166 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
It is always a pleasure to visit the sphagnum-clothed margins
of the pool which shelters Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera
rotundifolia) and Bog St. John's Wort (Hypericum elodes), for in
their due season both plants flower there. Sundew has other
stations where it is less profuse and may not bloom. Shady and
damp waysides and similar places give cover for Archangel
(Lamium Galeobdolon) and Ramsons (Allium ursinum). Wide
roadside margins and green lanes are often Forest land ; they
furnish some interesting features of the Forest flora ; such a
place provides a station for Wood Spurge (Euphorbia Amygda-
loides), which also may be found where golfers search for lost
balls. In a horse track and at the edge of a Zareba on a golf
course I have found Trailing St. John's Wort (Hypericum humi-
fusum) and the Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis). The Blue
Pimpernel (Anagallis femina) was once seen in a cut made by
mole draining on Chingford Plain.
The Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) continues to
appear at the station where it has been known for many years ;
it has flowered sparingly at times, but each year is soon over-
shadowed by a growth of bracken. I know only one place
where Spurge Laurel (Daphne Laureola) grows, and it is the
same with Blinks (Montia fontana) ; at times the cleaning of a
watercourse seems to favour the appearance of this free-seeding
plant. Areas of rough pasture added to the Forest of late years
have introduced or re-introduced some plants, amongst them
Dyer's Green Weed (Genista tinctoria); the removal of a hedge
revealed Black Bindweed (Polygonum Convolvulus). Traveller's
Joy (Clematis Vitalba) still flourishes on Yardley Hill, where are
a small patch of Field Mint (Mentha arvensis), and some plants
of Field Scabious (Scabiosa Arvensis), with Great Chickweed
(Stellaria aquatica) in a brook nearby. The widening of the
Epping New Road a few years ago led to the appearance of
plants on the banks where the road is higher than Fairmead
Bottom. Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris) and White Campion
(Lychnis alba) are amongst those that have persisted. The road
traffic possibly causes the appearance of some casuals on these
banks, such as Yellow Toad-flax (Linaria vulgaris) and Chichory
or Succory (Cichorium Intybus) in 1941. A large growth of
Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) and Burdock (Arctium minus), at
a road corner where the soil had been disturbed, was probably
due to someone having scattered seed. Some years ago Bird's
Foot (Ornithopus perpusillus) grew at High Beach ; in the spring of
1941 a friend pointed out a small patch in a new situation. Some
fine flowering plants such as the Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
make casual appearances from time to time, but must find very
secluded spots if they are to persist in so frequented a district.