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WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Wayside and Woodland
Blossoms
A POCKET GUIDE TO BRITISH WILD-FLOWERS
FOR THE COUNTRY RAMBLER
EDWARD STEP
AUTHOR OF "BY VOCAL WOODS AND WATERS, BY SEASHORE, WOOD AND
MOORLAND," ETC.
WITH COLOURED FIGURES OF 156 SPECIES
BLACK AND WHITE PLATES OF 22 SPECIES
AND CLEAR DESCRIPTIONS OF 400 SPECIES
LONDON :
FREDERICK WARNE & CO.
AND NEW YORK
1895
PREFACE.
THE purpose of this volume is to assist a very large and
increasing class of persons who possess a strong love of
flowers, but to whom the ordinary " Floras " — indispensable as
they are to the scientific botanist — are as books written in an
unknown tongue. With the enormous increase of our town
populations, and the greater facilities for home travel, there
has grown up a truer appreciation of the country and of all
that is beautiful in nature ; and it is hoped that this work may
be of service to those who thus steal back to the arms of their
Mother, but have not time or inclination to spell out and pain-
fully translate the carefully-made terms of the exact descrip-
tions which learned men have written for the use of the
scientific student. Such terms are absolutely necessary, for
the things they describe were unknown to our Celtic and
Saxon forefathers, who would otherwise have left us names for
them which would now be familiar words to all. In a work
like the present such words could not be entirely avoided, but
they have been used sparingly, and in a manner that will not
involve continual reference to a dictionary of scientific terms.
VI PREFACE.
The Author's aim has been to write a book that, whilst it
satisfied the rambler who merely wishes to identify the flowers
by his path, might also serve as a stepping-stone to the floras
of Hooker, Bentham, and Boswell-Syme ; so that should the
interest of any reader be sufficiently awakened he may take up
the more serious study of either of these authors without
having to unlearn what this modest pocket-book may have
taught him. At the same time he will here find information on
many points of great interest, such as are rarely, if ever,
noticed in the " Floras."
When it is stated that the "London Catalogue of British
Plants " — meaning only the flowering plants and ferns —
includes nearly 1,700 species, it will be understood that an in-
expensive work for the pocket of the rambler can only give
figures of a few of these ; but the Author has tried to so use
the 1 80 plants delineated that they may serve as a key to a
much greater number of species. He regrets that technical
difficulties connected with colour-printing and binding have
made it impossible to carry out his original plan of grouping
the plants according to their natural affinities ; instead, he
has had to arrange them more in seasons, a course which,
after all, may be preferred by the rambler, who will thus find
in contiguous pages the flowers he is likely to meet in the
course of one ramble. The more scientifically inclined may
find the species enumerated in the Natural Orders at the end
of the work (page 153).
Several of the black and white figures are of trees which are
not natives, but from the frequency with which they are now
planted in woods and parks the question of their identity is
PREFACE. VI 1
constantly troubling the rambler, and it seems well to give him
the power to decide what they are.
In conclusion, the Author would but express the hope that
the present volume may receive a similarly encouraging
reception to that which has been accorded to his previous
efforts to popularize one of the most delightful branches of
human knowledge.
WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Daisy (Bettis perennis).
So widely distributed and well known is this plant that sur-
prise may be felt at its inclusion here ; but its perfect familiarity
marks it as a capital type of the important natural order to
which it belongs. What is commonly known as the flower is
really a corymb or level-topped cluster of many densely-packed
florets of two kinds. Those of the central yellow disc consist
each of a tubular corolla, formed by the union of five petals,
within which the five anthers unite to form a sheath round the
central pistil. The outer or ray-florets have the corolla
developed into an irregular white flag, which at once renders
the composite flower conspicuous and pretty. These outer
florets produce pistils only, as though the extra material
necessary for the production of the white flag had made
economy in other directions a necessity, and had prevented the
development of anthers and pollen.
This is the only British species of its genus, which derives its
name from the Latin Bellus, pretty. Its second, or specific
name signifies that the plant lives for several years. It flowers
nearly all the year round, and occurs generally in grassy places
throughout the British Islands.
The Natural Order Composite* to which Bellis belongs, includes
Daisy.
Bellis perennis.
— COMPOSITE. —
Cowslip. Paigle.
Primula veris.
— PRIMULACE^E. —
THE DAISY. 2
no less than forty-two British genera, which are divided into two
series. Several of these genera will be illustrated and described
in succeeding pages, but in all the flower-heads will be found to
be constructed in the main after the manner of the Daisy.
Some will be found to have no ray-florets, others to be com-
posed entirely of ray-florets ; and all these modifications of the
type give the distinctive characters to the various genera.
The Cowslip or Paigle (Primula veris).
In April and May in clayey meadows and pastures through-
out England and Ireland the Cowslip is abundant ; in Scotland
rare. The flowers are of a rich yellow hue, and funnel-shaped,
the five petals being joined to form a long tube. They are
borne on short pedicels, a number of which spring from a long,
stout, velvety stalk, three to six inches high. At the bottom of
the tube is the globose ovary, surmounted by the pin-like style
with the spreading stigma at the top. The five stamens are
attached to the walls of the tube— in some flowers half-way
down, in others at the top. In the first form the style is very
long, so that the stigma comes to the top of the tube ; in the
second the style is short, and the stigma reaches half-way up
only. The flowers are consequently termed dimorphic^ and the
two forms are borne on separate plants.
Though these two forms had long been known to country
children as " pin-eyed " and " thrum-eyed" respectively, it re-
mained for Charles Darwin to point out the significance of this
variation, which is to ensure cross-fertilization by the visits of
insects. A bee pushing its tongue to the bottom of a long-
styled flower in search for honey would have its tongue dusted
with pollen half-way down, and on visiting a short-styled flower
some of this pollen would be sure to become detached by the
sticky stigma at the same height ; and vice versd. The reader
may prove this experimentally by selecting flowers of the two
3 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
forms, and gently thrusting a grass stem into one after the
other.
The other native species of the genus Primula are : —
The Primrose (P. vulgaris) with inflated calyx and large /«/<?-yellow corollas on
long pedicels. The thick stalk of the cowslip is not developed here, but hidden
amid the leaf-stalks. Copses and hedge banks, April and May.
The Oxlip (P. elatior). Calyx less inflated, corolla pale, like primrose ; pedicels
shorter ; thick stalk developed and long like cowslip. Confined to counties of Bed-
ford, Cambridge, Suffolk and Essex. Copses and meadows, April and May.
The Bird's-eye Primrose (P. farinosa). The three former species have wrinkled
leaves ; this and the next have not, but theirs are very mealy underneath. Flowers
pale purple- lilac with a yellow eye. Bogs and meadows from York northwards.
Very rare in Scotland. June and July. Dimorphic like the foregoing.
The Scottish Primrose (P. scotica). Similar to Bird's-eye, but not half the size,
though stouter in proportion. Flowers purple- blue with yellow eye. Not dimorphic.
Pastures in Orkney, Caithness and Sutherland, June to September.
Name from Latin Primuhts, first.
The Wood Anemone or Windflower (Anemone
nemorosa).
One of the earliest of spring-flowers to greet us in the copse,
by the woodside and in upland meadows is this bright-faced
flower. Its firm, fleshy, almost woody rootstock creeps just
below the surface of the mossy soil, and rapidly sends up its
stems with folded leaves and drooping buds, after one or two
genial days.
The Anemones constitute the genus Anemone of the natural
ordera Ranunculaceas, and are characterized by having no corolla
(petals). Instead, the six sepals (calyx) are coloured — in this
case a very delicate pink- washed white inside, lightly tinged with
purple outside. As a rule the stem bears three leaves, each split
up into three leaflets, which are deeply toothed. Flowers from
late March till early June. The name is derived from the Greek
anemos — the wind — and was given because it was believed to
open its buds only when the winds were blowing. Richard
Jefferies, curiously ignoring the meaning of the word, entitled
,1 chapter in one of his earlier works — " Wind Anemones."
— 3 —
Wood Anemone.
Anemone nemorosa.
— RANUNCULACE^. —
Sweet Violet.
Viola odorata.
— VIOLACE^:. —
THE WOOD ANEMONE. 4
There is one other native species : —
The Pasque-flower (A. pulsatWa). Blossoms before the leaves mature. Flowers
dull purple ; exterior covered with silky hairs ; leaves also silky. Fruit, httle nut-
lets (achenes) provided with long feathered awns, with which they float on the wind
when ripe. Flowers, May and June, on chalk downs and limestone pastures in
Essex and Gloucestershire, and from York to Norfolk.
The Sweet Yiolet (Viola odoratd).
One of the most valued flowers of spring in cities is the
cultivated violet, and the rambler from town considers himself
fortunate if he comes upon a sheltered bank whereon the wild
Sweet Violets grow. We need not dwell at any length upon
the special characters of this species, for its possession of sweet
perfume is sufficient alone to separate it from the related species
comprised in the genus Viola.
It will be seen to have a short rootstock, and to give off
runners. The leaves are broadly heart-shaped, and have a way
of enlarging after the plant has flowered — a characteristic
shared by the Marsh Violet and the Hairy Violet. The flowers
vary in colour ; they may be blue, reddish-purple, or white.
The petals are unequal in size and shape, there being two pairs
and an odd one. This is larger than the others, and is pro-
duced backwards as a short hollow spur. It is really the
uppermost of the five petals, but, owing to the flower-stalk
(peduncle] invariably bending over near the summit, it appears
to us always as the lowest.
A careful examination of the form and mechanism of the
essential organs of this genus will be well repaid by the light
thrown upon Nature's methods to secure the continuity of
species. The style on arising from the ovary is thin and bent,
but gradually expands until the stigmatic surface is very broad
in comparison. The stamens surround the style, the anthers so
closely touching each other laterally that they enclose a space
in which the ovary and style occupy the centre, and from which
B 2
5 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the stigma protrudes. The anthers shed their pollen, which is
dry, into this space. Two of the stamens send out each a long
tail into the hollow petal-spur, which secretes honey from its tip.
The reason why the flower-stalk bends . over is, that the
stigma may hang down instead of being erect. A bee smells
the honey and alights on the odd petal. The dark lines con-
verging to the spur show where the honey lies, but the thick-
headed stigma blocks the way. Thrusting in his tongue, the
bee pushes the stigma aside with his head, which is the more
easily accomplished owing to the thin base of the style. But
this act also disarranges the anthers, and as a result the loose
pollen drops out upon his hairy head, where it will come in
contact with the viscid stigma of the next violet he visits. In
this way an occasional cross is effected that the vigour of the
race may be maintained, but for ordinary purposes of repro-
duction the violet has a more economical method. When the
spring season is over the violet ceases to furnish flowers got up
for show, and sets about producing buds which will never open
(cleistogamous). These are without petals, and contain nothing
but the essential organs ; the anthers produce only enough
pollen to fertilize the ovules in the ovary, which then develop
into perfect seeds.
Viola odorata is found truly wild only in the S. and E.
of England, and possibly the E. of Ireland ; but it is natural-
ized in many other parts of the kingdom. Flowers, March to
May. The name Viola is Latin, and is that by which the
ancients knew it. There are six other British species, which
will be found enumerated on page 58.
The Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor).
The Lesser Periwinkle is perhaps more familiarly known as a
garden plant than as a wild-flower, and the former would
appear to be its true character. It is now truly wild, in the
Lesser Periwinkle.
Vinca minor.
— APOCYNE.E. —
Lesser Celandine. Pilewort.
Ranunculus ficaria.
— RANUNCULACE^E. —
THE LESSER PERIWINKLE. 6
Southern English counties at least, having probably been
introduced by man at an early date (Chaucer mentions " fresh
pervinke rich of hew "), and taken care to keep the foothold
thus obtained. Its favourite position is a woodland bank,
which it thickly covers with its dark evergreen leaves. Hooker
("Students' Flora," p. 268) describes the flowering stems as
short and erect, and the peduncles not so long as the diameter
of the corolla. As a matter of fact, the long trailing and rooting
stems also bear flowers, and the peduncles vary in length from
£ to 2 inches.
The petals are united for half their length to form a tube, and
the five free lobes are oblique. The structure and arrangement
of the stamens and pistil are very curious, and evidently have
relation to cross-fertilization by insects, for the throat of the
corolla-tube is closely guarded by a fringe of silky hairs,
impassable by the thrips that vainly haunt the mouth in quest
of pollen. The plant rarely, if ever, produces seed in this
country, and this indicates that the insects necessary to its
fertilization are not British. Flowers, April and May, and
sparingly throughout the year.
The Greater Periwinkle (Vinca major) is also naturalized in
places. It is much larger in every respect than V. minor.
The name of the genus is supposed to have been derived from
the Latin Vincio, to bind or connect, in allusion to the manner
in which its trailing stems thrust down a root from every node.
The Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficarid).
As soon as there comes a slackening of the iron rule of
winter, whether it be early in February or late in March, then
on sunny banks and at the feet of pasture-hedges, or on waste-
ground by the roadside, the burnished gold stars of the Lesser
Celandine glitter in the wintry sunshine. It is a charming little
plant in its brightness and compactness, and not in the least
7 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
suggestive of weediness ; yet, if introduced into the garden it
can become an absolute nuisance. Its roots produce a large
number of cylindrical tubers, which — when the " doctrine of
signatures" was in fashion — were held to resemble hemor-
rhoids, and therefore to be medicinal for that painful malady. :
hence one of its folk-names— Pilewort. Each of these tubers is
capable of producing a new plant, and reproduction by this
method is speedily effected.
The leaves vary much in shape and in size. The larger, from
the root (radical), are more or less heart-shaped, the edges
bluntly angled ; the smaller ones, from the stem (caudal), may
approach towards the form of an ivy-leaf. The sepals (calyx)
vary from three to five, usually three, and the petals from seven
to twelve. The stamens are numerous, as also are the carpels
or divisions of the fruit. As in the Anemone (page 3), these
are achenes, a form persistent throughout the genus
Ranunculus ; each contains a single seed. The plant is well
distributed throughout the country, and may be found in flower
until May.
The Broom (Cytisus scoparius).
The Broom is sadly liable to be confounded with the Furze
by the non-botanical rambler, chiefly, we believe, because of
the similarity of the flowers and the partiality of both for heaths
and commons. There are, however, several points of difference
between them ; but one is sufficient for a rough-and-ready
distinction. The Furze began life with a few leaves similar to
those of the Broom, but as it grew it put forth sharp spines
instead of ordinary leaves, until it became more difficult to
handle than any hedgehog. The Broom rarely puts on any
prickles at all, and its compound leaves, of three small
leaflets, may be seen as in the illustration, close to the pliant
stems.
— 7 —
Broom.
Gytisus scoparius.
— LEGUMINOS.E. —
Fumitory.
Furaaria officinalis.
— FUMARIACEA:. —
THE BROOM.
8
The flowers, too, are larger than those of the Furze, though
similar in structure. The calyx is two-lipped, the petals five,
unequal in size and shape. The very large upper petal erects
itself somewhat, and is known as the " standard." The two
lateral ones are called " wings," and the lower pair are united
all along their lower edges, to form a boat-shaped body, called
the " keel." In this keel lie the stamens and pistil, which are
curved, and the former have the filaments united into a tube
within which lies the ovary. The stamens also vary in length,
and should a bee alight on a newly-opened blossom in quest of
pollen— for the Broom produces no honey— the pressure of the
" wings " upon the " keel " forces out the shorter stamens, and
they dust the bee's abdomen with pollen. Should, however, the
insect visit a flower lower down the stem and consequently a
day or two older, the long stamens and the pistil spring out
with some force, and the hairs on the pistil brush out the shed-
pollen from the "keel" and sprinkle it on the bee's back.
Then the pistil curls so that the stigmatic surface shall come in
contact with the abdomen of the next bee that arrives, probably
with pollen from another flower. Thus fertilized the ovary
develops into a valved pod like that of the garden pea, but
smaller, of course, and black. When ripe the valves separate,
twist up and scatter the seeds. Press down the wings with
the finger in the position a bee would occupy, and observe the
action of this remarkable mechanism, which, with variations,
is common to all Leguminous plants (see pages 43, 44, 47,
48, 49, 52> 73> 94> IOI> *32)- The Broom flowers from APril to
June, and is widely distributed throughout the kingdom.
Fumitory (JFumaria offidnatis).
I have frequently found that the grace and lightness of the
Fumitory suggest to the non-botanical mind some kind of
relationship with the Maidenhair-fern ; more especially is this
9 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the case with the lower portion of the plant. The leaves are
thin and much divided. The flowers are peculiarly formed,
and their arrangement is known as a raceme. Each consists
of a couple of small sepals, and four petals arranged in two
unequal pairs ; the upper petal is spurred at the base, the
lateral pair connected by their tips and completely enclosing
the stamens and pistil.
The plant is common in dry fields and waste places through-
out the three kingdoms, and indeed over a great part of the
earth, for it is a plant that has followed close in the wake of
cultivation. The name is an ancient one, derived from the
Latin, /7/w?Ar, smoke, some have said on account of the light
unsubstantial character of the plant ; but, according to Pliny,
because the watery juice brought on such a flow of tears that
the sight was dimmed as by smoke. This is not very
satisfactory ; but nothing better in the way of explanation
has been offered, so we must be content with it. It had
formerly a great reputation in medicine. Flowers from May
till September.
There are three other British species : —
Rampant Fumitory (F. capreolata) which climbs to a height of 1 5 to 2 feet by
means of its twisting leaf-stalks. Its cream-coloured flowers are more loosely
borne in the raceme than in F. officinalis. Small-flowered Fumitory (F. densi-
flora), similar to F. officinalis, but smaller and weaker, flowers paler, racemes short,
leaflets smaller and narrower.
Least-flowered Fumitory (F. parznjlora), with small pale flowers and minute
sepals ; racemes dense.
These three species are rare, the last especially so.
Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis],
Occasionally in woods and copses the rambler will come
across this plant, which flowers in April and May. It is not
truly a native, but has become naturalized in England and the
South of Scotland. Time was when well-nigh every garden
had its clump of Lungwort, for it had a splendid reputation
— 9 —
Lungwort. Jerusalem Cowslip.
Pulmonaria offlcinalis.
— BORAGINE.E. —
— 10 —
Lady's Smock. Cuckoo-flower. Shepherd's purse.
Gardamine pratensis. Gapsella bursa-pastoris.
— CRUCIFER^:. —
LUNGWORT. 10
for chest complaints. It is from these garden specimens that
our naturalized plants have originated.
Lungwort has a creeping rootstock, from which arise stalked,
ovate, hairy leaves, dark green in colour, with white blotches.
On the erect flowering stem the leaves are smaller and not
stalked. The flowers consist of a five-angled calyx, a funnel-
shaped corolla with five lobes, five stamens, style arising from
a group of four nutlets and terminated by a rounded stigma.
Like the cowslip, Lungwort is dimorphous. It secretes plenty
of honey, and is consequently much visited by bees. Before
the flowers open they are pink, but afterwards change to purple.
As a garden flower it is also known as the Jerusalem Cowslip.
The name is from the Latin, Pulmo, the lungs, in allusion
to the leaves, spotted like the lungs, and which under the
doctrine of signatures was held to indicate that it was good
for consumption and other lung troubles.
There is another species which is really indigenous to this
country, the Narrow-leaved Lungwort (P. angustifolid), but it is
very rare, and occurs only in the Isle of Wight, the New
Forest, and in Dorset. It is taller than P. officinalis, the
leaves of a different shape, and the corolla finally bright blue.
Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis).
In all moist meadows and swampy places, from April to June,
the eye is pleased with a multitude of waving flowers which in
the aggregate look white, but at close quarters are seen to be
a pale pink or lilac. They are Shakespeare's " Lady's smocks
all silver-white," that " paint the meadows with delight." It is
our first example of the Cruciferous plants, the four petals of
whose flowers are arranged in the form of a Maltese cross.
Its leaves are cut up into a variable number of leaflets ; those
from the roots having the leaflets more or less rounded, those
from the stem narrower. The radical leaves as they lie on the
II WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
wet ground root at every leaflet, and develop a tiny plant from
each. The flowers are nearly f of an inch across.
There are three other native species : —
Hairy Bitter Cress (C, hirsuta}, with white flowers, ^th of an inch in diameter ;
anthers yellow.
Large-flowered Bitter Cress (C. amara), with creamy white flowers \ inch in
diameter ; anthers purple. Riversides : rare.
Narrow-leaved Bitter-Cress (C. impatiens), white flowers, i inch across ; anthers
yellow. Shady copses, local.
Name from the Greek Kardamon, a kind of watercress.
Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris).
One need not travel far to find a specimen of Shepherd's
Purse, for almost any spot of earth that man has tilled will
furnish it. Wherever his fork or spade has gone in temperate
regions this plant has gone with him, and stayed. The flowers
are very minute, white, and are succeeded by the heart-
shaped seed-vessel (capsule) which gives its name to the whole
plant, from its resemblance to an ancient form of rustic pouch.
This splits into two valves, and the numerous seeds drop out.
The only native species : flowers throughout summer.
Name : Latin, diminutive of Capsula, a little box.
The Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella).
One of tKe most graceful and charming of native plants. It
abounds in moist shady woods, rapidly covering the leaf-mould
with its fresh yellow-green trefoils and pink-streaked white
flowers. In such a situation in April or May it produces
beautiful effects. A favourite position for it is the rotten centre
of some old beech stump, from which it will spread in a loose
cluster, " covering with strange and tender honour the scarred
disgrace of ruin," as Ruskin says of the lichens.
The roots are fine and scattered along the creeping knotted
pink stems. The leaflets droop close to the stalk at night or
— 11 —
Wood Sorrel.
Oxalis acetosella.
Wallflower. Wall Gillyflower.
Cheiranthus cheiri.
— GRUCIFER^:. —
THE WOOD SORREL. 12
on the approach of rain. The flower is regular ; sepals five,
petals five, stamens ten, stigmas five. The fruit is a five-
angled, irritable capsule, from which the seeds are thrown with
great force to a distance of several yards. In addition to the
coloured spring flowers the Wood-Sorrel produces throughout
the summer a large number of buds which never open
(cleistogamous}) but which develop into seed-vessels and dis-
charge good seeds. The leaves have a pleasant acid flavour,
due to the presence of oxalic acid. The generic name refers
to this fact, and is derived from the Greek Oxys, sharp.
This is the only truly native species, but two others with
yellow flowers have become naturalized in the S.W. of
England. These are :
Procumbent Wood-sorrel (O. corniciilata), with much-branched stalk ; both stalk
and branches soon becoming procumbent ; and the flowers borne two or three on one
peduncle. Leaves and stalks bronzed. Flowers June to September.
Upright Yellow Wcod-sorrel (O.'stricta), similar to the last, but with stem more
erect ; flowers two to eight on one peduncle.
The Wallflower (Cheirantkus cheirt).
This is not a British plant, though it has become firmly
established on many old ruins throughout the country. It is
a native of Central and Northern Europe, and according to
Loudon was introduced to England in 1573. It is never found
growing on rocks in this country, as would be the case were it
a native. In some districts it is known as Gillyflower, a name
corrupted from the French, Girqflee de Miiraille. Old writers
who use the name Gillyflower refer to the Clove Pink ; in the
present day the plant usually intended by the term is the
Garden Stock. Culpepper calls this Winter Gillyflower. The
wild plants are always the single yellow variety.
It is a Cruciferous plant, like the Bittercress and Shepherd's
Purse, and the structure of the flowers is very similar to those.
The sepals are very long, and for economy's sake that part of
13 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the petal that is hidden within the calyx is a narrow claw.
The long ovary is surmounted by the two-lobed stigma, and
develops into a long pod, 2 or 2|- inches long, containing a
large number of reddish seeds. It flowers in May and June
chiefly, but also irregularly in mild winters.
It is the only species occurring wild, but in the garden it has
produced many grand varieties. The name is most probably
derived from the Greek, cheir, the hand, and anthos, flower —
that is a flower suited by its fragrance to be held as a bouquet.
The Cruciferee, to which these plants belong, is an important Natural Order, con •
taining five-and-twenty British genera and a great many species. All are distin-
guished by the cruciform flowers, by means of which a" botanist can distinguish a
crucifer at once. Many of our most important garden and kitchen herbs are
crucifers, including the majority of our green vegetables and roots, such as cabbage,
turnip, radish, mustard (see p. 90), cress, kale, etc.
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris).
In marshes and river-meadows in spring this is the most
conspicuous plant, and to acquire it the rambler will not
hesitate to risk getting wet feet. What time the sallow first puts
out her silvery " palm," the Marigolds then " shine like fire in
swarnps and hollows grey" (Tennyson). In some districts it is
the May-blob, Mare-blob, and Marybud. It has a thick,
creeping rootstock, and broadly heart-shaped glossy leaves
with very large stipules. After flowering the leaves increase
in size considerably, and in some places they reach an
enormous size for so small a plant. The flower has no petals,
but the five sepals are enlarged and richly coloured, as with
gold, and burnished. The centre of the cup is occupied by a
number of carpels, which are surrounded by an indefinite
crowd of stamens, and which develop after fertilization into as
many follicles containing great store of seeds. The plant is
poisonous. The flowering time lasts from April till August.
There is one other British species— some say it is a mere
variety of the foregoing — Rooting Marsh Marigold (C. radicans\
— 13 —
Marsh Marigold.
Galtha palustris.
— RANUNCULACE^:. -
— 14 —
Wild Hyacinth. Blue-bell.
Scilla nutans.
MARSH MARIGOLD. 14
with triangular leaves and rooting stems. It occurs only in
Forfarshire, and is very rare.
The name is derived from the Greek, Kalathos, a cup, in
allusion to the form of the flower.
Wild Hyacinth, or Blue-Bell (Sdlla nutans).
After the daisy, buttercup and primrose, few wild flowers are
better known than the Blue-bell or Wild Hyacinth. In the
very earliest days of spring its leaves break through the earth
and lay in rosette fashion close to the surface, leaving a circular
tube .through which the spike of pale unopened buds soon
arises. A few premature individuals may be seen in full
flower at quite an early date ; but it is not until spring is fully
and fairly with us that we can look through the woods under
the trees and see millions of them swaying like a blue mist ; or,
as Tennyson has finely and truly worded it, " that seem the
heavens upbreaking through the earth." This must not be
confounded with the Blue-bell of Scotland, which is
Campanula rotundifolia (see page 78).
If we dig up an entire specimen we shall find that, like the
hyacinth of the florist, its foundation is a roundish bulb, in
this case somewhat less than an inch in diameter at its
stoutest part. The leaves have parallel sides, or, as the
botanist would say, they are linear ; and before the plant has
done flowering they have reached the length of a foot or more,
whilst the flower-stalk is nearly as long again. Before the
flowers open the buds are all erect, but these gradually assume
a drooping attitude ; though when the seeds are ripening the
capsule again becomes erect.
The flower is an elongated bell, showing no distinction
between calyx and corolla ; it is therefore called a perianth. It
consists of six floral leaves, joined together at their bases, the
tree portions curling back and disclosing the six yellow
15 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
anthers, which are attached to the sides of the perianth, one to
each segment. The ovary is surmounted by the thread-like
style, ending in a minute stigma. The capsule is three-celled,
and when the seeds are ripe each cell splits down the side to
release the shining black seeds.
The Genus Scilla belongs to the Natural Order Liliacea? ;
its name is classical, and probably derived from the Greek
Skyllo, to annoy, in allusion to the bulbs being poisonous.
There are two other native species : —
The Vernal Squill (S. vernalis). Flower-scapes, one or two,
not so long as leaves. Like S. nutans, it has a couple of long
bracts at the base of the pedicels, as the short stalks are called,
which connect the flowers with the tall scape. This is a rare
plant, occurring only in rocky pastures near the west coast
from Flint to Devon ; also Ayr and Berwick to Shetland, and
in the E. and N.E. of Ireland. April and May.
The Autumnal Squill (S. autumnalis} throws up several
flower-scapes before the leaves. Flowers, reddish-purple, not
drooping, but spreading or erect ; July to September in dry
pastures from Gloucester to Cornwall, from Middlesex to Kent.
No bracts.
The Cuckoo-pint (Arum maculatum}.
Lords-and-Ladies, Cuckoo-pintle, Priest's-pintle, Calves-foot,
Starchwort, Ramp, and Wake-robin are also names by which
this very familiar spring-plant is known in different localities. Its
appearance is remarkable, and its structure no less interesting.
About a foot below the surface of woods and hedgebanks is the
tuberous rootstock, from which arise above ground in March the
handsome arrow- shaped leaves, more or less spotted with red or
purple. From the midst of these leaves in April rises the flower-
stalk, bearing an enormous pale-green rolled-up bract-leaf, of
similar nature to the small thin bract we observed at the base of
the pedicels in Stilla, but larger than the ordinary leaves. It
— 15 —
Cuckoo-pint, Lords and Ladies, Wake Robin.
Arum maculatum.
— AROIDE.E. —
16 —
Lily of the Valley.
Convallaria majalis.
Solomon's Seal.
Polygonatum multiflorum,
THE CUCKOO-PJNT. 1 6
unrolls and then resembles a monk's-cowl, and also discloses a
purplish cylindric column. The green envelope is called a
spathe, and must not be taken for a flower. The flowers are
there in great number, but they are small and arranged round
the lower part of the central column (spadix). The lower third
of the spathe is marked off from the rest by a slight con-
striction, and if with a sharp knife we slice off the front portion
of this part we shall there find the flowers in four series.
Proceeding downwards we first find a ring of abortive
stamens, each ending in a long, deflexed hair. A little lower is
a series of perfect anthers, and below these a similar group of
pistils, the topmost row of which consists of abortive organs
with hair-like processes. Small flies are attracted to the spathe
by the carrion-like colour and odour of the spadix, and explore
the lower premises. The hairs allow easy descent, but prevent
return. If the flies have already been in an Arum flower they
bring with them pollen on wings and feet, and find the stigmas
ripe to receive it. When these are no longer fit for fertilization
the anthers open and discharge their pollen in a shower on
the insects ; the stigmas secrete honey as a reward to the
imprisoned flies, and the upper series of hairs shrivel up
and set the insects free to carry their pollen to another Arum.
The spathe and spadix wither, but the ovaries develop into
codlin-shaped pale scarlet berries. This species is plentiful
throughout the country. There is one other species, Arum
italicmn^ found locally from Cornwall to Sussex. It is larger
and stouter in all respects ; the upper part of the spathe bend-
ing over, and the spadix yellow. Flowers in June.
Lily of the Yalley (Convallaria ma/alts).
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum multtflorum).
These plants are very familiar as garden flowers ; they are
nevertheless natives, though by no means common in the wild
17 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
state. Both are characterized by having thick creeping root-
stocks. Convallaria differs from Polygonatum in having no
stem ; the two or three leaves springing direct from the root-
stock. The flower is a bell-shaped perianth, the mouth split
into six recurved lobes. Stamens six, attached to the base
of the perianth, around the ovary, which ultimately becomes a
globose red berry. It is much more widely distributed than
Polyoonatum. In woods ; flowers May and June. Name from
the Latin Convallis, a valley. The only British species.
Solomon's Seal has a distinct arching stem, with alternate
erect leaves. The flower-stalks spring from the axils of the
leaves, and bear from two to five greenish-white flowers each.
The berries that succeed the flowers are blue-black. The
flowers are similarly formed to the last-mentioned, but longer,
more tubular, and the lobes not turned back. The stamens are
attached about half-way down the perianth. There are two
other native species, both rare.
The Angular Solomon's Seal (P. officinale\ much smaller
than the last, the flowers mostly occurring singly, larger and
greener. Wooded limestone cliffs, May and June.
Narrow-leaved Solomon's Seal (P. verticillatuni}, with leaves
in whorls around the angled stem. Wooded glens, Northumber-
land, Perth and Forfar only. June and July ; very rare.
Name from the Greek, polys, many, and£0tta/or, a knee or
angle, in allusion to the many nodes.
Hawthorn (Cratcegus oxyacantha).
The Hawthorn, May, or Whitethorn, is too well known to
require much description. Its more familiar appearance is as
a hedge-forming shrub, when it is not allowed to have any
natural form, but in the woodlands it becomes a round-headed
tree, and when fully in flower looks like a monstrous snow-ball
on a stalk. The tyro in botany can tell almost with a glance
May or Hawthorn.
Cratsegus oxyacantha.
— ROSACES. —
— 18 —
Buttercup.
Ranunculus acris.
— RANUNCULACE^E. —
HAWTHORN. 1 8
at its beautiful flowers that it is a member of the great order of
Roses, and not distantly removed from the apple section of that
order. The calyx-tube adheres to the ovary, and the five petals
are inserted at the mouth of the calyx. The stamens are
numerous ; the styles one, two, or three, corresponding with the
number of carpels. In the fruit these are covered by the red,
fleshy coat in which the bony cells are enveloped, and which
is valued as a food by birds in autumn and winter.
May and June are the usual months for flowering, but occa-
sionally it is in blossom at the end of April. Though the char-
acteristic odour from these flowers is sweet, now and then a tree
will be found whose every flower gives out a distinctly fishy
flavour that is far from pleasant ; often, too, it may be found
with pink or crimson blossoms. This is the only British species.
The name is from the Greek, Kratos, strength, in allusion to the
hardness of its wood.
Buttercup (Ranunculus acris).
There are three species of Ranunculus to which the name of
Buttercup is applied impartially ; but the one to which it most
properly belongs is the Bulbous Crowfoot (R. bulbosus), in
which the cup-shape is more perfect than in the others. We
have already dealt with the general characters of the genus in
describing the Lesser Celandine : here we will glance only at
the specific differences between this and the other buttercup-
species of Ranunculus or Crowfoot.
I. Ranunculus acris is the Upright Crowfoot. The rootstock
is straight and erect. The lower leaves are divided into wedge-
shaped segments, which are again much cut up — the upper
leaves less intricately so. The petals are broader than in the
Celandine, and fewer — usually five, more or less flat when fully
expanded. Flower-stalk not furrowed ; sepals spreading. Stem
one to three feet high. Meadows and pastures everywhere,
June and July.
IQ WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
I 1. R. repens, the Creeping Crowfoot. Rootstock stout, stem
declining, with long runners. Flower-stalk furrowed, sepals
spreading, but petals less so than in R. acris. Stem one to
two feet. Pastures and waste places, too frequent, May to
August.
III. R. bulbosus, Bulbous Crowfoot. Stem erect, half to one
foot, greatly swollen at base : no runners. Flower-stalk fur-
rowed, sepals turned back, nearly or quite touching the stalk ;
petals not spreading, but cup-shaped. Meadows everywhere,
April to July.
The name Ranunculus is derived from the Latin, Rana, a
frog, in allusion to the damp meadows and the ponds where
certain species are to be found in company with frogs.
Wall Barley (Hordeum murlnum).
In all waste places on a sandy soil, near towns and villages
especially, the Wall Barley, Mouse Barley, Barley-grass, or
Way-bent flourishes. At the base of walls is a favourite post
for it, where it collects dust, and generally contributes to an
appearance of untidiness. Its bristly spike is well known to
the schoolboy, who breaks it off and inserts the stem end in
the cuff of his shirt-sleeve, whence it works its way auto-
matically to the shoulder. If the spike is cut across its length,
the spikelets of which it is made up may be separated and
examined with a lens. It will then be seen that the spikelets
are borne in threes side by side, but that only the central one is
a perfect one, the lateral ones being barren. Taking this
central one from the others, we find two outer inflated scales
(glumes) embracing two other scales, one of which, with the
cleft tip and two keels on the back, is the/#&, the other, ending
in a long awn, is the flowering glume, within which is the ovary,
surmounted by its two feathery stigmas. From beneath the
ovary spring the three stamens and two minute scales, called
— 19 —
Wall Barley.
