The leaves of the Harebell are of two kinds. Those that grow on the main stem, where the flower-stalks branch from it, are narrow and pointed. But the leaves that spring from the root are quite different. They are nearly round, with edges which are cut into large teeth, and each leaf has a stalk. 3. SEA HOLLY This curious plant grows on sandy seashores in England, but it is not common in Scotland, and it will not grow far North. The flowers grow in clover-shaped heads at the ends of very stiff stems. These flowers are very small, of a whitish-blue colour, and they are not at all attractive. If you examine one closely you find that the petals stand straight up, and each petal has a pointed beak which bends forward towards the centre of the flower. The stamens also curve inwards. Outside this cluster of flowers there is a crowded mass of small green leaves, and each leaf ends in three short points. These leaves are a yellow-green colour, but all the rest of the flower is a beautiful grey-blue. The stems of the Sea Holly are stiff, with ridges running up them, and the leaves have no stalks of their own, but grow in a circle of three or five, tightly clasping the main stem. These leaves are very smooth and thick. They are grey-blue in colour, with yellow-green patches between the veins, and they have very hard edges which are waved all round. Each of these waves ends in a sharp point. The Sea Holly is quite as prickly as the Christmas Holly, and as it grows low down among the sands, bare-footed children must be careful not to stand on it. PLATE XLV: 1. GERMANDER SPEEDWELL. 2. BROOKLIME SPEEDWELL. 3. GREAT WATER FORGET-ME-NOT. 1. GERMANDER SPEEDWELL This bright blue flower is to be found on banks, and in woods and pastures all over the country. It blooms in spring and early summer. Many people call this the Forget-me-not, but that is not correct, and you should notice carefully the difference between the two plants. They are not really alike. The Germander Speedwell is a slender, wiry plant, whose stem sometimes creeps along the surface of the ground before it grows upward. The flowers have four small petals of the brightest blue, and within the flower at the foot of the petals is a small white circle, like a little white eye looking up. Two stamens with crimson heads rise from this white circle, and in the very centre of the flower there is a tiny green seed-vessel, with a spike coming out of the top. The four sepals are very narrow green straps with sharp points. The dark green hairy leaves are oval, with the edges cut all round like the teeth of a saw. They have no stalks, and they grow in pairs opposite each other. The slender stems, which bear the flowers in loose heads near the top, spring from between the leaf and the main stem. 2. BROOKLIME SPEEDWELL