7 A, - ia hy xs: RY sya THE FLOWERING PLANTS GRASSES, SEDGES & FERNS OF GREAT BRITAIN =~. re a ae , oe oe 1 MOUNTAIN WILD TULIP LLOYD LA Lloydia serotina Tulipa sylvestris COMMON FRITILLARY OR SNAKES HEAD Frontispiece. Friullaria meleagris Pi. tS ts i}. COMMON MEADOW SAFFRON Colchicum autumnale 5. MOUNTAIN SCOTTISH ASPHODEL Tofieldia palustris 6 JOINTED PIPE WORT . Exioraulon septangulare Vol. I. THE FLOWERING PLANTS GRASSES, SEDGES & FERNS OF GREAT BRITAIN $2 J - 92 AND THEIR ALLIES THe CLUB MOSSES, HHORSETAILS, é&c By ANNE PRATT NEW EDITION REVISED BY: EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. ILLUSTRATED WITH THREE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN COLOURED PLATES FIGURING UPWARDS OF 1500 SPECIES VOR. ctlt- LONDON FREDERICK WARNE & CO. AND NEW YORK 1905 x Wore Aceras anthropophora Ajuga alpina chameepitys pyramidalis reptans Allium ampeloprasum . babingtonii . oleracewm schenopraswin scorodopraswun spheerocephalum . triquetrum . ursinunr vineale Alnus glutinosa Amaranthus blitum Anacharis alsinastruin . Anagallis arvensis tenella Antirrhinum majus orontium Aristolochia clematitis . Armeria maritima plantaginea Asarum europeum Asparagus officinalis Atriplex angustifelia deltoidea laciniata littoralis patula pedunculata portulacoides rosea . Ballota nigra Bartsia alpina odontites VISCOSH Beta vulgaris Betonica officinalis Betula alba . NANe , Buxus sempervirens men 7 1968 GONTLENTS. VOL. Il. (Arranged according to generic names.) Green Man Orchis Alpine Bugle . Ground Pine, or Yellow Bugle Pyramidal Bugle : Common Bugle F : Flowery Round-headed Garlic . Bulbiferous Round-headed Garlic Streaked Field Garlic Chive Garlic Sand Garlic. Small Round-headed Garlic Triangular-stalked Garlic Broad-leaved Garlic Crow Garlic Common Alder : Wild Amaranth : Long-flowered Anacharis . Scarlet Pimpernel . Bog Pimpernel Great Snapdragon . : Lesser Snapdragon . Common Birthwort . Common Thrift : . Plantain-leaved Thrift . Asarabacca . Common Asparagus . Spreading narrow-leaved Orache . Triangular-leaved Orache - Frosted Sea Orache . Grass-leaved Sea Orache . Spreading Halberd-leaved Orache Stalked Sea Orache . Shrubby Orache Spreading-fruited Orache . Black Horehound . : ‘ . Alpine Bartsia . Red Bartsia , . Yellow Bartsia . - Common Beet . é Wood Betony . Common Birch 3 Dwarf Birch . : : Common Box . : P Plate 217 165 165 165 165 228 228 228 229 228 229 230 229 200 179 214 174 174 159 159 192 175 175 193 225 183 183 182 183 183 182 182 182 166 156 156 156 179 168 200 200 197 Fig. Pre Nr PON WWE POOR WN OR Rowe ee Sl ee a | LIBRARY NEW YOR! BOTANICA GARDEN vl Calamintha acinos nepeta officinalis sylvatica vulgaris Carpinus betulus . Castanea vulgaris . Centunculus minimus Chenopodium album bonus-henricus Jicifolium glaucum hybridum murale olidum polyspermum rubrum urbicum Colchicum autumnale Convallaria majalis Corallorhiza innata Corylus avellana . Crocus awreus minimus nudiflorus . sativus VETNUS ‘ Ch Hae hedereefolium. Cypripedium calceolus . Daphne laureola mezerewm Digitalis purpurea Empetrum nigrum Epipactis ensifolia grandiflora. latifolia palustris rubra. Epipogiun gmelini Eriocaulon septangulare Euphorbia amygdatoides characias coralloides . cYparissias . esula . exigua helioscopia . ‘ hiberna : 5 lathyris . . paralias. 0 palustris peplis . peplus ; platyphylla. portlandica . Euphrasia officinalis Fagus sylvatica Fritillaria meleagris Gagea lutea . CONTENTS Common Basil Thyme Lesser Calamint Common Calamint . ‘ ; Wood Calamint A : 6 Common Wild Basil Common Hornbeam Spanish Chestnut Small Chaffweed, or Bastard Pimpernel White Goosefoot . Mercury Goosefoot Fig-leaved Goosefoot Oak-leaved Goosefoot Maple-leaved Goosefoot Nettle-leaved Goosefoot Stinking Goosefoot . Many-seeded Goosefoot Red Goosefoot Upright Goosefoot c Common Meadow Saffron Lily of the Valley Spurless Coral-root . : Hazel. : : : A Golden Crocus 5 ; Least Purple Crocus Naked-flowering Crocus Saffron Crocus ¢ : ° Purple Spring Crocus. . Sowbread : . Lady’s Slipper . : : : s; 4 6) ws Je. faye) a, 6) je, 2 Common Spurge Laurel . : Common Mezereon . Foxglove Black Crowberry . Narrow-leaved White Helleborine Large White Helleborine . Broad-leaved Helleborine Marsh Helleborine . Purple Helleborine . Gmelin’s Coral-root Jointed Pipewort Wood Spurge . ; Red Shrubby Spurge Coral-like Hairy Spurge . Cypress Spurge 9 Leafy-branched Spurge Dwarf Spurge . : Sun Spurge Irish Spurge Caper Spurge . Sea Spurge Marsh Sun Spurge Purple Spurge . Petty Spurge . Broad-leaved Warted Spurg ge Portland Spurge Eyebright Beech tree : : : Common Fritillary . 3 . Yellow Gagea . Plate Fig, 169 169 169 169 169 212 211 175 180 181 181 181 180 180 179 179 18] 180 232 225 215 212 223 223 223 223 223 173 222 192 192 159 193 216 216 215 216 216 232 197 197 195 195 195 196 194 194 197 196 195 194 196 194 196 156 211 232 231 Oe PNONON WH PH WRWNWNH PRED WONooR mb a FPNWWHRE He PNR WP NWO mR Eb oe bo or Page Galanthus nivalis . Galcobdolon luteum Galeopsis ladanwm ochroleuca . tetrahit ; versicolor Gladiolus communis Glaux maritima Goodyera repens Gynnadenia conopsea Habenaria albida . bifolia c chlorantha . tntacta viridis C THerminiwm monorchis . Hippophaé rhamnoides . Hottonria palustris . Humautlus lupulus . Hydrocharis morsius-rane Iris fetidissima pseud-acorus Juniperus communis Lamium album amplexicaule incisum intermedium purpureum . Leonurus cardiaca Leucojum cestivum vernun Limosella aquatica Linaria cymbalaria elatine minor. ; pelisseriana repens spuria : supind 5 : vulgaris : Liparis loéselit . Listera cordata . 5 nidus-avis . ovata . Littorella lacustris Lloydia serotina Lycopus ewropeeus . Lysimachia nemorum numnularia thyrsiflora . vulgaris Maianthemum convallaria Malaxis paludosa . Marrubium vulgare Melampyrum arvense cristatum pratense sylvaticum . CONTENTS Snowdrop : ; Yellow Weasel-snout Red Hemp-nettle Downy Hemp-nettle Common Hemp-nettle Large-flowered Hemp-nettle Common Corn-Flag Sea Milkwort . Creeping Goodyera . Fragrant Gymnadenia_ . Small White Habenaria Lesser Butterfly Orchis Great Butterfly Orchis Entire Habenaria Green Habenaria Musk Orchis Sea Buckthorn Water Violet Common Hop . Frog-bit . Stinking Ivis Yellow Water-flag Common Juniper. White Dead-nettle . Henbit Dead-nettle . Cut-leaved Dead-nettle Intermediate Dead-nettle Red Dead-nettle Motherwort 5 Summer Snowflake . Spring Snowflake Common Mudwort . Ivy-leaved Toad-flax 5 Sharp-peinted Toad-flax . Least Toad-flax j ‘ Upright Purple Toad-flax Creeping Toad-flax . Round-leaved Toad-flax Diffuse Toad-flax Yellow Toad-flax Two-leaved Liparis . . Heart-leaved Tway-blade. Common Bird’s-nest Common Tway-blade Common Shore-weed Mountain Lloydia Common Gipsy-wort Yellow Pimpernel Creeping Loosestrife Tufted Loosestrife . 3 Great Yellow Loosestrife . May Lily Bog Orchis : A Common White Horehound Purple Cow-wheat Crested Cow-wheat . j Common Yellow Cow-wheat Lesser Yellow Cow-wheat. 6,6, ie) 8) ..2, ee. Yet 6". lee: er ‘ee 8. (ee Plate Fig. 224 167 166 166 166 166 173 217 220 221 221 221 221 221 200 172 199 214 223 223 213 167 167 167 167 167 166 224 161 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 215 217 217 217 178 232 162 174 174 174 174 215 169 157 157 157 157 b—2 Or Coe e bo NNR Qe e CO bo em “Tb OD wor mb i) NPN OCR PNP ORR wr whl oO wm Cor bo Cor vill Melittis melissophyllum Mentha aquatica arvensis pipertta . cl pratensis pulegium c rotundifolia : sativa. : sylvestris viridis : Mercurialis annwa 3 percnnis _ Mimutus luteus Muscari racenosum Myrica gale . Nurcissus biflorus . poeticus . pseudo-narcissus . Neottia cernwa cestivalis spiralis Nepeta cataria glechoma Ophrys apifera arachnites . aranifera muscifera Orchis fusca . ¢ hircina 0 latifolia . . laxiflora 0 maculata mascula militaris mo7rio . pyramidalis tephrosanthos . ustulata Origanum vulgare. Ornithogalum nutans pyrenaicum unbellatum : Oxyria reniformis. Pariectaria officinalis. Puris quadrifolia . 0 Pedicularis palustris sylvatica Pinguicula alpina grandiflora. lusitanica . vulgaris Pinus sylvestris Plantago coronopus lanceolata major . : maritima media. : Polygonatum multiflorum officinale c verticillatum CONTENTS Bastard Balm . : Water Capitate Mint Corn Mint ¢ Peppermint Narrow-leaved Mint Pennyroyal . Round-leaved Mint . Marsh Whorled Mint Horse-mint Spear-mint Annual Mercury Dog’s Mercury 5 Yellow Monkey Flower Starch Hyacinth Sweet Gale Pale Narcissus . Poet’s Narcissus Dafiodil Drooping Lady’s Tresses . Summer Lady’s Tresses Fragrant Lady’s Tresses_ . Catmint . Ground Ivy Bee Orchis é Late Spider Orchis . Spider Orchis . Fly Orchis Great Brown- winged Orchis Lizard Orchis . Marsh Orchis . Lax-flowered Orchis Spotted Palmate Orchis Early Purple Orchis Military Orchis Green-winged Meadow Orchis é Pyramidal ¢ Orchis Monkey Orchis Dwarf Dark-w inged Orchis Common Marjoram . Drooping Star of Bethlehem Spiked Star of Bethlehem Commen Star of Bethlehem Kidney-shaped Mountain Sorrel Common Pellitory Herb Paris : 0 Marsh Lousewort Pasture Lousewort Alpine Butterwort Large-flowered Butterw ort Pale Butterwort Common Butterwort Scotch Fir "i Buck’s-horn Plantain Ribwort Plantain Greater Plantain Seaside Plantain Hoary Plantain Common Solomon’s Seal». Angular Solomon’s Seal Narr ow-leaved Solomon’ 5 Seal . Plate 170 163 163 163 163 1638 162 163 162 162 193 193 227 200 224 224 224 Palel 217 217 169 169 222 222 222 222 218 220 219 219 220 218 219 218 220 219 218 164 231 231 231 191 199 225 157 157 171 171 171 171 213 178 ee 177 178 177 226 226 226 lig. 1 bo co COR ODP tO OI Ore Sb Ne Poo bd OO WCNRFWNWNNRFRNRrWRWPRWNH NOPWNHERWNRN OWE OONH Polygonum amphibian . aviculare listorta convolvulus. dumetorum Jagopyrum . hydropiper . lapathifolium laxum maritimum minus mite . . persicaria . roberti viviparum . Populus alba canescens nigra . tremula Primula elatior Sarinosa scotica veris . vulgaris Prunella vulyaris . Quercus robur Rhinanthus crista-galli . Major . Rumex acetosa acetosella alpinus aquuticus conglomeratus crispus hydrolapathum maritimus . obtusifolius. palustris pratensis. pulcher sanguineus . Ruscus aculeatus . Salicornia herbacea radicans ., Salix acuminata alba ambigua angustifolia arbuscula , arenaria aurita 7 caprea c cinerea : cuspidata doniana . JSerruginea . Jorbyana Sragilis Susca . C hastata - CONTENTS Amphibious Persicaria Common Knot-grass Common Bistort Climbing Buckwheat Copse Buckwheat . Common Buckwheat c Biting Persicaria Pale-flowered Persicaria Slender-headed Persicaria Seaside Knot-grass . Small Creeping Persicaria Lax-flowered Persicaria Spotted Persicaria Roberts’ Knot-grass Viviparous Alpine Bistort Great White Poplar Grey Poplar c Black Poplar . eonel: or Trembling Poplar Jacquin’s Oxlip Bird’s-eye Primrose . Scottish Primrose Common Cowslip Common Primrose Common Self-heal Common Oak . : : Common Yellow Rattle Hairy Yellow Rattle Common Sorrel Sheep’s Sorrel Alpine Dock, or Monk’s Rhubarb Grainless Water Dock Sharp Dock c Curled Dock Great Water Dock Golden Dock . . Broad-leaved Dock . Yellow Dock Meadow Dock . Fiddle Dock Bloody-veined, and Green-veined Dock Common Butcher’ s-broom Jointed Glasswort . Creeping Glasswort . Long-leaved Sallow . Common White Willow Ambiguous Willow . Little Tree Willow . Small Tree Willow . Downy Mountain Willow. Round-eared Sallow ; Great Round-leaved Sallow Grey Sallow Cuspidate Willow Don’s Willow . Ferrugineous Sallow Fine Basket Osier ‘ Crack Willow . 5 : Dwarf Silky Willow Apple-leaved Willow Plate 186 185 185 186 186 186 187 187 187 185 187 187 186 185 185 209 209 209 209 172 172 172 172 172 170 212 156 156 191 191 189 188 189 188 188 190 190 190 188 190 189 225 184 184 206 203 204 204 208 205 207 207 206 204 206 201 202 204 209 Lig. Wwe PAMACW PNY NMR OW PR Orb Oe Whe we a Lott Sel oe SS eel SO Ol ell SS el OP PND NE RE NDNDH co Co POO CO DD x Salix herbacca 4 - helix . holosericea . lanata laurina 3 : myrsinites . nigricans pentandra . petiolaris phylicifolia. procumbens . . purpurea. . reticulata rosmarinifolia rubra. sadlert smithiana . stipularis triandria viminalis vitellina undulata Salsola kali . Salvia pratensis verbenaca Samolus valerandi Scilla autumnalis . bifolia nutans verna . Scleranthus annus perennis Scrophularia aquatica ehrharti . 5 nodosa scorodonia . vernalis Scutellaria galericulata. minor. Sibthorpia ewropea Simethis bicolor Cele; 0) Liat Late el Lele Sisyrinchium angustifolium : Stachys alpina annua arvensis germanica . palustris sylvatica Statice bahusiensts binervosa caspia . > limonium . Stratiotes aloides . Suceda fruticosa maritima . Tamus communis . Taxus baccata Teucriwm botrys chamedrys . scordiwm scorodonia . Thesium hwmitle CONTENTS Least Willow . : : Rose Willow . : Soft Shaggy- flowered Willow Woolly Broad-leaved Willow Intermediate Willow : : Green Whortle-leaved Willow . Dark-leaved Sallow . : Sweet Bay Willow . ; Dark Long-leaved Willow Tea-leaved Willow . Smooth-leaved Alpine Willow . Purple Willow. Reticulated Willow . Rosemary-leaved Willow . Green-leaved Osier . : Sadler’s Willow : . : Silky-leaved Osier 0 Auricle-leaved Osier c Blunt-stipuled Triandrous Willow Common Osier. Golden Willow Sharp-stipuled Triandrous Willow Prickly Saltwort 0 Meadow Clary, or Sage Wild English Clary . Brookweed : : Autumnal Squill Twin-leaved Squill . : , Wild Hyacinth , ‘ . Vernal Squill . Annual Knawel : : 5 Perennial Knawel . : . Water Figwort : Ebrhart’s Figwort . - : Knotted Figwort . 5 é Balm-leaved Figwort 5 : Yellow Figwort . : Common Skull-cap . Lesser Skull-cap c Cornish Sibthorpia . . Variegated Simethis ; Blue-eyed Grass : : , Alpine Woundwort . - . Pale Annual Woundwort. Corn Woundwort . i : Downy Woundwort . Marsh Woundwort . Hedge Woundwort . : Remote- flowered Sea, Lavender. Upright-spiked Sea Lavender . Matted Thrift . Spreading-spiked Sea Lavender Water Soldier . . Shrubby Sea Blite c : Annual Sea Blite . é : Black Bryony . Common Yew . Cut-leaved Annual Germander Wall Germander ‘ Z Water Germander . ; : Wood Germander . : Erect Bastard Toad-flax . Plate 209 201 209 207 208 207 202 203 208 209 201 205 203 201 206 205 202 205 203 202 184 162 162 175 230 230 227 230 184 184 158 158 158 158 158 170 170 161 227 168 168 168 168 168 176 176 176 176 214 184 184 225 213 164 164 164 Fig. 2 9 “ MPN PWOPR HEN WNONNPWNWNOANN WOH Re CT ee OC Hm COCO CODD DD OO ROO or Co He Or Page 169 151 163 170 Thesium linophyllum Thymus serpyllum Tofieldia palustris Trichonema columnce Trientalis europea Tulipa sylvestris Ulmus campestris . suberosa Urtica dioica pilulifera . Urens . Utricularia intermedia . minor. vulgaris Verbascum blattaria lychnitis nigrum pulverulentum thapsus virgatum Verbena officinalis . Veronica agrestis . alpina anagallis arvensis beccabunga . buxbaumit . chamedrys . Sruticulosa . hederifolia . montana officinalis saxatilis scutellata serpyllifolia spicata triphyllos Verne . CONTENTS Lint leaved Bastard Toad-flax . Wild Thyme Scottish Asphodel Columna’s Trichonema Chickweed Winter Green Common Tulip é : Wych Elm. - . Common Elm . ; Great Nettle Roman Nettle. Small Nettle Intermediate Bladderwor t Lesser Bladderwort Greater Bladderwort Moth Mullein . White Mullein Dark Mullein . : Yellow Hoary Mullein Great Mullein . Large-flowered Mullein Common Vervain c Field Speedwell : - Alpine Speedwell ° Water Speedwell . : Wall Speedwell ‘ - Brooklime . : Buxbaum’s Speedwell 5 Germander Speedwell Flesh-coloured Speedwell . Ivy-leaved Speedwell Mountain Speedwell Common Speedwell Blue Rock Speedwell Marsh Speedwell . Thyme-leaved Speedw ell . Spiked Speedwell Blnnt-fingered Speedwell. Vernal Speedw ell Plate Fig. 192 164 222 223 173 232 bo co Ge Orr Co 199 199 198 198 198 171 171 171 > CONT CO O10 161 161 161 161 161 161 171 155 154 154 155 154 155 155 154 155 H S109 SC CONTINT OO OI NDOT PS 155 154 154 154 154 155 155 DOH NOrr xi Page 114 40 257 229 74 254 COW WH CH OHLONE DOP COP COAT fae rhe yVERING. ELAN TS OF GREAT BRITAIN Order LXI. SCROPHULARINEAZX—FIGWORT TRIBE. Catyx 4—5-lobed, not falling off; corolla generally irregular, often 2-lipped, overlapping when in bud; stamens usually 4, 2 long and 2 short, sometimes 2 or 5; ovary 2-celled; style 1; stigma 2-lobed; capsule 2-celled, 2—4-valved, or opening by pores; seeds few or numerous. This is a large and important order, consisting chiefly of herbaceous, but, in some cases, of shrubby plants, inhabiting all parts of the world. Many powerful medicinal plants are contained in it, as the Foxglove and the Hedge-hyssop (Gratiola officinalis); while it contributes many beautiful flowers to our gardens, and makes our waysides gay with its Mulleins, Speedwells, and other lovely wild flowers. * Stamens 2. 1. SPEEDWELL (Verénica).—Corolla wheel-shaped, unequally 4-cleft, lower segment the narrowest; capsule 2-celled. Named from Veronica, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. * * Stamens 4, usually 2 long and 2 short. 2. Bartsta (Sdrtsia).—Calyx tubular, generally coloured, 4-cleft ; corolla gaping, with a contracted throat, upper lip arched, entire, lower lip 3-lobed ; lobes bent back ; capsule flattened, pointed, 2-celled ; seeds numerous, angular. ‘ Name in honour of John Bartsch, a Prussian botanist. 3, EyE-BRIGHT (Huphrdsia).—Calyx tubular, 4-cleft; corolla gaping, upper lip divided, lower lip in 3 nearly equal lobes ; anthers spurred at the base ; capsule flattened, blunt, or notched ; seeds ribbed. Name from the Greek, euphraino, to gladden, in allusion to its supposed useful properties. 4, YELLOW-RATTLE (Lhindnthus). —Calyx inflated, 4-toothed; corolla gaping, upper lip flattened vertically, lower lip plane, 3-lobed; capsule flattened, blunt ; seeds numerous, flat and bordered. Name in Greek signi- tying Nose-flower, from the peculiar form of the corolla. 5. Cow-wHEAT (Melampyrum).—Calyx tubular, with four narrow teeth ; corolla gaping, upper lip flattened vertically, turned back at the margin, lower lip 3-cleft ; capsule oblong, obliquely pointed, flattened ; seeds one I,.— 1 2 SCROPHULARINEA# to four in each cell. Name in Greek signifying black wheat, the form of the seed resembling a grain of wheat, and the powdered seed being said, when mingled with flour, to render it black. 6. LousE-wort (Pediculéris).—Calyx inflated, its segments jagged, some- what leafy ; corolla gaping, upper lip arched, flattened vertically, lower lip plane, 5-lobed ; capsule flattened, oblique, 2-celled; seeds angular. Name alluding to a disease which it is supposed to produce in sheep that feed upon it. 7. Ficwort (Scrophuldria).—Calyx 5-lobed ; corolla nearly globose, with two short lips, the upper 2-lobed, with a small scale within, the lower 3-lobed ; capsule opening with two valves, the edges of which are turned in. Name from the disease which the plant was supposed to cure. 8. FoxGLoveE (Digitdlis)—Calyx in 5 deep, unequal segments ; corolla irregularly bell-shaped, with 4—5 shallow lobes ; capsule egg-shaped. Name from the Latin digitale, the finger of a glove, which its flowers resemble. 9. SNAPDRAGON (Antirrhinum).— Calyx 5-parted; corolla personate, swollen, but not spurred at the base, its mouth closed by a palate ; capsule 2-celled, oblique, opening by pores at the top. Name in Greek signifying opposite the nose, from the mask-like appearance of the flowers. 10. TOAD-FLAX (Lindria).—Calyx 5-parted ; corolla personate, spurred at the base; mouth closed by a palate ; capsule swollen, 2-celled, opening by valves or teeth. Name from /inwm, flax, which the leaves of some species resemble. 11. MoNKEY-FLOWER (Mimulus). — Calyx 5-toothed, angular. Corolla ringent, 2-lipped, the upper lip erect, 2-lobed; lower spreading, 3-lobed. Stamens four. Stigma of two equal plates. Capsule 2-valved, with many seeds. Name from the Greek, mimo, an ape, from the shape of the corolla mouth. 12. Mupwort (Limosélla).—Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla bell-shaped, 5-cleft, equal ; capsule globose, 2-valved. Name from the Latin Jimus, mud, from the soil in which it grows. 13. Monery-worrT (Sibthérpia). —Calyx in 5 deep-spreading segments ; corolla wheel-shaped, 5-cleft, nearly regular ; capsule nearly round, flattened at the top. Name in honour of Dr. Sibthorp, formerly Professor of Botany at Oxford. * * * Stamens 5. 14. MULLEIN (Verbdscum).—Calyx 5-parted ; corolla wheel-shaped, 5-cleft, irregular; stamens hairy. Name from the Latin barba, a beard, from the shaggy leaves of some species. 1. SPEEDWELL (Veronica). * Racemes terminal, tube of corolla longer than broad. 1. Spiked Speedwell (V. spicdta).—Flowers in a dense long-spiked raceme ; bracts longer than the sepals ; leaves egg-shaped or lanceolate, with roundish serratures, but entire towards the end, lower ones broader, blunt and stalked ; capsules egg-shaped, downy, with a very long style ; stem erect, branching at the base; perennial. In one form of this plant, the lower leaves are oblong and wedge-shaped at the base ; while another form has its 4. SPTKED si + V THYME LEs ALPINE EE DWELL Teron: spicata AVED S serpyllifolia V, alpraa BLUE ROCK V. saxatilig FLESH COLOURED Vv G. MARSH S§S 7. WATER S BROOKLIME V Pl. 15h., fruticulosa seutellata auapallis beceabunga i ie y . pi hud #7 a Le } hn Cae ae ae), Sea es ; ? RI aa tas hom asmtld " i : FIGWORT TRIBE 3 leaves at the base either rounded or heart-shaped. This is a very rare Speed- well of chalky pastures. It has been found about Newmarket and Bury, as well as on some limestone cliffs in other parts of the kingdom. It is a common garden flower, and its bright blue blossoms are very ornamental there, during July and August. It is a much finer plant in the garden than when in its wild state ; its dense spikes becoming, under culture, sometimes twelve inches long. Gardeners call it Cat’s-tail Speedwell. It varies occasionally with white blossoms. Some writers consider the word Veronica to be a corruption of Betonica ; others have referred it to a Celtic word, corresponding to the modern Gaelic firineachd, faithfulness, the plant having been an emblem of that virtue. It is, however, with far more reason, believed to have originated in the legend of the Roman Catholic Church, respecting the Saint Veronica, who was the same as Berenice. The word is from the Greek hiera eikon, sacred picture ; the blossoms having been fancied to bear a representation of the countenance of our Saviour. A handkerchief, superstitiously believed to have formerly belonged to this St. Veronica, was long preserved with great veneration at St. Peter’s, in Rome, and is said to have been used by our Lord on His way to the crucifixion, and to have the impress of the sacred lineaments. A French writer tells us that a number of these “ Véroniques, or Holy-faces,” which were imitations of the original, were prized by many persons. * * Racemes terminal ; tube of the corolla very short. 2. Thyme-leaved Speedwell (V. serpyllifvlia).—Leaves egg-shaped, or oval, slightly crenate ; lower leaves smaller and rounder ; raceme long and many-flowered ; capsule inversely kidney-shaped, as long as the style ; stem rooting below, afterwards erect, in one variety of the species prostrate, and with shorter racemes of flowers; perennial. This is a small and not unfrequent plant on waste lands, by road-sides, or in pastures. It bears several many-flowered spike-like clusters of light blue blossoms, veined with a darker tint. It is a very pretty plant, the variety (humifusa) with prostrate stems being especially so. This last grows on the Highland mountains, and has much larger and more beautiful flowers than the ordinary form. 3. Alpine Speedwell (V. alpina).—Leaves elliptical or egg-shaped, toothed or entire ; lower leaves smaller; raceme few-flowered, hairy, with , spreading, not glandular hairs; capsule inversely egg-shaped, notched, crowned with the very short style. This beautiful but rare species is found only on the Highland mountains. Its stems are about four inches high, it has large leaves, and its dense raceme of bright blue flowers expands in July and August. 4. Blue Rock Speedwell (/. savétilis).—Leaves elliptical, somewhat serrated, lower leaves smaller ; raceme few-flowered, downy, the hairs not glandular ; stem spreading ; capsule egg-shaped, its valves 2-cleft ; perennial. This, too, is a mountain flower, growing, though rarely, on high rocky places in Scotland. Several of the Speedwells flourish at great elevations on most bleak and exposed spots. Nor is the Arctic region without some of this lovely tribe to enliven the landscape. Sir J. D. Hooker, in his “Flora Antarctica,” referring to “Lord Auckland’s Isles,” tells us that among 1—2 4 SCROPHULARINE several bushy plants and ferns growing there, a shrubby Veronica was intermingled ; and he remarks that higher up the sides of the mountains a beautiful alpine flora makes its appearance, unrivalled in beauty by those of any Antarctic country. Such are the species of gentian and a Veronica, with flowers ofi ntensest blue, several magnificent compound flowers, a ranunculus, and a liliaceous plant, whose dense spikes of gold are often so abundant as to attract the eye at a considerable distance. This latter plant, the Ohrysobactron rossit, often renders large spots of so golden a hue as to be seen at a distance of some miles from the shore. Sir Joseph Hooker remarks of these regions, that the vegetation is abundant, but the species of plants few in number. 5. Flesh- coloured Speedwell (V. fruticulésa).— Raceme many - flowered, downy, with glandular hairs; leaves leathery, elliptic-lanceolate, somewhat serrated ; stem ascending, woody, branched at the base ; capsule egg-shaped, with 2-cleft valves; perennial. The flesh-coloured flowers ‘of this species expand in July. The plant was found many years ago on Ben Cruachan by Dr. Walker, and on Ben Lawers by Dr. R. Brown, but has not been seen by any other botanists. * * * Racemes axillary. 6. Marsh Speedwell (/. scutelldta).—Racemes alternate ; fruit-stalks reflexed ; leaves sessile, linear, somewhat toothed ; capsule of two flattened roundish lobes ; stem erect ; perennial. This species is found on the sides of ditches, and on other boggy places, having a long weak stem, and pale flesh-coloured or white blossoms, with darker bluish lines on the petals ; the clusters of flowers are nearly opposite each other, and appear in July and August. The stem sends out creeping scions from its base. 7, Water Speedwell (V. anagillis).— Leaves lanceolate, serrated, acute, sessile; racemes opposite; fruit-stalks spreading; capsule slightly notched ; stem erect; perennial, the stem sending out scions. This is a pretty flower, frequent in England, in ditches, or on their borders ; and having, in July and August, pale lilac or white flowers. The whole plant is usually smooth, but sometimes the long many-flowered racemes are slightly hairy. The stem is thick, hollow, and succulent, about a foot high. The plant is less frequent in Scotland than in England. 8. Brooklime (V7. beccabiinga).—Leaves stalked, elliptical, obtuse, with rounded notches at the margin; racemes opposite; fruit-stalks spreading ; capsule swollen, roundish, slightly notched ; stem prostrate at the base, root- ing; perennial. The Brooklime is a very frequent plant, having, in its ordinary form, bright blue flowers, with bracts shorter than the stalks, but found occasionally, as at Dalkeith, with longer bracts and pink or flesh- coloured blossoms. It is a pretty succulent plant, with dark but bright green thick leaves, and a stout juicy stem about a foot high. Its brilliant little corollas may be seen glistening among the reeds by the watercourse from May to September. It is very pungent, and well deserves its name, which is said to be a corruption of the old Flemish Beckpungen, mouth-smart, Beccabunga may be, however, derived from the name by which the plant is 4 . still known in Germany, Bach-bunge ; “bach” being, like our old English FIGWORT TRIBE 5 “beck,” the name for a stream. Another suggested derivation is from the old word “beck,” a stream, and “bung,” a purse, in allusion to its favourite habitat and the shape of the seed capsule. The Brooklime is commonly called in Scotland Water-purpie ; and being esteemed an excellent purifier of the blood, it is frequently sold with water-cresses, to be eaten as a salad, but is too pungent to be generally agreeable. The leaves are much recom- mended by old herbalists to be made into diet drinks, to be taken in spring, and they are, doubtless, antiscorbutic. 9. Common Speedwell (/. officindlis). — Leaves elliptical, shortly stalked, serrated ; flowers in dense racemes ; fruit-stalks erect ; stem pro- cumbent, creeping; capsule inversely egg-shaped, triangular, with a wide shallow notch, or straight, as if cut off; perennial. This is a very variable plant, having in one form a very downy stem and broadly egg-shaped downy leaves ; in another being almost smooth ; and in a third, having small egg- shaped, somewhat lanceolate leaves, and a capsule inversely egg-shaped in form, but without any notch: the stem, too, varies much in height in this Speedwell, which is abundant in many dry woods, though somewhat local. It bears its many-flowered clusters of blue flowers from May to July, but they are too pale and small to render this Speedwell as attractive as most of the genus. The plant was formerly very extensively used both in Sweden and Germany as a substitute for tea, and it had the old French name of Thé de lV Europe ; while Danish writers of former days positively asserted that it was the identical tea of China. The Germans still prize the Speedwell tea ; and Professor Martyn says that it forms a more astringent and grateful beverage than the Chinese tea; but Dr. Withering says, that an infusion of the Germander Speedwell makes a still better tea than this plant. In earlier days, when the Chinese tea was costly, and so rare that Pepys could, in 1661, note in his Diary, “Sent for a cup of tea, a China drink, of which I had never drunk before”—in such times Speedwell tea might prove a valuable acquisition to an English meal ; but we, who have long been used to our daily tea and coffee, have learned to look upon these gentle stimulants as among our necessaries, and are rarely tempted to test the value of the infusions made from the plants of our own woods or fields. Speedwell tea, however, was believed by our fathers not only to afford present refreshment, but also to strengthen the frame ; and Dutch writers on plants termed this’ one ‘Honour and Praise.” Fluellin, too, was one of its Welsh names, and the herb was highly valued by those who so called it, as well as by him who named it Paul’s Betony. Boerhaave said of another of the Speedwells (V. orientalis), that he had cured with it a hundred different disorders ; and Francus wrote a book solely on the virtues of this plant, which, according to his narration, had effected marvellous cures. Hoffman spoke very highly of the virtues of the Speedwell tribe, and many old French writers record cases of their usefulness; yet, except a slight degree of astringency, they do not seem to possess any peculiar powers, though they are all harmless. 10. Mountain Speedwell (V. mentdina).—Leaves stalked, broadly egg-shaped, serrated ; fruit-stalks ascending ; capsule roundish, notched at the base and summit, very large and quite flat, smooth, and with toothed edges ; stem hairy, prostrate ; perennial. This is not an uncommon species 4 SCROPHULARINE several bushy plants and ferns growing there, a shrubby Veronica was intermingled ; and he remarks that higher up the sides of the mountains a beautiful alpine flora makes its appearance, unrivalled in beauty by those of any Antarctic country. Such are the species of gentian and a Veronica, with flowers ofi ntensest blue, several magnificent compound flowers, a ranunculus, and a liliaceous plant, whose dense spikes of gold are often so abundant as to attract the eye at a considerable distance. This latter plant, the Chrysobactron rossii, often renders large spots of so golden a hue as to be seen at a distance of some miles from the shore. Sir Joseph Hooker remarks of these regions, that the vegetation is abundant, but the species of plants few in number. 5. Flesh-coloured Speedwell (V. /ruticuldésa).— Raceme many - flowered, downy, with glandular hairs; leaves leathery, elliptic-lanceolate, somewhat serrated ; stem ascending, woody, branched at the base ; capsule egg-shaped, with 2-cleft valves; perennial. The flesh-coloured flowers ‘of this species expand in July. The plant was found many years ago on Ben Cruachan by Dr. Walker, and on Ben Lawers by Dr. R. Brown, but has not been seen by any other botanists. * * * Racemes axillary. 6. Marsh Speedwell (/”. scutelldtu).—Racemes alternate ; fruit-stalks reflexed ; leaves sessile, linear, somewhat toothed ; capsule of two flattened roundish lobes ; stem erect; perennial. This species is found on the sides of ditches, and on other boggy places, having a long weak stem, and pale flesh-coloured or white blossoms, with darker bluish lines on the petals ; the clusters of flowers are nearly opposite each other, and appear in July and August. The stem sends out creeping scions from its base. 7. Water Speedwell (V. anagillis).— Leaves lanceolate, serrated, acute, sessile; racemes opposite; fruit-stalks spreading; capsule slightly notched ; stem erect; perennial, the stem sending out scions. This is a pretty flower, frequent in England, in ditches, or on their borders ; and having, in July and August, pale lilac or white flowers. The whole plant is usually smooth, but sometimes the long many-flowered racemes are slightly hairy. The stem is thick, hollow, and succulent, about a foot high. ‘The plant is less frequent in Scotland than in England. 8. Brooklime (V. beccabuinga).—Leaves stalked, elliptical, obtuse, with rounded notches at the margin; racemes opposite; fruit-stalks spreading ; capsule swollen, roundish, slightly notched ; stem prostrate at the base, root- ing; perennial. The Brooklime is a very frequent plant, having, in its ordinary form, bright blue flowers, with bracts shorter than the stalks, but found occasionally, as at Dalkeith, with longer bracts and pink or flesh- coloured blossoms. It is a pretty succulent plant, with dark but bright green thick leaves, and a stout juicy stem about a foot high. Its brilliant little corollas may be seen glistening among the reeds by the watercourse from May to September. It is very pungent, and well deserves its name, which is said to be a corruption of the old Flemish Seckpungen, mouth-smart, Beccabunga may be, however, derived from the name by which the plant is still known in Germany, bach-bunge ; “bach” being, like our old English FIGWORT TRIBE 5 “beck,” the name for a stream. Another suggested derivation is from the old word “beck,” a stream, and “bung,” a purse, in allusion to its favourite habitat and the shape of the seed capsule. The Brooklime is commonly called in Scotland Water-purpie ; and being esteemed an excellent purifier of the blood, it is frequently sold with water-cresses, to be eaten as a salad, but is too pungent to be generally agreeable. The leaves are much recom- mended by old herbalists to be made into diet drinks, to be taken in spring, and they are, doubtless, antiscorbutic. 9. Common Speedwell (/. officindlis). — Leaves elliptical, shortly stalked, serrated ; flowers in dense racemes ; fruit-stalks erect ; stem pro- cumbent, creeping; capsule inversely egg-shaped, triangular, with a wide shallow notch, or straight, as if cut off; perennial. ‘This is a very variable plant, having in one form a very downy stem and broadly egg-shaped downy leaves ; in another being almost smooth ; and in a third, having small egg- shaped, somewhat lanceolate leaves, and a capsule inversely egg-shaped in form, but without any notch: the stem, too, varies much in height in this Speedwell, which is abundant in many dry woods, though somewhat local. It bears its many-flowered clusters of blue flowers from May to July, but they are too pale and small to render this Speedwell as attractive as most of the genus. The plant was formerly very extensively used both in Sweden and Germany as a substitute for tea, and it had the old French name of 7hé de V Europe ; while Danish writers of former days positively asserted that it was the identical tea of China. The Germans still prize the Speedwell tea ; and Professor Martyn says that it forms a more astringent and grateful beverage than the Chinese tea; but Dr. Withering says, that an infusion of the Germander Speedwell makes a still better tea than this plant. In earlier days, when the Chinese tea was costly, and so rare that Pepys could, in 1661, note in his Diary, “Sent for a cup of tea, a China drink, of which I had never drunk before ”—in such times Speedwell tea might prove a valuable acquisition to an English meal ; but we, who have long been used to our daily tea and coffee, have learned to look upon these gentle stimulants as among our necessaries, and are rarely tempted to test the value of the infusions made from the plants of our own woods or fields. Speedwell tea, however, was believed by our fathers not only to afford present refreshment, but also to strengthen the frame ; and Dutch writers on plants termed this one “Honour and Praise.” Fluellin, too, was one of its Welsh names, and the herb was highly valued by those who so called it, as well as by him who named it Paul’s Betony. Boerhaave said of another of the Speedwells (V. orientalis), that he had cured with it a hundred different disorders ; and Francus wrote a book solely on the virtues of this plant, which, according to his narration, had effected marvellous cures. Hoffman spoke very highly of the virtues of the Speedwell tribe, and many old French writers record cases of their usefulness ; yet, except a slight degree of astringency, they do not seem to possess any peculiar powers, though they are all harmless. 10. Mountain Speedwell (V. montdéna).—Leaves stalked, broadly ege-shaped, serrated ; fruit-stalks ascending ; capsule roundish, notched at the base and summit, very large and quite flat, smooth, and with toothed edges ; stem hairy, prostrate ; perennial. ‘This is not an uncommon species 6 SCROPHULARINE in moist woods, having a weak trailing stem a foot or more long, and a few pale blue flowers growing in loose clusters from April to July. Its leaves are large, and the plant is remarkable for its large flat seed-vessels. 11. Germander Speedwell (/. chamedrys).—Leaves nearly sessile, egg-shaped and heart-shaped, and deeply serrate ; racemes long and many- flowered ; stem ascending, hairy ; fruit-stalks ascending ; capsules flat, in- versely heart-shaped, deeply notched, fringed with hair, and shorter than the calyx; perennial. If there is one of the species deserving pre-eminently the old English name of Speedwell, it is this. In the latter end of April, when breezes are all abroad, ‘* Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge,” and when often we may hear the shower “sing i’ the wind,” when violets and primroses are in all their glory, and the daisies scattered over every meadow, then we may find clusters of this Speedwell. The flowers are large and numerous, looking like sapphires among the emerald spring verdure, having petals of brilliant blue, veined with darker lines, and varied by the while pollen on the blue anthers. The leaves are wrinkled, and sometimes deeply serrated ; and the plant has often, at the end of summer, on the upper part of the stem, a number of whitish-green hairy knobs, which, if we cut them open, we find to inclose two or three insects in the chrysalis state, and of a yellowish or dull orange colour. This Speedwell is commonly by country people called Cat’s-eye ; and some poets, like Keats, call it Eyebright, though the true eyebright is the euphrasy. Wordsworth evidently intends our brilliant Veronica, in the sonnet in which he speaks of the eyebright :— ‘- Ere yet our course was graced with social trees, It lack’d not old remains of hawthorn bowers. Where small birds warbled to their paramours And earlier still was heard the hum of bees. I saw them ply their harmless robberies, And caught the fragrance which the sundry flowers, Fed by the stream with soft perpetual showers, Plenteously yielded to the vagrant breeze ; There bloom’d the strawberry of the wilderness, The trembling eyebright show’d her sapphire blue, The thyme her purple, like the blush of even ” Elliott also says :— ‘“ Blue eyebright, loveliest flower of all that grow In flower-loved England.” The French call the Speedwells Véronique ; the Germans, Hhrenpreisse ; the Dutch, Herenprys ; the Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese, Veronica. The following lines were written by H. G. Adams for this volume :— ‘Ah! the blue Germander Speedwell, ‘“Common, aye ; the hand that fashion’d On the grassy bank that groweth ; Peerless rose and lily stately, Ah! the little twinkling Cat’s-eye Sent the honeysuckle twining ’Twixt the April showers that bloweth, Round the elm that stands sedately ; Peeping, creeping, hither, thither, Clothed with golden grain the upland, Hiding midst the herbage rank ; And with grasses green the vale, And when cometh sunny weather, Furnishing to man and cattle Starting up as though to thank Nourishment that shall not fail, Him who sendeth genial sunshine That same hand the Speedwell fashion’d Gladdening the flow’rets all ; Perfect in its every part ; What, a rhyme for such a common— ‘Tis a common weed, but show me Very common weed, and small ? Such a work of human art. } 4 COMMON SPEEDWELL 5 Veronica officinalis MOUNTAIN s 6 V montana GERMANDER § ~I V. chamedrys IVY-LEAVED SPEEDWELL 8 V. hederifolaa. 9. BLUNT FINGERED §$ V. triphyllos. Pi, 156. GREEN PROCUMBENT FIELD S V agrestis BUXBAUMS SPEEDWELL V. buxbaumui WALL SPEEDWELL V. arvensis. VERNAL S V.verna FIGWORT TRIBE | ‘* Therefore shall the little Speedwell ‘“ Wherefore should I speak of others ? Have a tribute rhyme from me: All are beautiful, all free Eyebright, Cat’s-eye, or Germander, For the weakest hand to gather, Fluellin, Paul’s Betony, For the dimmest eye to see ; Whatsoever name ’tis call’d by, Springing in the shady woodlands, Ornament of rural ways, Growing in the sunny fields, Once thought worthy—why not now so?— On the wild, and by the wayside, Of all honour and all praise ; Every one a lesson yields, In my rural walks I’ve often Mute yet eloquent—all preachers Mark’d it with admiring eyes, Of God’s goodness are the flowers ; With its notch’d leaves and blue blossoms. All are teachers, all beseechers Brighter than Italian skies. Of these stubborn hearts of ours. “Tt hath relatives a many, *“Unto me the little Speedwell, One with ivy-shapen leaves, Insignificant and small, That o’er gardens and o’er corn-fields Though I love them all, yet speaketh Quite an emerald network weaves ; Even louder than they all. One that groweth with the stonecrops If [ see it in the morning, From interstices of walls ; ‘Speed thee well!’ it seems to say ; One o’er banks and fields that runneth, At the noontide, ‘Hast thou sped well ? On whose flower a grey shade falls : Over now is half the day.’ In the early spring we see them, In the evening, ‘ Night is coming ! See them through long summer days, Hast thou made thy calling sure ? And when stacks are piled, and autumn Speed thee well, while light is with thee, Sets the woodlands all ablaze. Not for long will it endure !’” *%** * Flowers axillary, solitary ; flower-stalks recurved, 12. Ivy-leaved Speedwell (V. hederifélia).—Leaves all stalked, heart- shaped, with 5—7 large teeth or lobes ; segments of the calyx heart-shaped, fringed with fine hairs; capsule of 2 swollen lobes, each of which contains from 2 to 4 large black seeds ; stem prostrate. No species of this genus is more easily recognised than this, for its floral and stem-leaves are all exactly similar, and all shaped like ivy leaves, of uniform bright green hue, and somewhat thick and succulent. This Speedwell is one of the earliest bloom- ing of the species, and is very common on hedgebanks and in cultivated fields, growing up among the tender blades of corn as early as March, and its trail- ing stems pretty thickly set with leaves. Its blossoms are not nearly so large as those of the Germander, but are brightly pale blue, and are welcome to the lover of wild flowers, because coming while flowers are yet but thinly scattered over dale and hill. Many can say with Robert Nichols :— ‘* Beantiful children of the wood and field, That bloom by mountain streamlets ‘nid the heather, Or into clusters "neath the hazel gather, Or where by hoary rocks ye make your bield, And sweetly flourish on through summer weather, I love ye all! *‘ Beautiful things ye are, where’er ye grow: The wild red rose, the Speedwell’s peeping eyes, Our own blue-bell, the daisy that doth rise Wherever suns do fall or winds do blow, And thousands more of blessed forms and dyes, I love ye all !” The seeds both of this and the next species are very useful to those of our singing birds which remain with us all the winter, or which in early spring come back to their adopted summer homes. 13. Green Procumbent Field Speedwell (V. agréstis).—Leaves all 8 SCROPHULARINEA stalked, heart-shaped and egg-shaped, cut, deeply serrated ; sepals oblong, blunt ; stamens inserted at the very base of the corolla; capsule of 2 swollen keeled lobes ; cells 6—10-seeded, sometimes hairy all over, at others fringed on the keel; annual. This is a very abundant plant in waste places and cultivated fields in March, April, and May. In one of those premature seasons to which Shakspere refers— ‘* Short summers lightly have a forward spring,”’ we have found this flower in the first week of February, its little pale blue petals gleaming among its leaves, and have thought how well it deserved its old name of Winter-weed. It flowers throughout the summer, and the lower part of the corolla is usually white, but a form of this plant occurs in which the petals are wholly bright blue, and the egg-shaped sepals acute, and this is the V. polita of some writers. The prostrate stems are three or four inches long, slightly hairy. Bishop Mant thus describes the plant :— ‘The pastured mead or stubble field, Distinct it shows ; its pendent head Or garden lightly scann’d, may yield Pluck, but be cautious lest you shed The first of all its numerous kind, The petals of the tender flower, Procumbent Speedwell. See inclined And shorten thus the little hour On arching stalk of bright blue dye, At most allotted it to grace And with a round and pearl-like eye, With transient bloom its native place.” Everyone familiar with this plant will acknowledge the accuracy of this description, and must have marked the peculiarly fugacious nature of its petals, which are often shattered while the plant is being gathered. 14. Buxbaum’s Speedwell (V. buxbaimii).—Leaves egg-shaped and heart-shaped, stalked and deeply serrate, shorter than the flower-stalks ; segments of the calyx lanceolate and acute; stem procumbent; capsule inversely heart-shaped, triangular, of 2 swollen sharply-keeled lobes, which are flattened upwards; cells 8—12-seeded; annual. This plant is much taller and stouter than the preceding, more hairy, and has far handsomer flowers. These blossoms, which expand from May to September, are as large and as brightly tinted as those of the Germander Speedwell. Its stem is long and trailing, and it is found in fields and cultivated places. It appears to have been introduced with clover-seed about the year 1825, and from that time to have rapidly spread wherever man by tillage has prepared a suitable soil for it. It is now thoroughly established and plentiful through- out the country. * * * * * Flowers in spikes or racemes ; flower-stalks erect or nearly so. 15. Wall Speedwell (/~ arvénsis).—Leaves heart-shaped and egg- shaped, with rounded notches at the margin, lower leaves stalked, upper ones lanceolate and entire, resembling bracts, longer than the flower ; raceme somewhat spiked, many-flowered, lax ; capsule inversely heart-shaped, flat- tened, fringed on the keel with slender hairs; annual. This is a common plant of fields and old walls, having, from April to September, inconspicuous light blue flowers with a white eye, almost hidden by the upper leaves, which, differing in form from the lower ones, may be regarded as bracts. The whole plant is downy, and, growing in arid plains, is often covered with dust. It occurs sometimes on gravelly or sandy heaths. FIGWORT TRIBE 9 16. Vernal Speedwell (V/. vérna).—Leaves cut and pinnatifid, the upper ones or bracts lanceolate, entire ; flower-stalks shorter than the calyx ; capsule broad, inversely heart-shaped, flattened and margined with roundish lobes, with 12—14 thin flat seeds; annual. This very rare Speedwell has an erect stem, from one to three inches high, simple or branched at the lower part. It is much like the last species, and has in April and May pale blue flowers, which are crowded on the spike. It occurs on sandy heaths about Thetford, Bury, and Mildenhall in Suffolk. 17. Blunt-fingered Speedwell (V/. triphillos).—Leaves broadly ege- shaped, cut, the lower ones stalked, upper ones or bracts sessile, fingered, with obtuse segments ; flower-stalks longer than the calyx ; capsules inversely heart-shaped, flattened, with roundish fringed lobes, and many seeds, which are concave on one side; annual. ‘This, too, is a very rare species, readily known by its deeply-fingered leaves, and by the dark blue flowers, which expand in April. Its stem is erect, with spreading branches, and is about four or five inches high. The plant has been found at Acomb near York, and on sandy fields about Mildenhall and Bury in Suffolk. 2. Bartsta (Bartsia). 1. Alpine Bartsia (B. alpina).—Stem erect, hairy ; leaves opposite, egg-shaped, slightly clasping, bluntly serrated ; flowers in a terminal, short, leafy spike ; root-stock woody, creeping, and perennial. ‘This is a rare plant of alpine pastures, and has been chiefly found in Westmoreland, Yorkshire, and other northern counties of England, growing in the grass among rocks, or in similar rocky and mountainous regions of Scotland. The stem is with- out branches, square, and from four to eight inches high. The flowers expand from June to August, are large, of deep, dull purplish-blue, and downy. 2. Yellow Viscid Bartsia (BL. viscésw).—Leaves opposite, upper ones alternate, lanceolate, cut, and serrated; flowers solitary, axillary, distant, upper ones crowded; stem, leaves and calyx all viscid ; root fibrous and annual. This Bartsia grows in damp places, as marshes and wet meadows, in several parts of the west of England and Wales, in the south-west of Scotland, and the south of Ireland. It is readily known by its large solitary handsome yellow flowers, and by the clammy down which invests the whole plant. It is not common, and except that its flowers do not form a cluster, its general appearance is much like that of the yellow rattle. The stem is round, unbranched, and from three to twelve inches high, and the flowers open from June to October. 3. Red Bartsia (B. odontites).—Leaves narrow, lanceolate, distantly serrated, upper ones or bracts alternate ; flowers in l-sided racemes ; corolla downy, lobes of the lower lip oblong, obtuse ; stem branched, erect, downy ; annual. In one variety of this plant the leaves taper at the base, and the calyx segments are as long as the tube of the corolla, and the capsule oblong. In a form described as Odontites rotundata, the leaves are broader at the base, the calyx-segments broadly triangular, one-half the length of the tube, the capsule almost rounded. The Red Bartsia is a very common plant in corn- fields or on dry banks, but it has little beauty and no odour with which to IlI.—2 10 SCROPHULARINEA attract the wanderer in the field. It is a much-branched herbaceous plant, with a slender stem, about a foot high, and numerous spikes of dull pink flowers, having the floral leaves of a dim pinkish-brown. The hue of these leaves, of the calyx, flowers, and stem, is, in some specimens, pretty nearly uniform, and of dull red, and the plant rarely exhibits any brightness of colour. The blossoms may be seen from July to September. Cattle will not eat it, and are said to abstain from the grass to the distance of some inches from the plant. All the plants of this genus are parasitic upon the roots of other plants. The genus Bartsia is associated with the memory of Dr. John Bartsch, a Prussian botanist, and a friend of Linneus. The great Swedish botanist gave the genus its name, and he also gives an interesting and melancholy narrative of his friend in his ‘“ Flora Suecica.” Names like these serve among botanists to recall to affectionate memory many persons after whom they were called. Sir Joseph Hooker records the effect on his mind, when in the remote regions of the Himalaya, of finding plants of the genera named respectively after Staunton, Buckland, and Wallich. ‘Such great names,” he observes, ‘there brought before the traveller's notice, never failed to excite lively and pleasing emotions: it is the ignorant and unfeeling alone who can ridicule the associations of the names of travellers — naturalists with those of animals and plants.” 3. EYEBRIGHT (Huphrasia). Common Eyebright (EH. officindlis).— Leaves egg-shaped, deeply toothed ; flowers axillary, smooth, lobes of the lower lip margined ; annual. We have often remarked that few, save botanists, know the name of the little Eyebright, common as it is on dry meadows, where the grass attains little luxuriance, or on grassy chalky inland slopes, or on cliffs frowning over the wide-stretched ocean.. It is a pretty little blossom of white hue, its petals marked with lilac, while in some cases a lilac tinge is on the whole flower, save where it is variegated with a dash of yellow. The stems are from two to six inches high, little branched, and low on the chalk chff; but when growing on the better soil of the pasture, it is often much branched, and altogether more luxuriant. It was formerly, in this country, called Euphrosyne, a name significant of joy or pleasure, perhaps because of the elegance of its flower ; perhaps because of the relief believed to be given to the sufferer by its medicinal properties. Our Euphrasy is a corruption of this name, as is also the French Eufrase, and the Italian Hufrasie. The Germans call the plant Augentrost, and the Dutch Oogentroost. The little blossoms expand from May to September. Botanists who have made a special study of the Eyebright consider that a number of species, very similar, yet with sufficiently distinctive characters, are lumped together under the name of L. officinalis. As these distinctions, however, are of a character not likely to be appreciated by the popular reader, the present editor is content to refer those who desire a closer acquaintance with Eyebright to “A Monograph of the British Species of Euphrasia,” contributed to the Journal of Botany, 1897, by Mr. F. Townsend, M.A., F.L.S., who recognises no less than fourteen native species. 1, ALPINE BARTSIA Bartsia alpina 2, YELLOW VISCID BARTSIA B .viscosa 3, RED BARTSIA B. odontites. Li » LOG, + a 6 COMMON EYEBRIGHT Euphrasia officinalis COMMON YELLOW RATTLE Rhinanthus crista-galli LARGE BUSHY YELLOW RATTLE R. major, Cy “sh ee 7 FIGWORT TRIBE 11 The Euphrasy is slightly bitter and astringent, and was formerly very much valued as a remedy for ophthalmic disorders. Lightfoot says that the Scotch make an infusion of the plant with milk, and anoint the patient’s eyes with the liquid. All our old herbalists used it in various ways. Culpepper says of it: “If the herb was but as much used as it is neglected, it would half spoil the spectacle-maker’s trade ; and a man would think that reason should teach people to prefer the preservation of their natural before artificial spectacles ; which, that they may be instructed how to do, take the virtues of Eyebright as followeth : The juice, or distilled water of Eyebright, taken inwardly in white wine or broth, or dropped into the eyes, for divers days together, helpeth all infirmities of the eyes that cause dimness of sight. Some make conserve of the flowers for the same effect. Being used any of the ways, it also helpeth a weak brain or memory.” He adds, that, mixed with strong beer and drunk, or the powdered herb made into an electuary with sugar, and taken, it “hath the same powerful effect to restore the sight decayed through age: and Arnoldus de Villa Nova saith, it hath restored sight to them that have been blind a long time before.” Gerarde, too, recommended the use of the plant in nearly the same manner, both to take away “darknesse and dimnesse of the eyes,” and that it might ‘comfort the memorie”; and he directs that the plant should be gathered during its flowering season for ‘“ physicke’s use.” It is not wonderful that, having such universal repute, the poets of old times should have referred to it. Thus we find Milton representing the Archangel as clearing the vision of our first father— ‘‘Then purged with Euphrasy and rue His visual orbs, for he had much to see.” Michael Drayton says— ‘The fumitory get, and Eyebright for the eye, The yarrow wherewithal he stops the wound-made gore.” So, too, we find Spenser saying— ‘** Yet Euphrasie may not be left unsung, That gives dim eyes to wander leagues around.” Thomson, in later days, influenced probably by the earlier poets, as much as by popular notions, says also— ‘“‘Tf she whom I implore, Urania, deign With Euphrasy to purge away the mists Which, humid, dim the mirror of the mind.” A friend of Lobel is recorded to have lost his eyesight by the use of the plant ; but this is not likely, as the Eyebright, when infused, gives a good eye-water, possessed of a slight astringency, though, as an internal remedy, it must be quite powerless. It is still in use among the descendants of some of the old “simplers.” The author, on going into a small shop in Dover, saw a quantity of the plant suspended from the ceiling, and was told that it was gathered and dried as being good for weak eyes. The person who had gathered it told her of a wonderful cure which had been performed in his family by its use; and as the narrator was one in whose general truthfulness 22 . i ol 12 SCROPHULARINEA much confidence might be placed, the details of the cure were listened to with interest, although from past experience the listener well knew how strangely causes and effects were often misunderstood in relations of this kind. All faith in the efficacy of the Eyebright in this case was soon lost, as the narrator proceeded to tell how the patient had been previously stone blind for many years, and had been cured by eating pieces of the Euphrasy, gathered fresh from the neighbouring cliffs. A French botanist who wrote in “ L’Encyclopédie des Sciences” remarks, that the virtues of this herb, as a cure for ophthalmia, must be altogether imaginary, because the distilled water of the plant, to which the virtue was ascribed, is absolutely scentless, and is, in fact, simply water, without any medicinal property. The juice, however, is apparently useful in some form of ophthalmic complaint ; for we are assured by Professor Kranichfeld that it has been very successfully employed in catarrhal affections of the eye. The plant is a root-parasite. 4. YELLOW RATTLE (/thindnthus). 1. Common Yellow Rattle (2. crista-galli).—Leaves narrow, oblong, tapering to a point, serrated; flowers in loose spikes ; bracts egg-shaped, deeply serrated ; annual. This is an abundant plant on many damp pastures, though somewhat local. The stem is about a foot or a foot and a half high, often much branched, of pale, yellowish-green, usually speckled with purple. The flowers form a loose spike at its upper portion, having large pointed bracts beneath. They are yellow, and are very small compared to the pale green, shining, inflated calices. As the flowers fall off and the fruit ripens, the loose seeds rattle in their husky cases, and we then diseover the aptness of the familiar name of the plant. The crested bracts procured for it the botanic and common appellation of Cock’s-comb, which it has also in many European countries besides ours. The Italians call it Cresta di gallo; the French, Cocréte des prés ; in Germany it is familiarly termed Hahnenkamm, and in Holland Haanekam. It abounds in meadows in the north of Europe ; and the Swedes, who call it Stallergriis, regard the rattling of its seeds in the wind as an indication that the season has arrived for gathering in the hay, though on our own meadows the grass is mowed while the Yellow Rattle is in flower. In England it is disliked by the owners of pasture lands, as the cattle, if they do not leave it altogether untouched, yet are not fond of it. In the year 1839, when the author of these pages was visiting a village in Essex, great annoyance was expressed by many owners of pastures at the unusual amount of this plant among the grass. The grass was said by the farmers to be “burned” by the Yellow Rattle, and much inquiry was made both as to the cause of its increase, and also as to the injury which it was considered to do to the meadows. In the year 1847, M. Decaisne published, in the Comptes Rendus, his opinion that the injury done to the grass by the Rattle was caused by the parasitic nature of this plant. As British botanists had hitherto considered that we had but one green-leaved parasite, the mistletoe, and that our parasites in general were brown and leafless, this peculiarity had not been suspected in England. M. Decaisne’s statements, however, led to experiments in this country, by which it was ascertained that the Yellow Rattle grows on the . FIGWORT TRIBE 13 roots of the grasses, and it has since been proved that some other of the Scrophularinee are also parasitic. Professor Henslow found that plants of the Rattle when growing at a distance from other plants did not thrive ; that they were dwarfed in growth, flowered but in two specimens ; and that finally they all withered, without producing seed. A single plant which grew near to some wheat, attained its usual dimensions; but the Professor failed to observe whether the seeds were perfected. The Yellow Rattle is, in some parts of Kent, called Snaftles. It is termed in Ireland Rattle-grass, Penny-grass, and Henpenny-grass. 2. Hairy Yellow Rattle, Large Bushy Yellow Rattle (2. major). —Leaves linear, lanceolate, upper ones tapering to a point; flowers in crowded spikes; calyx smooth, appendage of the upper lip of the corolla egg-shaped or oblong; bracts egg-shaped, pointed; annual. A plant with broader and serrated leaves, hairy calices, and egg-shaped bracts, and which is usually the largest and stoutest form of the genus, is sometimes described as a variety of the Common Yellow Rattle, and is also the R. hérsutus or f. villosus of other writers. The authors of the “ British Flora” remark : “Mr. Bentham observes to us in a letter, that now, since it has been proved that this genus is parasitical, it is probable that all the supposed species ought to be united ; an opinion in which we quite agree.” The Large Bushy Yellow Rattle is found in corn-fields in the north of England, and is described as having more dense and bushy spikes of flowers than the Common Yellow Rattle, and yellowish bracts, each terminating in a green point. The appendages to the upper lip of the corolla are purple ; the seeds are thick at the edge, with a membranous margin. 5, COW-WHEAT (Melampyrum). 1. Crested Cow-wheat (I. cristdtwm).