Hordeum murinum.
— GRAMINE^:. —
Jagged Chickweed.
Holosteum umbellatum.
— GARYOPHYLLE^:. —
Dandelion.
Taraxacum officinale.
— COMPOSITE. —
WALL BARLEY. 2O
lodicules, which answer to the perianth in ordinary flowers.
It would be well to quite master this arrangement by dissection,
for all grass flowers are built on a similar plan.
Hordetim is the old Latin name for barley. Flowers June
and July.
Jagged Chickweed (Holosteum umbellafum).
This is a very rare plant, occurring only on old walls about
Norwich, Bury and Eye. The rambler in those localities
might pass it by as a variety of the vulgar Chickweed, to
which, however, it is distantly related. The small white,
flowers are arranged in an umbellate manner, though not form-
ing a true umbel. Whilst flowering the long pedicels are erect,
but after flowering they hang down ; after fruiting they become
erect again. Flowers April and May.
Name derived from the Greek olos, all, and osteon, bone, but
Artemus Ward would have said it was "wrote sarcastick,"
for there is nothing suggestive of bones in so soft a plant.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
Everyone thinks he knows the Dandelion when he sees it
and probably he does ; but often when he sees a Hawkbit he
believes it to be a Dandelion. We may not like to find the
Dandelion taking possession of our lawn, but we should regret
to miss it from the odd corners by the fence and the roadside.
It is a flower of three seasons, for it blooms continuously from
March to October, and it is no unusual thing to see its golden
flower in winter.
This is a Composite flower, like the Daisy, but whereas the
Daisy head was seen to be made up of a host of tubular
flowers, with a single outer row of lioulate, or strap -shaped
ones, those of the Dandelion are all ligulate. It therefore stands
C 2
21 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
as a representative of the second series of Composite genera.
The plant has no proper stem, the leaves springing directly
from the long, thick root. From their midst arise the flower-
heads on their hollow stalks. The floral, envelope (involucre)
consists of a double row of scales (bracts), the inner long, the
outer shorter. The outer are turned back and clasp the stalk,
the inner erect. Take off a single floret and examine with a
lens. It will be seen that each is a perfect flower, containing
both anthers and stigmas. The ovary is crowned by the corolla,
which is invested by a pappus of soft white silky hairs.
Within the corolla the five anthers unite to form a tube, in
which is the style, which divides above into two stigmas. After
fertilization the corollas wither, the inner bracts closing over
them while the fruits grow. Then the bracts open again,
each pappus spreads into a parachute, and the whole of
them constitute the fluffy ball by which children feign to
tell the time. A light wind detaches them, and they float
off to disperse the seeds far and wide. The only British
species.
The name is believed to be derived from two Greek words,
Taraxos, disorder, and akos, remedy : in allusion to its well-
known medicinal qualities as an alterative.
The Bugle (Ajuga reptans\ and
The Forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris}.
The Common Bugle meets one from April to July in wood
and field, and on the waste places by the roadside. It is a
creeping plant, runners being sent out from the short stout
rootstock, and these rooting send up flowering stems from £ to
I foot in height. The leaves from the root are stalked ; those
from the stem are not. The flowers and the upper bract are
dull purple in colour. The flowers are peculiarly fashioned in
what is botanically termed a labiate manner : that is to say, the
— 21 —
Bugle.
Ajuga reptans.
— LABIATE. —
Forget-me-not.
Myosotis palustris.
— BORAGINE.E. —
Rib-wort Plantain. Greater Plantain.
Plantago lanceolata. Plantago major.
— PLANTAGINE^E. —
THE BUGLE. 22
five petals of the corolla are united to form a somewhat bell-
shaped flower, the mouth of which is divided into two unequal
lips. The upper lip is two-lobed, the lower three-lobed. The
upper usually acts as a roof to shelter the stamens and stigmas,
the lower as a platform upon which insects may alight when
they come to seek honey and to fertilize the flower. In the
present species the anthers and stigmas project beyond the
upper lip, which is very short ; but they are protected by the
overhanging lower bract of the flower above. There are
interesting facts in connection with the fertilization of these
labiate flowers, which, however, we must leave for a couple of
pages. It is characteristic of the Labiatae that the stems are
square, the leaves opposite, the corolla bilabiate, the stamens
less in number than the lobes of the corolla.
The Forget-me-not is so well known that with our limited
space we will be content with noting that its flowers are
similar in structure to those of the Lungwort (page 9), though
the tube is shorter. Like Pulmonaria, it is a plant of the
order Boragineas, genue Myosotis. There are six British
species. Name, from two Greek words signifying mouse-ear,
in allusion to the shape of the leaves.
The Greater Plantain (Plantago major], and
The Ribwort Plantain (P. lanceolata).
These are among the despised of our wild-flowers, weeds among
weeds. They are considered of interest only to the keeper of
cage-birds, by whose pets the ripe fruit-stalks are much appreci-
ated. But if we knew the plants better we should appreciate them
more. There must be something worthy of respect in a plant
that has contrived to get itself so taken throughout the world
that it is known wherever Europeans have been, and is called the
White-man's Foot. The leaves of the genus are characterized
by having strongly developed parallel ribs on the under surface.
23 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
There is no stem, the leaves all springing from the stout root-
stock. The flowers are borne on tall spikes which spring from
the axils of the leaves. Each blossom consists of four
persistent sepals, a salver-shaped corolla with four lobes,
between which are fixed the four stamens surrounding the
long, simple and hairy style. There are five British species, of
which we figure two. The name Plantago is the classic Latin
one, from which the English has been evolved.
I. The Greater Plantain (P. major) has very broad leaves and broad, short leaf-
stalks. Stamens short, anthers purple. Seeds black and rough. Pastures and
roadsides, May to September.
II. Hoary Plantain (P. media) : leaves not so broad, flower-scape shorter.
Stamens long, anthers whitish. Seeds brown, rough. Pastures and waste places
in a dry soil, June to October. Plant more or less covered with short hairs.
III. Ribwort Plantain (P. lanceolata): as the scientific name implies, the leaves
are lance-shaped, long and narrow. The flower-scape is deeply furrowed, the
flower-spike short. Stamens long, white. Seeds black, shining. Pastures and
heaths, May to October.
IV. Seaside Plantain (P. maritima). Rootstock branched, crown woolly.
Leaves narrower than the last, margins more parallel, ribs weak. Stamens pale
yellow. Seeds brown, slightly winged at end. Pastures, salt-marshes and rocks by
the sea, June to September.
V. Buck's-horn Plantain (P. coronopus). Leaves narrow, linear, divided, or
deeply-toothed, suggesting the popular name ; ribbed, hairy. Stamens pale
yellow. Seeds pale brown. Poor gravelly soils, chiefly near coast. June to
August.
Meadow Sage (Salvia pratensis).
In speaking of the Bugle on page 22 we promised to say
more of Labiate flowers further on. Salvia is a labiate, and of
similar construction to Ajuga. S. pratensis is a rare plant,
found only in Cornwall, Kent, and Oxford, from June to August.
The soft wrinkled leaves have the edges cut into convex teeth
(crenate). The flowers are large and bright blue ; they are
borne in whorls, usually of four or five flowers, on a tall spike.
There is a more frequent species, the Wild Sage or Clary (S.
•verbenaca\ found in dry pastures all over the kingdom south
of Ross-shire from June to September. It is similar in habit to S.
— 23
Meadow Sage.
Salvia pratensis.
— LABIATE. —
Annual Meadow-Grass. Cock'sfoot-grass.
Poa annua. Dactylis glomerata.
— GRAMINE^E. —
MEADOW SAGE. 24
pratensis, but smaller, with the flowers more inclined to purple.
The Sage of the kitchen-garden is S. officinalis j not a native
plant. The name Salvia is from the Latin Salvo, to save or
heal, from its former great repute in medicine.
Most labiate flowers produce honey from the base of the
ovary ; and this, of course, is a distinct bribe to insects to visit
them. It would not be an economical arrangement for a flower
to provide honey for all comers without the plant getting a quid
pro quo ; we therefore find all sorts of " dodges " to ensure a
service being done by the honey-seeker. As we have shown
in the Bugle, the anther and stigma occupy the arch of the
upper lip. As a rule the ripe anthers first occupy the foremost
position, so that if a bee alights on the lower lip and pushes
into the corolla for the honey his hairy back will brush off the
pollen from the anthers. After the honey is shed the stigmas
come forward and occupy the former position of the anthers.
Should a bee that has got dusted with pollen at an earlier
flower now pay a visit the stigmas will collect some pollen
from his back and the ovules become fertilized. This is the
general plan in the order Labiatse, but there are modifications
in each genus.
Annual Meadow-grass (Poa annua\ and
Cock's-foot-grass (Dactylis glomeratd).
In describing the Wall Barley we gave a general idea of the
structure of grass flowers, and those of Poa are very similar to
those of Hordeum; but the flower-cluster (inflorescence) is very
different. In Hordeum (which see) this is a spike, bearing
many three-flowered spikelets on each side. In Poa it is more
branched and diffuse, and is called a panicle. In P. annua the
branches grow two together, and are branched again. The
spikelets are not awned as in Hordeum. There are eight
British species of Poa, which, however, we have not space to
25 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
describe. The name is Greek, and signifies fodder. All the
species are perennial, with the exception of P. annua, which
is an annual, as the name indicates. It flowers from April
to September, and abounds in meadows, pastures and by road-
sides.
The Cock's-foot-grass (Dactylis glomerata) is an ingredient
of most pastures, and one of our most familiar grasses. Its
long stout stem creeps for a distance, then rises very erectly
and gives off horizontal flowering branches. The violet-tinted
spikelets are gathered into dense one-sided clusters. Each
spikelet contains three or four flowers, which are supposed to
be arranged after the fashion of fingers on a hand, whence the
Greek name Daktulos, fingers. Each flowering glume ends
in a short awn-like point. This is the only British species. It
is generally distributed, and will be found in waste places as
well as pastures, flowering in June and July. The whole
plant is rough to the touch. The leaves are long, flat and
keeled.
Cat's-tail, or Timothy-grass (Phleum pratense\ and
Yernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum}.
Timothy is one of the most valuable of our grasses, and
forms an important portion of the hay crop, from the fact that
it is one of the earliest and most abundant species. The
inflorescence is a crowded spike, reminding one somewhat of a
miniature reproduction of the Reed-mace (Typha). The
spikelets are one-flowered. The outer glumes are boat-shaped,
with a stout green keel, fringed with stiff hairs. The flowering
glume is glassy, and entirely included within the outer ones,
from which, however, the long stamens and feathery stigmas
protrude. The anthers are yellow and purple. The plant is per-
ennial, and flowers from June to September. The name Phleum
is the classic Greek one for the plant. The figure represents
Timothy-grass.
Phleum pratense.
Vernal-grass.
Anthoxanthum odoratum.
— 26 —
Viper's Bugloss.
Echium vulgare.
— BORAGINE^:. —
CAT'S-TAIL, OR TIMOTHY-GRASS. 26
the spike after the anthers have passed their prime ; at an
earlier period these stand out well from the glumes, and give a
very light appearance to the spike. There are three other
native species, but they are all more or less local.
The Sweet Vernal-grass is singular among grasses in the
fact that it possesses but two stamens. The panicle is spike-
like, with short branches. The spikelets are one-flowered.
The outer glumes are four in number, one flowering glume, a
pale, but no lodicules. In the Linnasan system plants were
classified according to the number of their stamens and pistils,
and the artificiality of it was strikingly shown when this plant
had to be widely separated from all other grasses, because it
was one stamen short, though agreeing with them in all other
essentials. The species is abundant in most meadows, and
were it absent one of the charms of the hay harvest would be
gone also ; for this is the grass that gives the characteristic
odour to ripe new-mown hay. It flowers in May and June.
The name is from two Greek words, signifying yellow blossoms
Yiper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare).
Our artist has chosen to delineate a specimen of this striking
plant that has passed its prime in a flowering sense. To our
mind the Viper's Bugloss is prettiest when only one or two
flowers are open on each cyme. The recurved cymes are then
very short, and the unopened flowers packed closely together.
As in Lungwort (p. 9), the unopened corollas are purplish-red
in colour, when opened bright blue. After flowering, the
cymes lengthen until they are as long as shown in our
illustration. The parts of the flower, it will be seen, are in
fives : calyx five-parted, tubular corolla with five-lobed " limb,"
as the free portion is called, stamens five, stigma two-lobed.
The lobes of the corolla are unequal, and one of the stamens
is shorter than the other four, which protrude from the corolla
considerably ; in fact, they serve as a platform upon which
27 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
insects alight. When the flower opens the anthers are ripe and
shed their pollen, so that bees or other insects alighting are sure
to get their under surface dusted with it. At this period the
pistil is short and immature, so that it cannot be fertilized by
its own pollen ; but as the pollen disappears the pistil lengthens,
until its stigmas are in the position where they are bound to
receive pollen brought on the under surface of a visiting insect.
The leaves are strap-shaped, long, and rough with hairs.
Much fault is found with scientific names on account of their
uncouthness and obscurity. But they are mostly derived from
Greek and Latin roots, and reflect some peculiarity of the plant;
whereas many of the English or Folk-names are most arbitrary,
and require much explaining, which is sometimes not easily
done. "Viper's Bugloss" is a puzzle, and authors have
pretended to see likenesses to a viper in the markings of the
stem, the sjiape of the flower and of the seeds ; others have taken
shelter behind Dioscorides, who said that a decoction of the
plant was a protection from the effects of a viper's bite. If a
man knew he was going to be bitten by a viper and took a
certain dose of this plant beforehand he was all right ! But
the word bugloss seems a worse puzzle than the plant's
connection with vipers. Most dictionaries will help to the
extent of telling that bugloss is the name of a plant, and no
more. The truth is, it is as Greek as any scientific name, being
compounded of the words Bous, an ox, and glossa, a tongue,
from its leaves being rough, like the tongue of an ox.
It is common on gravelly and chalky soils, flowering from June
to August. It is rich in honey, so that it is much frequented of
sweet-tongued insects. The name Echium is from the Greek
Echis, a viper.
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca).
Well known as the Wild Strawberry is, the Barren Straw-
berry (Potentilla fragaria strum) when flowering is often mis-
— 27 —
Wild Strawberry.
Fragaria vesca.
— ROSACES. —
Milk-wort.
Polygala vulgaris.
Germander Speed-well.
Veronica chameedrys.
— SCROPHULARINE,E. —
WILD STRAWBERRY. 28
taken for it. The general resemblance is fairly close, but a
botanist can distinguish each at a glance. In each the leaves
are divided into three leaflets, the flowers are white and five-
parted ; but in F. vesca the upper side of the leaf is channelled
with sunken nerve-lines, whilst in P. fragariastnim it is
smooth. The real strawberry sends off runners with young
rooting plants ; the false does not. When the fruit is formed
there is no longer danger of confounding the two species, for
the false plant entirely lacks the fleshiness of the true. The
fruit of the Strawberry is a compound one, consisting of a
large number of achenes scattered over the enlarged and
succulent top (receptacle] of the flower-stalk, beneath which are
spread out the persistent green calyx-lobes.
It is a widely distributed species, flowering from April to
June, and found on shady banks, and in woods. The name
Fragaria is from the Latin fragrans, fragrant, and has
reference to the perfumed fruit.
Milk wort {Poly gala vulgar is), and
Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamadrys).
Nestling closely among the grass of heaths and dry pastures,
the Milkwort, though commonly and profusely distributed, is
not a well-known plant. It is only a few inches in height, and
scarcely noticeable when not in flower. The narrow, tough
leaves are scattered alternately on the stem. The broad
inner two of the five sepals are coloured purple, and the
corolla may be the same hue, or pink, blue, white or lilac. The
structure of the flower is very curious, and should be carefully
noted by aid of the pocket-lens. The stamens cohere, and the
corolla is attached to the sheath thus formed. The pistil has a
protecting hood over it, obviously with reference to the visits
of insects ; but the flower is also self-fertile. When the fruit is
formed the sepals turn green. The name of the genus is
29 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
derived from two Greek words, polus and gala, meaning much
milk, from an ancient notion that cows eating this plant were
enabled to give a greatly increased supply of milk.
There are two other British species : —
I. Proliferous Milkwort (P. calcared), branches rooting, and
giving rise to new plants. Inner sepals broader and longer.
Dry soils in south and south-east of England.
II. Bitter Milkwort (P. amara), much smaller in all respects
than the others ; the inner sepals are narrow, and the leaves
form a rosette. Very rare. Found only on the margins of
rills in Teasdale, and Wye Down, Kent. They all flower from
June to August.
The Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamcedrys) is the
representative of a genus which includes sixteen native species,
most of them with bright blue flowers of a particular form.
The corolla is tubular for half its length, the upper portion
divided into four spreading lobes, of which the upper and lower
are usually broader than the lateral pair. The two stamens
are attached within the corolla-tube just below the upper lobe,
and the anthers and stigma protrude beyond the mouth of the
tube. V. chamcedrys grows to greatest advantage in a great
mass on a sloping bank, where, in May and June, its intensely
bright blue flowers are very attractive. It is a most dis-
appointing flower to gather, for the corollas readily drop off,
and the beauty of the " button-hole " has rapidly passed. A
fine robust species, the Brooklime (V. beccabungd), grows in
bogs, ditches, and by the margins of streams, with stout stem
and thick leaves ; flowering from May to September.
The Spurge Family (Euphorbia).
The whole of the British species of Spurge have a singular
character, which enables the tyro in botanical matters to deter-
mine the genus at a glance, though he may not be so success-
— 29 —
Sun Spurge. Cypress Spurge.
Euphorbia helioscopia. Euphorbia cyparissias.
— EUPHORBIACE.E. —
- 30 —
Dewberry.
Rubus csesius.
— ROSACE.E. —
THE SPURGE FAMILY. 30
ful in distinguishing between the twelve or thirteen native
species. This singularity is chiefly due to the colour and
arrangement of their flowers. These possess neither sepals
nor petals ; instead, a number of unisexual flowers are wrapped
in an involucre. An individual involucre of, say, the Sun
Spurge, should be detached and examined with the aid of the
pocket-lens. It will be seen to have four lobes, to each of
which is attached an orbicular yellow gland. Within the
involucre are several flowers, each consisting of a single
stamen on a separate flower-stalk (note joint), and from the
midst of these arises a single pistillate flower on a long,
curved stalk. With slight variations this is the form of
inflorescence which characterizes the whole genus. The
British species may be briefly enumerated thus : —
I. Sun Spurge (E. helioscopia.} Annual herb with yellow green obovate leaves,
the margin of upper half toothed. Milky juice used as a wart-cure. Waste places,
June to October.
II. Broad-leaved Spurge (E. platyphyllos). Annual. Leaves broad, lance-shaped,
sharp-pointed, toothed above middle. Fruit (capsule) warted. Fields and waste
places from York southwards : rare. July to October.
III. Irish Spurge (E. hiberna). Perennial. Leaves thin, ovate, not toothed,
tip blunt or notched ; upper leaves heart-shaped. Glands of involucre purple,
kidney-shaped. Hedges and thickets, rare ; only in North Devon and South and
West of Ireland. Flowers May and June. Juice used by salmon-poachers for
poisoning rivers.
IV. Wood Spurge (E. amygdaloides). Perennial, stout, red, shrubby. Leaves
obovate, thick, tough, reddish, 2 to 3 inches long, hairy beneath, lower on short
stalks. Involucral glands half-moon shaped, yellow. Woods and copses, chiefly
on clay soils. Flowers March to May.
V. Petty Spurge (E. pephis). Annual. Leaves thin, broadly obovate, on short
stalks, | inch long. Involucral glands half-moon shaped (lunate), with long horns.
Waste ground, market-gardens and flower-beds. July to November.
VI. Dwarf Spurge (E. exigud). Annual. Much branched. Leaves very
narrow and stiff. Involucres small, almost stalkless. Involucral glands, rounded
with two blunt-pointed horns. Fields, especially on light soil. July to
October.
VII. Portland <S>^>\irg&(E.portlandica). Perennial, tufted, many-branched stems.
Leaves tough, obovate acute, spreading. Involucral glands, lunate, with two long
horns. Sandy shores, on South and West coasts, and in Ireland. May to August.
Rare.
VIII. Sea Spurge (E. paralias). Perennial, bushy, many-stemmed, stout, red-
31 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
dish, woody below. Leaves narrow, concave, very thick, arranged in whorls,
Points of involucral glands short. Sandy shores, July to October.
IX. Leafy-branched Spurge (E. estila). Perennial. Rootstock creeping. Stem
slender. Leaves thin, narrow, sometimes toothed. Involucres small, on long stalks,
glands lunate, with short straight horns. Woods and fields ; Jersey, Forfar, Edin-
burgh, and Alnwick. July.
X. Cypress Spurge (E, cyparissias). Perennial. Rootstock creeping. Leaves
•very narrow, not toothed. Woods, England, June and July.
XI. Caper Spurge (E. lathyris). Biennial. Stem short and stout, 3 to 4 feet
second year. Leaves narrow, broader at base, opposite, alternate pairs placed at
right angles to each other (decussate). Copses and woods, June and July. Fruit
used as a condiment.
XII. Purple Spurge (E. peplis). Annual. Stems prostrate, purple, glaucous.
Leaves oblong, heart-shaped, thick, on short stalks, with stipules, opposite. Glands
oblong. Very rare. On sandy coasts, South Wales, Cornwall to Hants, and Water
ford. July to September.
All the species have milky sap. Poisonous.
Dewberry (Rubus casius). Plate 30.
A sub-species of the Blackberry ; too well known to require
description.
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenMii}.
The Woodbine or Common Honeysuckle is one of the most
familiar of our wild flowers, and as great a favourite as any.
It owes its popularity not only to the beauty of its flowers, but
also to its strong sweet odour, and in some measure to its
graceful twining habit. The tough stem grows to a great
length — ten to twenty feet in some cases — and always twines
from left to right. The egg-shaped leaves are attached in
pairs, the lower ones by short stalks, but the upper ones are
stalkless (sessile}. The flowers are clustered, the calyces closely
crowded, five-toothed. The corolla-tube may be from one to
two inches long, the free end (limb] divided into five lobes,
which split irregularly into two opposite lips. It is rich in
honey, the corolla being often half filled with it, and con-
sequently it is a great favourite with bees and moths, who are
— 31 —
Perfoliate Honeysuckle.
Lonicera caprifolium.
— CAPRIFOLIACE^;. —
Purple Dead-nettle.
Lamium purpureum.
— LABIATE. —
HONEYSUCKLE. 32
bound to bring and fetch pollen from the outstanding anthers
of one plant and deposit it upon the equally obtrusive stigma
of another. The flowers are succeeded by a cluster of round
crimson berries. Widely distributed in hedges, copses, and on
heaths.
Perfoliate Honeysuckle (L. caprifoHum} is similar to the last,
but the upper pairs of leaves are joined together by their broad
bases. The corolla-tubes are longer than in the common
species, and it therefore becomes impossible for even the
longest-tongued bees to carry off much of the honey. Moths
with their long trunks can ; and consequently they swarm
upon it at night, and carry the pollen from plant to plant.
This species may be found in copses in Oxfordshire and Cam-
bridgeshire, but is believed to be only naturalized — not a true
native. Flowers May and June. The name Lonicera was
bestowed by Linnaeus in honour of a German botanist named
Adam Lonicer.
Dead Nettles (Lamium).
Our forefathers, when giving English names to plants, found
it by no means easy work, and the greater number of our
native species they left unnamed altogether. Many of the
names they did invent were made to serve many times by
the simple expedient of prefixing adjectives. Thus, having
decided on Nettle as the distinctive name of certain stinging
herbs (Urtica), they made it available for the entirely unrelated
genus Lamium by calling the species Dead (or stingless)
nettles. In a similar fashion they made Hemp-nettle, and
Hedge-nettle.
Apart from the resemblance in form of the leaves in certain
species, there is little likeness between Lamium and Urtica,
the large and graceful flowers of the former contrasting
strongly with the inconspicuous green blossoms of the stinging
33 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
nettles (see page 103). In the absence of flowers the
difference may be quickly seen by cutting the stems across,
when Urtica will exhibit a round solid section, whilst Lamium
is square and tubular. The flowers, like those of Bugle (page
21) and Meadow-Sage (p. 23) are labiate, and are produced in
whorls. The calyx is tubular, with five teeth. The corolla
tubular, with dilated throat, whence the name from Laimos
(Gr.), throat. The British species are five : —
I. Red Dead Nettle (Lamium piirptireuni). Leaves heart-shaped, with rounded
teeth, stalked. Bases of flower-bracts not overlapping. Corolla purplish-red.
Whole plant often purple. Hedge-banks and waste places. April to October.
II. Intermediate Dead Nettle (L. intermedium). Intermediate between the first
and the next species, but more robust. Bracts overlapping. Teeth much longer than
calyx-tube, spreading. Cultivated ground, not in S. of England. June to September.
III. Henbit Dead Nettle (Z-. amplexicaule\ Calyx more hairy than in I. and
II. ; teeth equal to tube in length, converging when in fruit. Corolla slender, deep
rose-colour, often deformed. Bracts broad, overlapping. Waste places. April to
August. Above three species are annuals, the remainder perennials.
IV. White Dead Nettle (L. album). Corolla large, creamy white, upper lip
vaulted. Calyx teeth long. Waste places. March to December.
V. Yellow Archangel (L. galeobdolon). Corolla yellow, the lower lip orange,
spotted with brown. Hedges and woods. May and June.
Ground Ivy (Nepeta glechoma), and
Ivy-leaved Toad-flax (Linaria cymbalaria).
Trailing among the grass of the copse and hedgebank the
Ground Ivy is one of the earliest of flowers to appear in spring.
It has not the remotest relationship to the real ivy (Hedera
heliv\ but, like the Dead Nettle, is a labiate plant. The
slender square stem creeps along, and wherever it puts forth a
pair of leaves it sends down a tuft of fibrous roots also. The
leaves are roundish, kidney-shaped, deeply round-toothed on
the margin. The flowers are borne in the axils of leaf-like bracts.
The corolla-tube is long, slender at base, afterwards dilating.
Some of the purple-blue flowers are large and perfect, others
small and devoid of stamens. March to June. There is a
closely allied, but rare, species called the Catmint (N. catarid)
— 33 —
Ground Ivy.
Nepeta glechoma.
— LABIATES. —
Ivy-leaved Toadflax.
Linaria cymbalaria.
— SCROPHULARINE^E. —
— 34 —
Round-leaved Crane's-bill.
Geranium rotundifolium.
— GERANIACE43. —
GROUND IVY. 34
which flowers from July to September. This has an erect
stem, with leaves approaching more to heart-shape, the teeth
sharper ; both stem and leaves downy and whitish. Flowers
white, marked with rose-colour. The name Nepeta is the
classical Latin one, and is said to have been given because the
plant was common round the town of Nepet in Tuscany.
The Ivy-leaved Toad-flax (Linaria cyuibalaria) will be found
forming a beautiful tapestry on ruins and old walls. It is a
Continental species, and those found naturalized here are
believed to be the descendants of greenhouse escapes. The
stems are very long and slender ; the leaves lobed like
certain forms of Ivy, often purple beneath, dark green above.
The calyx is five-parted, and the corolla is like that of the
familiar Snapdragon of our gardens. The two lips are so
formed that they close the mouth of the corolla, which is hence
said to be personate or masked ; the tube is spurred, in which
it differs from Snapdragon. When the seed- capsule is nearly
ripe it turns about on its stalk and seeks a cranny in the wall,
where it can disperse its seeds. Flowers July to September.
The name Linaria is derived from the Latin Linum, from the
resemblance of the leaves of the common Toad-flax (see page
105) to those of the Flax (see page 96).
Round-leaved Crane's-bill (Geranium rotundifolium}.
This neat member of a charming family is by no means a
common plant ; in fact, northward of South Wales and Norfolk
it is unknown. Southward it may be found in hedges and
waste places, flowering in June and July. The stems are slight,
and greatly swollen at the joints. The leaf-stalks are long, and
the leaves, though their general outline is kidney-shaped, are
deeply cut into about seven lobes, which are in turn lobed or
toothed. Owing to the close general resemblance of this species
to its immediate congeners some rather minute differences
D
35 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
should be noted. The sepals end each in a hard point — in
botanists' language they are mucronate — the margin of the
narrow petals is entire, that is, not notched, and the narrow
lower portion (claw) is not fringed with hairs. The carpels, or
divisions of the seed-vessel, are keeled but not wrinkled, and the
seeds are pitted. Its nearest allies are : —
I. The Dove's-foot Crane's-bill (G. molle], with similar leaves to the last, but with
notched petals, the claw bearded. Flowers more rosy than rotiindifoliuin.
II. Small-flowered Crane's-bill (G. pusillnnt). Leaves more deeply lobed, sepals
as long as the notched petals, claw slightly hairy. Flowers, pale rose.
III. Long-stalked Crane's-bill (G. cohimbinuiit). Lobes of leaves distant from
each other, the segments into which they are again cut being very narrow ; sepals
large, acuminate and awned, as long as the entire rose-purple petals ; claws less
hairy than in last. All the leaf and flower-stalks long.
IV. Cut-leaved Crane's-bill (G. dissectnni). Similar to G. columbinnm, but all
stalks much shorter. Bright red petals, notched.
V. Herb-Robert (G. robertianuni). Plant more or less red. Leaves divided
into five leaflets, these again divided. Calyx angular, the sepals long-awned and
hairy. Petals narrow and entire ; purple streaked with red ; claw smooth.
VI. Shining Crane's-bill (G. lucidmn). Plant more or less crimson in summer.
Leaves divided into five segments, each bluntly lobed at the top. The calyx is a
wrinkled pyramid, each sepal awned. The rosy petals are much longer than the
sepals ; claw smooth. There are two lines of hairs on the upper branches.
All the above are annual or biennial plants. The name of the genus is from the
Greek geranos, a crane, from a fancied resemblance in the fruit to a Crane's-bill.
The mechanism for the dispersal of seeds in the Crane's-bills
is worthy of attention. When the petals fall off the carpels
enlarge, and the outer layer of the style separates from the
axis, splitting into five portions, each attached to a carpel at
the bottom and to the style at top. The axis of the style
further elongates, but the tails of the carpels do not, and
there is, in consequence, great tension, which ends in the carpel
being detached from its base. The " tail " curls up, the carpel
is reversed, and the seed drops out.
The Hemlock Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutariuui).
Closely related to the Crane's bills — and at one time included
in the genus Geranium with them — are the Stork's-bills, of
— 35
Stork's-bill.
Erodium cicutarium.
— GERANIACE.E. —
— 36 —
Milfoil. Yarrow.
Achillea millefolium.
— COMPOSITE. —
THE HEMLOCK STORK'S-BILL. 36
which we have three British representatives. Only one of the
three, however, is at all plentiful, and that is the one we have
figured. It is a common species, but must be looked for on dry
wastes and commons, especially near the coast. Quite apart
from its umbels of pretty pink flowers it is a handsome plant.
The leaves are cut up into a large number of leaflets, arranged
in slightly irregular pairs on either side of the rib, and these
leaflets are cut up into many irregular lobes. It is the arrange-
ment so common in ferns : the leaf \spinnate, because it is fur-
nished with pinnae or wings, and as the pinnae are themselves
almost winged they are pinnatifid, or cut in a pinnate manner.
The parts of the flower agree in number with Geranium, that is,
sepals five, petals five, stamens ten (but five are aborted, and pro-
duce no anthers), stigmas five. The fruits agree pretty closely
with those of the Crane's-bills, but in Er odium the tails of the car-
pels are lined on their inner face with fine silky hairs, and instead
of curling simply they twist spirally, and cause the hairs to stand
out at right angles. The seed remains attached to the tail,
which becomes detached from the axis of the style and is blown
to the ground. There the twisted tail is alternately lengthened
and shortened by moisture and dryness of the atmosphere, and
with assistance of the hairs this automatic movement gradually
forces the pointed hairy seed into the ground. It flowers from
June to September.
The Musky Stork's-bill (E. moschatunt) is much larger than the last mentioned
Easily identified by the strong smell of musk. Flowers June and July. Local.
The Sea Stork's-bill (E. man'timum}. Leaves narrow, heart-shaped, lobed and
toothed. Petals minute, pale pink, sometimes absent. Sandy and gravelly coasts :
rare. May to September. Name from Greek, Erodios, a heron.
Yarrow or Milfoil (Achilka millefolium).
One of the commonest weeds in pastures, or on commons,
roadside wastes, and often on lawns, is the Yarrow. Its leaves,
as its second popular name indicates, are cut up into a large
D 2
37 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
number of segments ; these are very slender and crowded, and
are again cut up ; so that the general aspect of the leaf is ex-
ceedingly light and feathery. This is especially the case with
the leaves (radical) that spring directly from the creeping root ;
those given off by the flowering stem become more simple as
they near the summit. Unlike as the flowers may at first sight
appear to those of the Daisy and Dandelion, those of the
Yarrow are also composites. The yellowish disc-florets are
tubular, and contain both anthers and stigmas ; the white or pink
ray-florets are pistillate only. It abounds on all commons,
pastures and wastes, flowering from June till the end of the
year. There is one other British species,
The Sneeze wort (A. ptarmicd), which is almost as widely dis-
tributed. Its flower-heads are much fewer than in Yarrow, and
its leaves are more simple in character, the edges being merely
cut into teeth. The disc-florets are more green than yellow. It
is about a month later than Yarrow in coming into flower, but
thereafter the two species keep time together. The name
Achillea was given to the genus in honour of Achilles, who is
reputed to have used Yarrow for the purpose of staunching his
wounds.
Groundsel (Senecto mtgaris).
We have selected this very vulgar plant as a familiar example
of a genus that contains some very striking species. They all
produce composite flowers, but in this common weed the ray-
florets are usually wanting, and consequently the few cylindric
flower-heads have a very singular appearance. The leaves are
deeply cut, the lobes irregularly toothed. The flowers are suc-
ceeded by the well-known fluffy pappus attached to the seeds,
which has enabled the plant to become one of the most widely
distributed in all temperate and cold climates. It is to this
hoary head of seed-bearers that the genus is indebted for its
— 37 —
Groundsel.
Senecio vulgai-is.
— COMPOSITE. —
38 —
Rye-grass. Brome-grass.
Lolium perenne. Bromus erectus.
— GRAMINE.E. —
GROUNDSEL. 38
name, which is derived from the Latin Senex — an old man.
There are other eight British species, of which the most
frequent are briefly noted below.
I. Mountain Groundsel (S. sylvatlcus). Leaves similar to S. vukaris, but
divisions more accentuated. When the ray is present it is rolled back. The flower-
heads are more numerous than in vulgaris. Plant with unpleasant foetid smell.
Dry upland banks and pastures. July to September.
II. Stinking Groundsel (S. viscosus). More objectionable-smelling than the last.
Leaves broader, more divided, glandular, hairy and viscid. Plant much branched
and spreading. Flowers larger : rays rolled back. Waste ground. Local. July
and August.
III. Ragwort (S, jacobad). Stem thick and leafy, 2 to 4 feet high, somewhat
cottony, with clusters of large golden yellow flower-heads with spreading rays
Leaves finely lobed and toothed. Waysides, woods and pastures. June to October.
