Another large natural family of plants, the milkworts, have a pretty
representative in the meadows in the CUCKOO-FLOWER (_Cardamine
pratensis_). Its leaves are pennate, and the lilac-colored flowers
contain four large and two short stamens; the fruit is a pod. Upon woody
pastures we also often find the ORCHIS (_Orchis Morio_). From the two
oval tubers a stem arises enclosed in sheath-like leaves. At the top of
the stem are the curiously formed flowers, which are fructified by
insects in a very peculiar and striking manner. The somewhat
unattractive SOUR-SORREL (_Rumex Acetosa_), Fig. 13, is well known, and
its soft stem and juicy leaves are sometimes eaten by children. The
leaves are arrow-shaped; the small flowers are reddish in color.