—Spikes densely imbricated ; bracts heart-shaped, tapering to a point, and cut into slender segments ; leaves linear, lanceolate, acute, entire, with dark veins beneath ; annual. This is a very handsome piant in the month of July, with its dense 4-sided spikes of yellow flowers, which have a dash of purple on the inner lip, and grow each one in the axil of a floral leaf. These bracts are of deep rose- colour at the base, and the stem is about a foot or a foot and a half high. The plant is found in corn-fields, woods, and thickets in the eastern counties of England. 2. Purple Cow-wheat (J. arvénse).—Spikes lax, oblong ; bracts ege- shaped, lanceolate, and gradually narrowing, pinnatifid, with awl-shaped segments ; calyx-teeth as long as the tube of the corolla; corolla closed ; annual. This species, which is still more handsome and more rare than the last, is found in woods, on dry banks and in corn-fields in the Isle of Wight and about Norwich. The spikes of flowers are much larger than in the crested species, and extremely beautiful from the varied tints which they and their floral leaves display. The bracts are green and purplish rose-coloured, the blossoms yellow, variegated with rose-colour and purple. This plant, which is abundant on some corn-lands, is a very troublesome weed to the farmer. Mr. Baxter, referring to it, says: ‘‘Dr. Bromfield tells me that the value of the wheat on certain farms in the land behind St. Lawrence, in the 14 SCROPHULARINEA Isle of Wight, is greatly lowered from the admixture of the seeds, which cannot be separated from the grain by winnowing, the specific gravity of both being nearly the same. These seeds impart a bluish colour to the flour, and give it, when made into bread, an unwholesome flavour. The plant is known in that neighbourhood as Poverty-weed, and various traditions are afloat as to the manner of its introduction to this island, which, however, is not of very recent date, the species having existed in some of its present stations for at least forty years, and is by some supposed to have come over from Jersey, where, however, it is not known at present as indigenous or introduced.” The writer adds, that “this unwelcome though splendid addition to the flora of this island probably arose from an importation of wheat from Norfolk, or some other maritime county. It infests only such corn-lands in the island as lie over chalk, or contain a large proportion of calcareous earth.” The plant is in flower from June to August, and is eaten by cows, though unpleasing to sheep. 3. Common Yellow Cow-wheat (J. praténse).—Flowers axillary, in pairs, all turning one way ; corolla four times as long as the calyx, lower lip longer than the upper ; leaves in distant pairs, narrow, tapering, smooth ; upper bracts with one or two teeth at the base ; perennial. Varieties of this plant occur, in one of which the bracts are quite entire, the plant is smaller and somewhat succulent ; in another the leaves are bristly, the bracts with spreading teeth at the base. Though this plant is called Meadow Cow-wheat, yet it is not found in pastures, but in woods and thickets. It is a very common, but not a very attractive, plant, having a slender stem about a foot high, with straggling opposite branches. The flowers, which appear from May to August, are tubular, of very pale yellow, sometimes almost cream- coloured. It is much relished by domestic animals, particularly kine ; and Linnzus says that the richest and yellowest butter is made from the milk of animals grazing on spots where it is abundant. It is to this circumstance that the genus owes its English name ; while that of Melampyrum, black wheat, originated in the form of the seed, which is much like a grain of wheat, conjoined with the blackness which the plant assumes in withering. This hue is most remarkable when the plant has been preserved in an herbarium, where, after a time, not a spot of green or yellow is perceptible in its universal inky tint, a characteristic of most of these root-parasites. An old notion prevailed that this plant turned into wheat ; hence one of its names was the Mother of Wheat. The French call the plant Melampire ; the Germans, WVachtelweizen ; the Dutch, Akkerig zwartkoom ; the Italians, MWelam- piro ; the Spaniards, Zrigo de vaca ; and the Swedes, Skiille. 4. Lesser-flowered Yellow Cow-wheat (IM. sylvdticum).—F lowers axillary, all turning one way ; corolla open, about twice the length of the calyx, the lips equal in length, the lower one turning downwards ; bracts entire ; leaves slender, lanceolate, in distant pairs; annual. This is a smaller species than any of the preceding, and is a rare plant of mountainous woods of the north of England, but more frequently found in Scotland. The stem is about a foot high, the flowers about half the size of the common species, of deeper yellow, and very dissimilar in shape. It flowers in July. The whole of these Cow-wheats are root-parasites. CRESTED COW-WHEAT Melampyrum cristatum PURPLE C. W. M. arvense, COMMON YELLOW Cc. Ww M. pratense 4.. LESSER FLOWERED YELLOW C. W M. sylvaticum . MARSH LOUSEWORT Fedicularis palustris 6. PASTURE L P. sylvatica Pt. 157. FIGWORT TRIBE 15 6. LousEwort (Pediculdris). 1. Marsh Lousewort (P. palistris).—Stem solitary, erect, branched ; leaves pinnatifid, segments oblong, blunt, and lobed; calyx egg-shaped, downy, 2-lobed, lobes deeply cut ; perennial. From June to September this is a very pretty marsh-flower, sometimes giving to a portion of boggy land a rich red colour by its numerous large crimson blossoms, often with a spotted calyx. Its branches have frequently a purple tinge, and the deeply-cut leaves are extremely pretty. The plant is from twelve to eighteen inches in height. Both this and the following species are considered to produce lice in sheep feeding on the pasture where they abound ; and hence their familiar name, though there is little doubt that the vermin attacking these animals are as much to be attributed to want of tone produced by the unhealthy nature of marshy grounds as to the plant itself. Lousewort, however, like the sun-dews, spear-worts, and several other of our bog-plants, has some degree of acridity. Mr. Purton says that the healthiest flocks when fed on the next species (P. sylvdtica) soon become unhealthy ; and he adds, that farmers should be careful to eradicate it. Both sheep and goats eat the plant, and both our British species were formerly considered good vulneraries. The leaves of a species known as P. landta are said by Ainslie to be used in the Kurile Isles as a substitute for tea. That remarkable and magnificent flower, peculiar to Lapland and Sweden, named by Rudbeck P. sceptrum- carolinum, is the great ornament of the genus ; but our native kinds are both pretty flowers, and we have several handsome garden species. Most of the genus grow at great elevation above the level of the sea. Throughout Europe the plants are generally known by names synonymous with their scientific and English names. Thus the French call them Pédiculaire ; the Germans, Liiusekraut ; the Dutch, Lwiskruid ; the Italians, Pidocchiera ; the Spanish, Gallarito ; the Danes, Luusurt. In many of our country places they are called Red Rattle. 2. Pasture Lousewort (P. sylvdtica).—Stem branched at the base, erect ; branches long, spreading, prostrate; leaves pinnatifid ; segments lobed ; calyx oblong, smooth, irregularly 5-lobed, inflated, and marked with green veins crossing each other; perennial. This is quite a common plant of moist heaths and pastures, especially abounding in hilly places. It is of much lower growth than the last species, and its flowers are paler, being either rose-coloured or white. The smooth calyx has five unequal leaf-like lobes, its primary stem is very short, and the branches lie over the ground thickly clad with their prettily-cut leaves. The flowers, which are large, expand from June to August. Both species are root-parasites. 7. Frawort (Scrophuldria}. * Calyx with fine rounded lobes, corolla purplish, upper lip with a scale on tts inner side—the aborted fifth stamen. 1. Knotted Figwort (S. nodésa).—_Leaves egg-shaped, somewhat heart- shaped, smooth, doubly and acutely serrated, the lower serratures largest ; stem with four acute angles ; cymes Jax ; bracts small, lanceolate, and acute ; 16 SCROPHULARINEA capsules egg-shaped; root-stock tuberous and perennial. The knots, which give to this plant its specific name, must be looked for in the roots, and not on the stem. The root consists of a number of white tubers, generally round, and strung together by fibres, and varying from the size of a pea to that of a large marble. These knobs, resembling the glandular swellings produced by disease, apparently induced the older observers of plants to believe them to be efficacious in these maladies, and hence the name of the genus. The plant had much popular repute in former days, for Gerarde censures “divers who doe rashly teach that if it be hanged about the necke, or else carried about one, it keepeth a manin helth.” The Knotted Figwortis a tall slender plant, three or four feet high, bearing in June and July repeatedly-forked panicles of flowers. These flowers are very small for the size of the herb ; they are almost globular, and of dull purple, mingled with greenish-yellow. The whole plant has a disagreeable odour, like the elder, and the roots are slightly bitter. 2. Water Figwort (8. aquitica).—Smooth ; leaves oblong, heart-shaped, blunt ; flowers in close panicles; bracts linear, blunt ; sepals with a broad membranous margin ; stem 4-winged ; root-stock creeping, perennial. This plant is common by the sides of ditches and streams, attracting our attention by its size, rather than its beauty. Its stem is commonly from two to five feet high, hollow and succulent, but the editor of this edition has measured examples in Cornwall that exceeded ten feet. The flowers are from eight to fifteen in a cluster, of purplish-brown colour. Its leaves are serrated with rounded notches, and are larger and of dark dull green. The stems become very rigid as the plant dries, and the Rey. C. A. Johns observes, that they are then very troublesome to anglers, as their lines become entangled among the withered capsules. The plant was formerly called Water Betony, Bishop’s-leaves, and Broad-wort, and in France it is termed Herbe de Si¢ge, because it is said that during the siege of Rochelle by Cardinal Richelieu, in 1628, the soldiers of the garrison supported themselves during a season of famine by eating the roots of the plant, which abounded in the moist lands in the neighbourhood. ‘Though many good botanists have stated that this is the plant which afforded relief in the emergency, yet the roots are so small that the author of these pages thinks that the Knotted Figwort, often found in moist places, was probably the species to which the soldiers were indebted, as its roots, though slightly bitter, are much larger. A decoction of the leaves of the Water Figwort is used in country places asa medicine for some domestic animals, but cattle refuse its herbage, and it is eaten only by the goat. Wasps are very fond of its flowers, the carrion-like colour and rank odour appearing to have special reference to their tastes; the shape of the corolla, too, corresponds with the shape of their heads. Mr. Babington says that these flowers are sometimes milk-white. The French call the Figworts Scrofulaire ; the Germans, Braunwurz ; the Dutch, Schrofelkruid ; the Italians, Scrofalaria ; the species was very generally applied some centuries ago in most European countries as a cataplasm to tumours. M. Marchant stated some years since, in his Memoirs of the French Academy, his opinion that this plant is identical with the Hquetaia of the Brazilians, which is so celebrated as correcting the disagreeable flavour of the medicinal senna; 1 KNOTTED FIGWORT 3, WATER F Scrophularia nodosa . S. aquatica 2. EHRHARTS F 4. BALM LEAVED F S. ehrharti. S. scorodonia &. YELLOW F 8S, vernalis P22 158% _——— - in > a . FIGWORT TRIBE 17 and for a time the Edinburgh College, in their infusion of that drug, sanctioned its use. It was, Reece in all probability found to be annteed for that purpose, as it Is now discontinued. 3. Ehrhart’s Figwort (S. chrharti).—Leaves smooth, egg-shaped, lan- ceolate, acute, somewhat heart-shaped, sharply serrated, lower serratures smaller; stem and leaf-stalks winged ; cymes lax, few flowered; sepals roundish, with a broad membranous margin ; corolla greenish below, brown above, scale 2-lobed ; bracts leaf-like, lanceolate, ead acute; rootstock creeping, perennial. This plant occurs in a few wet places in various parts of England and Scotland, having from July to September dark lurid purple flowers. The stem is from two to four feet high. Under the name of S. wmbrosa, Hooker classes this as a sub-species of S. aquatica. 4, Balm-leaved Figwort (S. scorodénia).—Leaves triangular, heart- shaped at the base, downy on both sides; stem downy, bluntly 4-winged ; cymes lax, few-flowered; bracts linear, blunt; sepals with a broad mem- branous margin ; perennial. This species is at once distinguished from all the others by its downy, wrinkled leaves, not unlike those of the garden balm, and having large teeth that are again serrated. It is found only in Cornwall and 8. Devon, at Tralee in Ireland, and in Jersey, where it occurs in meist places. Its flowers, which appear in July, are dark purple, and its stem is two or three feet high. * * Calyx of 5 acute segments ; corolla yellow without a scale. 5. Yellow Figwort (S. verndlis).—Leaves downy, heart-shaped, acute, twice serrated, stem winged, hairy ; cymes axillary, corymbose, with leaf-like bracts ; sepals without a membranous margin; perennial. This is the only ornamental species of Figwort found in Britain, and, though an introduced species, of local occurrence, is occasionally found in great abundance. In some of the wilder parts of Berkshire, for instance, it is so plentiful as to form a feature in the landscape. It is very unlike the other species of Figwort ; its swollen yellow flowers, with a gr eatly contracted mouth, much resembling one of the Calceolarias, but its foliage is of a remarkably bright green colour. Its stem is about two feet high, and it flowers early in spring, remaining in blossom till June. Although we have but few British species of Scrophularia, yet about 120 are “enumerated as belonging to the floras of other lands. 8. FoOxGLovE (Digitdlis). Purple Foxglove (D. purpirea).—Leaves large, egg-shaped, lanceolate, downy beneath, wrinkled, and with rounded or sharp notches at the margin, lower ones tapering to a footstalk ; sepals oblong, acute, downy, 3-nerved ; corolla obtuse, smooth externally ; upper lip scarcely cleft, segments of the lower lip rounded ; perennial. The Digitalis received its name from Fuchs, who so designated the plant from dzgitabulum, a thimble, in allusion to the form of the flower; and a similar reference is found in its familiar names almost everywhere. Our name is a corruption of Folk’s glove, or Fairies’ glove, these imaginary sprites having been known as the “good folk.” The French term it Gant de notre Dame, and Gantelée; the Germans, Fingerhut ; Ill.—3 is SCROPHULARINE and the Dutch, Vingerhoed. Turner, who wrote his book on plants in the reign of Queen Mary, says, “There is an herbe that groweth very much in Englande, and specially about Norfolke, about the conie holes, and in divers woddes, which is called in English Foxglove. It is named of some in Latin Digitalis ; that is to say, Thimble-wort. It hath a long stalke, and on the toppe many flowers hanginge downe like belles or thimbles.” Cowley fancifully said— ‘*The Foxglove on fair Flora’s hand is worn, Lest while she gather flowers she meet a thorn.” Yet these pretty poetical fancies are not so interesting as the teaching of living naturalists, that the form of the flowers has relation to the shape and size of the humble-bees that alone can fertilize the incipient seeds, whilst smaller insects intent on the honey, but unable to earn it by a return service, are forbidden by an array of hairs within. The stem on which the bells hang is usually three or four feet high, and the flowers are pale purple, beautifully spotted within, and from May to July they form a spike-like cluster, sometimes a foot long. We have scarcely another wild flower which can at all compete in stately beauty, in loveliness of form and hue, with our magnificent Foxglove, the ‘““emblem of punish- ment and pride,” as the poet has called it. Many a bard has told how it gladdened grove and hill, and many a lover of wild flowers has gazed for hours on spots enlivened by its beauty, while the artist has seized it as a foreground for his picture of rural scenery. This flower, though unknown in many districts of this kingdom, is abundant in others, especially in hilly regions, apparently preferring a sandy or gravelly soil, producing an abundance of seed, which sometimes springs up after it has lain long in the earth. This was the case a few years since on one of the hills of Malvern, where, when the soil was turned up, the Fox- glove sprang up plentifully. On one part which was made into a pathway, the young plant was soon crushed by the passing footsteps, but it grew up in rows on each side of the path, giving it much the formal appearance of having been planted there by the gardener. It often grows either among the short grass of the hills, or amid the longer blades of the meadow, or by the bushes of hedgerows ; and the author never saw it more luxuriant than in Kent. In the neighbourhood of Saltwood Castle, near Hythe, the plant is very abundant, growing in the woods and pastures among some of the most magnificent orchises; and we have gathered thence more than one specimen nearly six feet high, with its bells forming a pyramid two feet long. Tne inside of the bell is beautiful, with its rich purple spots and silken hairs, and its dashes of dark purple, which may be seen through its substance marking its exterior surface, while a beautiful white variety of the flower occurs in many woods. When this White Foxglove is removed to a garden, however, it often becomes more or less tinged with the original lilac or purple hue from which it varied. But the Digitalis may be praised for its use, as much as for its beauty ; for the leaves, after having been well dried in the sun or by the fire, yield a very important medicine. Many country medical practitioners procure these leaves, and themselves prepare the extract, as the plant should be gathered PURPLE FOXGLOVE 2 GREAT SNAP-DRAGON a Digitalis purpurea Antirrhinum mayus 3, LESSER SNAP-DRAGON A. orontium PY, 159, i - P } ‘ i - , ; : \o : aa . ‘ , ; : : { tae ; i, aes = ' bree r dl 4 : i Y y ; 7 i) f t : = a) ¥ ‘ hia y oe 7 - Wie f J ft i : | : ; iy Ui , om pe : 2 ie - in 7 i oe t r i > “f ‘ x i os 3 ; i aN » Call : ; ED el ee ae ak she | i my) aD i" : fod ae Kat . . ret 1 we ¥ ie re eae a , 4 % es - «} re my { " a : ; ' , ‘ i ls ie : ae: A , fs Pi ae . ) i oO. = a } he . ir | tiny G ft ° 7 = c “, : 4 . A * ore | ; ‘ iP) 4 my ; es tat i Lge ee hy G ‘ : ? ¥ i 7 ~ te Fi a = Pe } ’ i : +e + geet ov ia FIGWORT TRIBE Ly just at the season of its flowering in order to ensure its efficacy. The influence of the Digitalis over the action of the heart, and its power of re- straining in a short time the too rapid circulation of the blood, as well as its other uses, render this medicine of much worth in the hands of the skilful practitioner, though its powerful and dangerous properties make it safe only in the hands of one well acquainted with diseases and their remedies. “The history of this plant,” says Dr. George Johnston, “might afford a practical censure to such as sneer at the pursuits of the botanist, and are continually asking, ‘Cui bono? for it grew neglected, until Dr. Withering, a botanist, made known its virtues.” The Foxglove had indeed been praised by old herbalists ; as Gerarde, in 1597, wrote of various uses to which it was applied, though he had not apparently discovered its influence over the action of the heart ; and Parkinson, who was an apothecary of London, and herbalist to Charles L., regretted some years after, that few physicians used it, and that it was almost entirely neglected. This author says: “And it hath beene of later experience found also to be so effectuall against the falling sicknesse, that divers have been cured thereby.” Since Dr. Withering called the atten- tion of physicians to this plant, the medicine has been in almost daily use, not in England only, but on the Continent; and in Paris it is so highly valued that the flower is often painted on the door-posts of an apothecary’s dwelling. Modern practitioners do not, however, include among their remedies that outward use of its leaves which suggested the old Italian proverb, “ Aralda tutte piaghe salda.” ‘ Aralda (Foxglove) salveth all sores.” Handsome as is our wild Foxglove, it seems scarcely to equal a flower which Colonel Mundy describes as resembling it, and which is the growth of Van Diemen’s Land. “There are,” says this writer, ‘several very pretty Iris- like bulbs in the moister soil, and in the lowlands of the Botany scrub. I noticed a crimson and orange flower, like the Foxglove in form, very hand- some, but so hard and horny in texture, that the blossoms actually ring with a clear metallic sound as you shake them. It might be the fairies’ dinner- bell calling them to their dew and ambrosia. Alas! there are no ‘good people’ in Australia. No one ever heard of a ghost, or a bogle, or fetch here. All is too absolutely material to afford a relic for imagination and superstition.” The Foxglove clump has a good effect either in garden or shrubbery, and our common species is a frequent ornament of the parterre. Several exotic species also, as the Great Yellow Foxglove, are beautiful plants. This is a native of Germany, and is very luxuriant on mountains of that land as well as in the Swiss Alps. The Madeira Foxglove is another magnificent species, which, in the gardens of Ghent, sometimes grows to the height of ten feet. 9. SNAPDRAGON (Auntirrhinum). 1. Lesser Snapdragon (A. oréntium). — Leaves mostly alternate, linear, lanceolate ; spikes very few-flowered, lax; segments of calyx longer than the corolla; annual. This is a very much smaller plant than the following species, and its flowers have little to attract in their dull purplish tint. The species is readily known from any allied plants by its leafy sepals, —2 20 SCROPHULARINEAA which are very much longer than the little blossom. Though somewhat local, this is not an unfrequent plant in corn-fields, and the author often finds it as a weed in gardens in Kent. The stem is about a foot high, and the leaves are dark green. It is in flower from July to October. 2. Great Snapdragon (4. mdjus).—Leaves lanceolate, alternate, those of the branches opposite ; flowers in spikes; segments of the calyx egg- shaped, blunt, shorter than the corolla; upper lip of the corolla cleft ; perennial. Everyone who has lingered among old walls and ruins during our summer months, has seen the rich crimson blossoms of the Snapdragon waving to the wind which sweeps over castle-turret or church-tower. Nor is the bright flower wanting on the wall of more modern gardens. It is certain this plant should not be recorded as wild; for though it grows in innumerable places without culture, yet it has naturalized itself near to the garden ground, where once it was planted. Like the wall-flower, though so frequent on walls it is not confined to them, for it often occurs in chalk-pits and limestone quarries. It varies in colour from deep purplish crimson to pale pink or white, and in the garden, several varieties raised by nursery- men and florists assume every tint of red, yellow, and white, or are streaked like a carnation. Children press the corolla till they open the palate, when it bears that resemblance to the imaginary dragon which induced our fathers to give it its common name, though its similarity to the mouth of the pet animal renders its other common appellation of Rabbit’s-mouth sufficiently expressive. Bull-dogs, Lion’s-snap, Toad’s-mouth, and Dog’s-mouth, are also old names of the plant, which the French call Mujlier ; the Germans, Lowen- maul; the Dutch, Leewwebek ; the Italians and Spaniards, Antirrino. Vogel says that in many countries the common people attribute a supernatural influence to the Snapdragon, and believe it to serve as a counter-charm, rendering all influences of the evil eye and of maledictions ineffectual. The seeds are numerous, and yield an excellent oil, much used in Persia for domestic purposes ; while in Russia the plant is sown in fields for the sake of this oil. A species used in Cochin China as food for swine is called A, porcinum. 10. TOAD-FLAX (Lindria). * Stems and branches trailing. 1. Ivy-leaved Toad-flax (L. cymbaléria).—Leaves roundish, heart- shaped, 5-lobed, smooth ; flowers solitary, axillary upon long stalks; peren- nial. This plant is familiarly known to many persons by the name of Mother of Thousands. It is indeed very prolific, both in flowers and leaves, and, when once established on a bank or stone wall, will soon spread over it. The long slender rooting stems attach themselves to the crumbled earth among crevices of buildings, and droop down so as to have suggested one of its familiar names, Maiden Hair. It is a common plant on the walls of gardens, and doubtless was, in former years, cultivated there, for it is a naturalized and not an indigenous species. It often combines with ferns and mosses to give a verdant tapestry to the old church or castle; its shoots sometimes winding in at a window, in which case the leaves are much smaller, for want XS IVY-LEAVED TOAD FLAX 4, CREEPING PALE BLUE T.F linania cymbalaria L. repens ROUND-LEAVED TOAD FLAX 5 YELLOW TOAD FLAX L.spuria L. vulgaris SHARP POINTED FLUELLIN 5.ab. FLOWERS OF VAR L.elatime Peloria 6 LEAST TOAD FLAX L.minor 7 UPRIGHT PURPLE TOAD FLAX Pi, 160 Lpelisseriana 403 vs oi “ j f ie FIGWORT TRIBE 21 of light. A specimen of this plant was exhibited in 1850 to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by a deputation who waited on him respecting the abolition of the tax on windows. This plant had lived for some years in a Wardian case, on the top of a model of an abbey. The branches, which grew towards the light, invariably produced leaves of the full size, with perfect flowers and fruit ; whilst those branches which trailed down between the model and the window, and were nearly without light, never produced either blossom or fruit, and the leaves were not more than one-tenth the ordinary size. As all the other conditions of the plant were the same, this dwarfed and starved state of one part of the Toad-flax arose solely from the want of light, and was well calculated to show the depressing effects of darkened dwellings. Dr. Joseph Hooker, when in the Himalaya, saw a similar plant, the yellow branched Toad-flax, winding itself over every ruined wall of some ancient fortress in the Soane Valley, just as the ivy-leaved species does in this country. If the Himalayan kind should have the same singular mode of depositing its seeds, we wonder not that its fertility should be equal. Our Ivy-leaved Toad-flax has a peculiarity almost without a parallel in the vege- table kingdom. The capsules before ripening turn round towards the wall on which the plant so often grows, and place themselves in a crevice or hole, so as to shed the seeds, when ripened, in a place where they may thrive, instead of scattering them on the ground, where they would be wasted. The leaves of our species are shaped much like those of the ivy ; are smooth, thick, and succulent, often of a pinkish-purple beneath, and they have a warm pungent flavour like the water-cress. The plant is often placed in a pot hung from the cottage ceiling, where it sometimes attains great luxuri- ance. ‘The author once measured a leaf from a cottage plant which was two inches and three-quarters across. The flowers expand from May to Septem- ber ; they are small, and of a pale or dark bluish-lilac. This plant is used medicinally in India, and apparently with some success. It formerly acquired much celebrity as being one of the ingredients of that terrible poison known in France as the Poudre de Succession. The dreadful art of slow and secret poisoning, by which the victim seemed sinking from the ravages of lingering disease, is less possible now that chemistry has enabled us to detect more readily the presence of any deleterious substance. But it is not much more than a century since this wicked art had acquired such perfection that the celebrated Tophania, a woman residing at Naples, sold her cruel compound ; and found so many ready to share her wickedness, that she is said to have caused the death of six hundred persons. Garelli, the physician to Charles VI., King of the Two Sicilies, analysed her poison, and found it to be composed of an arsenical oxide, dissolved in a liquid called Aqua Cymbalarie, which was made of the Ivy-leaved Toad-flax. ‘““ Hearts have been found—thank Heaven ! not often found— So soil’d and stain’d by the polluting air And weariness of cities, men so vile, And women, too, alas! sometimes, who’ve mix’d Poison with the pure perfumes of a flower.” The Ivy-leaved Toad-flax, from being believed to mingle with the Poudre 22 SCROPHULARINEAR de Succession, acquired, however, a notoriety of which it was undeserving, for the water distilled from it is simply an astringent, and by no means a power- ful one; it was, therefore, doubtless used in these deleterious preparations from an ignorant misconception of its properties. We seldom look upon ‘¢The ivy-foliaged Toad-flax twined, With purplish tendrils,” withoat recalling an anecdote which was related by Schultz, in his “ Botanical Visit to England,” and which gives us a pleasanter association with this flower. Shortly after the publication by Linnzus of his arrangement of plants, the latter, then a young man and little known, came over to England. He went to Oxford, and there visited Dillenius and Sherard. The latter botanist gave him a hearty welcome, but Dillenius, probably from that dislike to innovation more prevalent then than now among scientific men, received him very coldly. During a conversation which the two Oxford friends held together, Dillenius remarked that this was the young fellow who was putting botany and botanists into confusion. ‘Though unacquainted with the English language, the quick ear of Linnzus detected the word canfiuschien, as Dillenius with his German accent pronounced it; and readily connecting it with the Latin confusio, he at once understood the feeling of the botanist towards himself. They all three walked together up and down the Oxford garden, when Dillenius stopped before a wall ornamented with masses of the Ivy-leaved Toad-flax. Some difficulties respecting the structure of this plant had recently occupied the attention of the Professor, and he now questioned Linnzus as to his opinion on the subject. The doubtful points were all clearly under- stood by the young Swede, and fully explained in his usual lucid manner ; other difficulties respecting various plants were discussed in the conversation which followed, and were explained with equal felicity, and the prejudice which Dillenius had at first entertained for Linnzeus was succeeded by regard and admiration for his genius and science. Before the three botanists separated, they had become friends ; but on taking leave, Linnzeus could not refrain from saying to Dillenius that he should have been very sorry to have brought confusion into the garden at Oxford. Dillenius blushed at this refer- ence, and immediately apologised for his unkind but inadvertent expression. 2. Round-leaved Toad-flax (L. spuria).— Leaves roundish, egg- shaped; spur curved upwards; flower-stalks hairy ; stem procumbent ; annual. ‘This plant trails over the ground in many gravelly and sandy corn- fields, but is chiefly confined to the east and south-east of England. It is abundant in many parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and not uncommon in Kent. It is in blossom from July to November, and the flowers are small, solitary, and axillary, yellow, with the upper lip purple. The foliage is of a greyish dusty-looking green colour, and the leaves have sometimes one or two teeth on the margin. In some cases the flowers are regular, with five spurs. 3. Sharp-pointed Fluellin or Toad-flax (L. eldtine).—Leaves broadly halberd-shaped, downy ; flowers solitary, axillary, on long stalks; annual. This species much resembles the last in the form of its flowers, and the colour of its leaves, which is never of a bright green; and, like it, is a trailing FIGWORT TRIBE 23 plant, flowering in the same months in corn-fields. The leaves, however, form a very distinct specific character, being sharply pointed, and halberd- shaped, with the exception of a few at the base of the plant. It grows both on chalk and gravel, and, though a local plant, is not rare. This species is more bitter than either of the others, and was formerly much used as a medicine in cutaneous disorders. The corolla is yellow, the upper lip lined with purple. * * Stems erect, ascending, or diffuse. 4, Creeping Pale Blue Toad-flax (L. répens).—Leaves linear, scat- tered, or partly whorled, smooth ; flowers in racemes; sepals lanceolate, as long as the spur, but shorter than the capsule ; seeds angular and wrinkled ; perennial. This plant is rare, occurring chiefly on rocky places and chalky banks, especially near the sea. It has a slender-branched and leafy stem, from a foot to a foot and a half in height; and its leaves are whorled below. The flowers, which appear from July to September, are white or pale lilac, marked with darker purple veins, and having a yellow palate. A form known as ZL. sepium is a hybrid between this and L. vulgaris. 5. Yellow Toad-flax (L. vulgdris)—Leaves smooth, linear, tapering to a point, crowded ; flowers in dense spikes ; sepals smooth, egg-shaped, acute, shorter than the capsule or spur; perennial. This is the most common of all the species of Toad-flax. In May we may see its light green stems beset with slender grass-like leaves, of a pale sea-green hue, adorning the hedge-bank or border of the corn-field, and sometimes peering up among the growing corn. During August and September it is among the most showy flowers of our landscape ; and the traveller, far away in the wilds of Siberia, sees it growing there with the yellow silver-weed potentilla, and dreams of home and harvest-fields. Its large and beautiful corollas are pale yellow, with a deep yellow spot, and are crowded into a close cluster from one to three inches long, on a stem which is one or two feet high. Country people call the plant Butter-and-eggs, Pattens-and-clogs, and Flax-weed. It is Das Flackskraut of the Germans, and La Linaive of the French. The leaves have a bitterish and somewhat saltish taste, and emit, when bruised, a peculiar but not very powerful odour. The plant is still sometimes infused, and taken + medicinally ; but it should be carefully used as an internal remedy, as its properties are powerful, though an infusion of its flowers is a good external application for cutaneous affections, and the decoction, employed as a bath, has also proved very successful in removing eruptions on the skin. In Sussex it was formerly called Gall-wort, and was put into the water drunk by poultry, in order to cure them when drooping. It was greatly esteemed as a remedy for jaundice, and the juice is described as “cleansing the skin wonderfully of all sorts of deformity,” and also as strengthening the sight by being dropped into the eyes, though we would warn our readers against this latter use of the herb. The flowers have been employed in dyeing yellow, and, mingled with milk, they are often placed on tables in farmhouses, as they serve to attract and destroy flies. A variety (peloria) is sometimes found with a regular corolla and five spurs. 6. Upright Purple Toad-flax (L. pelisseridéna)—Smooth ; leaves 24 SCROPHULARINEA linear, the lower ones whorled, the upper alternate, those of the barren shoots broader and ternate ; flowers in short racemes ; flower-stalks as long as the bracts ; sepals linear, acute; annual. This plant occurs in one or two places in Jersey. Its stems are erect, about a foot high, and it has, in June, purple flowers marked with darker veins. 7. Diffuse Toad-flax (L. suwpina).—Smooth ; stem diffuse or ascending ; flower-stalks and sepals glandular, hairy ; leaves linear, blunt, mostly whorled ; sepals narrow, shorter than the capsule; perennial. This plant has been introduced, in all probability, with ballast, in the few spots on which it is found. Its recorded places of growth are Catdown Quarries, Plymouth, Poole in Dorsetshire, Hayle, and St. Blazey’s Bay, Cornwall. Mr. Babington thinks that the plant may possibly be truly wild at the Cornish Stations, but Sir J. D. Hooker excludes it from the British list. The flowers are in short racemes, yellow, the throat and spur marked with slender purple lines. The stem is but a few inches high, and much branched at the base. The plant is in flower during July and August. 8. Least Toad-flax (L. minor).—Leaves linear-lanceolate, blunt, mostly alternate, covered with glandular down; flowers solitary, axillary ; flower- stalks three times as long as the calyx; segments of the upper lip of the corolla spreading ; annual. This species is found in sandy and gravelly fields, chiefly in the eastern and south-eastern parts of England, and rarely in Scot- land. It bears, from May to October, small flowers, of which the lower lip is yellowish ; and the tube, upper lip, and spur purplish. The stem is erect, from four to ten inches high. 11. MONKEY-FLOWER (JMimulus). Yellow Monkey-flower (IM. luteus).—Leaves opposite, egg-shaped, the lower stalked, the upper sessile ; flowers solitary, from the axils of the leaves, yellow. This North American plant has now got thoroughly estab- lished along many rivers throughout the country. It flowers from July to September. The stigma is irritable, the two lobes into which it is divided folding together when touched on the inner surface. This is probably a provision for the retention of pollen deposited by visiting insects. 12. Mup-wort (Limosélla). Common Mud-wort (L. aqudtica).—Leaves lanceolate, narrow at the base, on long stalks; flowers on stalks which are shorter than the leaf-stalks, axillary and crowded; annual. This little plant would be likely to escape the notice of any who were not intent on searching carefully the muddy shores for their vegetable curiosities. It grows on the borders of ponds, and on the edges of small standing muddy pools in many parts of England and Scotland, but it is not a common plant. Its creeping root throws up a number of leaves on long foot-stalks. They are quite smooth, and overtop the minute blossoms, which are pale pink or white, with purplish anthers, and appear in Junc and July. They are succeeded by a globose capsule, which opens by two valves to distribute the wrinkled seeds. The Mud-wort is sometimes called Bastard Plantain. The French call it La Limoselle ; and the Germans, Das Sumpfkraut. COMMON MUDWORT Limosélla aquatica . CORNISH MONEY WORT Sibthorpia europaea GREAT MULLEIN , Verbascum thapsus . MOTH M. V. blattaria J Ej hy akatie G LARGE FLOWERED PRIMROSE LEAVED M . WHITE DARK , YELLOW HOARY M. M NM, V. virgatoum V. pulverulentanm . V. tychurtis V. nigrom ae : gL rep hie vist nian i FIGWORT TRIBE 25 13. SrBTHORP’S MONEY-wor?T (Sibthérpia). Cornish Sibthorpia (S. ewropea).—Leaves roundish, lobed and notched ; Howers axillary, 5-cleft, on very short stalks, solitary ; perennial. This, one of the most graceful of our plants, is very common in Cornwall growing on the shady banks of springs and streams, and forming masses of delicate green. Its trailing stems are clad with the hairy, roundish kidney-shaped leaves, which obtained for it its familiar name. The stems are hairy and very slender ; and the tiny flowers, which expand from June to September, are of a pale flesh-colour. This elegant little plant, which occurs also in Devonshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Wales, Kerry, and the Channel Islands, received its generic name from Dr. Humphrey Sibthorp, the Professor of Botany, who succeeded Dillenius at Oxford, and who is well known to botanists by his works on the plants of Greece, as he travelled into that country for the purpose of identifying the flowers and trees mentioned by classic writers. 14. MULLEIN (Verbdscum). * Leaves running down the stem, woolly. 1. Great Mullein (/. thapsus).—Stem simple , leaves large, oblong, somewhat egg-shaped, woolly on both sides, all running down the stem ; flowers in dense spikes ; corolla wheel-shaped, two of its stamens longer than the rest and smooth, the other three hairy; biennial. This tall Mullein, with its stem four or five feet high, is not unfrequent on waste grounds and banks of which the soil is chalk, gravel, or sand. It is also often planted in gardens, not merely because it is ornamental, but because bees are very fond of the flowers. The stem is angular and winged, and, like the leaves, it is so clothed with grey, woolly down, that we wonder not at the poet's description— ‘The antique Mullein’s flannel leaves,” or that the peasant calls it Flannel-flower. Nor is its woolly covering adverted to in the names of our own land only, for the Germans call it Wollkraut, and the Dutch /Vollekruid. In Italy the familiar name for the Mullein is Tassobar- basso, and in Spain Crordolobo, while the French call it Bouillon blanc, and the + Portuguese Verbascum bianco. When we look at its tall tapering spike of light yellow flowers, we are not surprised to find that in a period when candles were commonly burnt in churches it should have suggested to our fathers the old names of High Taper, Candlewick Taper, and Torches ; while it was also known, in common with some other species, by the names of Hare’s- beard and Bullock’s Lung-wort. It is frequent in several parts of Europe, growing, as with us, on dry banks and field borders, and is said to have taken its specific name from its abundance in the Isle of Thapsos. Mr. Purton, in his “Midland Flora,” remarks, that this species has considerable medicinal qualities ; and other authors mention that its golden yellow flowers, when dried in the sun, yield an unctuous ointment. Kalm, when in Pennsylvania, remarks of this plant, “The Swedes settled here call it Tobacco of the Savages.” They thought that the Indians smoked the leaves, but their Iil.—4 26 SCROPHULARINEAS opinion is probably not correct. They bound the Mullein leaves, however, about their arms and feet to cure ague. * * Leaves smooth, glandular, or hairy ; upper ones half clasping, running down the stem ; flowers solitary, or in pairs. 2. Moth Mullein (/. blattdria).—Leaves oblong, smooth, notched ; root- leaves often lobed at the base, upper cnes pointed ; flowers solitary, stalked, collected into a long spike-like loose tuft; hairs of the filaments purple ; annual. ‘This tall and slender Mullein has shining leaves, and its flowers, which expand in July and August, are of a rich yellow colour. Though not a generally distributed plant, it is occasionally found south of Norfolk and Staffordshire, in the south and west of Ireland, and in the Channel Isles, growing on banks of a gravelly soil. Many botanists consider that it is not truly wild in this country. It appears to be peculiarly disliked by cock- roaches, and there is no better method of expelling these troublesome insects than by strewing its leaves over places to which they resort. The specific name is from Oblatta, a cockroach; and if Gerarde’s statement is true, it deserves also its English name of Moth Mullein, for he says that moths and butterflies frequent the places where it is laid. 3. Large-flowered Primrose-leaved Mullein (/. virgdtum). — Leaves twice serrated, slightly hairy, with glandular hairs, or in some cases quite smooth, egg-shaped, lanceolate, and toothed, those of the root some- what lyrate, narrowing at the base ; flowers from two to six together, shorter than the bracts; biennial. This rare plant, which is found in fields and on gravelly banks, is by some writers considered a sub-species or variety of the last species. Indeed, several so-called species of Mullein seem to run into each other, owing to the existence of hybrids, so that they have required much attention from botanists, who are not agreed as to their exact number. M. Schrader has published a learned monograph on the subject. The fila- ments of this species, like those of the last, are covered with purple hairs, but the racemes are more densely flowered. * * * Leaves woolly or powdery, not running down the stem ; flowers in clusters. 4, Yellow Hoary Mullein (/. pulveruléntum).—Leaves egg-shaped and oblong, slightly serrated, and covered on both sides with mealy wool, lower ones oblong and narrow, gradually tapering into a foot-stalk, the upper one sessile and pointed ; stem rounded, panicled above, with spreading branches ; biennial. This species is a common plant of the road-sides in Norfolk and Suffolk, and some other counties. It is, however, rare in other parts of this country, and is so extremely beautiful a flower, that we can but regret that it is not a more general ornament by our pathways. It is readily distinguished from any other Mullein by the mealy woolly down on both sides of its leaves, which in most cases may be easily rubbed off with the finger, but which appears in a variety of the species to be permanent. This is in the month of July a truly magnificent plant, its hundreds of large corollas being spread open to bee and butterfly, forming a golden rod on a stem three or four feet high, and beautifully varied with the scarlet stamens, which are covered with white hairs. ‘The flowers are on very short stalks, and these, as well as the FIGWORT TRIBE 27 calyxes, are covered with a thick wool. Mr. H. C. Watson questions its right to be considered a native. 5. White Mullein (/”. lychnitis).—Leaves nearly smooth above, woolly and powdery beneath, with rounded notches at the margin ; lower leaves oblong, wedge-shaped and stalked; upper leaves sessile, egg-shaped, and pointed, with a rounded base; stem angular and panicled, with ascending branches ; biennial. This species occurs chiefly in chalky districts, and in some parts of the kingdom is not uncommon on the hedges and borders of fields and pastures. It is less showy when in flower than most of its family, its blossoms, though numerous, being small and generally cream-coloured, though sometimes yellow ; they are on short stalks, and their filaments have white hairs. They expand in July and August. The lower sides of the leaves are covered with thick wool, and the down of this, as well as of some other species, has been on some occasions used as tinder or as wicks to lamps ; hence its name of Lychnitis, from the Greek for lamp. Morin states that a good yellow dye for cotton may be obtained from this plant ; and adds, that an infusion of its flowers was formerly used by the Roman ladies to tinge their hair with that rich yellow hue once so much admired in Italy, and long after prized so highly in our own country when Spenser wrote :— ‘* Instead of yellow locks, she did devise With golden wire to weave her curléd head : Yet golden wire was not so yellow thrise As Florimell’s faire heare.” This also is a doubtful native. 6. Dark Mullein (J, nigrum).—Leaves nearly smooth above, woolly or downy beneath, with rounded notches at the margin, oblong heart-shaped, upper ones nearly sessile, lower ones on long stalks; flowers in dense tufts on a long crowded spike; stem angular; perennial. This species bears its handsome spike of rather large, rich yellow flowers from July to September, and their filaments are beautifully fringed with bright purple hairs. It is a tall plant, not so stout as the Great Mullein, and much darker in hue, the leaves being of a deep green. It grows on banks and way-sides on gravelly and chalky soils, and is abundant and truly wild in the midland and southern counties, but in the north of England and Scotland is believed to be naturalized. It is said to possess slightly narcotic properties, and to have been used for’ intoxicating fish. A large number of species of Mullein are to be seen adorning our gardens. They are brought chiefly from the south of Europe, and some of them, ‘having escaped in several spots from cultivation, have been described as native plants. Such are the /. phwniceum, V. ferrugineum, and some others, but they are neither wild nor naturalized to any extent. Parkinson, in his “Garden of Flowers,” describes a species called the Woody Mullein, or French Sage, which appears to have bee much prized in olden times. He says the leaves are somewhat resembling sage in form and rough- ness, but not in scent. “ Whereof,” he says, “our people gave it the name of Sage, calling it French Sage (whereas it is as great a stranger in France as it is in England), yet they doe with this as with many other things, calling those French which come from beyond the seas; as, for example, all or most of our bulbous flowers they call ‘French flowers.’ ” 4—2 28 LABIATA Order LXII. LABIATA®—LABIATE TRIBE. Calyx tubular, regular or 2-lipped ; corolla irregular, mostly 2-lipped (labiate), the lower lip largest, and 3-lobed ; perfect stamens 4, 2 longer than the others, or sometimes wanting; ovary deeply 4-lobed; style 1; stigma 2-cleft ; fruit of four seeds, each of which is inclosed within a distinct shell or rind, and all lying at the bottom of the calyx. This is a large order, marked by very distinct and obvious features, the plants having square stems, usually opposite leaves, labiate or 2-lipped flowers, and a 4-lobed ovary, with a single style arising from the base of the lobes, and, in a large number of the genera, four stamens, two long and two short. Not a single plant of the order possesses any poisonous properties, the Betony only being slightly acrid ; many are highly aromatic, and more or less bitter, and have cordial, tonic, and stomachic virtues ; some, which abound in essential oil, are used as stimulants. Many, like the Balm, Sage, Marjoram, and Thyme, are valued as seasoning herbs, and several, like the Mint, for medicine. Others, as Lavender and Rosemary, are largely employed in perfumery. The latter plant is mingled with other ingredients in eau-de-Cologne, and the essential oil of several, like the Sage and Lavender, contains so much camphor that it has been supposed that the separation of it might become an object of commerce. Rosemary yields camphor in a great degree; and Professor Lindley, as well as other botanists, considered an infusion of this plant decidedly useful as a wash for improving the hair both in strength and quantity. The flavour of the Narbonne honey is ascribed to the bees feeding on Rosemary flowers, as that of the honey of Hymettus was said to owe its taste to their having gathered it from wild Thyme. The Labiate plants are most abundant in temperate climates, and in our country their flowers are more frequent during autumn than at any other season. * Stamens 2. 1. Grpsy Wort (Lycopus).—Calyx 5-toothed; corolla 4-cleft, nearly regular. Name from lucos, a wolf, and pous, a foot, from a fancied resem- blance of the leaves to a wolf’s paw. 2. SAGE, OR CLARY (Sdlvia).—Calyx 2-lipped ; corolla gaping ; filaments forked. Name from the Latin salvo, to heal, from the healing properties of the genus. * * Stamens 4. + Corolla nearly regular, its tube scarcely longer than the calyx ; stamens spreading upwards. 3. Mint (Méntha).—Calyx equal, 5-toothed ; corolla 4-lobed, with a very short tube. Name, the Latin name of the plant. t + Corolla 2-lipped, the tube about as long as the calyx ; lips nearly equal in length ; stamens nearly equal. 4, THYME (Thymus).—Calyx 2-lipped, 10—13-ribbed, the throat hairy ; corolla with the upper lip notched, the lower 3-cleft ; flowers in heads or whorls. Name, the Latin name of the plant, LABIATE TRIBE 29 5. Marsoram (Origanum).—Calyx 5-toothed, 10—13-ribbed, the throat hairy ; flowers in spikes, which are imbricated with large bracts. Name from the Greek oros, a mountain, and ganos, joy, from the favourite station of the plants. + + t+ Corolla with the upper lip very short or wanting, the two lower stamens : longer than the upper. 6. GERMANDER (Tedcrium).—Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla with the upper lip deeply 2-cleft, lower 3-cleft. Name from Teucer, who is said to have been the first to use it in medicine. 7. Bucie (Ajuga).—Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla with a long tube, upper lip very short, lower 3-cleft. Name said to be corrupted from Abia, an allied plant. + t Tt t Corolla 2-lipped, lips unequal ; calyx 5—10-toothed ; stamens longer than the tube of the corolla. 8. Brack HorEHounD (Balléta).—Calyx funnel-shaped, with 5 sharp equal teeth; corolla with the upper lip erect, concave, lower 3-lobed, the middle lobe largest, heart-shaped. Name from the Greek ballo, to reject, from its unpleasant odour. 9. MorHeRwort (Leonirus).—Calyx with 5 prickly teeth ; corolla with the upper lip nearly flat, very hairy above; anthers sprinkled with hard shining dots. Name from leon, a lion, and owra, a tail. 10. HEMP-NETTLE (Caledpsis).—Calyx bell-shaped, with 5 prickly teeth ; corolla with an inflated throat ; upper lip arched, lower 3-lobed, with two teeth on its upper side. Name from galeé, a weasel, and opsis, aspect, from a fancied resemblance of the flower to the snout of that animal. 11. WEASEL-SNOUT (Galedbdolon).—Calyx with 5 ribs, and as many nearly equal teeth ; corolla with the upper lip arched, lower in three nearly equal acute lobes. Name from galeé, a weasel, and bdolos, a fetid scent, because supposed to have the odour of a weasel. 12. DEAD-NETTLE (Liémium).—Calyx bell-shaped, with 10 ribs and 5 teeth ; corolla with an inflated tube, upper lip arched, lower 2-cleft, with 1 or 2 teeth at the base on each side. Name from the Greek, laimos, a throat, from the form of the flower. 13. Berony (Beténica).—Calyx egg-shaped, with 10 ribs, and 5 sharp teeth ; tube of the corolla longer than the calyx, upper lip slightly arched, lower flat, of 3 unequal lobes. Name altered from the Celtic bentonic, ben signifying head, and ton, good. 14. WouND-worT (Stdéchys).—Calyx tubular, bell-shaped, with 10 ribs and 5 equal teeth ; tube of the corollaas long as the calyx, upper lip arched, lower 3-lobed, the side lobes bent back before withering. Name from the Greek stachys, a spike. 15. Cat-mint, GRrounD Ivy (Népeta).—Calyx tubular, 15-ribbed, and 5- toothed ; tube of the corolla longer than the calyx, upper lip flat, straight, notched, or 2-cleft, lower 3-lobed. Name of doubtful origin. 30 LABIATA tt + 7 t Lips of the corolla unequal ; calyx 5—10 toothed ; stamens shorter than the tube of the corolla. 16. Waite HoreHounD (Marribiwm).—Calyx with 10 ribs and 5 or 10 spreading teeth, the throat hairy ; tube of the corolla longer than the calyx, upper lip straight, very narrow, deeply 2-cleft, lower 3-lobed. Name of doubtful origin. +7 + + 1 T Lips of the corolla unequal ; calyx 2-lipped. 17. CALAMINT (Calamintha).—Calyx 13-nerved, tubular, upper lip 3-cleft, lower 2-cleft, throat hairy. Name from kalos, good, and mentha, mint. 18. Witp Bastarp Baum (WMellitis). —Calyx bell-shaped, much wider than the tube of the corolla, variously lobed ; upper lip of the corolla nearly flat, entire, lower with three rounded, nearly equal lobes ; anthers approach- ing in pairs, and forming a cross. Name from the Greek melitta, a bee, on account of the honey yielded by the flower. 19. SELF-HEAL (Prundélla).—Calyx flattened, and closed when in fruit ; corolla with the upper lip nearly entire, arched, lower one 3-lobed ; filaments 2-forked. Name from the German Obraiine, quinsy, which complaint it was supposed to cure. 20. SKULL-CAP (Scutelléria). — Upper lip of the calyx bulged outward about the middle, and finally closing down like a lid over the fruit ; tube of the corolla much larger than the calyx. Name from the Latin scutella, a little cup, from the form of the calyx. 1. Gipsy-worT (Lycopus). Common Gipsy-wort (L. ewropéus).—Leaves deeply and irregularly cut, almost pinnatifid, and serrated, wrinkled and opposite ; flowers small, in dense sessile whorls in the axils of the upper leaves; perennial. This is not a frequent plant in all parts of this kingdom, though in many counties it is found very commonly on the margins of rivers and stagnant waters. To the owner of the moist pasture land it often proves a very troublesome weed, for it has a creeping root-stock not easily removed, and ready to pro- duce a new plant if but a small portion be left in the soil. No cattle will touch it, nor is it very ornamental to the meadow. Its flowers are crowded among the upper leaves, and Pollich says that he has sometimes counted eighty-two blossoms in a whorl. They are small, hairy within, white dotted with purple, which gives them a pale rosy appearance, and expand in July and August. It is said that the wandering people who wish to pass for gipsies use this plant to give a brown tint to their complexions, and the juice of the walnut-leaf has been affirmed to be used for the same purpose. The dye of the Gipsy-wort would probably prove the more permanent hue, for it will impart a black stain to almost anything which its juice touches. In France it has been used in giving a good deep brown hue to silk, wool, and linen. The cut leaves, which suggested the botanic name, which is taken from the Greek, are also alluded to in several of the familiar names by which the plant is called in other countries. The Germans term it /Volfsfuss ; the Dutch, Volfspoot ; the Italians, Licopo. Our country people know it as the Water Horehound, and it is the Marrube aquatique of the French, It was 1 GIPSY - WORT ME ADOW CLARY. Lycopus europens SAGE Salvia jratensis » verbenac a Pi, 162, kL 6 HORSE-MINT Mentha sylvestris ROUND LEAVED M M. rotundifolia SPRAR M M. viridis LABIATE TRIBE 31 formerly termed Lancea Christi, and has been from earliest times praised as a febrifuge. It appears to possess powerfully astringent properties. It is rare in Scotland, but is found by Loch Lindore, Fifeshire ; and at Delvin, Perthshire. 2. SAGE OR CLARY (Salvia). 1. Meadow Sage (8. praténsis).—Root-leaves oblong, heart-shaped at the base, irregularly notched at the margin, stalked; those of the stem few, sessile ; uppermost narrow and pointed ; bracts egg-shaped and heart-shaped ; corolla thrice as long as the calyx, upper segment clammy ; perennial. This plant varies in height from half a foot to more than two feet. It has wrinkled leaves, and its large bright blue flowers grow in whorls of about six, with short egg-shaped bracts. It is very rare, occurring on dry meadows and hedge-banks in a few English counties, such as Cornwall, Kent, and Oxford. The flowers are of two forms, a larger containing both stamens and pistil, and a smaller with perfect pistil only. Both produce honey for the attraction of insects, and the stamens are mature in advance of the pistil. These stamens are of a remarkable character : the tissue connecting the two anther- lobes is drawn out to a great length, so that whilst one is in the vaulted upper lip, the other, which is not fully developed, blocks the way to the honey. On this lower one being pressed by the head of the bee, the leverage thus applied brings down the upper anther upon the bee’s back, which is thus smeared with pollen. When the pollen has all been distributed the style lengthens greatly, and the stigma arms reach out so as to come in the way of an insect visitor and to touch his back. Many botanists think that it is not a truly wild flower. 2. Clary or Wild Sage (S. verbendca).—Leaves broadly egg-shaped, blunt, heart-shaped at the base, wavy at the edge, crenate and stalked, those of the stem sessile and clasping; corolla scarcely longer than the calyx ; bracts oblong and pointed, about the length of the calyx; perennial. This is a very generally distributed plant, and is not unfrequent on dry chalky or gravelly pastures, especially near the sea. The blossoms are of a dull dark purple, growing in long spikes, and they would give one the idea of being never fully expanded, as their calyxes surround them, and are almost as long. as the corollas. The square stem is about one or two feet high, bearing a few wrinkled, ragged-looking leaves. The whole plant has a strong aromatic odour, something like that of the garden Sage, but, except inits wrinkled leat, it would not remind us of that plant, the foliage being of deep green hue, often tinged with purple, and marked with strong veins. In Scotland it occurs on the eastern side only. This Sage is a native of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Its seeds when put in water yield a mucilage which, placed within the eyelid for a few minutes, envelops any particle of dust which may pain the eye. Hence the name of the plant, Clary, or Clear Eye. Our old herbalists consider it one of the most efficacious of herbs in any complaint of the eyes; and not content, as we might be, to use the mucilage only, they all give directions that the seed itself should be laid under the eyelid. Gerarde says of this: ‘‘ If put whole into the eies it cleanseth and purgeth them exceedingly from rednesse, inflam- 32 LABIATA mation, and divers other maladies, and taketh away the pain and smarting thereof, especially being put into the eie one seed at a time and no more. y The virtues of this plant were held in such estimation, that it obtained the name ‘“ Officinalis Christi.” An old writer, who justly disapproved of this name, says: ‘It is so called most blasphemously,” and adds, “I could wish from my soul that blasphemy, ignorance, and tyranny were ceased among physicians, that they may be happy and I joyful.” Like all the other old writers, he recommends that the seed should be placed in the eye, and left there till it dropped out: the pain, he says, “will be nothing to speak of,” and if often repeated “it will take off a film which covereth the sight; a handsomer and safer and easier remedy it is a great deal than to tear it off with a needle.” Besides its uses in diseases of the eye, this wild Clary was recommended for a variety of maladies, and seems to have shared the esteem in which the Garden Sage was held, which had a high repute from remote antiquity. The saying of the ancients that “No man need die who had Sage in his garden,” probably was the foundation of our own old English proverb :— ‘* He that eats Sage in May Shall live for aye.’ Parkinson says: “Sage is much used in the month of May fasting, with butter and parsley, and is held of most to conduce much to the health of man ;” and a work called the “Englishman’s Doctor,” printed in 1607, has some lines on the subject, which, if not very metrical, were doubtless deemed at least truthful :— ce Sage strengthens the sinews, feaver’s heat doth swage, The palsie “helps and rids of mickle w oe, In Latin (Salvia) takes the name of safety 2 In English Sage, is rather wise than craftie ; Sith then the name betokens wise and saving, We count it Nature’s friend and worth the having.” The mucilage covering the seed of this plant is not to be seen till the seeds are moistened. Mr. Baxter says: “This mucilage I have found to be composed of very minute spiral vessels, similar to those first described by Professor Lindley as partly composing the mucous matter which invests the seeds of Collomia linearis. These spiral vessels are very numerous in the mucous matter which envelops the seeds of this Salvia. If a seed of this plant is placed on a glass-slip on the stage of a compound microscope, and then subjected to moisture by dropping upon it a drop or two of clear water, the spiral vessels may be seen almost immediately to dart forth from the outside of the testa, or skin, and to form a complete and beautiful radius round the seed. If the seed on which this experiment has been tried is allowed to dry upon the glass, the spiral vessels will remain in their extended position (their bases inclosed in the mucous matter, which also dries upon the glass), and may be preserved as an interesting object for the microscope at any future time.” A curious preparation of this plant seems to have been a favourite dish with our ancestors. Parkinson says: “The leaves taken dry, and dipped into a batter made of the yolks of eggs, flour, and a little milk, then fryed LABIATE TRIBE 33 with butter until they be crisp, serve for a dish of meate, acceptable with manie, unpleasant to none.’ A very old name for the Clary was Orvale sauvage. In Crete, where our Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) grows in wild abund- ance on the rocks, and where its fragrance is far more powerful than in our land, the leaves.are annually collected by the Greeks for medicinal purposes. They deem it of especial importance to gather the plant either on the first’ or second day of May, before sunrise. They also drink an infusion of Sage leaves as tea, and make sweetmeats of the galls which are formed by insects on one of the species common there, and which are sold in the markets under the name of Sage-apples. Sage tea is still drunk in our own villages during spring, as beneficial to the health, and the Chinese were said some years since to prefer this beverage to their own tea, and once traded with the Dutch, to the great advantage of the latter people, by exchanging with them one pound of tea for four pounds of sage leaves. Many species ‘of Sage are valued in different European countries : as medicinal herbs, and most of the continental names are, like the botanical one of Salvia, from salvo, to save or heal. Thus the French call the plant La Sauge, and the Germans Die Salbey. In Holland it is termed Sale ; in Italy and Spain Salvia ; in Portugal, Salva ; in Russia, Schalweja ; and in Poland, Szalwia. In Holland, the flowers of S. glutinosa are used to give a flavour to English wines, and a good wine is sometimes made in our own country by boiling the leaves and flowers of our common wild Clary with sugar. This is said to have the flavour of Frontignac. All the genus are wholesome and cordial, and many, by the beauty of their bright scarlet or blue flowers, contribute greatly to the adornment of our gardens. In the meadows of Germany several very handsome species of Salvia are common wild flowers. Anna Mary Howitt, referring to the suburbs of Munich, says: ‘‘ You stand in fields covered with a lovely odorous mosaic of flowers and deep rich grass. Here the tall Salvia rears its graceful spike of brilliantly blue flowers. Clovers, white and red, scent the air with their honeyed perfume ; the delicate eyebright, daisies, harebells, thyme, bugloss, yellow vetch, the white powdery umbel of the wild carrot, and the large mild-looking dog-daisies, bloom in a gay, delicious tangle.” A form of S. ver- benaca is found in the Channel Islands, and is sometimes described as a separate species under the name of S. clandestina. It is altogether a more slender plant, with more purple flowers, and the corolla-tube longer than the calyx. 3. Mint (Wéntha). * Flowers in spiked whorls, or terminal heads. 1. Horse-mint (J/. sylvéstris)—Leaves almost sessile, egg-shaped, or lanceolate, serrated, and hoary beneath ; spikes almost cylindrical, scarcely interrupted ; bracts awl-shaped; calyx with sharp teeth, and very hairy ; perennial; This Mint is not unfrequent in England on damp waste grounds, having, during August and September, its slender spikes formed of crowded whorls of pale lilae flowers, with long floral leaves. It has the strong but pleasant odgur common to many of the Mint family, and often grows in .—5 34 LABIATA& large masses by the waterside. The foliage, which is very white beneath, sometimes looks asif it were mouldy. In one variety it has lanceolate leaves, while in another form these are oval, and it is sometimes found with very crisp and ragged leaves. 2. Round-leaved Mint (J/. rotundifélia).—Leaves sessile, elliptical, blunt, acutely crenate, wrinkled, shaggy beneath; spikes oblong, dense ; bracts lanceolate ; perennial. The whole of this plant is covered with long soft hairs ; its stem is about two feet high, and the under part of the leaves shaggy with white down. It flowers in August and September, and its corollas are of a pale pink colour. It has a strong but disagreeable odour, and is not unfrequent by riversides and on bogs in England, though appar: ently not truly wild in Scotland, nor the north of England. 3. Spearmint (M. viridis).—Leaves sessile, lanceolate, acute, smooth, and serrated ; spikes elongated, interrupted ; bracts awl-shaped, and as well as the calyx either smooth or hairy ; flower-stalks always smooth ; calyx-teeth bristle-tipped ; perennial. The stem of this Mint is from two to three feet high, smooth, distinctly four-cornered, erect, and branched, and its bluish- lilac flowers appear in August. It is more often found in the kitchen-garden or the cottage-bed, where it has been cultivated for culinary purposes, than on any wild spot. It grows, however, in some marshy places in several parts of England, and has a few Scottish localities, though some botanists regard it as a naturalized, and not a wild plant of this kingdom. Its strongly- scented flowers appear in April, and the flavour of its aromatic and pungent foliage is too well known to need any comment. Like others of the genus, it leaves a sense of coolness on the tongue. In modern times, and in this country, it is chiefly used either in medicine or as a sauce for roasted meat, or as an addition to green peas and other vegetables, as also an ingredient in soups ; but in olden times it was in much more general use, as it still is in some other countries. Its culture in the garden is very ancient, as we know both by its old name of Our Lady’s Mint, and also from lines in Chaucer’s “Romaunt of the Rose ” :— ‘Then wente I forthe on my right honde, Downe by a little path I fonde Of Mintes full and fenell greene.” Parkinson tells that it was, in his time, boiled with mackerel and other fish, and that when dried it was put into puddings, and also among green peas, which were “ broght for pottage.” He adds, “If applyed with salte it is a good helpe against the biting of a mad dog, and when dockes are not to be had, they use to bruise Mintes and lay them upon any place that is stung by bees, wasps, and such like, and that to good purpose.” Other writers of those days say, that Mint should be smelled, as being comfortable for the head and memory. Pliny had said of this herb, “The smell of Mint doth stir up the minde and taste to a greedy desire of meat.” Margaret Paston, writing in 1746 about the illness of her cousin Bernay, says, “I remember yat Mynte, or water of millefole, were good for my cosyn Bernay to drinke, for to make him browke ;” the word browke meaning to brook or digest meat. Gerarde considered that the savour or smell of the water of Mint “rejoyceth the heart of man, for which cause,” he says, “they use to strew LABIATE TRIBE 35 it in chambers and places of recreation, pleasure, and repose, and when feasts and banquets are to be made.” Even within the last century the odour of Mint has been considered as good for the head, and many would agree with Dodsley in his estimate of this and other plants. Referring to the works of the great Creator, he says :-— ‘* He the salubrious leaf Of cordial sage, the purple flowering head Of fragrant lavender, enlivening Mint, Valerian’s fetid smell, endows benign With their cephalic virtues.” The Americans seem to have retained some of the old liking for Mint, as their mint julep is a favourite beverage. Mint is highly valued in Eastern countries, and the custom yet existing of placing Mint in the synagogues of the Jews is probably a remnant of an old Oriental practice. Our Saviour’s rebuke to the Scribes and Pharisees proves that mint was in common culture amongst the Jews. He, who deemed the uprightness of heart, and the love of God and our neighbour, as of far higher value than the outward observance even of some appointed duty, said, “‘ Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of Mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the Law.” There is little doubt that the word rendered anise by our translators should have been dill; and Rosenmiiller quotes Rabbi Eliezer as saying, that the leaves, seed, and stem of dill were subject to tithe, so that we have reason for inferring that Mint would be also tithed. That our Saviour’s words did not imply any disapproval of attention to these minor duties is evident from those which followed : ‘ These,” said our blessed Lord, ‘ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” ‘The whole passage, however, certainly proves that Mint was in general culture in Palestine as a garden herb ; and though it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to tell the exact species of Mint valued by the Jews, especially as several of the species are very nearly allied to each other, yet the Mentha sylvestris, our Common Horse Mint, and the Mentha sativa, are probably the kinds referred to. The latter species, which by some botanists is called JZ. arvénsis, is very widely diffused, and occurs in Greece, in parts of Caucasus, in the Altai range, and as far as Cashmere. Dr. Royle says that the Horse Mint (JL. sylvestris) is the most common species in Syria, © and observes that it was found by Russell at Aleppo, and mentioned by him as one of the herbs cultivated in the gardens there. It also occurs in Greece, Taurus, the Altai range, and Cashmere. This author quotes passages from Celsus and Pliny, proving the high estimate of Mint among the ancient Jews. He remarks also that Dioscorides mentions it as useful to the stomach, and peculiarly grateful as a condiment. Mint was employed by the ancients in the preparation of many dishes. One very old use of Mint is still retained in Holstein, in Germany, where, when the peasants lay the remains of their departed friends in the tomb, Mint is carried by youths attending the funeral. It is not unlikely that im former days more species were in common culture in this country, where now the Spearmint and Peppermint are the two plants chiefly selected. Our fathers had also their Crosse Mint, Browne 5—2 36 LABIATA Mint, Mackerel Mint, Curled Mint, Holy Blackish Mint, Heart Mint, Red Mint, Fish Mint, and Brook Mint, besides some which, like Horse Mint, are yet known by their old English names. The Spearmint, as well as many other species, is doubtless a powerful carminative, and the medical prepara- tions made from it are much more agreeable than those obtained from the Peppermint, though they are not perhaps so useful. It contains much essential oil, and affords, as well as the oil, the spirit and water of mint, besides that a conserve is prepared from the herb. The conserve is very agreeable to those who like the flavour of Mint, and the distilled waters, both simple and spirituous, are agreeable to many persons, and are useful in many forms of suffering. Large quantities of Mint for the use of the druggist: are grown in the neighbourhood of Mitcham, in Surrey. For more than a hundred years past many of the culinary, medicinal, and perfumery plants have been sent up to the London market from this neighbourhood. Hundreds of acres are covered with sweet and fragrant plants, diffusing at the season of their maturity the most delicious odours. These flowery fields are not, however, so lovely to the eye as an imaginative reader might suppose, for the plants, cultivated for use and not for show, are mostly arranged in formal rows, and are often of very low growth. Here and there a field of roses or of lavender may tint the landscape with brightened hues, and, like the humbler masses of Mint and Peppermint, give long and pleasant notice of their neighbourhood by the odours which are wafted by the summer breeze. Coltsfoot, poppy, wormwood, aniseed, ‘chamomile, deadly night- shade, liquorice, horehound, and other plants used by the physician, the perfumer, or the maker of liqueurs, are cultivated there ; and it is said that the owner of a large chamomile garden sometimes pays as much as a hundred pounds in a week to the women and children who are employed to gather in these medicinal flowers. When used for medicinal purposes, the Spearmint is cut just when the flowers appear, and the herb-garden is then a very busy scene, as it is also some days after, when the plant is in full flower, as that is the season for gathering in Mint when it is required for the essential oil, and in both cases it must be cut while the weather is dry. The south of Europe affords the chief produce of perfumery herbs, and Grasse and Nice are the especial seats of the art, affording as they do, by their geographical position, within short distances, such changes of soil and climate as are desirable for the growth of various scented plants. Thus, the grower at Nice can plant his cassia on the sea-coast, fearless of those winter frosts which, in our climate, would in one night destroy all the results of his industry. Nearer the Alps the climate is well adapted for the culture of his violets, which yield a better odour there than if reared in those warmer spots which suit so well the orange-flower and mignonette. But it is to the English gardener that the druggist and perfumer look for their Mint, Peppermint, and lavender; and the essential oils obtained from these herbs, when grown at Mitcham, obtain a much larger price than those of the sunnier climes of France or Southern Europe, and have a sweeter and more delicate odour. It has been remarked, as a general observation, that though the flowers of warm climates have usually a more powerful odour, yet the more delicate fragrance is afforded by the plants of ay) PEPPER MINT Mentha piperita WATER CAPITATE M M. agqnatica MARSH WHORLED M M. sativa Pt. 163. CORN ™,. M. arvensis NARROW LEAVED M M pratensis PENNY ROYAL, M puleginm on eer 7 wi! LABIATE TRIBE 37 moderately warm regions. But, as in all lands the great Creator has given beauty to flowers, so to some among them He has in every clime granted sweet odours. Some idea of the value of odoriferous plants, as an article of commerce, is gained from the statement lately made in a popular journal. It mentions that one of the large perfumers of Grasse in France employs annually 80,000 lbs. of orange blossoms, 60,000 of cassia flowers, 54,000 of violet flowers, 20,000 of tuberose, 16,000 of lilac flowers, besides Mint, rosemary, lavender, thyme, orange, and other sweet-scented plants. It would be difficult to compute the amount of Mint and Peppermint grown in this country, but the wholesale druggists, and not the perfumers, are, in this kingdom at least, the great consumers of these two plants. In consequence of the great improvements of chemical science, it has, of late years, been found possible to imitate the scents usually procured from odoriferous herbs. Lord Playfair, in a lecture to the Society of Arts, observes :—“ Perfumers, if they do not occupy whole streets, as they did in ancient Capua, show more science in attaining their perfumes than those of former times. The Jury of the Great Exhibition, or rather two distinguished chemists of that Jury, Dr. Hoffman and M. Delarue, ascertained that some of the most delicate perfumes were made by chemical artifice, and not, as of old, by distilling them from flowers. The perfumes of flowers often consist of oils and ethers which the chemist can compound artificially in his own _ laboratory. Singularly enough, they are generally derived from substances of intensely disgusting odour. A peculiarly fetid oil, termed fusel-oil, is formed in making brandy and whisky.” From this fusel-oil and various chemical preparations, Lord Playfair adds, is obtained the oil of apples and the oil of pears, while the oil of pine-apple, now largely employed in making pine- apple ale; is procured from the action of putrid cheese on sugar. Oil of grapes and oil of cognac, used to impart the flavour of French cognac to British brandy, are little else than fusel-oil; and the artificial oil of almonds, so largely employed in perfumery, is prepared by the action of nitric acid on the fetid oils of gas-tar. ‘‘ Many a fair forehead,” the lecturer remarked, “is damped with eau de millefleurs without knowing that its essential ingredients are derived from the most disgusting sources. All these,” says Dr. Playfair, “are direct modern applications of science to an industrial purpose, and imply an acquaintance with the highest investigations of organic chemistry. Let us recollect that the oil of lemons, turpentine, oil of juniper, oil of roses, oil of copaiba, oil of rosemary, and many other oils, are identical in composition ; and it is not difficult to conceive that perfumery may derive still further aid from chemistry.” 4. Peppermint (MV. piperitu).—Leaves stalked, egg-shaped, and lan- ceolate or oblong, serrated, upper leaves smaller ; bracts lanceolate ; flowers in loose, short, blunt spikes, interrupted below; calyx with awl-shaped teeth, quite smooth at the base, often red; perennial. A variety, often known as M. officinalis, occurs with broad and rounded leaves, heart-shaped at the base, and with its flowers in very long spikes. The Peppermint appears to be a truly wild plant on some of the riversides and moist places where it is found, but has probably escaped from cultivation. It is often 38 LABIATA planted for its essential oil, which is used in lozenges and other confectionery, and so largely employed for mediciiial purposes. Its stem and leaves are nearly smooth, and the spikes of purplish-lilac flowers appear in August and September. Its scent is much stronger than that of the Spearmint. Its essential oil exists in minute glands on the calyx and leaves, which are usually apparent to the naked eye. Nyman is of opinion that it exists nowhere as an indigenous plant, and many regard it as a mere cultivated form of MW. aquatica. 5, Water Capitate Mint (J. aqudtica).—Leaves stalked, egg-shaped, serrated, rounded or slightly heart-shaped below, uppermost leaves like bracts, and shorter than the flowers; flowers at the summit of the stem in dense whorls, the highest forming a head, and sometimes also growing in axillary remote whorls ; calyx tubular; perennial. Several varieties of this Mint occur, in one of which the leaves are cut, toothed, and crisped ; while in another the leaves, calyx, and flower-stalks, are quite smooth. We have often thought, when, in August and September, we have seen the rounded heads of pale bluish-lilac flowers of this Mint peeping up from among the shallow waters, or clustering on some little islet of the stream, that it far outrivals most of its family in beauty. Its flowers are of a bluer tint than any other species ; its leaves are downy, and in wet places, where it luxuriates, it often forms large masses one or two feet high. It is the commonest of all the Mints, and were it not for its strong and unpleasant odour, would be a good addition to the wild-flower nosegay of autumn. This odour, however, has its uses, for Dr. Johnston tells us, in his “Flora of Berwick-on-Tweed,” that Mr. Macdonald of Scalpa in the Hebrides, having had much injury done to his wheat by the depredations of mice, gathered a quantity of this plant from a neighbouring brook, and placed it among his wheatsheaves, after which they remained untouched by these animals. He then put the Mint with cheese and other articles, then in store, which had formerly been much injured by mice, and found the plan successful, the Mint, both in its fresh and dry states, effectually repelling the intruders. There are several varietal forms of this species, distinguished in most cases by the amount of hairiness or downiness of the leaves. * * Flowers in aaillary, distant whorls. 6. Marsh Whorled Mint (JI. sativa).—Leaves stalked, egg-shaped or elliptical, serrated, upper ones similar but smaller, all longer than the whorls , whorls all distant, dense ; calyx with lanceolate sharply-pointed teeth. This plant is subject to great changes, being in various forms more or less hairy. The authors of the “British Flora” remark of the Mints in general :— ‘Nearly all the species are hairy, with serrated leaves, but are subject to two principal variations, viz. to be almost entirely smooth, in which case the flower-stalks and lower part of the calyx become quite smooth, and the odour of the species is milder and even pleasant ; and to have the leaves cut and crisped. This latter is more strictly a monstrosity, and is sometimes accompanied with a considerable change in the inflorescence.” The Marsh Whorled Mint grows on the banks of rivers or moist hedge-banks, and in copses. It has distant whorls of numerous reddish-lilac flowers, which LABIATE TRIBE 39 expand in July and August. ‘This species, which runs into a considerable number of sub-species and varieties, is regarded by some as itself but a mere varietal form of J. aquatica, differing in bearing the whorls in the axils instead of in terminal spikes. 7. Corn Mint (MZ. arvénsis).—Leaves stalked, egg-shaped or elliptical, sometimes heart-shaped at the base, serrated, upper leaves similar, and equally large ; calyx bell-shaped, in some varieties downy, in others smooth, having triangular acute teeth, about as broad as long; perennial. This very variable species is nearly allied to the last, its most marked difference being in the form of its calyx-teeth. The wanderer in the corn-fields at that pleasant season in which the labourer is gathering in his harvest, is very likely to see this Mint cut down by the scythe, or to find it at a later season springing up among the stubble. It is one of the commonest species of Mint. The stem is from six inches to a foot in height, and it has whorls of small lilac flowers in August and September. The smell is, in the ordinary form of the plant, powerfully unpleasant, and has been not unaptly compared to that of decayed cheese. It has carminative properties, and has sometimes been employed as a stomachic medicine. Its stem is more or less branched, and is, in some of its varieties, much tinged with red, in others bright green, and some of these are of a mild and pleasant odour. This is one of the plants that have flowers of two forms: a larger containing both stamens and pistil, and a smaller containing pistil only. 8. Narrow-leaved Mint (J/. praténsis).—Leaves nearly sessile, egg- shaped, lanceolate, acute and serrated, upper ones similar, all longer than the whorls ; calyx bell-shaped, glandular, lower part smooth ; teeth triangular ; perennial. This is a very rare plant of marshy places. Its stem and leaves are usually smooth, and the latter are paler on the under surface, and glandular. The flowers grow in August and September in distant, almost globular, whorls. Some writers doubt if the species is indigenous, as its only record is in the year 1789, when Sole found it in the New Forest ; even then it appears to have been only a form of M. sativa. 9. Penny-royal (M. puldégium).—Flowers whorled ; leaves egg-shaped, downy, blunt, slightly serrated ; stem prostrate ; flower stalks and calyx downy, the mouth of the latter closed with hairs; perennial. This species is very unlike the others, and is readily known by its prostrate stem; it is’ also smaller than our other wild kinds of Mint. It is a common plant near streams or bogs, and has a most powerful odour, which some persons think agreeable. Its purple flowers appear in June and July, the uppermost axils of the leaves being usually empty. It is frequently planted on the little plot of the cottage-garden— ‘«The thyme strong-scented ’neath one’s feet, The marjoram beds so doubly sweet, And Penny-royal's creeping twine, These, each succeeding each, are thine.” It is still deemed a useful medicinal herb, and an exaggerated idea of its properties probably won for it its epithet of Royal. The French also term it Pouliot royal. A tea made from its leaves is an old village remedy for colds and coughs, and all the old simplers describe it as “good and whole- 40 LABIATA# some for the lungs,” while Gerarde said that a garland of the plant worn about the head would “cure giddiness.” ‘The leaves of this herb often curve downwards, and are sometimes covered with short hairs. ‘The whole plant is pungent, with a slight flavour of camphor, and its odour, especially when bruised, is very powerful. Parkinson says of this herb: “It used to be put in puddings and such like meates of all sortes, and therefore in divers places they call it Pudding-grasse. The former age of our great-grandfathers had all these hot hearbes in much and familiar use, both for their meates and medicines, and therewith preserved themselves in long life and much health ; but this delicate age of ours, which is not pleased with anything almost, be it meat or medicine, that is not pleasant to the palate, doth wholly refuse these almost, and therefore cannot be partakers of the benefit of them.” Many writers have believed the Penny-royal to be the Dictamne of the ancients. Virgil told how the deer ate of the plant, and were cured of the wounds inflicted by the huntsmen’s arrows, a legend often alluded to by our own poets. Thus Stirling, in his “ Aurora,” says : ** And whilst I wander, like the wounded deer, That seeks for Dictamne to recure his scarre.” 4. THYME (Thymus). Wild Thyme (7. serpyllwm).—F lowers in heads or whorled ; stems pros- trate, branched, hairy ; leaves flat, egg-shaped, blunt, more or less fringed at the base, stalked ; floral leaves similar ; upper lip of the corolla notched ; peren- nial. Those who love to wander over breezy hills, where the sheep are scattered far and wide about the landscape, well know the Wild Thyme. During July and August, many an open, lonely tract of our country is purpled over with its flowers, which are bringing fragrance to wide-spread heath, or grassy moorland, or sunny bank, or chalky sea-cliff, and forming aromatic cushions on which the rambler may repose to listen to murmuring bees and low whispering airs. Often as we have gone over such hills on some Sabbath morning, summoned by the welcome bell to the House of Prayer, we have, as we looked on the flock, been reminded of the shepherd’s boy whom Graham describes as watching his sheep, on the thymy hills of Scotland :— ‘‘Nor yet less pleasing at the Heavenly Throne The Sabbath service of the shepherd boy, In some lone glen where every sound is lull’d To slumber, save the tinkling of the rill, Or bleat of lamb, or falcon’s hovering ery ; Stretch’d on the sward he reads of Jesse’s son, Or sheds a tear o’er him to Egypt sold, And wonders why he weeps ; the volume closed, With Thyme-sprig laid between the leaves, he sings The sacred lays, his weekly lesson, conn’d With meikle care, beneath the lowly roof Where humble lore is learnt. Thus reading, hymning, all alone, unseen, The shepherd boy the Sabbath holy keeps.” So refreshing is the perfume of the Thyme, that we wonder not that the old Greeks gave to the plant a name expressive of strength or courage, in the belief that it renewed the spirits both of man and animals, though they lL. WILD THYME 4. WOOD GERMANDER Thymus serpylhim Teuecrium scorodonia 2 MARJIORUM + WATER G Origanum yulgare T. scordium 5 WALL G T. chamedrys Pl, 164. Lavery if 25 bre AR the oe eee ‘=t Fo 7) mi tt pa oe LABIATE TRIBE 4] certainly ascribed to the slightly tonic and stimulating pr operties of the herb a higher praise than they deserved. Thyme tea is yet in good favour in villages, and many a tuft of the closely allied garden Thyme is still to be seen on the cottage plot, and is gathered for “that purpose. Often, too, perhaps, it is looked upon by some moralizing matron, to whom it is signifi- cant of the mingled weal and woe of daily life, as she remembers the old proverb, “ Rue and thyme grow baithe in a garden.” The plant was, in the opinion of our fathers, “a noble strengthener of the lungs, as notable a one as grows ;” and in some of the earliest manuscripts of this country it was recommended for those who were “streyt ondyd,” that is, short-breathed. Besides its use as an infusion, and in various liquid preparations, an oint- ment was made from Thyme blossoms which was considered very healing. The leaves bruised, and laid upon the part stung by a bee or wasp, were thought to allay the irritation. Parkinson says of this herb: “Thyme is a speciall helpe to melancholicke and spleneticke disease. The oyle that is chymically drawne out of ordinarie Thyme is used, as the whole herbe is, in pils for the head and stomacke. It is also much used for the tooth-ache, as many other such-like hot oyles are.” The substance now sold as a remedy for tooth-ache by the name of Oil of Thyme is made, however, from the marjoram. Mr. Purton, whose medical, as well as botanical science renders him a good authority in such matters, considers an infusion of the leaves of wild Thyme good for headache, and says it is reputed to be an infallible cure for nightmare ; and Linnzus recommended its use for pains in the head. The plant yields camphor by distillation, and an infusion of its leaves may probably be taken with advantage by nervous persons. Bees are very fond of its flowers, and these are very pretty, in their deep purple tint, varying to pale lilac, and clustering amid their chocolate-coloured floral leaves. The plant is common on dry places in most European countries, and it forms a thick turf on some of the fields of Iceland, among which the whortleberries, bearberries, and cranberries flourish in abundance ; while with its frequent companion, the marjoram, it grows on the Himalayan Mountains of India, at the height of 8,200 feet above the sea. The Germans call this plant Thimian ; the French Thym ; the Dutch, Gemeene thym ; the Italians, Teino ; the Spanish, Zomillo ; the Poles, Zym, and the Danes, Zimian. The old French writers term it Pouliot-thym, and Pillolet, and it was formerly called in this country, Puliall Mountaine, Pella Mountaine, and had besides the names of Running Thyme, Creeping Thyme, Mother of Thyme, and Shepherd’s Thyme. Its leaves laid near the resorts of mice are said to drive these animals from the place. Old writers, both in prose and verse, tell how sheep are improved by feed- ing upon Thyme ; but the fact is that these animals, except by accident, or when driven by hunger, leave untouched the aromatic herbs supposed to be so beneficial to them, and no doubt these strong odours may always be regarded as developed by the plant in order to protect it from the attacks of browsing animals. But the Thyme grows on downs and commons where the air is pure and bracing and the pasturage sweet ; and sheep seem to have been destined rather for hilly and mountainous, than for lowland pastures and turnip-fields, though they can be accommodated to the latter conditions. WI1.—6 42 LABIATAR The wild Thyme varies much in different situations, not only in the degree of hairiness of its stems and leaves, but also as to size and odour. Sometimes, instead of the dark-green glossy foliage, we find specimens with leaves white with down, and occasionally the flowers are white. When growing on dry, exposed situations it is small and prostrate, but when beneath the shelter of furze or broom it has a stalk a foot or more high. Mr. Babington has expressed his opinion that two species of Thyme are included in that described as serpyllum ; one is 7. chamedrys, the other the true 7. serpyllum, but as the difference is chiefly in their habit of growth, they require to be examined while growing. He remarks: “In 17. serpyllum there is a difference between the flowering shoot and that intended to extend the plant. Quite prostrate and rooting shoots are produced each year, which grow from the end of the shoots of the preceding year, and do not flower ; also there spring from the other axils of these old prostrate parts of the plant short, erect, or ascending shoots, which forma linear series, and each of which terminates in a capitate spike, consisting of a very few whorls, and which die back to the base after the seed has fallen. The growing shoot is perennial, but the flowering shoot is annual. In 7. chamedrys there is no such manifest separation between the flowering and young shoots. The terminal bud often produces the strongest shoot, which itself ends in flowers, differing thus from the terminal shoot of 7. serpyllwm, which always ends in a flowerless shoot. It wants the regularity of 7. serpyllum, and presents a dense irregular mass of leafy shoots and flowers intermixed.” Sir J. D. Hooker regards T. chamedrys as a sub-species of 7. serpyllum. The garden Thyme (7. vulgaris) is a native of Southern Europe ; it is largely cultivated in herb gardens for the London market. It has the same qualities as the wild Thyme, yielding camphor in distillation with water. It is in Spain infused in the pickle used to preserve olives, and before the intro- duction of Oriental spices entered largely into the cookery of all European countries. 5. MARJORAM (Origanui). Common Marjoram (0. vwulgire).—Leaves stalked, broadly egg- shaped, blunt, sometimes slightly toothed ; bracts egg-shaped, longer than the calyx ; flowers in crowded panicles; perennial. Our hilly, chalky dis- tricts, bright as they are with the many flowers which thrive on their soil, would yet lose much of their autumnal beauty if they were deprived of their masses of Marjoram— “The Marjoram sweet in shepherd’s posies bound.” On dry, sunny hedge-banks, on towering cliffs, enlivening the road-side for miles together, the handsome and fragrant flowers are very common, and, as we see them on some rounded hill, we remember how both in this and other lands they are blooming at such elevations as to deserve their pretty and expressive name, “Joy of the Mountain.” All about Dover the flower is most plentiful—so plentiful that when we find Shakspere making the words “Sweet Marjoram” the passwords between King Lear and Edgar, we feel how likely the walk towards the cliffs would be to suggest it. Near the LABIATE TRIBE 43 conspicuous cliff which yet bears the name of the poet, samphire and Marjoram still bloom within sight of “The dread summit of that chalky bourn ;” and many a panting man climbs “to the top of that same hill, that horrible steep,” and says now what Edgar is represented as saying then— ‘** Hark ! do you hear the sea ?” Village people often gather, during autumn, large quantities of Marjoram, some of which is used while fresh for herb tea, while some is tied up in bunches, and hung to dry for winter service. The infusion is very grateful and refreshing, and doubtless is wholesome, though its efficacy in preserving health may be somewhat overrated by country people. In some parts of Northern Europe the plant is collected to put into ale, which it not only preserves from becoming sour, but also renders more intoxicating. The juice of this herb is highly stimulating, and is useful to allay rheumatic pains, as well as toothache. It is also very properly applied to sprains and_ bruises, and is said to be a good remedy for the falling off of the hair, an opinion which is most probably correct, as it possesses some of the same properties as the rosemary, a most useful plant for that purpose. The dried leaves are used in fomentations to allay pain. Both flowers and leaves are aromatic, and their odour seems to have been much valued in former years. Parkinson says: “'The sweete Marjeromes are not only much used to please the out- ward senses in nosegaies, and in the windowes of houses, as also in swete powders, swete begs, and swete washing waters, but are also of much use in physicke, to comfort the outward members and parts of the bodie, and the inward also.” The essential oil of this plant is, when undiluted, so acrid that it may almost be termed caustic. It is secreted in abundance in the leaves and stems, and is the cause of its fragrance. Professor Burnett remarks: ‘“ Fee observes that odoriferous plants exhibit three remarkable variations; in some, the aromatic principle is free, and then it is dissipated by drying: this occurs chiefly in flowers such as the tuberose and jessamine, and it is not communi- cable either to water or spirit, and seems to be artificially retained only by the aid of fixed oils ; while occasionally, as in the lily and narcissus, it cannot be retained at all. In some, the aromatic principle is in union with, or is peculiar to, the essential oil with which the utricles or crypt are replete ; and in this form it is miscible with water and alcohol, but scarcely with fixed oils. In others, again, it is in combination with a resin, or gum-resin, and then it may be collected in concrete masses by wounding the plants, or if by distillation it deposits camphor after standing for some time. The fragrance of the Labiate is dependent on an essential oil, or odoriferous principle, of the latter kind, and their oil is remarkable for the quantity of camphor it con- tains.” The camphor yielded by our wild Marjoram and thyme has caused the juice of these plants to be frequently used as an ingredient of various compositions intended to avert infection. The Marjoram bears its flowers in roundish crowded clusters. They are purple, with floral leaves tinged with something of the same hue, but usually 6—2 44 LABIATA darker, almost chocolate coloured. They expand in July and August. It will be noted, as in the case of thyme, that there are two forms of flower : the larger and more purple ones being complete, whilst the smaller and paler ones bear pistils only. The plant is sometimes called Wild Organy. The French term it Marjoraine ; the Germans, Majoram ; the Dutch, Mariolein ; the Italians, Maggiorana ; the Spanish, Mejorana. The Oregon territory of the United States is said to have derived its name from the abundance of Marjoram found there. 6. GERMANDER (7Tedcriuin). 1. Wood Germander, or Wood Sage (7’. scorodénia).—Leaves heart- shaped, oblong, stalked, wrinkled, crenate, downy ; floral leaves small ; flowers in lateral and terminal one-sided racemes; upper lip of the calyx undivided, egg-shaped, lower with four teeth; perennial. When walking in woods, during July and August, we often find large masses of this Wood Sage; for it is a social plant, and we rarely meet with a solitary specimen. It grows also on banks, by roadsides, on dry heaths among bushes, on cliffs by the sea, and in copses. The erect stem of the plant is one or two feet in height, and its wrinkled and strongly-veined leaves are some- what like those of the Sage, but of a more yellowish-green. The flowers grow in a one-sided cluster. They are of a yellowish-green colour, some- times having a faint tinge of purple, and the stamens are pinkish-purple. We often pass by this plant with little notice, but our fathers regarded it with great interest ; for they considered its bitter juices very medicinal, and it is not unlikely that they used the Ambrosia, as they called it, as we know they used some other labiate plants, in brewing ale. Mr. Curtis, referring to Jersey, says, ““ When cider, the common beverage of the island, has failed, I have known the people each to malt his barley at home, and instead of hops use, to very good purpose, the Ambrosie of their hedges.” The beer is said sooner to become clear by the use of this plant ; but Dr. Withering remarks that it gives the liquor too, dark a colour. Of all our native bitters, this has certainly most resemblance to the flavour of the hop, and he who should taste either leaf or flower would immediately be reminded of that plant. The flowers have an interest unknown to our forefathers: they act in a manner that would be regarded as intelligent in the case of animals. In order to secure cross-fertilization, the stamens successively hold themselves forward where their pollen must be brushed off by bees that seek the honey ; and during this period the pistil looks over the back wall of the flower. But when the last anther has discharged, a change takes place—the fading stamens retire to the back, whilst the pistil with its ripe stigmas comes forward and occupies their former position, and receives the pollen brought from other plants. This plant is often called Garlic Sage, because, when bruised, it has a slight odour of garlic ; and it is said that if cows feed upon it, it communicates the flavour of that plant to their milk. It is, how- ever, rarely touched by these animals, though readily eaten by sheep and goats. Our fathers had a variety of names for this plant. It was called Ambrosia salgia, Ache champesire, and Wylde sawge ; and Cotgrave describes it as “the herbe called oke of Cappadocia.” LABIATE TRIBE 45 2. Water Germander (7. seérdium).—Stem procumbent below ; leaves sessile, oblong, either narrowed or broad, and heart-shaped below, toothed, green on both sides ; floral leaves similar ; flowers whorled, axillary, distant, 2—6 in a whorl; calyx-teeth equal; perennial. This is a rare species, occa- sionally occurring in low wet meadows, chiefly in the Eastern counties. It is about half a foot in height, and bears rose-purple flowers, in distant whorls, during July and August. It is more or less hairy according to its situation, and has, like the last species, an odour of garlic. It was formerly used medicinally, and supposed to be useful against infectious diseases. 3. Wall Germander (7. chamédrys).—Leaves egg-shaped, cut, and serrated, wedge-shaped, and entire at the base, green on both sides; floral leaves smaller, nearly entire, whorls of 2—6 flowers; calyx-teeth lanceolate, nearly equal; perennial. This species has a much-branched stem, of which the lower part is woody, and it bears, in July, large and handsome purple flowers, marked with darker lines, generally about three together in the axils of the upper leaves. It is found near old ruins, and occasionally on field- borders ; but it isa rare plant. It is plentiful on the city walls of Norwich, and occurs also on Winchester Castle. It is probably not a truly wild plant, but an escape from the garden. It was formerly called Ground Oak. The French term the plant Germandrée, which is an evident corruption of the old name Gamandrée, under which name it first appeared in a very rare Herbal of Mayence, printed in 1485. 4, Annual Germander (7. Jvtrys).—Stem ascending ; leaves 3-cleft, or pinnatifid, with oblong, entire or cut segments, green on both sides ; floral leaves similar, whorls axillary, 4—6 flowered; calyx inflated at the base, teeth lanceolate, equal; annual. This plant is very rare, and is a doubtful native. Its central stem is erect, with ascending branches, and it has numerous pale purple flowers. It has been found near Box Hill, Surrey. 7. Buaue (Ajuga). 1. Common Bugle (4. répians).—Stem erect, with creeping scions at the base; lower leaves egg-shaped, or inversely egg-shaped, either cut or quite entire, tapering into a footstalk, all smooth, or slightly downy ; perennial. This pretty flower is very common in moist woods, hedges, and pastures, during May and June. It has a solitary tapering flowering stem, from six to nine inches in height, from the base of which the creeping scions extend over the grass: they are a foot or more in length. The flowers grow in dense whorls, which are crowded closely together so as to form a spike, and their colour varies from deep purplish-blue to pale lilac or white, while the floral leaves are of darker purple than the blossoms. The plant is scent- less and tasteless, and a slight degree of astringency seems to be its only virtue ; but it was highly extolled by old writers as a remedy for pulmonary affections, and was greatly praised as an application for wounds. It was called Middle Comfrey, Consolida minor, Bugula, Brown Bugle, Sicklewort, and Carpenter’s Herb. The French call it Bugle ; the Germans, Giinsel ; the Dutch, Senegroen ; and the Italians, Bugola ; and a very old French name for this plant is Herbe de St. Laurent. There is a variety (pséudo-alpina) without scions, and with the lower floral leaves lobed. This mountainous Bugle is 46 LABIATA very rare. It has been reported from Castleton in Derbyshire, and some other spots in England. Some botanists describe this as the Alpine Bugle (4. alpina); but it appears probable that a variety of 4. reptans without stolons has been mistaken for the 4. alpina of Linneeus, and there is no reason for believing that the latter has occurred here. 2. Pyramidal Bugle (4. pyramiddlis).—Stem solitary, without scions ; leaves oblong, entire, or crenate, root-leaves tapering at the base, stem-leaves sessile, upper ones longer than the flowers ; flowers whorled, forming a four- sided pyramidal spike; perennial. ‘This is a very rare Highland plant, but is plentiful at the Burn of Killigower, and on the Ord of Caithness ; it also occurs in Westmoreland. Its stem is from four to six inches high, and its flowers, which expand in May and June, are bluish-purple. The whole plant is sometimes hairy. 3. Ground Pine or Yellow Bugle (4. chamépitys).—Stem much branched, spreading; leaves deeply 3-cleft, segments linear and entire ; floral leaves similar, longer than the flowers; flowers solitary and axillary ; annual. This plant is well called Ground Pine, as its narrow leaves look like a tuft of foliage taken from the pine-tree, only that their colour, instead of being dark, is of sea-green hue, and the yellow flowers, spotted with red, are almost hidden among them. ‘This species differs altogether in its general appearance from the others of the genus. Its stem is about three or four inches high, reddish-purple, and glutinous ; and the whole plant is somewhat hairy. It is in flower from May to September. It is by no means a common plant, but it is plentiful on sandy and chalky fields in some counties, as Bed- ford, Cambridge, Essex, Hants, Herts, Kent, and Surrey. Our fathers called it by the name of Herb Ivy, though for what reason is not apparent. It was also called Field Cypresse, and both English and German writers of Queen Elizabeth’s time called it Forget-me-not. The plant contains a slight amount of tannin, and was believed formerly to afford a very useful medicine for gout. Charles V. is said to have been cured of that malady by drinking a vinous infusion made of the herb; ‘at least,” observes Professor Burnett, “he got better after he had taken the medicine for sixty successive days ; which, as a rare example of patience and explicit obedience to medical authority, deserves to be recorded.” 8. HOREHOUND (Balldta). Black Horehound (B. nigra).—Leaves egg-shaped, serrated ; bracts linear, awl-shaped ; teeth of the calyx pointed, spreading, longer than the tube of the corolla; perennial. A variety of this plant, in which the calyx- tube is shorter and stouter, the teeth short, suddenly pointed, tipped with a spine, keeled and turning downward, is, by some writers, described as B. fetida ; while another, having the calyx-tube narrow, elongated, and widely spreading upwards, with awned, egg-shaped, erect and spreading teeth, is described as B. ruderalis. Large quantities of the Black Horehound might be gathered from almost any hedge or road-side, often covered with the dust of the road, and never having any brightness, either of leaf or blossom. The foliage is wrinkled, of a grey green, and the numerous whorls of flowers, which from June to October invest the upper portion of the stem, 1 COMMON BUGLE 3 .FALSE ALPINE B. Ajuga reptans Axeptans, var pseudo -alpina 2 PYRAMIDAL B 4- . YELLOW .B. A pyramidahs A cham zepitys Pl. 165, LABIATE TRIBE 47 are of a dull faded-looking purple hue. ‘The stem is two or three feet in height, and the whole plant has a very disagreeable odour. It is not often seen in woods and hedges, far away from houses ; but there are few English villages or towns, except in Scotland and Ireland, in or near whick we might not find it. It is one of those plants which follow man, and besides being pretty general all over Europe, it is to be found in Australia wherever the English colonist has come, and the Horehound raises its tall stem by many of the sheep-stations of that country. The French call it Ballote, the Germans Zahnlose, the Dutch Ballote, and the Italians Marrobio. The Swedes think it a remedy in almost every disease to which cattle are liable. 9. MOTHERWORT (Leonitirus). Motherwort (L. cardéaca).— Leaves stalked, lower ones palmate, 5-cleft and toothed, upper ones lanceolate and wedge-shaped, 3-lobed, the uppermost almost entire; perennial. This plant, though found in hedges and on waste places in several parts of England, is neither common nor indigenous. It occurs in Scotland and Ireland occasionally. It is easily dis- tinguished from any other plant of the Labiate order by the palmate form of its lower leaves. Its foliage is of dull green, and the branched stem about three feet in height. The flowers expand in August, and form thick whorls of purplish-pink, or sometimes white, hairy blossoms, with a downy upper lip. Its name of cardiaca was given because the plant was formerly supposed to cure, not alone heart-burn, but the mental malady figuratively called heart-ache. It is slightly astringent, and has been used in Russia as a remedy for canine diseases. It has a very bitter and disagreeable flavour, and an unpleasant odour. The French call the plant L’ Agripaume, and it is the Hartgespan of the Dutch, the Herzgespann of the Germans, and the Agripalme of the Italians and Spanish. An old herbalist says of it :—‘“ There is no better herb to drive away melancholy; and against vapours, to strengthen the heart and make a merrie blythe soul, than this herbe ; there- fore the Latins called it Cardiaca. It may be kept in syrup or conserve.” The seeds of this plant are numerous, and are round and black. 10. HEMP-NETTLE (Galedpsis). 1. Red Hemp-nettle (G.. Jddanum).—Stem either smooth or covered with soft down, not swollen below, the joints ; leaves lanceolate, slightly serrated, rather small, stalked, downy on both sides ; calyx having some- times a few glands ; upper lip of the corolla slightly notched ; annual. This plant is not unfrequent in gravelly and sandy fields, having, in August and September, purple flowers, mottled with crimson and white, and shagg externally. It often grows on limestone rubbish, and a variety of the plant with narrow, almost entire leaves has been found at Southampton, among the shingle of the beach; this is by some regarded as a sub-species under the name G. angustifolia. The stem is nearly a foot high, with opposite branches. 2. Downy Hemp-nettle (G. ochroleiica).—Stem downy with soft hairs, not thickened at the joints ; leaves egg-shaped, lanceolate, serrated, soft and downy on both sides, upper leaves egg-shaped ; calyx glandular, shaggy with 48 LABIATZ& closely-pressed hairs, with a few gland-tipped hairs intermixed ; upper lip of the corolla slightly notched; annual. ‘This rare plant, the stem of which is from ten to twelve inches high, bears its large pale yellow flowers in July and August. It has been found in sandy cornfields in Yorkshire, Durham, Lincoln, Notts, and Essex, and also in Carnarvon. Also known as G. dubia. It is not a true native. 3 3. Common Hemp-nettle (4. fetrihit).—Stem bristly, swollen below the joints; leaves egg-shaped, pointed, serrated and bristly ; calyx teeth twice as long as the tube; corolla with the tube as long as the calyx, upper lip egg-shaped, erect; annual. This is a common plant in cornfields, just about the season when the wheat is ripening. In some fields, especially where the soil is of chalk or gravel, the flower may be seen ornamenting the short stubble long after the gleaners have carried away the scattered ears, and blooming on till the winds of November are fast scattering leaf and blossom. It also occurs sometimes in woods. It is an erect slender plant about two feet high, with opposite spreading branches, having numerous whorls of flowers, variegated with bright but pale purple and yellow, some- times of a white tint, delicately tinged with purple. The whorls of flowers are remarkable for the long sharp teeth of their calyxes, and the stems are very much swollen beneath each pair of leaves. Dr. George Johnston tells us in his “Flora of Berwick,” that labourers in the harvest-field are some- times affected with a severe inflammation of the hand or of a finger, which they uniformly attribute to the sting of a Dog-nettle, the name by which this plant is known among them. ‘On examining its bristles,” says this writer, ‘‘we perceive that they consist of three or four tubular joints, and arise from a swollen base or vesicle. On the upper part of the branches, on the calyxes and flowers, they are intermixed with others tipped with a gland. Now the former seem fitted by their structure for containing and emitting a fluid ; and though in general too soft to wound, yet by chance, when rudely pressed, they may perforate the skin, and lodge their contents, which must be virulently poisonous, if the opinion of the cause of the disease be correct.” It is not, however, impossible that the inflammation suffered by reapers may be caused by the Stinking Chamomile (Anthemis cotula). The author of these pages could never excite any irritation on the skin by handling the Hemp- nettle, though 4. cotula readily causes irritation. All persons are not, how- ever, similarly affected by the same plants, and she has known the hands of some inflamed by the yarrow (Achillea millefolium), though on her own skin it failed to produce any effect. Our British species of Hemp-nettle do not appear to possess any medicinal virtues, but the G. grandiflora is thought by physicians to have been very serviceable in pulmonary complaints. The French call these plants Galeope , the Germans Taube nessel ; the Dutch Knoopige hondsnetel. The latter term this and several plants of the Dead-nettle kind Ortica mortu. 4. Large-flowered Hemp-nettle (G4. versicolor). —Stem bristly, swollen below the joints; leaves oblong, egg-shaped, pointed, bristly and serrated ; calyx-teeth shorter than the tube; corolla with the tube much longer than the calyx, upper lip horizontal and inflated ; annual. This species appears in a printed description to be very similar to the last, yet it is quite 1 BLACK HOREHOUND 4:. DOWNY H.W Ballota nigra G ochroleuca 2 MOTHERWORT 5 COMMON .H WN Leonurus cardiaca G tetrahit RED HEMP NETTLE 5 LARGE FLOWERED H.N Galeopss ladanmo G versicolor Pil, 166. LABIATE TRIBE 49 different when seen growing in the corn-field. It is a common plant in the Scottish corn-lands, but very local in England. It is a larger, coarser-looking herb than the common Hemp-nettle, often two or three feet in height. The flowers expand in July and August, and are large and conspicuous, the yellow corolla having a broad purple spot on the lower lip. It is in Scotland called Bee-nettle. Sir Joseph Hooker regards it as a sub-species of the last, and calls it G. speciosa. 11. WEASEL-SNOUT (Galedbdolon). Yellow Weasel-snout, or Archangel (G. liitewm).—Leaves egg- shaped, pointed, stalked, and deeply serrated ; flowers in whorls ; perennial. We do not wonder that Gerarde disputed much whether this plant should not be included in the genus Lamm, where, indeed, Sir J. D. Hooker places. it, It very much resembles the white Dead-nettle in form, and its blossoms are about the same size, and except in colour, very similar. It is usually, however, rather a taller and less erect plant, with narrower and more pointed leaves. The flowers, which in May and June grow in numerous whorls around the upper part of the stem, are bright yellow, more or less marked with patches of orange-red. The stem is about two feet high, and its leaves are often variegated with dashes of pale yellow. It is a local plant, but is very common in many shady woods in England, and may sometimes be seen in woodlands, where the trees have been cut down, growing in such abundance as to render some spots of a yellow hue. It is commonly called Yellow Archangel, and is L’ortie morte des bois of the French. The Germans call it Gelbehanfnessel, and the Dutch, Geelbloemige hondsnetel. It grows in many European countries, and is known in Norway, Sweden, Lapland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Its properties are slightly astringent. 12. DEAD-NETTLE (Lami). 1. White Dead-nettle (ZL. dlbwm).—Leaves heart-shaped, pointed, deeply serrated and stalked ; calyx-teeth long, awl-shaped, spreading ; tube of the corolla curved upwards, the throat dilated, upper lip oblong, the side lobes of the lower one with 1—3 awl-shaped teeth; perennial. Everybody knows the White Dead-nettle, for it springs up by our pathway on sunny or shady bank or field-border in abundance, in May, and when the cold blasts of December are nipping most plants we find it still lingering beneath some hedge, its white blooms soiled and stained, and rent by wind and weather. Country boys make whistles of its square stalks, and bees gather honey from its flowers, but its odour is very disagreeable, and cattle will not eat it while any other herbage is within their reach. The flower is, in its common form, . pure white, with black anthers ; but we know a bank in Kent on which masses of the plant have grown, summer after summer, with very pretty rose-coloured blossoms, though not differing in any other respect from the common condition of the White Nettle. The stem is usually about a foot high, and the leaf sufficiently like that of the stinging-nettle to render many persons afraid to touch it. The stingless nature of the leaves, however, induced our fathers to call the plants of this genus not only Dead-nettles, but also Blind- or Dumb-nettles. In that old work, the “ Promptorium par- Ii.—1 ) LABIATA or vulorum,” or Anglo-Latin Dictionary, reprinted by the Camden Society, we find the archangel called Deffe nettil. The Editor, Mr. Albert Way, remarks of the adjective: “It is applied to that which has lost its germinating power : thus in the north, as well as in Devonshire, a rotten nut is called ‘deaf,’ and barren corn is called ‘deaf-corn,’ an expression literally Anglo-Saxon. An unproductive soil is likewise termed ‘deaf.’ The plant Lamium, or Archangel, known by the common names Dead or Blind Nettle, has the epithet ‘ deffe’ evidently because it does not possess the stinging property of the true Nettle.” Linnzus says, that the leaves of the White Archangel are eaten in spring as a potherb. The French call the plant L’ortie blanche. ‘The similar, but purple-flowered Dead-nettle, often cultivated in gardens, is not a variety of this, but an introduced species, L. maculutum. 2. Red Dead-nettle (L. purpireum).—Leaves heart-shaped, crenate, all stalked, the upper ones crowded, the lower ones hanging downwards on long stalks ; teeth of the calyx as long as the tube, always spreading ; tube of the corolla straight, within, having a hairy ring, the throat much dilated ; side lobes of the lower lip with two short teeth; annual. This plant is readily known by the reddish-purple tint of its floral leaves, and the silky hairiness with which the upper, and sometimes the lower leaves, also, are invested. It is truly a red nettle, and its whorls of reddish corollas are scarcely brighter than the purple-red leaves among which they grow. Large quantities of the plant may be found on most English hedgebanks, often forming masses there, as well as on the borders of meadow land, or in corn- fields. It is in blossom throughout the summer, but we scarcely notice so dull and weed-like a plant when gayer blooms are expanding around us, though the lover of wild flowers looks upon it with favour in February or March, when it is almost the only blossom ; or cherishes it in the latest nose- gay which he can, in autumn, gather from lane or field. It usually grows to the height of a foot or a foot and a half. The author is informed by a friend that he has seen the roots of this plant boiled by cottagers for the food of pigs, and that it affords excellent nourishment for these animals. It was certainly used in this country in very early times for pottage. Pottage was by the old writers called ‘“jowtes,” or ‘“joutes,” and Gower speaks of Diogenes gathering joutes in his garden. Mr. Albert Way quotes from the Sloane MS. a list of plants for compounding joutes: ‘Cole, borage, persyl, plumtre leaves, redde nettil, crop, malves grene, rede briere croppes, avans, violet, and prymrol.” These were to be ground in a mortar and boiled in broth. We fear that few modern palates would be gratified by the pre- paration. 3. Cut-leaved Dead-nettle (L. inciswm).—Leaves broadly heart-shaped, deeply cut into teeth at the edges, all stalked, upper ones broadly egg-shaped and crowded, the uppermost being wedge-shaped at the base ; calyx-teeth always spreading, and as long as the straight tube, which is without hairs within ; annual. This species has its dull purple flowers from March till June. It is common on waste ground, and very difficult to distinguish from the last, with which some botanists unite it as a sub-species. Its stems are cither few, slender, and elongated, or thick, short, and numerous. YELLOW WEASEL SNOUT Galeobdolon lattenm WHITE DEAD NETILE Lamiom alhun RED. D.N L -purpuremmn 4 CUT LEAVED-.D. N L.ineisum INTERMEDIATE. D.N L interne dram G HENBIT.D. N L .antplexie aule Pb, 167. oan ian a) $, t i ie ae ' si Pee NG LABIATE TRIBE 5] 4, Intermediate Dead Red Nettle (L. intermédium).—Leaves blunt, cut, and crenated, lower ones stalked and kidney-shaped, upper ones sessile, somewhat crowded ; teeth of the calyx awl-shaped, longer than the tube, always spreading; tube of the corolla straight, naked within; side lobes of the lower lip with a short tooth; annual. The purplish-coloured flowers of this species expand from June to September. It is a dull-looking plant, about a foot high, its calyx usually tinged with purple. It is common on cultivated ground in Scotland and the north of England, but rare in Ireland. ‘It is intermediate in character between L. purpureum and L. amplexicaule. 5. Henbit Nettle (LZ. wmplexicaule).—Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, deeply and bluntly cut, upper sessile and clasping, lower stalked ; calyx-teeth green, longer than their tube, erect after flowering ; tube of the corolla straight, naked within ; annual. This is a prettier species than any other of the purple-flowered Dead-nettles, fcr its corollas are of so much richer tint, being of a fine deep reddish-purple, on very long tubes. arly in the season the flowers are small, and do not expand, but yet they are fertile, and the fruit, consisting of four small nuts, is produced. The plant is about half a foot or a foot high ; the stem is slender, and as it lengthens the floral leaves become somewhat distant. The leaves and stem are not so dull coloured as those of most of the species ; they are rarely tinted with purple, and usually of a deep rich green hue. 13. Betony (Beténica). Wood Betony (B. officindlis).