Very plentiful.
IV. Hoary Ragwort (S, erucifoliits). Similar to the last, but the stem more
loosely cottony ; the segments of the leaves more regular and less divided ; rootstock
creeping. Hedges and roadsides. July and August.
V. Water Ragwort (S. aquaticus). Like S.jacobcea, but of lesser growth Flower-
heads larger, leaf-stalks longer. Wet places, riversides, ditches. July and
August.
Rye -grass (Lelium perenne), and
Upright Brome (Bromus erectus).
The structure of grass-flowers has been already described,
and the reader should refer back to page 19. The inflorescence
is a spike, the spikelets arranged in two rows, with their edges
to the stem, which is channelled. There is only one outer
glume, which is strongly ribbed, and shorter than the spikelet.
The flowering glumes number from six to ten, or more.
This is one of the grasses that send forth leafy runners, which
root and occupy surrounding ground. It is one of the most
valuable to the farmer, on account of it early ripening, and its
usefulness either for permanent pasture or for cropping. With
good management as many as four crops may be obtained in
one year. It grows in all waste places, and flowers in May.
39 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Darnel (L. temulentum) is its only native congener ; an annual. It is
similar to L>. pereune, but produces no runners. Its presence among wheat is
dreaded, as when ground up into flour it is believed to produce headache, vertigo,
and other symptoms of poisoning. Darnel is the Tares of the New Testament, and
is one of the very few grasses that are deleterious.
Upright Brome (Bromus erectus) is a perennial of strong growth, with stout
creeping rootstock, sending up smooth and rigid stems 2 or 3 feet in height. The
narrow leaves have their edges rolled inwards. The inflorescence is a lax panicle ;
the spikelets purplish in tint. The two empty glumes are unequal, and contain from
five to eight flowering glumes, with awns, and hairy all over. There are seven other
British species in the genus.
Henbane (Uyoscyamus niger).
At one time the Henbane was held in great esteem as a medi-
cinal plant, and was then to be found very commonly on rubbish
heaps, and the banks of ditches. Although it is still retained
in the Pharmacopoeia, its empirical use is not so great as for-
merly, neither does the plant appear to be so plentiful as
of old. Its appearance and smell are somehow suggestive of
its evil nature. It has a stout, branching stem, growing to a
height of about two feet. The leaves are oblong, with irregular
lobes, and the bases of the upper ones clasp the stem. The
flowers spring from the axils of the leaves, and are almost
stalkless. The calyx is pitcher-shaped, with a five-toothed
mouth. The corolla is funnel-shaped, with five unequal lobes,
and of a dingy yellow, streaked with purple-brown veins, though
a form occurs with the corolla uniformly yellow. The five
stamens are inserted at the base of the corolla-tube, and end
in purple anthers, discharging their pollen by slits. The ovary
is two- celled, supporting a simple style with a round head — the
stigma. The whole plant is densely covered with sticky hairs.
On fertilization the ovary grows into a constricted capsule,
with a distinct lid, which drops off to release the numerous
seeds. It is the only British representative of the genus, which
is said to get its name from two Greek words, Us, a hog, and
Kuamos, a bean, but such etymology cannot be considered at
all satisfactory. It flowers from June to August.
— 39 —
Henbane.
Hyoscyamus niger.
— SOLANACE^:. —
40
Quake-grass. Foxtail-grass.
Briza media. Alopecurus pratensis.
— GRAMINE/E. —
QUAKE OR TOTTER-GRASS. 40
Quake or Totter-grass (Briza media}, and
Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis).
The Totter-grass differs so strongly in appearance from other
grasses that minute description is unnecessary except as an aid
in making out the structure. Every child that plays in the
meadow singles this out as the most desirable acquisition
among grasses, because of its constant tremblings. The inflor-
escence is a very loose pyramidal panicle, due to the extremely
long and hair-like stalks upon which the shining purple
spikelets are swung. The empty glumes are two ; flowering
glumes six to eight. The stem creeps below the surface, and
the leaves are flat. The plant is perennial ; but there is
another species, the Small Quake-grass (B. minor), that is
annual. This is not so common a plant, and is found chiefly
between Cornwall and Hampshire. It is much smaller than
B. media, and has tufted stems ; it flowers in July, media a
month earlier. The name Briza is Greek, and was anciently
applied to some kind of corn.
The Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurns pratensis) bears a general
resemblance to Timothy (page 25), to which it is not distantly
allied ; but from which it differs in having no pale or scales.
Its cylindrical panicle is yellowish-green, with silvery hairs, the
branches bearing three to six spikelets. It is a perennial plant,
and produces runners. It forms a valuable portion of all good
pastures, the herbage being exceedingly nutritive. It flowers
in May and June. The name is Greek, signifying Foxtail.
There are three other native species in the genus : —
I. Slender Foxtail (A. agrestis). Annual. Panicle slender, often purplish,
branches hairy, with two spikelets. A wayside weed. May to October.
II. Alpine Foxtail (A. alpinus). Perennial. Panicle ovate, short, f inch,
branches with four to six spikelets. Anthers yellow. Rare, near alpine streams,
from 2,100 to 3,600 feet. Scotland. July and August.
III. Floating Foxtail (A. genicnlatus). Perennial. Stems, procumbent and
rooting. Panicle dense, slender. Branches with one spikelet. Anthers purplish.
Pools and wet places. May to August.
41 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Dog-rose (Rosa caninci).
Probably most non-botanical ramblers feel able to distinguish
at once between the Dog-rose and the Field-rose, and a few
may be learned enough to separate either or both from the
Burnet-rose and the Sweet-briar — and they may do it. But
the scientific botanist has difficulties, and he is not quite sure
where one species leaves off and another begins. Many
workers have so split up our six or seven British roses into a
vast multitude of species, sub-species, and varieties that it is
difficult to follow them. In this work we shall not attempt it.
The Dog-rose is the largest of the British roses. It forms a
bush of considerable size, with long arching branches, covered
with broad hooks. The leaves are broken up into five leaflets,
each of which is sharply toothed. The sepals are five in
number, pinnate, and turned back towards the stem when the
flower is open. The petals are five, pink and notched.
Stamens many. Styles free, hairy. The ovary is sunk in the
calyx, which changes to the pitcher-shaped scarlet fruits — the
" hips " of the schoolboy — in which are the hairy achenes.
Flowers mostly solitary. Generally common in hedges and
copses, flowering from June to August.
I. The Field-rose (R. arvensis) is very similar to R. canina, but the flowers are
generally in clusters, the petals white. Sepals falling off. In similar places. June
and July. Easily distinguished by its trailing habit.
II. The Burnet- or Scotch-rose (G. spinosissima) is a much-branched shrub,
with the leaves divided into seven or nine leaflets. Stem crowded with nearly
straight prickles, showing every stage in the transition from thorns to stiff bristles
and glandular hairs. Petals white or pink. Fruit nearly globular. Heaths and
open places chiefly, on sand and chalk, especially near the sea. May and June.
III. Sweet Briar (A', rubiginosd). A small bush with erect or arching branches,
set with hooked prickles mixed with glandular hairs and bristles. Leaflets densely
glandular and aromatic. Flowers small, pink. Fruit globose. Bushy places,
chiefly in South of England. June and July.
— 41 -
Dog-rose.
Rosa canina.
— ROSACES.
Rock-rose.
Helianthemum vulgare.
— GlSTINEjE. —
ROCK- ROSE. 42
Rock-rose (Hdianthemum vulgare).
On our chalk-downs, and on banks in gravelly soils, from
June to September the pale yellow flowers of the Rock-rose are
abundant. In spite of its plentifulness, however, it is not
among those flowers that are generally known, except to the
botanist. The rest of the world probably includes it among
the buttercups, with which it has no relationship. The plant
is shrubby, with a creeping rootstock ; its branches trail on the
ground among grass and low herbage. It is therefore by no
means a conspicuous plant, though it occurs in considerable
masses, and is perennial. The leaves are small, oblong, with
an even margin ; the upper surface hairy, the lower downy.
They are arranged in pairs on the stem, and provided with
stipules.
The flower-bud is protected by only three sepals, but there
are two others reduced to the size and shape of stipules ; and
so their number really corresponds with the five somewhat
flabby petals, which have the softness of the poppy rather than
the stiffness of the buttercup. The stamens that surround the
pistil are a multitude ; they are also irritable, and on being
touched fall back from the pistil. The plant is common through-
out the country, except in Cornwall and West Scotland, in which
districts it is rare. The name is Greek, and signifies sunflower.
There are three other British species : —
I. White Rock-rose (//. polifoliunt). Similar, but more shrubby ; margins of
leaves curled back. Flowers white. Very rare. Stony places in Somerset and
South Devon. May to July.
II. Spotted Annual Rock-rose (H. guttatuni). An Annual, of erect habit ; the
lower leaves opposite, without stipules, the upper alternate, with stipules. Petals
wedge-shaped, yellow, with a red spot at the base of each. Stony places, Anglesea
and Holyhead ; very rare. More freely near Cork and in the Channtl Islands.
June to August.
III. Dwarf Rock-rose (H. canujii). More woody than the others ; stems trail-
ing. The whole plant hoary, and much branched. Leaves opposite, without
stipules. Flowers yellow, not numerous. May to July, from Glamorgan to West-
moreland.
43 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).
From June to October our commons, pastures, downs and
railway banks are bright with the flowers of Bird's-foot Trefoil,
or as it is termed in some districts, Lady's Slipper, a name
which properly belongs to the rare orchis Cypripediiim.
The plant belongs to the same Natural Order (Leguminosa)
as the Broom (see page 7 ante}) and its flowers are of similar
construction, though much smaller. There is a short, woody,
perennial rootstock, from which originate several trailing
branches, which are themselves much branched. The leaves
are not trefoils, as the name would lead us to suppose, for the
apparent stipules at the base of the leaf-stalk are in this genus
leaflets. The flowers, which are in spreading heads of from
three to ten flowers, are of a pretty yellow, tinted with red.
They are succeeded by little cylindrical pods about an inch in
length, which, when three or four are in a cluster, present the
appearance of a bird's claws. The plant is a valued ingredient
in the formation of pastures and meadows. The name was
given to the genus because this was believed to be one of the
plants to which the ancient Greeks applied the name Lotus.
There are three other species natives of Britain : —
I. Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil (L. uliginosus). More or less erect in habit. The
calyx-teeth spreading in bud (in L. comiculatus they are erect in bud). Moist
meadows and swampy places. July. and August.
II. Hairy Bird's-foot Trefoil (L. hispidus). Annual, trailing stems, long and
slender, covered with lax hairs. Pods twice the length of calyx. Banks near the
sea from Hants to Cornwall. July and August. Rare.
III. Slender Bird's-foot Trefoil (Z.. angustissimus). Similar to L. hispidus, but
stems shorter and more slender. Pod four times the length of calyx. Similar
situations as last, but extending as far eastward as Kent. Very rare.
Common Yetch (Viria sativd). Plate 44.
The Vetches are Leguminous plants, and the structure of
the flowers is therefore very similar to those just described.
The Vetches are chiefly climbing plants, and have pinnate
— 43 —
Bird's foot Trefoil.
Lotus corniculatus.
— LEGUMINOS^E. —
mmon Vetch.
Vicia sativa.
— LEGUMINOS^E. —
COMMON VETCH. 44
leaves. The leaflets are numerous, and the leaf-stalk is
continued for some distance beyond the leafy portion, where
it becomes a clasping tendril, often divided into three or four
branches. The Common Vetch is to be found in hedges
and roadsides near cornfields, flowering from April to June.
The flowers are pale purple in colour, and are produced singly
or in pairs from the axils of the leaves. By some authorities this
is not considered a true species, but merely a cultivated form of
the Narrow-leaved Vetch (V. angustifolia). The seed-pods are
slightly hairy, and from two to three inches in length. The name
Vicia is the term by which the plants were known to the ancients
and appears to have the same origin as Vinca (see page 5).
There are no less than ten British species of Vicia, but as
some of these are very rare, we shall refer only to some of the
commoner kinds .
I. Slender Tare (y. tetrasperma}. Stem very slender, about 2 feet in height.
Flowers singly or in pairs, pale blue. Pods with three or four seeds. Hedges and
cornfields. May to August.
II. Common Tare (V. hirsute?). Similar to foregoing species, but hairy. Flowers
smaller, pods shorter, hairy, and containing two seeds only. In similar situations.
These are both annuals.
III. Tufted Vetch (V, cracca). With creeping rootstock and angled stem,
climbing or spreading ; somewhat silky. The bright blue flowers are borne in a
dense one-sided raceme, to the number of twenty or thirty. The pod is beaked,
about an inch in length, and contains a large number of seeds. Hedges and
bushy places. June to August. Perennial.
IV. Bitter Vetch {V. orobus). Leaves in seven to ten pairs of leaflets, without
tendrils. Stem, erect, branched, hairy. The flowers purplish-white, ten to twenty,
in loose one-sided racemes. Pod pointed at each end, containing four or five seeds.
Rocky and mountainous woods on the western side of Britain. May to September.
V. Wood Vetch (V. sylvaticd). Perennial creeping rootstock. Stems, 3 to 6
feet, scrambling and trailing over bushes and undergrowth. Tendrils branched.
Leaves beautifully divided into six or eight pairs of leaflets. Flowers white>
streaked and veined with purple, and borne loosely in a one-sided raceme, to the
number of eight to eighteen. A beautiful species, found only locally in woods at
high elevation.
VI. Bush Vetch (V. sepiuiii). Creeping perennial rootstock, giving off runners.
Leaflets, six to eight pairs. Flowers, dull purple, four to six in a cluster, not on a
long stalk as in the Wood Vetch, but from the axils of the leaves, as in the Common
Vetch. May to September. In hedges and bushy places.
45 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Duckweeds (Lemnd).
The Duckweeds — Shakespeare's " Green mantle of the
standing pool " — are plants that are well-known to everybody,
and consequently very few persons know anything of them.
This is a paradox ; but they are so common and so small that
the average man or woman is content to know them in the
aggregate, and cannot condescend to a more intimate acquaint-
ance with individuals, or with the different species, yet like
many other small things — " unconsidered trifles" — they are
very interesting to the botanist ; for these are among the
smallest and simplest of the flowering plants. Taking up two
or three plants from one pond and comparing them with some
from another piece of water, we shall probably find a difference
in them ; but they are all possessed of a more or less flattened
green body that floats on the water, and which we shall be
inclined to call a leaf. It is not a leaf, however, but a plant
that produces no leaves, though it has roots and flowers. To
be more accurate we will call it a frond, from whose under-
surface there goes down one or more simple unbranched
roots, and in clefts of whose margin are simple flowers. The
flower consists of an envelope or spathe (see page 15), within
which is a bottle-shaped pistil, with one or two stamens beside
it. Some authorities conte'nd that the pistil and each of the
stamens is really a distinct flower similar to those in Arum.
These flowers are so minute that they are rarely seen, and so
are thought to flower only occasionally. The plant is chiefly
multiplied by the production of new fronds from its edges.
The four species figured give the whole of the genus, so far
as Britain is concerned ; but three others are known in foreign
waters. The differences in the natives may be thus briefly
enumerated : —
I. Least Duckweed (Lemna minor). The most frequent species. Frond not
more than a quarter of an inch long, egg-shaped, the top flat and bright green,
Duckneeds.
1. Lemna minor. 3. Lemna gibba.
2. — tisulca. 4. — polyrhiza.
— LEMNACE^E. —
46 —
Corn Chamomile
Anthemis arvensis.
— COMPOSITE. —
THE DUCKWEEDS. 46
underside very pale green and slightly convex, with a single root. Spathe two-
lipped, one much larger than the other. Stamens two, one maturing before the
other ; style long. Flowering in July.
II. Ivy-leaved Duckweed (L. trisulca). Frond thin and flat, nearly an inch
long, tailed at one end, coarsely toothed at the other. New fronds emerge at right
angles to the parent. Roots solitary. Stamens two ; style short. June and July.
III. Thick-leaved Duckweed (L. gibba). Frond nearly round, narrowed at one
end, large, almost flat, green opaque on top, greatly swollen beneath, whitish, clear,
the cell-structure being very noticeable. Root solitary, stamens two. Flowers
June to September.
IV. Great Duckweed (L. polyrhiza). At once distinguished from the others by
its bunch of roots from each frond. Upper surface slightly convex, dark green with
seven nerves. Underside purple, as also the upper margins. Stamens two. Flower
has been rarely, if ever, seen in this country.
Late in Autumn the fronds sink to the bottom of the ponds and ditches, and
remain there hibernating till Spring, when they arise to the surface, and again
vegetate. The name of the genus is the old Greek appellation of the plant Lemna,
supposed to be derived from Lepis, a scale.
Corn Chamomile (Anthemis arvensis).
We have already described several species of Composite, and
now return to that order to describe a type of flower very
similar in general appearance to the Daisy (page i). The Corn
Chamomile is an annual plant ; the lower portion of its stem is
prostrate, sending up erect branches with alternate, prettily cut
leaves, twice pinnate. The flower-heads are borne singly on
long stalks, and the floral envelope (involucre] consists of a
number of over-lapping scales (bracts'), whose margins are dry
and chaffy. The base (receptacle} upon which the florets are
packed is convex and covered with little chaffy scales, which
stand up between the florets. The disc-florets contain both
anthers and pistil ; the ray-florets are pistillate only. The
whole plant is downy. It occurs in fields and waste places,
flowering from May to August. Though somewhat widely
distributed, it is a local plant. The name is an old Greek
name for the Chamomile, from anthemon, a flower, probably
owing to the profusion of its blossoms.
The other British species of the genus are two only : —
47 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
I. The Stinking May Weed (A. cotula}. Ray-florets usually without pistils. The
plant is smooth or hairy, not downy, but the leaves are quite smooth, and covered
with minute glands, which secrete a foetid-smelling and acrid juice, causing
swelling of the hands in persons clearing fields of this weed. The flower-stalks
are more slender than in arvensis, and the involucral bracts are narrower at their
tips. Fields, wastes and roadsides ; very common in South of England, rare in
the North. Flowers June to September.
II. The Chamomile (A. noMlis.) Perennial. Branches spreading from the root,
leafy and furrowed, hollow. Leaves woolly, aromatic. Flower-stalk long and
slender ; involucre downy and chaffy. The ray-florets are sometimes wanting. In
great favour as a remedy for indigestion. Gravelly pastures and dry wastes in
England and Ireland. Rare. It is not a native of Scotland. Flowers July to
September.
St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum\
There are no less than eleven native species of St. John's
Wort, all characterized by a neat habit, clean-cut leaves with-
out stalks, yellow flowers in cymose clusters, and a multitude '
of stamens, which are more or less joined in several bundles.
The species represented on our plate is one of the
commonest, and occurs in copses and hedgebanks throughout
the kingdom, as far north as Sutherland, flowering from July
to September. It is very erect in habit, the stems two-edged,
pale brown and smooth, two or three feet high. If the leaves
are held up to the light it will be found that the veins (but not
the reticulations) are pellucid, and that the leaf is thickly
dotted with pellucid glands. The flowers are i to i£ inch in
diameter. The calyx, corolla, and sometimes leaves are more
or less marked with black dots and lines. The sepals and
petals are each five in number ; the ovary large, pear-shaped,
surmounted by three long styles, which are longer than the
ovary. The stamens joined in three bundles by their bases
only. Sepals glandular.
Among the other British species are : —
I. Square- stalked St. John's Wort (JH. tetrapteruut). Stem with four narrow
wings, i to 2 feet, leaves broader than in perforation, but the glands, veins and
reticulations are pellucid. Styles shorter than the ovary. Flowers dense, $ to f
inch, across. Moist places, July and August.
— 47 —
St John's "Wort.
Hypericum perforatum.
— HYPERICINE^:. —
Hop Trefoil.
TrifoHum ]>rocumbens.
— LEGUMINOS^. —
— 48 —
Red Glover.
Trifolium pra tense.
— LEGUMINOS^E. —
ST. JOHN'S WORT. 48
II. Trailing St. John's Wort (ff. humifusunt). Stems slender, compressed, pros-
trate, not exceeding a foot. Leaves small, oblong ; glands pellucid ; the margins
are often marked with black glands, and are sometimes rolled back. Flowers,
£ inch across. Sepals unequal. Styles very short. Commons and wastes. July
and August.
III. Small Upright St. John's Wort (ff. pulchruni). Stems slender, round,
smooth, erect. Leaves heart-shaped, with pellucid glands. Sepals small, oblong,
with black glandular teeth. Petals yellow, tinged with red, and edged with black
glands. Styles short ; anthers red. Flowers f inch, loose panicles. Dry woods
and heaths. June and July.
IV. Hairy St. John's Wort (H. hirsutunt). Stem erect, round, downy. Leaves
large, 'with short stalks, downy beneath, pellucid glands. Sepals very narrow, half
length of petals, with black glandular teeth. Woods and thickets, especially on
chalk. July and August.
V. Tutsan (ff. androscemnni). Stem shrubby, compressed, 2 feet high. Flowers
few, f inch across. Sepals unequal, glandular, except margin. Petals and stamens
not permanent. Stamens in five bundles. Styles shorter than stamens. Hedges
and thickets. July to September.
Clovers (Trifottum).
Everybody knows a Clover when he sees it ; it is therefore
unnecessary to take up our space with a general description.
Their great value as pasture plants has caused their typical
forms of flower and leaf to be well known ; but we have so
many native species, to say nothing of the introduced kinds,
that few besides botanists and agriculturists are acquainted
with their specific characters.
All the Clovers or Trefoils are Leguminous plants, and the
structure of the individual flower is very similar to that of
Lotus and Vicia ; but the flowers are much smaller, and are
gathered into a conspicuous head. In certain species there
are floral bracts, and in some these form an involucre. It is
characteristic of most of the clovers that when the seed is set
the petals do not fall off, but simply dry up and wrap round
the pod. The name of the genus is Latin, and signifies three-
leaved. The principal British species are : —
I. Subterranean Trefoil (T. subterraneuni), so called from its singular habit of
49 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
burying its pods in the earth when they are ripening. The plant has many creeping
stems, covered with soft hairs. The heads of flowers are cream-coloured, and are
produced in the axils. The individual flowers are long and slender ; only a few in
each head are fertile, and in this species the petals fall off early. The pod is a
compressed orb. Dry, gravelly pastures. May and June..
II. Hare's-foot Trefoil ( T. arvense). Stems almost erect. Flower-heads numerous,
dense, cylindric, softly hairy; flowers pinky-white, minute; teeth of the calyx
longer than the corolla. Corn-fields and dry pastures. July to September.
III. Common Purple or Red Clover (T. pratense). (See figure.) This is the
clover so commonly grown in meadows as an important ingredient in the hay-crop.
Its large oval leaflets are frequently marked with a whitish band that takes more or
less of a quarter-moon shape. Its flower-heads are round, afterwards becoming
longer than broad, purplish red in colour. Calyx-teeth slender, bristly, not longer
than corolla. Top of pod dropping off when ripe. This is the clover Darwin made
famous by showing that the cultivated forms must die out but for the humble-bees,
whose tongues alone are long enough to fertilize its long flowers. Meadows, pas-
tures and roadsides. May to September.
IV. Zigzag or Meadow Clover (T. medium). Leaflets more pointed than in
pratense, and spotless. Stem branched in such a manner as to give it a peculiarly
zigzag appearance. Heads larger, and of a deeper purple than pratense. Calyx-
teeth half the length of corolla. Pod splitting lengthwise. Pastures, flourishing in
lighter soils than pratense. June to September.
V. Soft Knotted Trefoil (T. striatum). Stem more or less reclining, downy or
silky. Flower-heads both terminal and axillary, small, rosy-red, broader at the
base. Calyx-tube swollen, ribbed, contracted at mouth, teeth not so long as
corolla. Dry pastures. June and July.
VI. Rough Rigid Trefoil ( T. scabrum). Stems rigid, prostrate. Leaflets rigid,
toothed, the veins thickened. Flower-heads broadest in middle. Flowers small,
the corolla white, calyx purple; calyx-teeth as long as corolla. Chalky and
sandy pastures near sea. May to July.
VII. Dutch Clover (T. repens). Stems smooth, creeping, but not rooting.
Leaflets often with a dark spot at the base, below a whitish band. Heads of
flowers globose, all produced from the axils, on long stalks. The flowers white or
pinkish, attached by short stalks, which are recurved after flowering, so that the pods
are all drooping. Meadows and pastures. May to October.
VIII. Strawberry-headed Clover (T.fragiferwri). Similar in habit to the last.
Flower-head globose, of small purple -red flowers, much larger after flowering, when
the calyces swell and take on a red colour, which increases size of head to an inch
in diameter, and gives it a strawberry-like aspect. Meadows and pastures. July
and August.
IX. Hop Trefoil (T. procttmbens.) (See Figure on p. 47.) This must not be con-
founded with the Hop Trefoil of the farmer (Medicago lupulina), in which the
flowers are borne in spikes (see p. 73). The stems are downy, one growing erect,
others all round it creeping. The flowers are pale yellow, crowded in the heads,
the upper petal (standard) broad, and arched over the straight pod, turning bright
brown, which gives the head the appearance of a hop strobile. The pods are
— 49 —
Sainfoin.
Onobrychis sativa.
— LEGUMINOS^E. —
— 50 —
Eyebright.
Euphrasia ofiicinalis.
— SCROPHULARINEJ3. -
CLOVERS. 50
always so covered in this species, whereas, in Medicago lupulina they are naked.
Dry pastures and roadsides. June to August.
X. Small Yellow Trefoil (T. dubium). Stems slight, creeping, nearly smooth.
Heads smaller, on long slender stalk. Flowers yellow, the standard narrow,
keeled, turning dark brown after flowering and wrapped round the pod. Similar
situations and date to last.
Sain Foin (Onobrychis sativa). Plate 49.
Still keeping to the Leguminous plants, we have here a
handsome herb of aspect very different from that of the
Trefoils. It is much cultivated as a fodder plant in dry fields,
but will also be found growing wild on chalk-hills and downs.
It is, however, suspected of being an escape from cultivation
that has taken to an independent life. The plant springs from
a perennial woody rootstock, and its stout downy stems are
more or less erect. The leaves are pinnate, the leaflets in
about twelve pairs and a terminal one. The flowers are in
spikes, the standard broad ; bright clear pink, veined with a
deeper rosy tint. The pod is semicircular, wrinkled, and
contains but one seed. Flowers June to August. The name
is derived from two Greek words, signifying the braying of an
ass, because that animal is fabled to bray after it when he
sees but cannot reach it.
Eyebright (Euphrasia offidnalis).
From the close-cropped turf of our commons and in
meadows the bright eyes of this plant peep out through the
summer. In such situations it is a very lowly herb, only an
inch or so in height, but in some places, as in the pastures of
the Highlands, it grows erect to a height of nearly a foot, with
many opposite branches. The leaves are ovate, opposite,
without stalks, and of a dark-green hue. The flowers are
borne near the extremities of the branches. Some of the
flowers are much larger than others, and in the larger the
E
51 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
stigmas ripen before the anthers ; in the smaller the anthers
mature before the stigmas. The tubular calyx is divided into
four sharp lobes. The corolla is white, streaked with purple,
except the central lobe of the lower lip, which is yellow. This
is the only native species of the genus — which is comprised in
the order Scrophularineas — though there are several varietal
forms. Flowers from May to September. The name is from
the Greek, Euphraino^ to delight or gladden, in allusion to the
pleasing contrast of its bright flowers with the dark foliage, or
from its supposed efficacy for complaints affecting the eyes — its
removal of these giving gladness.
The plant is — at least partially — a parasite, and preys upon
the roots of other plants, which it robs. Probably the lowly
forms to which we have referred may be less parasitic than
those of greater stature ; for if the seeds are sown in pots by
themselves they will germinate and grow, but will never get
large robust plants.
Great Reed Mace (Typha latifolid).
Of late years it has become the general error to call this
plant Bulrush, a name which belongs by right to Scirp2is
lacushis. Every autumn the hawkers in London and other
cities offer the cylindrical spikes of Typha for sale as assthetic
decorations, and call them bulrushes ; but they are not the
originators of the blunder. It is the artists who have done
this thing, especially one Delaroche, whose picture of " The
Finding of Moses" is of world-wide popularity. In that
painting he depicted the future leader of his people rocking in
his ark amid a forest of Typha. What more was needed to
associate the word bulrush of the Bible (itself a blunder of the
learned translators) with this plant ?
There are two British species, perennial plants with long,
narrow, grass-like leaves, the bases of which sheath the stem.
Reed mace.
Typha latifolia.
— TYPHACE^:. —
Kidney Vetch.
An thy His vulneraria,
GREAT REED MACE. 52
The stamens and pistils are produced in separate flowers, but
upon the same plant. The flowers have no perianth other
than a few slender hairs. The staminate flowers occupy the
upper portion of the well-known spike or " mace," and con-
sist simply of several stamens joined together, the anthers
opening along their sides. The pistillate flowers consist of a
stalked ovary with a slender style and a one-sided narrow
stigma. The specific differences are as follows : —
I. Great Reed Mace (T. latifolia). Leaves as much as an inch and a half broad,
in two rows, bluish-green. Flowering stem naked, 6 or 7 feet high. Staminate
and pistillate spikes continuous, or but slightly interrupted. Growing in lakes and
on the banks of rivers. Flowering in July and August.
II. .Lesser Reed Mace (JF. angusti folia). Whole plant smaller. Leaves half the
width, dark green, grooved at lower end. Staminate and pistillate spikes separated
by an interval. Stigmas broader. Ditches and pools. Less common than latifolia.
Flowering July.
Name from Greek, Tiphos, a fen or marsh, from the habitat.
Kidney Yetch (Anthyllis vulneraria).
The Kidney-vetch or Lady's fingers was celebrated from
early times as a plant that was efficacious in the cure of
wounds, and hence its specific name vulneraria. There is no
doubt that this reputation was well-founded, for its bluish
leaves are covered with silky hairs and its calyces downy. It
is a perennial herb that affects dry pastures and rocky banks.
From a woody rootstock arise several stems and a large
number of radical leaves j these consist of a long terminal
leaflet and two disproportionately small lateral leaflets. The
leaves from the stems (caudal leaves) have a larger number
of leaflets in pairs, as well as a terminal one. The
flowers are borne in heads, with an involucre of leaflets,
and the heads are chiefly in pairs. The calyx is mem-
branous, and therefore permanent, the mouth oblique,
with fine teeth. The petals are nearly equal in length, and
typically yellow, but subject to considerable variation. After
flowering the straw-coloured calyx becomes inflated, and the
E 2
53 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
roundish smooth and veined pod with its solitary seed is
hidden within. In some of the coast localities for this
plant it will be found with flowers white, cream-coloured,
crimson, and purple ; this has been especially noted at the
Lizard in Cornwall. It is ordinarily in flower from June to
August. This is the only British species.
The name is the one in use among the ancient Greeks, and
signifies bearded flower, which is obviously a reference to the
woolly calyces.
Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum).
We have already given several examples of Composite
flowers, and an examination of the Ox-eye Daisy would
quickly convince the reader that he has another Composite
under consideration. The popular eye noted long ago its
similarity to a big daisy, and named it accordingly. In
Scotland, too, where the daisy is known as a " gowan," the
resemblance has been recorded by calling the Ox-eye a
" horse gowan." If reference be . made back to the Daisy
(page i), it will be seen that the involucre consists of a single
series of green scales, whilst in the Ox-eye this part of the
flower consists of three or four series of scales with thin brown
or purple edges, overlapping each other after the manner of the
tiles on a roof. The white ray-florets are notched at the ends,
unlike those of the Daisy. The Ox-eye, too, it will be noted,
has a distinct stem, the leaves of which differ from those
produced directly from the rootstock, being narrower, deeply
toothed and stalkless. It is but too abundant in pastures and
hay fields, which are effectively whitened by its flowers from
May to August. The name is from two Greek words, Chrysos,
golden, and anthemon, flowers, from the golden discs of the
flower-heads.
There are two other British species : —
I. Corn Marigold (C. segetum). A troublesome annual weed in cornfields, but
— 53 —
Ox-eye Daisy.
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum,
— COMPOSITE. —
Pimpernel.
Anagallis arvensis.
— PRIMULACE^E. —
Ghickweed.
Stellaria media.
- CARYOPHYLLE.E.
OX-EYE DAISY. 54
as handsome as it is mischievous. Its ray-florets are of a deep yellow hue, then-
tips not notched but divided into two lobes by a central indentation. The involucral
bracts are broad, with wide margins. Flowers June to September.
II. Fever Few (C. parthenium}. Like the Ox-eye, this is a perennial plant
with a much-branched erect stem, broad pinnate leaves, downy and aromatic. The
flower-heads are small, and are clustered in many-headed flat-topped bouquets
(corymbs). The white rays are short and broad. Whole plant bitter and tonic.
Waste places and hedgebanks. July to September.
Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis).
The Scarlet Pimpernel, or Poor Man's Weather-glass, is one
of those wild flowers with which every country-dweller is
acquainted, for it has long enjoyed a reputation as a cheap
barometer, in consequence of its habit of closing the petals
over the essential organs on the approach of rain. The genus
Anagallis belongs to the order Primulace£e, at whose
characteristics we have already glanced (see page 2). It has a
square stem, which lies along the ground and sends up many
erect branches. The leaves are ovate, the margins entire,
stalkless, usually borne in pairs, but occasionally in threes or
fours. The flowers are produced singly, on very long and
slender stalks, from the axils of the leaves. The sepals are
narrow, sharp-pointed, almost as long as the corolla. When
the flower has passed, their long stalks curve downwards with
the globose seed-vessel. When these are ripe they open by a
clean fissure all round, so that the upper half falls off and dis-
closes the numerous seeds. There is a variety often found with
blue flowers, which was formerly regarded as a distinct species,
but experiments with the seeds have proved it to be a mere
variety. One or other of these forms is common in all fields
and wastes from May till November.
The Bog Pimpernel (A . tenella) is a distinct and very beautiful species. It has a
creeping and rooting stem, with small broadly-ovate leaves on short stalks. The
flower-stalks are shorter and stouter than in arvensis, and the sepals much shorter
than the graceful pale-rosy funnel-shaped corolla, which is very large in proportion
to the leaves and stem. It may be found in boggy places growing amid sphagnum-
moss, and flowering in July and August. The name Anagallis is the old Greek
name, and is made up of ana, again, and agallo, to adorn.
55 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Chickweed (Stellaria media). Plate 54.
To utilize a blank space we have printed the portrait of the
lowly and ubiquitous Chickweed, a plant that has followed
English pioneers wherever they have gone about the world. It
is thoroughly known to all, but for particulars concerning it
and the genus the reader is referred to page 62.
Fennel (Fceniculum qfficinale).
To see the Fennel in its native haunts we must seek the
coast where there are cliffs, up whose face we shall find its tall,
stout, jointed stems and umbellate flowers. In this plant we
make acquaintance with an important Natural Order, the
Umbelliferag, which includes such useful plants as Celery,
Parsley, Carrot, Parsnip, Asafoetida, Anise, Dill, Hemlock, etc.
The prevailing characteristics of this order are : The stems are
hollow ; the leaves, with few exceptions, are divided ; the leaf-
stalk at its base expands and forms a sheath to the stem ; the
flowers borne on long stalks arranged like the ribs of an
umbrella ; the flowers five-parted, the ovary below the petals
and stamens, and the fruit what is known as a cremocarp.
