar made of black earth and straw; the woody roots of the heath being placed in the centre, the tops internally and externally. They make their beds of it, by placing the roots downwards, and the tops only being uppermost, are sufficiently soft to sleep on*. Cabins are thatched with it. In the island of Ilay, ale is frequently made by brewing one part malt and two parts of the young tops of heath. In the north of Scotland, ropes are made of it as strong and nearly as pliable as hemp. Withering. ON A SPRIG OF HEATH. MRS. GRANT. FLOWER of the waste! the heath-fowl shuns For thee the brake and tangled wood; To thy protecting shade she runs, Thy tender buds supply her food; Flower of the desert, though thou art! Their food and shelter seek from thee; * With that he shook the gather'd heath, Lady of the Lake. Gem of the heath! whose modest bloom Flower of the wild! whose purple glow Nor garden's artful, varied pride, Flower of his heart! thy fragrance mild, And deck his bonnet with the wreath, Flower of his dear-loved, native land! Alas! when distant, far more dear! When he, from some cold foreign strand, Looks homeward through the blinding tear, How must his aching heart deplore, That home and thee he sees no more! THE END. Printed by Harvey, Darton, and Co, |