—Leaves oblong, heart-shaped, crenate ; corolla twice as long as the calyx, middle lobe of the lower lip somewhat notched ; perennial. The Betony is a much prettier and brighter plant than the Dead-nettles, and has one peculiarity in its mode of flowering which distinguishes it from most other labiate plants, as it bears what botanists term an interrupted spike. Its flowers appear in July and August, forming, ona slender stem about a foot high, whorls which for an inch or more are crowded closely together ; then a piece of the green stalk appears, and below that portion there are again three or four whorls of flowers. ‘The corollas are bright reddish-purple, and there are always two or three pairs of sessile leaves between the divisions of the spike; the lower leaves are all stalked. , The plant has a slightly aromatic odour. We have often seen in cottages in Kent, and doubtless there might be seen also in other counties, large bundles of the ‘“ medicinal Betony,” as Clare calls it, hung up for winter use. An infusion of the plant is taken for colds and coughs, and its slightly tonic properties render it serviceable in low fevers. When used while fresh, the plant has an intoxicating property, which is removed by drying. It is not, perhaps, of any great worth as a medicine, and its rustic uses are doubtless remnants of usages introduced when the true properties of plants were less known. Of all the herbs praised both by British and Continental writers of the olden time, none, if we except the vervain, was more highly esteemed than this. Antonius Musa, the physician to the Emperor Augustus, wrote a whole book setting forth the excellences of the herb, which he said would cure forty-seven different disorders ; while Franzius told how even the wild beasts of the forest knew its virtues, and (—2 52 LABIATA when wounded, availed themselves of its efficacy. Even now the proverbs are in common use in Italy which record its worth: “ May you have more virtues than Betony,” is sometimes the pious wish of a parting friend ; and “Sell your coat, and buy Betony,” is an old advice to the sufferer; while, every old English herbal abounds with its praises ; and, in Scott’s “Demonology and Witchcraft,” the reader is told that “the house where Herba Betonica is sown is free from all mischief.” The dried leaves, when powdered, excite sneezing, though this effect is probably only the result of the small hairs found on the leaves. In Bacon’s ‘‘ Natural History ” we find that it had its uses on this account. He says: “ We see sage and Betony bruised for sneezing- powder, or liquors, which the physitions call errhines.” An infusion of the leaves for tea was very generally taken by those who were in delicate health ; and Sir William Hooker says that the plant is cephalic. The roots are very bitter, and sheep are probably the only animals that will eat the plant, even the goat refusing it. The French call this herb Betoine; the Germans, Betomka ; the Dutch, Betonie, and the Italians, Betonico. It grows commonly among bushes, and abounds in many of our woodlands. Bacon observes: “The putting forth of certain herbs discovereth of what nature the ground where they put forth is; as wild thyme showeth good feeding ground for cattle ; Bettony and strawberries showeth grounds fit for wood; camomile showeth mellow grounds fit for wheat; mustard-seed growing after the plough, showeth a good strong ground, also for wheat ; burnet showeth good meadow, and the like.” Also known as Stachys betonica. 14. WouNDWoRT (Stdchys). 1. Hedge Woundwort (8S. syluvdtica).—Leaves egg-shaped and heart- shaped, acute, serrated, long-stalked ; upper floral ones linear and entire ; whorls of 6—8 flowers distant ; calyx-teeth very acute; perennial. This branched hairy plant is common in woods and hedges. Its stem is two or three feet in height, and in July and August its whorls of flowers are numerous, though not close together. They are of a reddish-purple colour, often marked with white. This, as well as the other species, is very nearly allied to the plants of the last genus, the chief difference between the genera being the shorter tube of the corolla in the Woundworts. It has, especially when bruised, a strong and disagreeable scent. When the green portion of its stem is decayed, so strong a fibre has been left, that it has been suggested that the plant might be used for some of the same purposes as hemp or flax. It also furnishes a good yellow dye. Cattle leave it untouched. When in fruit, the calyx-teeth are remarkably rigid. The species were all formerly considered vulnerary plants. The French call the Woundwort Stachyde ; the Germans, Rossnessel ; the Dutch, Andoorn ; the Italians, Stachi ; the Spaniards, Estaquis ; and the Portuguese, Ortiga morta dos bosques. It is commonly called Hedge-nettle in country places. 2. Marsh Woundwort (8. paliistris).—Leaves linear-lanceolate, or egg-shaped and lanceolate, rounded or heart-shaped at the base, sessile or stalked ; whorls of 6—10 flowers, bracts minute, calyx-teeth very acute ; stem hollow ; perennial. In one variety of this plant the lower leaves are shortly stalked, the upper sessile and somewhat clasping ; in another, the L. WOOD BETONY a DEWAN E e Betonica officinalis S. germanica Z HEDGE WOUNDWORT 5 SORN - W Stachys sylvatica 5. arvensis MARSH . Ww, 6 PALE ANNUAL. W S palustris S. annua Pl. 168, ape ae i a a zy i ie, ba ; ty rte att im ty i ne i“ i eo if ‘i Ppa’ r A LABIATE TRIBE 53 leaves have distinct stalks about half the length of the leaf. This Wound- wort is very common on river banks and watery places, its widely-creeping roots spreading through the moist soil, and causing much inconvenience to the agriculturist; yet these roots might apparently be turned to good account. Lightfoot, in his “ Flora Scotica,” says, that in times of scarcity they have served for food, either when boiled or dried, and have been made into bread. Thick tuberous buds form upon the roots, and contain a tasteless farinaceous substance of a highly nutritive character. They are probably the only tubers of any labiate plant which could be used as esculents. Mr. Houlton, some years since, received from the Society of Arts a silver Ceres medal for introducing this plant to public notice, having previously cultivated it, and made various experiments on the root. The roots are dug up by swine from the low moist lands where they are abundant, and eagerly devoured. Gerarde praises the virtue of this plant in healing “ grievous and mortal wounds.” He says he derived his knowledge of its powers from a clown, who cured a wound with it in a week, which would have required forty days with balsam itself ; hence he called the plant Clown’s Woundwort. 3. Downy Woundwort (S. germénica). —Whorls many-flowered ; leaves egg-shaped, with a heart-shaped base, crenate or serrate, stalked, densely covered with silky hairs; upper leaves lanceolate, acute, sessile ; stem erect and woolly ; calyx with erect teeth, silky ; bracts as long as the calyx ; biennial. This plant has been found very rarely in hedges and by road-sides in various parts of England, where the soil is of limestone, and is more common in Oxfordshire, Hants, and Kent, than elsewhere. The stems are about two feet high; the flowers, which are externally woolly, are of light purple, the palate striped with white. The plant is remarkable for its dense covering of silky hairs or wool. It flowers in September. 4, Corn Woundwort (8. arvénsis).—Flowers in a whorl ; stem spread- ing ; leaves egg-shaped, heart-shaped at the base, blunt, crenate ; teeth of te alps awned ; corolla scarcely longer than the calyx; floral leaves sessile, acute ; annual, This is a small plant, found more frequently than the farmer desires upon cultivated lands, though it is rare in Scotland. It is easily distinguished, not only from the other species, but from all other labiate plants, by its whorls of from four to six small light purple flowers, with the palate white, and spotted with purple, and by its lesser size and weak branched stems, as well as its small blunt leaves. It occurs on dry sandy and gravelly soils, flowering from July to September. 5. Pale Annual Woundwort (8. dnnua).—Whorls of from 4 to 6 flowers, forming a spike ; leaves lanceolate, somewhat acute, broadly serrated, three-nerved, the lower ones stalked ; floral leaves lanceolate, acute ; calyx hairy, with awl-shaped teeth ; tube of the corolla longer than the calyx ; ; annual. This plant, which expands its yellowish flowers in August, is very rare. It was found by Mr. Woods in a field between Gadshill and Rochester ; ; but it is an alien species introduced with seed from abroad. Its roundish nuts are glossy, and minutely rough. 6. Alpine Woundwort (8. alpina). —This south European species has recently been reported from Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, by Mr. Cedric Bucknall. The flowers are from 5 to 10 in a whorl; leaves oval, 54 LABIATA heart-shaped at base, crenate, downy on both sides, the lower ones with long foot-stalks, the stalks of the lance-shaped stem-leaves gradually diminishing in length, uppermost sessile ; calyx bell-shaped, with unequal spiny teeth, woolly without; corolla twice the length of calyx, purple, marked with white. This plant, which attains the height of two or three feet, is very variable, and may have been frequently overlooked as S. sylvatica. 15. CAT-MINT, GROUND Ivy (Népeta). 1. Cat-mint (JV. cdtaria).—Stems erect ; flowers in dense, many-flowered whorls, on short stalks, and forming a spike; leaves heart-shaped, stalked, with tooth-like serratures, downy; perennial. ‘This plant, though it can scarcely be called common, is not unfrequent in many counties of England ; and in Kent, especially on the chalky soils, it sometimes grows in great plenty in the hedges. It is rare in Scotland, but occurs near Craig-Nethan Castle, and on a few other spots. The stem is two or three feet high, much branched ; and, as well as the leaves, soft, and rendered so white by the down, as to have suggested the old English simile, ‘‘as white as Nep,” which, Mr. Forby says, is still in common use in Norfolk. The whorls of flowers, which are to be seen from July to September, are very numerous, and the corollas are white, dotted with crimson. The powerful odour of the plant resembles that of the penny-royal. Cats are extravagantly fond of it; but it is remarkable that they will pass by the herb when growing in the hedge, as we have observed them to do, though, if brought into the house, they quickly discover it, and seem quite intoxicated by it. There is an old proverb respecting this herb— ‘““Tf you set it, the cats will eat it ; If you sow it, the cats won’t know it.” John Ray tells us that the young plants which he removed from the fields into his garden were always destroyed by cats, unless he defended them by thorns placed around them till they had taken root and flowered, but he adds that these animals never touched those plants which had come up from seed. This must be accounted for on the principle that the odour is not perceptible to the cats until the plant is broken or bruised, as it 1s either by transplantation or by gathering. Mr. Miller mentions that he removed some of his plants of Cat-mint to another part of his garden within two feet of some which he had previously raised from seeds, but the former were all selected and destroyed, while the others remained untouched. No animal except the sheep will eat the Cat-mint on the pasture-land. It seems when gathered to have its influence on the cat only, as when laid beside the dog, or hung near the caged bird, it excites no attention. This plant is in some places called Cat-nep, and our fathers termed it Herba Catti, or Herba Cattaria. The French call it Chataire ; the Germans, Nept; the Dutch, Kattervid ; the Italians, Cattavia. It is sometimes used medicinally, and the leaves of several foreign species are eaten in order to restore tone to the digestive organs. Commercon states that a species common in Madagascar, which has tubercular roots, is a favourite vegetable ; the roots are called Houmines. Hoffman relates that the root of our native Cat-mint, if chewed, will make the most gentle persons fierce and wrathful, 1 CAT MINT Nepeta cataria . 2 GROUND IVY N. glechoma 3 WHITE HOREHOUND Marrubium vulgare COMMON BASIL THYME Calammths acinos Pl. 169 LESSER COMMON woop c COMMON CALAMIN' Cc WILD BASIL c *. officinalis sylvatica chinopodium LABIATE TRIBE 55 and adds that Turneiserius tells of a hangman who was usually gentle and pusillanimous, and who never had courage to perform the duties of his wretched vocation until he had first prepared himself by masticating this root. The writer of these pages, who, with a friend who joined in the experiment, chewed a piece of this bitter and aromatic substance, of the length of a finger, is able, however, to assure her readers, that for at least four-and-twenty hours after taking it, both she ang her companion retained a perfect equanimity of temper and feeling. 2. Ground Ivy (N. gléchoma). Leaves kidney-shaped, downy, crenate and stalked ; stems creeping; flowers three together, in the axils of the leaves ; root-stock perennial, and sending out long runners. In early spring, while flowers are few, we are more disposed to be observant of the forms of buds and leaves than in the later season : ‘Though still so early one may spy, And mark Spring’s footsteps every hour: The daisy with its golden eye, And primrose bursting into flower ; And snugly, where the thorny bower Keeps off the nipping frost and wind, Excluding all but sun and shower, The children early violets find.” Thus sang Clare of the country aspects of March; and besides these opening flowers, leaves of various form and hue are daily appearing among the grass. Sometimes even in the first month of the year, the young trailing shoots of the Ground Ivy creep in abundance on the bank among some older ones which have lived through the winter, and we should welcome this early herald of Spring, had we not faith in the proverb— ‘Tf Janiveer calends be summerly gay, ‘Twill be winterly weather till the calends of May ;” which, old as it is, is but a version of a Welsh proverb of higher antiquity, and the truth of which experience has confirmed. In March, however, be the spring early or late, we shall be sure to find the Ground Ivy leaves spread open on the sunny bank beside those of the creeping potentilla, and the green and glossy arum leaf. A very pleasant fragrance has our Ground Ivy, besides its slightly bitter and aromatic taste. In olden times the herb was in great request for tea, and we were accustomed in childhood to take it, as it is still occasionally drunk in villages, as a Spring drink. It is popularly believed to be tonic and invigorating, nor are we disposed to regard these diet drinks as altogether useless, while Mr. Abernethy could allude to these vegetable preparations in his work on the digestive organs, and consider them to have great efficacy. John Ray regarded this infusion of the Ground Ivy as good for the head-ache ; and Professor Burnett says, that cases are on record in which it would appear that the plant has been really serviceable in hypochondriacal constitutions, and in mania. A pamphlet was published about twenty years since, stating its good effect in cases of mania; and we can add from experience, that an infusion of the leaves sweetened with sugar-candy, is an excellent medicine in cases of cough and cold. It is, at any rate, perfectly innocuous, and we can venture to recom- mend persons subject to pulmonary affections to dry the herb for winter use 56 LABIATA as well as to take it while fresh. Our fathers considered it useful in a variety of maladies ; and the plant was commonly sold in Queen Elizabeth’s reign by the “herbe-women of Chepeside,” under the names of Gill-by-the-ground, Hay-maid, Cats-foot, Ale-hoof, and Tun-hoof ; and it was frequently put into beer instead of hops, or used to clear ale made with that plant. An old writer says, “It is good to tun up with new drink, for it will clarify it in any night that it will be the fitter to be drunk the next morning ; for if any drink should be thick with removing, or any other accident, it will do the like in a few hours.” It was customary also to drop the juice of Ground Ivy into the ear, to stay the singing tones which sometimes trouble the invalid ; and it was also applied to the eyes to cure any temporary inflammation ; but the beneficial results in both these cases were probably rather to be attributed to time, and the gradually restorative powers of Nature, than to the herb itself. Country farriers, however, still use the juice as an application to the eyes of horses, and all our old writers assure us that “it helpeth beasts as well as men.” In the ancient Anglo-Latin Dictionary referred to on a former page, we find “ Hove, or Ground Yvy (herbe), Edera terrestris.” Mr. Way, commenting on this, says, that G. de Biblesworth mentions eyre de bois e eyre terrestre (heyhowe). He adds, “In John Anderne’s ‘Practica,’ Sloane MS., the use of harhowe, vel halehoue, vel folfoyt, vel horshoue, in the composition of an unguent called Salus populi, is set forth. Langham, in the ‘Garden of Health,’ 1579, details the qualities of Ale-hoofe, Ground Ivie, Gilrumbith, Ground or Tudnoore ; and Cotgrave gives Patte de Chat, Catsfoot, Ale-hoof, etc. Skinner thought that Ale-hoof was derived from all, and behofe, from its numerous medical properties ; but the derivation of the name is probably from hof wngula, in allusion to the hoof-shaped leaf.” Mr. Way adds, “ that it is probable that the Read-hofe of the Anglo-Saxon herbals is the Ground Ivy, to which, however, the name ¢oroifig was assigned.” The flowers of the Ground Ivy expand in April and May, and are exceedingly pretty in their tints of rich purple, varied with the white anthers, which, growing in pairs, form a cross. The stems, creeping several feet among the grass, are often very troublesome on meadow lands, for the plant is rarely eaten by domestic animals, and is even thought to be injurious to them, while it impoverishes the pasture, and occupies soil which would nourish herbs of more worth to the owner of the meadow. Small galls are often found in this plant, which are made by a species of Cynips. They are sometimes eaten in France, but Réaumur justly doubted if they would “rank with good fruits.” 16. Waite HorenounD (Marribium). Common White Horehound (J. vulgdre).—Stem erect, hoary ; leaves egg-shaped and narrowed into a leaf-stalk, or roundish and _heart- shaped, crenate, hoary and rugged ; whorls many-flowered ; calyx-teeth ten, awlshaped ; upper lip of the corolla 2-cleft ; perennial. This is a bushy- looking plant, with stems one or two feet high, thickly covered with white woolly down, which also invests the wrinkled leaves, rendering them of a whitish-green hue. The foliage has an aromatic odour, and a bitter flavour, LABIATE TRIBE 57 and in August the flowers form close thick whorls around.the stems. The blossoms are small and white, their calyx-teeth sharp and hooked. The Horehound, though not a very frequent plant, grows on waste grounds and waysides in many parts of England, but is more rare in Scotland and Ireland. It has for many centuries been used in disease, especially that of the lungs, and though not now employed by physicians, is thought by some good botanists to merit more attention from the faculty than it at present receives. An infusion of the leaves is a common remedy for coughs and colds, and candied Horehound and balsam of Horehound are still sold by druggists. The former is much in use for children, and the latter compound is said to be made of an infusion of Horehound and liqucrice roots, with double the quantity of brandy. Horehound tea, sweetened with honey, is a safe remedy for coughs; and Dr. Thomson says, that it has been of decided service to consumptive persons. The plant loses its aromatic flavour if kept long. Linnzus observes, that the word Marrubium is derived from an ancient Italian town called Maria-urbs, situated on the borders of the Fucine Lake. The French term the plant Marrube commun ; the Germans, JVeisse andorn ; the Duteh, Gemeene malrove ; the Italians, Marrobio bianco. 17. CALAMINT, Basin THyME, WiLD Basi (Calamintha). * Whorls of six simple separate flower-stalks. 1. Common Basil (C. dcinos).— Stem ascending, branched ; leaves oblong, on short stalks, acute, serrated, or sometimes almost entire, more or less fringed at the base; annual. This is a very pretty little plant, often found on dry chalky hills or gravelly heaths, flowering in August ; rare in Scotland and Ireland. It is about six or eight inches high, with whorls of small bright purple flowers, more or less marked with white on the lower lip. The tubular calyx is distinetly two-lipped, and the lower lip bulged at the base. The plant has a slight fragrance, resembling that of the thyme. It is often called Basil Thyme. The French call our pretty wild herb Basilique sauvage ; the Germans, Kleine bergmiinze ; the Dutch, Vold mynte ; and the Spaniards, Albahaca menor. * * Flowers in whorls of 2-forked cymes. 2. Lesser Calamint (C. népeta).—Leaves egg-shaped, serrated, pale beneath, shortly stalked ; calyx somewhat bell-shaped, obscurely 2-lipped ; teeth nearly all of the same shape, and shortly fringed, the upper ones slightly shorter, the hairs in the throat protruded ; flowers in forked many- flowered cymes; perennial. This is rather a rare species of Calamint, bearing its pale, pinkish-purple flowers on long stalks in July and August, and growing on dry banks in a chalky soil. It has a strong odour, like that of penny-royal, and much resembles the next species, of which some regard it as a sub-species, though it is smaller, and its leaves more strongly serrated. A good distinction, however, is found in the white hairs in the throat of its calyx. Both this and the next species were recommended by our forefathers to be burned or strewed in chambers, to drive away venomous serpents ; and the ‘‘wholesome Calamint ” is referred to by several of our cld poets. 111.—8 58 LABIATA 3. Common Calamint (C. offcindlis)—WLeaves broadly egg-shaped, blunt, stalked, green on both sides, with rounded serratures at the margin ; cymes stalked, few-flowered ; calyx distinctly 2-lipped ; teeth with a long fringe, those of the upper lip triangular, of the lower longer, and awl-shaped ; hairs in the mouth not prominent; lobes of the lower lip of the corolla distant, middle one the longest; perennial. This is not an infrequent plant in dry places, on hedgebanks, and by waysides. It is erect and bushy, its stems and foliage of a pale greyish-green, and downy. Its flowers expand in July and August ; they are numerous, of a pale pinkish colour, and have small pointed bracts in the forks of their stalks. The flavour and scent of the plant are aromatic, and the tea made by an infusion of the leaves is an old and not disagreeable medicine for colds and other maladies, while a com- pound syrup of Calamint is sold by druggists for the cure of coughs. The plant is sometimes called Calamint Balm, or Mountain Mint, and it is said of it, that if put upon meat which has been kept too long, it will remove all unpleasant odour and flavour. The French call it Calement ; the Germans, Kalamint ; the Dutch, Berg-Kaulaminth ; the Italhans Calaminta. 4. Wood Calamint ((. sylvdtica).—Stem with ascending branches ; leaves stalked, broadly egg-shaped, sharply serrated, green on both sides ; flowers in forked cymes ; calyx distinctly 2-lipped ; teeth with a long fringe, those of the upper lip spreading or turning backwards, of the lower longer and awl-shaped ; hairs in the mouth not prominent ; lobes of the lower lip of the corolla with overlapping segments, all nearly equal in length ; perennial. This plant bears large pale purple flowers from August to October, and its leaves are larger than those of the other species, though all the Calamints are very much alike. The root creeps slightly below the ground. This is a rare species, found among copse-wood in the Isle of Wight, and some parts of Hampshire and Devon. It is also regarded as a sub- species of . officindlis. ** * Flowers in dense axillary whorls ; bracts forming a sort of tnvolucie. 5. Wild Basil (C. vulgdris).—Leaves egg-shaped, obtuse, rounded below, slightly crenate ; whorls equal, many-flowered ; bracts bristly, as long as the calyx; perennial. This plant was formerly called Unprofitable Basil, probably in contrast to the Sweet Basil of the garden, or Royal Basil, as it was termed. This is the Ocymum basilicum, and was thought to be the Ocumum so prized by the ancients, of which, however, we know little more than that Pliny said it throve best when sown with cursing and railing. Our Wild Basil is about a foot or a foot and a half in height. It is a straggling, hairy, not very attractive plant, having in July and August bristly whorls of stalked reddish-purple flowers, with numerous long pointed bracts. It occurs abundantly on dry banks, and in hedges, or other bushy places, in England, where we may often meet with a stray plant or two flowering long after the usual season, and cheering the December landscape ; in Scotland and Ireland itis rare. It grows wild throughout Europe, from Sweden to Greece and Sicily, in Middle Asia, and also in some parts of North America, where, however, it is an introduced plant. The French call it Le Clinopode, and the Germans Die Wirbeldoste. It is the Borstelkrans of the Dutch, the Clinopodio LABIATE TRIBE 59 of the Italians, the Albahaca silvestre of the Spaniards, and is termed by the Russians Lloschinza. It is the C. clinopodium of Bentham. 18. BastarD Bato (Melittis). Bastard Balm (J. melissophyllum).—Leaves oblong, egg-shaped, or somewhat heart-shaped, serrated ; upper lip of the calyx with 2 or 3 teeth ; perennial. This is a very handsome but rare plant, found in woods in the south of England, as well as in Wales and Worcester. It is about a foot high, having very large leaves; and in June and July it bears either showy purple flowers with a creamy margin, or cream-white, blotched in different ways with purple. It has while fresh a disagreeable odour, but when dried its scent is pleasant, like that of new-made hay. The true balm belongs to another genus, and is the Melissa officinalis. The latter plant is sometimes included in the British Flora, as it is naturalized in the south of this kingdom. It has egg-shaped leaves, with rounded serratures, paler on their under sur- faces ; the white flowers spotted with rose grow in axillary one-sided whorls. It is a native of Southern Europe, and a very old inhabitant of the garden. Chaucer says, when referring to some delicious odour— ‘“ As men a pot-full of Baume held Emong a basket-full of roses.” 19. SELF-HEAL (Prunélla). Common Self-heal (?. vulgdris).—Leaves stalked, oblong egg-shaped, blunt, upper lip nearly entire, or slightly toothed ; upper lip of the calyx with short teeth, cut suddenly off, and tipped with a spine ; flowers in whorls, forming a crowded spike ; perennial. The Prunella, or Brunella, as our fathers called it, is very common on banks, and in moist or barren pastures. Its dense short spikes of flowers are usually of a deep purple colour, though we have seen them of a pale lilac, and even white tint. The lower lip of the corolla has a toothed margin, and at the base of the spike are two leaves, and two slender bracts are beneath each whorl, which, as well as the calyxes, are of deep purple. Like most of our labiate plants, it is in flower during July and August. Its old names of Carpenter’s Herb, Sickle-wort, and Hookweed, as well as that by which it is still called, allude to its uses as a vulnerary ; and many cases are recorded by old herbalists in which wounds inflicted by sickles, scythes, and other sharp instruments, were healed by its use. As it possesses some astringency, it was probably useful in such cases. The plant grows by waysides in most European countries. Sir Charles Lyell saw it in New England, where doubtless it had been introduced from Europe ; and Sir Joseph Hooker saw it on the mountains of the Himalaya. Linnzus softened down the old name of Brunella to its modern appellation, but the former word is said to have been derived from the German briwne, the quinsy, from its supposed uses in that complaint. Its modern name is pretty nearly alike in all the countries of Europe. The French term it Brunelle ; the Germans, Prunelle ; the Dutch, Bruinelle ; the Italians Brunella ; and the Spaniards, Brunela. 8—2 60 LABIATAi—LABIATE TRIBE 20. SKULL-CAP (Scutelldria). 1, Common Skull-cap (8S. galericuldta).—Stem branched; leaves oblong or egg-shaped, and lanceolate, rounded or heart-shaped at the base ; flowers axillary, opposite, all turning one way ; calyx downy ; perennial. This handsome plant is not unfrequent on the borders of rivers and ponds. Its stem is about a foot or a foot and a half high, and from June to Sep- tember its pretty blue flowers are blooming. They are rather large for so small a plant, and the tube of the corolla is much longer than the calyx. As soon as the flowers fall off the upper lip of the calyx closes on the lower one, and gives to the seed-vessel the appearance of having a lid. One would wonder, at seeing the four little nuts at the bottom of this closed calyx, how they were to emerge from it, for the contrivance for their dispersion is not at first sight apparent. When, however, the little parchment-like box is well dried, it divides into two distinct portions, and the smali seeds destined for the growth of future plants fall out, and are soon buried beneath the soil. It is one of the many marks of design which the thoughtful botanist discovers continually in his observation of the flowers of the field, and from which he gathers a remembrance of God’s care and goodness. The Skull-cap received its name from the singular character of its calyx, which, when inverted, resembles a helmet with its visor raised, while in its ordinary state it is not unlike a cup or dish with a handle; hence its botanic name from scutella. It is also called Hooded Willow-herb. The French term the plant La Toque ; the Germans call it Schildkraut ; the Dutch Helmkruid ; and the Italians, Terzanaria. 2. Lesser Skull-cap (S. minor).—Leaves shortly stalked, blunt, usually quite entire, lowest ones broadly egg-shaped, the intermediate ones ege- shaped, lanceolate, heart-shaped, and sometimes halberd-shaped, at the base, upper and floral ones lanceolate and rounded at the base ; flowers solitary, axillary, and opposite; corolla with the throat dilated ; calyx downy : perennial. This is a small bushy plant from four to six inches high. The lower leaves are often toothed at the base, and the small flowers, which expand in July and August, are of a dull pinkish-purple colour, almost white, with the lower lip spotted. The plant is not common, although pretty generally distributed. Order LXIII. VERBENACEAZ — VERBENA TRIBE. Calyx tubular, not falling off, corolla irregular, with a long tube ; stamens 4, 2 longer than the others, rarely 2 only ; ovary 2 or 4 celled ; style 1 ; stigma 2-cleft; seeds 2 or 4, adhering to one another. ‘This order is very nearly allied to the Labiate. It consists of trees, shrubs, and herbs, with opposite leaves, and flowers growing in spikes or heads. The species are rare in Europe, in Northern Asia, and North America ; and in colder latitudes the plants are herbaceous, but are shrubs, or even large trees, in tropical regions, where the order is chiefly represented. Our gardens are enlivened by the bright flowers of many of the Verbenas, and the Lemon-plant has long been 1 Ww BASTARD BALM , Melittis mehssophyllnm COMMON SELF HEAL Prmella vulgaris Pl, 170, COMMON LESSER SKULL CAF Scntellaria 6alericulata Ss. ¢ S.mrmor . VERBENACEAA— VERBENA TRIBE 61 a favourite because of its strongly fragrant leaves; this shrub is the Verbena triphylla of older botanists, but is now called Aloysia citriodora. Some of the plants of the order are used for remedial purposes, but few of them are remarkable either for their medicinal or economic uses. VERVAIN (Verbéna).—Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla unequally 5-cleft; stamens shorter than the tube of the corolla. Name, the Latin name of the plant. VERVAIN (Verbéna). Common Vervain (/”. officindlis).—Stamens 4; stem erect, 4-angled, somewhat rough ; leaves shining above, rough beneath, lanceolate, cut anc serrated, or 3-cleft with cut segments; spikes slender, somewhat panicled ; bracts about half the length of the calyx ; perennial. The Vervain is a very common plant in England, while in Ireland it is local, and in Scotland it is not a native. It is remarkable for growing in the neighbourhood of towns and villages, and is seldom, perhaps never, found at the distance of more than a mile from houses. It grows on barren grounds, on stony pastures, heaths, and sea-cliffs, and is a slender plant, branched above, with very few leaves, and with flowers which are remarkably small for the size of the herb. They are of a pale lilac colour, and form terminal slender spikes in July and August. The interest excited in these days by the Verbenas is directed to the beautiful garden species, which are natives of America, and far handsomer than our wild plant in their showy clusters of pink, purple, white or dazzling scarlet blossoms. But few of our native plants derive a greater interest from old associations than our common Vervain. It rivals the Mistletoe in the number of ancient usages connected with it, and might, like that plant, serve to awaken in the thoughtful mind a thankful spirit for the clearer light revealed to men of modern days. As Gerarde, however, justly said, ‘‘ Manie old wives’ fables are written of vervayne tending to witchcraft and sorcerie, which you may read elsewhere, for I am not willing to trouble your eare with such trifles.” The Druids regarded this herb with peculiar reverence, and Pliny relates how, in Gaul, they often used it in casting lots, telling fortunes, and foreshowing future national events, gathering it with peculiar ceremonies. It was to be sought for when the great Dog-star was just rising in the heavens, and when plucked, an offering of honeycomb was to be made to the Earth as a recompense for depriving her of so goodly a herb. The Romans, too, held it in high honour, and the ancients generally seem to have believed the notion recorded by Pliny, that if the hall or dining chamber be sprinkled with the water wherein Vervain lay steeped, all that sate at the table should be “very pleasant and make merry more jocundly.” The Romans, who considered it a sacred plant, placed it in the hands of ambassadors who were about to enter on important embassies, and used it in sacrifice to their gods. Pliny tells us that the festival table of Jupiter was swept and cleansed with branches of the Vervain, with great solemnity, and the floors of houses were rubbed with it to drive away evil spirits. In our own country the plant was called Holy-herb, and was connected with several superstitious usages. To preserve its peculiar virtues certain forms had to be observed in gathering 62 VERBENACEAA—VERBENA TRIBE it, such as making the sign of the cross with the hand and repeating this incantation :— ‘Hallowed be thou, Vervain, As thou growest on the ground, For in the Mount of Calvary There thou wast first found. Thou healedst our Saviour Jesus Clirist, And staunchedst His bleeding wound ; In the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I take thee from the ground !” It was doubtless owing to the veneration in which the plant was held in ancient days, that it was in later ones believed to possess great medicinal virtues. Indeed, in several old directions for its use, we find intimations of a belief in its magical properties. Even of late years the author has seen a piece of Vervain root tied round the neck of a child as a charm to cure the ague, and was told that the plant required to be attached to a white satin ribbon in order to ensure its efficacy. But the herb was also described as a remedy in thirty different maladies; and the author can remember having, during childhood, seen a pamphlet wholly devoted to a description of the uses of the plant in various disorders, and prefaced by an engraving of the Vervain, though the herb does not appear to possess any real medicinal powers beyond a slight degree of astringency. We find Michael Drayton thus alluding to it :— ‘Here holy Vervayne, and here dill, ’Gainst witchcraft much avayling ; Here horehound ’gaynst the mad dog’s ill, By biting, never failing.” We never find this plant omitted whenever the old poets wrote, as they often did in their verses, a list of the various herbs of power. Thus, Spenser Says :— ‘* And then again he turneth to his play, To spoil the pleasure of that paradise, The wholesome sage, and lavender still grey, Rank-smelling rue, and cummin good for eyes ; The roses reigning in the pride of May, Sharp isop, good for green wounds’ remedies ; Fair marygolds, and bees alluring thime, Swete marjoram, and daisies decking prime. ‘Cool violets and orpine growing still, Embathed balm, and cheerful galingale, Fresh costmary and breathful camomil, Dull poppy and drink-quickening setewale, Vein-healing Verven, and head-purging dill, Sound savory, and bazil, harty-hale, Fat coleworts and comforting perseline, Cold lettuce, and refreshing rosmarine.” No wonder that the Vervain had the expressive old name of Simpler’s Joy. It was called also Juno’s Herb, Mercurie’s Moist Blood, Enchanter’s Plant, and Pigeon’s Grasse. The last name was given because, according to Gerarde, “Pigeons are delighted to be amongst it, and to eat thereof.” It is called in France, Vervene ; in Germany, Fisenkraut ; in Holland, Yzerhard ; in Russia, Scheelsnik ; in Italy and Spain, Verbena. 1 2 2 4: COMMON VERVALIN Verbens. officinalis COMMON BUTTERWORT, Pinguicula vulgaris LARGE FLOWERED B P. grandiflora ALPINE .B P. alpima Pl. 177; GREATER BLANDERWORT Utriculana vulgaris INTERMEDIATE .B LENTIBULARILAZ—BUTTERWORT TRIBE 63 Order LXIV. LENTIBULARIZ—BUTTERWORT TRIBE. Calyx divided, not falling off; corolla irregular, 2-lipped, spurred ; stamens 2, sometimes 4, 2 long and 2 short; ovary I-celled ; style 1, very short ; stigma 2-lipped, the lower lip smallest ; capsule 1-celled, 2-valved, many-seeded. ‘This order consists of small herbaceous plants, with leaves all from the root and undivided, or compound root-like leaves, with numerous small bladders or air-vessels. The species are natives of marshes, or rivulets, or fountains, in all parts of the world, especially in temperate and cold countries. They are not known to possess any important properties. 1. Burrerwort (Pinguicula).—Calyx 2-lipped, upper lip 3-cleft, lower 2-cleft ; corolla gaping, spurred. Name from the Latin pinguis, fat, the leaves being greasy to the touch. 2. BLADDERWORT (Uftriculdria). —Calyx of 2 equal sepals ; corolla personate, spurred. Name from the Latin uériculus, a little bladder. 1. Burrerwort (Pinguicula). 1. Common Butterwort (P. vulgdris).—Spur cylindrical and tapering, nearly straight, shorter than the limb of the corolla; segments of the corolla very unequal, rounded and diverging from each other, and all entire ; capsule egg-shaped and pointed ; leaves all from the root ; perennial. This singular and very beautiful plant, though rare in the southern and midland counties of England, is not unfrequent on the bogs and heaths in the north of this kingdom, and is common also. in the countries of Northern Europe. The leaves, which are of a pale brownish-yellow colour, have their edges rolled in, and their surfaces so covered with minute crystalline points, that they look as if sprinkled with hoar-frost. These points are really glands from which the greasy fluid is poured out. The slender delicate stalks are three or four inches high, several springing from one root, and bearing each a bright blue flower in the month of June. The plant is called by the Lap- landers Tét-grass, and the leaves are used by them in preparing a favourite beverage of milk, which they call Zaeotmioelk. 'The fresh leaves of the Butter- wort are laid upon a filter, and warm reindeer’s milk is poured upon them, . which, after passing through the filter, is allowed to remain for one or two days, till the milk becomes sour, when it is found not to have become separated from the whey, and yet to have acquired by this method a much greater tenacity and consistence. Nor is it necessary to gather fresh leaves in order to prepare another portion of milk ; for Professor Lindley observes that a small quantity of this solid milk will act upon that which is fresh, in the manner of yeast. It is from these uses that the plant acquired the name of Butterwort, and the greasy surface of the leaves originated the French name of Grassette, and also that of Pinguicula. If these leaves are only laid in cow’s milk, they readily coagulate it; and the Swedes and Norwegians use them much in their dairies. When crushed, they serve as a village remedy for bruises, and their unctuous nature renders their juices good for the skin, irritated by exposure to wind. In Wales, a pleasant syrup is pre- pared with this foliage. 64 LENTIBULARILA The late Charles Darwin, having had his attention drawn to the numbers of dead insects frequently found adhering to the leaves, investigated the matter, and proved conclusively that Butterwort is an insectivorous plant. The edges of the leaf are rolled in towards the centre, and thus form a vessel capable of retaining fluids. Flies get stuck to the leaf, and their presence excites the glands to an increased flow of their secretion, which now becomes acid and capable of digesting their softer portions. The result is after- wards absorbed by the glands and utilized for the nourishment of the whole plant. All the species exhibit this insectivorous habit. The Butterwort is sometimes called Yorkshire Sanicle, and is said to have been formerly used to dye the hair yellow. It is known in Germany as Feltkraut ; in Holland as the Smeerblow ; the Spaniards call it Grassila ; and the Italians Pinguwicula. It is very difficult of cultivation, but is occasionally planted in gardens, though the handsomer P. grandiflora is more easily reared, and better repays the cultivator. 2. Large-flowered Butterwort (P. grandifléra).—Spur awl-shaped, cylindrical ; segments of corolla very unequal ; perennial. This is the most beautiful of all the native species. It grows on bogs in the counties of Cork and Kerry, in Ireland, bearing, in May and June, its flowers of deep but bright purple colour. It is a rare plant, and may be distinguished from the Common Butterwort by the broader lobes of the lower lip, and the notched tip of the spur. The leaves, both of this and the last species, die in winter, and buds are formed, which in the following spring expand into perfect plants. This is regarded by some as a sub-species of P. vulgaris. 3. Alpine Butterwort (P. alpina).—Spur conical, shorter than the limb of the corolla, and curved towards the lower lip; capsule acute ; peren- nial. This species is much smaller than the Common Butterwort, which it resembles in habit, and in the texture of its foliage. Its flower-stalks are smooth, and its flowers, which expand in June, are yellowish-white, having clear yellow hairs beneath, and a very short spur. It is very rare, being found only in bogs in Scotland. The recorded localities of this flower are the Isle of Skye, and the bogs of Aughterflow and Shannon, in Ross-shire. 4. Pale Butterwort (P. lusiténica).—Spur cylindrical, blunt, curyed downwards ; segments of the corolla nearly equal; leaves and flower-stalks covered with short hairs; perennial. This plant is about the same size as the last, and though not nearly so rare, yet is very local, never occurring in the east of this kingdom, and rarely in the midland counties, but being chiefly confined to the marshy plains and moors at the west. It has been found on marshy ground near Basing, three miles from Basingstoke ; and it is abundant in the Hebrides, and in the bogs of Ireland. The leaves are greenish-white, and veined ; and the lilac flowers with yellow throats expand from July to September. 2. BLADDERWORT (Utricularia). 1. Greater Bladderwort (U. vulgéris).—Spur about half as long as the corolla, conical, straight and blunt; upper lip of the corolla about as long as the inflated palate; leaves pinnate, and much divided; anthers cohering; perennial. This is a not very common plant in ditches and deep BUTTERWORT TRIBE 65 pools. It has an erect stalk, from four to six inches in height, and in June six or eight of the large bright yellow flowers grow from the upper part of the stalk, and several inches above the surface of the pool. This plant is of great physiological interest, on account of the numerous air-bladders which invest it. The shoots or runners are submerged in the water, and are clothed at regular intervals with divided capillary leaves, armed with distant minute spines. Attached to the leaves and shoots are many little crested membranous bladders, of a green, purple, or pink colour. The bladders are of a most curious structure. Each has an aperture closing with an elastic valve, which Mr. Wilson has observed to be of a much thinner texture than the vesicle to which it is attached. It opens inwards, and this botanist remarks that aquatic insects often enter the orifice, and are, of course, contined there. All the species of Bladderwort have these little bladders on some part of their structure, and by their aid entrap large numbers of the small fresh-water crustaceans known as water-fleas, as well as the minute larve of water-beetles, etc. These are retained until drowned, and when their bodies decompose, the enriched fluid is absorbed by certain glands for the benefit of the plant. The French call the plant L’ Utriculaire ; the Germans, Wasserlauch ; and the Dutch, Neelekruide. In Denmark it is termed Van- dréllike, and in Norway Vassrdllike. It is sometimes called in country places | Hooded Milfoil. There is a rare sub-species, U. neglecta, with more slender stem, smaller leaves, the upper lip of the corolla exceeding the palate, and the spur more conical. 2. Intermediate Bladderwort (U. intermédia).—Spur conical ; upper lip twice as long as the inflated palate ; leaves 3-parted ; segments linear and forked ; perennial. This species is somewhat rare. It is altogether a smaller plant than the last, and its pale yellow flowers have a much shorter spur and a longer upper lip; they are also fewer in number, and the flowering stalk is not more than two or three inches high. The stems are more leafy, but the bladders are placed on branched stalks, and not on the foliage. Their season of bloom is July, but the plant seldom flowers, being mostly increased by buds. Mr. Borrer has observed, however, that at this period the vesicles are all immersed in the mud, and the leafy shoots float under water. The plant is found in ditches and pits, and has been recorded from the counties of Dorset, Hants, and Norfolk, and between Westmoreland and Sutherland, as well as in Ireland. 3. Lesser Bladderwort (U. minor).—Spur very short, blunt ; upper lip as long as the palate ; lower lip egg-shaped, flat ; leaves much cut into forked segments, bladders upon the leaves ; perennial. This is a plant grow- ing in ditches and deep pools throughout the country. It is a smaller but rather stronger plant than either of the preceding, bearing from June to September small pale yellow flowers, with scarcely any spur. Utricularia bremii, a species resembling U. minor, but of more robust habit and with more rounded lip, has been recorded from Moray and Nairn, in Scotland, but as the specimens observed were not in flower, it is not im- possible that a mistake may have been made. The Bladderworts can hardly be cultivated, but they grow wild in abund- ance in the pools and rivers of many countries, being often among the I11.—9 66 PRIMULACEAL loveliest of aquatic plants, with their pink, purple, yellow, or white flowers. The blossoms are so fragile that they scarcely survive the gathering ; nor do they retain any of their beauty when dried, changing in the herbarium to a dark, almost black, hue. Order LXV.—PRIMULACEZ—PRIMROSE TRIBE. Calyx 5-cleft, rarely 4-cleft, and in 77ientalis 5—9-cleft, regular, not falling off; corolla of as many lobes as the calyx (wanting in Glauz) ; stamens equal- ling in number the lobes of the corolla, and opposite to them ; ovary 1-celled ; style 1; stigma capitate; capsule l-celled, opening with valves; seeds numerous, attached to a central column. The order consists of herbaceous plants, chiefly inhabitants of the colder latitudes. It contributes to our fields and meadows some of the loveliest of wild-flowers, as it includes the Primrose, Cowslip, Pimpernel, and Water-violet ; while to it the garden owes some of its earliest blossoms, as the Auricula, Polyanthus, and Cyclamen. The economical uses, however, of the species are of small importance, and somewhat of acridity exists in the roots of the Cyclamen and the flowers of the Pimpernel. 1. WATER-VIOLET (/otténia).—Calyx 5-cleft, almost to the base ; corolla salver-shaped, with a short tube; stamens 5; capsule opening with 5 teeth. Named after Professor Hotton, of Leyden. 2. Primrose (Prémula).—Calyx tubular, 5-cleft ; corolla salver or funnel shaped, with a long cylindrical tube ; stamens 5, enclosed within the tube of the corolla ; capsule 5-valved, with ten teeth. Name from the Latin primus, first, from its early bloom. 3. SOW-BREAD (Cyclamen).—Calyx bell-shaped, cleft half-way down into 5 segments ; corolla wheel-shaped, the lobes reflexed ; stamens 5 ; capsule open- ing with 5 teeth. Name from the Greek kyklos, a circle, from the spiral form of the fruit-stalks. 4, SEA MitKworr (Glaié«).—Calyx bell-shaped, coloured, of 1 piece, 5-lobed ; corolla none ; stamens 5; capsule 5-valved, with 5—10seeds. Name in Greek denoting the sea-green colour of the leaves. 5, CHICKWEED WINTER-GREEN (7'rientdlis).—Calyx ‘7-clett to the base ; corolla wheel-shaped ; stamens 7; capsule opening with valves. Name of doubtful origin. 6. LOOSESTRIFE (Lysimdchia).—Calyx 5-cleft to the base ; corolla wheel: shaped ; stamens 5, not hairy ; capsule opening by valves. Name said to be from King Lysimachus. 7. PIMPERNEL (Anagidllis).—Calyx 5-cleft to the base; corolla wheel- shaped ; stamens 5, hairy; capsule splitting all round. Name from ana, again, and agallo, to adorn, from its adorning the wayside every spring. 8. CHAFF-WEED (Centiinculus).—Calyx 5-cleft to the base ; corolla with an inflated tube ; stamens 4; capsule splitting all round. Name said to have been given anciently to the nearly-allied genus Pimpernel, and supposed to be derived from cento, patchwork, from the way in which it covers the ground. 9. BROOKWEED (Sdmolus).—Calyx 5-cleft, adhering to the lower half of PRIMROSE TRIBE 67 the capsule, not falling off; corolla salver-shaped, with 5 scales at the mouth of the tube; stamens 5; capsule opening with 5 reflexed teeth. Supposed to be named from the island of Samos, where Valerandus in the 16th century gathered the species since called Samolus valerandi. 1. WATER-VIOLET (fotténia). Common Water-violet, or Featherfoil (H. palistrc).—Flowers whorled, on a long cylindrical stalk ; corolla longer than the calyx ; leaves finely divided ; perennial. This is a very lovely, though not a very common inhabitant of our English pools, and it is unknown in those of Scotland. Its pretty feathery leaves, which are all submerged, grow in tufts, only the upper part of the flower-stalk rising above the water. This stands up about four or five inches from its surface, and is surrounded in May and June by large handsome flowers of a lilac and yellow, or pale purple, or sometimes white, hue. The creeping root is composed of white, thread-like fibres, which penetrate deeply into the soft soil. The flowers produce honey, and are of two forms —one with a short style that just reaches to the mouth of the corolla-tube, around which stand the stamens; the other with the stamens inside the tube and the pistil projecting far out. Like wood-sorrel, henbit-nettle, and violet, this species also produces flowers that never open, but which, nevertheless, produce good seed. The seed-vessel, about the size of a pea, splits into five valves, but these remain connected at top and bottom. 2, PRIMROSE, OXLIP, CowsLip (Primulc). 1. Common Primrose (P. wilgiris)—Leaves oblong, egg-shaped, wrinkled, crenate ; flowers in umbels, as throughout the genus, but in this case the flower-stalk is very short ; calyx tubular, teeth lanceolate, tapering, very acute ; limb of the corolla flat ; perennial. One variety of the common Primrose has a stalked umbel of flowers, and this is the origin of the Polyanthus of our gardens ; while some writers describe the inflorescence of the Common Primrose as a sessile umbel, because if each stalk bearing the solitary flower is traced to the base, all the stalks are seen to grow in an umbelliferous form. To none familiar with wood or garden need we descant on the beauty of the Primrose tufts, which are in spring among their loveliest ornaments. In‘ April and May we may wander among the woods or by the hedge-banks secure of finding them, contrasting with the violet and other favourite flowers. But he who loves the woods at an earlier season—who is not scared by deep-sounding blasts, who can find a music in the voices of the winds and a grace in the motion of the leafless boughs—he may perchance discover, two or three months earlier, a Primrose-bud peeping up from amid the withered leaves which had sheltered it securely from nipping frosts. Such a rambler would probably bethink him of Milton’s description, ‘The rathe Primrose,” for though the old word “rathe” is hardly so significant in our days as in those of the poet, yet he is reminded that it is the origin of our common word “yather,” or sooner, and feels how justly it alludes to the Primrose. Linnzeus in the imaginative mood which so often characterized his nomenclature, termed these flowers the Preciw. Our old writers called the species Prymrole, which, like our common name, seems to be a corruption of Prima rosa ; and 9—2 68 PRIMULACEA the French Primevere, the Italian Primd-vera, the Spanish Primula, and the German Friihlings-blume, all tell how men have welcomed the early flower, welcomed it all the more because they could find it by vale or hill, by wood or river. ‘The humble Primrose’ bonnie face, ‘* Where’er the green-wing’d linnet sings, I meet it everywhere ; The Primrose bloometh lone ; Where other flowers disdain to bloom, And love it wins, deep love from all, It comes and nestles there ; _Who gaze its sweetness on : Like God’s own light—on every place, On field-paths narrow, and in woods, In glory it doth fall, We meet thee far and near ; And wheresoe’er its dwelling-place, Till thou becomest prized and loved, It straightway hallows all. As things familiar are.” Bacon, with that strange mixture of knowledge and ignorance which is to be found in his “Sylva Sylvarum,” attempts to account for the early appearance of the spring flowers. ‘There be,” he says, “some flowers, blossoms, grains, and fruits, which come early, and others which come more late in the year. The flowers that come early with us are Prime-roses, violets, anemonies, water-daffadillies, crocus vernus, and some early tulippas ; and they are all cold plants, which therefore (as it should seem) have a quicker perception of the heat of the sun increasing, than the hot herbs have; as a cold hand will sooner find a little warmth than a hot. And those that come next after are wallflowers, cowslips, hyacinths, rosemary flowers, etc. ; and after them pinks, roses, and flower de luces; and the latest are gilly- flowers, hollyocks, larksfoot, etc. The earliest blossoms are the blossoms of peaches, almonds, cornelians, and mezereons, and they are of such trees as have much moisture, either watery or oily ; and therefore crocus vernus also being an herb that hath an oily juice, putteth forth early, for those also find the sun sooner than the drier trees.” Notwithstanding this and similar opinions and disquisitions of the old writers, however, the cause is yet unknown why the Primrose is found amid the flowers of spring, and the rose is the glory of Midsummer, though we can all agree in the opinion of this writer as to the cause of the early bloom of the fruit-trees. ‘‘It,” he says, ' “seemeth to be a work of Providence, that they blossom so soon, for other- wise they could not have the sun long enough to ripen.” The Rev. C. A. Johns remarks in his “Flowers of the Field,” respecting the Primrose, “The colour of the flowers is such as to have a name of its own; artists maintain that primrose-colour is a delicate green.” Our old writers, too, like Spenser, call it the “greene Primrose,” and Parkinson treats of green Cowslips. He says: ‘“ And first of Primroses and Cowslips, whereof there are many prettye varieties, some better knowne in the west part of this kingdom, others in the north, than in any other, until of late being observed by some curious lovers of varieties, they have been planted diversely, and so made more common ; for although we have had formerly in these parts about London greene Primroses usually, yet we never saw or heard of greene Cowslips, both single and double, but of late daies ; and so likewise for Primroses too, both single and double, from one roote, and divers upon one stalke of divers fashions, I am sure is not usual: all which deserve better to be planted under some hedge or fence, and in the shade than sun- shine.” The “greene Cowslips” of tis old writer were probably Oxlips. ty WATER VIOLET Hottonia palustris COMMON PRIMROSE Prrovala vulgaris JACQUINS OXLIP P. slatior Pie COWSLIP p veris BIRDS EYE PRIMROSE SCOT TTSH P P rE larimosa scotica PRIMROSE TRIBE 69 Almost all our old poets refer to the Primrose. Spenser has some elegiac verses, in which he says— ‘“She is the rose, the glory of the day, And mine the Primrose in the lowly shade.” And Shakspeare likened Fidele’s face to the “pale Primrose.” The Prim- rose is so common a wild flower, that all men know it. Well does it tell of ingland’s soil to her distant sons ; and Dr. Stephen Ward mentioned to the Royal Institution, as an instance of the successful conveyance of plants in glass cases, that a Primrose so transported had arrived in full bloom, and that when it reached Australia the sensation excited by it as a reminiscence of fatherland was so great, that it was necessary to protect it by a guard. Mrs. Abdy has written some interesting verses on this touching incident :— **The strong and toiling man, intent on grasping worldly store, Who from the hidden caves of earth wrests forth the precious ore, Recalls with joy his childish glee when Primrose tufts he found, And deem’d no richer treasures could be proffer’d by the grouncl. ‘*The gentle girl, contending with a rough and chequer’d lot, Thinks of the glens and coppices around her father’s cot, From whence the early Primroses she oft rejoiced to bring, Greeting their blooming promise as a herald of the spring. ‘All love upon the English flower to rest their wearied eyes, Reading therein a history of dear and sever'd ties, Communion with their absent friends in fancy they attain, And go refresh’d and solaced on their busy course again. ** A ‘Primrose on the river’s brim’ hath won the poet’s lays, But surely thou, sweet Primrose, hast a higher claim to praise ; Thou in the vaunted realms of gold hast cheer’d an exile band, And soothed their toil with pleasant thoughts of Home and Native Land !” Lovely as our native Primroses are, they are not equal in beauty to those of the tribe which deck the mountains. This is pre-eminently an Alpine genus of plants ; and far away on the heights of Switzerland and Spain, on Alps or Pyrenees, the Primroses peep up to remind the traveller of the English garden. Amid the cold blasts of some of these dreary regions, where ice and snow thicken during the winter over impassable chasms and inaccessible mountain peaks, the little Primrose is lying secure beneath the fleecy mantle, and waiting for some gleam of sunshine to melt a small patch of snow, when it will smile forth upon the loneliness. Not merely the sulphur-coloured, but still more often Primroses of a white, yellow, violet, lilac, and sky-blue colour, expand there; and the purple auricula, with its white centre and powdery cup, sheds its peculiar perfume. It is not on the lofty mountains of Europe only that the Primrose tribe grow in great profusion and beauty. Sir Joseph Hooker, when in the Himalayas, was often delighted with these flowers, which he saw growing with the saxifrages, tufted wormwood, whitlow-grass, and others, close to the snow, while grasses, and sedges, and green moss, were all around. In more fertile spots the rhododendrons took the most prominent place on the scene, clothing the mountain-slopes with a deep-green mantle, and glowing with bells of different colours, every bush being laden with flowers. Primroses came next, both in beauty and abundance, accompanied by Cowslips with 70 PRIMULACEAA stalks of the wondrous height of three feet; and purple polyanthuses and pink dwarf Primroses nestled among the rocks ; while one exquisite species, blue as sapphires, sparkled like these gems among the turf; then came gentians, and a large species of rhubarb, which waved its graceful pyramid of white flowers above them all. But we are wandering far from the flower of our woodlands, which, with wrinkled leaves, opens with the budding trees. The leaf is very similar to that of the Cowslip, but the observer will perceive the difference between the two in the gradual narrowing of the Primrose leaf towards the base, while that of the Cowslip suddenly narrows just below the middle, forming a foot- stalk. The leaves of both flowers are agreeable to silkworms, and the roots possess an emetic property, and were of old much used medicinally. The blossoms are still in country places made into a pretty pale yellow ointment, which we have ourselves often applied to the wounds made by briars and thorns, but which probably owes its chief efficacy to some other of the various ingredients of which it is composed. The Auricula of our gardens (P. auricula), which grows in abundance on the Lower Alps of Switzerland, was in much repute among our old writers on plants. It was called Bear’s- ears, and among other wonderful cures effected by it, it received much praise for its use in curing diseases caused by having “inadvertently eaten the sea hare.” This poor little harmless animal, so frequent on our shores, seems to have been held in the greatest dread, and even its touch deemed dele- terious. How it could be ‘eaten inadvertently ” isa maryel, but a large variety of plants are strongly recommended to be used against its various injuries. Michael Drayton, describing the wedding-garlands of his day, enumerates several of this genus among many well-known flowers :— **To sort which flowers some sit ; some making garlands were, The Primrose placing first, because that in the spring It is the first appears then only flourishing ; The azured harebell next with them they neatly mix’d, To allay whose luscious smell they woodbind placed betwixt ; Amongst those things of scent, then prick they in the lilly, And next to that again her sister daffadilly ; To sort these flowers of show with the others that were sweet, The Cowslip then they couch, and the Oxlip for her meet: The columbine amongst, they sparingly do set, The yellow king-cup wrought in many a curious fret, And now and then among of eglantine a spray, By which again a course of lady-smocks they lay ; The crow-flower, and thereby the clover-flower, they stick The daisy over all those sundry sweets so thick As Nature doth herself ; to imitate her right, Who seems in that her part so greatly to delight, That every plain therewith she powdreth to behold ; The crimson darnel-flower, the blue-bottle and gold, Which though esteem’d but weeds, yet for their dainty hues, And for their scent not ill, they for this purpose choose.” Many more flowers were added to the list ; so many, that one is ready to pity the bride or her maidens, who must have been overloaded with these sweets. But spare your pity, gentle reader, for never did all these flowers bloom together at one season ; a circumstance to which the older poets rarely paid the slightest attention in their narratives or allusions. PRIMROSE TRIBE 71 _ Our sulphur-coloured Primrose is found in most European countries, growing in woods, copses, and partially-shaded banks, thriving most luxuri- antly on clay soils, but never occurring, like the Cowslip, in the midst of the meadow. Varieties, slightly tinted with red, often grow in our woods, but ’ ‘*The polyanthus of unnumber’d dyes’ has been changed by culture to most of the various tints. 