Fennel grows to a height of three or four feet, with a round
and tubular, but almost solid stem, quite solid at the joints,
and grooved. The leaves are so much divided that the
divisions are merely many green threads. The flowers are
individually minute, the petals yellow, but to give them greater
prominence they are gathered into umbels, and these are
arranged in umbels of umbels, or what botanists would term
compound umbels.
The ovary consists of two carpels placed face to face, in each
of which is a single seed suspended like a nut in its shell
{pericarp). Each of the carpels with its ripe seed is termed a
mericarp) and the entire fruit is a cremocarp. It is hard on the
Fennel.
Fceniculum officinale.
— UMBELLIFER^E. —
Round leaved Sundew.
Drosera rotundifolia.
— DROSERACE/E. —
1
FENNEL. 56
reader to fling all these technical terms at him at once, but in
truth there is no help for it. If he wishes to become acquainted
with the extensive order of Umbelliferous plants he must
constantly use these terms, for the fruits play an important
part in distinguishing umbellifers of various genera.
The mericarps in Fennel are half-round, and marked on the
outside with five ridges, which mark the lines of union of the
sepals (which are adherent to the carpels) and the central
keels of the sepals. Between these ridges are tubes (vittce)
containing essential-oil, and it is to their presence that fruits of
this order owe their aromatic qualities.
The Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia).
The Sundews, of which we have three native species, must
be sought out, for they seldom obtrude themselves on the
attention of those whose eyes have not been trained to see
them. They must be looked for in peat bogs, and in hollows
on sandy heaths, where they grow in crowds. The leaves of
D. rotundifolia arise from a slender rootstock, and lie on the
ground in the form of a rosette, from the centre of which the
tall slender flower-stalks appear in July and August. Each
leaf bears near the upper margins several rows of long crimson
glands, terminating in rounded heads, and reminding one of a
sea-anemone's tentacles ; indeed, they serve a similar purpose.
These glands secrete a clear sticky fluid, which serves .to detain
small insects that crawl over the leaf. Their efforts to free
themselves irritate the glands, which all bend over to the
insect ; at the same time the margins of the leaf-blade begin to
become incurved, and the insect is effectually secured in the
hollow, ultimately being digested and the soft parts assimilated
by the plant. Readers desiring to learn more of these curious
habits of the plant are advised to grow it in a saucer of peat, and
to read Mr. Darwin's celebrated work on "Insectivorous Plants,"
57 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The leaf in this species, as its name signifies, has a round
blade, and this is attached to a long hairy leaf-stalk. In the
Narrow-leaved Sundew (D. intermedia) the blade is spoon-
shaped, and merges insensibly into the smooth leaf-stalk. In
the third species, or Long-leaved Sundew (D. anglica) the entire
leaf is similar to that of intermedia, but twice the length. In
neither of the long-leaved species are the leaves laid flat as in
rotundifoliaj those of intermedia are erect, whilst those of
anglica are borne half-erect. D. anglica is rare in the South
of England ; the others are well distributed. The name is
derived from the Greek, Drosera, dewy, in allusion to the
bedewed appearance of the leaves.
Barberry (Berberis vulgaris).
The Common Barberry is a spiny shrub, growing in hedge
and copse, and brightening the spot from April to June with its
strings of yellow flowers, and later in the year with its oblong
red berries. Its shoots attain a height of from six to eight feet,
and are clothed in a whitish bark, the wood being yellow. The
flowers include eight or nine sepals and six petals : the outer
sepals are very small and liable to be overlooked. The petals
are in two series, and at the base of each petal are two honey-
secreting glands, which induce the visits of honey-loving
insects. There are six stamens, which ordinarily lie along the
centre of the petals, their bases highly irritable. In an open
flower like this any insect can get at the honey, but it is not easy
to do so without touching the base of one of the stamens ; on
this being done the stamen springs forward, and the anthers
strike the insect, dusting it with pollen, and in some cases
driving it away. This mechanism may be tested by touching
the base of a stamen with the point of a pin.
The Barberry is very liable to the attacks of a minute fungus,
a stage in the development of wheat-rust (Uredo graminis).
The name Berberis is the Arabic title of the plant.
— 57 —
Barberry.
Berberis vulgaris.
— BERBERIDE^:. —
Wild Pansy.
Viola tricolor.
— VIOLACE^E. —
WILD PANSY. 58
Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor].
We have already given the general characters of the Violet
family on page 4, where the reader was referred to this page
for a notice of the British species other than V. odorata. The
present species, V. tricolor, differs from all the others in the
fact that the two upper petals are very erect instead of leaning
forward, and in the stipules being developed into large leaf-like
organs. In addition, this species produces none of the
cleistogamous flowers. The leaves, too, assume forms very
different from those of the typical species. The flowers vary
from white, through yellow to purple, or there may be a
mixture of two or more of these tints. They grow in pastures
and the waste corners of various fields, flowering from May to
September, and are generally distributed. The other species
are :—
I. Marsh Violet (V. pahistris). Growing among Sphagnum in bogs. Flowers
lilac or white, scentless, and with short blunt spur. April to July.
II. Hairy Violet (V. kirta). Similar to V. odorata, but more compact, more
hairy, the leaves narrower and more deeply toothed ; spur long, hooked. Odour
slight or wholly wanting. A local species occurring in dry soils. April to June.
III. Dog Violet ( V. canina). Rootstock produced into a distinct stem, bearing
flowers. Sepals narrow, pointed. Leaves not enlarging after flowering, as do
those of V. odorata, palustris, and hirta ; on long foot-stalks. Plant more or less
smooth. Flowers from April to August, on banks everywhere.
IV. Wood Violet (V. sylvatica). Plant smooth. Central rootstock short, with
a rosette of leaves, from which branches are given off all round. From these
branches only are flowers produced. Spur short and broad. Leaves broad. Copses
and woods. March to July. Often closely resembling V. canina, of which it may
be only a variety.
V. Sand Violet (V. arenaria). A very rare, compact, hairy plant. Leaves
much rounder than the preceding. Petals broad, pale blue. Spur short. Recorded
from Upper Teasdale and Westmoreland only ; flowering in May and June.
Round-leaved Mint (Mentha rotundifolia).
Everybody knows a Mint when he comes upon it, by reason
of its pungent odour, well represented by Spear-mint (Mentha
59 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
viridis), the cultivated herb of kitchen gardens. Spear-mint
is held to be only a naturalized, not a native species, unless it
be in one corner of our country — West Yorks. We have, how-
ever, seven species that may be set down as natives, but they
are a rather troublesome group for the botanical student; there
are so many varieties, hybrids, and sub-species, which tend to
connect the species and make it difficult to determine the
identity of some specimens. With the exception of the Corn-
mint (M. arvensis), they are all inhabitants of wet and marshy
wastes, flowering in August and September. They are Labiate
plants, and therefore the reader will know what type of flower
to expect (see pages 21 and 23 ante). These flo\vers are
individually small, but rendered more conspicuous by being
borne in dense whorls, the whorls being often so many and so
close together as to form long spikes of bloom. They are all
perennial herbs, with square stems and rootstocks, the latter
creeping on or just below the surface of the ground, and giving
off runners freely. Mentha rotundifolia has broadly ovate,
wrinkled, stalkless leaves, the edges indented with rounded
teeth, and woolly on the underside. Flower-spikes dense,
though with slight intervals between the whorls. The colour
of the flowers varies from pink to white. The other species
I. Horse-Mint (M. sylvestris). Leaves stalkless, more tapering to a point than
in M. rotundifolia, smooth above, sharply toothed, whitish beneath. Stem covered
with white woolly hairs. Flowers lilac, spike continuous. Rare.
II. Peppermint (M. fiiperata). Leaves stalked, margins with large teeth, smooth
above, a few hairs along the nervures underneath. Flowers purplish in spikes.
III. Water-Mint (M. aquatica). A very common form in marshes and by river-
sides, covered with soft hairs. Stout spikes, lilac or purple. Leaves stalked.
IV. Marsh-mint (M. sativa). In this and the two following species the whorls
are produced from the axils of the leaves instead of as a terminal spike. The leaves
are stalked, with sharp teeth. Flowers purplish. The throat of calyx smooth,
calyx-teeth lance-shaped, ending in a fine point.
V. Corn-mint (M. arvensis). Leaves with blunt teeth. Calyx very hairy, teeth
shorter than in last, triangular. Corolla hairy, purplish. Cornfields and waste
places.
— 59 —
Round leaved Mint.
Mentha rotundifolia.
— LABIAT/E. —
— 60 —
Common Comfrey.
Symphytum offlcinalc.
— BORAGLNEyE. —
ROUND-LEAVED MINT. 60
VI. Pennyroyal (M. pulegiuni). Calyx two-lipped, downy or hairy, with hairy
throat. Leaves small, with short stalks, slightly toothed, recurved. Stem much-
branched. Odour powerful.
Common Comfrey (Symphytum offitinale).
Often in May and June, as we wander by the riverbank or
brookside, we shall happen upon this very coarse but striking
plant, though its flowers may not be of the hue depicted here ;
its colour varies from pale yellow to red and purple. It is one
of those plants whose individuality is so strong that, once seen,
it will not be forgotten or confused with any other species. It
has a branched rootstock, giving off stalked leaves, and an erect
angular stem. The stem-leaves are all but stalkless, their
bases running down the stem in such a manner as to give it a
winged character. The whole plant is rough with bristles.
The genus belongs to the order Boragineae, whose floral
structure has been already described (see pages 9 and 26
ante), but the present inflorescence may be noted as a capital
example of the "scorpioid cyme," so called from its curve
resembling the curl in a scorpion's tail !
There is another British species, the Tuberous Comfrey (S. tuberosum), which is
usually found in wet copses, but not south of Bedford. It is not nearly so rough as
its congener, although distinctly hairy. Rootstock thickened, radical leaves with
longer stalks than in ^S". officinale. The stem-leaves do not run far down the stem,
so that it is not so obviously winged, and the flowers are smaller. Pale yellow.
June and July.
The name is derived from the Greek sumphuo, to unite, it having great reputation
formerly as a woundwort.
Common Red Poppy (Papaver rhceas).
The Poppy is another of those plants concerning which it
may be thought that neither illustration nor description is
necessary ; but there are poppies and poppies ; and though the
rambler may gather a bunch of flowers from various situations
and consider them all the same, a few words of description may
serve to point out considerable differences.
6 1 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Through the Poppy we make acquaintance with another
Natural Order, the Papaveraceae, and its typical genus,
Papaver. The plants comprised in the genus are annual herbs,
with milky juice of a narcotic nature. The flowers are borne
on very long slender stalks, and consist of two concave sepals,
which are thrown off by the expanding of the four crumpled
petals. The pistil, which afterwards develops into the familiar
" poppy-head," is surmounted by the many stigmas which form
a rayed disk.
I. The Common Poppy (P. rhceas), which is so unpleasantly abundant in corn-
fields south of the Tay, has branched bristly stems and pinnate leaves, the points of
the lobes directed upward and ending each in a bristle. The bristles on the flower-
stalks stand out at right angles, or nearly so. This is an important character. The
scarlet flowers are large (3 or 4 inches in diameter), the petals in two unequal pairs.
Rays of stigma eight to twelve. Capsule smooth and short, slightly stalked above
the receptacle. Flowers June to September.
II. Round Rough-headed Poppy (P. hybriduni). Leaves only slightly bristly.
Flower small (i to 2 inches), scarlet, with a black patch at the base of each petal.
Stigmatic rays, four to eight. Capsule more globose than the preceding species.
Dry sandy and chalky fields south of Durham and Carnarvon. May to July.
III. Long Prickly-headed Poppy (P. argemone). Similar to last, but smaller
and weaker in all respects — in fact, our smallest species. Petals narrow and paler
in colour. Capsule bristly, club-shaped. Stigmatic rays, four to six. Cornfields.
May to August.
IV. Long Smooth-headed Poppy (P. dubimii). Similar to P. rhceas, but the
bristles are pressed against the stalk upwards. Flowers large, petals broad, but in
unequal pairs, light scarlet. Stigmatic rays, six to twelve. Capsule slender,
smooth, tapering downwards, not stalked above receptacle. Cornfields. May to
August.
The Greater Stitchwort (Stdlaria holostea)
One of the prettiest and most characteristic sights of Spring
is the mass of brittle, grass-like stems and leaves of the Greater
Stitchwort, crowned by the numerous flowers of gleaming
white clear-cut stars. It starts life as an erect-growing plant,
but is soon fain to lean against the other constituents of the
hedgerow as its stems elongate but grow no stouter. It is a
perennial plant, and its four-angled stems make their appear-
— 61 —
Red Poppy.
Papaver rhoeas.
— PAPAVER AC E^:. —
Greater Stitchwort.
Stellaria holostea.
— CARYOPHYLLE.E. —
THE GREATER STITCHWORT. 62
ance very early in the year. The long, narrow, rigid, sharp-
pointed leaves are arranged in pairs, which are more or less
connected at their bases. The flowers are produced in a
panicle of a few flowers only, which consist of five almost
nerveless sepals, five petals which are as long again as the
sepals and cleft almost to the middle. They are succeeded by
a globose capsule containing many seeds. There are ten
stamens and three styles. Flowers April to June.
The genus Stellaria is included in the Natural Order
Caryophylleae, or the Pink tribe, of which we shall have further
examples.
I. The Lesser Stitchwort (S. graminea) is a similar, but much more slender
plant, with exceedingly narrow leaves, smaller flowers arranged in a much-branched
panicle, and with red anthers. After flowering the flower-stalks hang downwards,
but afterwards rise to a horizontal position. The sepals are as long as the narrow
petals, united at their bases, and have three nerves. Capsule nodding. Flowers
May to July.
II. The Marsh Stitchwort (S. palustris). Smooth, with a fine bloom {glaucous).
Sepals united at base, three-nerved, not so long as the petals. Flowers solitary on
long stalks. Marshes and wet places. May to July.
III. The Common Chickweed (S. media), which we have already figured (plate 54
ante), is also a member of this genus. The stem trails along the ground^ Is very
brittle and marked with a line of fine hairs up one side. The flowers are incon-
spicuous, on account of the sepals being longer than the petals, which are, in fact,
often absent altogether. It grows everywhere, and maybe found flowering through-
out the year. It has followed the Englishman wherever he has gone about the earth.
The name of the genus is from the Latin, Stella, a star, in reference to the star-
like character of the blossoms.
Silverweed (Potentilla anserina).
The beautiful but too common Silverweed may be taken as a
good representative of a genus of Rose-worts that may be
conveniently called Cinquefoils, although the leaf of this species
has many instead of five divisions. This is the plant that
grows in dense patches by the roadside, erecting its long
pinnate silky leaves and showing the silvery-greyness of the
underside. Its rootstock is the centre from which many
rooting runners radiate. The toothed leaflets are not opposite,
63 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
as may appear at first sight, but alternate ; and there is the
very peculiar arrangement of two minute leaflets being placed
between each two large ones. The flowers are large in
proportion to the plant, of one uniform yellow, and borne singly
on a long stalk. The calyx is cleft into ten lobes, the petals are
five, stamens and carpels many. Although it is a common
roadside weed, it may also be met growing abundantly and
much more luxuriantly in wet pastures. It flowers chiefly
from June to August, and sparingly much later in the year.
Among its more immediate congeners may be noted : —
I. The Tormentil (P. torinentilla)^ a tiny plant that is abundant on heaths and
dry pastures. It has a thick rootstock, and slender, hairy, creeping stems. The
leaves are cut into three, sometimes five, fingers, which are more or less wedge-
shaped, the free end lobed or toothed. Flowers yellow, and similar to those of
P. anseritta, but smaller, and usually with only four petals. June to September.
II. Creeping Cinquefoil (P. reptans). Similar to P. tormentilla but larger.
Leaflets five, sometimes three, petals five. Meadows and waysides. June to
September.
III. Barren Strawberry (P. Jragariastruni), Flowers white. March to June.
The general characters of this impostor have been given on page 27, when describ-
ing the Wild Strawberry. The plant has a general silkiness which is foreign to the
strawberry.
The name of the genus is from the Latin, potens, powerful, some of the species
having formerly considerable reputation as medicines.
Small Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis).
With the appearance of the delicately fragrant Bindweed in
our fields the season for summer flowers may be said to have
fairly set in. Its grace of form and colour makes it a general
favourite, but it resents being plucked, and closes its pink cups
almost immediately. It has a perennial rootstock, which creeps
and branches underground, taking possession of much soil, and
sending up many slender twining stems clothed with spear-
shaped leaves. The sepals are five in number, but the petals are
entirely united to form a funnel-shaped corolla ; though the five
folds and lobes indicate the origin of the funnel. The flowers
— 63
Silver-weed.
Potentilla anserina,
— BOSACE.*:. —
— 64
Small Bindweed.
Convolvulus arvensis.
— CONVOLVULACEJE. —
SMALL BINDWEED. 64
are honeyed, and are much frequented by long-tongued insects,
which have to push against the anthers in order to reach the
honey, carrying away pollen with which to fertilize another
flower. Like a careful, thrifty plant the Bindweed closes in wet
weather, and at night, that its honey may not be reduced in
quality. It flowers from June to September.
The Hooded Bindweed (C. septum) is one of the most distinguished of our wild
flowers, and it is almost impossible to see its large, pure white flowers ornamenting
the hedge without desiring to acquire them. In general form it is like C. arvensis,
but very much larger. Instead of being content to twine among low-growing herbs
as that species, it climbs up the thickets to a height of 6 or 7 feet. In addition to
the calyx this species has an enveloping pair of large inflated heart-shaped bracts
— the '• hood " of its popular name. The rootstock is thick and tuberous. Though
it possesses honey it is not odorous, and appears to be, in consequence, but little
visited by insects ; it is, therefore, careless of the quality of its honey, and does not
close its flowers in the rain, nor on moonlight nights, though it does so on dark
nights. Sometimes the flowers are tinged or streaked with pink. Flowers June to
August.
There is a third native species, the Seaside Convolvulus (C. soldanella), which
does not twine, or but rarely. It has a long creeping rhizome, slender stems, and
fleshy, kidney-shaped leaves. Its large rosy flowers are not numerous. There are
two bracts, as in C. septum, but they are smaller than the unequal sepals, It may
frequently be found on sandy shores, and flowers from June to August.
The Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus).
We have already described (page 6 ante) a plant bearing the
name of Lesser Celandine, and we would at once warn the
reader that the Greater Celandine is not even distantly related
to the Lesser. Here is an illustration of the dangers that arise
from dependence upon the folk-names of plants and animals.
The novice would reasonably assume that the Lesser and the
Greater Celandines differed only in point of size, whereas the
resemblance that struck our forefathers appears to have
consisted merely in both plants being in flower what time the
swallow (Chelidori) returns to our shores. Chelidoniiim majus
is really a kind of poppy, whilst Ranunculus ficaria is a
buttercup.
There is only one British species of Chelidonium, a perennial
65 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
plant, with erect branching stems. The true poppies have a
milky juice : this plant, like the Welsh-poppy (Meconopszs),
and the Horned-poppy (Glauciurri) has a yellow juice. The
leaf is much divided, the leaflets deeply lobed, with somewhat
of a resemblance to an oak-leaf. The rather small yellow
flowers are combined in umbels, borne on a long stalk, to be
out of the way of the somewhat erect leaves. There are two
sepals and four petals, as in Papaver, but the fruit, instead of
being an urn-like capsule as in that genus, is a long pod with
two valves, which separate from the base upwards.
It is a plant of the hedgerow and waste ground, where it may
be found in flower from May to August. The yellow juice,
which is very acrid and poisonous, had formerly a reputation
as an eye medicine, and as a caustic for the burning away of
warts.
Bagged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi).
Like the Celandines, this plant was known to our fathers as
a Cuckoo-flower ; in fact, in many parts of the country its name
is still " Cuckoo-flower," but as that title is also given to the
Ladies'-smock confusion is caused by its use. It is one of the
Campions, a genus of graceful plants that, is included in the
Natural Order of the Pinks (Caryophylleae).
The habit of the plant will suggest the Stitchwort, to which
it is not very distantly related. It is a perennial plant,
delighting in moist places, whether wet meadows, ditch banks
or bogs. The leaves that spring directly from the slender
rootstock are stalked ; those on the reddish stem are not. The
calyx is dark red, with purple veins ; tho^ rosy petals cut into
four eccentric narrow segments. The flowers produce honey,
and the stamens come to maturity before the stigmas, thus
favouring cross-fertilization. Flowers May to August.
There is another common rosy-flowered Lychnis that occurs
in somewhat similar situations. This is : —
— 65 —
Celandine.
Ghelidonium majus.
— PAPAYERACE^E. —
66 —
Rugged Robin.
Lychnis flos-cuculi
— GARYOPHYLLE.E. -
RAGGED ROBIN. 66
The Red Campion {Lychnis di^^rna), with stem covered with soft hairs, which are
sticky near the upper part of the plant. The flower has a singularly neat appear-
ance, altogether lacking the ragged character of JZos-cuculi. The petals, instead
of being deeply cut, as in that species, are merely divided into two lobes. The
calyx is reddish, with triangular teeth. The anthers and stigmas are produced in
separate flowers ; occasionally flowers may be found with both organs, but one or
the other will be undeveloped.
The Red Campion is a plant of the hedge-bank and the copse, where it may be
found in flower from June to September. In Cornwall it keeps fully in flower till
the end of the year. This page was written there a few days before Christmas, when
the fern-clad rocky hedgerows were lit up with great numbers of the flowers of Red
Campion and Herb-Robert.
The name Lychnis is from the Greek, Luchnos, a lamp or torch, the application
of which is obscure.
Bluebottle or Cornflower (Centaur ea cyanus).
The Centaureas are closely allied to the thistles, and share
with them that hard-headedness which makes the thistle so
good a type of the canny Scot. The Bluebottle must not be
sought in the company of the thistles on wastes and in neg-
lected corners of pasture, but, as one of its folk-names indicates,
in the cornfield. Beginning to flower in June, it keeps up the
display of bright blue until the reapers cut it down.
Bluebottle is a composite flower, and it should afford interest
to the reader, when he finds the blossoms, to institute a com-
parison between it and that of the Daisy or other of the Com-
posites we have already described.
The thin stem is but slightly branched, and the long lower
leaves are much cut up and very attenuated. Nearer the
summit of the stems the leaves are simpler, and reduced to a
very slight width. The stems and the under sides of the leaves
are covered with loose cottony fibres. The flower-heads have
for involucre a number of greenish scales, with toothed brown
margins. The ray-florets are bright blue, their free ends divided
into five teeth ; the inner or disc-florets are much darker. The
stamens are irritable, and if touched withdraw into the tube.
F
67 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
There are five other British species of Centaurea, of which
several are rare or extremely local in their distribution. The
more frequent species are : —
I. Black Knapweed (C. nigra). Leaves rough, entire or lobed, the lower ones
with stalks. The heads large and globose, as much as an inch and a half in
diameter. Involucral scales circular, brown, toothed. Florets purple. Common
in meadows and pastures. June to September.
II. Greater Knapweed, or Hard Heads (C. scabiosa). The leaves are deeply
pinnate, like the lower ones of Bluebottle. Heads as much as two inches diameter.
Involucral scales cottony, with dark brown, almost black, margin, and paler
fringe. Florets rich purple. Waste places. July to September.
Round-leaved Mallow (Malva rotundifolia).
The Round-leaved or Dwarf Mallow is not so well known as
the Common Mallow (M. sylvestris), though it is nearly as
common. Its flowers are small, and not nearly so conspicuous
as those of sylvestris. Like that plant it is found growing by the
wayside and on waste places where garden refuse, etc., is
dumped. Our three species of Malva are all perennials, and
all possess tough fibrous stems. Those of rotundifolia are
downy, and lie along the ground and bear many lobed, often
toothed, leaves, whose general outline is circular. The flowers
are clustered in the axils, and consist of a five-parted calyx, to
which is attached a kind of involucre of three bracts, and five
distant petals, their tips with a central notch. There are ten
styles, the inner surfaces of which are stigmatic ; they curl about
in various directions, mingling with the numerous anthers, and
so ensuring self-fertilization. The fruit consists of a large
number of one-seeded carpels arranged in a circle, but easily
becoming detached after ripening. Flowers June to Sep-
tember.
The other species are : —
I. Common Mallow (M. sylvestris). Its stems are erect, somewhat hairy. Leaves
more distinctly lobed. Flowers large, the petals heart-shaped, pale purple (mauve).
The anthers mature before the stigmas, unlike M. rotundifoli(t) where both organs
— 67 —
Cornflower. Blue-bottle.
Gentaurea cyanus.
— COMPOSITE. —
— 68 —
Dwarf Mallow.
Malva rotundifolia.
— MALVACEAE. —
ROUND-LEAVED MALLOW. 68
mature at the same time. This brings out an interesting point in their relations to
insects, as shown by H. Miiller. The styles, instead of mingling with the anthers,
hold themselves strictly above the drooping stamens, and self-fertilization is impos-
sible. To secure cross-fertilization the flowers are large, and more showy than in
rotundifolia, and attract many insects, which bring and carry pollen. June to
September.
II. Musk Mallow (M. mosckatus). Flowers not quite so large as the last, rosy,
clustered at end of erect stems. Leaves divided into five to seven segments, which
are nearly pinnate. Very slight odour of musk when the leaves are passed through
the hands. Dry meadows and hedgerows. July and August. The Marsh-mallow
belongs to another genus (A Ithcea).
Chicory or Succory (Cichorium intybus). Plate 69.
The Wild Chicory is peculiarly a plant of the dry roadside,
especially in chalky districts, where it is a striking feature. The
rigid erectness of its stems is not pleasing, but the bright, pale-
blue flowers, attached to the stem without the intervention of
flower-stalks, arrest attention. Its thick, fleshy tap-root is the
substance that, when roasted and ground, bulks so largely in
" The finest French Coffees, as sold in Paris," of our grocers.
For this purpose it is cultivated on a large scale in Germany
and Belgium.
If reference be made to the figure of the Dandelion on page
20 it will be seen that there is considerable resemblance
between the leaves of the two. The radical leaves of Chicory
spread themselves out, rosette fashion, upon the ground ; the
few that are scattered alternately up the somewhat hairy stem
clasp the latter with the two lobes at their base. The flowers
are usually in pairs. The involucre consists of two series of
bracts, the outer row being reflexed, and shorter than the inner.
The tubes of the ray-florets are split open, so that the rays are
broad and strap-shaped, with a straight end notched into five
ceeth. It flowers from July to October.
The generic name is from an old Greek name for the plant,
and a similar word is in use in nearly all the languages of
civilization.
F 2
69 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Yernal Wood-rush (Luzula vernalis).
The Rushes as a whole (Juncus and Luzuld) form a group
of plants that is generally despised, except for weaving into
mats, and, in other days, for providing wicks for rush-lights.
We have in the one genus cylindric, in the other flattened
grass-like, leaves, and inconspicuous flowers of green or brown ;
and yet the evolutionists tell us on the evidence of those
flowers that the rushes are descendants of a noble family — the
lilies — who have in the struggle for existence taken to a less
showy role in life, in order that that they might be included in
the list of the surviving " fittest." The truth of this will be
apparent if we take the flower of a present-day lily — a tulip or
a tiger-lily will do — and compare it with this Vernal Wood-
rush. We shall find every part of the lily reproduced in the rush-
flower on a small scale, with the greatest economy of materials.
The Wood-rushes (Luzuld) are all perennial plants. Their
leaves are like the blades of soft grass, the edges fringed with
long white silky hairs. The floral leaves (perianth} are six in
number, in two series, and are chaffy in texture. Stamens
six. The ovary is broad, narrowing to the summit, upon which
is the style, ending in three long stigmas covered with minute
raised points. The fruit is a one-celled, three- valved capsule,
containing three seeds at the bottom. In L. vernalis the
flowers are chestnut brown, with the perianth-segments
shorter than the blunt-topped capsule, and pointed at the tips ;
clustered in twos and threes and grouped in lax cymes. The
radical leaves are broad (£ inch), soft and sparingly hairy.
Woods and shady places, flowering March to May. Other
members of the genus are : —
I. The Great Hairy Wood-rush (L. maxima) is much larger, the leaves sometimes
half an inch broad and a foot long, sparsely hairy. Flowers paler, three or four
clustered ] cymes large, compound. Woods and heaths. May and June.
II. Narrow-leaved Wood-rush (L. forstert). Similar to L. vernalis, but more
69 —
Chicory.
Cichorium intybus.
— COMPOSITE. —
70 —
Broad-leaved Woodrush.
Luzula vernalis.
— JUNCE.E. —
VERNAL WOOD-RUSH. 70
slender and taller. Capsule pointed. Shady places on chalk or gravel, not farther
north than South Wales and Oxford. April to June.
III. Field Wood-rush (L . campestris). Rootstock creeping. Leaves very hairy.
Perianth segments longer than the broad rounded and spiked capsule. Flowers in
dense clusters of three or four, in short cymes. Heaths and pastures. April to
June.
IV. Spiked Mountain Wood-rush (L. spicata). This and the next are purely
mountain species, restricted to an altitude of one to over four thousand feet for spicata,
and from three to over four thousand for arcuata. The leaves are narrow, leathery,
and the hairiness is confined to the lower end. Flowers smaller than the silvery,
chaffy, awned scales (bracteoles) below them. The perianth segments end in awns,
and are longer than the abruptly-pointed capsule. The cymes are densely flowered,
drooping and spike-like. Flowers in July.
V. Curved Mountain Wood-rush (Z/. arcuata). The smallest, rarest, and most
distinct of our native species. The stems do not exceed about 4 inches, and are
proportionately stout. Rootstock creeping. Leaves short, narrow, leathery, slightly
hairy. Flowers dark brown, three to five hi a cluster, in lax cymes ; the perianth
segments extended into a point. Bracteoles pointed, not awned, not silvery. Moun-
tains in Scotland only. July.
The Greater Dodder (Cuscuta europaa).
There are two Dodders indigenous to this country, and we
have the misfortune to have introduced a third with flax-seed
from abroad. The one figured is the Greater Dodder, which is
usually found clinging in a tangle round the stems of nettles,
oats, thistles, vetches, etc. This close embrace is sinister in
character, for, as may be guessed from the entire absence of
leaves and green-colouring matter, the plant is a parasite. Its
stem is a mere thread, varying from red to yellow in hue, and
having at frequent intervals bunches of reddish flowers. These
are very small, but if separated will be found to consist of a
four- or five-parted calyx, a persistent pitcher-shaped corolla of
similar parts, and stamens to match. Styles two, entirely
within the flower. This species is not found north of Yorkshire,
and is everywhere rare. It flowers from July to September.
The common species, to be found growing on thyme, heather,
and furze, is, —
The Lesser Dodder (C. e$ithymum), with finer stems of a more crimson tint, and
71 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the styles protruding. There is a variety of this which confines its attention to the
clover plant, and has, in consequence, been raised to the dignity of a separate
species by some authors (C. trifolii). In addition there is the Flax-dodder (C.
epilinuni), previously alluded to as having been introduced from the Continent with
flax-seed.
Owing to the serious nature of the attacks of this foreign invader upon our flax-
crops Professor Buckman was induced years ago to experiment, with the object of
elucidating its mode of growth. He found that seeds of Dodder sown strictly
apart from any host-plants germinated in four days, and on the sixth a thread-like
plant was seeking a foster-parent, but by the eighth, not having succeeded in its
object, it died. Others were sown in company with flax-seed, and in a few days the
young dodders attached themselves to the young flax-plants, made one or two tight
coils round the victims, whose growth soon lifted the dodders right out of the soil,
and thereupon the parasites sent aerial roots into the flax, and their natural roots
dwindled and perished. Thereafter its true parasitical growth is most rapid, to the
detriment of the foster plant.
The genus is included in the Natural Order Convolvulaceae.
Corn Cockle (Githago segetum). Plate 72.
Wandering through or round the cornfields any time from
June to September we are almost sure to find this beautiful
flower. It is first cousin to the Lychnis, already described, and
in general structure agrees with it, only differing from it in
having a leathery calyx, and in the absence of the crown of little
scales which surround the mouth of the corolla-tube in Lychnis.
They produce honey, but owing to the length of the tube it is
only accessible to the long tongues of butterflies and moths,
who are instrumental in effecting its cross-fertilization. The
plant is an annual, with erect branching stem, clothed with white
hairs. The leaves are long and narrow, four or five inches long.
The woolly calyx is in one, strongly ribbed, with five very long
leaf-like teeth, that considerably exceed the petals in length.
The flowers are purple, and measure nearly two inches across.
This is the only native species ; indeed, some writers
consider it to be only an introduced plant — a form of Agros-
temma gradlis that has been altered by its continuous growth
in our cultivated fields.
Greater Dodder.
Guscuta europsea.
— GONVOLVULACE^:. —
Corn Cockle.
Githago segetum.
- CARYOPHYLLE.E.
PURPLE MEDICK OR LUCERNE. 72
Purple Medick or Lucerne (Medicago sativa.) Plate 73.
Though the rambler will find this handsome plant growing
apparently wild in the hedgerow and on the borders of fields,
he must not too hastily conclude it is a native. The species
has been largely grown here as a green fodder plant, for
which it is highly esteemed, and it has escaped from the fields
and reproduced itself without man's aid. A glance at its
flowers will show it is a leguminous plant. Its stems are hollow,
branched ; its leaves trifoliate, with long-pointed stipules at
the base of the leaf-stalk. From the axils of the leaves arise
long stalks, whose free ends are crowded with the deep purple
(sometimes yellow) flowers. A peculiarity of this genus consists
in the seed pod being more or less spirally twisted. In the
present species it is downy and has two or three coils. It
flowers from May to July.
It has been thought to be a cultivated variety of the next
species, M.falcata. The name Medicago is from the old Greek
medike, so-called because it was introduced into Greece by the
Medes. The following species also occur in this country : —
I. Yellow Sickle Medick (M. falcata), with yellow (sometimes violet) flowers,
and a flat downy pod coiled in the shape of a sickle or a ring. Dry gravelly banks,
old walls and sandy wastes in the Eastern Counties. June and July. This and
M. sativa are perennials ; the following are annuals : —
II. Black Medick or Nonsuch (M. lupulinci). So much like Trifolium pro-
cnmbcns, described on p. 49, that farmers have given it the name of Hop-Trefoil,
which properly belongs to the latter species, from which this may be easily separated
by noting that the black kidney-shaped pods are naked, that is, not wrapped in the
dried flower. It should also be observed that the pods are marked by prominent
veins running throughout their length. Flowers small, crowded, yellow. Waste
grounds and cultivated fields. May to August.
III. Reticulated Medick (M. denticiilata). Stems creeping. Leaflets heart-
shaped, toothed. Flowers yellow, in umbels. Pod beautifully covered with network
of veins ; broad, flat, and coiled into a spiral ; edges with double row of spines.
South and Eastern Counties, and Ireland. May to August.
IV. Spotted Medick (M. maculata). • Similar to last, but pod more globose, net-
work faint, the spines long and curved. Leaflets often with black spot in centre.
Leaf-stalk hairy. Gravelly pastures and hedgebanks in England and South
Ireland. May to August.
73 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Yellow Iris or Flag (Iris pseudacorus). Plate 74.
