Wood Crowfoot, Goldylocks (Ranunculus auricomus).—Amongst the trees beyond the red viaduct, Lower Heath.
We look in vain for the primroses which adorned the hedgerows and overspread the woods in Gerard’s time, and the cowslips ankle-deep in the meadows between Kilburn and the Heath. Like the lilies of the valley, the orchids and ophreys, they have long since been exterminated by mendicant root-vendors, or buried under the foundations of modern streets.
May.
Wild Hyacinth, Bluebell (Hyacinthus non-scriptus).—Plentiful on the grassy banks beside the New Road leading to Child’s Hill.
Speedwell Germander (Veronica).—In the same neighbourhood.
Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella).—Under the shade of some old thorn-stocks, south side of the watercourse, Upper Heath.
Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus).—Bushy places about the neighbourhood of the pond, near the red viaduct, Lower Heath.
Shepherd’s Purse (Bursa pastoris).—Common by roadsides everywhere.
Crab Apple (Pyrus malus).—On the right hand of the watercourse behind Jack Straw’s Castle, descending the Heath, near the pond.
Hawthorn, Hagthorn, Maybush (Crategus oxyacanthus).—In the same neighbourhood, right and left.