2. Common Oxlip, or Jacquin’s Oxlip (P. eldtior).—Leaves ege- shaped, contracted below, wrinkled, slightly toothed; stalks umbellate, many-flowered ; calyx tubular, teeth lanceolate and acute ; limb of corolla concave, segments oblong, heart-shaped ; tube not contracted at the mouth, and without scales or folds; perennial. The Oxlip is not a generally-dis- tributed flower, though varieties between the Primrose and Cowslip are often very similar, the chief difference in structure being that these varieties have more or less a slightly inflated calyx, and a somewhat contracted mouth, and folds and plaits in the throat. As this distinct species is rare, except in woods and meadows in the eastern counties of England, the common variety of the Primrose, the Primrose Oxlip, is evidently the flower mentioned by our poets, and this is not infrequent. Many of us may say with Shakspeare— ‘*T know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, Where Oxlip and the nodding violet grows.” The Oxlip is of the same colour as the Primrose, its calyx, however, being tubular, and not bell-shaped. 3. Common Cowslip (P. véris).—Leaves egg-shaped, contracted below the middle, crenate, toothed, and wrinkled; flowers in umbels, drooping ; calyx fubular, and bell-shaped, teeth or ; limb of the corolla concave ; tube with a circle of scale-like folds at the slightly contracted mouth ; peren- nial. Rare as the Cowslip is in the meads of Scotland, it is plentiful enough in the clayey pastures of England, affording to many a merry group of children a sweet wild nosegay, and an innocent source of pastime. Some- times their hats are adorned with the flowers, sometimes these are by laborious ingenuity made up into cowslip-balls, or large numbers of the blossoms are gathered by poor women and children, and carried into towns for sale. In some places the Cowslip is commonly called Paigle ; we have heard it so called in Cambridgeshire, but never in Kent, but it is a very old English. name of the flower, as is that of Petty Mullein. English herbalists commonly term it Palsy-wort ; and Herbe & paralysie is a very ancient French name for the Cowslip ; while the medical writers of old times, who made much use of these flowers, called them Arthritice and Herbe Paralysis. In France the flower is now called Primerole, or it shares with others the familiar name of Fleur de Coucou. Our word Cowslip is of very old use, and is the Saxon Cuslippe, having probably a reference to the soft texture of the corolla, or to the odour, which might seem similar to that of the breath of cows. The blossom is usually of rich yellow, with five crimson spots round the mouth of the tube, and appears in April and May. A decoction of the flowers was said by old medical writers not only to cure tremblings, but was believed to be generally efficacious in strengthening the brain and nerves, and the leaves were considered a useful application to 72 PRIMULACE wounds. The flowers were, after being well dried in the sun, made into a conserve with sugar. An old writer, who says that this preserve was in great fashion in his time, in Sussex, gives lengthened directions for preparing it. The flowers are still in use in villages for making a cosmetic ; and Parkinson says of their juice, that it is “commended to cleanse spots or marks on the face, whereof some gentlewomen have found good experience.” Though the leaves have little flavour, they were described as serving well for a salad. The plant would probably afford all the benefits which Chaucer describes the maidens as bestowing :— ‘* And after that of herbes that there grew They made, for blisters of the sun breuning, Ointments very good, wholsom, and trewe, Where that they yede the sick fast anointing, And after that they yede about gadering Pleasant salides, which they made them ete, For to refresh their gret unkindly heat.” The leaves undoubtedly possess sedative properties, though not to the same degree as those of the lettuce; and the root, when first drawn from the ground, has an odour of anise. Country people sometimes mix the blossoms with tea, considering them both wholesome and refreshing. Cow- slip wine is not uncommon in Warwickshire, though it is not so frequently made in this country as it was by housewives half a century since. It is very pleasant in flavour, and an excellent sedative. The Cowslip may be propagated by dividing the roots in autumn, and by culture very handsome clumps of this flower may be produced, of much larger size and richer hue than when growing wild. Old writers on gardens call some of the varieties thus produced Curled Cowslips and Galligaskins. They had, too, their feathered Cowslips, which were probably some kind of fringed polyanthus ; their Red Bird’s-eye Cowslips, Green Cowslips, Rose Cowslips, and Jackanapes on Horseback ; while one unfortunate flower was called the Franticke or Foolish Cowslip. Cattle are not fond of Cowslips, nor, indeed, of any of the Primrose tribe, but swine eat them. 4, Bird’s-eye Primrose (P. farinésa).—Leaves inversely egg-shaped and lanceolate, mealy, crenate ; calyx oblong, egg-shaped, teeth linear ; limb of corolla flat; segments inversely heart-shaped, rounded below, distant, as long as the tube; perennial. This is a most lovely little flower, something like a miniature auricula. It blooms in July, and is of a pale lilac, purple, or sometimes almost white, with a yellow centre. It is not unfrequent on the mountainous pastures of the north of England, though on some less elevated localities, long known to the botanist in Yorkshire, and other counties, it has been eradicated to make room for the railway. It is rarely found in Scotland. Sir Joseph Hooker mentions in his “ Flora Antarctica,” when referring to the Falkland Isles, that the heaths of grassy land were spotted with a white Primrose nearly identical with this flower, and hardly to be distinguished from it. 5. Scottish Primrose (P. scética).—Leaves inversely egg-shaped and lanceolate, toothed, mealy ; calyx bladder-like ; limb of the corolla flat, its mouth glandular, the segments inversely heart-shaped, half the length of the tube; perennial. This is the loveliest of our native Primroses. It is PRIMROSE TRIBE 73 about half the size of the last species, stouter, shorter, and with smaller flowers, which are of a deep bluish-purple, with yellow centre. It is frequent in pastures on the north coast of Sutherland, at Caithness, and on the sandy shores of the Orkney Islands, flowering from June to September. 3, SOW-BREAD (Cijclamen). Sow-bread (C. hederefilium).—Leaves heart-shaped, angular, finely toothed, their ribs and footstalks somewhat rough; tube of the corolla globose ; mouth with five teeth ; perennial. This plant, though not indigenous to our soil, occurs in several places in profusion, as near Sandhurst and Goudhurst, in Kent. In July, its white or pink flowers, with their lobes turned backward, are nodding on long stalks ; and even as late as September they are yet open on warm, wooded spots. The plant has a dark brown, tuberous, highly acrid root-stock ; its leaves are, as their name would imply, shaped something like those of the ivy, and the flowers have a delicate perfume. As the fruit ripens, the flower-stalks twist spirally into numerous coils, inclosing the capsule in the centre, and this they gradually bury in the earth. The Sow-bread is a pretty flower, and would doubtless be often cultivated, were it not that more beautiful species are brought from other countries, some of which have long been reared in our gardens. The Cyclamen genus is one of southern and eastern lands. All the species have large acrid tubers; and the acrid principle is said by Professor Burnett to be peculiar to these plants: it has been called Arthanitine. The fondness of swine for the roots originated the English as well as some of the continental names of the plant. Swine-bread is an old name for it; and the French call it Pain de Porceau, or, as it is provincially termed, fate de pur. Our old medical writers called the plants Tuber terre or Terre rapum. In Italy it is called Ground-bread (Pane terreno), as well as Pane porcino ; and in that country, as in Sicily, where it is abundant, it is the chief food of large herds of swine, and has been much used medicinally. The Germans an it ELrdscheibe ; the Dutch, Varkensbrood ; and the Swedes, Svinbréd. 4, SEA MILKWort (Glaiiz). Sea Milkwort, or Black Saltwort (4. maritima).—Stem generally procumbent ; leaves opposite, egg-shaped, smooth, entire ; flowers axillary, sessile ; perennial. This is a little succulent plant, from three to six inches high, erowing in masses among the grass of the salt-marsh, on the mud of the penehote ; or among the radke just above high water, often in great abundance, its thick, tough rootstock wedged and flattened beeen! the layers of rock. If kept moist, it will also grow very well inland in garden pots, and looks very pretty on rock-work. an bears, from May to Anienct little flesh-tinted flowers, dotted with crimson ; and its thick smooth leaves are of a greyish-green hue. The blossoms are destitute of a corolla, but the calyx is coloured instead. The stamen-filaments are coloured a deep crimson, and they lengthen after the flower opens. This plant is sometimes called Newton’s Kunst: -grass. The French call it Glauce; the Germans, Milchkraut ; the Dutch, Melkruid ; and the Danes, Melkiirt. 111.—10 74 PRIMULACE 5, CHICKWEED WINTER-GREEN (7vrientdlis) European Chickweed Winter-green (7. ewropwa).—Leaves rigid, oblong, egg-shaped, shining; perennial. This pretty little plant was a great favourite with Linnzus. It is found occasionally in the north of England, and is abundant in the Scottish Highlands. The stem is without branches, from four to six inches high, having a few large leaves near its top, and two or three small distant scales below. From among the terminal, whorled larger leaves arise from one to four slender stalks, each bearing a small white flower with a yellowring. The number of stamens varies from seven to nine, and the seeds have a beautiful covering, like a delicate lace-work. Its creeping thread-like stem is somewhat acrid in taste. The plant is rare, and confined to the north of this kingdom. It occurs on Hambleton Hills, Swill Hill, near Halifax, and on the moors about Teesdale. It is not found in Ireland. The French call this plant 7rientale ; the Germans, Sternbliimchen ; and the Dutch, Vintergrin. It flowers in June. 6.. LoOSESTRIFE (Lysimdchia). 1. Great Yellow Loosestrife (L. vulgdris).—Stem erect, panicles compound, terminal, and axillary ; leaves egg-shaped, or egg-shaped and lan- ceolate, nearly sessile, opposite, or three or four in a whorl; segments of corolla entire; stamens five, combined for half their length ; perennial. This very handsome flower of our stream sides, though frequent in some places, is rather local in its haunts. Its branched upright stem is two or three feet in height, and its large yellow panicle has slender bracts growing among the blossoms. The foliage is smooth or somewhat downy beneath, and of rather dull green, and the flowers appear in July and August. This species was much used in former days medicinally. Lysimachus, the king of Sicily, according to Pliny, first discovered its medicinal virtues. It had besides, in the opinion of the old writers, the power of quieting the restive oxen, if laid beneath their yokes. It is sometimes called Yellow Willow-herb. The French term it Lisimaque ; the Germans, Gelbe weiderich ; the Dutch, Weiderick ; the Italians and Spaniards, Lisimachia. The Ciliated Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) has been found near Ser- bergham, Cumberland ; but though naturalized on this spot, it is a North American species. It has an erect stem; its yellow flowers are stalked, and either in whorls or somewhat racemed ; its leaves are egg-shaped, lanceolate and heart-shaped, with fringed footstalks; the lobes of the corolla are crenate, and it has ten filaments, all distinct, five of which are sterile. Some specimens of the Westphalian Loosestrife (Z. punctata) have also been found near Newcastle. It differs from Z. vulgaris in having solitary axillary pale yellow flowers, and a corolla fringed with glandular hairs. 2. Tufted Loosestrife (L. thyrsifléra).— Stem erect, unbranched ; leaves opposite, lanceolate, sessile, upper dotted with black; racemes dense, many-flowered, stalked, axillary ; segments of the corolla very narrow, and separated by minute teeth; perennial. This plant is rare in England, occurring on marshes in some parts of Yorkshire and Notts, but it is more frequent in Scotland. It is one or two feet high, and the small yellow SOW BREAI 2 SEA MILKWOR' Cyc lamen hederxfolium Gl 3 CHICKWEED WINTER GREEN rientalis europx2a Pl, 173, nthe) . v 7 PRIMROSE TRIBE 75 blossoms grow in a thick cluster at the top of the stem, and are, as well as the calyx, spotted with orange. They expand in July. 3. Yellow Pimpernel, or Wood Loosestrife (L. némorum).—Leaves opposite, egg-shaped, acute, shortly stalked; stem prostrate; stalks one- flowered, axillary, longer than the leaves; filaments smooth, distinct ; perennial. This species well deserves its name of Yellow Pimpernel, for its leaf both in form and hue, and its blossom in shape, at once suggest the resemblance to the Scarlet Pimpernel. It is somewhat straggling in habit, its weak stem and branches trailing over the ground to a length of a couple of feet. The flowers are of bright yellow, and may be found in the woods from May to July. 4. Creeping Loosestrife, Moneywort, or Herb Twopence (L. nummuldéria).—Leaves opposite, somewhat heart-shaped or egg-shaped, blunt, shortly stalked; stem prostrate, creeping; stalks one-flowered, axillary, solitary, shorter than the leaves; filaments glandular, connected at the base; perennial. This species is so frequently cultivated on artificial rock-work, or on the borders of fountains in gardens, that it is well known. Nor is it uncommon as a wild plant, growing often about ruins or in damp woods, hanging down the sides of mossy slopes, its branches trailing a foot or more in length, well clad with roundish shining deep-green leaves, and bearing in June and July its numerous handsome flowers of bright yellow. It multiplies rapidly by the root and stems, but though a very hardy plant it rarely, if ever, produces seed in this country. It was formerly considered an excellent wound-herb, decoctions of the plant made with wine or water being drunk by the sufferer, while lotions prepared from its juices were used externally. It probably possesses some slightly astringent properties. Like most of the Primrose tribe, it is unpleasing to cattle. 7. PIMPERNEL (Anagillis). 1. Scarlet Pimpernel (4. arvénsis).—Stem ascending or somewhat prostrate ; leaves opposite or in threes, egg-shaped, sessile, dotted beneath ; flower-stalks longer than the leaves ; calyx nearly as long as the wheel-shaped corolla; annual. The normal form of this flower has a scarlet corolla, often fringed with minute glandular hairs. In another form, in which the margins. of the corolla are toothed and scarcely at all glandulose, the colour is bright blue. This is the 4. cwrulea of some writers. Another variety is white, or white with a purple eye, and is the var. pallida of botanists. The names of Shepherd’s Barometer and Poor Man’s Weather-glass, by which the Scarlet Pimpernel has long been known, are very appropriate—with limitations. The flower never opens on a rainy day, and long before the shower is coming it is conscious of its approach, and closes up its petals. Several of our wild- flowers close, like the convolvulus, before rain, but none are such good barometers as this. It was early noticed by naturalists. Derham, in his “ Physico-Theology,” says: ‘‘ The flowers of Pimpernel, the opening and shut- ting of which are the countryman’s weather-wiser ; whereby, Gerarde saith, he foretelleth what weather shall follow the next day; for, saith he, if the flowers be close shut up it betokeneth rain and foul weather ; contrary wise, 10—2 76 PRIMULACEA if they be spread abroad, fair weather.” Lord Bacon, too, who calls it Winco-pipe, noticed this peculiarity. Leyden thus alludes to the flower :— ‘Such is the science to the peasant dear, Which guides his labour through the varying year, While he, ambitious ’mid his brother swains To shine the pride and wonder of the plains, Can in the Pimpernel’s red-tinted flowers, As close their petals, read the measured hours,” Not only does the Pimpernel shut up its blossoms during rainy and cloudy weather, but it is one of the best of the Florw Horologice, opening its petals in our latitude at about ten minutes past seven in the morning, and closing them a few minutes after two in the afternoon. ‘Therefore it is futile to consult the Pimpernel as a barometer after 2 p.m. It is interesting to remark the regu- larity with which some of the plants of our woods and fields fold or unfold their blossoms. Who ever saw a goat’s-beard open on a summer afternoon ? Long before that part of the day it had gone to its daily sleep. Nor in other climates are these peculiarities less frequent, for Dr. Seemann, the naturalist, who accompanied Kellett’s Arctic Expedition, mentions as a curious fact the regular closing of the flowers during the long day of an Arctic summer. ‘ Although,” he says, “the sun never sets while it lasts, the plants make no mistake about the time, when if it be not night it ought to be; but regularly as the evening hours approach, and when a midnight sun is several degrees above the horizon, they droop their leaves, and sleep even as they do at sunset in more favoured climes.” This naturalist adds, that if ever man sbould reach the Pole, and be undecided which way to turn when his compass has become sluggish and his timepiece out of order, the plants which he may happen to meet with will show him the way ; their sleeping leaves tell him that midnight is at hand, and that at that time the sun is standing in the north. Constant as are the flowers under their accustomed circumstances, yet there are certainly cases in which, if unusual darkness come upon them, they do, as Dr. Seemann expresses it, make ‘“‘a mistake.” Some years since, when an eclipse of the sun brought darkness at mid-day, the author of these pages went out to examine the flowers and leaves. Both were folded up just as at midnight. Various species of garden convolvulus, the pheasant’s-eye, and several other flowers were quite closed, and daisies and marigolds had “ gone to bed with the sun.” The leaves of lupins, and laburnums, and robinias all hung drooping as at night-time, and as the darkness gradually disappeared, so the flowers and leaves opened, and stood erect, as if to meet the dawn. The Pimpernel is bright scarlet, with a purple eye, and it is, with the exception of the poppies, our only scarlet wild-flower. The leaves are of a somewhat sea-green hue, quite smooth, often marked on the under side with small black specks, and the stems are square, and very brittle. These are about three cr four inches long, and often lie close to the soil. The flowers may be seen from May to November. ‘The white variety, with a purple eye, is a very pretty little flower. Mr. Dillwyn Llewellyn found it at Pennllogan, in South Wales ; and we have several times found it near Chatham, in Kent, both as a garden weed and in the cornfield. The Blue Pimpernel is of a rich ’ L JENN YELLOW LOOSESTRIFE GREA'‘l Lysimachia vulearis PE RD [UF TEI vrsiflora woop Per er! Ree oe : | x oie f rr ; ron ¥ fe © 2 . : 4 Cas 3 : | ees t : a : 3 . _ 7 » | 7 % rant J Peres : fj rs : i ? { =) sd yy a i Y ; =. \ . J ® ; i, : = i] ‘; PRIMROSE TRIBE 17 blue colour. Tt occurs commonly in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden ; and in this kingdom is frequent in Devonshire and Gloucestershire, and found also in some parts of Surrey, Cambridgeshire, and other counties. ‘The varieties are by some good botanists thought to be probably distinct species, but Professor Henslow’s experiments on the flower would lead to a different conclusion. This botanist, who received specimens and seeds of Anagallis cerulea from Yorkshire, raised from the seeds about a dozen plants, nine of which had blue and three red flowers. He received also a pale pinkish variety from Higham, in Kent, and seeds from Yorkshire of the white variety with a purple eye. From these seeds he raised seven plants, one of which produced red, and the other six white blossoms, tinged more or less with light pink, and having a bright pink eye. Mr. Borrer suspects that the Pimpernel in each variety has sometimes blue and sometimes red flowers. Our Common Pimpernel grows everywhere—on sunny bank, on gravelly or sandy heath, in the furrow of the field, or on the bed of the garden. Dioscorides and Pliny had much to say of its excellence as a medicine in liver complaint ; and from its use inremoving the dispirited feelings so consequent on that malady, they tell how it gained its scientific name from anagalao, to laugh ; but the name is more likely to be, as Sir W. J. Hooker considered it, from the Greek words signifying “again” and to “adorn,” because it comes every summer to grace our pathways. Our fathers’ idea of its efficacy was greatly overrated. “It is,” says an old writer, “a gallant solar herb, of a cleansing, attractive quality, whereby it draweth forth thorns and splinters, or other such like things gotten into the flesh.” This power of drawing forth, not only thorns, but even “arrows which were broken in the flesh,” was universally ascribed to the plant, and led some botanists to think that the genus was named from anago, to extract, which, however, is scarcely probable. The bruised leaves formed the application in these cases, and were believed also to cure persons bitten by a mad dog. The distilled juice was said by an old herbalist to be much esteemed “by French dames to cleanse the skin from any roughness, deformity, or discolourings thereof.” Gerarde affirmed that “it helped them that are dim-sighted.” The Greeks and tomans used the juices of the plant, mixed with honey, for complaints in the eyes ; and so many were the cures effected by this little plant that an old proverb, once in familiar use among our fathers, is thought by John Ray probably to refer to the imputed virtues of the Pimpernel :— ‘“The dasnel daweock sits among the doctors.” Several old medical writers of good repute had great confidence in cures which they had wrought in diseases of the brain by means of the juices of this flower; and we might cite half a dozen well-known authors who, like Ettmiiller, highly extol its efficacy in hypochondriasis and similar maladies. Professor Lindley says, “It has had some reputation in cases of madness, and appears to possess energetic powers, for Orfila destroyed a dog by making him swallow three drachms of extract of the plant.” \ a’ i ] AE 1 ' hve « em ’ > n a if + i f es \ (= ; ‘ = aa ees Sat pi ‘ st ; iene . ‘uh, ix U x tr te Pie rahe ) it oa a ‘ % . , ’ is * i 4, , ’ oh + ; + al - Par a a ‘ at 5 i ¢ ay . ' : ~ OS oe ~ ot ee ad | Me - oe rir’ Cray ‘ A ue ee i wir Pie eT, re i PERSICARIA TRIBE 111 apples, were much used in making verjuice ; for the cook in the olden times used verjuice in the preparation of numerous dishes. The milkmaid in Isaac Walton’s “ Angler” tells her guests, “If you come this way a-fishing two months hence, a grace of God, I'll give you a syllabub of new verjuice in a new made haycock ; and my Maudlin shall sing you one of her best ballads.” Then, too, the juice of the Sorrel was often expressed and used medicinally, and doubtless would prove a good fever drink. It is recom- mended by all the old herbalists in ‘hot diseases,” and deemed efficacious also in agues, jaundice, and pestilential maladies, as well as to quench thirst and renew appetite in weak digestions. It is decidedly antiscorbutic in its properties. It grows in the Arctic regions; and Dr. Sutherland, in his Journal of a Voyage to Baffin’s Bay in the years 1850 and 1851, men- tions the growth of this Sorrel on the cold shores which they had to reach by walking over the ice. As the voyagers approached the beach, they delighted in the beautiful yellow poppies which grew among its stones, throwing a charm over the spot. “If the traveller,” says Dr. Sutherland, “wished to amuse his palate, he might feed ad libitum upon the leaves of cruciferous plants in full bloom, on Sorrel and scurvy-grass. Of these plants, especially the former, I believe persons labouring under scorbutus ought to obtain a sufficient quantity to effect a beneficial change in the disease. It often occurred to me that the resources of the climate, in the way of plants, might be made available to prevent scurvy. Although a basketful could not be obtained in one or even two hours by one person, handfuls could; and this operation extended over several hours, by an increased number of men, might go far to appease the insatiable craving for vegetable food.” In some parts of Sweden, where barley and rye can scarcely be raised, the poor are often kept from starvation by eating bark-bread, and a bread which they described to Dr. E. D. Clarke as made of grass. This traveller found on examination that this grass was our Common Sorrel, and adds, that the bread made from it was far more salutary than that made from the fir-bark. The root of this Sorrel yields a good red dye. The French Garden Sorrel (£. scutatus) has been found in waste places near Edinburgh, and elsewhere, but is merely an escape from gardens, and cannot be considered as naturalized in this kingdom. 13. Sheep’s Sorrel (fh. acetosélla).—Sepals ascending, inner ones « scarcely enlarged, egg-shaped, without tubercles; lower leaves lanceolate and halberd-shaped, with entire lobes ; perennial. This little Sorrel grows commonly on dry heaths and downs. It is always a smaller and more slender plant than the last species, and is rarely a foot high. It is, however, very variable both in size and in the form of its leaves. On some plants, the root-leaves aione are halberd-shaped, on others the stem-leaves also are of this form ; the other leaves are stalked and lanceolate. It bears its small red flowers from May to August, and in autumn its foliage is much tinged with red. Wherever this Sorrel is abundant, it indicates a dry, barren soil. 3. MOUNTAIN SORREL (Oxyria). Kidney-shaped Mountain Sorrel (0. reniférmis).—Stems naked, or with one leaf; root-leaves kidney-shaped; perennial. This is truly a 112 THYMELEAL mountain plant, growing at great elevations near waterfalls and rivulets ; and it is very common on the wet mossy rocks in such places from North Wales northwards. It is in appearance somewhat like our Common Sorrel, and possesses a similar acidity, but is a much shorter and stouter plant, and its root-leaves, which are kidney-shaped and fleshy, are on long stalks. The flowers grow, from June to August, in clustered spikes, and are of a greenish colour. ‘The stems are from eight to ten inches high, and are usually leaf- less. It is also known as 0, digyna. Order LXXII. THYMELEA—DAPHNE TRIBE, Perianth tubular, often coloured, 4 rarely 5 cleft, occasionally having scales in its mouth ; stamens 8, 4, or 2, inserted in the tube of the perianth ; ovary 1-celled, style 1; stigma undivided; fruit a 1-seeded nut or drupe. The order consists of shrubs with undivided leaves, and remarkably tough and caustic bark. In some cases the berries are poisonous. MEZEREON AND SPuRGE LAUREL (Ddphne).— Perianth single, often coloured, 4-cleft ; stamens 8; fruit a berry. Named from the Nymph Daphne, who was changed into a Laurel, many of the species having laurel- like leaves. MEZEREON AND SPURGE LAUREL (Dédphne). 1. Common Mezereon (JD. mezéreum).—F lowers lateral and sessile, mostly in threes; tube hairy ; segments egg-shaped and acute; leaves lanceolate, shed in autumn; perennial. The Mezereon is a small shrub, found, though rarely, in English woods, as in some of Sussex, Suffolk, and Hampshire. In some places, doubtless, it is either the outcast of the neigh- bouring garden, or was borne thence into the woods by birds; but it is thought by the authors of the “ British Flora” to be probably wild in Hamp- shire. We are all familiar with it, however, as a garden shrub, for its bright purplish or occasionally white fragrant flowers are welcome there in February and March, when the crocuses and snowdrops are almost its sole companions. The leaves begin to appear about the time at which the flowers are fully expanded, and they are of a most delicate green tint, while in autumn the bright red berries cluster in numbers among the foliage, the hue of which has gradually deepened to a full green. It is a bushy shrub, about two or three feet high, and it grows well beneath the shade of trees. It is found in all European countries, and is a very common plant in the woods of Germany, where it overshadows the bright blue hepaticas, which in spring gleam from among the fallen leaves of winter. It does not seem to have been known to our earliest writers as a British plant, for Turner does not mention it ; but Gerarde says of it, “This plant groweth naturally in the moyst and shadowie woods of most of the East countries, especially about Elbing, which we call Meluin in Polande, from whence I have had great plentie thereof for my 3. KIDNEY-SHAPED MOUNTAIN S Oxyria ren forms 4 SPURGE LAUREL Daphne jaureola i COMMON SORRELL , Rumex acetosa 2 SHEEPS S R. acetosella Pi, 191. DAPHNE TRIBE 113 garden, where they flower, flourish, and bring forth fruit to maturitie.” He says of it that it is called Dutch Mezereon, but that he would rather call it Chamelea Germanica. He also gives it the name of Spurge Flaxe or Dwarffe Bay. Parkinson, who calls it Flowering Spurge, says that this species grows wild in Germany, but that the Spurge Laurel grows wild in England ; and the best botanist of early days, John Ray, never discovered it among our wild plants. The Germans call the plant Gemeiner Seidelbast, or Kellerbalz ; the Italians term it Laureola femina, Biondella, or Camelia ; and the French, besides its common name of Laureole femelle, give it that also of Bois gentil, Mézéreon, and Bois joli. The name of Mezereon seems to be from its Persian name of Madzaryoun. The roots of the plant are large and very acrid, and have long been a popular remedy for toothache ; but they should never be used in a fresh state, as they are likely to produce considerable inflammation in the mouth. The bark, which is also powerfully acrid, is frequently applied in France to raise a blister on the skin, and the plant is extensively used in medicine on the Continent. In Germany large quantities of this bark are in spring stripped from the branches, and being folded in small bundles, are dried for use ; its taste is at first sweet, but its acrimony is soon perceptible. The berries are highly poisonous, and are employed in Sweden to destroy wolves and foxes. Linneus records a case in which a dose of these berries proved fatal to a man; and Dr. Thornton mentions that his sister died in childhood from having swallowed a small number of them. Gerarde says, “If a drunkard doe eat one graine or berrie of it he cannot be allowed to drinke at that time, such will be the heate of his mouth and choking in the throte.” If children taste these berries accidentally, oil, fresh butter, or milk should immediately be given. In Dauphiny, as well as in Siberia, these fruits are, however, of a less noxious character than in our climate; and they are com- monly used medicinally, thirty berries forming a dose. In Siberia, where they are called Wild Pepper, they are given to children in whooping-cough. The Russian ladies are said to rub their cheeks with the fruits of the Mezereon, to heighten their colour by a slight irritation. A decoction of the plant is mingled with other ingredients in the Lisbon diet drink, and this decoction is considered alterative and similar to sarsaparilla. The robin feeds eagerly on Mezereon berries, and they are also much relished by other birds. Several foreign species of Daphne have a most tenacious bark, and from the bark of one of them, D. bholua, a fine soft paper is manufactured. Sir Joseph Hooker says that the books in the convent of Yangma, in Nepal, were of the usual Tibetan form, an oblong square, and that they consisted of several leaves of paper made of the bark of a Daphne, bound together by silk cords, and placed between ornamental wooden boards. The vegetable lace of Jamaica is the inner bark of Lagetta lintedria, a plant very nearly allied to the Daphne ; the lace looks like the product of art, forming a silky web. A frill, cravat, and ruffles were made of this material for Charles II. Several species of Daphne are found in our gardens, and one which is not unfrequent there, the Neapolitan Mezereon, is an evergreen, and grows on the hills and open places of some parts of Italy as freely as the furze grows on our moorlands. Ets 114 SANTALACEA—SANDAL-WOOD TRIBE 2. Common Spurge Laurel (D. lauréola).—Leaves lanceolate, narrow- ing at the base, evergreen, thick, and glossy; flowers each with a short bract, in axillary drooping clusters, which are shorter than the leaves ; perennial. This evergreen plant is very common in the woods of England, but is rare, and, perhaps, not truly wild in Scotland. It has a stout stem, . from one to three feet high, with scarcely any leaves at the lower part, but bearing at the summit of its stem and branches tufts of bright glossy laurel- like leaves, which, however, soon twist and turn brown if too much exposed to the sun. The flowers hang from January to May among the leaves, looking as if cut out of pale green wax, and being about five in a cluster. The berries are oval, at first green, but becoming black when ripe ; and they are believed to be poisonous to all animals except birds. The plant thrives best among trees, and is often grown in shrubberies. Its properties are similar to those of the Mezereon, and it is used for similar purposes, but both plants are so acrid that persons employed in pounding them often suffer con- siderable inconvenience from the irritation caused by the particles rising from them. i S . ferruginea Sahx.smithiana . LONG LEAVED SALLOW oo COMMON =. 3S). acumunata >. cmerea Pi. 206. CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 163 25. Soft Shaggy-flowered Willow (S. holoscricea).—Leaves lanceo- late, taper-pointed, serrate, smooth above, pale, downy, and strongly veined beneath ; catkins cylindrical ; scales black, very shaggy. This Willow grows wild about Lewes, in Sussex, flowering in April and May. Its sessile and pale-coloured stigmas, and its leaves, green and wrinkled above and strongly veined beneath, distinguish it from S. aewminidita, to which it is nearly allied, both being regarded as varieties of S. viminalis. 26. Great Round-leaved Sallow or Goat Willow (S. capréa).— Stem erect or drooping ; leaves roundish, egg-shaped, pointed, at first entire, downy above, woolly beneath, autumnal ones serrated, waved, nearly smooth above, downy beneath ; stipules somewhat kidney-shaped, toothed ; style very short or none. The Willow sometimes called S. sphacelata, from the discoloured points of its leaves, is a sub-Alpine form of this; and S. pendula, the Kilmarnock Willow, is a variety with broad glossy leaves and drooping branches. The Goat Willow is truly beautiful in springtime, when, long before a leaf unfolds, thousands of its catkins, like golden balls, are gleaming upon the naked boughs. How the early bees cluster about them, won by their fragrance to neglect the opening bluebells and primroses ; and how merrily the chiff-chaff, scarcely larger or less bright than themselves, utters his cry of welcome as he flits about them! Bishop Mant says of {hem :— * But cautious of their germs, protrude The brethren of the copse and wood ; For flower or leaf conspicuous most The watery Willows’ spray, embost With oval knobs of silky down, Which soon in form of papal crown Shall decorate the rustic stem, With many a golden diadem.” Children and country people call the boughs, when covered with their cat- kins, “palms,” and many a country child goes forth to gather them, as we have often done, during the week preceding Palm Sunday, with some vague fancy that these Willow-boughs were strewed by the joyful children who shouted the loud hosannas to the Saviour when He entered Jerusalem. This palm-gathering is a remnant of an old Catholic superstition, a relic of times when the pilgrim bore from the Holy Land a palm-branch, to prove that he had won rightly the name of Palmer, and had wandered over the very spots once trodden by our Lord and His disciples. In later years Willow-branches were blessed by the priests ; but why, in this country, the Willow—and this particular species—should have been chosen to represent the palm-branch, is not very obvious, though it is certainly not from any resemblance between the two trees. The chief reason, perhaps, was that the two plants were associated together in the direction given to the Israelites, when desired to make booths for that out-of-door rejoicing, so suited to a bright climate, and to the joyous spirits which such a climate induces. When they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, they were to gather “the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palms, and the boughs of thick trees and Willows of the brook, and to rejoice before the Lord their God seven days.” The Goat Willow was so called because goats are said to be fond of its 21—2 164 AMENTACEA catkins. It is a somewhat small tree, with spreading branches, of purplish- brown colour, which when young are covered with soft down. The leaves are two or three inches long, and are among the broadest of any of the genus. They are, on the upper surface, of rich bright-green, and are beneath either of pale sea-green or quite white, with soft white cottony down, and they have waved margins and soft downy stalks. In March and April the leaf- less boughs are laden with the abundant yellow, almost globular, fragrant catkins. This is a useful Willow, for its tough white wood is employed in making handles for agricultural implements, and for hurdles and other rustic purposes ; and when burnt it yields good charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. It is thought to furnish one of the best underwoods for coppices, and good fences are made of it, which will grow well either in wet or dry soils ; though the tree, when wild, is usually found in woods and dry pastures, and seldom occurs near rivers. ‘The bark affords an excellent tonic medicine, and it is also used by the Highlanders to tan leather. The (xoat Willow, or Grey Willow, or Saugh, as it is often called, would probably be preferred to the other Willows too, because of its beauty at the season when country people go palming or palmsing, as it is termed. In some parts of Kent this practice is still very common, and men and boys come in from the country to the towns, on Palm Sunday, wearing the golden catkins in their hats, and carrying the blooming wands in their hands. The custom was much more general a few years since, than it is now, near the Metropolis, and the Willow-boughs were usually exposed for sale in Covent Garden Market on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. In some parts of Germany, as about Munich, the peasants on Palm Sunday may be seen on the road approaching the town, bearing in their hands the branches of Willow-catkins, mingled with holly and mistletoe ; for the latter plant is, in Germany, connected with usages of religion. The catkins are blessed by the priest, and are termed by German children, as by English ones, Palms. As Goethe says— ‘“In Rome upon Palm Sunday, They bear true palms ; The Cardinals bow reverently, And sing old psalms : Elsewhere their psalms are sung *Mid olive-branches : The holly-bough supplies their places Among the avalanches : More northern climes must be content With the sad Willow.” The idea of the sadness of the Willow is a very old one, and we find it alluded to by our prose writers and poets long before the introduction into this country of the tree called the Weeping Willow. It probably originated in a Scriptural association, and has come down to us from those times when captive Israel hung their harps on the Willows, and wept because asked to sing “the Lord’s song in a strange land.” It is a touching episode in their history, and one which has appealed to the hearts of all who have loving memories of their home, their country, and their God. So general is the idea of the sadness of the Willow, that to “wear the Willow” has become a CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 165 familiar proverb. Old Fuller, referring to the Willow, says: “A sad tree, whereof such as have lost their love make their mourning garlands; and we know that exiles hung their harps on such doleful supporters.” He adds, that it grows so incredibly fast that there was a “byeword in Buckingham- shire, that the profit by Willows will buy their owner a horse, before that any other tree will pay for his saddle.” “Let me add,” he says, “that if greene ash may burne before a queene, withered Willows may be allowed to burn before a lady.” Chatterton has a song, of which the burden runs thus :— ‘* Mie love ys dedde, Gon’ to his deathe-bedde Al under the Wyllowe-tree,” Herrick, too, says of the Willow :— “‘Thou art to all lost love the best, The only true plant found, Wherewith young men and maids, distrest And left of love, are crown’d. ‘* When once the lover’s rose is dead, Or laid aside forlorn, Then willow-garlands round the head Bedew’d with tears are worn.” Most of the Willows are fertilized by the agency of the wind as a pollen carrier (anemophilous), but the Goat Willow and its varieties are fertilized by bees and moths. The very beautiful variety of this tree, the Kilmarnock Willow, has of late years much interested botanists. It received its name, not because peculiar to the place, but because reared in the nursery-garden there. An enthusiastic botanist of Ayr, Mr. James Smith, sent to Mr. Lang of Kilmar- nock, about fifty years since, a plant of this beautiful tree. He did not state on what spot he found it, and as he died shortly afterwards, the locality in which it grew remained unknown; though, as the Goat Willow is a com- mon plant all over Scotland, he, in all probability, found the variety growing wild. Mr. Lang, at a later season, had procured from Mr. Smith a few more plants, which he has since been engaged in propagating ; and, in 1852, nearly a thousand plants of this beautiful Willow were purchased from him by Sir W. J. Hooker, for the Botanic Gardens of Kew. ; This variety of the Willow has broad, glossy, deep-green leaves, and it by ers very irecly in spring. Its branches are stouter than those of the eeping Willow (S. babylonica), but it is a true weeping species, its branches always bending gracefully down; and it is the only native Willow which really deserves to he so called, for the Willows so often overhanging streams in gardens and parks are species introduced from other lands. The Weeping Willow (S. babylonica) was probably brought into this country by Tournefort though often said to have been first planted by Pope at his villa at Twicken- ham. ; This graceful tree is grown now in all European countries, as well as in Asia and Africa. The Chinese greatly esteem it in their ornamental scenery, as we may see by their pictures and porcelain ; and in Arabia, on festive occasions, a sprig of this Willow is placed among the bouquets of 166 AMENTACE.X lilies and orange-flowers, and is the favourite symbol of a graceful woman. It is somewhat doubtful whether this is the species on which the Israelites hung their silenced harps, for the Euphrates is bordered by many pale grey- green osiers; but Celsius believes this to be especially the ‘ Willow by the brook,” intended by the patriarch Job, when he says of Behemoth: “The shady trees cover him with their shadows; the Willows of the brook compass him about.” A variety of this tree, called Nap leon’s Willow, from its growth near the tomb of that hero at St. Helena, is often seen in gardens ; and we have also an American Weeping Willow. 27. Grey Sallow (\S. cinérea).—Leaves inversely ege-shaped-lanceolate, autumnal ones pointed, even, serrated, netted with prominent veins, nearly smooth and glaucous beneath, with the margins sometimes rolled under ; stipules rounded, toothed, upper ones cften half heart-shaped ; style very short or wanting. Varieties differing in the form and texture of their autumnal leaves have been described as S. aquitica and S. oleifélia. This is avery common Willow in our wet hedgerows, and on the river brink, some- times bordering the stream for a long distance with its bushy growths, being rarely more than seven or eight feet high. At other times, however, this Sallow rises into an erect tree, twenty or thirty feet in height, and its branches are either spreading or they droop down, and almost touch the water— ‘* Where hangeth down the old accustom’d Willow, Hiding the silver underneath each leaf, So drops the long hair from some maiden’s pillow When midnight heareth the else silent grief ; There floats the water-lily like a sovereign, Whose lonely empire is a fairy world, The purple dragon-fly above it hovering, As when its fragile ivory uncurl’d.” We cannot, however, praise the beauty of this tree; neither is it one of the useful species, though its branches are woven into coarse wicker-work. It is distinguished from the other common Sallows by the rusty glittering hue of its foliage. “This,” Sir J. E. Smith says, “lies more perhaps in the fine veins of its leaves than in the pubescence sprinkled over them, which consists of minute prominent shining hairs, totally unlike the depressed silki- ness of some other Willows.” The rusty colour, indeed, increases after the specimens have been long dried, but is visible in some degree in the growing plant, especially towards the autumn. The leaves of this Sallow are from an inch to an inch and a half in length, and they are sometimes blotched and variegated. The variety termed aquatica has much broader and thinner leaves, of uniform dull grey hue, and without the rusty tint which distinguishes the ordinary form. Its branches and twigs are also very brittle. In the plant called the Olive-leaved Sallow, the leaves, which are, when young, densely hoary, gradually become green, and acquire the rusty hue ; and they are throughout their growth of leathery texture, and not pliant as in the other varieties. The branche’ are rounded, and more or less hoary when young. 28. Round-eared or Sallow Trailing Sallow (8. aurita).—Leaves inversely egg-shaped, with spreading teeth, wrinkled with veins, more or DARK-LEAVED §& 1 ROUND -EARED SALLOW Salix aurita. GREATER ROUND-EARED S$ 4 5S. caprea S. méricans INTERMEDIATE WILLOW 8. lanrma Pi, 207. CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 167 less downy, very downy beneath, blunt with a small hooked point ; stipules roundish ; style very short. This, too, is a common Sallow in our moist woods and thickets; and Mr. Borrer observes, that “it is one of the least equivocal species.” Its large-stalked stipules and its foliage, blistered like a cabbage-leaf, form a marked character, although its leaves vary in size, and in the form of the outline. It sometimes becomes a bushy tree, but is more commonly a shrub, about three or four feet high, having branches which trail to a great length along the ground, and entangle themselves among the neighbouring bushes. ‘The leaves are on short downy footstalks, and are one or two inches long, and more or less contracted towards the base ; the upper side is of dark green, the under paler and somewhat glaucous. Group XI. PHYLICIFOLLE®, NIGRICANTES, AND BICOLORES.—Borr. Stamens 2; capsules stalked ; style long; catkins lateral and sessile, or on short bracteated stalks; leaves toothed or serrated ; stipules with glands inside, or at the base. Shrubs or small trees. 29. Dark-leaved Sallow (S. négricans).—Young shoots thickly downy or hairy towards the summit; leaves usually dull green, glaucous beneath, and becoming black when dry. Several varieties of this Willow, differing in having prostrate or erect stems, in the downiness of the branches, in the smoothness or silkiness of the ovaries, and somewhat in the outline of the leaf, have been described as S. cotinifolia, S. forsteruina, S. rupéstris, S. hirta, S. andersiniana, S. damascéna, or S. petrea. Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott remark that there are, besides, numerous intermediate forms in this most variable species of Willow ; but add, that in all native specimens, whether cultivated or wild, the foliage constantly turns black when pressed and dried, however carefully done. The Dark-leaved Willow is a large bushy shrub, scarcely ever attaining the height or form of a tree. Its branches are round and usually rather brittle, except in the variety with trailing stems, sometimes termed S. rupestris, in which the branches are tough. The catkins appear in April. The plant is not one of our useful or ornamental Willows. It is common on mountains, chiefly in the north of England and Scotland, and grows also in osier-grounds, and on riversides and moist lands. 30. Intermediate Willow (S. laiivina).—Young shoots and leaves densely downy or hairy towards the summit ; leaves finally becoming smooth, glaucous beneath, dull green above; after drying, the young ones only becoming sometimes slightly black. Several forms of this species occur, differing in the degree of hairiness of the ovaries, and the shape and hairi- ness of the leaves. These have been described as S. propinqua, S. ténuwior, S. bicolor, or S. tenuifolia. This Willow has much the same dull appearance as the last, and its leaves are thin. It is a shrub, or sometimes a small tree, occurring in woods and thickets, or by riversides, in several parts of the kingdom, especially in England. 31. Tea-leaved Willow (S. phylicifélia).—Leaves and shoots soon quite smooth, the latter dark green, rigid, glossy above and glaucous beneath, not black when dried; stigmas entire or 2-cleft. This Willow is, in each of 168 AMENTACEA its forms, a twiggy bush. A very large number of plants now included under the same name were formerly considered distinct species; they differ in the form and relative length of the stigma and style, in the degree of silkiness of the ovaries, and in the exact shape of the leaves. They have been termed S. radicans, S. davalliina, S. weigelidna, S. amena, S. nitens, S. crowedna, S. dicksinia, S. laxiflora, S. tetrdpla, S. borreriina, and S. phyllyrei- jolia. They grow chiefly in valleys in mountainous districts, attaining in some cases, as in the variety which has been termed S. borreridna, the height of ten feet ; but in general they are quite low shrubs. The leaves vary in length and outline, not only in the different varieties, but they are said, by the authors of the “British Flora,” to vary even on the same bush. The catkins appear in April and May. Group XII. VACCINIIFOLIA.—Borr. Stamens 2; ovaries densely downy, nearly sessile ; style as long as the stigma ; catkins compact, appearing with the leaves, terminal or on short few-leaved lateral shoots ; leaves more or less veiny above ; stipules none or minute. Small, erect, or spreading, rarely prostrate shrubs ; stems above ‘ground. 32. Small Tree Willow (8. arbiscula).—Leaves lanceolate-egg-shaped, or broadly or roundish egg-shaped, finely serrated. In one variety opaque above, and of a sea-green hue beneath ; in another, prominently veined above, green, but scarcely shining on both sides. The forms included in this description are those which have been termed by various writers S. myrsinites, S. vacciniifolia, S. venuldésa, S. carindta, and S. prunifélia. They differ in the outline, in the degree of silkiness of the leaves, and in the more erect or prostrate growth of the stem. The Small Tree Willow is not infrequent on Highland mountains, and is usually a very low shrub, with red or green branches, more or less trailing, but sometimes erect. The leaves are often folded so as to form a keel; in other cases they are flat and narrow. The catkins appear in June and July. Group XIII. Myrsinires.—Borr. Stamens 2; ovaries silky, stalked ; catkins appearing with the full green leaves, terminal on lateral or terminal leafy shoots, soon becoming lax ; leaves veiny, never glaucous beneath; stipules egg-shaped or lanceolate. Small much-branched shrub ; stems above ground. 33. Green Whortle-leaved Willow (S. myrsinites).—Leaves waved, serrated with very prominent veins, often hairy, at length shining ; blackish when dried ; in one variety roundish or elliptical, or inversely egg-shaped ; in another, smaller and somewhat heart-shaped at the base ; in another, egg- shaped or oblong and acute. This description includes the variety which has been described as S. arbutifolia. ‘This is a low shrub, occurring but rarely on the Highland mountains. Its leaves are of a bright and glossy green, varying both in form and size, and the short catkins appear in June. The whole plant is very black when dry. 34. Smooth-leaved Alpine Willow (S. procumbens).—Leaves oval, rarely acute, obscurely serrated, shining, quite smooth, not black when dried ; TEA-LEAVED WILLOW Z SMALL TREE W S Salix phylicifola arbaosecnla . GREEN WHORTLE-LEAVED W S$. myrsinites PL 208. : : 1h) Soe ty puw CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 169 catkins long ; style cloven to the middle or below it, as long as the stigmas. This Willow, which is the S. retdsa or the S. levis of some writers, is a low shrubby plant of the Scottish Highlands, its short round downy branches being of a greenish hue. Mr. Forbes describes its leaves as from one inch to an inch and a half long and upwards of an inch broad, hollowed out, or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, serrated, bright green, shining, and always perfectly smooth. It bears its large long catkins in June. It has for many years been cultivated in gardens, where it is a very ornamental shrub. Group XIV. HERBACE®.—Borr. Stamens 2; ovaries shortly stalked ; style as long as the stigma; catkins appearing with the full-grown leaves, terminal, few-flowered ; leaves roundish, serrated, with prominent veins, smooth but not glaucous. Dwarf alpine prostrate shrubs, the stems creeping below the surface. 35. Least Willow (S. herbdcea).—Leaves roundish, serrated, smooth, shining, veined; ovaries smooth. This little plant is interesting for its beauty, as well as because it is the smallest, not only of its tribe, but of all our native trees. It grows on Snowdon and other Welsh mountains, being abundant on those of the Highlands of Scotland, and is found in many parts of Europe and North America. In Great Britain, it is the last plant with a woody stem which greets the traveller who ascends mountains, and few of our heights of eight or nine hundred yards’ elevation are without it. It is usually about four inches high; but as Sir W. J. Hooker remarks, it is not quite so small as is usually supposed, for its stems divide, and creep below the surface of the earth. As Dr. E. D. Clarke said of it, it is a perfect tree in miniature; and root, trunk, and branches may all be laid between the leaves of a pocket-book. M. De Candolle observes that, in Switzerland, “Some species of Willow spread over the uneven surface of the soil ; and as their branches are often covered with the earth which the heavy rains wash over them, they present the singular phenomenon of trees which are more or less subterranean. The extremities of these branches form some- times a kind of turf; and the astonished traveller finds himself, as we may say, walking on the top of atree.” Itis the S. herbdcea which most frequently presents this appearance, as it often grows on steep slopes of loose soil, which are readily penetrated by the melting snow and rain. This Willow is used by the Laplanders in tanning leather. Group XV. Hasrata —Borr. Stamens mostly 2; anthers permanently yellow ; ovaries smooth ; style long ; stigmas entire or 2-cleft ; catkins appearing before the leaves, sessile, terminal and lateral, large, blunt, with very shaggy and silky scales ; leaves large, glaucous beneath; stipules large on the autumnal shoots. Shrubs, with numerous irregular, crooked branches, and hairy young shoots. 36. Apple-leaved Willow (S. hastata).— Leaves egg-shaped, acute, serrated, waved, crackling, smooth, heart-shaped at the base, glaucous beneath ; stipules unequally heart-shaped, longer than the broad footstalks ; catkins very woolly; ovaries distinctly stalked. Although this Willow is usually classed with the British species, yet it can hardly be considered as even Ii. —22 170 AMENTACEA naturalized in the few spots on which it has been seen. It was discovered by Mr. F. Drummond beside a small stream that passes through the sands of Barrie near Dundee, but the record has not been confirmed. The authors of the “British Flora” remark: “It is most improbable that this plant, which is truly alpine on the Continent, growing in Switzerland only at great eleva- tions, should be naturalized on the sands of Barrie, and the Norfolk station is entirely hypothetical and extremely unlikely.” This species, which is sometimes termed S. malifvlia, has shining leaves, three inches long and about half as wide, and blackish branches, and has more the appearance of an apple-tree than a Willow. Its stem, in its wild state, is usually one or two feet high ; but when cultivated, the plant becomes a small spreading tree, about six feet in height. It bears, in May, very com- pact shaggy catkins, densely covered with silvery hairs, and about an inch and a half long. 37. Woolly Broad-leaved Willow (8. landita).—Leaves broadly oval, pointed, entire, shaggy ; stipules oval, pointed, entire ; barren catkins covered with yellow silky hairs ; ovaries almost sessile. This species is sometimes ealled the Golden Willow (S. chrysantha), on account of the beautiful golden catkins which in May and June ornament its boughs, while the young leaves are just expanding. Wahlenberg says of this Willow, that it is the most beautiful one in Sweden, if not in the whole world. “The splendid golden catkins,” he remarks, “at the ends of the young branches, light up, as it were, the whole shrub, and are accompanied by the tender foliage, sparkling with gold and silver.” The stem is about three or four feet high, with numerous irregular branches, which, while young, are downy. Its leaves are wavy at the edge, from an inch and a half to two inches and a half long, very grey, and almost white with the long, soft, silky hairs, which entirely cover the upper surface, while the sea-green-tinted under surface is beautifully netted with veins. The catkins are thought to yield more honey than those of any other species, and perhaps they would serve the same purpose as those of the celebrated little Willow called in the East Calaf, from whose blossoms a medicinal and fragrant water is distilled. The Woolly Broad- leaved Willow is a rare plant of the Scottish mountains. 38. Sadler’s Willow (S. sadleri).—Leaves broadly egg-shaped, some- times heart-shaped at base, entire, smooth and cottony above, netted and naked beneath; stipules absent; catkins cylindric at the tips of leafy branches, woolly, turning dark brown ; capsules naked, on slender stalks, styles persistent. This species has hitherto occurred only on rocky ledges in Glen Callater, at an altitude of 2,500 feet. 5. Popiar (Pépulus). 1. Great White Poplar or Abele (2. alba).—Leaves roundish, heart- shaped, lobed, and angularly toothed, cottony and perfectly white beneath, those of the young shoots heart-shaped, 5-lobed ; leaf-buds downy ; scales of the catkins notched at the end. This handsome species is a doubtful native of this kingdom, though in many a mountain wood ‘The Poplar, that with silver lines his leaf,” APPLE-LEAVED W 1 SMOOTH LEAVED ALPINE WILLOW . 