Fringing our rivers, ditches and lakes, the Yellow Iris
appears to be defending them with drawn sword. Everybody
knows the sharp-edged leaves of this species, that may cut
the hands of the gatherer if he be not careful. Equally well-
known are the bright blossoms that begin to appear in May
and keep up a succession until late in July ; but probably most
of the unscientific readers who have honoured me with their
company thus far — and who have learned, I trust, to know the
parts of a flower at sight — would be incorrect in their descrip-
tion of this common flower. Anyway, it will be worth their
while dissecting a flower. The parts of the flower are in
threes, but the sepals are more petal-like than the petals, and so
are the styles. The sepals are in fact the most striking
organs ; they are broad, and reflexed to form convenient alight-
ing platforms for a heavy humble-bee. The petals are narrow,
erect, or curved towards the centre of the flower, to be out of
the way of the broader, arching style, which is spread out and
coloured like a petal, with the stigmatic surface near the
upturned tips. Beneath this arching style lies the anther,
similarly curved, and opening away from the stigma.
Note the why and wherefore of this departure from orthodox
arrangements of floral organs. At the bottom of the flower-
tube honey is secreted, and to obtain this the flower is visited
by humble-bees. In order that his long tongue may reach the
honey, the bee has to push his head and back against the
stigma and the anther. If he has previously visited a flag-
flower his back will be covered with pollen, some of which
will adhere to the stigma. He will also take away on his head
and back some of the pollen from the flower he is now visiting,
and will fertilize other flags with. it.
There is .another British species, —
The Stinking Iris. Gladdon, or Roast-beef plant (Iris
— 73 —
Lucerne, Purple Medick.
Medicago sativa.
— LEGUMINOS.E. —
— 74 —
Yellow Iris. Flag.
Iris pseudacorus.
— IRIDE.E. —
YELLOW IRIS OR FLAG. 74
fcetidissima}, with purple sepals, yellow petals and stigmas.
Flowers not quite so large as the last. Woods and copses.
May to July.
Marsh Orchis (Orchis latifolid).
There are nearly forty British species of Orchideae, divided
into sixteen genera ; and in the space at our disposal it is
impossible to give anything like an adequate account of the
group or of the specific characters. An attempt will be made,
however, to make the reader acquainted with the general
structure by means of three figures. The first of these
represents the Marsh Orchis (O. latifolia), a species commonly
to be met in wet meadows and marshy places, flowering from
May to July. The two tubers are palmate, that is, more or less
flattened like a hand, and terminating in finger-like processes.
The leaves chiefly spring from the summit of one of these
tubers, the lowest acting as sheath for the next, and so on, the
tubular flower-stem rising through all the sheaths. The leaves
are oblong, and spotted with purple. The inflorescence is a
spike, the flowers crowded upon it, but separated by the long
three-nerved green bracts. The structure of these flowers will
be found to differ widely from all we have considered in these
pages. The perianth is placed above the (consequently
inferior) ovary, which is twisted. This twist, it will be well
to bear in mind, brings the flower " upside down." The three
sepals and the three petals are equally coloured, and it is
therefore convenient to speak of them as the perianth. There
is only one stamen, which is supported by the pistil. Two of
the perianth leaves combine to form a hood over the stamen,
and a third is greatly larger than the others, divided into three
lobes and hanging down like the lip of a labiate flower. This
is known as the labellum, and it is continued backwards and
downwards as a hollow spur, in which, however, honey is not
75 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
secreted. At the top of this spur, at the back, is the stigmatic
surface, and above it protrudes a fleshy knob, called the
rostellum, which supports the anther. This organ consists of
two lobes, side by side, which open in front, and reveal in each
a mass of pollen grains tied together by elastic threads and
attached to a slender foot-stalk with a sticky base. This is a
tedious description, though we have made it as brief as pos-
sible. The reader shall see the reason for it if he will conduct
a little experiment. We may premise that these orchids are
fertilized by long-tongued insects, who suck the juice through
the tender skin lining the spur.
Now for the experiment. Take a finely-pointed pencil,
which we will pretend is the head and tongue of a humble-bee
in search of this sweet juice. We push the point gently down
the spur, when a part of the pencil touches against the rostel-
lum and presses it down, touches lightly the viscid feet of the
pollen masses (pollinia)^ and as the pencil is withdrawn both
come with it, and stick out from it like a pair of horns. Be
careful to hold the pencil in the exact position it now occupies,
and watch. The heavy heads of the pollinia are drooping
forward, but after a few minutes they cease to fall lower. Now
push the pencil into this other flower. The pollen-masses go
directly to the stigma^ and some of the pollen is detached.
If you are watching where orchids grow it is no uncommon
thing to see insects flying around with these pollinia attached
to their heads or tongues like a pair of horns.
It will be seen to be impossible for the pollen to fall upon
the stigma of the same flower, and from its elastic attachments
it is impossible that it should be carried by the wind to
another flower, so that insect agency is here an absolute
necessity.
— 75
Marsh Orchis.
Orchis latifolia.
- ORCHIDACE/E. -
— 76 —
Butterfly Orchis.
Habenaria bifolia.
THE BUTTERFLY ORCHIS. 76
The Butterfly Orchis (Habenaria bifolia).
This species is very similar in structure and habit to the
Marsh Orchis, but the tubers are more cylindrical in shape, the
radical leaves almost always restricted to two, the flower-spike
lax. Flowers white with a greenish tinge, the labellum and
spur very long : fragrant. The stigma two-lobed. Fertilized
by moths. Occurs in meadows, hill-sides and woods, flowering
from June to August.
The Bee Orchis (Ophrys apt/era).
In the genus Ophrys we have three species whose flowers
bear quite startling likeness to a bee, spider and fly respec-
tively. What is the purpose of this counterfeit presentment
it is difficult to conjecture. It has been suggested that it
might be to warn off or deceive insects, as the flowers are self-
fertilized, but Charles Darwin did not think this was the
probable reason. There is no spur in this group, there is no
rostellum, and the ovary is not twisted. The stalks (caudicles)
of the pollinia are so long and thin that the weight of the
pollen masses causes them to bend over and touch against the
stigma, fertilizing it.
I. Bee Orchis (O. apifera). The labellum is very convex and broad, three-lobed,
of a rich velvety-brown colour, with a tail. The sepals are pinkish. The spike has
only about about half a dozen flowers upon it, with a large leafy bract under each.
Hillsides, fields and copses on chalk and limestone, chiefly in the South of England
and Ireland. June and July. (Plate 77.)
II. Spider Orchis (O. aranifera). Similar to the last, but the sepals greenish,
labellum differently marked, and without a tail. Similar situations to apifera, but
much more rare. April and May.
III. Fly Orchis (O. tnuscifera). Sepals greenish, labellum narrow, flat, brown,
with a yellow-edged, squarish blue patch. Strikingly like a fly. May to July.
The name of the genus is from the Greek, ophrus, an eyebrow, said to refer to the
markings on the labellum.
Several other British species in different genera from those named bear similarly
strange likenesses, such as the extremely rare Lizard Orchis (Orcfa's kircina), but
some of the foreign forms are more remarkable still.
77 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
In addition to the species figured and those briefly described,
we would call attention to a few others that may come under
the rambler's notice. In boggy ground and sphagnum beds he
may be so fortunate as to find the rare Bog Orchis (Malaxis
paludosa), a small plant with tiny yellow-green flowers (July to
September), and the scanty leaves producing bulbils from their
edges which grow into new plants. In similar situations in
the eastern counties he may even find the larger but much
rarer Fen Orchis (Lip arts loeselit).
A singular species, to be found chiefly in beechwoods through-
out the country, is the Birds'-nest Orchis (Neottia nidus-avis],
so called from the peculiar character of its roots, which are
stout and juicy, and woven into a resemblance to a nest. The
whole plant is of a pretty uniform brown tint — both stem and
flowers. There are no leaves, for the plant lives upon decaying
vegetable matter, and has no necessity to bother about chloro-
phyll. It is botanically known as a saprophyte. Flowers June
and July.
The very distinct Twayblade (Listera ovata) is sure to be
encountered in woods and pastures. Its two leaves are very
broad, and appear to be opposite, but are not really so. The
flowers are small and greenish ; they appear in May. There
is a singular fact in connection with the fertilization of this
plant that should be noted. The pollen-masses are dry and
friable, and would not be likely to adhere to insects. But if
the rostellum be touched ever so lightly, it instantly exudes a
gummy fluid, which enables the pollen to stick tightly to the
insect causing the irritation. Examine the flower with your
lens, irritate the rostellum by prodding it with the point of a
hair from your own head, and note what you observe.
At the end of Summer in dry pastures there may be found a
slender plant with a twisted spike of fragrant white flowers.
These flowers are very small, enclosed each in a hood-like
bract. It is the Autumnal Lady's-tresses (Spiranthes autum-
77 —
Bee Orchis.
Ophrys apifen
— ORGHIDE^E.
— 78 —
Harebell.
Campanula rotundifolia.
— GAMPANULACE^:. —
Common Centaury.
Erythrsea centaurium.
— GENTIANE^. —
THE BEE ORCHIS. 78
nalis}. The rosette of leaves from the root does not appear
until after the flowers.
Hairbell or Blue-bell (Campanula rotundifolia).
This is the true Blue-bell of Scotland. As we have indicated
(page 14), the Blue-bell of the Southron is the Wild Hyacinth.
Scotsmen are very sensitive upon the point of the Hyacinth
having so dear a name bestowed upon it, when it has already a
sufficiently good and classical one, and there are few, if any,
more certain ways of rousing a Scot than by exhibiting Scilla as
the true Blue-bell, or by describing Campanula as the Hair-
bell. Others have found the plant a fruitful source of con-
troversy on a philological point — should it be spelled Hairbell
or Harebell ? — does its name refer to the slender hair-like
stems, or to its habit of growing where hares delight to revel ?
As against Hairbell, which is descriptive of the plant, Harebell
has no chance of retention among botanists, whatever philo-
logists may say.
There are six species of Campanula included in the British
flora, of which two are rare, and one of these is probably only
an escape from cultivation. The characteristic of them all is a
beautiful bell-shaped corolla with five lobes, five stamens, and
the style with three to five stigmas. They are mostly perennial,
and the flowers most frequently blue. C. rotundifolia has a
creeping rootstock, and several slender-angled stems. The
first formed leaves, near the ground, are more or less rotund in
shape, and stalked, but as they occur higher up the stem they
are more and more linear. The flowers are nodding or droop-
ing, and swayed by the breeze. Heaths and pastures. July to
September.
The Nettle-leaved Bell-flower (C. trachelium) is an erect tall-
stemmed (3 feet or more) hairy species, with leaves like nettles,
with large purple flowers in a terminal panicle. Woody lanes
and copses. August to October.
79 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Centaury (Erythrcea centaurium).
A very neat and beautiful plant, not nearly so well-known as
it should be. It is an annual plant, with erect stem, less than a
foot in height, the leaves in pairs growing together at their
bases, and funnel-shaped pink flowers produced in terminal
cymes. It grows in woods and sandy or chalky pastures,
flowering from June till September.
The name is from the Greek, Eruthros, red, in allusion to
the pink flowers.
Wild Mignonette (Reseda luted), and
Weld or Dyer's-weed (Reseda luteola).
So familiar is the Sweet Mignonette of our gardens, and so
like and yet unlike are these wild species, that whilst no one
would take them for the garden plant one need not be a
botanist to see their natural affinities at a glance. Like their
garden relative these are annual herbs, becoming biennial when
we have mild winters ; with flowers that are individually
inconspicuous, but which gain sufficient prominence by being
associated in racemes. In colour they are a yellow-green.
The calyx is irregular, and divided into from four to seven
narrow segments ; there is a similar number of unequal petals,
each deeply cleft into two lobes, and a multitude of stamens.
The stigmas are lobes at the mouth of the open ovary.
I. Wild Mignonette (R. luted) grows in dry waste places,
especially in chalky districts. Its leaves vary a great deal, but
are either pinnate or deeply lobed in a somewhat irregular
manner. Flowers, pale-yellow in a tolerably dense raceme.
Very similar to the Sweet Mignonette, but stiffer, more erect,
and scentless. Flowers June to September.
II. Weld (R. luteola). This is a much taller plant than R. lutea,
with longer racemes and denser ; the flowers more green than
— 79 —
Wild Mignonette. Weld. Dyer's Weed.
Reseda lutea. Reseda luteola.
— RESEDACE^E. —
— 80 —
\
Borage.
Borago officinalis.
— BORAGINE^E. —
WELD OR DYER'S WEED. 80
yellow, and with undivided glossy leaves. Petals, three, four,
or five. In the days before aniline colours this plant was much
used by dyers, and cultivated for their purposes. It yields a
beautiful yellow dye, and its juice is also used in the prepara-
tion of the artist's colour called Dutch pink. If is a common
wayside plant in England and in Ireland, more rare in Scotland,
and flowers from June to September.
The name is from the Latin, Reseda, to appease, from these
plants being formerly considered as sedatives.
Borage (Borago offidnalis).
This is a plant one may find on rubbish heaps and waste
ground anywhere near the habitations of man, for it is not,
strictly speaking, a native, though thoroughly well-established
here. An old adage runs : " I, Borage, always bring courage,"
and it was supposed to brace up the heart for great enterprises.
It was therefore widely cultivated in old gardens, and has sur-
vived to this day in the grounds of old houses, where it has
frequently made its escape, or surplus plants have been thrown
out upon the rubbish heaps. Instead of allowing itself to go
the way of garden refuse, it has taken hold of the ground there,
multiplied and brightened the place with its beauty.
Every part of the plant, except the corolla, bristles with short
stiff hairs. It has an erect juicy stem, and rough, lance-
shaped leaves, the radical ones on long footstalks, those on the
stem stalkless and clasping their support. The sepals are five
in number, long and narrow, cohering by their bases. The
corolla is of the form technically known as rotate, that is, with
the petals joined at their lower parts to a short tube, from the
top of which five pointed lobes radiate. It is coloured a most
brilliant and beautiful blue, such as is rarely seen in flowers.
There is a pale yellow ovary that secretes honey, and around
it, attached to the throat of the corolla-tube, are the five united
8 1 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
stamens. The anthers are dark purple, and open in such
manner that the pollen falls between them and the pistil, some-
what as in Viola. By this arrangement both honey and pollen
are protected from the depredations of insects who have no
right to it. Bees, however, in forcing their tongues down to
the honeyed ovary, separate the anthers and let loose the
pollen, which falls upon their heads and will be brought into
contact with the stigma of another flower at their next visit.
Cross-fertilization is further helped by the stigmas of a flower
not becoming ripe until its anthers have shed their pollen.
Flowers June and July.
Name probably from the Latin Bourra, a flock of wool, in
allusion to its hairy character.
Oblong Pond- weed (Potamogeton polygomfolius).
We have pond-weeds in abundance, but the Potamogetons
are the pond-weeds par excellence. There is scarcely a piece
of water in this country, be it river, lake, pond, canal, or inter-
mittently dry ditch, but has one or more species growing there.
The genus is a very difficult one, such as it is impossible to do
more than show the general characters of here. Hooker and
Bennett, in their revision of the genus, give twenty-one British
species with a number of connecting sub-species and varieties.
The one figured here is the Oblong Pond-weed (P. polygoni-
folitis) , with narrowly egg-shaped floating leaves, and narrower
submerged leaves. All have long leaf-stalks. The floating leaves
always present the upper side to the air, and are always perfectly
dry. The flowers are greenish and unattractive, collected into a
slender spike. Individually they consist of a four-parted peri-
anth, four stamens, four carpels. There is a species (P. natans]
with broader floating leaves and narrow submerged leaves. A
broader still is P. plantagineus, with clearer leaves and more
slender leaf-stalks. P. crispus, P. densus, P. perfoliatus^ P.
— 81 —
Oblong-leaved Pond-weed.
Potamogeton polygonifolius.
— NAIADES. —
Traveller's Joy.
Clematis vitalba.
- RANUNCULACE^K. —
OBLONG POND-WEED. 82
prtzlongus, etc., have only submerged leaves, which are more
or less oblong.
The species with floating leaves form refuges for many in-
teresting low forms of life, and the microscopist will find them
very fruitful in specimens for him.
The name is from the Greek words, potamos, a river, and
geiton, a neighbour.
Traveller's Joy (Clematis vitalba).
When rambling, in chalky districts especially, our readers
will meet this climbing shrub at every turn, scrambling over all
the hedges, flinging its arms out over the way, and clinging
persistently to any branch or shoot it touches. It has a variety
of names, some of which may be applied at different seasons
by persons who think they are speaking of different plants. In
the early summer it may be the White Vine, or the Virgin's
Bower ; in autumn, when the feathery awns are lengthening on
its seed-vessels, it may fitly be called the Old Man's Beard, and
when winter has cleared most things away from the hedges,
but left these gleaming feathers in abundance, it may give the
Traveller Joy to see them as he passes.
It is a perennial plant, with a tough stem, climbing by means
of its leaf-stalks, which curl round any likely support, and
become hard as wire. The leaves are opposite and compound,
the leaflets usually five, the stalks of these also acting as
tendrils. The flower has no corolla, but the four thick sepals
are coloured geenish-white to serve instead. The stamens are
a crowd round the central cluster of many-bearded styles, which
afterwards elongate and become the " old men's beards." The
flowers, which are slightly fragrant, may be found from July to
September.
The Traveller's Joy is peculiarly English, so far as its dis-
tribution in the United Kingdom is concerned. It is found
only to the south of Denbigh and Stafford. This, too, is the
G
83 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
only British member of the genus ; but a very large number of
foreign species are cultivated in our gardens, where they are
quite hardy.
The name is from the Greek Klema, a vine-twig.
The Self-Heal (Brumlla vulgaris).
A perennial herb of the wayside and the damp pasture, that
has fallen upon evil days, so far as reputation is concerned.
Time was when it was considered one of the most useful
medicines for inward and outward wounds. Culpepper says " he
needeth neither physician nor surgeon that hath Self-heal and
Sanicle to help himself," and he prints that sentence in italics,
to impress it more firmly upon his readers. On this account it
was called Carpenter's Herb, Hook-heal, Sickle-wort, and
Prunella. The last is a softened form of Brunella, from the
German Brdune (quinsy), because it was believed to cure that
complaint. Its reputation has passed, but the names remain,
and one has been adopted as its scientific appellation.
There is a suggestion of the Bugle in its general appearance,
but seen together (see page 21) there is no danger of mistaking
them. In Ajuga the whorls are far apart, in Brunella they are
contracted into a dense head. The corolla here is broader, the
upper lip erect and vaulted, whilst in Ajuga it is short and
notched.
The plant has the square stem, lipped flowers, and four
stamens, characteristic of the Labiate order, a creeping root-
stock, and stalked leaves ; these are long, oval, toothed, or
with entire margins. The bracts of the flower-spike have purple
edges. Leaves and stem more or less hairy ; flowers purple,
sometimes white or crimson. July to September. Occasion-
ally small flowers are produced later, in which the anthers are
suppressed, but the pistil is perfect.
This is the only British member of the genus, whose name
has been explained above.
— 83 —
Self-heal.
Brunella vulgaris.
— LABIAT/E. —
- 84 -
Goat's Beard.
Tragopogon pratensis.
— COMPOSITE. —
GOAT'S BEARD. 84
Goat's Beard (Tragopogon pratensis).
One of the folk-names of this plant is " John-go-to-bed-at-
Noon," and I think it is the only example of a British plant
name that is a sentence of six words. " Three-faces-under-a-
hood " runs it pretty closely, but the few names we have of this
order do not usually exceed four words ; such as Queen-of-the-
Meadows, Jack-by-the-hedge, and Poor-man's-weatherglass.
John-go-to-bed, etc., is a nice expressive name, and is due to
the fact that the flower is an early-closer with a vengeance.
It is probably the originator of the eight-hours day, for it opens
at four in the morning and closes by twelve. Farmers' boys
were said of old to consult its flowers with reference to dinner-
time, but probably in these days of machine-made watches the
practice is obsolete.
Goat's-beard has a tap-root, somewhat like a parsnip, and
long curling grass-like, stalkless leaves that clasp the stem by
their bases. The flower-heads are solitary, yellow, and the
eight involucral bracts are united at the base. All the florets
(like those of Dandelion, Sowthistle and Chicory) are rayed,
and contain both stamens and pistil. They are invested with
pappus hairs (see page 20), which are stiff and feathered. It
is from these beards the plant gets its English name, which is
reproduced in the Greek words from which the name of the
genus is composed, tragos, a goat, and £ogon, a beard. It
flowers during June and July, and is fairly common in meadows
and wastes in England ; much more rarely in Scotland and
Ireland.
There is an introduced species with larger purple or rose-coloured flowers, found
occasionally in damp meadows. This is the Salsify (Tragopogon porrifoli-its}. It
is occasionally grown for the sake of its roots, which have a medicinal value, but
inferior to those of Scorzonera, which it somewhat resembles.
G 2
85 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum).
The Wild Thyme grows on the hills and the high heath
lands, usually among fine grasses that are close-cropped by
sheep and rabbits ; or if on lower ground it will probably be
found upon the light and well-drained soil of a mole-hill among
mosses. In spite of its diminutive stature it is a shrub, with
a woody rootstock and a creeping stem, from which arise the
flowering steins. The leaves, which are very small and
stalked, are egg-shaped, with even margins, often turned under.
The rosy-purple flowers are produced in spikes. They are of
the usual labiate type, and both the calyx and the corolla are
two-lipped. The upper lip of the calyx is three-toothed, the
lower cleft in two, the whole of a purplish hue. The upper
lip of the corolla is straight and notched, the lower cut into
three lobes. There are two forms of flower — smaller and larger ;
the small are perfect, the larger bearing developed anthers
only. It should be noted also that in the complete flowers
the anthers shed their pollen before the stigmas are ripe ; self-
fertilization is therefore impossible. The flower produces
much honey, the whole plant is highly fragrant, and in con-
sequence is very much visited by insects who carry the pollen.
While the stamens are ripe the pistil is short and almost
hidden within the corolla-tube ; when the pollen has been shed
the style elongates, the two arms of the stigma diverge and
occupy a prominent position far outside the lips. Under this
arrangement insects alighting on the younger flowers dust
themselves with pollen, and upon visiting those a day or two
older could scarcely fail to deposit some of it upon the ripe
stigmas.
This is the only native species of a genus named from the
ancient Greek name for the plant.
— 85 —
Wild Thyme.
Thymus serpyllum.
— LABIATE. —
— 86 —
All-Good. Goose-foot.
Chenopodium bonus-henricus.
— GHENOPODIACE^:. —
MERCURY GOOSEFOOT. 86
Mercury Goosefoot (Chenopodium bonus-henricus).
The genus to which this plant belongs consists of thorough
weeds. Their habitat is waste places, usually where the soil
is made up of man's refuse. The plants are fairly uniform in
colour, from stem to leaf and flower. They are fertilized by the
wind, so they have no need to put on showy colours to attract
insects. The flowers are small, and the petals are entirely
wanting ; they consist of from three to five sepals, from two
to five stamens ranged around the ovary, which is surmounted
by the two or three spreading stigmas. Some are distinguished
by unpleasant odours, and they have little to attract popular
attention, although some have been used as potherbs — notably
the species figured, and which rejoices in the alternative titles
of "Good King Henry" and "All-good."
Mercury Goosefoot (C. bonus-henricus] is a perennial with a
thick fleshy rootstock, and erect channelled stems from one to
three feet in height. The leaves are large, dark green, and of
the shape that botanists describe as " hastate," that is, like the
head of an ancient halberd. These leaves are somewhat
succulent, and in some places are used as a substitute for
spinach. The ovary when ripe becomes what is technically
known as a utricle, a thin loose case containing a single seed.
In this species the seed is black, marked with small punctures.
Flowers May to August.
All the other British species are annuals, and among them may be noted the
Stinking Goosefoot (C. vulvaria), with spreading stems, small, greasy, mealy
leaves, grey-green, and with an odour like rotten fish. Many-seeded Goosefoot
(C. polyspennuut), with several spreading branches, ovate leaves and many minute,
rough, dark-brown seeds. White Goosefoot (C. album), leaves ovate, covered with
a white mea.ly substance, upper portions toothed, sepals keeled, seed dark, shining,
very minutely dotted. Red Goosefoot (C. rubniiti), with erect, frequently red,
stems, smooth and shining, leaves variable in form, and the character of the margin,
sometimes toothed, sometimes entire, sepals not keeled. The name is from two
Greek words, signifying Goosefoot, in reference to the shape of the leaves in some
species.
87 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Burdock (Arctium lappd).
The Burdock is a plant well-known to artists and boys ; the
former being interested in it as a fine foreground plant, the
latter on account of its hooked bracts, which make the fruit-
head an admirable instrument of torture, or an ornament for
decorating some other person's clothes. In its young state the
plant is suggestive of the Butterbur, the fine bold lower leaves
having a densely cottony underside as in that plant. But
there the similarity ends, for in Butterbur there is no rising
stem, whereas in Burdock this ordinarily reaches a stature of
three or four feet. We encountered a fine specimen near
Chessington, Surrey, in June, 1894, that had reached the height
of seven feet three inches, and as it had only just commenced
flowering it would probably put on a few additional inches
before its growth ceased. The stem is stout, the leaves
alternate, heart-shaped, thick. The flowers are in dense heads,
like a thistle, but without any spreading rays. The involucre
globose, of many leathery bracts ending in long stiff hooks,
by means of which the ripe heads become firmly attached to
the coats of animals, and the seeds are thus carried far and
wide. Corollas, five-lobed, purple. Common in all waste places.
Flowering from June to September. According to Hooker this
is the only British species, but the " splitters " have made four
or more species out of it.
The name is from the Greek, Arktos, a bear, from its rough
appearance.
Goosegrass or Cleavers (Galium aparine).
Although Goosegrass has nothing else in common with
Burdock it resembles it in the fact that its fruit " sticketh
closer than a brother." It is a plant of the hedge, where it
forms dense masses, the whole plant - stem, leaves and fruits
87
~~ O J
Burdock.
Arctium lappa.
— COMPOSITE. —
Goose-grass. Cleavers.
Galium aparine.
— RUBIACE/E. —
— 88 —
White Campion.
Lychnis vespertina.
— CARYOPHYLLE^E. •—
GOOSEGRASS OR CLEAVERS. 88
— being covered with flinty hooks. The rambling botanist,
when playfully inclined, detaches a yard-length from the hedge
and deftly throwing it against his unconscious companion's
back, causes a hundred hooks to catch in the warp or weft
of his coat. It belongs to the Bedstraws, a genus comprising
nearly a dozen British species, and distinguished by having
minute flowers, yellow, white or greenish, calyx minute, a mere
ring, the corolla four or five-lobed, honeyed. Stamens four,
styles two, united at their bases. The leaves are borne in
whorls of from four to ten, at distant intervals on the square
stem. In G. aparine the leaves vary from six to eight, the
flower-cymes arise from their axils, the flowers are white, the
fruit first green then becoming purplish. Flowers June and
July.
White Campion (Lychnis vespertina}.
On page 66 we gave a figure of Lychnis flos-cuculi, and
descriptions of that species and L. diurna, the Red Campion.
The present species was classed by Linnaeus as a mere variety
of L. diurnQ, the two being combined under the name of
L. dioica. In general characters the White Campion agrees
with the Red, but the calyx is more greenish, and the petals
are entirely white (occasionally reddish). The plant is larger
and more coarse than its diurnal relative — for, as its name
signifies, L. vespertina opens in the evening and is fertilized
by night-flying moths. It is a fragrant plant, but its fragrance
is reserved for its flowering time — not that its nocturnal
visitors require the scent to direct them to the flowers, for they
glow and gleam in the dark field and hedgerow from May to
September.
89 WAYSIDE. AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Holly (Ilex aquifoliuni).
The popular knowledge of the Holly has been gained chiefly
about Christmas-tide, when its brightly varnished yet repellent
leaves and its brilliant berries are much sought for household
decoration. To most persons the flower is unknown ; yet if
they sought the holly in the woods or hedges any time from
May to August they would probably find the white flowers
produced in " umbellate cymes " from the axils of the leaves.
The calyx is slightly downy, with four or five divisions. The
petals are four in number, white, conjoined at their bases, or
entirely separate. The stamens are four, one attached to the
base of each petal ; stigmas also four, attached to the ovary,
without intervening styles. The fruit, with which we are all
so familiar by sight, is technically a drupe, in which category
are also placed the cherry and the plum, fruits which have the
seed enclosed in a hard " stone " (or endocarp], surrounded
by a fleshy pericarp. The holly-berries, as the fruits are
called (though they in no wise resemble the gooseberry, which
is a true berry), contain four of such stones. This is the only
British species.
The name Ilex is said to be of Celtic origin, and derived
from ec or ac, a sharp point, but this appears to us very
unsatisfactory. Its old English name was holm, a word that
has become fixed in some of our place-names for localities
where holly is still abundant : such as Holmesdale, Holmwood,
and Holmbury, all in Surrey.
If the smooth grey bark of old hollies be scrutinized closely
one may find upon it a number of raised black cuneiform
marks, not unlike the characters of the Chinese alphabet.
They are really the fruits of a lichen, Graphis elegans. With
care the piece of bark containing these curious marks may be
cut out without defacing or injuring them.
— 89 —
Holly.
Ilex aquifolium.
— 90 —
Charlock.
Brassica sinapis.
— CRUCIFEELE. —
CHARLOCK OR WILD MUSTARD. 90
Charlock or Wild Mustard (Brassica sinapis}.
An upland cornfield in June with Charlock between the
short corn-plants is a beautiful sight for the rambler, but the
farmer may be pardoned if he fails to take the aesthetic view ;
for all that vegetable gold must be laboriously hand-picked, or
"cleaned," as he would probably express it. Charlock is a
weed that keeps close to the farmer ; that likes the com-
paratively light and dry soil of the ploughed field.
It is a hairy annual belonging to the cabbage tribe, which is
a branch of the Crucifera or Cross-worts, so-called from the
four petals being arranged cross- wise. In this and the two
following species the petals are bright yellow. To make the
flower symmetrical there should be four or eight stamens ;
there are six, and it has been suggested that there were eight,
but two have been suppressed. The fruit is an angular pod,
with a straight beak, not persistent, and two hairy valves, but
containing only one row of dark-brown seeds. Flowers from
May to August.
There are many species of Brassica, two of which may be
confounded with B. sinapis ; they are : —
I. Black Mustard (B. ni^rttm). Stem bristly, upper leaves very narrow, lance-
shaped, smooth, with entire or toothed margins. Pods awl-shaped, quadrangular.
Beak short and slender, containing no seeds. Valves keeled. Seeds reddish-brown,
oblong. Flowers June to September in hedges and wastes.
II. White Mustard (B. alba). Hairy, like B. sinapis, but the hairs pointing down-
wards. The upper leaves deeply lobed, lyre-shaped, the lobes being again cut and
lobed. Stem marked with longitudinal incised lines. Pod short, no longer than
the flat thin, or sword-shaped, ribbed beak. Seeds larger than the last, more
globose, yellow. Flowers June and July in cultivated ground.
The genus bears the Latin name for the Cabbage, the wild form of which is
B. oleracea, a wild plant on the sea-cliffs of South-west England and Wales, from
which have arisen the cultivated varieties known as Scotch-kail, cow-cabbage,
savoys, brussels sprouts, red cabbage, white cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli.
QI WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Common Cow-wheat ( Melampyrum pratense).
Quite a number of our common plants have been distin-
guished in popular nomenclature by the prefix " cow," and as
a general rule it would appear to have been applied in
depreciation, as in the parallel cases of " dog," " horse," and
" hog," to signify coarseness or worthlessness. In the case of the
Cow-wheat our forefathers had a notion that if its seeds were
ground up with wheat the bread made from the flour would be
black. One of the species (M. arvense} affects cornfields, and
its seeds are like black grains of wheat, and from this fact the
genus gets its scientific appellation from the Greek, melas,
black, and puros, wheat. In addition the plants themselves
turn black when dead and dry.
I. Common Yellow Cow-wheat (M. pratense) is an annual, partially parasitic
upon roots, like Eyebright. The leaves are almost stalkless, very narrow, with even
margins, and produced in pairs. The flower follows the general structure of the
Scruphularineae (see pp. 33 and 50 ante). The calyx is five-toothed, the corolla
tubular, straight, dilated at the mouth and two-lipped, the upper with the edges
turned back, the lower three-lobed. The four stamens will be found close under the
upper lip, with the small stigma. It should be noticed that in this species, which is
common in dry woods and on heaths, the pale yellow flowers assume a horizontal
position, whilst the capsule is mere deflexed. May to September.
II. Small-flowered Yellow Cow-wheat (M. sylvaticuni) is a rare species, found in
alpine woods from Yorkshire northwards. It has a small deep yellow corolla, which
is borne more erectly than in pratense. Other points of difference will be found in
the curved corolla-tube, and in the position of the capsule, which is not deflexed.
Flowers July and August.
III. Purple Field Cow-wheat (M. arvense). This is a local species who^e distri-
bution in this country is restricted to Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Herts, and the Isle of
Wight. Where it occurs it is a conspicuous item in the cornfield flora, by reason of
its large spikes of flowers with their many colours. The bracts are reddish-purple,
the corolla rosy, with yellow throat, and the lips a full pink. Flowers July and
August.
IV. Crested Cow- wheat (M. cristafum). This also is a rare plant, confined to the
Eastern counties of England, and affecting woods, copses, and cornfields. It has
broad, heart-shaped, purple bracts, with long fine teeth. The flowers in a dense
spike (not so large as in arvense) ; corolla-tube curved, yellow, the upper lip purple
within. Flowers September and October.
— 91 —
Cow-wheat.
Melampyrum pratense.
— SCROPHULARINE^E. —
Sea Buckthorn.
Hippophae rhamnoides.
— EL^AGNACE^E. —
SEA BUCKTHORN. 92
Sea Buckthorn (Hippophcz rhamnoides).
Let us say at once that this plant is in no way related to the
Buckthorns, properly so called. It is another example of the
readiness with which our fathers seized upon a mere super-
ficial resemblance as justification for the partial repetition
of a name, and to save them the trouble of finding a new one.
Sea Buckthorn is the sole representative in this country of
the Natural Order Elasagnaceae, and is a low shrubby tree,
growing on sand-hills and cliffs on the East and South-east
coasts from York to Sussex. The branches commonly end in
a spine, which has brought the plant its alternative name of
Sallow-thorn. The alternate leaves are a dull leaden green
above, but the underside is covered with silvery scales. At
first they are egg-shaped, but lengthen after the plant has
flowered. The flowers are of two kinds, borne on separate
plants (dicecious), one kind containing stamens only, the other
a pistil alone. The staminate flowers are produced in clusters
from the axils, and consist of two sepals with four stamens.
The pistillate flowers are produced singly. The ovary is
enclosed in the calyx-tube, and develops into the globose
orange-yellow fruits. Flowers from May to July.
The fruits do not appear to be used in this country ; though
in Tartary they are said to be made into a pleasant jelly, and
in the Gulf of Bothnia they are used in the concoction of a
fish-sauce. Their flavour is decidedly acid.
The name has been derived from the Greek hippos, a horse,
and phao, to give light, from a supposed power of curing
equine blindness ; also from hippos, ?c&diphao, to destroy, from
its fatal effects when eaten by horses ; and from hypo, under,
and phao, to shine, in allusion to the silvery underside of the
leaf. The reader will kindly select that which seems the most
reasonable — or reject them all.
93 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Meadow-sweet (Spircea ulmarid).
Our first encounter with the Queen of the Meadows, or
Meadow-sweet, is an event to be remembered. It will probably
be beside a shallow stream, and for a long distance we shall
see the continuous line of thick clumps, with the handsome,
much-divided radical leaves standing erect around the taller
furrowed stems. Individually the creamy- white flowers are
minute, but combined in large dense cymes they are very
conspicuous. There is an airy grace about the plant that is
particularly charming, quite apart from the attraction of its
powerful fragrance.
Meadow-sweet has a short perennial rootstock, the leaves
are interruptedly pinnate (see p. 63), the terminal leaflet three-
lobed. The undersides are downy and white. The stem-
leaves are provided with broad-toothed stipules. In spite of
their fragrance the flowers produce no honey, but, attracted by
the sweet odour, insects visit them in great numbers, and from
the closeness of the flowers cannot help fertilizing them. The
calyx has four or five lobes, turned back ; the petals are four
or five, the carpels vary from five to nine, curiously twisted,
and surrounded by a large number of stamens. It flowers
from June to August, and may be found beside watercourses
and in wet meadows, as well as by the sides of streams and
rivers.
There is one other British species : —
The Dropwort (Spirceafilipendula), which grows far away from the haunts of the
Meadow-sweet, delighting in high dry pastures, chalk downs, and gravelly heaths.
He that has seen ulmaria will not fail to identify filipendula as the sister of the
meadow queen, for though much smaller it is in general appearance very similar.
The unopened flowers are rosy, but the inside of the petals is of the same creamy-
white as in Meadow-sweet. It is not fragrant. Flowers June and July.
A third species, the Willow-leaved Spiraea (S. salicifolia), may occasionally be
met in plantations ; but it is not a native.
— 93 —
Meadow-Sweet. Queen of the Meadows.
Spiraea ulmaria.
— ROSACES. —
— 94 —
Rest Harrow.
Oimnis Spinosa.
- LEGUMINOS i:. -
REST-HARROW. 94
Rest-Harrow (Ononis spinosa).
The Rest-Harrow or Wrest- Harrow is one of those plants
whose presence in the pasture is said to indicate its poverty or
the neglect of the cultivator. In Sussex and Hampshire it is
known as the Cammock. It is a perennial low shrub, some-
times creeping near the ground, and at others growing more
erect. The rootstock often creeps underground, a habit to
which the plant owes its popular name, as it is said to be so
tough as to wrest the harrow from the even tenor of its way.
The more prostrate form is covered with viscid hairs ; the
more erect-growing plants are spiny. In the latter condition it
is said that only donkeys will eat it, and hence its scientific
name ononts, from onos^ an ass, but it is open to question
whether the ass has any fondness for it if he can get oil id-
food. The flowers are of the usual papilionaceous structure
already described (see pp. 7, 43, 48, 50, 52, 72), and may be borne
either singly or in racemes. They are pink in colour; the
petal known as the standard is very large in this species, ;m<l
streaked with a fuller red. The pod is very small, and in the
hairy form is not so long as the calyx. The flower does not
secrete honey, but in spite of this fact, it seems to be chiefly
if not exclusively fertilized by bees, who are evidently fooled
by its resemblance to other flowers of the same form that do
offer refreshment to insect visitors. The worker-bees, however,
get pollen for their pains, but the males arc sadly disappointed.
Rest-Harrow will be found flowering in dry wastes from June
to September.
There is another species, the Sm;ill Rest-Harrow (O. rcclinata), an animal with
spreading hairy, viscid stems, only a few inches in length, stalked rosy flowers not
half the si/e of spinosa, and a hairy pod as long a:, the calyx, or longer It is
exceedingly local, and has only been reported as occurring on sandy dill , ii I >
Wilton and Alderuey. Flowering in June and July.
95 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria).
One of the prettiest of wayside plants is the golden-starred
Agrimony, growing on the waste green flanks of the road and
making it beautiful. It is a perennial plant, with a short
woody rootstock, and "interruptedly pinnate" leaves, some-
what resembling those of the Silver-weed, the leaflets increas-
ing in size as they near the terminal leaflet. The flowers are
borne on that kind of inflorescence called a raceme, in which
each flower is attached to the central stem by a stalk of its
own. Were these stalks suppressed the inflorescence would
be termed a spike, and indeed some authors have so described
the flower- clustering of Agrimony. The flowers are little
roses, and consist of a top-shaped spiny calyx, tubular, with
contracted mouth and five overlapping lobes ; five golden
petals, ten or more stamens, and two carpels sunk in the calyx-
tube, their styles and two-lobed stigmas protruding. They do
not secrete honey, and are seldom visited by insects.
As the lower fruits ripen the raceme lengthens, and con-
currently the calyx-tubes harden and assume a drooping
position, owing to the downward curving of their little foot-
stalks.
There is a variety with resinous-scented, larger, more
crowded flowers, of local occurrence. Agrimony was formerly
held in some repute as a medicinal plant, and from this
circumstance it gets its name. The ancient Greeks had a word
argema signifying the affection of the eyes to which we apply
the term cataract, and a plant which was reputed to cure
argema they called argemone, a word which has since been
corrupted into agrimony. " Yarb doctors " still give it a place
in their pharmacopoeia.
Agrimony flowers from June to September.
Agrimony.
Agrimonia eupatoria.
— ROSACES. —
— 96 —
Common Flax.
Linum usitatissimum,
COMMON FLAX. 96
Common Flax (Linum usitatissimum).
Occasionally the rambler will find the Flax in cornfields and
wastes, by oil-mills and in the neighbourhood of railway
stations. Wherever it may be found it is an escape from
cultivation. As a truly wild plant the " most used " flax is not
known : in cultivation, as the parent of linen garments, it has
been known from the infancy of the human race. To-day the
exports of flax and linen from the United Kingdom are worth
about .£5,500,000 per annum. It is therefore a plant that
would be entitled to respectful consideration when we meet
it, even if it had no grace or beauty to commend it to us.
Common Flax is an annual plant, with erect slender stems
about a foot and a half high. Its narrow lance-shaped leaves
are arranged alternately and at a distance from each other.
The flowers are large, and purplish-blue in colour. Five is the
number dominating the structure of the flower : sepals, petals,
stamens, glands, ovary (5 cells), styles— all in fives. It flowers
in June and July.
There are three other species that are truly wild in
Britain : —
I. Purging Flax (L. cathartic-tun). A smaller species, half a foot high, with
white flowers, affecting heaths and pastures. It has opposite, very narrow leaves,
and the unopened buds nod. Flowers June to September.
II. Perennial Flax {L. perenne). A very rare perennial plant with exceedingly
narrow leaves, alternate on the numerous wiry stems. Plant about 2 feet high.
The large bright-blue flowers, which may be found from June to September, are of
two forms, long-styled and short-styled, like the Primroses (see p. 2), and fora similar
purpose. On chalky soils from Durham to Essex.
III. Narrow-leaved Flax (L. angustifolirttri). Leaves alternate, as narrow as in
the last species, but smaller and not so plentiful. Flowers smaller and paler, petals
smaller in proportion to the calyx. Flowers May to September. Sandy and
chalky pastures, not farther north than Lancashire.
97 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Long-rooted Cat's-ear (Hypochceris radicata}.
Cat's-ear is one of those plants that are passed by the
rambler as being " perplexing hawkweeds which no one but a
German botanist understands." It is not exactly a hawkweed,
though it comes pretty close to that family, and roughly may
be said to resemble them. Of the Composite flowers we have
already dealt with, it will be seen that the Cat's-ear has a
blossom similar in structure to Sonchus (page 114), Taraxacum
(page 20) and Tragopogon (page 84). It has a perennial tap-root,
from which arises and spreads a circlet of many rough hairy
leaves, their edges scalloped ; there are no stem leaves. The
flower-stem is branched, each branch bearing but one flower-
head. The involucral bracts are in several series, laid one over
the other like tiles. All the corollas are strap-shaped, toothed
at the free end, yellow. The pappus or down that surrounds
the fruit consists of a row of feathery hairs, surrounded by an
outer row of shorter bristles. The flowers are longer than the
involucre. Flowers June to September. There are two other
British species : —
I. Smooth Cat's-ear (H. gldbra). An annual plant, found chiefly in dry fields on
gravelly soil, but not nearly so commonly as radicata. Its leaves are broader, egg-
shaped, and smooth. It has several branched flower-stems. The involucre as long
as the florets, the bracts few and unequal. Flowers June to September.
II. Spotted Cat's-ear (//. maculata). A rare perennial, confined to chalky and
limestone pastures in several counties, i.e., the Lizard, Cornwall ; Orme's head, North
Wales ; Westmoreland, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex. Leaves rough, with hairs,
stalkless, egg-shaped, often spotted. Flower-stems seldom branched, usually with
several small leaves and one large flower-head (sometimes several). Involucre
shorter than the florets ; outer row of pappus absent. Flowers July and August.
— 97
Cat's-Ear.
Hypochseris radicata.
— COMPOSITE. —
— 98 -
Field Scabious.
Scabiosa arvensis.
— DIPSACE^. —
THE FIELD SCABIOUS. 98
The Field Scabious (Scabiosa arvensis).
Should any reader who has not previously made a study of
botany, but who has followed us thus far, be asked to name the
order to which the Scabious belongs, he would almost certainly
say the Composite. He would be wrong, but almost right.
Scabious is certainly a Composite flower, though not one of the
Compositas ; it is, instead, included in the order Dipsacese.
We have already made the acquaintance of so many composite
flowers that our readers may be presumed to be fairly familiar
with their general structure. It will be remembered, then, that
the anthers of Composites are all joined together to form a tube :
in Dipsaceae they are free. Again, the calyx in Compositae is
reduced to a series of hairs (pappus), whilst in Dipsaceas there
is a distinct tubular calyx invested in a separate involucel (or
little involucre) of tiny bracts, quite independent of the common
involucre that invests the whole head of florets.
I. The Field Scabious (S. awensis), is a perennial with a stout rootstock, and a
hairy stem. The leaves vary considerably in different specimens, but usually those
from the root are entire, of an oblong lance-shape, with toothed margins. The stem
leaves are lobed, sometimes almost pinnate. The flower-heads are borne on a long
stout stalk, and consist of about fifty florets, increasing in size from the centre to
the outer margin, and of a pale blue or lilac colour, the central ones more inclined to
red ; anthers yellow. Involucral bracts broad and leaf-like, in two rows. Dry
fields and downs. June to September.
II. Devil's-bit Scabious (S. sitccisa). Rootstock short, coming to an abrupt con-
clusion, as though bitten off. Culpepper accounts for this and the name by saying :
"This root was longer, until the Devil (as the friars say), bit away the rest from
spite, envying its usefulness to mankind ; for sure he was not troubled with any
disease for which it is proper." Leaves all entire. Involucral bracts lance-shaped,
shorter than the corollas, in two or three rows. Anthers reddish-brown. Florets
nearly equal in size. Flowers purplish-blue, sometimes white. July to October, in
meadows and pastures.
III. Small Scabious (S. columbaria). Rootstock thick and woody. Root leaves
entire, narrow ; stem leaves deeply cut, almost pinnate. Involucral bracts longer
than the corollas, in one row. Corollas five-lobed (in the other species four-lobed), the
outer row considerably larger than the inner ones, and of irregular form. Anthers
yellow, corollas purplish-blue. July to September, in pastures and wastes.
The name is derived from the Latin, scabies, the itch, it being formerly used in
curing this and other cutaneous disorders.
H
99 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Bitter Sweet (Solatium dulcamara).
One of the most familiar objects in the hedge is the trailing
stem and variously-shaped leaves of the Bitter Sweet or Woody
Nightshade ; the singular flowers or the red berries attract our
attention at once. This and the Common or Black Nightshade
are the sole British representatives of a genus that includes the
Potato among other valuable exotic species.
Bitter Sweet is a perennial, with a creeping rootstock, from
which arise the long trailing stems that have no means of
climbing in the shape of tendrils, hooks, prickles, or the power
of twining, but yet by leaning against the stouter hedge plants
manage to attain a height of four or five feet. The leaves vary
much, the lowest being heart-shaped, the upper more or less
spear-shaped, with gradations between these forms. They are
very dark green in colour, and all stalked. The calyx is five-
parted ; the purple corolla with five lobes, each having at its
base two small green tubercles. The five yellow anthers have
their edges united, so that they form a pyramidal tube, through
which the style protrudes. The anthers discharge their pollen
by terminal pores. The succeeding berries are egg-shaped, and
go through a series of colour-changes from green through yellow
and orange to a fine red. The popular name is founded upon a
peculiarity which we have never tested : it is said the stems
when tasted are first bitter, then the sensation changes to one
of pleasant sweetness. Flowers June to September.
The Common or Black Nightshade (S. nigruin) is an annual with an erect stem,
about 2 feet in height. Its leaves are egg-shaped, the blade gradually narrowing to
the stalk, with a waved or toothed margin. The corolla is white, the berries
rounder, usually black, but sometimes yellow or red. Fields and waste places. From
July to October.
— 99 —
Bitter-Sweet.
Solarium dulcamara.
— SOLANACE^:. —
— 100 —
A. — Biting Stonecrop. Wall pepper.
Sedum acre.
B. — House-leek.
Sempervivum tectorum.
— CRASSULACEJE. —
BITING STONECROP. IOO
Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre).
Of the eight British species of Sedum, and the two or three
additional kinds that have escaped from gardens and become
locally naturalized, this is the best known. Rocks and old
walls are its favourite resorts, the stems growing downwards
and curving outwards. The leaves are small, thick, produced
into a kind of spur at the base, and closely pressing the older
on the newer. The calyx is in one with five lobes, the corolla
consists of five distinct golden yellow petals : stamens ten,
with yellow anthers ; carpels five, united at their bases.
Flowers June and July. Another popular name for it is Wall
Pepper, both names being due to the acrid taste.
The scientific name is from the Latin sedeo, to sit, from the
peculiar habit of the plant.
Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum).
Although the Houseleek is not a true native of Britain it has
been so long established on old walls and the roofs of out-houses
that it is quite a familiar object in a country ramble. As its
scientific name (from semper, always, and mvum, fresh, green)
indicates, it dies hard, and alike endures frost and drought.
The story is told of one that a botanist tried hard for eighteen
months to dry for his herbarium, but failing in his object
planted it again, and it grew as though nothing had occurred
to interfere with its ordinary life. The leaves are borne on the
flowerless stems in the form of a rosette, the oldest flat, the
youngest erect ; thick, fleshy, the edges purple, tips sharply
pointed. Flowering stems with alternate leaves ; flowers dull
purple in cymes. Sepals twelve, petals twelve, stamens
twenty-four, but twelve of these are imperfect or aborted.
Flowers June and July.
H 2
101 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Yellow Melilot (Mettlotus officmalis).
Occasionally on roadside wastes, railway banks and similar
refuges for the vagabonds of plant-life, especially if it be in the
Eastern counties, the rambler conies across a slender plant with
loosely trifoliate leaves on long stalks, and long narrow racemes
of pale yellow flowers. These flowers, considered individually,
are seen to be shaped like several we have already considered
(see page 43), with a certain amount of variation, of course.
This is the Common Yellow Melilot, a plant that is not truly
indigenous, but one that has been cultivated in this country for
a great number of years, and of which some escapes from the
meadows have settled like gipsy squatters on the unenclosed
wastes. But the field-path rambler is sure to come across it
in the meadows, so it is as well that he should know it. It will
be at once noted that the flowers are all drooping from the
flower-stem, and that when the petals drop off they reveal a
similarly drooping olive-coloured pod, which is small, egg-
shaped and rough, with transverse ribs. In the process of
drying Melilot develops an odour similar to that of the Sweet
Vernal-grass that gives the pleasant scent to new-mown hay.
Flowers June to August.
There are two truly indigenous species : —
I. Tall Melilot (M. altissima), with deep yellow flowers. Pod compressed,
covered with net-like markings, hairy, black when ripe. Fields. June to August.
II. White Melilot (M. alba). More slender than the last, with smaller -white
flowers. Pod stouter, smooth, black. Waste places. July and August.
The name of the genus is compounded of mel, honey, and Zotus, the name of
another genus = the lotus with the sweet or honeyed smell.
— 101 —
Field Melilot.
Melilotus officinalis.
— LEGUMINOS^E. —
— 102 -
Juniper.
Juniperus communis.
— CONIFERS. —
JUNIPER. 102
Juniper (Juniperus communis).
Hitherto we have been considering plants that have stigmas
and ovaries, whether they had or had not a calyx or a corolla ;
but we must now introduce our patient readers to a cohort of
plants which contrive to make an important figure in the world
without either calyx, corolla, stigma, or ovary. These plants
are generally forest trees, most important as timber producers,
but their flowers consist solely of anthers and open carpels
containing the ovules, which are fertilized by actual contact with
the pollen-grains, instead of through the medium of a stigma and
style which have to be pierced by the pollen-tube. This cohort,
contains the pines and firs ; also the Juniper and the Yew.
Juniper is a dark foliaged evergreen shrub or small tree,
usually four or five feet in height, but occasionally attaining a
stature often, fifteen, or even twenty feet. It occurs on heaths
and open hillsides, sometimes in great profusion, as on parts of
the North Downs in Surrey and Kent. Its leaves are very
narrow, pointed, and borne in threes. Their midribs and
margins are thicker than the intermediate portions, and they
have a pungent resinous odour. Each anther is borne on a
scale, a number of which are formed into a cone, and is four-
celled. The female flower consists of five or six scales united
at their bases to form a kind of involucre, within which are three
naked ovules. The pale yellow pollen is blown into this by
the wind, and falls directly upon the ovules. Having become
fertile the seeds mature, and the scales develop into a fleshy
cone, outwardly resembling a berry, of a blue-black hue with a
glaucous bloom upon it. The pollen is shed in May and June,
but the fruit is not ripe until the following spring. This is the
only British species ; its essential oil has long been used as a
diuretic and flavouring substance, notably for giving its
distinctive flavour to Gin, whose name is derived from
Genevrier, the French for Juniper.
103 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Stinging Nettles (Urtica).
Surely, the reader says, we know a nettle when we see it,
and certainly know it when we touch it, without needing
description or figure. Perhaps so, but the average rambler, for
whom this book is primarily intended, would certainly pass
Campanula trachelium as a nettle if he encountered it before it
flowered ; and though he may know a nettle by being stung, he -
cannot in that simple manner determine the species, for there
are three kinds occurring in England. We will, however, meet
the objection so far that we will not waste many words in a
general description, but deal more with the points of difference
between the species. All have a liberal supply of the stinging
hairs, and green flowers of two kinds. The staminate flowers
consist of a four-parted perianth enclosing four stamens with
kidney-shaped anthers. Pistillate flowers consist of a perianth
and a single carpel, surmounted by a brush-like stigma. The
name of the genus is from the Latin uro, to burn, in reference to
the sensation produced by the stings.
I. The Great Nettle (Urtica di.oica^, is the species figured. It is our largest
native nettle, and attains the height of 4 or 5 feet, the stem rising from a Branching
perennial rootstock which throws out runners, The large leaves are saw-edged, and
apart from the stinging hairs are downy. Flower spikes given off in pairs, each
spike consisting of either staminate or pistillate flowers only ; the pistillate more
dense than the others. Hedgebanks chiefly. Flowering from June to September.
II. Roman Nettle ( U. pilulifera). Not so large. An annual ; leaves smooth but
for the stinging hairs, margin entire or toothed. Male flowers in panicles,f emale
gathered in heads. Flowers larger than in dioica. Under walls and among rubbish,
near habitations, chiefly in the Eastern counties, and near the sea. June to
August.
III. Small Nettle (U. urens). The familiar annual plant of fields and wastes.
Leaves coarsely toothed, smooth but for stinging hairs. Panicles containing
flowers of both sexes ; few flowered. Flowers June to September.
— 103 —
Great Stinging Nettle.
Urtica dioica.
— URTICACE^:. —
— 104 —
Gat's Valerian.
Valeriana officinalis.
— VALERIANAE/K. —
CAT'S VALERIAN. 104
Cat's Valerian (Valeriana offitinalis}.
The Great or Cat's Valerian will come under the notice of
the rambler whose way lies by the stream-side, through wet
meadows or swampy woods. Where it is found it occurs in
abundance, and its pretty flowers massed together in great
heads will attract attention at once. It has a short perennial
rootstock, increasing by suckers, and narrow pinnate leaves,
those from, the root soon withering. The stems are from two
to four feet high, bearing the broad corymbs of pink or flesh-
coloured flowers. The calyx is five-parted, and the lobes are
at first rolled inward, but as the fruit matures these lobes
expand and assume the form of a circlet of finely branched
feathery hairs (pappiis). The corolla is shortly tubular, with
five lobes. The stamens three, and the stigma two-lobed. It
flowers from June to August.
The roots have long been held in high esteem as a medicinal
agent in certain nervous affections ; and in some places the
plant is known as All-heal, owing to its virtues. It has a warm
aromatic taste, but when drying it develops a fcetid odour, which
acts as a charm upon cats. If the reader would have cheerful
nights let him plant Valerian in his garden, and every cat in the
neighbourhood will call to enjoy it. Strange to say, rats are
equally delighted with its fragrance, and rat-catchers are said
to use Valerian to assist them in attracting their victims.
Query : Had the Pied-piper a root of Valerian in his poke ?
There is one other native species, the Small Marsh Valerian (V. diotca), chiefly
affecting boggy places. It has a creeping rootstock, and the root leaves are egg-
shaped, with a long footstalk, whilst those of the stem are deeply lobed in pinnate
fashion, with a large leaflet at the tip. The flowers, which are pink, are minute,
and of four distinct kinds, which may be thus enumerated according to the size of
the corolla, i. Large, with anthers, but no pistil. 2. Small, with anthers and
rudimentary pistil. 3. Smaller, with pistil and rudimentary anthers. 4. Smallest,
with pistil, but no anthers. Flowers May and June.
The name is from the Latin, valere, to be in health.
105 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Yellow Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris).
We have already dealt with one species of Toadflax {see
Page 33), and although in habit the Ivy-leaved is altogether
unlike the Yellow Toadflax, their flowers will be found to have
the same structure, and we must ask the reader to refer back
for the description. The Yellow Toadflax (L. vulgaris}
immediately reminds one of the Snapdragon (Anterrktmtut),
to which its raceme of flowers, bears close resemblance ; but
the flowers themselves will be found to differ from Snapdragon
in having a long tail or spur. This spur is a hollow tube in
which honey is secreted to attract long-tongued bees, in
order that they may fertilize the ovules. The plant has a
slender rootstock, which creeps extensively underground,
branching and sending up many stems. If these get into a
garden the owner is at first delighted with the neat, bright
appearance of the tufts of linear leaves ; but by-and-by he finds
it has taken entire possession of the bed, and become extremely
difficult to extirpate. It is abundant in hedges and waste
places, flowering from June till October. Other species are : —
I. Round-leaved Toadflax (L. spuria) with egg-shaped or
round leaves and trailing branches : hairy. Corolla yellow,
with purple throat and spur greatly curved. Annual. Sandy
cornfields. July to October.
II. Sharp-pointed Toadflax (L. elatine), with spear-shaped
leaves and trailing hairy branches. Corolla yellow, upper lip
purple beneath. Spur straight. Annual. Dry, chalky and
gravelly cornfields. July to October.
III. Pale-blue Toadflax (L. rcpens). Perennial. Smooth.
Rootstock creeping. Leaves narrowly lance-shaped. Corolla
violet, with darker lines and yellow palate : spur blunt. Waste
places, rare. July to September.
IV. Small Toadflax (L. minor). Annual. Downy. Leaves
narrowly oblong. Corolla but slightly larger than the calyx,
— 105 —
Common Toadflax.
Linaria vulgaris.
— SCROPHULARINE^E. —
106 —
Yellow Waterlily.
Nuphar luteum.
— NYMPHEACE^K. —
YELLOW TOADFLAX. Io6
purple, the lower lip white, and the palate yellow. Local, in
sandy and chalky cornfields. From May to October.
Yellow Water-lily (Nuphar luteum).
In some districts, where the Yellow Water-lily floats on the
bosom of ponds and sluggish streams, it is known as the
Brandy-bottle, partly by reason of its unpleasant odour and
partly on account of its flagon-like seed-vessel.
It has a thick fleshy rootstock, which creeps in the mud, and
is rich in tannic acid ; it is said to be a fatal lure to cockroaches
if bruised and soaked in milk. Some of the leaves are sub-
merged, and these are thin, but the floating ones are thick and
leathery. The leaves are heart-shaped, the lobes not far apart ;
the stalks somewhat triangular in section, and traversed by a
great number of fine air-canals, as are the flower-stalks also. The
most conspicuous portion of the flower is the sepals, five or six
in number, which are very large and concave. The petals are
much smaller, and number about twenty ; they produce honey
at their base. The stamens are even more numerous than the
petals, in several rows, their blunt tips bent over away from
the many-celled ovary. The stigma is rayed. The fruit ripens
above water, and is, as we have indicated, flagon-shaped ; the
seeds are imbedded in pulp. Flowers from June till August.
There is another species : —
The Lesser Yellow Water-lily (N. putniluni), which occurs in Shropshire and in
Scotland, from Elgin to Argyll, but it is rare. Its oblong leaves are divided at the
base, the lobes becoming distant from each other. The petals are founder than in
lu^e^l1>l, the anthers shorter, and the rays of the stigma reach to the margin, which
is lobed.
The name is from the Arabic for this or a similar plant, naufar.
The White Water-lily {Nyttiphaa. alba), though constituting the British represen-
tative of a distinct genus, is closely allied, as, indeed, is the magnificent Victoria
regia. of South American rivers, with leaves 10 or 12 feet across, and flowers 15 inches
and more in diameter.
107 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Wild Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris).
We have explained (page 98) in what respect the Scabious
differs from the somewhat similar flowers of Composite, and
to a considerable extent that explanation will hold good for the
genus Dipsacus, which is united to Scabiosa in the Natural
Order Dipsaceae. There is this difference, however : in
Dipsacus the flower-bracts end in long, straight, sharp points,
and the involucel is four-angled. There are two British
species : —
I. Wild Teasel (Z>. sylvestris). A striking object in copse or hedgerow ; its
stout, angular and spiny stems rising to a height of 4 or 5 feet, and crowned by
the prickly-cylindrical heads of flowers. These heads have an involucre, consisting
of from eight to twelve slender rigid bracts, spiny, longer than the flower-head,
curved upward and ending in a fine point. The corolla is purple, tubular, with four
short unequal lobes. It is a biennial plant, and only has radical leaves during its
first year, sending up the flowering stem the second season. These are stalked,
lance-shaped, with a stout mid-rib, which is armed with short curved spines. The
stem leaves are opposite, not stalked, the lower couples joined together by their
bases, thus forming a large cup, in which rain collects and drowns many insects that
attempt to ascend the tall stem. Flowers August and September. The Fuller's
Teasel (D.fullonum), of so great importance to the cloth manufacturer, is believed
to be a cultivated variety of sylvestris, having the involucral bracts shorter and
spreading, and the scales of the flower-heads hooked.
II. Small Teasel (D. filosus). This is a more slender plant, the stem not so tall
or stout, and the prickles ending in soft hair-points. Leaves stalked, hairy. Flower-
heads at first drooping, then erect ; smaller, rounder, hairy, the involucral bracts
shorter than the head. Flowers white. August and September, in moist hedges ;
not so generally distributed as selves iris.
— 107 —
Wild Teasel.
Dipsacus Sylvestris.
— DIPSACE^;. —
— 108 —
Tansy.
Tanacetum vulgare.
— COMPOSITE. —
COMMON TANSY. Eo8
Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare).
Time was when every cottage garden and every kitchen
garden had its clump of Tansy, for it was a valued item in the
housewife's pharmacopoeia, and was all but invaluable in
cookery. A belief is entertained by some botanists that the
Tansy-plants growing wild in waste places by field and roadside
throughout the country are garden escapes, or their descendants,
that have become naturalized.
The Tansy is a perennial, with creeping rootstock, from
which arise beautiful broad feathery radical leaves and
flowering stems. The leaves are very deeply divided in a
pinnate or bi-pinnate manner, the segments toothed. The
angled stem reaches a height of about two feet, and then
branches off into a corymb of flower-heads. Each flower-head
is enclosed in a half-rounded involucre of leathery bracts.
There is an outer row of ray-florets, but they are very short,
and of the same dull yellow colour as the disk-florets ; they
are pistillate only, whilst the disk-florets are all staminate.
Flowers during August and September.
All parts of the plant give off a strong aromatic scent when
touched or handled, and the taste is exceedingly bitter, a
quality which caused it to be used as a stomachic tonic and a
vermifuge.
This is the only British species of the genus, whose name is
said to be a corruption of Athanasia deathless ; but probably
it is not so derived.
lOQ WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Blackthorn, or Sloe (Prunus commums).
It seems quite natural to use the two common names of this
beautiful shrub at different times. In the spring, before a leaf
has unrolled upon the spine-tipped spurs of its soot-coloured
branches, we call it the Blackthorn, for by contrast with its
pure white stars its thorns are black indeed. In the autumn,
when we search the common, the copse-side and the thick
hedgerow for ripe bramble fruit, we only know it as the Sloe.
Then the plant is again in full beauty with its groups of round
plums, each finely coated with the purple bloom that is ruined
by a touch. Like the Whitethorn (page 17) and the Bramble
(plate 30), the Blackthorn is a rose, with the floral organs in fives.
The fruit is botanically a drupe : it is the result of a swelling
up of the ovary, the outer walls of which become succulent
and pulpy, the inner hardened into the " stone" inclosing the
" kernel " or seed. The leaves are small, elliptical, finely
toothed, and in a young state the underside is downy, but in
the adult condition smooth. All the branches are spiny.
There are two forms with brown bark which have been at
various times regarded as separate species, or as mere varieties,
but which Sir J. D. Hooker ranks as sub-species, marking a
stage in which varietal characters have become permanent, but
not sufficiently strong to hide their connection with the parent
form. These are : —
I. The Bullace 'P. insititia), with larger and broader leaves, underside downy
in the adult condition ; branches straight, only a few with spines ; the petals
broader ; the fruit more drooping, black or yellow, larger, and less rough to the
taste.
II. Wild Plum (P. domes tica). Branches straight without spines. Fruit larger,
black. Leaves downy on the ribs of the underside. The plums of the fruiterer and
the " prunes " of the grocer are cultivated forms of this species.
They all flower in March and April. The name is the old Latin appellation for
the; fruit.
— 109 —
Sloe. Blackthorn.
Primus communis.
— ROSACES, —
110 —
Wild Hop.
Humulus lupulus.
— URTICACE^E. —
WILD HOP. 110
Wild Hop (Humulus lupulus}.
The Wild Hop may not unfrequently be seen in the copse
and hedgerow, especially in the South of England. It has a
thick branching perennial rootstock — in the cultivated plant
called a-" set" — from which are produced several long, thin,
but tough twining stems that turn with the sun, and tightly
clasp the nearest small tree or shrub. It has no tendrils like
the vine, but climbs like the convolvulus by simply twining
with the sun as it grows. Its lobed and coarsely toothed
leaves are very similar to those of the grape-vine, but very
rough. The leaves are in pairs, and at the base of the leaf-
stalk is a pair of long curved stipules. The Hop is what
botanists term a dioecious plant, because staminate flowers only
are produced by one individual, and pistillate only by another,
making cross-fertilization imperative. It is not the insects,
however, that effect this crossing in the Hop, but the wind.
The flowers are all small ; the staminate produced from the
axils of the leaves in long drooping panicles. They have no
petals, but there are five sepals and five anthers attached to
their bases. Each pistillate flower has a membranous sepal,
an ovary, and two long tapering purple stigmas. Two of these
pistillate flowers are produced in the axil of a green, broad, con-
cave bract or scale. A number of these twin-flowered bracts are
united into a dense spike, and after fertilization this develops
into a large cone-like head of yellow scales with resinous
glands at their base, which yield a resinous substance called
lupuline. The true fruit is a little nut, which is enclosed in
the sepal under the bracts. It flowers in July and August. It
is the only British species. Beside their extensive use in
brewing, the flowers are frequently used to stuff pillows, their
narcotic odour inducing sleep.
Ill WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Salad Burnet (Poterium sanguisorba].
When " cool tankards " were more generally compounded
than they are to-day, Salad Burnet was a better-known plant,
for, like Borage, it formed one of the ingredients. It was used
also in the salad bowl, its leaves having a flavour very similar
to that of cucumber. It is a perennial, the rosette of radical
leaves springing from a stout rootstock. The leaves are all
pinnate ; the leaflets in pairs, coarsely toothed, and a terminal
leaflet. The stems are slender, branched, and the flowers are
gathered into a purplish head. They have no petals, and are
of two kinds : the upper ones have a four-lobed calyx with a
narrow mouth, from which two styles with brush-like stigmas
are exserted ; the lower bear both stamens and stigmas, or
stamens only. The stamens are four in number, attached to
the mouth of the calyx, and the anthers hang out. The plant
may be found abundantly in dry pastures, especially in a chalk
district, flowering from June till August.
The Rough Burnet (P. muricatum}, found in cultivated fields in the Midlands
and South of England, is probably only a variety of sanguisorba^ owing its large
size and roughness to the richer soil it finds in the fields.
The Great Burnet (P. officinale), was formerly regarded as constituting a separate
genus, Sanguisorba, but it is very similar to the Salad Burnet. Its flowers, how-
ever, are all alike, and contain both stamens and pistils. It is much larger than
Salad Burnet, and its flower-heads more cylindric, longer, and of a darker purple
hue. The stamens, too, instead of hanging far outside the calyx, are no longer than
the lobes of that organ. The flowers produce honey, and are fertilized by insects.
The leaflets are fewer and longer in this species. Its habitat is damp meadows, and
its flowering time the same as Salad Burnet.
The name Poterium is the Latin term for a drinking-cup, in allusion to its use
indicated above.
Ill —
Salad Burnet.
Poterium sanguisorba.
— ROSACE.E. —
Ivy.
lledera helix.
— ARALIACE^E.
IVY. 112
Ivy (Hedera helix}.
How common is Ivy, whether wild or cultivated ! Yet how
few are acquainted with its flowers !
There is no occasion to say that the Ivy is an evergreen
perennial climbing shrub, nor to describe the form of the
beautiful leathery leaf. If there is one leaf that may be said to
be thoroughly well known to every British man, woman, and
child, it must be the Ivy, for it thrives in dark corners of towns
as well as on the hedge-banks of the country, and its foliage
has been so well used in all classes of ornamental work. And
yet there are few leaves that are subject to such great variation
of form, though, with all its changes, one dominant character
runs through them all, except its upper leaves, which are totally
unlike. The Holly has prickly leaves for its lower branches,
but those that are above the heads of browsing cattle have
"entire" margins. So with the Ivy ; its five-lobed leaves are
for its trailing and climbing branches, but when it has reached
the top of the wall or the tree it puts on simple lance-shaped
leaves, and in September or October crowns these shoots with
its umbels of yellow-green flowers.
The flower consists of a calyx with five triangular teeth,
petals and stamens five each, style one, with five obscure
stigmas. The flowers are succeeded by blackish berries, some
times yellow. There is a common woodland variety, with
smaller, narrower leaves, that never flowers ; neither do those
forms that persistently trail along the hedge bottom instead of
climbing. Ivy has been at various times condemned as causing
dampness in the walls it covers ; the exact converse is the
truth. It is the only British species ; the genus contains but
two for the whole world.
113 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia).
One of the most striking among the many forms of leaves
that go to make up the vegetation of the sluggish stream or the
canal is the aptly-named plant here figured.