3 Sahx procumbens S. hastata i WoOOITLY BROAD LEAVED Ww S. lanata. N LEAST W S. herbacea Pl. 209. a, 2 : y » Poe See vm 7 he Wis on ee ae, “ti > 7 y CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE We! may be seen towering above the other trees, attaining the greatest luxuriance where the soil is moist. In many places it is planted for the contrast afforded by its dark-green foliage, varied with the white under surface ; and having the old Dutch name of Abele, it was probably brought into this country from Holland. It is of very rapid growth, making, in favourable situations, shoots three inches in diameter, and sixteen feet long, in a single season; and is sometimes eighty or ninety feet high. Bailey has referred to the tall Poplars which overtop their leafy companions :— “«The black yew hedge, like a beleaguering host, Round some fair garden province ; here and there The cloud-like laurel-clumps sleep soft and fast, Pillow’d by their own shadows ; and beyond, The ripe and ruddy fruitage ; the sharp firs Fringe like an eyelash on the faint blue west ; The oaks which spread their broad arms to the wind, And bid storms come and welcome—there they stand, To whom a summer passes like a smile ; O’er all, the giant Poplars, which maintain Equality with clouds half-way up heaven, Which whisper with the winds none else can see, And bow to angels as they wing by them.” In April we may see the fertile catkins of this Poplar, which are about three inches long, and the shorter barren ones appear soon after. In a few weeks the seeds ripen, and they with their cottony tufts he scattered around the tree, accounting for the Arab name of the White Poplar, Shairat-al-bak (the Gnat, or Fly-tree). The young shoots of this Poplar have a purplish tinge, and are thickly invested with the downy covering ; and the full-grown leaves are on footstalks, about an inch long, and, when old, sometimes smooth on both sides. The characteristic name of White Poplar, referring to the hue both of the seed-tufts and the leaves, has its synonym in various parts of the world. In France, the tree is called Blane de Hollande, and Peuplier blane ; and in Germany, /Vcisse Pappel, Silber Pappel, Weisseaspe, and Weissalber Baum ; while it is the Abeel-boom of the Dutch, from which latter name our Abele is probably derived. Large numbers of these trees grow on the borders of the Tigris and Euphrates, and some commentators have thought this Poplar to be the Abeel-shittim of Scripture, from which the shittim-wood was obtained. | There is good reason, however, for believing that this was the wood of the Acacia seyel, a plant fragrant enough to be suitably associated with the other odoriferous shrubs in that glorious promise yet to be fulfilled, when God has declared that He will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah, the myrtle, and the oil-tree. Dr. Royle thinks that our White Poplar is, in all probability, the plant referred to by the Prophet Hosea, when he says, “They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and Poplars.” The Septuagint renders the latter “ White Poplars,” and our Abele is a common tree in many of the countries mentioned in Scripture history. Belon remarked that the White and Black Poplars, with some fruit-bearing trees, render the plain of Damascus like a forest ; while the white species is frequent about Aleppo and Tripoli, and is still OKI ED) ~ 172 AMENTACEZE called by one of its ancient Arabic names, Mawr or Hor, which is the word used in the Arabic translation of the passage in Hosea. Whether this Poplar is, or is not, truly indigenous to this country, it is now very generally distributed. It is a native of most European countries, and is usually found in woods and thickets in which the soil is somewhat moist. Turner, writing in 1568, says that the White Aspe is plentiful in Germany and Italy, but that he does not remember ever seeing it in England; but Gerarde, who published his Herbal about thirty years after, remarked that it grew in a few places in the kingdom ; and Evelyn says that the tree had of late been much transplanted from Holland. It does not flower in Scotland. This Poplar is in some country places called Rattler, from the quick movement of its leaves. Its young buds have in spring-time a very pleasant balsamic odour, and afford a resinous substance resembling storax ; but this is yielded in far greater quantity by the Canadian Balsam Poplar, and is used medicinally. Several attempts have been made to manufacture paper from the white cottony seed-tufts, and cloth has been made from it. Pallas endeavoured to prove that the cotton was of equal worth to that of the cotton-plant, but it is far inferior. Thin slips of Poplar-wood, called in France Sparterre, are woven into those delicate bonnets so commonly worn on bridal occasions, and known as chip bonnets by ladies. The leaves of the tree are, in Sweden, eaten by cattle. The ancients believed that amber was formed of the clammy substance which dropped from the Poplars into the river. Hence our old poets refer to this idea ; and Prior says :— “For thee the Poplar shall its amber drain.” Ancient poets also described Hercules as wearing a wreath of White Poplar, and those who offered sacrifices to this hero placed its leaves around their brows. The tree is much used on the Continent for planting by the sides of roads, for its foliage does net prevent the access of light and air, while it is very ornamental when mingling with the dark-leaved Black Poplar and the grey tint of the Willows. In some parts of France it also grows wild in forests, so abundantly as to give a peculiar character to the scenery. Its wood, like that of all the Poplars, is well suited for heating ovens, and it is largely so used in France, where the Parisian baker knows it as his bois blanc. The wood of this species is not so hard as that of the Grey Poplar, and is chiefly used for coarser work, or in the manufacture of children’s toys. 2. Grey Poplar (P. canéscens).—Leaf-buds downy, but not clammy ; leaves roundish, deeply waved, toothed, lobed only when young, hoary and downy beneath, old ones sometimes smooth; stigmas 8, purple; scales of catkins deeply cut. ‘This tree, though a doubtful native, is common in several parts of this kingdom, especially in Norfolk, in wet meadows, and also on dry heathy places. The authors of the ‘ British Flora” remark, that it is usually confounded with the last on account of its downy leaves, though Dr. Bromfield regards it as a variety of the Aspen. It is a tall and hand- some tree, with the usual graceful motion of the tribe when stirred by the wind ; the under surface of its leaves is of a greyish tint, and not quite of iS] to GREAT WHITE GREY P POPLAR Populus alba . P. canescens. Pl. 210. As TREME LING BLACK P, P oR ASTPEN P. tremula. ‘ ~ faa) v, . ‘ ’ y 4 | wee in F eo ¢ 2 pines ys i Aes ns iu Pe Oy ‘ae = » ee ae Fe CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 173 the snowy whiteness of the foliage of the Abele. It is of slower growth than any other of our Poplars, and yields the best wood of them all. The boarded floors which still, in Norfolk, retain their old Norman name of planchers, are commonly made of it; and it is thought, for many purposes, to be scarcely inferior to the wood of the Norway fir. Sir J. E. Smith says that it will not readily take fire like resinous woods. It is regarded as a sub-species of P. alba, or a hybrid between that and P. tremula. 3. Aspen or Trembling Poplar (P. trémula).—Young branchlets hairy ; leaves roundish, toothed, downy when young ; footstalks flattened. Who of us, accustomed to notice plants, has not on a summer-day, at some time or other, looked up wonderingly into the Aspen-tree, when it was quivering and rustling into gentle music, and marvelled where was the breeze which bade it answer to its touch? It must indeed be a dead calm, when Thomson’s description could be true :— ** A perfect calm ; that not a breath Is heard to quiver through the closing woods, Or rustling turn the many twinkling leaves Of Aspen tall.” How often, as we have looked upon its tall, slender canopy of drooping branches, rustling so tremulously, has the mind recurred to the old associa- tions connected with the tree! The ancients are said to have called the Poplar Populus, the Tree of the People, because its readily-moved and ever- stirring leaves were, like the ever-restless multitude, quickened into action by the slightest breath ; and a Poplar of one species or another has always been regarded in modern times as the Tree of the People. It may not have been the Aspen Poplar especially to which the ancients referred, though this is the most easily moved by the zephyrs of any of the species; but there is good reason for believing that this is the plant intended by the Scripture writer of a passage of David’s history, though rendered by our translators by another name. “Let it be,” said the great Jehovah to the Israelitish warrior, “when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry- trees, that thou shouldst bestir thyself;’ but it was perchance to the quivering Aspen, which adorns so plentifully the ravines of Palestine, that David looked for the indication. The ancients, too, said of the foliage, that it might be likened to the unceasing course of time. Pliny remarks, “ As for the Aspen-tree, or White Poplar, it maketh little or no shade at all, the leaves keep such a wagging and trembling.” Old Gerarde, too, with little gallantry, refers to the restless leaves, and says, “It may be called Tremble, after the French name, considering it is the matter whereof women’s tongues were made ;” but he takes care to shield himself from some replying woman’s tongue by adding, that, “as the poets and some others report, these seldom cease wagging.” Our earliest poets, as well as the moderns, refer to it. Chaucer says— ‘* And quake as doth the leaf of Aspen green ;” while Spenser tells of one ‘* Whose hand did quake Ard tremble like the leaf of Aspen greene.” 174 AMENTACE At Indeed, to “shake like an Aspen” is one of our oldest English proverbs. In our own days, many poets allude to its movement. Leyden says :— ** Again beside this silver riv let’s shore, With green and yellow moss-flowers mottled o’er, Beneath a shivering canopy reclined Of Aspen-leaves, that wave without a wind, I love to lie when lulling breezes stir The spiny cones that tremble on the fir.” Miss Jewsbury, too, looked on the Aspen to draw a lesson from its restless- ness, which we might well take to our hearts :— ‘*T would not be A leaf on yonder Aspen-tree, In every fickle breeze to play So wildly, weakly, idly gay, So feebly framed, so lightly hung, By the wings of an insect stirr’d and swung ; Thrilling even to a redbreast’s note, Drooping, if only a light mist float ; Brighten’d and dimm’ “d like a varying glass As shadow or sunshine chance to pass. * * Spirit, ee spirit, ponder thy state, If thine the leaf’s lightness, not thine the leaf’s fate : It may flutter and alitter, aad wither and die, And heed not our pity, and ask not our sigh ; But for thee, the immortal, no winter may throw Eternal repose on thy joy or thy woe; Thou must live—live for ever, in glory or gloom Beyond the world’s precincts, bey yond the dark tomb ; Look to thyself, then, ere past is Hope’s reign, And looking and longing alike are in vain ; Lest thou deem it a bliss to have been, or to be, But a fluttering leaf of yon Aspen-tree.” There is a tradition among the Highlanders that the Cross was made of the wood of this Poplar; and Mr. De Quincey says that the legend is “European, or rather co-extensive with Christendom, that it shivers mystically in sympathy with that mother tree, which was compelled to furnish the materials for the Cross.” Yet an old notion was once very prevalent that the Cross was formed of four pieces of wood, signifying the four quarters of the globe; and the palm, cedar, olive, and cypress were believed by some to be the olesen trees, while others substituted the pine and box for the cedar and palm. Our fathers certainly ought to have known of what wood it was made, if portions of this sacred relic were as common in other places as they were at Bury St. Edmunds, where the visitors who went to examine into the state of the monastery, at the time of the Reformation, found “peces of the Holy Cross, enough to make a hole crosse.” But we are wandering away from the Aspen, which grows very rapidly, and when at its full height is a middle-sized. tree, with a trunk free from branches, and covered with a smooth grey bark, which cracks as it grows older. The young tough and pliant shoots are of a reddish-green colour, and when the Aspen is old its branches often droop. ‘The leaves are of a paler green beneath, and a bright glossy green above, varying much in ont- line. The margin is somewhat waved, and the footstalk often longer than CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 175 the leaf itself. This footstalk is flattened vertically at the upper part, and by this form counteracts the ordinary waving motion of leaves in the wind, and hence the quivering movement. This is the earliest flowering Poplar, its catkins appearing in March. It will, in dry soils, live many years, but it never attains the size of the Abele. The roots le very near the surface of the soil, and were considered by Dr. Withering so to impoverish the land as to prevent other plants from thriving near it ; and he thought, too, that the leaves destroyed the grass. The foliage of the Aspen is, however, in countries where it is abundant, of much value as food for cattle, and both in France and Germany it is used for this purpose, both when green and dried. Many owners of these trees cut regularly, every two years, the leaves and spray ; and sheep are so fond of this food that the foliage sometimes constitutes the chief worth of the Aspens. The tendency of the wood of this tree to crack and split lessens its value, but it may be employed in buildings in dry places, and is well fitted for heating ovens; while, being white and tender, it is used by turners, and the white pails which hold the whiter milk of the dairy are often made of Aspen-wood. It serves for clogs and sabots, and is of old repute as the best wood for the making of Heaton This last manufacture has, for some years past, been on the decline, for pattens are now but of rustic use, though, even at the commencement of the present century, they were commonly worn in wet weather by ladies. But in past times pattens formed part of a gentleman’s daily costume ; and Camden, in his “‘ Remains,” tells how “their shoes and pattens are snowted and piked, more than a finger long upwards.” The Church of St. Mary’s-at-Hill, whose old records still bear evidence of many a long-discarded usage, has its item, in 1491, for “jj paire of pattens for the priest.” Mr. Albert Way mentions that, in 1464, the craft of “ patyn-makers” petitioned the Crown that the statute of the 4th of Henry V., which forbade them to use the wood of the Aspen-tree, as being that which was used by the fletchers, might be repealed—representing that “at was the best and lightest timber to mee of patyns and clogges.” The bark of the Sener is somewhat astringent, and, as well as that of the White and Black Poplars, has been used for tanning. In the Highlands of Scotland it is sometimes burned for torches. When powdered, the bark is given as a medicine to domestic animals; and in Russia, where the tree is frequent, this bark is commonly prescribed by the physician to his patient. The Aspen grows in high latitudes, and is found near the Frozen Ocean ; while it is abundant also throughout Southern Europe and in Asia Minor, usually preferring low soils, but found on some of the highest mountains of Scotland. It is called by the French, Le Tremble, and by the Italians, La Tremella, as well as L’ Alberallo and L’ Alberetto. The Germans term it Zitter- happel, and Espe ; and the last name is probably the origin of our Aspen and Aspe. In Norfolk, the tree is commonly called Ebble. It is thought by most botanists to be the only species of Poplar indigenous to this kingdom. 4. Black Poplar (P. néyru).—Leaves triangular, narrowing to a point, serrated and smooth on both sides ; stipules egg-shaped and pointed ; stigmas 4, simple, spreading ; scales of the catkins ae into segments nearly to the middle. Ifwe happen to glance from the Abele, when the wind turns up 176 AMENTACEA# its white leaves, and then look at the Black Poplar, we are ready to admit the appropriateness of the name of the latter tree. The bark, which is at first of a dim ash-colour, deepens into black as it becomes older, and the leaves are dark green, and form a striking contrast to the whitened under- surface of those of the Abele. Its leaves, like those of all the Poplars, are very tremulous, and they served Homer, as well as many a modern bard, for a simile :— ‘Like Poplar-leaves when zephyrs fan the grove.” Wilcox thus describes the calmness of summer noonday :— **O’er all the woods the topmost leaves are still ; F’en the wild Poplar-leaves, that, pendent hung By stems elastic, quiver at a breath, Rest in the general calm. The thistledown Seen high and thick by gazing up, beside Some shading object, in a silver shower Plumb down and slower than the slowest snow Through all the sleepy atmosphere descends ; And when it lights, though on the steepest roof, Or smallest spire of grass, remains unmoved.” This tree is not erect and spiry, like the Lombardy or Italian Poplar (P. fustigiata), which is believed to be but a variety of it. It has wide-spreading branches, forming a good extent of leafage, and is a very large tree, some- times larger even than the Abele. It has been known in this country to reach the height of ninety feet, and may often be seen seventy or eighty feet high. Though it is not likely that this Poplar is indigenous, it is now very common by river-banks and on other moist lands. It well answers the purpose of the planter, for it is of rapid growth, bears lopping, and both in France and Italy it is commonly pollarded, and used as a support to the trailing vines. It looks very well in the spring, as its catkins, which are to be seen in March and April on the leafless branches, are of a dark rich red colour, and are very welcome to the insect race; and in May, the foliage is beginning to clothe the boughs. By the end of this month the catkins have ripened their seeds, and away they float on the winds, or lie whitening the ground beneath by the cottony down with which they are invested, and which has been used in the manufacture of paper, and is wrought, in Germany, into a kind of wadding as well as into hats. It is, however, borne away so readily by the breeze, that it requires much pains to collect enough for any useful purpose. The leaves and young shoots are eaten by the beaver ; and in Russia the bark is powdered, and given as food to sheep; while, both in that and this country, it has been used in tanning leather. The poor in Norway and Kamtschatka often make their bread of the dried bark of the Poplar. The wood is yellow, soft, and fibrous, and furnishes the materials for some light articles, as clogs and bowls. The tree is comparatively short- lived. The crushed buds of this Poplar yield a pleasantly fragrant substance, which burns like wax, and which wa’ believed by our old herbalists to be a vegetable remedy of great power in various diseases. The young shoots are used in wicker-work ; or, stripped of their leaves, serve the housewife for brooms. ) CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 177 This Poplar has in summer large drops of clear water lying upon its leaves, and these only need some stirring wind to send them trickling down to earth, and to remind us of Spenser’s description :-— ‘The Poplar never dry.” The ancient poets fabled that these drops were the tears of the sisters of Phaethon, who, wandering by the sides of the Po, were changed into trees :— ‘** And eke those trees in whose transforméd hue The Sun’s sad daughters wail’d the rash decay Of Phaethon, whose limbs with lightning rent, They gathering up with sweet tears did lament.” 6. BEECH (Fdqus). Common Beech (Ff. sylvitica). — Leaves egg-shaped, smooth, very slightly toothed, and fringed at the margin. A green and full shadow is afforded to the country rambler by the crowded and usually straight branches of the Beech-tree, covered in summer with a profusion of thin leaves, among which many a gay bird is fluttering. Its boughs have long been celebrated for the shelter which they have given to heroes, to poets, and shepherds ; and the classic reader would, in some moods of mind, agree with Cowper— “* Heroes and their feats Fatigued me, never weary of the pipe Of Tityrus, assembling as he sang The rustic throng beneath his favourite Beech.” As Campbell had his valued Beech-tree, which he had watched for “twenty summers,” so Virgil loved one, too, for the abundant shadow which it gave him. Many are the single or grouped trees which have been celebrated for interesting associations, like the Burnham Beeches, beneath which Gray wandered, to be soothed in his musings by the gentle whisperings of the ‘nodding beeches,” and which, he says, “are always dreaming out their old stories to the winds.” Then there are Saccharissa’s Beeches, at Penshurst in Kent, the trees which Waller apostrophised in the inflated language so remote from the utterances of feeling, that it awakens no sympathy for his unrequited affection :— “Ye lofty Beeches, tell this matchless dame, That if together ye fed all one flame, Ye could not equalize the hundredth part Of what her eyes have kindled in my heart.” The Purley Beeches, believed to have grown in the time of the Conquest, are interesting trees, as is that venerable tree of Windsor Forest, which Strutt has engraved in his “Sylva Britannica,” and which, older still, is supposed to have reared its head in the time of the Saxon kings. Camden describes it as “growing on a high hill (Sunning Hill), and overlooking a vale lying out far and wide, garnished with corn-fields, flourishing with meadows, decked with groves on either side, and watered with the Thames.” This tree I1.—23 ” 178 AMENTACEAX was found to measure thirty-six feet in circumference, at thirty feet from the ground. The tree called Pontey’s Beech, at Woburn Abbey, is a hundred feet high ; and instances are recorded of noble trees exceeding even this in magnitude. If we may believe Fuller, Buckinghamshire takes its name from the abundance of the Beech, which was called by the Anglo-Saxons Buchen ; and “Buchen ham,” the home or land of Beeches, was then appro- priate. The Germans call the tree Buche; and in France it is termed Heétre. Some writers have thought that the Beech was not an indigenous tree, because Cesar says that he did not find it in Britain. Commentators have questioned whether the Fagus of the Romans was our Beech; but the con- clusion seems to be general that it was so, and that the great Roman, never having penetrated probably to those parts of the country where it is abundant, was unacquainted with it as a tree of this island. The Beech grows in the temperate countries of Europe, from the south of Norway to the Mediterranean Sea, and also in Asia Minor and Japan. Either this species, or a variety, is common in the American forests ; and Bryant, describing a winter day, refers to ‘*The snow-bird twittering on the beechen bough ;” and adds— ‘* From his hollow tree The squirrel was abroad, gathering the nuts Just fallen, that asked the winter cold, and sway Of winter blast, to shake them from their hold.” The Beech is generally in full green by the end of May, when the flowers appear among the delicately-fringed leaves. The barren flowers form drooping tassel-like heads, and soon fall off; and the brown, fertile, solitary flower is on a slender stalk, and is gradually developed into the nut or mast of the Beech. Children well know these nuts, which burst out when ripe from their triangular prickly envelopes, and which have a flavour very similar to that of the almond. To a large number of animals these nuts afford a good store of food. The thrush, blackbird, and many another gladsome songster delight in them, as do the partridge and pheasant; and the little dormouse makes his autumn meal on the mast, and sinks to sleep till the next spring leaves are coming. As to the squirrel, he sits among the boughs, and takes his meal of them, scatters numbers in waste, or carries them with him to some neighbouring tree :— ‘©The sun is higher in the morning sky, His beams embrace the mossy-trunkéd trees, Yonder the squirrel, on the elm so high, Frisketh about in the cool morning breeze ; Down peeps his diamond eyes—amazed he sees A stranger in his solitary home : And now he hides beneath the oaken-trees, And now he forth upon a branch will come, To crack his Beechen nuts, and watch me as I roam.” An old herbalist said, ‘The nuts do much nourish such beasts as feed thereon ;” and the deer search for them beneath the trees, while country people, in the neighbourhoods of Beech-woods, send the swine to feed on the CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE Vio mast. The nuts are very oily, and in France an oil, scarcely inferior to that of the olive, is expressed from them, and forms a very important article of domestic use, being fitted both for cookery and for burning in lamps. In some French provinces the mast (La Faine of the French) is roasted for coffee. Du Hamel says that the forests of Eu and of Crécy, in the depart- ment of the Oise, have yielded in a single season more than two million bushels of mast; and Michaux mentions that in 1770 the forests of Com- piegne, near Verberie, furnished oil enough to supply the wants of the district for half a century. Beech-nuts are said to cause headache, if eaten in too great numbers. Some of our best writers on forest trees consider the Beech as a tree which is not very picturesque ; to us it seems beautiful. Its tall thick trunk, covered with smooth dark grey rind, its immumerable boughs, often bending downwards, and clad in summer with glossy green foliage, which in autumn is most richly tinted with russet yellow, render it attractive. Often innumer- able stems arise from one root ; and no tree has its tint of trunk and bough more varied by mosses, lichens, and handsome species of fungus. The youngling Beech keeps its shrivelled leaves through the winter ; and the bole of the older tree often exhibits knobs about as large as a hazel-nut, which fall off at a blow. We have, perhaps, no native tree which has so great a variety of uses as the Beech, though its wood is not well fitted for house or ship building. It is very useful, however, for keels of vessels, floodgates, piles, and other waterworks ; and much household furniture is made of it, especially in con- tinental countries—it being often stained to represent mahogany or ebony. Sabots are often cut of this wood, and the chips of Beech are much used in clarifying wine; while, in Scotland, the branches are valued for the pyro- ligneous acid which is procured from them. One interesting fact respecting this tree is, that to its German name, Biche, we owe our English word “book” —the sides of thick books having been made of beech-boards. The wood is said to make the very best oars for galleys; and, in France, small boats are formed of the hollowed trunk of this tree. In Germany, where wood is so much used for fires, a large amount of Beech is consumed as fuel. Beech- hedges, formed of several trees placed near together and kept cut, are also often to be seen in Beech countries. Classic readers will readily recall references made by ancient poets to the “Beechen bowl ;” and Milton, Cowley, and others of our English bards, allude to it. In the words of the latter :— ‘* He sings the Bacchus, patron of the vine, The Beechen bow] foams with a flood of wine.” And, in another place, he says :— “If thou, without a sigh or golden wish, Canst look upon the Beechen bowl and dish ; If in thy mind such power and greatness be, The Persian king’s a slave compared with thee.” Beech-leaves make an excellent material for filling mattresses ; and it is 23—2 180 AMENTACEAA to be regretted that they are not more generally used in country places by the poor, and that there are not more ladies like Miss Tyler, the aunt of Southey, who, he says, ‘effected a wholesome and curious innovation ” in the poor-house, by persuading the managers to use beds stuffed with Beech- leaves. The practice of thus using them is very ancient, as the oft-quoted line of Juvenal testifies :— ‘«The wood an house, the leaves a bed.” Evelyn says, that being gathered about the fall, and somewhat before they are frostbitten, they ‘‘afford the best and easicst mattresses in the world to lay under our quilts, instead of straw ; because, besides their tenderness and loose lying together, they continue sweet for seven or eight years, long before which time straw becomes musty and hard.” He adds, “I have often lain upon them, to my great refreshment.” Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, though used to the better beds of our times, still highly praises the Beech-leaf mattresses, as forming a most luxurious couch, having a fragrant odour like that of green tea. Our old herbalists believed Beech-leaves to possess valuable medicinal properties. “They are,” says an old writer, ‘cooling and binding, and therefore good to be applied to hot swellings to discuss them.” He recom- mends a salve made of these leaves ; and says, that the water found in the hollowed places in the Beech-trunk is very efficacious in complaints of the skin. The catkins, which fall from the tree in spring, are sometimes collected for filling pillows and cushions, and also for packing fruit. The smooth bark is frequently inscribed by the rustic lover now with the name of his mistress, as it was in the days of Virgil :— ‘Or shall I rather the sad verse repeat, Which on the Beech’s bark I lately writ ?” A writer in an American journal stated, a few years since, that the Beech was a non-conductor of lightning. It is a well-known fact that the Indians, in the prospect of a thunderstorm, take refuge beneath its boughs. Dr. Beeton, ina letter to Dr. Mitchell, stated that the Beech-tree is never known to be struck by lightning, when other trees are shattered into splinters. 7. CHESTNUT (Castanea). Spanish Chestnut or Sweet Chestnut (C. vulgdris).—Leaves oblong- lanceolate, tapering to a point, serrated, with a small spine on each serrature, smooth on both sides. In many woods of the south and south-west of England, magnificent Chestnut-trees are to be seen, apparently growing wild; and those who have spent their early days in their neighbourhood may, perhaps, recall with what glee they searched, in the month of October, for the fruits which fell from the boughs. The Chestnut-tree often adorns, too, the parks and pleasure-grounds of various parts of the kingdom ; and though a naturalized and not a ative plant, it was probably introduced here at a very early period by the Romans. They called the tree Castinea, from a town of Magnesia, in Thessaly, where it grew in great abundance, and from which place they are believed to have obtained it. The fruit was also by COMMON BEECH Fagus sylvatica NoT SPANISH CHES is Castanea vulgaris R Pl, 211. CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 181 early writers called the Sardian Nut, and afterwards Jupiter’s Nut, and Husked Nut, which last name refers to the husk inclosing it. The Chestnut is a stately and beautiful tree, rivalling the oak in size and length of years, though never quite so lofty or with such wide-spreading boughs as that monarch of the woods. Its tall trunk is like a column, and the bark is rifted and rent into innumerable clefts. The leaves are, during the month of June, of a most beautiful glossy green, of a lighter colour beneath, and edged with sharp spinous serratures. They are very handsome in their verdant mass, and very elegant, too, is each leaf—often half a foot long, sometimes twice that length, and three or four inches broad, marked with strong veins, and of thin and flexible texture. Long after many trees have dropped their foliage, the Chestnut has its boughs well covered with a rich golden leafage, and is as beautiful as in the full rich green of spring. From May to July, long and graceful spikes of greenish-yellow flowers are to be seen hanging among the leaves, and looking almost like uncurled tendrils. The barren flowers at the upper part of this spike are somewhat drooping, and have spreading stamens ; they soon wither and fall off. The fertile flowers are fewer and grow on stalks, which finally lengthen as they support the fruit. Some of the oldest Chestnut-trees of this country stood, probably, in youthful vigour, nearly a thousand years ago, and are yet undecayed ; and many an avenue, planted centuries since, reminds us of the trees of Weston Underwood, which Cowper so prized :— ** Not distant far a length of coionnade Invites us ; monument of ancient taste Now scorn’d, but worthy of a better fate ; Our fathers knew the value of a screen From sultry suns ; and in these shaded walks, And long protracted bowers, enjoyed at noon The gloom and coolness of declining day. Thanks to Benevyolus, he spares me yet These Chestnuts ranged in corresponding lines, And though himself so polished, still repricves The obsolete prolixity of shade.” The oldest Chestnut, and, with the exception of some yews, perhaps the oldest tree in the kingdom, is the well-known tree which, as early as the time of King John, was known as the Great Chestnut of Tortworth. It is supposed to have been 300 years old in the days of that monarch, and it stands yet in picturesque grandeur, covered at its season with graceful leaves. Many a solitary wanderer has sat beneath its shadow, musing on its past history and future length of days, as many a one sits yet, knowing that when he is laid in his last resting-place, the wind will still stir its branches and the April shower patter on its leaves. It was formerly much compressed by the wall of the garden on which it stood; but the late Earl Ducie, in whose grounds it stood, removed this, and placed fresh soil about its base ; and the old tree re-awakened to a more vigorous life. At a height of five feet above the ground the diameter of its trunk was then twelve feet, and its cireum- ference fifty-two feet; yet this must have appeared a mere sapling when compared with one which grew not many years since on the slope of Mount n 182 AMENTACEAi Etna. This, we are told, had a circumference of 204 feet, and had foolishly been hollowed out to form a house. Trees nearly as old as that of Tortworth are scattered up and down the kingdom. Some very magnificent ones are in Kensington Gardens and Greenwich Park; those in the latter place were planted by Evelyn. He remarks: ‘The Chestnut is, next to the oak, one of the most sought after by the carpenter and joiner. It hath formerly built a good part of our ancient houses in the City of London, as does yet appear. I had once a very large barn framed of this timber.” It was generally believed, until recently, that the roof of Westminster Hall, as well as that of several cathedrals in France, was made of Chestnut timber. Hence Bishop Mant. says— ‘* Whence a rich store our fathers drew The spacious barn to raise, or crown In castled fort or tower’d town, With open-rafted roof, the wall Of hallow’d church or scutcheon’d hall ; Hence London saw, of antique guise, His framed and panell’d dwellings rise ; Stage above stage projecting more And more, each fresh successive floor, — Hence thou beheld’st thy palace rear Its hall, Imperial Westminster.” It is not, however, now believed that the Chestnut was used so exten- sively in building as was formerly thought; and it has been fully shown, that neither the timber of Westminster Hall, nor of John Evelyn’s barn, was of Chestnut—they being found to be of Durmast Oak (Quercus sessili- flora). Chestnut timber does not prove valuable for buildings, having a liability to crack, and to be much injured by time. But for many purposes, as for hop-poles and vine-props, it is of great service ; and one of its uses is indicated by the poet :— ‘** With close-grained chestnut-wood of sovereign use, For casking up the grape’s most powerful juice.” It is also made into water-pipes ; and its bark is valued by the tanner. The leaves of the Chestnut have been used, like those of the beech, for filling beds ; but Evelyn remarks that they make a crackling noise when the sleeper moves. Both in this country and in France they are used as a litter for cattle. Chestnuts, roasted or boiled, may often be seen at our tables, as Milton describes :— *¢ While hisses on my hearth the pulpy pear, And blackening chestnuts start and crackle there.” And the crackling sound is well known to children, who gather around the Christmas hearth to roast these fruits. Some of those chestnuts in common use are gathered from native trees ; but the superior fruits of the trees in Spain are largely imported hither. Evelyn regretted that chestnuts were not more eaten in this country ; as, in some parts of the Continent, the trees are planted entirely for this produce, where they constitute a large proportion CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 183 of the popular food. He says: ‘‘ We give that food to our swine in England which is amongst the delicacies of princes in other countries ; and being a large nut, is a lusty and masculine food for rusticks at all times, and of better nourishment for husbandmen than cold and rusty bacon, yea, and beans to boot ; instead of which they boil them, in Italy, with their bacon ; and, in Virgil’s time, they ate them with milk or cheese. The bread made of the flour is exceedingly nutritive ; it is a robust food, and makes women well- complexioned, as I have read in a good author. They also make fritters with chestnut-flour, which they wet with rose-water, and sprinkle with grated parmigiano, and so fry them in fresh butter for a delicate. How we use chestnuts in stewed meats and beatille pies, our French cooks teach us ; and this is, in truth, their very best use, and commendable.” The old French writers, though considering this fruit as well suited to the robust and active, yet object to it, with good reason, for those whose lives are sedentary, as being difficult of digestion. They recommend its external application, in the form of cataplasms, for a variety of disorders. Our own authors said that, if eaten overmuch, these nuts ‘made the blood thick, and caused head- ache.” One of them remarks: “If you dry chestnuts—only the kernels, I mean, both the barks being taken away—beat them into powder, and make the powder up into an electuary with honey; so have you an admirable remedy for the cough and spitting of blood.” Martial said, many centuries ago, — ‘* For chestnuts roas.ed by a gentle heat, No city can the learned Naples beat :” and the chestnut is yet roasted daily there, as well as in many other parts of Italy. In the South of France, too, they form the common vegetable food of the peasantry, and are a substitute for the bread and potatoes of the British meal. The planting of trees, and the gathering and preparing chest- nuts for use, form the livelihood of large numbers of people; and the fruits are preserved by drying either in sand or in akiln. They are, when ground to powder, mixed with milk and salt, and made into cakes or a kind of porridge. In France they are usually prepared by boiling, and flavoured with seasoning herbs, or they are roasted. Sugar and starch have been procured from them; and they have been, after roasting, put into beer. instead of malt. While hanging on the tree, the nuts are covered with the enlarged outer skin of the ovary, which is thickly beset with prickles. Several places in this kingdom seem to have derived their names from the growth of these trees, as Norwood Chesteney, in the parish of Milton in Kent, and Chestnut Hill, near it. “In Hertfordshire,” says Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, ‘‘is a town called, in old writings, Cheston, Cheshunte, Shester- hunte, Cestrehunte ; and Philpot, who wrote in 1659, says—‘There is a manor called Northwood Chestenus, which name complies with the situation; for it stands in a wood where Chestnut-trees formerly grew in great abund- ance.’” The French call the tree Chdtaignier ; the Germans, Kastanienbaum ; the Dutch, Kastanjeboom ; the Italians, Castagno ; and the Russians, Keschtan. The word rendered by our translators of the Scripture by Chestnut, is 184 AMENTACE believed to have signified the Plane-tree, so abundant in Palestine and the other lands of Scripture. 8. British OAK (Quércus). Common Oak (Q. robur).—Leaves oblong, usually on short stalks, deeply cut at the edges with blunt lobes; acorns generally single, in twos or threes ; fruit-stalks long, and of reddish green, but in intermediate varieties short or almost wanting ; buds small and not prominent ; branches tortuous and spreading. A form of Oak sometimes regarded as distinct, but now very generally considered as a variety, is termed either the Bay, Chestnut, Red, or Durmast Oak. Its acorns usually grow in clusters on very short stalks. The leaves are glossy and shining, broader, rounder, and less deeply cut than those of the Common Oak; their footstalks very long and of a yellowish- green colour; the buds large and prominent; the branches more upright. We have often thought, as we looked upon the Oak, that neither botanist nor poet has ever better described it than does Shakspere, who calls it— **The unwedgeable and gnarled oak.” The Oak puts forth its foliage of tender green, sometimes tinged with crimson, in April and May ; at which season the long, loose pendulous green catkins are also to be seen. In winter the leaves have a reddish-brown tint, though the younger Oaks wear, sometimes even in the dreariest season, a branch of golden foliage. Far away in the woodlands, too, we may see them contrasting with the other trees, by the large mass of withered leaves which the rough winds yet leave to them. The leaves of the Oak grow in tufts, and are unlike in form to those of any other native tree. It often puts forth shoots in autumn ; and instances are on record of a yet later growth of new leaves. As we gaze on its massive base and ponderous trunk, or its knotty, wide- spread branches, covered with their umbrageous leafage, we instinctively recognise it as the monarch of the vegetable kingdom. We feel, too, that it is a peculiarly British tree; and the thought is awakened of the “walls of Old England,” and the “hearts of oak” that have beaten bravely within them. Many a fact of English history is associated with the tree. The mind reverts to the Druids, who took their name from the Celtic derw (Oak), and who wore its wreaths of leaves around their brow; to the round oak- table of Prince Arthur; to the arrow of Walter Tyrrel, which struck against its stout trunk, on its way to the heart of the Second William; to the king who took shelter beneath its boughs; or to the brave William Wallace, who slept nightly in the hollow of the Oak of Torwood. Parliaments have held council beneath its shadow; and often has a sight of the tree served to recall the old idea of the Greeks, that it was an emblem of hospitality ; or the fancy of the Arcadians, that it was the first-created of trees. Its old name, too, the “Father of ships,” is felt to be an appropriate one. Its timbers have borne on the ocean the brave and the free, have brought us the wealth of other climes, have carried liberty to the captive, and taken the blessings of Gospel light to those who sat in darkness. The child frolics beneath its shadow, or the weary man buries his dead under it, and knows 1 COMMON HRITISH OAK , 2 HAZEL NUT Quercus robur Corylus avellan: 3 HORNBEAM , Carpimus betulus Fi A 6 x ¢ Ok Py are 4 a: we ite % Sal ae eRe U 7 , ar ’ : Mat r in £. i ' v ™ ; 4 YESS, ACh an . P Vides a | } ey va Be , WA ‘ yiiti yy ai vy . ibe ‘ tA 7 bed ine ALT ye Ee F ae ik LEY SY hn ee Pere Ie PY CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 185 it henceforth as the “Oak of weeping.” The house which is his home, the church in which he worships his God, owe much to its compact, sturdy wood ; and the boughs which shelter his cattle bear, too, the acorns which shall spring up to serve his successors. Bernard Barton expressed the feelings of many, when he wrote -— *«Tts stem,though rough, is stout and strong, ‘‘ Type of an honest English heart, Its giant branches throw It opens not at breath ; Their arms in shady blessings round, But having open’d, plays its part, O’er man and beast below. Until it sinks in death. ‘*Tts leaf, though late in spring it shares ‘* Not early one, by gleam of sun, The zephyr’s gentle sigh, Its beauties to unfold, As late and long in autumn wears One of the last, in skies o’ercast, A deeper, richer dye. To lose its faithful hold. ‘*On earth the forest’s honour’d king, Man’s castle on the sea: Who will, another tree may sing, — Old England’s Oak for me.” To see fully the characteristic and picturesque beauty of the Oak, we should gaze on one which grows singly, and not on that surrounded by a group. It has in its solitary state more crooked branches, and altogether a more gnarled appearance. The branches of the Oak often spread out to an extent which forms a head broader than the height of the tree. The colour of its bark is pale grey ; but one hardly sees its bark, amid that mass of grey and yellow lichens which encrust it, mingling with the emerald mosses which, especially at its base, form a smooth and verdant cushion, while brown and green mosses gather on every bough. Whether its twisted irregular boughs, always spreading horizontally, are clad with the bright green of spring, or the golden hue of autumn, its tint 1s ever rich, and its majestic form is far more varied in outline than elm or ash, or tall poplar, or drooping birch, or silvery willow. Not even the most casual observer can confound the Oak with any other tree ; nor is there any other British tree which casts so broad a shadow. The Oak may be said to be, generally, from sixty to eighty feet in height ; but, in some rare instances, it attains to that of a hundred feet. It always grows slowly ; and, after it has lived for a century, makes little increase of size for many years; but it becomes more picturesque in age, than in youth; and even when the passing away of centuries has left it nothing but a leafless, branchless trunk, it looks as if it would yet outlive many generations of men. It is protected from the action of storms by the form of its trunk, which is larger just above the earth than at a few feet higher, as well as by the underground roots, which bear twisting branches beneath the soil, much like those on which the sunbeams gleam so gladly, and on which the birds sit to sing. Although the Oak is decidedly an indigenous tree, and a flourishing one too, yet it is somewhat sparing of its fruit; nor is it at all certain, at any season, that a most thriving Oak will bear acorns, or that, if they appear, they will be at all numerous. Little do we in this day realize the immense importance which these acorns bore in other years. Old writers called this fruit accorne, or, as Turner wrote it, eykorne ; that is, says this herbalist, “ye Il1.—-24 186 AMENTACEAA corne, or fruit of an eike ”—corn and kernel being common names for seeds. In the Anglo-Latin Dictionary, the “ Promptorium,” we find ocorn, and also accorne, or archarde, “fruite of the oke, glans.” Mr. Albert Way, quoting from a MS. in the possession of Sir Thomas Phillips, says, “In the curious inventory of the effects of Sir Simon Burley, who was beheaded in 1388, are enumerated ‘deux paires des paternostres de aumbre blanc, l'un contrefait des atchernes, l’autre rounde.’” Chaucer, also, tells of some who were ‘“wonte lightlie to slaken hir hunger at even, with akehornes of okes.” Whether the ancient Britons ever fed upon acorns may be doubted ; nor would it be easy to prove that their swine ate them ; but when the Saxons swayed this kingdom, they, who had come from the vast Oak forests of Germany, knew well the worth of this “fruite of the oke.? Swine’s flesh has been generally the principal animal food of nations in the earlier stages of civilization ; and the Saxon swineherd was a very useful member of the community. In times when swine were fattened in the forest by the acorns which strewed the ground, these forests became so important, that King Ina, in the close of the seventh century, enacted, for their preservation, the Pannage Laws, which regulated the right of feeding swine in the woods. The fruit of the Oak was then deemed a fitting gift for a king to receive, and the right of pannage formed part of the dowry of the daughters of Saxon kings: while a failure of these fruits would have proved a grand cause of famine. The anger felt by the people when the Norman Conqueror turned the forest into the hunting-ground, was greatly caused by the loss of the food for swine afforded by the Oak-trees; and so bitter was the feeling engendered by the grievance, that the old historians seem to have great satisfaction in recording the retributive justice to the king, by which the New Forest proved fatal to more than one of his family. This destruction of the food for swine was one of the wrongs for which, in the latter days of King John, the voice of the nation loudly demanded redress. Even till within the last few years, the New Forest furnished food for large numbers of swine; and the swineherd might be seen plying his ancient vocation beneath the Hampshire Oaks—-those Oaks of which the people of that county are said to be so proud. Long after wheat, oats, and rye were waving their green blades or ripened grain over the fields of Britain, and in some measure rendered the acorns of less importance, considerable value was still attached to these fruits by the nation. In the Saxon Chronicle, the year 1116 is described as a very “heavy-timed, vexatious, and destructive year”; and the failure of the acorns in that season is particularly mentioned. “This year also was so deficient in mast (acorns), that there never was heard such in all this land or in Wales.” The acorns to which the classic authors refer, as causing the fatness of the primitive people of Greece, were the edible fruits of other trees, as the Q. balldta, the Q. ilex, and particularly the Q. esculus —the fruits of the latter being still as much eaten in Syria as chestnuts are in other countries. From Britain’s early days the timber of the Oak was used for various purposes, and Alfred’s navy, which fought with the sea-kings, went forth in ships built, doubtless, of their native Oak ; while the conjecture is probable that the boats which composed the fleet of Edgar were framed of this wood. CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 187 The timber found in our oldest buildings is of Oak. The door of the inner chapel of Westminster Abbey, and the shrine of Edward the Confessor, are of Oak; and one of those coronation-chairs, yet so interesting to visitors of the Abbey, and made of Oak, has been there between five and six hundred years; while the round Oak-table of Prince Arthur, in Winchester Castle, yet remains to tell of the durability of this wood. Professor Burnet remarks, that the great number of Oak forests formerly in England is shown by the names of several places: ‘For one Ashford, Beech-hill, Elm-hurst, or Poplar, we find a host of Oaks—Oakleys, Actons, Acklands, Akenhams, Acringtons, and so forth. The Saxon ac, aec, aac, and the later ok, okes, oak, have been most curiously and variously corrupted. Thus, we find ac, ae, degenerating into ak, aike, acks, when az, exe, were often also aspirated into hac, hace, and hacks. In like manner, we have oak, oke, ok, oc, ock, oeck, ocke, oks, ocks, ockes, running into oax, ox, oves, for ox, oxs, with their further corruptions, auck, uck, huck, hoke, and wok, as a corruption of the last extreme.” The town Oaking- ham is at this day called and spelt, indifferently, Oakingham, Okingham, or Wokingham. Oakesley, or Oxessey, are two common ways of writing the name of one identical: place, and a parallel is found in the name of a Surrey hamlet, Okeshott or Oxshot. The two kinds of Oak described at the head of this chapter have received much attention from our most eminent botanists, and there is reason to believe that more is yet to be learned respecting them. To the distinctive differences already given, we may add that the Common or White Oak assumes a rather set and unhealthy appearance ; while the Durmast Oak is a healthy, robust-looking tree, and the medullary rays of its wood are thin, compared to the broad, large rays of the Common Oak. Some remarkable facts relating to the timber of both these Oaks were subjected to the inves- tigation of the Royal Horticultural Society some years since, three subjects being offered for consideration. These were, that these Oaks may be dis- tinguished by their timber as well as by other marks ; that Durmast timber is, at least, as good as that of the Common Oak ; and that the belief in its want of durability is altogether erroneous. Professor Lindley, remarking on this subject, says: ‘The large size of the medullary rays is well known to afford the means of distinguishing the timber, so that a practised eye can hardly fail to recognise the one or the « other, in cases where fair specimens can be examined. It is the large size of these processes which makes it so easy to rend the Common Oak, while the Durmast refuses to submit to the operation. When genuine Durmast is con- trasted with genuine Common Oak, the distinctions are obvious ; but in the opinion of all woodmen of experience, there are varieties, or, as some say, hybrids, of each, which partake of an intermediate character in the foliage and acorns, and which may therefore be supposed to offer an intermediate condition of the wood. Of this we have an example now before us, in a specimen from the county of Norfolk, which, because the acorns are on a very short stalk, has been supposed to be Durmast, although other circum- stances show it to be merely a sessile-fruited variety of the Common Oak, the only species we ever saw in the eastern counties.” An experiment as to the value of Durmast was made some years since in 24—2 188 AMENTACEA& Portsmouth Dockyard, on timber taken out of the Vindictive, a ship into which some marked specimens had been purposely introduced. When tested as to strength, it was found that while Common Oak from the same ship broke, on an average, under a weight of 931 Ibs., only bending 44 inches, the Durmast sustained, on an average, the weight of 1,032 lbs., and was bent 52 inches before breaking. The experiment served to convince the dockyard authorities that they were wrong in rejecting the Durmast; and this Oak is now in great request in the New Forest. All writers admit that this grows faster than the Common Oak ; but Professor Lindley observes that there is no reason for believing that timber of slow growth is invariably preferable to that which has grown more quickly. For the purpose of showing that the prevailing belief of the want of durability in Durmast was a mistake, a number of specimens of the timber, still in good preservation, were exhibited to the Society. ‘The durability of the Common Oak,” says Professor Lindley, “hardly requires proof: it was nevertheless illustrated by pieces of timber taken out of Windsor Castle when under repairs, and by portions of an ancient canoe, or coracle, which had been discovered about ten feet deep, at the bottom of the ‘slopes’ of Windsor Castle, by some workmen employed in digging a foundation for a bridge ; with it were found deer’s horns, hazelnuts, etc. The age of this relic, although unascertainable, must be very great, inasmuch as it was probably left where it was found at some period when the Thames, or a branch of it, reached the foot of the slopes—a time, no doubt, far more remote than when ‘Cowy stakes’ were driven into the bed of the Thames.” Other specimens of old Oak were also exhibited. Among the specimens of ancient Durmast compared with these, were the following interesting relics : Some timber from Glasgow Cathedral; part of a beam from West Boldon Church, in Durham, of A.pD. 1300; pieces of the roof of Westminster Hall ; part of the timber of the Hospitium of St. Mary’s Abbey, York, of about A.D. 1400; a portion of a Saxon log-coffin—this and several other similar coffins having been found in excavating for new houses in Parliament Street, York ; and from the same city was sent part of a huge boss from the centre of the roof of the choir of York Minster, built at the close of the fourteenth century, and rescued from the fire in 1829. This half-burnt timber was in as sound a state as when introduced into the building, as was also that of a beam from Heslington Hall, which was built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. There is no doubt from these proofs that the Durmast timber is as durable as that of the Common Oak. Professor Lindley adds: “There, however, still remains the unanswered question—viz., How far the quality of the Oak timber, of either one species or the other, is dependent upon soil or climate. It is certain that the Scotch foresters condemn the modern Durmast, as they find it with them; it is equally certain that the woodmen of Dean Forest and the New Forest hold an opposite opinion. It is possible that the Dur- mast, which is the common French species, requires a better climate than that of Scotland.” Many venerable Oak-trees yet stand in strength and beauty in various parts of the land. The Leaden Oak, in Ampthill Park, was, even in the time of Cromwell, thought too old for naval timber, and had, in a survey CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 189 made at that period, a piece of lead nailed to it to indicate this opinion. Our limits will scarcely allow of more than a reference to the large Oak of Wootton, in Buckinghamshire—that most magnificent of trees, whose great branches cover an area of 150 feet in diameter ; to the Chenies Oak, older than the Norman Conquest; to the grand old Combermere Oaks, near Nantwich, or those venerable trees which have for centuries borne the blasts which rush over bleak Dartmoor. The noble old Fairlop Oak, spreading over a space whose diameter is 300 feet; Sir Philip Sidney’s Oak at Penshurst ; Pope’s Oak in Windsor Forest ; the grand Cowthorpe Oak, with its trunk sixty feet in circumference, and its boughs spreading over an area of half an acre, and many another tree, have all served as themes to painters, engravers, historians, poets, and lovers of Nature; and the Oak at Yardley Chase, which is said to be as old as the period of the Conqueror, suggested to Cowper such thoughts as might have been suggested by many an aged compeer :— ‘* Survivor sole, and hardly such, of all That once lived here, thy brethren ; at my birth, (Since which I number threescore winters past, ) A shatter’d veteran, hollow-trunk’d perhaps, As now, and with excoriate forks deform ; Relic of ages! could a mind, imbued With truth from Heaven, created things adore, I might with reverence kneel and worship thee. ‘Thou wast a bauble once, a cup and ball Which babes might play with: and the thievish jay, Secking his food, with ease might have purloin’d The auburn nut that held thee, swallowing down Thy yet close-folded latitude of boughs, And all thine embryo vastness at a gulp. ** Who lived when thou wast such? Oh, couldst thou speak, As in Dodona once thy kindred trees Oracular! I would not, curious, ask The future, best unknown, but at thy mouth, Inquisitive, the less ambiguous past.” Various kinds of gall are found on the Oak, and are caused by several species of Cynips. These insects puncture the leaf bud, or stem, in order to place their eggs within its substance ; and introducing at the same time a liquid which is noxious to the vegetable, and disturbs its circulation, originate spongy, shining, or woolly excrescences. Sometimes the bud is thus transformed into a hoplike object ; sometimes little glossy round balls, or flat circular red patches, stud the leaves; clusters of strange-looking objects, resembling barnacles, appear on the bark ; or the brown spongy oak- apples, like balls of leather, stand upon the boughs. Those long-celebrated Bitter Apples of Sodom, which look beautiful in their violet tint but turn to dust when crushed, are now found to be galls growing on the dwarf Oaks of different countries. Josephus, as well as other ancient writers, refers to them; and most, from their very childhood, have learned to listen with wonder to the accounts of — ‘“‘Those Dead Sea fruits which please the eye, And turn to ashes on the lips.” It is not many years since the Oaks in the west of England were found 190 AMENTACE to be infested to an alarming extent by a species of Cynips, which appears to have been previously unnoticed. Instead of attacking the leaves or fower- stalks, as is the habit of most other species of gall-fly, it lays its eggs in the young twigs ; and the consequence is, that when the leaves have fallen, the tree is found to be laden with globular galls, each about the size of a cherry, some single, but more frequently in clusters. When the grubs which they contain have reached maturity, they eat their way out, leaving the bald bullet-galls on the twigs; so that, all the winter, the Oak simulates a fruit- tree, bearing a crop, however, most pernicious to itself, as the extremities of all the twigs are found to have perished from exhaustion. Experiments have been tried to discover whether the galls can be applied with profit to manufacturing purposes. M. Duplat, a chemist attached to a military hospital, has lately succeeded in procuring oil, and producing alcohol by distillation, from acorns growing in the Oak-forests which cover Mount Atlas. Both the oil and alcohol have been found to be perfectly suited for chemical purposes. 9. HAZEL (Corylus). Common Hazel (U. wvelldéna).—Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, pointed, downy beneath ; stipules oblong, blunt ; involucre of the fruit bell-shaped, torn at the margin. What English reader, country born and country reared, is not familiar with the Hazel-ttree—the tree whose pale, greenish yellow catkins (Lambs’-tails as we called them) hung among the nosegays of blue- bells and primroses, gathered in the spring of life and the springtime of the year? Earlier still in the season, and while the frosts of January were sparkling on the hedges, we have found the little crimson clusters of brilliant stigmas in the scaly buds of the pistil-bearing flowers rewarding our search, and unrivalled in brightness by any surrounding object, save where, on some fallen bough, the fungus-cups were clustering, rich in their lining of scarlet or crimson. In spring-time how many have found, like Clare— ** Dead leaves of Oak and Hazel-tree, The constant covering of all woody land ; With tiny violets creeping plenteously, That one by one enticed the patient hand (7? But it is not alone in spring that the Hazel-tree has its store of pleasures. Well do the frisking squirrel and the creeping cheerful nut-hatch prize the fruits of the Hazel—fruits which well deserve a place at the dessert, though the cultivated filberts or the nuts of Spain are oftener seen there ! Our Hazel-nut was called by the Anglo-Saxons haselnutu—tfrom hasel, a cup, and knutu, a nut. In later days nuts were spelt, as Chaucer wrote them, “notes ;’ and a prescription, written before our earliest bard had traced a line, gives the same orthography. Fora cold in the head, the patient was directed—‘ Take small note kenneyls, and roost hem, and ete hem with a lytyl powder of pepyr when thou gost to bed.” Culpepper, who refers to the use of nuts as a remedy for colds, quaintly says: “Why should the vulgar so familiarly affirm that eating nuts causes shortness of breath, than which nothing is falser? For how can that which strengthens the lungs CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 162) cause shortness of breath? I confess the opinion is far older than I am; [ knew tradition was a friend to error before, but never that he was the father of slander: Or are men’s tongues so given to slandering one another, that they must slander nuts too, to keep their tongues in use?” He adds: “And so thus I have made an apology for nuts, which cannot speak for themselves.” Besides being used medicinally, chocolate, and even bread, have been made of nuts; and they were prized in former times for the oil which they yielded, the Hazel being cultivated for this produce. The pale-green catkins shed their pollen and fall, but the red stigmas ripen into fruits; and clustering nuts, embrowned by Autumn’s touch, have welcomed thousands, who, like Wordsworth, have gone forth with bounding spirits to seek them. *¢ Among the woods, And o’er the pathless rocks, I forced my way Until, at length, I came to one dear nook Unyisited, where not a broken bough Droop’d with its wither’d leaves, ungracious sign Of devastation, but the Hazels rose Tall and erect, with milk-white clusters hung, A virgin scene! A little while I stood, Breathing with such suppression of the heart As joy delights in; and, with wise restraint Voluptuous, fearless of a rival, eyed The banquet. Then up I rose And drage’d to earth both branch and bough, with crash And merciless ravage ; and the shady nook Of Hazels, and the green and mossy bower, Deform’d and sullied, patiently gave up Their quiet being: and unless I now Confound my present feelings with the past, Even then, when from the bower I turn’d away Exulting, rich beyond the wealth of kings, I felt a sense of pain when I beheld The silent trees and the intruding sky.” Mr. T. Hudson Turner quotes a M.S., written apparently by Sir Walter de Henlée, “chevalier,” in the early part of the fourteenth century, which states that one quarter of nuts ought to yield four gallons of oil; but the particular sort of nut is not specified. But though the Hazel may have been early cultivated here, the tree is undoubtedly indigenous, and the nuts are often found in the bogs of this kingdom. Mr. Hugh Miller describes some ° of the bogs about Cromarty, thickset with silvery willows, while they are full of the remains of enormous oaks and elms, now black as the coal itself. Here, this writer tells us, he found handfuls of Hazel-nuts of the ordinary size, but black as jet, with the cups of acorns and twigs of birch—the latter still retaining almost unchanged its silvery crust, while its woody interior had become a mere pulp. “TI have even,” he says, “laid open in layers of a sort of unctuous clay, resembling fuller’s-earth, leaves of oak, birch and Hazel, which had fluttered in the winds thousands of years before.” We have begun our account of the Hazel with that of its nut, for this has peculiar claims on our notice, because it is one of the few British fruits which are really worth eating :—sloes, blackberries, service-berries, wild cherries, and crab-apples being pleasing only to childhood’s taste, though wild raspberries and strawberries are sweeter even than cultivated ones. 192 AMENTACEA But besides yielding its store of nuts, the Hazel has many other uses ; and its undergrowth of wood is so serviceable that it might have suggested the old saying, “An acre of coppice-wood is as good as an acre of wheat-land, if not better.” Though the wood of the tree is never large enough to afford timber for building, yet it is used in cabinet-making, and for a variety of small and delicate articles of manufacture ; while its exceedingly tough and flexible shoots serve for hoops, crates, hurdles, walking-sticks, fishing-rods, rustic baskets, and fences. In the Vale of Derwent, Hazels are grown especially for the uses of the root-shoots; and the roots of the tree, when large, afford curiously-veined pieces, used in veneering and for small articles of domestic use ; and many a country oven is heated with the fagot of Hazel- wood. That interesting and venerable church, one of the first reared in this land, the church belonging to the Abbey of Glastonbury, is believed to have had the walls of its earliest building made of Hazel-boughs interwoven among stakes ; and walls of this kind, plastered over with mortar, are yet in use for outhouses in country places. Some religious associations appear, too, to have been connected with the Hazel-wood ; and it is supposed by antiquaries to have formed, like the scallop-shell, a token of certain pilgrimages. In several places staves of the Hazel have been found in the graves of ecclesi- astics. A writer in the Archeological Journal states that, when the tomb of Richard, Bishop of Chichester, was restored, and the effigy and stone table removed, the grave of stone courses beneath was found in perfect repair, but the earth which covered the remains had sunk to the depth of several inches. On the surface lay several fragments of Hazel-wands, probably such as pilgrims had cut down by the way, and which they suspended at the shrine as devout offerings. This Bishop died between the years 1245 and 1253. Similar Hazel-branches have been found in Hereford Cathedral ; and such a Hazel-wand, roughly trimmed as if cut by the wayside, lay in the tomb of Richard Mayo, Bishop of Hereford, with several sea-shells—tokens, it is supposed, of a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James. This was probably made when that prelate was sent to escort Catharine of Aragon, the affianced bride of Prince Arthur, on her arrival in England. The use of the forked Hazel-twig as a divining-rod, to indicate the place where metal lies beneath the surface of the earth, is yet frequent in mining districts. It is said to have been thus employed in this kingdom as early as the days of Agricola, and is probably the remains of a custom used in still older periods, when the Prophet Hosea declared of the ancient Israelites, ‘‘My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them.” As Evelyn said, “It is certainly next to a miracle, and requires a strong faith ;’ but even in recent days, mines have been sunk in Cornwall, under the beliet that the presence of metal is indicated by the bending of the Hazel-twig. The tint of the foliage of the Hazel-tree is a somewhat sober green ; and it never wears the light hue of the oak or beech, though the young leaves at the top of the twigs, and sometimes also the larger leaves, are often purplish- red. The leaves are stalked, rough, strongly veined, and have, when young, oblong stipules at their base; the bark on the trunk is ash-coloured, and on the branches light brown, spotted with white. The Hazel, when allowed to CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE 193 reach the dimensions of a tree, attains a height of about twenty feet. Leyden, in his verses on Spring, says :— “*T see the Hazel’s rough-notch’d leaves, Each morning wide and wider spread, While every sigh that zephyr leaves Sprinkles the dewdrops round my head, ‘*The yellow moss in scaly rings Creeps round the hawthorn’s prickly bough ; The speckled linnet pecks and sings, While snowy blossoms round me bow. ‘*The gales sing softly through the trees, When boughs in green waves heave and swell ; The azure violet scents the breeze, Which shakes the yellow crowfoot’s bell.” And the Hazel is a continual subject of allusion among the troubadours and old French poets. This tree retains its leaves till the first severe frosts; and they are in autumn of a russet brown, which finally changes to a rich yellow tint. The branches being picturesque, the tree is used in France for arbours and walks. It is said by the growers to thrive best in Hazel-mould—that is, a mould of a reddish-brown hue; but it will flourish on any soil that is not too moist. Many Old-English names of places and persons are derived from this plant, as Haslemere and Hazelbury. It grows sometimes in the North at a great elevation, and it is a tree of all the temperate climates of Europe and Asia. The French call it Coudrier ; the Germans, Haselstrauch ; and the Italians, Avellano and Nocciola. The two varieties of the Hazel which are most commonly cultivated for the nuts are the Cob and Filbert trees. The latter differ from the ordinary form of the tree in the larger nuts with their handsomer green coverings. They are grown plentifully in Kent, especially in the neighbourhood of Maidstone. 10. HORNBEAM (Carpinus). Common Hornbeam (C. bétulus).—Leaves egg-shaped, acute, sharply and doubly serrated, plaited when young ; scales of the fruit 3-parted. The Hornbeam is a common tree of poor damp soils in several parts of England, forming a chief portion of some of the old forests about London, as of that of Epping. Gerarde, who speaks of it as growing in his time very plenti- fully in Northamptonshire, and about Gravesend in Kent, thus describes it :— “Tt grows great and very like unto the elme or witch hasell-tree, having a great body, the wood or timber whereof is better for arrows and shafts, pulleys for mills, and such like devices, than elm or witch hasell; for in time it waxeth so hard that the toughness and hardness of it may be rather compared unto horn than unto wood; and, therefore, it was called Horne- beam, or hard-beame. The leaves of it are like the elme, saving that they be tenderer ; among these hang certaine triangled things, upon which are found knaps or little buds of the thickness of ciches (vetches), in which is contained the fruit or seede: the roote is strong and thicke.” Like most of the descriptions given by our old herbalists, this is sufficiently graphic ; and the tree is doubtless often mistaken for the elm from the simi- 120 194 AMENTACEA.—CATKIN-BEARING TRIBE larity of its leaves, which, however, are smoother, and have transverse hairy ribs, and which are, in the early stage, very prettily folded into plaits. The Hornbeam may be occasionally seen fifty feet high ; but it is usually a small and not a very ornamental tree. The trunk is slender, somewhat flattened, straight, and but little roughened, and the flowers appear among the foliage in May. The barren catkins are of a pale yellowish-green, lax and scaly, two or three inches long ; and those which are fertile are much smaller, and are succeeded in due season by small angular nuts, each seated within a leafy cup. No other British catkins are like these ; so that this tree is, during its flowering season, readily distinguished by them. The Hornbeam was formerly sometimes called Horse-Beech ; and it was once much in use for alcoves, labyrinths, and hedges, as it bears cutting exceedingly well. Indeed, the great excellency of the tree appears to be in its adaptation for hedges. Evelyn praises it with scarcely less enthusiasm than that with which he refers to his favourite holly-hedge ; and says of the Hornbeam that it makes the “noblest and stateliest hedges for long walks in gardens and parks of any hedge whatsoever.” ‘The plant is much used in France for this purpose, and the hedges, called Charmilles, are greatly valued. On some spots of our own land, we might yet say with the poet :— ‘Here Hornbeam hedges regularly grow ; Here hawthorn whitens and wild roses blow.” But the two latter plants are far more commonly to be seen in our hedgerows than the former. The Hornbeam retains its leaves in winter. Its wood is white, tough, and close-grained, but will not take a good polish. It is adapted, however, especially when young, for many country uses, and is of service to the carpenter and wheelwright, and the very best of wood for fuel. A twig will burn like a candle, and continue burning for a long time ; and in France the wood is much liked for the steady bright light which it diffuses in the apart- ment. Its charcoal is excellent; and the French use the dried foliage for fodder. The tree is called in French Le Charme ; the Germans call it Die Hagebuche. Its catkins are said to be sometimes fraudulently mingled with hops. Order LXXXI. CONIFERAZ—FIR TRIBE. Stamens and pistils on separate flowers, and, in some cases, on different trees; stamens arranged in sets around a common stalk; fertile flowers usually in cones, sometimes solitary, destitute of styles or stigmas; fruit either a seed seated in a fleshy covering, or a cone composed of hardened scales or bracts, bearing at the base of each naked seeds, which are often winged ; leaves rigid. 1. Fir (Pinus).—Barren flowers in clustered spirally-arranged scaly cat- kins, the upper scales bearing sessile anthers ; fertile flowers in an egg-shaped catkin, which finally becomes a woody cone; seeds winged. Name, the Jatin name of the tree, CONIFERAIA—FIR TRIBE 195 2. JUNIPER (Juniperus).—Barren flowers in smaller scaly catkins, anthers attached to the base of the scales; fertile flowers in small catkins of a few united scales, which finally become fleshy and form a berry, with three hard seeds. Name, the Latin name of the tree. 3. YEW (7déxus).—Barren flowers in oval catkins, scaly at the base ; stamens numerous ; fertile flowers solitary, with a few scales at the base ; seed solitary, hard, contained in a fleshy cup. Name, from éozon, a bow, from the old use of its wood. 1. Fir (Pinus). Scotch Fir (P. sylvéstris),—Leaves long, slender, and rigid, in pairs round the branch ; young cones stalked, generally two together ; wing thrice as long as the seed. Of the tall dark Firs and Pines which thicken in the vast forests of Northern Europe, one alone grows wild in Britain. This, the Scotch Fir, is, however, one of the most important and widely distributed of the European species, and one which furnishes several varieties of stately trees. In Wiltshire and some other parts of England, this Fir is to be found covering large tracts of land; and those who wander there might bethink them of the words of Coleridge :— ** A rock, methought, fast by a grove of Firs, Whose thready leaves to the low-breathing gale Made a soft sound, most like the distant ocean.” These Firs were sown there by means of these murmuring gales, which waft the winged seeds around the spot ; or were planted by the squirrel or bird, which eats its meal from the Fir-cone, and scatters some of the numerous seeds. But it is not in England that we find the numerous Pine-forests, which form so characteristic a feature of Highland scenery, darkening the slopes and summits of mountains, swaying their boughs hither and thither, and uttering such sounds ‘* As the rough winds of autumn mak», when they Pass o’er the forest and bend down the Pines.” Amid their shadow, clumps of purple heather arise in beauty ; and many a lovely flower and brilliant fungus, if not absolutely peculiar to the Pine; wood, yet especially loves its shelter ; while a delicious and resinous fra- grance reaches the sense, long ere the eye can discern their forms in the blue distance. And how well are the trees adapted to these their haunts! Their roots, running immediately under the surface, require but little depth of soil; their evergreen, rigid leaves are not easily torn by the bleak winds which sweep over the hill-tops, and are so slender that they will not long hold the mass of snow; while, by their resinous juices, they are protected from the rigour of the cold air. Nor do the Fir-forests present that uniformity of aspect which, it might be supposed, would be consequent on the little variety of the trees. Every visitor to the Highlands of Scotland is charmed by their beauty and magnificence. ‘Every movement we make,” says Sir T. D. Lauder, “exposes to our view fresh objects of excitement, and dis- closes new scenes produced by the infinite variety of the surface. At one 25—-2 196 CONIFERA time we find ourselves wandering along some natural level, under the deep and sublime shade of the heaving pine foliage, upheld high overhead by the tall and massive columnar stems, which appear to form an endless colonnade ; the ground dry as a floor beneath our footsteps, the very sound of which is muffled by the thick deposition of decayed spines, with which the seasons of more than one century have strewed it ; hardly conscious that the sun is up, save from the fragrant resinous odour which its influence is exhaling, and the continued hum of the clouds of insects that are dancing in its beams, over the tops of the trees.” This writer describes with graphic power the changes of scenery which ensue, when the ground swells into hillocks, and the vast continuity of shade is broken by the light which streams down on some single huge tree, and on the purple heath-bells and tufts of ferns ; and how the silence is interrupted by the proud movements of the troops of red-deer, or by the roar of the cataract, whose white sheet of water dashes down the rock into some deep ravine, shaking the very tallest of the Pine-trees, and bidding them quiver, as by the touch of a giant hand. Extensive tracts of Highland Pine-forests have been thinned by the hand of man ; and in some places, where once the trees grew in masses, they are but few and scattered. Sometimes the Firs have been burned down in order to extirpate the wolves ; sometimes because, in time of war, they afforded a hiding-place to the enemy ; and many a lofty tree has been felled ‘To be the mast of some great ammiral.” Hugh Miller, referring to the Forest of Corrybhalgan, says :—“ It was but a shred of its former self, but the venerable trees still rose thick and tall in some of the more inaccessible hollows ; and it was interesting to mark, when they encroached on the open waste, how thoroughly they lost the ordinary character of the Scotch Fir, and how, sending out their short gnarled boles and immense branches two or three feet over the soil, they somewhat resembled, in their squat dense proportions and rounded contours, gigantic beehives.” In other spots, masses of mossy land were covered with short stumps of trees, mingled with noble Pines, which have risen or are rising up from the ‘* Fir-trees all around, Aye dropping their hard fruit upon the ground.” The Scotch Fir is probably a native of England as well as of Scotland. Gerarde tells how the tree once grew in great plenty in Cheshire, Stafford- shire, and Lancashire, ‘as is reported, before Noah’s flood ; but being over- flowed and overwhelmed, they have been found since in the mossie and waterie moorish ground, very sound and fresh until this day, and so full of a resinous substance that they burne like a torch or linke, and the inhabitants of those countries doe call it Firre-woodde and Fire-woodde unto this day.” The bogs of Ireland prove, too, that the Fir was once abundant in that country. A well-grown Scotch Fir is a beautiful tree, with its reddish-brown trunk looking sometimes as if cut out of copper, and its spiry pyramidal head of foliage. It has a common variety in which the branches spread out horizon- af SCOTCH PINE Zz. JUNIPER Pinus sylvestris Juniperus communis . OG Taxus baceata Pl. 213. FIR TRIBE LOT tally, or bend downwards, while the bark is of a more yellowish hue, and the foliage of a sea-green tint. The leaves of the Scotch Fir are in pairs all round the branches, and in young trees are sheathed at the base, and two or three inches long, being shorter in older trees. They are slightly convex beneath, their edges minutely notched, and at first they are glaucous on the lower side, but as they become older of a deeper green. ‘The tree bears its flowers in April and May. The barren flowers are placed in whorls around the extremities of last year’s shoots, and are laden with an abundance of pollen. The fertile catkins grow chiefly in pairs, towards the ends of the new shoots, and gradually harden into brown rugged cones, which taper at the point. In the autumn of the second year these burst open and discharge their seeds, which are small and furnished with a membranous wing. This Fir is often sixty to a hundred feet in height. The Scotch Fir is a most valuable tree when it grows wild and on a con- genial soil, furnishing either red or yellow deal. The trunk of Pine-trees is straighter than that of most others: hence, both in naval and civil architec- ture, its durable wood is used for many important purposes, and that of the Scotch Fir is prized beyond all others of the genus. The resinous juice, which either exudes naturally or may be procured by incision, is used in preparing tar, pitch, resin, and turpentine ; and in the north of Europe, the outer bark of the tree is employed for covering and lining huts, while the inner bark, ground to powder, and in some cases mingled with flour, is made into a coarse black bread. Mr. Lang describes cakes made of these materials, and cooked in a frying-pan or on a griddle, as very good food. The leaves and branches of the tree serve as fodder for cattle and sheep during severe weather, Pine-chips are substituted for hops in brewing, and the young shoots of the tree are eaten with avidity by peasant-children. The log- houses of Northern Europe are made almost entirely of Scotch Fir; and in Russia roads are formed of its trunks, while the pine-torch is in common use in many parts of Europe. M. Lamartine, describing an excursion over the mountains in search of eagles, tells us how these torches are made. He says that having cut down some young Firs, they split the trunks lengthwise into little laths of wood, leaving the lower part uncut, so that it might form a handle by which to carry the torch. The bundle of laths was held together by bands of wire, which were placed at equal distances. They then dried them in an oven, after the bread had been removed. “Those little trees,” - says this writer, “thus prepared, calcined by the heat of the oven, and full of the natural resin of the Pine, constitute excellent torches, which burn slowly, which nothing can extinguish, and which, when lighted, give out a flame of dazzling brightness on being exposed to the slightest breeze.” A few years since, M. Panewitz succeeded in preparing, by chemical decomposition, from the leaves of the Scotch Fir, a hemp-like fibre called in Germany Wald-wolle, a word best rendered into English by Wood-wool. This substance is now extensively employed for filling pillows, cushions, and mattresses, or for the purposes of wadding. In the prairie of Humboldt, near Breslau in Silesia, are two remarkable establishments—one for the purpose of making the Pine-leaves into this cotton or wool, the other for affording baths to invalids, made of the water resulting from the fabrication 198 CONIFERAS of this material, both being superintended by the inventor of the process. The leaves of Firs are usually composed of bundles of strong fibres, held together by a resinous substance, and those of the Scotch Fir are generally preferred, as being the longest ; nor is the tree injured by stripping off the foliage, as if those leaves are left which grow at the extremities of the branches, the others are readily renewed, and the leaf-gathering gives employ- ment to many among the poor. In 1842, the directors of the Hospital of Vienna adopted this wool instead of cotton wadding in quilted cover- ings. The aromatic odour which these diffused was found both agreeable and healthful, while it proved obnoxious to insects. Since this period the pine-wool, or wood-wool, has been used in various public institutions in Germany, as well as in cushions for railway carriages ; and blankets, paste- board, and various other articles are made of the fibre; while rheumatism, nervous affections, and several other maladies have been stated, on good authority, to be greatly benefited by the resinous water procured from it. A prize-medal was awarded at our Great Exhibition of 1851 for materials made from the Pine-needle-wool, prepared from the needles or leaves of the Pine-tree. The bark of the Scotch Fir has been also used in tanning. Some legends doubtless were once in existence respecting the Fir, as one of the titles given in honour of the Virgin, in an old edition of Chaucer's “Ballad in Commendation of Our Lady,” is ‘“ Benigne Braunchlet of the Pine-tree.” 2. JUNIPER (Juniperus). Common Juniper (J. comminis).—Leaves 3 in a whorl, linear and spine-tipped ; flowers small, in the axils of the leaves. On many a widely- stretching moorland we may descry the clumps of Juniper, with their greyish- green branches varying the tints of the landscape. The summer wind passes lightly over the shrub, bringing with it some faint tokens of its aroma, an aroma far more powerful if the plant is bruised ; and the winter blasts rush over it, and the winter frosts congeal upon its branches, but it loses nothing of its freshness of tint. Mr. Matthew Arnold describes such a spot as that on which it sometimes grows :— ‘This cirque of open ground, So light and green : the heather, which all round Creeps thickly, grows not here, but the pale grass Is strewn with rocks, and many a shiver’d mass Of vein’d white-gleaming quartz, and here and there Dotted with holly and with Juniper.” This low shrub grows either on fertile or barren soils, on rocky mountains or on bogs, on hills or in valleys; but chiefly in open and bleak places, though sometimes in woods. It is common, not in this kingdom only, but in all the northern parts of Europe. In England it occurs chiefly on open chalky or sandy places, on hillsides and sea-cliffs; but with us it is of low growth, seldom attaining a greater height than five feet, although it occasionally forms a massy trunk, and becomes a small tree, while a dwarf variety trails over the ground. In days when shrubs and trees were cut into various figures, the Juniper was much employed for this purpose. The plant seems to injure the herbage, for the grass about the Juniper is often thin and poor. FIR TRIBE 199 This shrub sends out a number of tough branches, covered with a smooth brown or reddish bark, slightly tinged with purple, while the bark of the trunk is greyish-brown, cracked and scaly. The stiff evergreen leaves grow in threes round the branches, and are dark bright green beneath, and grey on the upper surface. Their acute points deserve Spenser's description :— ‘* Swete is the Juniper, but sharpe his bough.” The small green barren flowers appear in May, in little catkins, among the axis of the leaves, and are on different plants from the few-flowered fertile cones. The berries, which are about as large as currants, appear one summer, and, continuing green until the following season, then ripen into a dark-purple hue, covered, like the sloe, with a bluish-white powder or bloom. They are not juicy, but spongy ; they have an aromatic flavour, and contain three oblong seeds. These fruits are useful, not alone to the wild bird of moor or fell, but also to man. When crushed, they yield an essential oil ; and a very pleasant and wholesome beer, called genévrette, is made by cottagers in some parts of France with barley and Juniper-berries. Hollands and English gin were formerly flavoured with them, and they once formed an important article of commerce among the Dutch; but Professor Burnet remarks of the last-named liquor, that it is “wholly unconscious of their presence,” the British manufacturers having substituted oil of turpentine. The berries yield, on boiling, a large amount of sugar ; and Linnzus mentions that a decoction of these fruits, when fermented, forms a common beverage among the Swedes, who still eat Juniper-berries at their meals, in the form of a conserve. Our fathers not only employed them as a spice to their dishes, but praised their medicinal powers. ‘This admirable solar shrub,” says one of our old writers, ‘‘is scarce to be paralleled for its virtues. The berries are hot in the third degree, and dry but in the first, being a most admirable counter-poison, and as great a resister of the pestilence as any grows: they are excellent good against the bitings of venomous beasts.” Gerarde also adds his testimony to their worth, and says, “Divers in Bohemia do take, instead of other drink, the water wherein these berries have been steeped, who live in wonderful good health.” The berries were much recommended by physicians to be eaten ; and ten or a dozen every morning, fasting, was an old prescription for diseases of the lungs. They doubtless possess stimu- lating properties. In many Continental countries both the fruits and the wood of the Juniper are burned in hospitals to render the air wholesome ; and the ancients were wont to throw the berries on the funeral pile. They are still used in German villages instead of spices, and for the purpose of flavouring the sauer kraut ; and so abundant is the shrub on many moorlands of Germany, that the flesh of the heath-cock is said to be sometimes strongly flavoured with Juniper, and to be quite distasteful. The wood of the Juniper is aromatic, and so pleasant is the odour of the young twigs, that the housewife in Norway strews them over her floor, as our country people would strew sand. In Evelyn’s time spits for meat, and spoons, were made of this wood, and were thought to impart a wholesome property as well as an agreeable flavour to meat. The old notion of the ancients that the burning of Juniper-wood expelled evil spirits from the 200 CONIFERAG dwelling probably led to some superstitious practices with the plant in later days, as we infer from occasional mention by the poets. Thus, in Bishop Hall’s Satires, we find an allusion of this nature :— *¢ And with glasse stills, and sticks of Juniper, Raise the black spright that burns not with the fire :” while various ceremonies connected with the burning of this wood in some parts of Scotland, during the prevalence of an epidemic, have led to the inference that this old practice was a remnant of a Druidical superstition. The wood is capable of bearing a high polish, and is used by turners in making many small articles. 3. YEw (deus). Common Yew (7. baccdta).—Leaves crowded, linear, evergreen ; flowevs sessile, axillary. One never thinks of a Yew-tree, with its dark-green foliage, without thinking, too, of its best accompaniment—some village church, by whose portal, perhaps, it has stood for centuries, seeming yet to be the “challenger of time.” As in many cases it was green ere those grey walls or crumbling buttresses were reared, so too it will long survive the edifice which it now adorns, and utter to coming generations the silent lessons which it preaches to ours. So old is its aspect, that we can hardly imagine that it was ever young ; and, venerable and evergreen, we feel how well fitted it is for a symbol of immortality ; and, sombre as it is, how well Dryden’s epithet of the ‘““Mourner Yew ” befits the old tree. The fact that the Christian church was often reared, like that of St. Paul in London, on the site of an ancient heathen temple, must account for the great age of some of our old churchyard Yews. Many of them are un- doubtedly older than the Conquest ; and that celebrated old Yew of Bra- bourne, in Kent, now so long dead that no living inhabitant of the village saw its fall or knows its history—that ancient tree is believed to have been three thousand years old, and to have lived in those days when the shepherds listened to the glorious anthem sung by angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” It must, however, be confessed that the means by which some botanists have believed it possible to ascertain the age of the Yew are not universally admitted among scientific men. Evelyn described this tree, in his time, as fifty-eight feet eleven inches in circumference, having, as he says, measured it himself. Mr. Bowman, who wrote, some years since, in the Magazine of Natural History, an interest- ing paper on “The Longevity of the Yew, and its Connexion with Church- yards,” thinks it probable that our pagan ancestors, on their first arrival here, considered the Yew as the best substitute for the cypress in decking the graves ; and this writer refers to some lines of a very ancient Walsh bard, which are thus translated by Dr. Owen Pugh: “The Minster of Esgor and that of Hénllan, of celebrity for sheltering Yews.” Hénllan signifies “an old grove,” thus proving that its church stood where Druidical worship had been performed. When Augustine was sent by Gregory the Great to preach Christianity in Britain, hc was enjoined to purify, and not to destroy, the temples of FIR TRIBE 201 pagan worship ; and it is not unlikely that the very presence of the venerable Yew-trees would prove an attraction to these sites. The old pagans, like the modern heathen, loved to place trees around the place of worship. We may trace the custom even in those times when Israel, falling into the idolatries of the surrounding nations, had altars in groves and on high places, and forsook the God of their fathers, to worship the idol beneath the green tree. But many Yews, on which we yet look as we go up to the house of prayer, have been planted since the Christian faith shed its glorious influence over the hearts and homes of this land. When the doctrine of the im- mortality of the body, as well as that of the soul, came to be fully and generally recognised, the Yew, one of the greenest and longest-lived of trees, would yet seem an appropriate plant to place by the grave. The association of this tree with a spot at once dear and solemn would be long ere it lost its hold on the heart of the Christian ; and the thoughtful man yet likes to sit beneath its boughs, and think of the times long since passed away, and the men whose remains it overshadows. Then the convenience of such a tree, as affording shelter to those who have come over field and hill to the sound of the bell, and are awaiting the service, would afford another reason for planting the Yew near the church-porch ; and the practice of placing ever- greens on the coffin and in the grave would fit it for a further use. No record seems in existence which tells that the Yew was placed there that it might furnish the men of the time with wood for the bow; though we know that the wood of the consecrated Yew of the churchyard was worth more than the wood of an ordinary tree. Thus, the ancient law of Wales records: “A consecrated Yew, its value is a pcand ; a Yew-tree not conse- crated, fifteen pence.” In the olden times of England, the wood of the Yew was of no incon- siderable importance ; indeed, it was second only to that of the oak itself, as an old proverb might remind us, which says— ‘* England were but a fling, But for the bow and the grey goose-wing.” And the Yew-wood was far preferred to that of any other tree for the weapon of the archer. From England’s earliest days, the bow figures in her, history, and the imagination reverts to the story of King Alfred sitting on the peasant’s hearth, mending his bows and arrows, and to many a tale of Robin Hood and his merrie men, in which legend and history are inter- mingled. Chaucer calls the tree the “Shooter Yew,” and describes his archer as carrying a “mightie bowe ;” and, many years later, Spenser refers to the material of which such bows were made— ‘‘ Long he them bore above the subject plaine, As far as Eughen bowe a shaft may send.” The churchyard Yews scattered over the kingdom could have furnished but few of the bows required, though doubtless they, as well as many other trees, both wild and planted, contributed their due proportion, when, by a statute of Edward IV., every Englishman and Irishman residing in IIT.—26 202 CONIFER At England was commanded to have a bow of his own height, made of Yew, wych-hazel, or awburne. Foreign Yew was, however, preferred to that of English growth, and bows of “Outlandish Yew” sold at a high price. Michael Drayton says,— ‘* All made of Spanish Yew, their bows were wondrous strong.” Ships trading to Venice were desired to bring ten bow-staves along with every butt of Malmsey. Several of our British kings fell beneath the power of the bow, as Harold, William Rufus, and Richard Ceeur-de-Lion. _ It is, too, the most ancient of weapons, and even by the earliest Greek and Roman writers the Yew was renowned as the material especially valued by the archer. In those cruel battles when our kings laid claim to the succession of the throne of France, the archers were the chief reliance of Hngland, and many a noble Yew yielded its wood to the warrior, as Wordsworth has said— * Not loth to furnish weapons for the bands Of Umfraville or Perey, ere they march’d To Scotland’s heaths ; or those that cross’d the sea, And drew their sounding bows at Agincour, Perhaps at earlier Crecy or Poictiers.” So general was the use of the bow, that Grafton relates how, in the reign of Henry IV., after an affray at Cirencester, fourscore archers of the town were thanked for their services, among which were “certaine good women.” Long after the introduction of fire-arms in the fourteenth century, the bow was used in battle, as in that of Flodden Field ; and even as lately as the days of Queen Elizabeth, fire-arms were so badly made that an archer is said to have been able to shoot six arrows in the time required for charging and discharging a musket. Even after the bow had almost, or quite, fallen into disuse in battle, yet archery was much practised as an amusement. The good and learned Roger Ascham not only amused himself with shooting at the hazel-wands and rose-garlands, then used as marks, but published, in 1554, his “ Toxophilus, or the Schole and Partitions of Shootinge,” wherein he tells of the classical nature of the sport and its connexion with Apollo. He praises the art as “the companion of vertue, the mainteyner of honestie, the encrease of wealth and wealthinesse, which admitteth nothinge in a maner into his companye that standeth not with vertue and honestie.” From this old advocate of the art, as well as from various other writers of those times, we find how greatly the “Archer Yew” was prized. Ascham says: ‘‘The best wood is Yew ; the colour should be uniform ; those made of a bough are for the most part knotty, weak, and seldom wear to a good colour; the plant is better, but the bole of a tree is best of all.” The trunk of the Yew-tree is short, thick, straight, and furrowed, and its wide-spread boughs, well filled with fohage, cast a broad shadow—a shadow which the ancients believed would be fatal to one who slept beneath it. When fully grown, the tree is from thirty to forty feet high, and has at first a brown bark, which soon peels off. Its almost sessile green leaves, placed in two rows, are of a deep dark green, glossy above and paler beneath. The flowers are axillary and solitary ; those having stamens are of a light yellowish hue, from their abundant pollen; and the pistil-bearing ones, surrounded FIR TRIBE 203 with scales, somewhat resemble minute acorns. They are to be seen in March, as described by Bishop Mant— ‘* Nor curious less the mountain Yew, Which, ’mid its leaves of solemn hue, Its sulphur-coloured anthers now, In clusters on the dark-green bough, Here void of cup or blossom fair, Exhibits ; and at distance, there Its verdant chalices minute, The embryos of its scarlet fruit.” The Yew grows wild in this kingdom in mountainous woods ; and we may sometimes find a solitary Yew standing on the hill-sides, its deep verdure contrasting with the brighter tint of the grass. Such have we seen on the chalky hills of Kent, not far from Druidical remains, though not old enough or near enough to be connected with them ; and we haye thought of Words- worth’s lines— ‘* This solitary tree, a living thing, Produced too slowly ever to decay, Of form and aspect too magnificent To be destroy d.” The Yew was once abundant in the New Forest, but doubtless many of these trees of olden times have perished by the axe ; and as some of the old reasons for planting them exist no longer, they are now much fewer than in past ages. But there are spots in this kingdom where the tree grows in abundance. The Rey. C. A. Johns, in his “Forest Trees of Britain,” says “that on cliffs near Coomb Martin, in North Devon, numbers of these trees grow in places accessible only to birds ;”? and he mentions also that the Yew Island in Loch Lomond furnished, a few years since, three hundred Yews for the axe, while several noble trees yet remain there. ‘The most remarkable assemblage of Yews in Great Britain,” says this writer, “is at a place called Kingley Bottom, about four miles from Chichester. As to when or by whom they were planted, or indeed whether they were planted by the hand of man at all, history is silent. They are about two hundred in number ; one-half of them form a dense dark grove in the depth of the Bottom ; the remainder, smaller ones, are scattered over the sides of the valley, intermingled with fine plants of juniper and holly.” The Yew is frequent in Scotland, and grows at a great elevation on the limestone rocks of Ireland, though rarely attaining there any great size. It is indigenous to most European countries, but it is almost unknown in Sweden and Lapland. Linneus found it in but one place in the latter country, where the people called it Jd, or Idegran ; and Dr. E. D. Clarke, when in Sweden, saw it growing wild once only, and then not larger than a shrub; while it was reared with care, and regarded as a vegetable treasure, in the botanic garden of Upsal. The “Baneful Yew,” the epithet of Virgil, was particularly appropriate in times when men believed the tree to be very noxious. Pliny said, “ It is unpleasant and fearfull to looke upon, as a cursed tree, without any liquid substance at all.” The ancients sat not beneath its shadow, nor would touch of its fruits. They would not allow their beehives to be placed near it, lest the bee should suck its poison, nor would they have drunk wine from a 26—2 204 CONIFERA—FIR TRIBE bowl made of its wood. Shakspere calls it the “Double Fatal Yew,” and even in later days, poets, influenced by their classic associations, have described it as injurious. Both in ancient and modern times, the plant has been used medicinally ; and even within the present century, an Italian physician has stated that Yew-leaves, when administered in small doses, have a similar power to the Drgitdlis, in reducing the circulation ; and that its juice, like that of the foxglove, would prove fatal if taken largely. Plutarch and Pliny both thought the coral fruits poisonous ; and M. Decan- dolle and some other botanists regard them as dangerous; though Dr. Lindley considers that the seeds which lie in the scarlet cup are the noxious part. Sir J. E. Smith says that he has, in boyhood, eaten these sweet and juicy fruits without experiencing any ill-effects; and the author of these pages ate them in childhood, year after year, and in great numbers, without injury ; but the bitter seeds within were of course rejected. ‘The leaves, especially those of the young shoots, are certainly, under some circumstances, poisonous to animals. Professor Wiborg, of Copenhagen, is of opinion that they are so only when eaten without the admixture of any other food ; but that when eaten with three or four times the quantity of wholesome vege- tables, they are innocuous. Other botanists believe that they are poisonous only when in a withered state. The Yew was formerly much used for hedges, and also for clipping into various forms, as cones, spires, and pyramids, birds and animals. Even yet there exist many trees familiar to us from earliest days, as uncouth repre- sentations of peacocks, while others still show a well-clipped surface, cut into a globular form. Professor Burnet, writing of two trees of this kind in Bedfont Churchyard, says they have been thus disfigured for upwards of a century and a half, by the annual clipping of their shoots; they have no chance of escape from this condition, some eccentric person having left an annuity that they may be thus clipped for ever. Many venerable and picturesque Yews interest us the more, from their connection with history. Such are the magnificent trees near Fountains Abbey, beneath whose shadow the monks are said to have taken shelter while rearing the monastery. One of these trees, which is fifty feet high, is proved from old records to be upwards of eight hundred years old. Such, too, is the Ankerwyke Yew, near Staines, supposed to be upwards of a thousand years of age, on which the assembled barons might have looked when the Great Charter was signed, and beneath whose shadow Henry VIII. is believed to have held tryst with the ill-fated Anne Boleyn. The Yew is a valuable tree. Its wide evergreen foliage is a shelter for birds, when shelter is scarce, and many birds eat the berries. The wood is hard, close-grained, elastic, and durable, and forms excellent timber ; while the Yew-wood table is far more beautiful than that made of mahogany, and various ornamental articles are cut from the beautifully-veined trunk and root. As it will outlast almost every other wood, it is well fitted for piles, posts, and other objects which are exposed to damp and weather ; and it is a common saying in the New Forest, that ‘a post of yew will last longer than an iron one.’ CU HYDROCHARIDACEA.—FROG-BIT TRIBE 20 Cuass II. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. The plants of this class have only a single cotyledon or seed-lobe to their embryo; first-formed leaves alternate with each other. The stem is composed of woody fibre, cellular tissue, and spiral vessels ; but there is no true bark or pith, nor is there any trace of concentric annual layers, but wood and cellular tissue are mixed together. The stem increases by the addition of new matter within: hence the term ENDOGENOUS, or Inward Growers, is often applied to these plants. In our country the Monocoty- ledons are all herbaceous, and they may, in general, be readily distinguished by their leaves. These are commonly alternate, sheathing, and, in almost all cases, their veins run in parallel lines from the base to the point of the leaf, the principal veins being connected by nearly simple secondary veins, as in the Orchises and Grasses ; while, in the Dicotyledons, the veins diverge from the midrib to the margins of the leaves, and are connected by smaller veins branching in all directions, and forming a network, as in the leaves of the rose or bramble. The flowers of Monocotyledons have stamens and pistils—three, or some multiple of three, being the number which pre- dominates in the parts of fructification—and they are with or without a perianth. A large number of plants, forming Sub-class II., Glumacex, have chaffy scales or glumes, instead of sepals and petals. This Sub-class comprises the true Grasses, and their allies, the Sedges and Sedge-like plants. Sub-class I. PETALOIDEZ. Flowers having petals arranged in a circular manner ; or without petals. Order LXXXII. HYDROCHARIDACEA—FROG-BIT TRIBE. Flower-buds enclosed in a sheath; sepals 3, green ; petals 3; stamens 3; 9, 12, or more; ovary inferior, 1 or many-celled; styles 3 or 6; stigmas 3—6 ; fruit dry or juicy, not bursting, 1 or many-celled. The plants of this order are floating aquatics, possessing no important properties. 1. ANACHARIS.—Stamens and pistils on different plants ; barren flower, having a 6-parted perianth and 9 stamens ; fertile flower with a long thread- like tubular spathe, 3 sterile stamens, and 3 stigmas ; capsule 1-celled, few- seeded. Name said by the authors of the “British Flora” to be from the Greek ana, like, and charis, an abbreviation of the next genus. 2. Froe-pit (Hydrécharis).— Stamens and pistils on different plants ; stamens 12, 3 or 6 wanting anthers; ovary 6-celled ; stigmas 6. Name from the Greek hydor, water, and charis, elegance. 3. WATER SOLDIER (Stratidtes).—Stamens and pistils usually on different plants; stamens 12, surrounded by many imperfect ones; ovary 6-celled ; stigmas 6. Name from the Greek word for a soldier, because of its prickly, sword-shaped leaves. 1. WATER-THYME (Anicharis). Water-thyme (A. alsinistrum).—Leaves 3 or 4 in a whorl, linear, or oval oblong, thin, and minutely serrated; perennial. This plant, which is 206 HYDROCHARIDACEAA of recent introduction into this kingdom, is now generally distributed. Itis an aquatic, forming thick, entangled, submerged masses of considerable extent, and so heavy, that when cut, instead of rising, like most water- plants, to the surface, or floating onwards to the sea, it falls immediately to the bottom. Its slender whorled leaves are of a rather light green, and as thin as some of our grass-green seaweeds, growing on a long, brittle, round, almost transparent stem, which branches in all directions, sending out at intervals its fibrous roots, and bearing among its whorls of leaves, from May to September, very small pinkish-green flowers. ‘The whole plant, both in form and structure, is readily distinguished from every other of our native aquatics. The smallest portion of this plant, having the root attached, will, if broken off, propagate itself immediately ; and the history of the progress of this weed is now well known, and has become a matter of painful interest to many in this kingdom, though the mode of its introduction still remains a mystery. It is identical with the American aquatic termed Udora canadensis by Nuttall, and Elodea canadensis by other authors, and was originally dis- covered in this country by the late Dr. George Johnston of Berwick, in 1842, in the lake of Dunse Castle, Berwickshire, though it had been found in County Down six years earlier. The attention of several scientific men was called to the plant, but for several years nothing further was heard of it, till it was seen again by Miss Kirby, in 1847, in the reservoirs adjoining the Foxton locks on the canal near Market Harborough, in Leicestershire ; and as the locks had been cleansed about two years before, there was reason to believe that its introduction had been recent, although at that time it had become abundant in the water. Mr. Babington then published an account of this plant, and Dr. Johnston, on reading it, immediately recognised the description to be that of the same weed which he had seen some years before. On examining the loch of Dunse Castle, he found that this water- weed had not only accumulated there in great profusion, but that, having made its way out of the loch, it was forming matted patches in several places down the Whiteadder, in its course to the Tweed. In the same season it had appeared in the Nene, a tributary to the Trent in Nottingham- shire ; and propagating itself with its usual rapidity, it soon formed so large an amount of aquatic herbage, that it threatened to block up one of the two streams into which the Trent there divides; while in the Trent itself it afterwards grew in such profusion, that in some parts of the river fishing became quite impracticable, the fishermen finding their gear unable to com- pete with this new and formidable vegetable hindrance. ‘This plant was also found in the Watford locks, in Northamptonshire, growing in numerous and immense tangled masses. It was in the summer of 1849 that this troublesome water-weed was first discovered in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, where it formed, as it were, small green meadows on the water, both in the Trent and the adjoining canals ; in 1850 it had gathered in profusion near Rugby in Warwickshire, and in the following year it had appeared in the Cam at Cambridge, behind the colleges, and by its growth so clogged up the river, that the barges which had to make their way through its clumps required the aid of extra horses. The FLOWERED LON ] morsuis ~ranée Hydrocharis Lisinastaeuiw ) .coary An SOLDIEI Stratiotes WATE! aloides Ath. Bt: FROG-BIT TRIBE 207 collegians were, by its masses, prevented from rowing, as it not only impeded the course of a boat, but would even overturn it; while the most skilful swimmer became entangled in its toils. Bathers found it clinging to their limbs ‘like scratch-weed”; and in more than one case fatal accidents ensued in consequence of its intertwining branches. It was afterwards observed at Ely, where it occasioned immense trouble by choking up the railway-dock; and an engineer found that, in the year 1852, it had so hindered the drainage in the fenny parts of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon- shire, that it was equivalent to a rise of one foot in the outlet level. Mr. Marshall of Ely, who gave great attention to the progress of this weed, and who, in 1854, published a pamphlet recording his observations, said: “The specific gravity of this plant is so nearly that of water, that it is more disposed to sink than float ; and the cut masses may be seen under water, either on or near the bottom, rolling over and over, like woolpacks, clinging to everything they meet with, and accumulating in great quantities in locks and bridges, and grounding in shallow water. Its mode of growth may be best seen in still and shallow waters, where it seems to spring first from the two sides and the bottom, meeting at length in the middle, and completely filling up the watercourse, as I have seen in some cases, almost to the exclu- sion of the water.” Since the third discovery of the Anacharis in 1847, the plant has been found making its progress every season into some new or hitherto unobserved locality ; and, during the course of the year 1855, it was seen for the first time growing in abundance in a land-drain at Weybridge and Walton, which empties itself into the Thames, blooming there in profusion. None of the theories respecting the introduction of this plant into the Dunse loch are very satisfactory; but when once the weed reaches the waters in the centre of England, its dissemination ceases to be a mystery. Mr. Marshall, in a communication made to the Gardener’s Chronicle, in 1853, says: ‘In the letter which I published last year on this remarkable plant, I stated that when once introduced, it would, in a few years, inoculate any connected water system from one end to the other. I added, that if anyone would look at a good map of England, it would appear that there was hardly a spot so well situated as a centre from which to inoculate our English rivers, as Rugby, or the Watford locks near the Crick railway, where it was found in profusion. From such a point, situated at an altitude above the sea of 350 feet, and very nearly at the line of water-shed which divides England into the river-basins of the Severn on the west, the Trent on the north, the Ouse on the east, and the Thames on the south; a few detached pieces travelling different ways would enter the Severn through the Avon, by the way of Rugby and Warwick ; the Thames, through the Cherwell ; the Nene, above Northampton; the Ouse at Buckingham; the Welland at Market Harborough ; the Trent by the Anker, Tame, and Soar; from the Soar it might enter the Witham, through the Grantham Canal, and thence by Lincoln into the water-courses which drain the fens of North Lincolnshire, and which now are so full of this weed ; while, at the junction of the Trent with the Humber, that large river and its tributary streams might have been visited by this troublesome emigrant.” 208 HYDROCHARIDACE# In some instances, from an inexperience of the injury done by this water- weed, it has been intentionally introduced. This was the case in regard to the river Cam. In 1847 a specimen was brought from the Foxton lock, and placed in a tub in the botanical garden of Cambridge ; and in the succeeding year a small portion of the weed was placed there in the conduit stream, the exact spot being, as usual in such cases, indicated by a small stick. In the next year the plant had not only quite covered the stick from view, but had extended itself and spread all over the ditch. Thence it made its way into the Vicar’s brook ; thence into the Cam. “Thus,” says Mr. Marshall, “we see proved to demonstration, that the short space of four years has been sufficient for one small piece of Anacharis to multiply so as to impede both navigation and drainage.” A story is current that a lecturer on botany, in Scotland, who was remarking on the peculiarities of this plant, directed his hearers to look for specimens in a neighbouring canal, in which he assured them he had, some time since, planted the weed, and where indeed they found it. In the course of some time the evil thus inadvertently introduced had so injured some water-works by its masses, that the owner of the water threatened the lecturer with legal proceedings for having brought it there. A remarkable circumstance respecting this weed has led to the inference that all the plants in this country have proceeded from a single piece. The flowers bearing pistils and stamens occur on different individual plants, and in every specimen of the Anacharis seen in this kingdom until many years after, the pistil-bearing flower only was found—and thus it was not, as in the rivers of America, propagated by seed. In that country an identical or closely allied species exists in profusion, but in the more rapid waters it is not injurious, as in the still or slow-moving streams of this kingdom. Although the Anacharis was at one time so abundant in Dunse loch that a boat could with difficulty be pulled among it, yet it has now quite dis- appeared from that place. The same thing has since happened in many places where it abounded soon after its introduction. A correspondent in the Berwick Warder attributes its removal to the swans, though these birds, he says, were accused of having originally brought it there. He remarks that the swans lived entirely on this plant, throve well, rearing a numerous family on the quiet waters, till the year 1851, at which period the plant dis- appeared ; the birds then seemed to pine, and finally all died, save the original pair. These swans, no longer able to find this favourite food in the loch, followed the small burns down to the Whiteadder in search of it, and seemed to be its most relentless persecutors. Swans, as well as ducks, geese, and other aquatic fowls, will probably aid in its destruction, as they destroy the weeds which they feed upon; and an observer of their habits remarks, that “they have been known, when water-weeds were scarce, to eat through large masses of white lilies, leaving nothing but the stem. Everything less strong in its growth than the yellow water-flag seems to be destroyed by the cropping of these birds.” The Anacharis is called by the fishermen the Water Thyme, from a very slight resemblance to the foliage of Thyme, in the form of the young branches clad with leaves. FROG-BIT TRIBE 209 2. Frog-Bit (Hydrécharis). Common Frog-bit (H. mérsus-réne).—Leaves stalked, kidney-shaped, entire ; flowers springing from a membranous sheath ; perennial. The large white clustering blossoms of this plant float on many ponds and stagnant waters during July and August. They are thin and crumpled like the flower of a poppy, but are white and glossy, and sometimes tinged faintly with pink, their satiny surface looking almost like mother-of-pearl in its iridescent hues. The long roots proceed at intervals from the horizontal floating stems, and the glossy green roundish leaves have long stalks, and show very distinctly the veins which run from the base to the tip. The fruit is a roundish leathery capsule, containing many seeds. ‘This plant was called by the old writers Lesser Water Lily. Its name of Frog-bit has its synonym in several Continental countries. It is the Frosciliss of the Germans, and the Vorschenbect of the Dutch. The Russians term it Liaguschnik, and thé French Moréne ; and it ornaments the still waters of many European lands. It does not occur as a Scottish wild flower, nor is it one of the most common aquatics in England, though if planted it grows very readily, and deserves to be more frequently introduced into the streams and pools of gardens. 3. WATER-SOLDIER (Sfrativtes). Water-Soldier (S. aloides).—Leaves sword-shaped, triangular, prickly, from a perennial creeping stem. Except in the fenny parts of Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire, the Water-Soldier is a rare wild flower, and it is especially so in the north of the kingdom. It is one which would immediately attract attention by its dissimilarity from any other native plant, and its resemblance to an aloe. Its numerous rigid prickly dark-green leaves rise from the creeping runners, which are embedded in the mud at the base of the lake or ditch. The flower-stalk is about five or six inches long, flattened and two-edged. It bears, at its summit, a two-leaved sheath, out of which arise several very pretty, large, delicate white flowers having stamens, or one flower only bearing pistils. During the greater part of the year the plant remains submerged, but it raises itself to light and air during the flowering season, and then sinks to the bottom. The seeds sometimes’ ripen in the waters, but the plant is chiefly increased by offsets. The joints of the runners are furnished with small drooping buds on long stalks, these buds being composed of two scales folded together, between which may be seen, curiously enfolded, the embryo leaves of the future shoot. The leaves are much like those of the aloe, but of darker green, and have rigid, pellucid, sharply-pointed teeth. It appears to have been planted in the Scottish lakes, as well as in some English pools. It increases so rapidly as to become troublesome in ornamental pieces of water, and is said to be acrid; and, when growing in large quantities, to injure the water, and render it un- wholesome. It is often called Water Aloe. The French term it Aloides ; and the Germans, WVasserfeder. W237, 210 ORCHIDEAL Order LXXXIII. ORCHIDEA2—ORCHID TRIBE. Perianth of 3 sepals, usually coloured, and 3 petals, the lowest unlike the others and often spurred; stamens and styles united into a central column; anther of 2 cells, containing pollen which is either powdery or granular, but more frequently consists of 2, 4, or 8 waxy masses (pollinia) sometimes raised on minute stalks; stigma a moist space in front of the column ; fruit a 3-valved many-seeded capsule. The Orchid tribe consists of herbaceous perennial plants, those which are fixed in the ground having usually one, two, or more fleshy knobs attached to the base of the stem, and bearing very handsome and singular flowers. The tropical species often grow on trees, in the crevices of the bark, and have twisted and often stem- like roots. The groups of this order have been arranged by botanists according to the different condition of the pollen masses ; and the manner in which these adhere. 1. Boa Orcuts (Maldxis).—Sepals spreading, lip very small, erect, with- out a spur; 2 side petals turning upwards ; column round and very short, the anther hinged to its top. Name from the Greek malazis, softness, in allusion to the delicate texture of the species. 2. Fen Orcuis (Liparis).—Perianth spreading, lip flat, expanded, entire, turned backwards; column long. Name from the Greek /iparos, unctuous, in allusion to the surface of the leaves. 3. CoRAL-ROOT (Corallorhiza).—Petals and upper sepal converging, lateral sepals spreading ; lip turned down at the base, its spur connected with the ovary, column free; ovary and its stalk straight. Name from the Greek korallion, coral, and rhiza, a root, from the form of the roots. 4, HELLEBORINE (Epipdctis)—Lip swollen below, the extremity either entire or 3-lobed, the middle lobe the largest, and contracted in the middle ; ovary straight, on a twisted stalk. Name given by the Greeks to some species of Hellebore. 5. Brirp’s-NEST OR 'TWAY-BLADE (Listera). — Perianth spreading ; lip 2-lobed, and turned downwards ; pollen farinaceous. Named in honour of Dr. Martin Lister. 6. Lapy’s TRESSES (Vedftia).—Perianth incurved, the two lateral sepals erect ; lip channelled, embracing the wingless column, and uniting below with its base. Name from the Greek neottia, a bird’s nest. 7. Goopybra.—Perianth ringent, the two lateral sepals placed beneath the lip, which is swollen at the base, and entire at the extremity ; column free. Named in honour of Mr. John Goodyer, an English botanist of Queen Elizabeth’s time. 8. GMELIN’S CoRAL-ROOT (Epipogium).—Perianth somewhat spreading ; lip uppermost, 3-lobed, shortly spurred ; column short, stigma in front ; ovary not twisted. Name from the Greek, epz, upon, and pogon, beard or lip, from the latter being uppermost. 9, OrcHIs.—Perianth ringent, hooded ; lip 3-lobed, spurred. Name from the Greek, orchis, which was given to plants with double tuberous roots. 10. GYMNADENIA.—Perianth ringent; lip spurred at the base beneath. BOG ORCHIS Malaxis paludosa TWO LEAVED LIPARIS Lyparts loeseli Pi. 3. SPURLESS CORAT. ROOT Corallorhiza mnata BROAD- LEAVED HELLEBORINE Eprpactis latafolia A ORCHID TRIBE 211 Name from the Greek, gumnos, naked, and aden, a gland, because the glands on the stalks of its pollen masses are uncovered, and not, like those of the Orchis, enclosed in a little pouch ; a circumstance which chiefly distinguishes this from that genus. 11. Burrerrty Orcuis (Habeniria).—Perianth ringent, hooded; lip 3-lobed or entire, spurred. Name from habena, a thong or strap, from the shape of the spur. 12. Man Orcuts (Aceras).—Perianth ringent, hooded ; lip 3-lobed with- out a spur. Name from the Greek, a, without, and eras, a horn, in allusion to the absence of the spur. 13. Musk Orcuis (Herménium).