It is a perennial, the leaves are radical, and from the base of
the plant runners are thrown out, each ultimately terminating
in a globose tuber. The leaves are typical of what botanists
describe as a " sagittate " leaf, and their long stalks are three-
edged. The stem is leafless, but bears a number of flowers in
series of threes. These flowers are of two kinds, staminate
and pistillate, and because, like those of Poteriiim, they are
borne upon the same plant, botanists describe Sagittaria as
monazcious, just as they describe the Hop as dioecious, because
its two sexes are on different plants. There are three sepals,
and three large white petals with purplish spots at their base.
The lower flowers contain carpels only, which are many in
number, and which develop into a compact head of nut-like
fruits. The stalks of these pistillate flowers are shorter than
those of the staminate flowers above them, which contain
purple anthers. It flowers from July to September, and is
frequent in England as far north as Cumberland, as an
indigenous plant ; in Scotland it has become naturalized, and
in Ireland it is of local occurrence. It is the only British
species.
The name is from the Latin sagitta, an arrow.
— 113 —
Arrowhead.
Sagittaria sagittifolia.
— ALISMACE^E. —
— 114 —
Sow-thistle.
Sonchus arvensis.
— COMPOSITE. —
THE CORN SOW-THISTLE. 114
The Corn Sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis}.
We were nearly remarking that the Sow-thistle is one of the
most beautiful of our native flowers, but remembering that we
have already applied that observation to several species, we
will alter the formula and say it is among the most handsome.
Certainly no one who sees it growing is likely to pass it by
without plucking some of the flowers, though they will be dis-
appointed in these flagging and losing their beauty before home
is reached. We have three native species, of which this is
undoubtedly the finest, the stem growing to a height of three
or four (or, as we have found it in Surrey, over five) feet. It
is a perennial, with a large creeping rootstock, which sends off
runners. The stem is hollow, milky, and clasped by the bases
of the finely cut leaves. These are deeply lobed, and edged
with sharp teeth ; the lower leaves have stalks, the upper
have not. The unopened involucre — for this again is a Com-
posite— will stoke the finder as being singularly square ; it is
covered all over — as are the stems also — with short hairs with
glandular tops of a golden yellow. The expanded flower-head
is about two inches across, and is composed entirely of ray-
florets. The plant will be found flowering in or around culti-
vated fields in August and September. The other British
species are :—
I. Marsh Sow-thistle (S. palustris), now all but extinct, and found only rarely
in the Eastern counties of England and Kent. It is taller-growing than arvensis,
the stem sometimes reaching nine feet, but the flowers are only half the size of that
species.
II, Common Sow-thistle (S. oleraceus). A common annual in every field and
waste. General character of plant very similar to arvensis, but smaller. Stem,
two to three feet in height, without (or rarely with) the glandular hairs. Flower-
heads many, not exceeding an inch in diameter. June to September.
Name supposed to be derived from the Greek, sonthos, hollow, in reference to the
fistular stems.
115 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris).
It is a singular thing that some of our most beautiful plants
grow in the most unpleasant places. We remember a back-
water of the River Thames that used to receive the waste
waters from a large soap-works, and in the evening, when this
waste was poured out, the stench arising from the ditch was
unbearable. Yet, with its feet in this vile liquid, the Meadow-
sweet grew luxuriantly, but truth compels us to add that its
sweetness was thrown away ; it could not overcome the other
smell. Black bogs and mossy swamps are the particular
haunts of floral beauties, such as the marsh violet, the bog
buckbean, the marsh marigold, the bog pimpernel, the sundew,
the bog asphodel ; and it is in such resorts we must look for the
Grass of Parnassus, a plant so pretty and elegant of form that
it must first have grown upon Mount Parnassus. At any rate,
the English name is a mere translation of that given to it by
Dioscorides, among the six or seven hundred plants mentioned
by him.
It is a perennial, with a stout rootstock. With few excep-
tions the leaves are radical ; they are heart-shaped, smooth,
with untoothed edges, and on long stalks. The flowering stems
are long, angular, with a stalkless leaf nearly half-way up. At
the summit is the solitary large flower. The fine thick sepals
are slightly conjoined at their bases, the petals white, veined and
leathery. The ovary is large, and on its summit, without the
intervention of a style, are the four rayed stigmas. Around the
ovary are five stamens — there should be ten, but five have
been transformed into scales, which alternate with the perfect
stamens, and are fringed with white hairs, each ending in a
yellow knob ; on the face nearest the ovary each scale bears
two small honey-secreting glands. The perfect stamens ripen
in succession, and as each becomes mature, it raises itself until
the anther comes on top of the stigma, but with its back to it.
— 115 —
Grass of Parnassus.
Parnassia palustris.
— SAXIFRAGE. —
— 116 —
Oat.
Avena sativa.
— GRAMINE^E. •
GRASS OF PARNASSUS. 1 16
The front opens and discharges the pollen away from the
stigma ; but it falls where insects seeking the honeyed glands
(using the ovary as a perch) will get it upon their forelegs, and
so attach it to the stigmas of the next flower they visit.
It flowers in August and September. This is the only
British species.
Oat-grass (Avena sativa).
We have three British species of Wild Oat, but a knowledge
of their structure and differences may be best obtained perhaps
by a consideration of the cultivated Oat of our fields. It is
indeed probable that the cereal oat is but a cultivated form of
our Common Wild Oat (A.fatua), for Professor Buckman suc-
ceeded years ago in obtaining as the ninth generation from
seeds of A.fatua good crops of the farmers' varieties called
White Tartarian and Potato Oats. It is known that oats shed
in harvesting often degenerate into the wild forms. As a cereal
the Oat does not appear to be nearly so ancient as wheat and
barley, for it was not cultivated by the Hebrews, the Egyptians,
Greeks or Romans.
The genus is distinguished by having its flowers in a lax-
panicle, the spikelets borne principally upon long, slender
stalks. Each spikelet contains two or more flowers, of which
the upper one is usually imperfect, and each is armed with a
long twisted and bent awn. There are two outer glumes, each
flowering glume deeply notched, the awn arising from the
bottom of the notch. The pale is two-nerved, the scales two-
toothed, the stamens three. The ovary has a hairy top and two
short styles with feathery stigmas. The fruit adheres to the
glume.
I. Wild Oat (A vena, fatua). An annual with two- or three-flowered spikelets
which droop at length. The empty glumes with nine nerves, flowering glumes
covered with stiff hairs. Brown awn much bent, the lower half twisted. Leaves
flat and roughish ; sheaths smooth. Cornfields. June to August.
II. Narrow-leaved Oat (A. pratensis). Perennial ; not to be sought in the place
I 2
117 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
indicated by pratensis, as it is a plant of the moor and dry pasture. Spikelets
half erect, six flowered. Leaves flat, or edges rolled inwards, smooth, hard and
rigid. Lower sheaths rough. Flowering glume, rough. Awn only slightly bent.
June and July.
III. Downy Oat (A. pubesccns). Perennial. Spikelets half erect, two-flowered.
Leaves flatter than A. pratensis, downy ; sheaths very downy. Awns wider apart.
Dry pastures. June and July.
The name is the old Latin term for oats and reeds.
Mountain Ash or Rowan (Pyrus aucuparia).
We have considered many members of the beautiful Rose
family already, but we have now a representative of another
branch of it — the Wild-Apple section. The fruit of the Moun-
tain Ash is really a little apple. It has no relationship with the
Ash (Fraxinus, see page 135), but the mere resemblance of its
pinnate leaves has won the name. It is a low tree, growing
from twenty to forty feet in height. It flowers in May, the
creamy white blossoms being grouped in a cyme. The leaf is
divided pinnately into six, seven, or eight pairs of leaflets and
a terminal odd one ; each leaflet toothed, the mid-rib and nerves
hairy. The calyx also is hairy. The flowers are succeeded by
a cluster of bright scarlet tiny apples, with yellow flesh and a
three-celled hard " core " or endocarp. These are ripe in Sep-
tember, and are eagerly sought after by birds — a fact of which
advantage has been taken by bird-catchers of all times and
places where the tree grows. It is used for the purpose of bait-
ing their horse-hair springes, whence it has got the name of
Fowler's Service-tree, and in the principal European countries
it bears a name of like import. Its folk-names in this country
alone make a long list : — Quicken-tree, Quick-Beam, Wiggen,
Whichen, or Witcher, Wild Ash, Wild Service, Rowan, Roan,
or Roddan, Mountain Service, and other variations. Some of
these names are reminders of its supposed protective powers
against the machinations of witches and warlocks. " Witches
have no power where there is Rowan-tree wood."
Pyrus is the old Latin name for a pear-tree.
— 117 —
Mountain Ash. Rowan-tree.
Pyrus aucuparia.
— ROSACE.E. —
— 118 —
Buckwheat.
Polygonum fagopyrum.
— POLYGONE^E. —
BUCKWHEAT. 1 1 8
Buckwheat (Polygpnum fagopyrum).
In the neighbourhood of manure-heaps and on the borders of
cultivated ground one may come across this plant, which was
formerly included in the British Flora, but is now known to be
a mere waif of cultivation. Its home is in Central Asia, but it
has been so long cultivated as a food-plant in Europe and in
the United States that it has become naturalized in most places.
In this country it is chiefly grown as a food for pheasants.
It is an annual, with a tall, slender, branched, reddish stem, and
heart-shaped, almost arrow-headed leaves with entire margins.
Flowers in panicles. The individual blossoms consist of five
pale reddish sepals, no petals, eight stamens, and three styles.
The flowers are of two forms, one with long stamens and short
styles ; the other with short stamens and long styles. The
fruit is large, three-sided, solitary in a nut, very like beech-
mast, whence its folk-name buck- or buck-wheat. It will be
noted that at the base of the leaf-stalk is a pair of thin stipules,
which sheathe the stem and mark the swollen nodes that give
the knotted appearance so characteristic of the genus, and
which has given it the name of many knees or joints (Greek
polus and gonu}. Buckwheat flowers during July and August.
It is a valuable honey-plant, esteemed of bee-masters. There
are a dozen British species ; among them : —
I. Bistort or Snake-root (P. bistorta}. Perennial, with large twisted rootstock,
Radical leaves long, egg-shaped, the upper part of the leaf-stalk winged. Stem-
leaves almost stalkless, broader near the stem. Flowers pink or white, producing
honey ; moist meadows. June to September.
II. Amphibious Buckwheat (P. amphibium). Perennial, rootstock sometimes
creeping in the ground, at others floating in the water. If the plant is floating the
leaves have long stalks ; if growing on land they are almost stalkless. Stipules
tubular, large, smooth in water, bristly on land. Stamens five, styles two. Flowers,
rosy-red. July and August ; margins of pools and in other wet places.
III. Spotted Knotweed (P. persicaria). Annual. Stem erect ; leaves long,
narrowly lance-shaped, with a black heart-shaped patch in the centre, downy
beneath ; the stipules fringed with a few long hairs. Flowers flesh-coloured ;
stamens six, styles two. July to October, in moist places.
119 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
IV. Knotgrass (P. aviculare). Annual. Stems branching from the root, very
slender and straggling, smooth. The leaves small and grassy, stipules small, white,
torn-looking, red at the base. Flowers very small in the axils, pink. Stamens
eight, styles three. Waste places and neglected gardens. May till October. The
seeds are much esteemed by birds, and to the entomologist the fresh plant is invalu-
able as an almost universal food for the caterpillars of geometers.
V. Black Bindweed (P. convolvulus). Annual, with twining stems. The leaves
are very similar to those of the true Convolvulus, the lobes more pointed ; stipules
short. Sepals green, with paler margins. Fields and wastes. July to September.
Fool's Parsley (AZthusa cynapium).
Fool's Parsley is fond of cultivated ground, and it is no un-
usual thing for it to make its appearance in the very garden
beds that have been set apart for rearing that pot-herb for which
fools are said to mistake it. It is an annual, with a spindle-
shaped, fleshy root, round, hollow stem, branched, and marked
with fine longitudinal lines. The leaves are smooth, compound,
and bluish green in tint. The wedge-shaped leaflets are them-
selves pinnate, and the pinnae are lobed. The flowers are small
and irregular, white, grouped in small umbels, which are again
gathered into large umbels of umbels.
The reader is invited to turn back to page 55, where the
structure of umbelliferous flowers and fruits is more intimately
described. The small umbels in ^Ethitsa are provided with an in-
volucre consisting of three or five little bracts, very narrow and
hanging vertically. This feature will serve to distinguish SEthusa
from all other umbellifers. The entire plant is evil- smelling,
and said to be poisonous. It flowers during July and August,
and is the only species. It gets its generic name from the
Greek aitho, to burn, from its acrid character, and its specific
name is a combination of Kynos, dog, and apion, parsley, which
is a further note of its worthless character.
— 119 —
Fool's Parsley.
yEthusa cynapium.
— UMBELUFER.E. -
120 —
Fine-leaved Heath.
Erica cinerea.
— ERIC ACE. K. -
Heather-Ling.
Galluna vul^aris.
FINE-LEAVED HEATH. I2O
Fine-leaved Heath (Erica cinerea).
This is the common Purple Heath of our elevated heaths and
commons, distinguished from its relatives by its smooth stems
and leaves ; the latter exceedingly narrow, their edges curled
under, and arranged around the stems in whorls of three leaves,
with clusters of minute leaves in their axils. The flowers also
are in whorls, and either horizontal or drooping. The sepals
are four in number, green ; the corolla in one, egg-shaped, with
four short lobes around the mouth. The stamens are eight,
bearing two-celled crested anthers, each cell opening at the
side to discharge its pollen, and having a toothed process at its
base ; the cell-openings of one anther being pressed against
those of neighbouring anthers. The style is dilated at the top,
and its surface is the stigma. Flowers July to September.
Another common species is
The Cross-leaved Heath (E, tetralix), with downy stems and leaves ; the leaves
in whorls of four, and fringed with hairs, margins rolled under as in cinerea.
Flowers pale-rosy, drooping, gathered into a dense head at the summit of the stem.
The corollas are pale, almost white, on their under-sides. The anthers like those
of cinerea, but with two longer processes from the base of each. Bees visit the
Heath plants for their plentiful honey, and in pushing their long tongues into the
flower in search of it touch their heads against the stigma, which partially blocks
the mouth of the corolla. The tongue has to press against one or more of the
anther processes, which has the effect of dislocating the series of anther-cells, and
allowing the pollen to fall through the opening upon the bee's head, which is thus
ready to fertilize the next flower it visits. This species may be found growing with
E. cinerea., but usually selects the dampest, boggy spots on the heath. Flowers
July to September.
There are two other species, E. vagans and E. ciliaris, but they are confined
almost entirely to the county of Cornwall ; the former distinguished by its bell-
shaped, not egg-shaped, corolla, and anthers and pistil hanging outside ; ciliaris
marked by its leaves being fringed with hairs, each hair tipped with a gland.
The name is from Ereikh, the ancient Greek name for heath or heather.
121 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Heather or Ling (Calluna vulgaris).
The Ling is distinguished from the Heaths by the botanist
because its bell-shaped corolla is concealed by the longer,
equally coloured calyx leaves, and below these are four bracts
which resemble a calyx. Its leaves are triangular, very minute
and densely packed, overlapping each other. Like the Heaths
its flowers are persistent, and are to be found bleached but
preserving much of their original form, nine or ten months
after they opened. The anthers are short, and contained with-
in the corolla, but the style is long, and protrudes. The tough
wiry stems attain considerable size in the highlands of Scot-
land, where they serve many useful purposes. It flowers from
July till September. C. vulgaris is the only species. The
genus gets its name from the Greek Kalluno, to beautify or
adorn, an epithet which all who have visited the moorlands in
its flowering season will admit is well-bestowed.
Mistleto (Viscum album].
Is there a person in these islands above the age of infancy
who does not know the Mistleto by sight ? Why, then, let it
occupy space here ? Because it is one of those very well-
known things that we only partially know. What percentage
of those who took advantage last Yule-tide of the mystic
sanctions of the plant, and who consequently think they know
it so well, have seen its flowers ? or know that it has flowers ?
True, those of our British Mistleto are not very striking in
point of size or showiness ; but there are tropical species with
flowers both large and brilliant.
In V. album the flowers are of two kinds, male and female,
each (with rare exceptions) being borne on separate plants, so
that cross-fertilization is imperative. They are both green, and
consist of a four-lobed perianth, the male with four anthers
Mistletoe.
Viscum album.
— LORANTHACE^E. —
Meadow Saffron.
Golchicum autumnale.
— LILIACE^E. —
MISTLETO. 122
attached to the perianth, such anthers opening by a large number
of pores. The female flower has the perianth adhering to the
ovary, to which the stigma is directly attached, there being no
style. The ovary, as all know, develops into the globose white
berry, containing the large seed with its viscid coat. These
occur usually in twos or threes. The flowers may be found
any time between March and May.
This leathery parasite is not very particular as to its host.
Quite a large number of trees of different species harbour it,
notably the apple ; next in favour are poplars, hawthorns, lime,
maple, mountain-ash, and very rarely the oak. It has been
suggested that the very fact of its extreme rarity upon oak
gave oak-grown mistleto its sacred character among the ancient
Britons.
Meadow- Saffron (Colchicum autumnale).
The Meadow-Saffron is more frequently known as the
Autumnal Crocus, but we object to the name as conveying a
wrong idea of the botanical characters of two distinct genera.
Further, there is a true autumnal crocus (Crocus nudiflorus),
though its claim to be considered British is open to doubt.
Like Crocus, Meadow-Saffron has an underground solid stem
(corm], resembling a bulb, and from this arise the flowers in
succession from August to October. These flowers are of a
pale purplish colour, and consist of a long slender tubular
perianth, enlarging at its upper part into a bell-shape, and this
portion is divided into six segments, to each of which a
stamen is attached (Crocus has but three). The ovary lies
deep within the calyx-tube, and from it arise three long thread-
like styles, which are bent over near the tip, the inner side of
which is the stigma.
The fruit develops during the winter, and by the spring is
ripe. Then when the long, flat leaves make their appearance,
the flower-stalk lengthens and brings the ripe capsule above
123 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the ground. Sometimes the flowers mistake the seasons and
put in an appearance with the leaves in spring, but they are
imperfect, and the perianth is greenish-white.
The name is from Colchis, where it is said to have grown
abundantly.
Hart's-tongue Fern (Scolopendrium vulgare).
Hitherto we have dealt only with flowering plants. In these
sexual organs are borne in more or less conspicuous blossoms,
and, as the result of fertilization of the ovules by the pollen,
seeds are produced which give rise to plants exactly like that
which bore them. Ferns produce an enormous number of
minute bodies, called spores, which are incapable of developing
directly into a plant similar to that by which they were pro-
duced ; but on germination they give rise to a minute green
scale, like a liverwort, upon the under surface of which sexual
organs appear, and by the mingling of their cell-contents a
true bud is formed, from which a true fern-plant is evolved.
There are other important points upon which ferns differ from
flowering plants, but it is not within the author's province to
deal with them here. Let it suffice to add that as a fruit-
bearing organ the leafy portion of a fern differs greatly from
the leaves of other plants. To prevent confusion it is termed
a. frond.
The Hart's-tongue has a frond of very simple character —
strap-shaped — consisting of a stout mid-rib (rachis), with a
leathery green expansion on either side, the upper end tapering
off to a point, the lower divided into two lobes. A large number
of thick red-brown parallel ridges on the under surface will
attract immediate attention. These are heaps of delicate
capsules (sporangia), which contain the spores. The Hart's-
tongue is a plant of sandy or rocky hedgerows.
— 123 —
Hart's-tongue Fern. Maidenhair Spleenwort.
Scolopendrium officinale. Asplenium Trichomanes.
— FILICES. —
— 124 —
* '
Male Fern.
Nephrodium filix-mas.
— FILIGES. —
MAIDENHAIR SPLEENWORT. I 24
Maidenhair Spleen wort (Aspknium trichomams).
A common plant locally on rocks and walls, having a slender
dark-brown polished rachis and a large number of roundish-
oblong leaflets (pinnce\ arranged pinnately on each side. The
capsules will be found in short thick lines on the under surface.
There is a similar species, the Green Spleenwort (A. mride\
with a green, softer rachis and the pinnae distinctly stalked,
shorter and paler ; growing on wet rocks in mountainous
districts.
Male Fern (NephrotKtim filix-mas).
In the Male-fern — so-called by our fathers owing to its
robust habit as compared with the tender grace of one they
called Lady-fern (Asplenium filix-fcemina) — we have an
advance in the intricacy of frond-division. Our page is not
sufficiently large to represent the whole of the frond, but the
portion we give shows that the pinnae are themselves
again divided into pinnules. This fern grows to a great size,
its rootstock very thick and wcody, its fronds erect and three
or four feet high. As a rule the rachis and its continuation
below the leafy portion (stipes) are shaggy with loose golden-
brown scales. The spore-capsules are in little round heaps in
rows along the pinnae, and each heap is covered by a thin kidney-
shaped involucre. Note in the unrolling of a young frond how
beautifully the whole is packed up. The lateral divisions of
the pinnse are rolled each on itself, then the pinnae are rolled
up from their tips toward the rachis, and finally the whole
frond is coiled up from the tip downwards. This is the
characteristic vernation of ferns, and differs greatly from the
packing of undeveloped leaves in the leaf-buds of flowering-
plants.
125 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS
The genus Nephrodium (named from nephros, the kidneys, in allusion to the
involucre) contains half-a-dozen other British species, of which the most frequent is
the Broad Buckler Fern (N. sflinnZasum), with arching fronds, broad at the base, the
stipes sparingly clothed with dark-brown scales. Pinnules toothed, the teeth ending
in long soft points. Damp woods.
Mountain fern (N. oreopteris), with habit of Male fern, but stiffer, and of a
yellow-green hue. Spore-heaps near the margins of the pinnae. High hills and
mountain pastures.
Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense).
The Horsetails are a small group of flowerless plants, quite
distinct from the ferns, though there are certain points in
which some resemblance may be traced. We have eight
British species out of twenty-five that are known to inhabit the
earth. The most widely distributed of these is the Field
Horsetail (E. ai"vense\ which farmers regard as a pest. In
common with the whole tribe it has a creeping underground
rootstock, from which more or less erect jointed stems arise.
If we break off one of these joints at its natural articulation
we shall observe that the ends are solid, and that the upper
extremity is crowned by a sheath ending in long pointed teeth,
into which the lower end of the next joint fitted. This leaf-
sheath, as it is called, is composed of a number of aborted
leaves— the only vestiges of leaves the plant possesses. Just
below the leaf-sheath a whorl of jointed branches is given off,
each constructed in a manner similar to the upright stem. If
now we cut our main joint across its middle with a sharp
knife we shall find that it is tubular, a central cavity occupying
about one-third of its diameter. Between this cavity and the
exterior wall is a series of small tubes, somewhat egg-shaped
in outline, the smaller end towards the central cavity ;
alternating with these and nearer the centre are a number of
smaller circular tubes. This section should always be made
when in doubt as to the species, for the shape and arrange-
ment of these cavities differs in each, as do the external
— 125 —
Corn Horsetail.
Equisetum arvense.
— EQUISETACE^E. —
— 126 —
A — Scarlet Gup-moss. B. - Wall-Lichen.
Cladonia cornucopioides. Physcia parietina.
— LlCHKNES. —
FIELD HORSETAIL.
126
ridges. The accompanying cuts represent half-sections
through the stems of the principal British species. In this
species there are about a dozen blunt ridges on the stem,
extending right to the points of the leaf-sheath. The branches
are four-angled, solid, and jointed and sheathed like the main
Half-Sections through Horsetail Steins.
1. Equisetum maximum. 4. E. sylvaticum.
2. ,, pratense. 5. ,, limosum.
3. ,, arvense. 6. ,, palustre.
7. E. hyemale.
stem. The cells of the cuticle secrete silica in such quantity
that the whole of the vegetable matter may be got rid of by
maceration, yet the form of the stem will remain in this trans-
parent skeleton of silica. Certain species are used for polishing
metal, under the name of Dutch Rushes.
So far we have been describing what is known as the barren
127 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
stem, because it ends in several unbranched joints, without any
fructification. Before these barren stems appeared there arose
from the rootstock a stem differing greatly in appearance,
usually without branches, and lacking the green colouring
matter (chlorophyll}. It is pale brown in colour, of stouter
build, but much shorter, for whereas the barren stem is about
two feet in length, the fertile is only a few inches, or at most
less than a foot. The leaf-sheath is longer, and the teeth
frequently adhere two or three together. The stem terminates
in a kind of cone, consisting of many whorls of flat scales,
each supported by a central stalk, on the underside of which
are arranged from six to nine capsules containing spores.
These spores are very curious : they are globular in form, and
invested with several coats, the outermost of which splits into
four narrow strips, which are highly hygroscopic, and which
remain attached to the spore at one point only. These
elaters, as they are termed, are very sensitive to changes in
the humidity of the atmosphere, as may be proved by breath-
ing upon them, however slightly, when they will be seen
(through the microscope) to be in active movement. In many
ferns the spores require months to elapse before germination
takes place ; those of Horsetails will germinate in a few hours.
Owing to its possession of chlorophyll the spore, if not placed
in a situation suitable for germination, perishes in the course of
a few days.
The name of the genus is from the Latin, equus, a horse,
and seta, a bristle. The fertile stems appear in March and
April, the barren ones at intervals later.
Lichens (Lichenes). Plate 126.
The rambler will meet with specimens of the Lichen tribes
at every turn, when he has got fairly away from the smoke of
towns. He will find them on the tree-trunks or rocks and
— 127 —
Triangular Moss.
Hypnum triquetrum.
— Musci. —
Hair-Moss.
Polytrichum formosum.
— 128 —
A. — Fly Agaric.
Amanita muscarius.
B. — Edible Boletus.
Boletus eclulis.
C. — Puff-ball. D. - Chanterelle.
Lycoperdum gemmatum. Cantharellus cibarius.
— FUNGI. —
LICHENS. 128
walls, old posts and palings, on thatch and on the ground.
Wherever they are found they may be accepted as certificates
of the purity of the air. Formerly considered as a distinct
type, they are now held by the advanced school of cryptogarnic
botanists as commensals^ or partnerships formed between a
fungus and an alga. They are usually thin crusts, consisting
of an upper and a lower epidermis, formed of closely crowded
cells, and to the lower layer rootlike filaments are attached.
Between these layers are two differing elements ; a loose
stratum of green cells (gonidid], which are said to be algce, and
below these a layer of fungoid threads. The contention of
the new school is that these algcc have been captured by a
fungus and held in bondage, being forced to elaborate starch
by means of their chlorophyll from the inorganic material
obtained by the rootlike filaments, which starch the fungus is
able to feed upon. Some of the green cells are pushed out
from time to time invested with a few wisps of fungus-threads,
and so reproduce the partnership. It is but right to add that
some good authorities on this branch of botany decline to
accept these views, and still regard lichens as independent
organisms and not partnerships.
The species are very numerous, but their identification is
not easy, and requires serious application. The two figured
are exceedingly common in some districts. Various species of
Cup-moss (Cladonid) will be met on heaths, sandy hedge-banks,
etc. They have a flat crust-like base, from which arise pale
grey tubes or cups, bearing at their tips the bright scarlet,
pinky-brown, or even black fruits. A more common form in
woods and on banks is Cladonia pyxidata, with the tube
greatly increasing in width upwards. Cladonia rangiferina is
the well-known Reindeer-moss, of inestimable value in extreme
Northern latitudes as the food of the useful animal whose
name it bears ; it may be found in abundance in this country on
heaths and hillsides covering the ground beneath the heather.
129 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The other species figured in our plate, the Wall-lichen
(Physcia parietina], is also very common, forming the familiar
orange stains upon walls and maritime rocks. A closely
allied species, the grey Parmelia saxatilis^ is common on tree-
trunks : it has been used time out of mind in the production of
a brownish-red dye for wools. Several others of the same
genus are valuable in a similar direction : our own Parmelia
perlata, which grows on tree trunks, is largely imported from
the Canaries as a dye-weed, and has been sold at as high a
rate as ,£200 per ton.
Lichens are generally of slow growth and long life. Mr.
Berkeley kept watch upon a patch of Lecidia geographica for
twenty-five years, and found little change in it all that time.
The Rev. Hugh Macmillan recounts how he found on the top
of Schiehallion a species of lichen encrusting quartz rocks,
which exhibited beneath the lichen the marks of glacial action
as distinct and unchanged by atmospheric effects as though the
glacier had only passed over them yesterday. He suggests
that the lichen may reckon its days back very nearly if not
quite to the glacial period in Britain !
There are upwards of a thousand British species, and the best
list of them will be found in " Crombie's British Museum Cata-
logue of Lichens," of which the first part was published in 1 894.
Mosses (Musci). Plate 127.
Another important tribe of flowerless plants, to which we
must be content with merely giving the general characters, for
in a volume primarily intended as a guide to wild-flowers we
must not occupy too much space with plants that do not
produce flowers. At the same time, we believe the non-
botanical among our readers will be glad to have a slight
introduction, upon the strength of which they may cultivate the
closer acquaintance of a most beautiful and interesting group
of plants.
MOSSES. 130
A. Three-cornered Hypnum (Hypnum triquetruiri) is a
common species on woodland banks, growing in branching
tufts. The stems are well clothed with leaves, which consist of
a single layer of cells ; there is therefore no necessity for the
breathing pores (stomates) found on the leaves of flowering
plants and giving access to the tissues beneath the cuticle. The
leaves of mosses are not provided with stomates ; neither are
they stalked, but attached directly to the stem by their base.
From the sides of the stem at intervals a number of brown,
hair-like threads are given off, and each of these ends in a
brown, pear-shaped nodding organ, the spore capsule. These
capsules are each closed with a lid (operculum) , beneath which
is a double row of teeth, their tips directed towards the centre
of the mouth. When the spores are ripe the operculum is cast
off, and these teeth erect themselves to allow the minute spores
to escape. The teeth (forming the peristome) of mosses are
always some multiple of four ; in Hypnum each row contains
sixteen.
B. Beautiful Hair-moss (Polytrichum formosttm) represents
another division of mosses in which the fruits are borne on the
termination of the stem or principal branches. In an earlier
condition than that figured the capsule is covered with a
conical densely-hairy cap (calyptrd] ; this is thrown off when
the spores are ripe, the operculum follows and the spores are
cast.
Mushrooms, and Toadstools (Fungi}. Plate 128.
We cannot pretend to do other than call the rambler's
attention to the interesting plants that are variously called
mushrooms or toadstools, according to whether they are of the
two or three species commonly eaten, or of the multitude
concerning which the British public knows nothing, and there-
fore dismisses them as worthless toadstools.
K
131 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
A. The Fly-Agaric (Agaricus muscarius), though in general
structure it closely resembles the common mushroom (Ag.
campestris\ is to be avoided as a poisonous species. Its large
orange or crimson cap, more or less thickly dotted with whitish
flakes, is a very striking feature in woods in late summer and
autumn. An examination of the underside of the cap (pilcus)
will reveal a great number of thin yellowish plates set on edge
and radiating from the stem to the circumference. Over these
plates or gills is stretched a membrane, called the hymenium,
on which the spores are borne. From this characteristic of the
bulk of our mushrooms and toadstools the tribe containing
them is dubbed the Hymenomycetes.
B. Edible Boletus {Boletus edulis). In this group (Polyporci]
the hymenium, instead of investing gills, lines minute pores or
tubes, with which the under surface of the pileus is packed, and
in which the spores are produced. Many of the B»leti are
Edible, but their good qualities are known only to the few in
this country. Edulis may be distinguished from other species
by a delicate network of raised white lines covering the stem.
. C. Jewelled Puff-ball (Lycoperdon gemmatum). This species
represents a tribe in which the spore-bearing surface is
contained within the fungus. In a young state Puff-balls of
many kinds are filled with a white creamy substance, and so
long as this remains white and does not change colour on
being cut the fungus is good to eat, after being cut in slices
and fried. When the spores are ripe the Puff-ball splits open
at the top, and discloses a hollow filled with brown dust — the
spores. Certain species of Lycoperdon attain very large
proportions : L. giganteum is abundant in some localities in
grassy places, usually measuring nine or ten inches in
diameter, but occasionally it exceeds twenty inches, and weighs
as many pounds. Slices may be cut from one side of it for
several days in succession, but so long as the rooting portion is
not interfered with it will continue to grow. L. gemmatum is
MUSHROOMS AND TOADSTOOLS. 132
common on downs or pastures. Readers should be cautioned
against eating these small species in a raw state, as such a
course has been known to have serious effects.
D. Chanterelle (Canthnrelhis cibcrius). This belongs to the.
same section as the Fly- Agaric, in which the spore- bearing
membrane is spread over gills ; but in Cantharellus the gills
are reduced to thick ribs that run from the edge of the pilcus
partly down the stem. The whole fungus is coloured with
orange-yellow, internally as well as the outside. It is often
abundant in woods in summer and early autumn. It is much
esteemed for its esculent qualities ; but it requires much'
cooking, and should first be thrown into hot water for a few
minutes, then dried on a cloth, and fried or stewed gently.
K 2
J33 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Small-leaved Lime (Tilia parvifolia).
Several species of Lime may be met in woods and planta-
tions, but respecting the right of each to be called indigenous
there is a good deal of difference of opinion among authorities.
Some say the present species is a native and the Large-leaved
Lime (T. platyphyllos] not; others reverse this verdict and
say that platyphyllos is certainly native, but that parmfolia is
doubtfully so. There is little difference, other than the size of
the leaves, between the two. Both are trees of sixty feet and
upwards. The leaves are alternate, heart-shaped and toothed,
lop-sided at the base, and about two and a half inches across
in parvifolia, compared with four inches in platyphyllos. In
July and August the Small-leaved Lime puts forth her yellowy-
green blossoms arranged in cymes, the long stalk of which is
furnished with a long pale-coloured bract. The flowers
consist of five sepals, five petals, a great number of stamens, a
five celled globular ovary with simple style and a five-toothed
stigma. Only one of the cells matures its two ovules, so that
the fruit is two-seeded. The flowers are sweet-scented, and
very rich in honey.
The generic name, Tilia, is that by which the Romans knew
the tree.
Tree of the Gods (Ailantus glandulosa).
This elegant shade-tree was introduced from North China in
1751, and brought its name with it — Ailanto, or Tree of the
Gods. It has, however, been better appreciated in France and
Italy than in this country. It grows to a height of fifty or
sixty feet. The leaves are compound, pinnate, a fact that
might easily be overlooked, for the whole leaf is so large —
sometimes as much as six feet in length — that its stalk and
mid-rib might well be mistaken for a branch clothed with
— 133
Small-leaved Lime.
Tilia parvifolia.
— TILIACE/E. —
134 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
opposite leaves. The leaflets are toothed, and the teeth bear
glands on the lower side, \vhence the specific name. Its
flowers, which open in August, are borne in clusters at the end
of the branches. They are small, greenish-white in colour, and
give off an evil odour. There are two forms of flowers, the
one consisting of a five-parted calyx, five petals, and ten
stamens ; the other with calyx and petals the same, but fewer
stamens and three, four, or five ovaries. The flowers are not
represented in our illustration, the drawing having been made
when the tree was in fruit. These will be seen to look like
small imitations of ash-keys. It is a rapid grower in almost any
soil, though it succeeds best in a light humid earth, and
appreciates a little shelter. Its leaves are the favourite food of
one of the large silk-producing moths (Attacus cynthia), but
most other insects disapprove of it.