—Perianth bell-shaped with erect seg- ments; lip 3-lobed, swollen beneath at the base, without a spur. Name from the Greek, hermin, the foot of a bed-post, suggested by the tuberous roots. 14. Opurys.—Perianth spreading ; lip variously lobed, without a spur. Name from the Greek ophrus, the eyebrow, the plant having been said by Pliny to be used in staining the eyebrow black; or perhaps from the eye- brow-like markings of the lip. 15. Lapy’s Siiprer (Cypripédium).—Perianth spreading ; lip large, in flated ; column with a large terminal dilated lobe, or sterile stamen separating the two anthers ; two lower lateral sepals often combined. Name from the Greek, Kupris, Venus, and podion, sock, or slipper. 1. Bog Orcutis (Maldzis). Bog Orchis (J. paludésa).—Stem with from 3 to 5 leaves, which are oval and coneave ; lip concave, acute. ‘This rare species, which is the smallest and least attractive of our native Orchids, grows on spongy bogs in many parts of the kingdom. It is found among, or rather on, the roots of the sphagnum-moss common to such places, bearing, from July to September, a small but long spike of yellowish-green blossoms, on an erect stem from two to four inches in height. The flowers are very small, the sepals egg-shaped and spreading, two turning upwards, their bases embracing the base of the upper lip. The leaves are fringed at the upper part with minute tubercles, rendering the margin roughish. These tubercles had been believed by Sir W. J. Hooker to be little bulbous leaf-buds, and were fully ascertained to be so by Professor Henslow, who examined some of the plants which grew in great plenty on Gamlingay Heath, in Cambridgeshire. “ Every specimen which I gathered,” says this botanist, ‘exhibited this fringe in a greater or less degree, and it required only the assistance of a common lens to show that it was occasioned by numerous little bulbous germs spreading from the edge and towards the apex of the leaf. They were of the same colour as the leaves, green on those which were more exposed to the light, and quite white on those which were lowest on the stem, and half buried in the peat and moss. Some of these germs were so far advanced as to have put forth the rudiments of two or three leaves, and others less so.” This Orchis often forms little groups of half a dozen or more plants. John Ray describes it as growing in his time in divers places in Romney Marsh, in 27—2 212 ORCHIDEAL Kent. It is probable that it is not so rare as is generally thought, its small size and yellow-green flowers rendering it very inconspicuous. 2. FERN ORCHIS (Liparis). Two-leaved Fern Orchis (LZ. loesélii).—Leaves 2, broadly lanceolate ; stem triangular; lip entire, longer than the perianth. This, which is a much rarer plant than the preceding, is found also on spongy and sandy bogs in Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdon, and Cambridgeshire, and Dillwyn found it in East Kent, growing at Ham Ponds. Its stem is about six inches high, and its flowers, which expand in July, and are of pale greenish-yellow colour, grow in the form of a loose spike. ‘The plant is thought by some writers to grow upon the roots of moss. The genus is by some botanists termed Stiurmia. 3. CoRAL-ROOT (Corallorhiza). Spurless Coral-root (C. inndia).—Spur very short, or wanting; root of thick fleshy fibres. This is a rare plant of boggy woods, found in the east of Scotland. Its stem is from six to twelve inches high, and it bears, in July, a few yellowish or olivaceous flowers in a short loose spike. The sepals are keeled and spreading, lanceolate and acute, and the petals are shorter, while the oblong whitish lip is waved, and sometimes lobed, at the margin, and has a few purple spots upon it. The plant has no leaves, and is distinctly characterized by the intertwining fibres of its underground stem, which, as our plate will show, resemble a piece of branched coral in form, though of pale-brown colour. It is a native of boggy soils in the northern part of the globe, where it feeds upon decaying vegetable matter. 4. HELLEBORINE (Lpipdctis). 1. Broad-leaved Helleborine (H. latifélia).—Leaves oblong or egg- shaped, many-nerved, embracing the stem, upper ones narrower ; raceme long and many-flowered, lower bracts longer than the flowers; upper lobe of the lip broadly egg-shaped, or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, broadest below the middle, with two protuberances on the disk as long, or nearly as long, as the sepals, and almost entire. Several varieties of this species occur, differing in the shape and breadth of the leaves, the colour of the flowers, and in the size of the terminal lobe of the lip. The Broad-leaved Helleborine is not infrequent in the woods of mountainous countries, and is found both in woods and on mountain slopes in some parts of this kingdom. The flowers appear in July and August, and vary in the different forms from purplish- green to an intense purple. The stem is from one to three feet high, the leaves always becoming narrower towards its upper part, and the under- ground stem creeping with long fibres. The forms generally recognised are : Sub-species L. latifolia proper; stems not tufted; sepals ovate-oblong ; tip of lip broader than long ; greenish-purple. The commoner form. Sub-species H. purpurata ; stems often tufted ; sepals oblong-lance-shaped, more pointed than in the type; tip of lip only as broad as long. Flowers violet-purple. Rare, found only in the south of England. Sub-species E£. utro-rubens ; stems shorter, leaves smaller; tip of lip 1 MARSH HELLE BORINE 3. NARROW-LEAVED WHITE H Epipactis palustris E. ensifolia LARGE WHITE Ht 4 PURPLE H FE. érandiflora E .rubra ORCHID TRIBE 213 broader than long, rounded. Flowers red-brown, appearing a month earlier than the others. Found on the limestone cliffs of Orme’s Head (Carnarvon- shire), in Yorkshire, Sutherland, ete. 2. Marsh Helleborine (£. paliistris).—Leaves lanceolate, embracing the stem; bracts generally shorter than the flowers ; terminal lobe of the lip roundish oval, or inversely egg-shaped, broadest at or above the middle, crenate, very blunt. This, which is a local species, is found on wet lands, in Britain, and more rarely inIreland. The flowers, which are somewhat droop- ing, grow in a lax spike, on a wiry stem, about a foot or a foot and a half high. The stem is sometimes tinged with purple. The sepals are purplish- green, the petals and lip white, varied with rose colour. 3. Large White Helleborine (£. grandifléra).— Leaves egg-shaped, or somewhat lanceolate, sessile; bracts longer than the smooth ovary ; sepals erect, blunt ; terminal lobe of the lip oval, abruptly blunt, shorter than the rest of the petals ; rootstock creeping. This is a very pretty and conspicuous plant among trees and bushes, on a chalky soil. ‘*It grows in deep green woods with tangled alleys, Where hues of sunshine stream athwart the trees, Where moss the thickest springs in dewy valleys, Where tassell’d grasses nod upon the breeze ; Where rambling wreaths delay the rash intruder, Holding him fast as each would notice claim, Where siender sapling twigs, a barrier ruder, Close round hia o’er the path through which he came.” The flowers grow on the upper part of the stem, in a distant spike, during May and June. They are of large size, the sepals nearly all equal, including the small lip marked with raised lines, and which, though white externally, is yellowish inside. The hue of the flower differs a little in different specimens ; in some it is pure as snow, in others delicately cream-coloured. The leaves are broad, and bright green and glossy. Some writers place this and the following species in a distinct genus, termed Cephalanthera, calling this C. pallens. 4, Narrow-leaved White Helleborine (£. ensifvlia).—Leaves lanceo- late ; bracts much shorter than the smooth ovary ; terminal lobe of the lip blunt; rootstock creeping. This is a rare plant of mountainous woods, flowering in May and June. Its large blossoms are somewhat spiked, and are white, the lip marked with several white lines and a yellow spot in front. The stem is usually more than a foot high. 5. Purple Helleborine (£. riubra).—Leaves lanceolate and acute ; bracts longer than the downy ovary; terminal lobe of the lip pointed and marked with raised lines ; rootstock creeping. This is a very rare plant of limestone woods in Gloucester and Somerset. The flowers are large and rose-purple, with a white lip, expanding in June and July, and forming a loose spike on a stem about a foot in height. These Helleborines are fertilized by wasps and flies, and to accommodate them the lip is hollowed out, basin fashion. After partaking of the honey, the wasp is compelled to come in contact with the stigma, and then to carry away pollen wherewith to fertilize the next Helleborine it visits. 214 ORCHIDEAL 5. Brrp’s-NEST OR TWAY-BLADE (Listera). 1. Common Tway-blade (LZ. ovdta).—Stem downy above, with only two opposite large egg-shaped leaves; column of fructification with a crest which includes the anther. This plant, well named ‘Tway-blade, is readily distinguished from all our native orchids by the two broad, glossy, green, strongly-nerved leaves, often eight inches long. The plant is from a foot to a foot and a half high, the flowers small in proportion to leaf and stem, of a yellowish-green hue, and forming a long loose spike from April to June. It is found in shady places, in orchards and pastures, and still more commonly in woods. Its rootstock is composed of numerous long fleshy fibres, connected in bundles by a main fibre. The two-lobed lip is slightly hollowed at its base, from which a channel runs down the centre in which honey is secreted. Flies and beetles follow this up to the end, where their heads come in con- tact with the tongue-shaped portion (rosfellum) of the column on which the pollinia stand. At the touch the rostellum exudes a drop of liquid cement at the base of the pollinia, which therefore become attached to the insect’s head, and are carried off to fertilize other Tway-blade flowers. 2. Heart-leaved Tway-blade (JL. corddta).—Stem smooth, with two opposite heart-shaped leaves ; column without a crest ; lip with a tooth on each side at its base. This is a much smaller species than the last, its stem rarely exceeding six inches in height, and its smooth leaves being usually little more than an inch long. It produces a few dull brownish-green flowers, very small, and forming a loose spike ; these expand from June to August, and have somewhat spreading sepals and a narrow drooping lip; the root- stock consists of a few stout fibres. It occurs in mountainous districts and on turfy moors, with a marked fondness for heather as a protection. It is rare in Ireland. 3. Common Bird’s-nest (L. nidus-dvis).—Stem leafless, but beset with sheathing brown scales ; column without any crest ; lip linear-oblong, with two spreading lobes. This is a very singular plant—stem, scales, and flowers all being of a dingy brown hue; so that its first appearance is that of a withered stem, till on examination we observe its succulent nature. Its sombre aspect and leafless condition, so like that of some of our native parasitic plants, as well as its growth among the fallen leaves around the trunks of trees, led to the opinion that this Orchid was parasitical in habit. Mr. Bowman, who examined the plant with much care, says: “It has long been doubted whether it is strictly parasitical. Whatever it may be in the earlier stages of its growth, it certainly is not so in its more advanced state. If it be carefully got up ina clod, and the soil afterwards washed from around it, the leaves (that is, the scaly appendages) of the central rootstock, or caudex, may be seen to terminate in a short curved spur, which tapers to a fine point, and evidently is not attached to any other vegetable. The cuticle of the stem and its bracts have no perspiring pores.” It is really a saprophyte, like coral-root, feeding upon decaying leaves. This plant received its old name of Bird’s-nest from the short, thick, fleshy entangling fibres of its roots, which might remind us of the sticks used by some of our larger birds in the framework of their nests. The young plants COMMON TWAYBLADE 4 Listera ovata HEART -LEAVED T L.cardata COMMON BIRDS-NEST 6 L mdus-avis 7 CREEPING GOODYERA Goodyera repens Pt. 217, FRAGRANT LADYS SUMMER L- T DROOPING IL TRESSES Neottia spiralis N @stivalis cernua ORCHID TRIBE 215 are produced from the extremities of these fibres. The Bird’s-nest Orchis flowers in June ; its thick fleshy stem is about a foot high, and the scales which sheath it are very succulent ; the blossoms grow in a long spike. It should be sought in dark beech-woods. This plant is the original Nedttia of Linneus, and many botanists separate it into a genus of that name, the following genus being by them termed Spiranthes. 6. Lapy’s TRESSES (NVedttia). 1. Fragrant Lady’s Tresses (N. spiriilis).—Root-leaves oblong, stem- leaves like bracts ; spike twisted, the flowers all pointing one way ; root- stock formed of two or three tubers about as large as a hazel-nut. The spiral arrangement of the blossoms of this pretty and delicate flower readily distinguishes this and the next species from our other Orchids. The blossoms are greenish-white, the upper sepal and the two lateral petals are combined, and the lip is longer than the rest of the flower, which is altogether somewhat bell-shaped in form. The spike sometimes twists from right to left, but at others in the opposite direction. The stem, which is from four to six inches high, is of a pale, almost sea-green hue, and the stem- leaves are of the same tint, and slightly downy. The flowers have a sweet though not powerful fragrance, the odour increasing in the evening. The leaves around the base are of a bright glossy green, but they do not appear till the flowers are fully blown. At the time when the flower raises its spike above the decayed leaves of the last autumn, a new tuft of leaves springs from just above the root, to prepare for the following season. The Rev. C. A. Johns remarks that the foliage is so tenacious of life that it continues to unfold even while subjected to the pressure made by the blotting-paper in the process of drying. The plant is often called the Autumnal Lady’s Tresses, as it flowers in September and October. It is not unfrequent on dry pastures. Also known as Spiranthes autumnalis. 2. Summer Lady’s Tresses (N. estivilis).— Root-leaves oblong-lanceo- late, those of the stem lanceolate and narrow ; spike twisted ; tubers cylin- drical. This is a very rare plant of bogs and marshes. Its recorded places of growth are a bog between Lyndhurst and Christchurch, in the New Forest, Hants, and St. Ouen’s Pond, Jersey. It has also been found in Wyre Forest, Worcestershire. The ovaries on the flower-stalks are placed: regularly one above another, somewhat resembling plaited tresses ; and both this and the last species are suggestive of various modes of hair-dressing used by ladies in olden times, and rendered familiar to us by their portraits. The flowers are greenish-white, in a lax spiral spike, and have a longer lip than those of the last species. 3. Drooping Lady’s Tresses (NV. cérnua).—Root-leaves linear-lanceo- late, stem-leaves lanceolate, somewhat triangular; bracts shorter than the flower ; spike crowded, 3-ranked ; sepals and petals equal; lip blunt, with shining tubercles at its base; tubers long, cylindrical. This species is the rarest of ali European Orchids. It was not known to be a British plant until the year 1810, when it was discovered by Mr. Drummond, at Castletown Berehaven, County Cork, in Ireland. It then disappeared until the year 1841, when it was rediscovered on the same spot, and sent to Dr. Woods, 216 ORCHIDEA4 of Cork. It is the only known European locality for the plant, though it is also found in Kamtschatka. The fragrant greenish-white flowers grow, in August and September, on a somewhat short stem, forming a spike about half an inch long. The plant is by some writers called Spiranthes gemmtpara, and S. romanzovidna. 7. GOODYER’S ORCHIS ((oodyéra). Creeping Goodyera (G. répens).—Lower leaves egg-shaped and stalked; sepals, petals, and lip egg-shaped, lanceolate ; rootstock creeping. This rare plant is found in pine forests at the north of this kingdom, especially in the Scottish Highlands. Its stem is about six inches high ; its leaves are mostly from the root; and it has narrow leaf-like bracts. The small cream-white flowers grow during August, in a spiral spike. The whole of the upper part of the plant is covered with minute glands. Mr. Loudon remarks of its creeping roots, that unlike those of most Orchids, the plant may be increased by division. 8. GMELIN’S CoRAL-ROOT (Epipogium). Gmelin’s Coral-root (£. gmelini).—Lip 3-lobed, somewhat concave, continued backwards as a short, stout spur; the centre whitish, with rows of red glands. Sepals and petals somewhat spreading. Rootstock of fleshy, branched fibres similar to those of Corallorhiza. This is an exceedingly rare saprophyte, whose sole British locality is Tedstone Delamere, in Hereford- shire. Its pale yellow-brown stem is about six inches high, its leaves reduced to one or two small sheathing scales, above which are the 2 to 6 pale yellow flowers on their short thick ovaries. The sepals and petals are narrow lance- shaped, with turned-in edges; and the lip, which is uppermost, has small lateral lobes. The position of the lip is due to the fact that the ovary is not twisted. The plant grows among dead leaves, and flowers in August. 9. ORCHIS (Orchis). 1. Green-winged Meadow Orchis (0. mério).—Lip 5-lobed, slightly crenate, middle lobe margined ; sepals and petals blunt, ascending, hooded ; spur blunt, rather shorter than the germen ; tubers two, globular, undivided. This is not an infrequent plant of the English or Irish meadow, during the month of June. It grows among the grass, either hiding amidst its blades or rising above them, varying in height from half a foot to a foot. The flowers are few, forming a loose spike, and may be distinguished by their dull purple sepals, which are marked with green veins, and curved upwards so as to form a kind of helmet over the rest of the blossom. The lip is purple, paler in the middle, and marked with purple spots. The leaves are smaller than those of most members of the genus, and are not spotted. 2. Early Purple Orchis (0. mdscula).—Lip 3-lobed, somewhat crenate, the middle lobe margined ; sepals acute, the two lateral ones turning up- wards ; petals converging ; spur blunt, rather longer than the ovary ; tubers two, egg-shaped. This is the commonest of our native Orchises, and all who delight to roam in green meadow or leafy woodland, during May, have GREEN WINGED EARLY PURPLE { MEADOW ) ORCHIS Orehis moro O. maseula 218. DWARF GREAT DARK- WINGED 0 O. usinlata BROWN-WINGED (¢ QO. fusca aaa re ‘ a wt h \ ak an ORCHID TRIBE 217 mingled it with their spring flowers. Speaking of this plant, Bishop Mant Says ; “In that broad field of springing grass, First of his lip and hornéd class, The early-flowering Orchis show’d His smooth and spotted leaves, and glow’d With spiky stalk elate, and head Of spiral blossoms purple red.” The succulent stem is about a foot high, generally more slender than that of the last species, and tinged more or less with purple. The upper leaves mostly clasp the stem ; the lower ones are oval-lanceolate, of a bright glossy green, generally spotted with dark purple. The flowers form a loose spike, each flower rising from a somewhat twisted ovary, and having a long spur turning upwards. Their colour is usually of a rich reddish-purple, but it is sometimes very pale, the centre of the lip whitish at the base, spotted, and downy, and the sepals are without veins. The flowers are in the daytime slightly fragrant ; but in the evening the odour increases, and becomes, if exhaled in an apartment, most powerfully disagreeable, and reminiscent of cats. All the European species of the genus Orchis have underground stems in the form of tubers, sometimes entire, and sometimes divided, and furnished with thick fleshy fibres. One of these tubers is destined to outlive the other ; and on examination, we find one of them plump and vigorous, while the other is wrinkled and withering, about to be succeeded, however, by a new one on the opposite side. ‘The plump knob is, in fact, an offset of the other, and has a new white bud rising on the top of it, from which the stem of next year is destined to emerge. In consequence of this mode of growth, the actual position of the Orchis plant is changed about half an inch every year ; for the new tuber invariably takes its origin from a point in the solid one exactly opposite to the decayed one, and thus— **The Orchis takes Its annual step across the earth ;” and it will be found, in the course of a dozen years, to have moved several inches from its original station. The roots of this and the Green-winged Meadow Orchis furnish the. substance called ‘“salep,” which was long imported from Turkey and other parts of the Levant, until it was discovered that our native plants could supply it. Salep is little used now in this country ; but, less than a century since, the Saloop-house was much frequented, and the substance was a favourite repast of porters, coal-heavers, and other hard-working men. It is said to contain more nutritious matter, in proportion to its bulk, than any other known root, and an ounce of salep was considered to afford support to a man for a day; hence, those who travel in uninhabited countries have greatly prized so portable a vegetable food. It is still much used in Eastern countries ; and a friend of the author’s, long resident in India, remarks in a letter: ‘Many a good basin of the thick salab gruel, prepared from the ground, dried root of an Indian Orchis, have I swallowed, and found highly nutritious. It is called in Hindustani, Salub-ee-misree ; hence, I suppose, IlI.—28 218 ORCHIDEAL ) Salep or Saloop.” Forskhall says that the plant which furnishes this substance is in Persia called Sahleb. The farinaceous powder is prepared by washing the tubers, and drying them in an oven; salep, made some years since in Gloucestershire from the early Purple Orchis, was found to be quite equal to what was imported. The tuber should be taken up when the plant is in seed, and the stalk about to fall from it. It is then at its full size, and about as large as a pigeon’s egg. With the exception of salep, our British species of Orchis yield no useful substance. The showy foreign kinds are scarcely more productive. A kind of cement or glue is obtained from the roots of some exotic species ; and the vanilla used in flavouring chocolate and other sweetmeats is the dried fruit of the Vanilla planifolia. 3. Dwarf Dark-winged Orchis (0. wstuldta).—Sepals dark purple, forming a helmet including the two small petals; lip white, with raised purple dots; spur and bracts about half as long as the ovary ; tubers egg- shaped. This Orchis is readily distinguished by its low growth, and dark brownish-purple colour, in some specimens so dark that, before the flowers are fully expanded, they look as if they had been blackened by a scorching flame. The spike is oblong, the flowers small, and usually more crowded than in the specimen represented by the plate. They expand in May and June, on a stem about four inches high. The leaves are deep green. The plant grows on chalky hills and pastures, and is not one of our common species; though it may be found plentifully in some localities. It has a faint and delicate odour, like that of boiled cherries. 4, Great Brown-winged Orchis (0. fusca).—Lip 3-lobed, with raised rough dark-red spots, the lateral lobes linear-oblong, the middle one large, inversely heart-shaped, crenate, with an intermediate tooth; sepals rather blunt, hooded, and including the petals; spur blunt, half as long as the ovary ; tubers egg-shaped. ‘This, which is the largest and tallest of our Orchids, is commonly one to three feet high. In Kent and Sussex, which from the chalky soil are famous for Orchids, this plant is, in May, often very conspicuous in the woodlands and on the bushy hill; and it seems to be peculiar to those counties. It is often carried into the towns in baskets for sale, mingling among green 'T'way-blades, and dim brown Bird’s-nests, and overhung by graceful ferns. Kentish country people call it the Lady Orchis ; and the reader may see, by glancing at our plate, that though its form is not very suggestive of its name, yet that there exists some slight similarity in each blossom to a lady attired in wide-spread gown and close bonnet. . The leaves are oblong, blunt, bright green, and glossy. The helmet is brownish-purple and variegated, and the lip of a paler hue. It is also known as O. purpurea. 5. Military Orchis (0. malitéris).—Lip deeply 3-lobed, with rough raised points ; the two side lobes linear-oblong, short ; the middle lobe again divided into two slender segments, with an intermediate tooth; sepals hooded, including the two petals ; spur blunt, about half as long as the ovary ; bracts short ; tubers egg-shaped. This plant is very similar to the last in the structure of its flowers, and is intermediate in this respect between that and the following species. It is much smaller than the Great Brown-winged i MILITARY ORCHIS 3 LAX-FLOWERED 0O. Orchis tmilitams O. Jaxiflora MONKEY 0. 1 MARSH O O. tephrosanthos O. Jatifolia Pl, 219, ORCHID TRIBE 219 Orchis ; the helmet is of a pale ash colour, the lip deep purple, white in the middle, and spotted. It occurs on chalky hills in Berkshire, chiefly about Reading ; and also in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, and Hertford- shire, flowering in May. 6. Monkey Orchis (0. fephrosdnthos).—Lip 3-parted; the two side lobes long and narrow, the middle one deeply cleft with an intermediate tooth ; sepals pointed, hooded, including the two petals ; spur half as long as the ovary; bracts very small. This beautiful and curious Orchis is somewhat slender, and bears in May a spike of pale purple-spotted flowers, with a lip cut into deep segments of darker purple. Some botanists doubt if it is truly distinct from the last species. Sir J. D. Hooker regards it as a sub-species of the Military Orchis under Lamarck’s name of 0. sima. The chief difference consists in the more slender divisions of the lip and its more crimson tint. It is found on chalk hills in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Kent. 7. Lax-flowered Orchis (0. lazifléra).—Lip 2 or 3-lobed ; lateral lobes rounded in front, longer than the intermediate lobe, which is sometimes absent ; spur stout, half as long as the ovary ; lateral sepals turning back- wards, middle one erect ; petals hooded ; tubers globose. This plant is found in wet grassy lands in Guernsey and Jersey, and on ballast heaps about Hartlepool. It is a handsome flower in May and June. Mr. Babington remarks, that it is allied to 0. médrio ; but that plant has single-nerved bracts, and all the segments of its perianth, except the lip, are hooded, the short spur also affording a distinctive character. The stem is one to three feet high, the flowers of a bright red-purple, the leaves lanceolate or linear- lanceolate. 8. Marsh Orchis (0. latifélia).—Lip scarcely 3-lobed, its sides slightly turning under; sepals spreading, the two petals hooded ; spur cylindrical, shorter than the ovary; bracts as long as the flower, sometimes longer ; tubers palmate. A very pretty flower is the Marsh Orchis, and a very frequent one, too, on marshy meadows and damp grassy lands in June and July, growing among the rich drooping clusters of the waxy pink cross- leaved heath, and the green or pale and rosy-tinted bog mosses. It is a tall and somewhat slender plant, with a hollow stem about a foot high, and oblong, spotted leaves remarkably erect with flat tips. The flowers are sometimes of a pale pinkish hue, but oftener deep lilac or dull purple, the lip dotted and streaked with purple; while, on the sands of Barrie, they have been found perfectly white. The long bracts taper to a point. Also known as O. palmata. There is a sub-species (0. incarnata) with lance-shaped, pointed leaves, broader at the base, unspotted, and with concave tips. This form has larger flowers. It has been found in Cornwall, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. 9. Spotted Palmate Orchis (0. maculdtu).—Lip flat, 3-lobed ; sepals spreading, the two petals hooded ; spur as long as or shorter than the ovary ; bracts varying much in length, sometimes as long as the flower ; upper leaves linear-lanceolate, lower ones mostly blunt, and spotted with purple ; tubers palmate. The delicate lilac, or occasionally white, flowers of this Orchis grow on a solid stem about a foot high in June and July, forming at first a 28—-2 220 ORCHIDEAL short spike, which afterwards lengthens. The flowers are streaked, and spotted more or less with purple, especially the lip, which is deeply lobed, having the side-lobes rounded, and the middle lobe longest. It grows in abundance on heaths and pastures where the soil is moist. Its leaves are slender and distant. 10. Pyramidal Orchis (0. pyramiddlis).—Lip with three equal lobes and two tubercles at the base above ; lobes oblong, blunt as if cut off; sepals spreading, pointed ; spur very slender and longer than the ovary ; leaves linear-lanceolate, tapering; tubers globose. This lovely Orchis is not infrequent on the chalky soils of various parts of England, growing among grass. Many a fine specimen may be gathered from the cliffs of Dover, while some grow there on spots inaccessible even to the most adventurous footsteps ; but, gleaming among the verdure, are conspicuous afar off in their tint of rich crimson purple— so rich that the artist despairs of imitating it on paper. The stem is from twelve to eighteen inches high, bearing, in July, a short, broadly-conical cluster of crowded flowers, spirally arranged, the spike becoming longer with age. The bulging protuberance of the lip, and the long slender spur, are marked features of this Orchis. The leaves sheathe the stem, about five or six growing from the root. The flowers are some- times white, and in some rare instances double ; and the plant has an odour which to some is pleasing, though we cannot praise it. Douglas Allport, in some verses on this flower, tells of the power of the gathered blossom to recall the scenes amid which it once grew :— ‘‘Thus, when within my sunless room, Heart-sick and worn with Mammon’s leaven, Thy pyramids of purple bloom Blush through its loneliness and gloom, The spirit bursts its living tomb, And basks beneath the open heaven. ‘*There, as on some green knoll reclined, The summer landscape round me glowing, While gentle ardours fill the mind, I leave the unquiet world behind, And hear a voice in every wind Around my fervid temples blowing. “Thus, through this woodside plant, the mind Sweeps the vast range of things created, And longs, and pants, and fails to find In earth, and ocean, sky, combined, Those joys, unfailing and refined, By which its famine may be sated.” 11. Lizard Orchis (0. hircina).—Uip 3-parted, downy; segments narrow, middle one very long and curled like a tendril, lateral ones much shorter ; spur very short. This plant, always very rare on the bushy chalky hills of Kent and Suffolk and Surrey, has not been seen recently by any botanist. It flowers in July, and is described as much resembling a lizard in shape; its calyx green, spotted with purple, its lip purplish-white and spotted at the base, the middle segment more than an inch long, green, and the smell of its flowers as most disgusting and goat-like. Most of the species in this genus are remarkably adapted for cross- fertilization by insects with long tongues, chiefly bees and. flies. They SPOTTED PALMATE ORCHIS 3 LIZARD 0 Orechis maculata O. lorema Z PYRAMIDAL O, + FRAGRANT GYMNADENTA O. pyramidalis Gymnadema conopsea Pl, 220, ORCHID TRIBE 221 produce no honey, but the insects are able to suck a presumably sweet juice through the inner lining of the spur. To reach this their heads must be pressed against the viscid base of the pollinia, which are thus glued to their heads and drawn out of their pouches when the insect retires. The pollinia then droop to some extent, and assume such position as brings them in contact with the stigmas of flowers subsequently visited. 10. GYMNADENIA (Gymnadénia). Fragrant Orchis (Gymmnadénia condpsea).—Lip 3-lobed; lobes nearly equal, entire, blunt, free from spots ; the two lateral sepals spreading ; the two lateral petals converging; spur slender, twice as long as the ovary ; tubers egg-shaped. Several of our native Orchids have a pleasant and delicate fragrance ; but none in this respect equals the Gymnadenia either in power or sweetness. The scent is almost too much for a room, though delicious when borne on the midsummer breeze from the hundreds of blossoms which sometimes stud the dry grassy plains during June and the two following months. It is especially common in the mountainous parts of Scotland ; but it grows, too, on many hill-sides of England, whence we may gather a large and fragrant nosegay of its flowers from meadows, on which they stand in conspicuous beauty by thousands. The flowers are of a deep rose-colour, rarely white, and still more rarely spotted with deeper red. It is found mostly on dry soils, often in company with the Pyramidal Orchis ; but Mr. Loudon remarks that it grows sometimes with Epipactis palustris on bogs, where the foot can hardly tread. The stem is about a foot high, the leaves oblong-lanceolate, and keeled, and the flowers are arranged on a spike somewhat dense at first, afterwards more lax. The flowers are distinctly broader than long. Bentham unites this genus with the next. 11. HABENARIA, BUTTERFLY OrcHIS (Habendria). 1. Green Habenaria (H. viridis).—Spur 2-lobed, very short ; lip 2-cleft, linear, with an intermediate tooth ; sepals and petals forming a hood ; bracts much longer than the flower; tubers palmate. This small Orchis is not uncommon on dry pastures—a solitary specimen often growing on a spot far from any other, unlike most of our Orchids, which generally grow socially. Its stem is six or eight inches high, the helmet of the flower green, and the lip greenish-brown. The blossoms form a lax spike from June to August. The lower leaves are egg-shaped and blunt; and the stem is from six to twelve inches high. The plant is sometimes called, though with little reason, I'rog Orchis. 2. Small White Habenaria (Z. albida).—Lip 3-lobed ; lobes acute, middle one longest and broadest ; sepals and petals nearly equal, converging ; spur blunt, shorter than the ovary; rootstock of fleshy fibres. This is a smaller and prettier Orchis than the last, bearing a long spike of little yellowish-white fragrant flowers, during June, July, and August. The lower leaves are oblong and blunt, the upper lanceolate and acute. The stem is from six to twelve inches high. This Orchis is not infrequent on mountain pastures, in Sussex, Wales, and to the north of York and Lancaster. 222 ORCHIDEAR 3. Entire Habenaria (#7. intacta).—Lip 3-lobed, projecting, the lateral lobes short and slender, petals pointed ; sepals darker than the pinkish petal, and spotted lip; spur somewhat globose ; tubers egg-shaped, entire. This rare plant is very similar in general habit to H. albida, but it is smaller, ranging from four to ten inches in height. The three or four oblong—often spotted—leaves are arranged in a rosette. The flowers are arranged in a dense-flowered spike, that is sometimes twisted, and they open in June. The plant, which is found on limestone pastures in Mayo and Galway only, has been a veritable shuttlecock for the systematic botanists, Sir Joseph Hooker remarking that it has been referred to no less than seven genera in suc- cession. 4. Lesser Butterfly Orchis (H. di/dlia).—Spur twice as long as the ovary ; petals converging, blunt; lip linear, entire, blunt ; leaves generally two, elliptical, tubers lobed. This, though a singular and lovely flower, would scarcely suggest the idea of a broad-winged butterfly, though it might remind us of a smaller winged insect. The stem, which is slender and angular, is about a foot high, and the loose spike of white or greenish-white blossoms is about four or five inches long, expanding from June to August. The corollas are remarkable for their length of spur, and the strap-shaped lower lip. The spur is so long and slender that bees find it not worth their while to visit the flowers, which can only be fertilized by butterflies or moths. Its white hue suggests, in connection with the foregoing fact, that night- flying moths alone are wanted, and this is made the more evident by the flower becoming fragrant at night only. The two broad leaves are bright green; the bracts are narrow and lanceolate. The plant is common in moist woods, and on heaths. 5. Great Butterfly Orchis (H. chlordntha).—Spur twice as long as the ovary, expanded at tip and decurved; petals converging, blunt, larger and proportionately broader than in H. bifolia ; lip linear, entire, blunt; leaves elliptical, and usually two; tubers lobed. This plant is very similar to the last ; and many botanists doubt if it is truly distinct from it. It is both taller and stouter than the preceding, and its flowers much larger and more beautiful, expanding at the same season, or slightly later. Its stem is usually a foot or a foot and a half high; but Mr. F. A. Paley found a specimen measuring two feet, in a wood near Clifton; and we have observed it, in copses about Waldershare in Kent, attaining such luxuriance that its white flowers could be seen by moonlight, growing among bushes and ferns, as we passed the high road by the wood. The spike is sometimes lax, but is in some specimens crowded. It is found occasionally on dry pastures and heaths, but more frequently in moist woods and thickets. Hooker regards it as a sub-species of H. bifolia. 12. Man Orcuis (4ceras). Green Man Orchis (ZA. anthropéphora).—Lip 3-parted ; segments linear and very narrow, middle one 2-cleft; sepals acute, hooded, including the two small linear blunt petals ; tubers egg-shaped. This is a local plant, that occurs only in dry chalky wooded or bushy places between Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and York. It bears in June, on a stem about a foot high, a long GREEN HABENARTA GREAT BUTTERFLY ORCHIS Habenaria viridis H chlorantha SMALL WHITE a GREEN MAN ( A. albida Aceras anthropophora LESSER BUTTERFLY ORCHIS ( GREEN MUSK © i. bitolia Herminivum monearchis Pl. 221. ORCHID TRIBE 223 lax spike of yellowish-green flowers, which have a very sweet odour by day, but which, like several green flowers, have a stronger scent in the evening, though we cannot describe it as agreeable at that time. The lip of the blossom has its middle lobe deeply cleft, and margined with purplish-brown ; but occasionally the lip is crimson, and the green helmet is often marked with lines of this hue. We have often witnessed the disappointment of those who looked for the first time on this plant, and could trace little of that similitude to which it owes its familiar name. On observing it closely, however, one may detect some resemblance to the human figure, with the head enclosed in a casque; but for that likeness to animated nature which some of the Orchids exhibit, we must, among our British flowers, look to the genus Ophrys. There is no spur to this flower. 13. Musk Orcuis (Hermtnium). Green Musk Orchis (H. monérchis).—Lip 3-lobed, middle lobe the longest ; sepals eg z-shaped, shorter than the petals; root-leaves usually two, lanceolate-oblong, a small leaf on the stem; tubers egg-shaped, far asunder at the end of thick fibres. This little Orchis bears a slender spike of greenish flowers in June and July. The stem is from five to ten inches in height, and very slender. It grows on chalky pastures south of Cambridge, Norfolk, and Gloucester. ‘The minute flowers produce neither spur nor honey, but at night they give out the odour of musk, and this attracts a large number of small fry in the way of tiny beetles and flies which fertilize the flowers. 14. OPHRYS (Ophrys). 1. Bee Orchis (0. apifera).—Lip swollen, 3-cleft, the intermediate lobe recurved at the margin, with a long awl-shaped reflexed appendage in the notch ; petals oblong, bluntish, downy; tubers egg-shaped. Anyone who even glanced at this pretty wild flower might imagine a large velvety bee was sitting on it. On many chalky fields south of Durham and Lancaster it is not infrequent; also in the middle and south of Ireland, and in the Channel Islands. The stem is about a foot high, bearing a few distant flowers in June and July. The sepals, which look like delicate wings, are either greenish-white or of a pale or deeper lilac tint; and the little oblong petals are of the same hue ; while the lip, which represents the body of the ‘ insect, is brown, variegated with yellow, and soft and velvety. The author has found it near Dover with snow-white blossoms, but fears to indicate the spot, lest some ruthless collector should extirpate it. Linnzus named this species 0. insectifera : and certainly this, the Fly Orchis, and in a less degree the Spider Orchis, bear a resemblance to the insect race. But many foreign Orchids exhibit similarities, no less striking, to butterflies, spiders, frogs, and other living creatures. The purpose of this singular resemblance is by no means clear. It has been suggested that it was to attract bees, and also to drive them away. It would certainly appear that the visits of bees are not required, for not only is there no honey and no spur, but the pollinia are not meant to be removed; they are on long stalks, and ultimately fall forward upon the stigma, thus securing self-fertilization. 2. Late Spider Orchis (0. arachnites).—Lip somewhat swollen, with 224 ORCHIDEA)—ORCHID TRIBE four shallow marginal lobes, and a terminal flat heart-shaped appendage, which is always straight ; sepals coloured; petals angular, downy. This is a rare plant of the chalky downs in Kent and Surrey. The sepals are pinkish, a little tinged with purple, and with a green vein down the middle ; the velvet lip is dark purple, variegated with yellow or green, and the appendage of light green. The pollinia are said to differ from those of the Bee Orchis in having stiffer footstalks and not falling over on the stigma. It appears to be only a sub-species of O. apifera. 3. Spider Orchis (0. aranifera).—Lip swollen, scarcely 3-lobed ; middle lobe without an appendage, or with a minute point or gland in the notch ; petals narrow. In one form, tke lip is lobed at the margin; and the petals are smooth. In the other, sometimes termed 0. fucifera, the lip has no lobes, but a spreading wavy margin, and the petals are downy. This Orchis is not infrequent on chalky pastures from Kent to Dorset, and northward to Northampton and Suffolk. Its sepals are green, and its lip of a deep brown hue and hairy, having greenish, or more often dull yellow, lines, frequently resembling the Greek letter II. It is a low-growing Orchis, rarely half a foot high, the flowers, which are few in number—often not more than three on a plant—reminding one of spiders. The flowers appear in April, May, and June. 4. Fly Orchis (0. muscifera).—Lip oblong, 3-cleft, with a broad pale spot in the centre ; middle lobe long and 2-cleft ; petals thread-like ; tubers ege-shaped. This common and pretty Orchis grows on downs and copses on chalk and limestone from Durham and Westmoreland south as far as Kent and Somerset; also in Mid-Ireland and North Kilkenny. Its flowers are about the size of the common house-fly, though often larger, and its resem- blance to that insect is very striking. The green sepals are like wings, and the lateral petals are very like the antennz of insects ; while the brownish- purple lip, with a pale blue, somewhat square spot in its centre, resembles the body of the fly. The little flowers, about nine or ten in number, in luxuriant specimens, are scattered over the upper half of a slender stem, about a foot high, and look as if the insects were pausing there to rest on the stalk. Parkinson says of this plant :—‘‘ The neather parte of the flie is black, with a list of ashe colour crossing the backe, with a show of legges, hanging at it; the naturall flie seemeth so to be in love with it, that you shall seldome come in the heate of the daie but you shall find one sitting close thereon.” The author of these pages, however, who has been from childhood much accustomed to watch this flower, has not observed this, though the bees certainly seem attracted by the Bee Orchis. [It has been conclusively shown since Miss Pratt wrote that flies do visit these flowers and fertilize them by pollinia brought from a flower previously visited. It is not probable that the fly is attracted by the superficial resem- blance to one of its own class, but by the carrion colour, and by the beads of moisture which ooze from the surface of the lip. The dry and shining “eyes” of the floral counterfeit also resemble globules of liquid, and the fly licks them in that belief. In so doing, its head comes against the pollen gland, and the pollinia are detached wherewith to fertilize the next flowers visited. —ED. ] (eau vt eor U IRIDEZ—IRIS TRIBE | 995 Bishop Mant thus alludes to some of these flowers. Comparing them with the Early Purple Orchis, he says :— ** And few of that most curious race, Or those that rival them in grace, Perhaps exceed ; the Ophrys kind In the advancing season join’d, Stamp’d with their insect imagery, Gnat, fly, and butterfly and bee, To lure us in pursuit to rove Through winding coombe, through shady grove.” 15. LaDy’s SLIPPER (Cypripédium). Lady’s Slipper (C. calcéolus).—Stem leafy ; sepals and petals spread- ing ; lip inflated, slightly compressed, and shorter than the sepals ; rootstock creeping, not tuberous. Those who have ever seen this lovely and rare Orchis, cannot fail to regret that it is not a more common woodland flower. It is the most beautiful of European Orchids, and has a far larger blossom than any other of our native species. This is usually solitary, though two flowers sometimes grow together on the leafy downy stem, which is a foot or a foot and a half high. The sepals are an inch or an inch and a half long, and the petals are narrow, all being of a deep rich brown colour. The swollen lip, over an inch in length, is rich yellow, with a network of darker veins, and elegant slipper-like form. It flowers in May, and grows in some dense woods in Durham and Yorkshire, and other northern counties, but appears to be almost extinct. It is not only innocuous, but somewhat nutritious ; and a decoction of its roots was recommended by Gmelin in cases of epilepsy ; but Professor Burnett, remarking on this, says that their influence on the disease “is more than apocryphal.” The French call the plant Soulier de la Vierge, or Soulier de Notre Dame ; the Germans, Venusschuh ; and the Portuguese, Calcado de Nuessa Senhora. This species differs from all the other British Orchids in having two anthers ; the others have each a single anther with two cells and two or more pollen masses. In this case the column, instead of being erect, curves over, and with its anthers almost fills the entrance to the bag-like lip. Attracted by the fragrance, small bees (Andrena) push in to partake of the honey they mistakenly suppose to be there. The incurved edges of the lip prevent return by the way they came, and they have to crawl out by the ° side of the column, first pressing against the stigma, then carrying off some pollen from one of the anthers. Order LXXXIV. IRIDEA—IRIS TRIBE. Perianth 6-parted ; stamens, 3, rising from the base of the sepals ; ovary inferior, 3-celled ; style 1; stigmas 3, often petal-like; capsule 3-celled, 3-valved ; seeds numerous. The order consists of perennial herbs, often with very handsome flowers, rising from a spathe or sheath, and having, except in Trichonema and Crocus, flat sword-shaped sheathing leaves. They are chiefly natives of warm and temperate climates. 1. Iris.—Perianth with the three outer divisions longer and reflexed ; I11.—29 226 IkRIDEAs stigmas 3, resembling petals, and covering the stamens. Name from Jris, “the rainbow,” from the bright hues of the flowers. 2. CorN-FLAG (Gladéolus).—-Perianth almost 2-lipped, with a short, curved tube; ovary short, 3-angled; style thread-like; stigmas broad ; capsule leathery, seeds winged. Name from the Latin, gladiolus, a little sword, in allusion to the shape of the leaves. 3. TRICHONEMA (Z'vrichonema).—Perianth of equal spreading divisions ; tube shorter than the limb; stigma deeply 3-cleft, its lobes 2-cleft, slender. Name from the Greek trix, a hair, and nema, a filament. 4, BLUE-EYED Grass (Sisyrinchium).—Perianth of equal divisions, spread- ing or half-erect ; tube short; ovary short, 3-angled; style short, stigmas thread-like; capsule leathery, seeds sub-globose, hard. Name of doubtful origin. 5. Crocus (Crocus).—Perianth of equal, nearly erect, divisions ; tube very long ; stigma 3-cleft, its lobes inversely wedge-shaped. Name from the Greek krokos, sattron, and that from kroké, a thread. Te Lovee: (Iris). 1. Yellow Iris, or Flag (J. psevid-dcorus).—Leaves sword-shaped, sheath- ing; flower-stem round ; perianth beardlcs;, its inner segments shorter and more slender than the stigmas ; rootstock thick, creeping. The Yellow Flag waves its delicate but showy flowers over many a stream, or rears them by its margin. It is among our most beautiful marsh plants, growing on a stem sometimes three feet high, amid the leaves which stand up around it like sharp green sword-blades. It is either of a full or pale yellow, flower- ing from May to August, amid the floral companions that Clare describes as attracting the country rambler : “«Some went searching by the wood, Peeping ’neath the weaving thorn, Where the pouch-lipp’¢d cuckoo-bud From its snug retreat was torn ; Where the ragged-robin stood With its piped stem streak’d with jet, And the crow-flowers, golden hued, Careless plenty easier met. ‘«Some with many an anxious pain, Childish wishes to pursue, From the pond-head gazed in vain, On the Flag-flower’s yellow hue ; Smiling in its safety there, Sleeping o’er its shadow’d bloom, While the flood’s triumphing care Crimpled round its guarded home.” During the antumnal months, the stout stems of this plant are made remarkable among the sedges, reed-mosses, and other water-plants, by the long bright-green 3-celled capsules, which droop down among the membranous withered sheaths that once surrounded the blossom. As two, three, or more of the Flag-flowers grow on one stem, so there are several of these seed- vessels crowded with large seeds, placed in regular rows ; and the capsules are so heavy that they would break a less sturdy stem. They may be found growing three together, and more than three inches long. The capsule finally dries into a parchment-like substance ; and the hard, flattened seeds, IRIS TRIBE 227 looking as if cut out of a piece of deal, fall out into the waters. These seeds, when roasted, are said to be an excellent substitute for coffee ; but when their horny covering is removed, they have an acrid taste. The large horizontal root, or rootstock, contains a farinaceous substance of a most acrid and bitter flavour; and a portion held between the teeth is said to cure toothache, and is probably of real service. ‘ But above all,” says Ettmuller, “which I have hitherto known, the root of the Iris lutea rubbed upon the tooth that is painful, or the root itself chewed in the mouth, in an instant, as if by a charm, drives away the pain of the teeth arising from what cause soever. He that communicated it to me affirmed that he had tried it forty times, at least, with like success. I myself also have tried it ; and a great many others have done the same by my persuasion, and I hardly ever knew it to fail.” Those suffering under so troublesome a malady would do well to follow the example with some caution ; as, from our experience of its acridity, we should expect that a blister in the mouth would be likely to succeed such a use of the root. These rootstocks have also been used medicinally ; but would require care. An ointment was formerly much esteemed, which was made by country people from the Flag-flowers ; and the old herbalists, who said it was “under the dominion of the sun,” distilled the whole herb, and applied it for inflammation of the eyes and eyelids. The root is powerfully astringent, and has been used in making ink ; and Gerarde well describes it as showing, when cut, “the colour of raw fleshe.” Some kind of preparation of the plant is still, we are told, applied in villages as a cosmetic ; and this appears to have been of very old use. Mr. Albert Way gives a very interesting and learned note on this plant, in his edition of the Anglo-Latin Dictionary. This work has ‘ Gladone herbe, gladiolus, accolus, iris.” “The name Gladwyn,” says the commentator, “now denotes the Jris fetidissima ; but probably the more common species, J. pseud-dcorus, may be here intended. In Mr. Drummond’s ‘ Wisdom of Macer,’ it is said, ‘Gladen is y-clepid in Englishe, 777s in Latine, for his floure hath a colour like the rainbowe. Take the rootes of this erbe, and kyt hem in round gobetis, and ryfe hem upon a threde, so that none of hem touche other if thou wilt dry hem.’ The virtues of this root are numerous, taken with wine, mead, or vinegar ; the following is curious as a cosmetic: ‘Do take ij parties of this poudre of gladen rotys, and the iij part of the pouder of ellebre, that some: men clepen cloffynge, and medele both these poudres to-gider in honey. A plaster of this wole purge and clense the face of frekels, also it will resolve the pockys and whelkys of the face.’ Elyot renders Xiphium, ‘an herbe lyke the blade of a sworde, gladen ; it is also called Xyris ; and Cotgrave gives ‘Glayeul corne sedge, corn gladen, right gladen, gladen, gladen sword grasse.’” Our wild flower is still called Yellow Skeggs, in the north of England. The roots of some species of Iris are very fragrant, and that of the Florentine Iris is the Sweet Orris root of commerce, so much used in tooth and hair powder, and formerly laid among clothes to keep them from moth. The roots of several kinds, too, are edible. Pallas mentions that those of I. dichotoma are eaten in Siberia, and those of J. edulis are common food among the Hottentots. These people call them Oendjes ; and as they have, according to Thunberg, no idea of the beginning or ending of a year, the 29—2 228 IRIDEAt flowering and decay of the bulbous plants are the only signs of their almanacks which serve to indicate either the years of their age or the course of time. 2. Stinking Iris (J. fwtidissima).—Leaves sword-shaped ; perianth beard- less, its inner segments about as long as the stigmas; rootstock creeping. This species is not nearly so showy a flower as the Yellow Iris; for its sepals and petals are of a dull blue, or, in some rare instances, the petals are a dingy yellow. The plant has a singular odour; and while it is untouched, this is not disagreeable, reminding one of roasted meat—hence in some places it is known as “ Roast-beef plant ;” but if we break the stem or crush a leaf, its scent becomes extremely unpleasant. This Iris is generally a foot or a foot and a half high; and though a local plant, is common in the west and south-west of England, having a predilection for limestone. It is abundant in the woods and thickets of Devonshire, and grows in several parts of Kent. South of Durham it is believed to be native, but northward and in Ireland it has become naturalized. It bears its flowers from June to August, and the soft leaves are so acrid that their juice produces a most burning sensation on the tongue. These leaves, steeped in beer, are used by country people as medicine; and all parts of the plant were praised by the old herbalists, though, as one of them observes, seeing that a decoction of the plant “somewhat hurts the stomach,” it should not be taken internally without honey. It was supposed to cure all disorders of the liver; and coughs, colds, and headache were believed to be speedily dismissed by its use; while gout and other painful diseases were to be relieved by an oil which was prepared with the plant, and termed Olewm wrinum. This and other species of Iris were from early times called “fleur de lis,” or “flour de luce.” Chaucer apparently refers to a white foreign species : ‘* His nekke was white as is the flour de lis,” Dr. Turner, in 1568, calls it “flour de lyce ;’ and Gerarde, “ flower de luce ;” reminding us of Shakspere’s lines : ‘* Lilies of all kinds, The flower-de-luce being one.” Several flowers were called lilies in those days, including both the Iris and the daffodil; and it is probable that “fleur de luce” was originally “ fleur de Louis.” The Iris has an historic interest. Louis the Seventh of France adopted it as the emblem of his shield during the Crusades, and strewed it on the mantle of his son, when he caused him to be consecrated at Rheims. After the battle of Cressy, it was united with the arms of England. Gray refers to this : **Great Edward with the lilies on his brow, From haughty Gallia torn ;” and it remained emblazoned on the arms of this country till, on the union with Ireland, it yielded to the Shamrock. It is still the Lily of France; and it was from earliest ages considered, in Eastern countries, as a symbol of power. A fleur-de-lis, exactly like that of the emblem of the French monarchy, was found surmounting a sceptre on a monument of highest YELLOW W STIN KING COLUMNAS PURPLI \TER it Iris psé ud-a I J. feetadissima HONEMSA Se DRE Irichonema \ SPRING CGROCGL Pus lumna GOLDEN SAFFRON NAKED FLOWEL ING ( ( TAIN aureus nudu Jorus PT ee Lh) ae a ag ae LP ee mee oe TRIS TRIBE 929 antiquity at Dendera, in the heart of Egypt. M. Sonnini remarks : “ Hero- dotus and Strabo relate that the kings of Babylon formerly bore the fleur- de-lis at the extremity of their sceptre.” Montfaucon also speaks of that of David, found in the miniature of an engraved manuscript of the tenth century, which is surmounted by a fleur-de-lis. It is evident that the ornament called the “lis” was not a symbol peculiar to the crown of France; and it is not surprising that it composed a part of those which were employed in the mysterious representations of antique Egypt, since it was in former times the mark of power with some sovereigns of the country, or of some adjacent sovereignties. The Iris was placed on the brow of the Sphinx ; and the ancients regarded the flower as the emblem of eloquence. The stigma of the Iris flower is not only at some distance from the anther, but being separated from it by a membrane, the pollen could not reach its destination but for thé aid of insects. The humble-bee seems the chief operator in effecting this ; and in order to get at the nectary, the insect pushes itself in close to the stigma and deposits pollen it may have brought from another Flag, then rubs against the anther, brushes off the pollen with its hairy back, and proceeds to enjoy the nectar in the lower part of the flower. Afterwards it crawls out at the side of the flower below the anther, and so takes pollen away to the next flower. There is one form of flower in which the stigma is much closer to the sepal, and this seems an adaptation to the smaller size of a long-tongued fly (Z’hingia) that is very assiduous in its attentions to these blossoms. The seeds of this Iris are very beautiful in winter, when their capsule shrivels and displays them in all the lustre of brilliant scarlet. The seeds are numerous, round, and most powerfully acrid. 2. CorRN-FLAG (Gladiolus). Common Corn-Flag (G. communis).—Leaves sword-shaped, about half an inch broad and eight inches long, glaucous; scape two or three feet long bearing spike of from 4 to 8 flowers, which are arranged all on one side (secund), in lance-shaped spathes; flowers somewhat bell-shaped, crimson- purple, the three lower segments paler, strongly veined with red-purple ; rootstock a small corm; seeds with a narrow wing. ‘This rare species occurs in Britain only in open spaces in the New Forest and in the Isle of Wight, flowering in June and July. 3. 'TRICHONEMA (Trichonéma). Columna’s Trichonema (7. coltimnw).—Stalk single-flowered, slightly drooping ; leaves thread-like, flattened, furrowed, and bending backwards ; spathe longer than the tube of the corolla; stigmas 2-cleft ; rootstock a corm. This is a rare plant, growing only on a sandy pasture called the Warren, at Dawlish, and on the grassy hillocks of Jersey and Guernsey. Its flower scapes are about four inches high, and the flowers expand in March and April. These flowers are greenish externally, but within they are whitish veined with purple, and yellow at the base. It is in some respects similar to the iris, in some rather resembling the crocus; and Dawlish is thought to be probably its most northern locality, as it is common as near as Western 230 IRIDEA France, whence it ranges through Southern Europe to North Africa. It is also known as Romulea columne. 4, BLUE-EYED GRAss (Sisyrinchium). Slender-leaved Blue-eyed Grass (S. angustifolium).—Flowers in umbels of three or four, with somewhat erect lance-shaped bracts, borne on a flattened two-edged scape ; leaves sword-shaped, sheathing, one-sixth of an inch wide ; rootstock of stiff fibres. This plant occurs with us only in the bogs of Kerry and Galway, and is otherwise known only as a native of North America. The flowers, which are about two-thirds of an inch across, are coloured blue on the inside only. They appear in July and August, and are succeeded by somewhat globose leathery capsules. 5. Crocus (Crécus). 1. Purple Spring Crocus (C. vérnus).—Leaves appearing with the flowers ; spathe simple ; throat of the corolla fringed ; stigmas shortly 3-cleft ; corm clothed with netted fibres. The flowers are either purple or white, with pale yellow anthers and toothed stigmas of a deep orange tint. This beautiful Crocus is very abundant about Nottingham, being most ornamental to the grassy meadows. It is also found at Mendham in Suffolk, at Inkpen, Berks, and in parts of Middlesex. It has now been so long naturalized, that it is regarded as one of our wild flowers, but it is not indigenous. It is said to have been introduced, at Nottingham, some centuries since, by the Dutch. It now also empurples several meadows near Ludlow in Shropshire ; but these are believed to be the site of some old gardens. It is the Safran printanier of the French gardens. 2. Least Purple Crocus (C. ménimus).—Flower solitary, appearing before the leaves ; spathe double; stigma erect, longer than the stamens ; corm with a membranous coat. This syecies, introduced from Corsica early in the seventeenth century, is found on the site of an old garden in the park at Barton, in Suffolk, but is not even naturalized. The flowers are of pale lilac, striped with yellow and purple. 3. Golden Crocus (C. avdreus).—Leaves and flowers appearing at the same time ; spathe simple ; stigma shorter than the stamens ; segments of the corolla spreading and bending backward; corm coated with compact fibres. This beautiful little Crocus is found with the last species, and, like it, is the outcast of gardens. It flowers in March, its leaves appearing at the same time. Several beautiful species were, several centuries since, brought into this kingdom from Greece and the countries of the south of Europe, where, as Homer wrote— ‘