Maples (Acer).
Our English Maple is the Common or Small-leaved or
Field Maple (Acer campestre) that grows wild in hedge-
rows and thickets in England and Wales, but is only
naturalized in Scotland. It is a small spreading tree, scarcely
exceeding twenty feet in height, with leaves five-lobed, the
lobes again lobed or toothed. The flowers are small, green, in
corymbs, with narrow sepals and narrower petals, succeeded by
two-winged two-seeded fruits called samaras j the wings being
horizontal. Flowers May and June.
The Great Maple or Sycamore (A. pseudo-plat anus] is a tree
commonly grown in the streets, squares, and parks of London
and other great cities on account of its smoke-enduring
qualities. It has been so long established here that it is
generally but erroneously regarded as a native. It is a tree
of very rapid growth, and attains a height of about eighty
feet ; living upwards of two hundred years. Leaves large,
— 134 —
Tree of the Gods.
Ailantus glandulosa.
— XANTHOXYLACE^:.
135 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
five-lobed, unequally toothed. Flowers, greenish-yellow, May
and June. Samaras large, wings diverging. Native of Mid-
Europe and Western Asia.
The False Sycamore or Norway Maple (A . platanoides) is
the species shown in our figure. It is a native of Europe,
introduced to England in 1683. It is a considerable-sized tree,
attaining a height of about sixty feet. Its leaves are heart-
shaped in outline, five-lobed, sharply pointed, with a few large
sharp teeth. The flowers appear in April and May ; bright
yellow. The samaras are brown, the wings widely diverging.
Acer is the old Roman name for the Maple.
The False Acacia (Robina pseudacacid).
The False Acacia, Common Acacia, Robinia, or Locust-tree,
as it is variously styled, is a native of mountain forests in North
America, attaining its greatest perfection in Kentucky and
Tennessee, where it attains the height of ninety feet and a
diameter of four feet. It has been grown in this country for
two hundred and fifty years, it being one of the earliest trees
introduced from the New World, its graceful habit and light
pinnate leaves commending it as an ornamental tree for the
plantation. In the United States it is in great repute as an
ornament, a shade or a timber-tree ; it grows with great
rapidity, and its timber is of great durability, so that our
cousins use it largely for ship-building, railway sleepers, and
fences. When William Cobbett visited the States he was
greatly struck with the useful nature of this tree, and on his
return to England spared no pains to make its virtues known
to his countrymen, even starting a nursery for the purpose of
supplying the young trees, and creating quite a rage for Locust-
planting for several years.
The leaves are long, compound, the leaflets being arranged
in a pinnate manner, with an odd leaflet. The stipules are in
the form of prickles at the base of the leaf-stalk. It is a
— 135 —
False Sycamore.
Acer platanoides.
— SAPINDACE/E.—
136 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Leguminous plant, and its flowers greatly resemble those of the
pea. They are white, sweet-scented, and gathered into a long,
pendulous raceme, like that of the laburnum : May and June.
The tree is sensitive, and on a branch being touched the
leaves will all incline towards the branch, whilst each leaflet
advances half-way towards its opposite fellow. The same
movements occur at sunset, the leaflets then remaining folded
face to face until dawn. The fruit (shown in figure) is that form
of pod called a lomentum, in which the valves are constricted
between the seeds.
The genus is named in honour of Jean Robin, a French
botanist, whose son cultivated the first specimens of K.
pseudacacia in Europe.
The Ash (Fraxinus excelsior).
One of the most pleasing in growth of our forest trees is the
Ash, its grey trunk rising to eighty or a hundred feet, and its
sweeping branches, the lower ones bending upwards at the
tips, clothed with the gracefully curving long pinnate leaves.
The character of these compound leaves and their leaflets is
well shown in our illustration, together with two clusters of the
winged fruits.
The Ash is a native of Britain, although most of the
specimens we meet in woods and plantations have been reared
in a nursery and planted out. There are many cultivated
varieties of F. excelsior; and a large number of species have
been introduced during the present and last centuries, chiefly
from S. Europe and N. America. Ash and Privet are the only
native representatives of the order Oleacese, to which the Olive
belongs. It cannot be said that Fraximis excelsior is a
typical representative of the order, since most species included
in it bear flowers composed of all the floral organs, whereas
excelsior has neither calyx nor corolla. Its flowers appear in
- i36 -
False Acacia
Robinia pseudacacia.
— LEGUMINOSJE. -
137 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
April or May, and are of three kinds : — staminate, consisting
of two dark purple stamens only ; pistillate, consisting of an
oblong ovary with short style and cleft stigma ; hermaphrodite,
consisting of ovary and two anthers with very short filaments.
These flowers are individually small and inconspicuous, but
associated as they are in dense panicles from the new wood
formed in the previous season, and appearing before the black
leaf-buds have burst ; they are collectively very conspicuous.
The leaves are very late in making their appearance, as they
are among the first to fall after the early frosts of autumn.
The " keys," as the fruits are called, each contain two seeds,
and the wing has a twist which causes the key to spin rapidly
when the breeze separates it from the bunch and carries it far
from the parent tree.
The Black Mulberry (Morus nigrd).
It may surprise some of our readers to learn that the Mul-
berry-tree is not a native, though it is a familiar object in old
gardens and parks. It is generally stated that the first
Mulberry-trees were introduced in 1 548 and planted at Syon
House, Isleworth (then the Convent of St. Bridget of Zion), but
the Duke of Northumberland is credited with saying early in the
present century that he could then trace them back quite three
hundred years. Several of this batch are still living, and one —
probably the finest eld Mulberry in England — is a hale and
vigorous ornament to Mr. George Manville Fenn's lawn at
Syon Lodge. Mr. Leo Grindon is of opinion that the tree
was originally introduced by the Romans, for he,finds that the
Saxons had a name for it, which would probably not have
been the case had it not been growing in their midst.
In this country the Black Mulberry does not reach a greater
height than about thirty feet, its branches spreading out near
the ground and attaining considerable thickness. The leaves
Ash.
Fraxinus excelsior.
— OLEACE^E. —
138 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
are large and rough, heart-shaped, and very plentiful, so that
the tree affords good shade. The flowers are small and in-
conspicuous, of a greenish-white colour, the sexes separate,
though sometimes on the same tree. The male or staminate
flowers consist of a four-leaved perianth, enclosing four stamens,
a large number of the blossoms being combined in a catkin-
like spike, depending from the axils of the leaves. The female
spike is shorter, and the individual flower consists of a four-
parted perianth, enclosing the ovary and its two branched
stigma. After fertilization the perianth becomes plump and
succulent, and all on the one spike become so pressed together
by their great increase in size that they form a multiple fruit,
having a slight resemblance to the fruit of the Bramble (the
produce of one flower), but really differing from it greatly.
Mulberries are ripe in August or September.
The leaves do not unfold from the bud until the cold weather
is well over, usually in May. It is said that its Latin name
Morus is derived from mora, delay, in consequence of this
caution on the part of the tree. The leaves generally used in
the silk-culture for feeding the " worms " are those of the
White Mulberry (Morns alba).
The Small-leaved Elm (Ulmus campestris\
The Elm is one of our commonest trees, yet a great amount
of uncertainty appears to prevail in the popular mind in identi-
fying the Common or Small-leaved from our second British
species, the variously-named Scotch Elm, Wych Elm, Witch
Hazel, or Mountain Elm (Ulmus won f ana). There is some-
thing more than a suspicion that campestris is not strictly in-
digenous, but it settled in the country so many hundreds of
years ago (brought hither, some say, by returning Crusaders)
that it would appear ungenerous at this date to question its
claims to be called British, especially as it is more widely
- 138-
Black Mulberry.
Morus nigra.
- ARCTOCARPE^.
139 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
diffused than montana. The Elms are both tall trees, but cam-
pestris usually attains a slightly greater height than montana,
though the latter has a much stouter trunk. Their flowers
appear before the leaves, and, although they are individually
minute and inconspicuous, they are united in bundles, and the
colour of the perianth and stamens renders them conspicuous.
The perianth is bell-shaped, cleft into five or more lobes,
reddish ; the purple anthers are equal in number with the
divisions of the perianth, to which their filaments are attached.
The two styles are awl-shaped, their inner surfaces stigmatic.
The flower-cluster is succeeded by a bunch of one-seeded
samaras, winged all round. In montana the seed is placed in
the centre of the samaras ; in campestris it is distinctly above
the centre. The leaves of montana are as large again as those of
campestris, broader at the base, more inclined to be unequally
heart-shaped. There are, however, many varieties of each,
which make the identification of the species often very difficult.
The flowers appear in March and April, those of campestris
a little earlier than the others. The name is the Latin word for
the tree but probably derived from the Hebrew »/, to be
strong or vigorous.
The Beech (Fagus sylvatica).
A Beech-tree growing on a chalky hill is one of the most
beautiful of forest trees. It is, moreover, a tree that has left its
marks upon our topography and literature, for many place-
names (such as Buckingham, Buckland, Bookham) record the
fact that in early times Beeches grew plentifully in the neighbour-
hood, and book is a survival of the period when the Runic
poems were written upon slabs of Buk.
Without being at all glossy, like portions of the Birch and
Cherry, the bark of the Beech is smooth, and remarkably even
If allowed to grow naturally, without the pollarding which has
— 139 —
Common Elm,
U Imus cam pestris.
— URTICACE^E. —
140 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
produced such picturesque monsters as those at Burnham, the
Beech-trunk grows clean and straight to a great height, sending
off slender, more or less downward-bending, branches with shiny
red skins. The twigs bear long, slender, fine-pointed brown
buds that are closely mimicked by the snail Clausilia laminata,
that loves to haunt the mossy angles between its large spread-
ing roots, and to climb at even up its trunk, which from its
smoothness and grey colour is far more suggestive of the gothic
column than is the ruddy pine-stern. In spring these buds ex-
pand and drop off as the rising sap swells the rolled-up leaves
within, which emerge bright silky things, plaited, and edged
with the most delicate fringe of gossamer, that gleams in the
April sunshine. Then the Beech is indeed a thing of beauty,
fair and majestic. The Birch has well been styled by Coleridge
" The Lady of the Woods," but the Beech is surely entitled to
take higher rank as the Queen of the Forest, especially in the
spring, when covered with this bright and tender foliage, amidst
which the flowers are lost.
As summer comes the silken fringe of the leaves is cast off
as they become firmer in texture, thicker, and more opaque of
tint; yet smooth, and with a character peculiarly their own.
With the advent of autumn the leaves become crisp, and turn to
red-gold, or crimson, or warm ruddy brown. Then, when the
afternoon sunbeams fall upon the Beech-wood, it seems all on
fire, and the autumnal glories of every other tree are eclipsed.
In April or May the Beech flowers. The blossoms are of
two kinds, male and female, produced on stalks from the axils.
The male flowers are combined in threes or fours within an in-
volucre, forming a silky tassel as it hangs downwards with its
yellow anthers waving. The individual flower has a bell-
shaped, five or six-lobed perianth, with a varying number of
stamens. Nearer the growing end of the twig rise the female
flowers on shorter stalks. They are usually two or four to-
gether, in a silky-haired, four-parted involucre, known as a
— 140 —
Beech.
Fagus sylvatica.
• CUPULIFER^E. —
L 2
141 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOOSOMS.
cupule. Individually these female flowers possess a perianth
whose mouth is minutely toothed, within which is a three-sided,
three-celled ovary surmounted by three slender spreading
styles and stigmas. As the three-cornered fruits grow and
ripen the cupule becomes hard and its outer scales spiny ; the
four valves part and turn back to disclose and set free the
smooth brown nuts or " mast," beloved of swine. In France
an oil is expressed from the mast, and the latter is also used as
a food for poultry, like its namesake, the Buckwheat (see page
1 1 8). It is from these edible qualities that the genus gets its
name, derived from the Greek, phago — to eat.
There are many varieties of the Common Beech to be met
in plantations, such as the Copper Beech, the Purple Beech, the
Variegated Beech, the Cut-leaved Beech, the Crested Beech,
the Weeping Beech, the White Beech, etc.
Sweet Chestnut (Castanea vulgaris).
On light sandy soils, where little else but fir and heath will
grow, one may meet with considerable plantations of the Sweet
or Spanish Chestnut. For centuries, and until quite recently,
it was considered to be a native ; but it is never found here
forming natural forests, and only in the South in favourable
situations does it ripen its fruit — usually small. Great plausi-
bility was given to the supposition that Castanea was a native
by the oft-repeated statement that its timber was to be seen in
the roof of Westminster Abbey and in other old buildings.
An examination of this timber years ago by Dr. Lindley— the
eminent botanist — proved it to be oak, which it closely re-
sembles. Again it was claimed as British on account of the
great antiquity of certain living trees, such as " the great
Chestnut of Tortworth," a name it bore in the reign of Stephen,
when it must have been an ancient tree. It is now generally
understood that the Chestnut was brought hither by the
Flowers and Fruit of Beech.
a. Male flowers.
b. Female flowers in cupule.
c. Ovary and stigmas removed from cupule.
d. Section of ovary, showing the three cells.
e. Ripe cupule open, showing nuts.
142 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
Romans, and that it got a more permanent footing on our land
than its importers. It is grown chiefly for the sake of its young
wood as hop-poles, fence-posts, and hoops. Unlike the oak, its
timber deteriorates with age.
It is distinctly an acquisition to our woods and plantations,
its long, toothed, shining leaves being fine both in shape and
colour. Its male flowers are produced in long, yellow catkins,
consisting of a great number of six-parted perianths ; from these
depend from ten to fifteen stamens, which discharge great quan-
tities of pollen. The female flowers are borne in threes within
an involucre (cupule), and each has its perianth adhering to the
ovary ; there are from five to eight cells in the ovary, and a
similar number of stigmas, but, as a rule, only one cell matures
one of its two ovules.
The name is said to be derived from Castanum, the name of
a town in Thessaly whence the Romans first obtained the fruit.
The Oak (Quercus robur}.
First and foremost in any list of British trees should come
the Oak, in utter disregard of all botanical classification, for not
only was our supremacy of the sea and our existence as a nation
gained by aid of our oaken walls, but a grand old Oak is finely
typical of British solidity, strength and endurance. Fifteen
years may be regarded as the average age at which the oak
first produces its fruit, the acorn, and it continues to ripen its
annual crop for centuries. Dryden has certainly not exag-
gerated in his lines that tell how —
" The monarch oak, the patriarch of trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees ;
Three centuries he grows, and three he stays,
Supreme in state, and in three more decays."
According to the records and traditions relating to many hollow
ruins of enormous girth still living at their circumference though
long since dead at heart, Dryden's nine-century tree is only
— 142 —
Sweet Chestnut.
Castanea vulgaris.
— CUPULIFER^:.
143 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
middle-aged. Well-nigh every district in this country, not too
high above sea-level, can show its monster Oak ; but it: is
where the soil is close and heavy that it is seen at its best.
There is no doubt about the Oak being a true native. Some
of our Oak-forests are older than history : such was the forest
of the Weald — Anderides-leag — in which the aboriginal Britons
so long withstood the attempts of Romans and English to
conquer them, and which at a much later date supplied alike
much iron from its quarries and the oak charcoal wherewith to
smelt it ; and of which to-day the pedestrian-tourist from
London to the South Coast will cross many considerable
fragments. How widely it was grown is evident from the vast
number of place-names of which it forms part, such as Okham,
Ockshott, Ockley, Acton, Acworth, Acrington, Okehampton,
Oxted, etc.
Our British Oak is Qitercus rofair, of which there are
several varieties to which some authorities give specific rank,
but their characters are too inconstant to be so regarded-
However, as they are frequently called by their distinctive
names, it were well to mention them and their chief
differences.
White Oak (Q, robnr, var. fiedimculata) has the leaves slightly stalked or stalk-
less, and the acorns with long, slender stalks.
Red Oak (Q. robur, var. sessili flora) has the leaves borne on long yellow stalks,
and the acorns supported on very short stalks, or quite stalkless (sessile).
Durmast (Q. robur, var. intermedia), with acorns and leaves on short stalks, and
the underside of the leaves downy. Spiders are said to object to the wood of this
tree, and will not spin their webs where it has been used for building jiurposes.
The flowers of the Oak are of two distinct sexes. Those
bearing stamens are grouped on a long, slender and pendulous
catkin ; each consisting of a four- to seven-lobed calyx, within
which are ten stamens. The females are solitary and erect,
consisting of a cupule, within which is a three- to eight-lobed
calyx, a three-celled ovary with three styles. The cupule
becomes the familiar " cup " of the acorn, which again is the
143 —
White Oak.
Quercus robur, var. pedunculata.
— CUPULIFER/E. —
144 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
enlarged ovary, two cells of which have aborted. Flowers
April and May.
The Oak forms the world of a great number of insects, many
of which are either parasites (gall-flies which produce Oak-
apples, bullet-galls, spangles, and other forms of gall) or their
lodgers. Several fungi, too, specially select old Oaks upon
which to live freely. Chief among these is the remarkable
Beef-steak fungus (Fistulina hepaticd), of which in October
a hundred-weight might be quickly gathered in an oakwood.
Hazel (Corylus avellana).
The Hazel is one of the most look-ahead kind of trees, for
almost before this year's nuts have all dropped off, or been
picked off, she puts out the tiny, cylindric grey bodies that
continue to lengthen all the winter and by February have
become loose and open. Then it can be seen that these
catkins consist of male flowers, for the yellow stamens are
evident, and soon every breeze shakes out a little cloud of
yellow pollen. Looked at analytically, the catkin is seen to be
made up of a large number of scaly bracts, of which one large
and two small go to a flower, and these are so arranged as to
form a pent-house roof over the eight stamens. The female
flowers are altogether different. They each consist of a two-
celled ovary, with two slender, crimson styles, and enclosed in
a kind of calyx, three-parted. Two of these flowers are then
associated in a bud-like involucre, situated at the end of a twig.
In spring, before the leaves appear, these open and the crimson
stigmas are put forth to catch a little of the flying pollen. By
September one cell of the ovary has developed into a hard
shell containing one large seed (kernel) and clasped by a large
raggedly-cut hood — the developed involucre.
When the tips of the nutshells become brown-tinged, then
appear boys, squirrels, dormice and nuthatches, and by their
— 144 —
Hazel.
Corylus avellana.
— CUPULIFEIUE. —
145 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS
combined industry the tree or bush is soon despoiled of its
load.
All the many varieties of Filberts, Kentish-Cobs, Spanish-
nuts, and Barcelona-nuts are but varieties of Corylus avellana.
The name is from the Greek, Korus, a helmet, from the form
of the involucre.
The Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).
It is in our experience that though many townsmen think they
know the Beech there are comparatively few of them that
cannot be deceived into accepting the Hornbeam as Fagus
sylvatica. It must be admitted that there is a strong super-
ficial resemblance to a small Beech ; but on closer examination
it will be found that the differences are greater than the
likeness. The Hornbeam has a light-grey smooth bark, but
instead of the very round trunk of the Beech, that of the
Hornbeam appears to have been laterally squeezed, for the
diameter taken one way is longer or shorter than if taken at
right angles to the first measurement. Then again the leaf of
Carpinus if placed upon that of Fagus will be found to ba
much less rotund in proportion to its length ; the surface is
rough, and instead of the cleanly cut margins of Fagus we
have a coarse double-toothing.
The Hornbeam when full-grown is a much smaller tree than
the Beech, rarely exceeding seventy feet in height, with a trunk
circumference of ten feet ; whereas the Beech reaches a height
of considerably over a hundred feet, with a girth of nearly
thirty feet. When naturally grown, too, it is by no means so
picturesque as the Beech, but in places where it is most
plentiful, as in Essex, especially Epping Forest, it is generally
pollarded, and seldom allowed to exhibit its true form.
The male flowers form a pendulous catkin, originating in the
axils, and each consisting of an egg-shaped bract, holding
— 145 —
Hornbeam.
Carpinus betulus.
- CUPULIFER^.
146 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
about a dozen stamens at its base. The female flowers form
an erect flower-head, shaped like an artichoke at the end of a
twig, the three-lobed bracts each containing two flowers. After
fertilization these lobes enlarge considerably, and the flower-
head lengthens into the pendulous string of fruits shown in our
illustration. The flowers appear in May.
The Osier (Salix viminalis).
The Willow family, to which the Osier belongs, is, like the
Brambles, a difficult group even for the botanist, and he is a
bold man or a very clever one who undertakes to identify
specimens off-hand. They have suffered much at the hands
of the " splitter." Hooker gives the number of British species
as eighteen, with a considerable number of varieties ; but by
Babington many of these varieties are given specific rank,
and his list of species runs to fifty-eight. It would, of course,
be absurd for us to attempt in this restricted space to give a
key even to Hooker's list ; but our details of the flower struc-
ture, etc., will be found to apply in the main to all willows, and
for a knowledge of the other species our readers must refer to
Hooker. It should be added that, to increase the difficulties of
the botanist, the plants that bear male flowers as a rule differ
considerably from those that produce female flowers ; for with
scarcely an exception each plant is of one sex only.
The Osier (S. viminalis) is one of our most common species,
and is the one most generally used for basket-weaving. It is
a large shrub or low bushy tree, growing in wet places beside
rivers and pools, or more frequently in Osier-beds. When
allowed to grow uncut it attains a height of twenty or thirty
feet ; its long, smooth, and straight branches well furnished
with very narrow leaves, tapering to a fine point, and sometimes
nearly a foot in length. The margins of the leaf are quite free
from teeth or lobes, and are curled -back on the shining white
silky underside. Both male and female flowers form catkins :
— 146 —
Osier.
Salix viminalis.
- SALICINE/E.
147 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the males each consisting of a hairy scale, to which are attached
two stamens ; the females of a similar scale bearing the ovary.
The catkins appear before the leaves, in March or April.
Salix is the old Latin name for Willows and Osiers.
The Lombardy Poplar (Poptdus fastigiatd).
It is an easy step from the Willows to the Poplars, for the
Genus Salix and the Genus Populus together form the Order
Salicineae. We have only two indigenous species in Britain — •
the White Poplar or Abele (P. alba), and the Aspen (P.
tremuld). In spite of the fact that it was not introduced until
1758 it may safely be said that the Lombardy Poplar is now a
better known tree than either of our native species. It is the
tree that is so frequently planted as a live screen, to break the
force of the wind or to hide some undesirable prospect. Its
growth is most rapid, and the story is told of a man who
planted this tree in his garden at Great Tew, in Oxfordshire, and
was living fifty years after, by which time his tree had beaten
him considerably in the matter of growth, being then a hundred
and twenty-five feet high ! But like most other trees of rapid
growth it attains no great age — for a tree, that is — and it is
doubtful if it exceeds a century of life. The whole of its
branches and shoots take an upward direction, which gives
the tree the fastigiate or sharp-pointed outline which has
suggested its specific name.
In our native Poplars the shoots are downy ; \T\fastigiata they
are smooth. The leaves are borne on long compressed stalks,
which give them the ever-tremulous movement so well known
in connection with the Aspen. As in the Willows, the sexes
are on separate trees, and the flowers all in catkins. There is
no perianth, a single bract-like scale serving instead, though
there is a cup-shaped organ, within which is found, in one plant,
a one-celled ovary, and in the other sex from twelve to twenty
— 147 —
Lombardy Poplar.
Populus fastigiata.
— SALICINE^E. —
M
148 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
stamens with red anthers are attached to the under-side of the
cup.
The name of the genus Popiilus is the old Latin for Poplar
and Aspen.
The Oriental Plane (Platanus orientalis).
One need not go far into the country in order to see the
Plane. Its virtue as a smoke-proof tree has now been well
tested by the governing authorities in large towns, and it is
freely planted in recreation grounds and by the sides of broad
thoroughfares. In London it must now be about the
commonest tree ; and some of the specimens grown in the
west-end squares are very fine. Several of the London Planes
have become quite "lions," to be seen by all visitors who
" do " the Metropolis ; such is the individual that overtops the
old-fashioned houses at the corner of Wood Street, Cheapside.
More celebrated, perhaps, is the Stationers' Hall Court tree,
which, though only about sixty-five years old, is so important
a feature of that corner of the City that, on the rumour that it
was to be cut down a few years since to allow of certain
improvements in the court, the denizens of Paternoster Row
and the precincts were up in arms, and evinced such indigna-
tion that the building plans of the Stationers' Company were
modified, and the tree spared to delight the sparrows of the
vicinity, and to bring thoughts of the country into the hearts
of the publishing and bookselling fraternity who daily pour
through the court.
In spite of its apparent enjoyment of London smoke and
fog the plane-tree is not even a Britisher. Its introduction to
England has been credited to Francis Bacon, but Loudon
declares it was in our gardens prior to 1548 — thirteen years
before the birth of the Lord Keeper.
The leaves of the Plane are very similar to those of the
Sycamore and False-Sycamore (see page 134), but one feature
— 148 —
Oriental Plane.
Platanus orientalis.
- PLATANACE.E. —
M 2
149 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
will serve to identify it at any season — the pale yellow patches
on the trunk of the Plane caused by its constant shedding of
flakes of bark. In the autumn, too, there is a striking contrast
between the winged samaras of Acer and the ball-fruits of
Platanus. Acer, again, has the leaves opposite, whilst in
PI at anus they are alternate.
The Planes are lofty trees (sixty to eighty feet), with thick
cylindrical trunks, wide-spreading branches and abundant
foliage. The leaves are five-lobed, with a few coarse teeth, and
smooth • surface. The flowers of both sexes are in globular
clusters and borne on the same tree, but on separate branches.
The male flowers have a perianth of four narrow leaves
alternating with the stamens. The female flowers consist of a
one-seeded ovary with a curved style, one side of which is
stigmatic. Flowers April and May.
P. occidentalism the Western Plane, is very similar, but its
leaves have red stalks, and are less deeply lobed and toothed ;
its bark scales less.
Platanus is the old Greek name for the Plane-tree, and is
probably derived from Ptatos, breadth, in allusion to the broad
leaves or the ample shade afforded by its branches.
The Birch (Betula alba).
The most graceful of our native trees is the White or Silver
Birch. It is the very antipodes among trees of the solid
unbending oak. The slim stem, scarcely ever a foot in
diameter, tapers away almost to nothing at a height of fifty or
sixty feet. This is at full maturity at forty or fifty years ; there-
after it makes little progress, and it is believed not to reach
far beyond its hundredth year. It has the singular reputation for
producing a bark that is more enduring than its timber. In spite
of its effeminate grace it is a most hardy tree, and stands alone
on the bleakest hillsides, and is the only tree that endures the
— 149 —
Birch.
Betula alba.
CUPULIFER/E.
150 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
rigorous climate of Greenland, though there, of course, it is
greatly diminished in stature.
The leaf varies slightly in outline from oval with a point to
a rhombic form, with a long slender stalk, and the edges are
doubly toothed. The silvery-white bark is continually dis-
carding its outermost layer, which peels off in ragged, tissue-
paper-like strips, revealing the newer, whiter bark beneath.
In this country it is used in tanning, but in the far Northern
parts of Europe it is put to a variety of uses. The inflores-
cence is a catkin, the sexes separate, but borne by the same
tree. The flowers of the pendulous male catkin consist each
of a single sepal with two stamens, the filaments of which are
forked, each branch bearing one anther cell, so that each
stamen looks like two. The female spike, which is more erect,
and shorter, is composed of three-lobed bracts, each containing
two or three flowers. These are simply two-celled ovaries, with
two styles and stigmas. The fruit is round, flattened, with
a notched broad wing. It flowers in April and May.
There is one other Native species, the Dwarf Birch (B. uana}, a bush of no
more han three feet in height, which occurs locally in the mountain districts of
Scotland and Northumberland. The leaves are very small, round with rounded
teeth ; smooth, dark green, and with a short stalk. The seeds have very narrow
wings. Flowers in May.
The name Betnla is the old Latin designation for this tree.
The Alder (Alnus glutinosd).
The Alder, of which we have but one species, is own cousin
to the Birch, but we must not seek it in similar situations. The
Birch loves the breezy hillside, the Alder prefers the swampy
valley, the pond and river-side, its tastes being more thoroughly
aquatic even than those of the Willows. Its bark has some re-
semblance to that of the Birch, especially when young, but in
later life is more rugged, and very dark. The leaves are nearly
round, doubly toothed, and with short stalks. When young
they are sticky, as are the young shoots. The male catkins are
— 150 —
Alder.
Alnus glutinosa.
- CUPULIFER^:.
151 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
long, produced, like those of the Hazel, late in autumn ; the
round red scales each holding three flowers, consisting of three,
four or five sepals, and as many stamens. The female spikes
are not produced till spring : they are more globular, and re-
semble minute cedar cones. The scales are reddish-brown and
fleshy, afterwards becoming hard and woody ; there are two or
three flowers in each, consisting of two sepals, an ovary and
two styles. When ripe (October) the thick scales separate and
set free the pale-brown nuts, which are very slightly winged.
In suitable situations the Aider attains a stature of forty to
sixty feet, and reaches maturity in about sixty years. The
wood is soft and white, but turns orange by exposure after cut-
ting. Under water it is very enduring, all but imperishable,
and the Rialto at Venice is said to be built on Alder-piles. It
is greatly used in the manufacture of gunpowder.
A I mis is the old Latin name for the tree, and for a boat.
Scotch-fir or Pine (Pinus sylvestris].
This, the Juniper, and the Yew are the only coniferous trees
we have in Britain. Pinus sylvestris is therefore our only Pine,
yet people persist in calling it a Fir, a name more especially
belonging to the genus Abies. Time was when this beautiful
tree grew wild in many parts of Britain ; it is now found
nnturally in but a few places, from Yorkshire northwards ;
otherwhere it has been planted. We may easily tell whether a
cone-bearing tree before, us is a Pine or not by examining the
leaf-cluster. If the leaves are in twos, threes, or fives, bound
together at the base by thin, chaffy scales, it is a Pine. Should
they be in twos, the leaves will be found to be half- rounded ; if
in threes or fives, they will be triangular in section. The coties,
or fruits, of the Pines take two years to ripen. The scales of
which the cones are made up are thicker at the free end, so that
the outer surface of each scale is pyramidal.
Scotch Pine.
Pinus sylvestris.
- CONIFERS. —
152 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
The Scotch-pine, as with the reader's permission we will call
it, differs much according to the situation in which it is grow-
ing. In a favourable locality its trunk will grow to an altitude
of one hundred feet, with a girth of twelve feet, whereas in very
lofty, exposed situations it is a stunted shrub. Its bark is rugged,
and of a ruddy-brown colour. Its needle-shaped leaves are in
twos, and last for three years, after which they fall. The flowers
are of two kinds. The males consist of many two-celled anthers
spirally arranged on a spike, and the spikes are clustered round
the new shoots. The female flowers consist each of a green
scale, thickened and sticky at the apex and bearing on the inner
side of its base two naked ovules. These scales are also asso-
ciated in a spiral manner round a spike, the whole having a
conical form. The male flowers produce an enormous quantity
of pollen, which the wind blows in great sulphur-like clouds.
Some of the pollen-grains stick to the edges of the scales on
the young cones, and the pollen-shoots find their way down to
the ovules and fertilize them. In the ripe cone we find, on the
scales separating, there are two winged seeds under each scale
The timber of P. sylvestris is very valuable, and large quantities
of it are annually imported from Norway and the shores of the
Baltic ; there are numerous varieties of it, known commercially
as Red pine, Norway pine, Riga pine, Baltic pine, etc. The
tree begins to bear cones between the age of fifteen and twenty
years.
It is characteristic of Pines that the branches die off early,
and this gives old trees the peculiar appearance of a tall, gaunt,
red mast, with a somewhat flat, spreading head.
The Cluster Pine or Pinaster (P. pinaster}.
This is not a native of Britain, though it has been grown
here for about three hundred years. Its home is in the coun-
tries bordering the Mediterranean, chiefly in low ground near
- 152 —
Pinaster.
Pinus pinaster.
— CONIFERS, —
153 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the sea. It is a large tree growing to a height of sixty or
seventy feet, but its timber is so soft that it has little value for
the builder, though the carpenter finds many uses for it, and
much of it is used in the preparation of resin, turpentine and
tar. The tree may be readily identified by its long, dark leaves
(in twos), forming large, brush-like clusters. These leaves vary
from six to twelve inches in length. The cones are as large again
as those of the Scotch-pine, and each scale bears in the centre of
the raised portion a hard, sharp point of a grey colour. This
is the tree which has proved of such great service in France in
turning to use considerable areas of barren sea-sands. In the
Departments of the Landes and Gironde troublesome rolling
sands have been rendered fit for agriculture by making planta-
tions of P. pinaster, which can thrive in such poor stuff, even so
near the sea.
The Silver-fir (Abies fectlnata\
Here we have a true fir, which will be seen on examination to
differ in several points from the pines. It will at once be noted
that the leaves are not gathered into bundles of two, three, or
five, but grow solitarily in two rows, on opposite sides of a
branch. They are flat, with blunt ends, whitish or silvery under-
neath, and evergreen. The cones, too, are very different from
those of the pines, for whereas those were found to be conical,
these are really cylindrical, and consist of a number of woody
cones of pretty equal thickness throughout, not thickened at the
tips as in Pimis. The firs are excellent timber trees, and are
rich in turpentine.
The Silver-fir gets its popular name from the silvery under-
sides of its leaves. The cones stand erectly from the branches ;
at first they are green, then reddish, finally purplish-brown.
They are six or eight inches in length. Each scale has a long,
tapering bract attached to its outer surface, and turned over at
Silver Fir.
Abies pectinata.
— CONIFERS. —
154 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
the tip. It is a lofty tree, growing to eighty or a hundred feet,
sometimes more. It is a native of Central Europe, Northern
and Western Asia, but has been grown in England for nearly
three hundred years. Its timber is reputed to be durable under
water ; and from its bark is obtained a resin called Strasburg
turpentine, also white pitch. The flowers appear in May, and
the cones are ripe eighteen months later. The tree often begins
to produce cones at about twenty years of age, but until about
its fortieth year these are barren.
The name Abies is Latin, signifying a fir-tree or a plank. A
shipwright or carpenter was abietarius.
The Norway Spruce -fir (Abies excelsd).
The Spruce-fir is a handsome tree, often reaching from one
hundred to one hundred and fifty feet in height. The leaves
are curiously square, sharp-pointed and scattered in their
arrangement on the branch. The cylindrical cones hang down
from the tip of a shoot, and are six or seven inches long, their
scales with a few teeth at the apex. Its seeds are very small.
The flowers appear in May, and the cones ripen in about
twelve months. It is a native of Norway, Russia, and Northern
Europe generally, and was introduced to Britain nearly three
hundred and fifty years ago ; but previous to the glacial period
it appears to have been indigenous and prosperous here. Its
timber (white deal) is very largely used for many purposes.
Its resin is known as frankincense, from which is prepared
Burgundy pitch ; and from the boiled leaf-buds and shoots is
obtained essence of spruce, which is used to flavour an
intoxicant known as spruce-beer.
One of the most ornamental of this group is the Hemlock
Spruce (Abies canadensis), a species that was introduced about
a hundred and sixty years since. Its home is in all the forest
regions of Canada and the United States as far west as Oregon,
Norway Spruce Fir.
Abies excelsa.
— CONIFERS. —
155 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
and in New England and the Dominion its shortened name of
Hemlock is "familiar in the mouths" of the people. The
leaves are short, flat, solitary, and endure for two seasons.
The cones are but half an inch long, and afford a striking
contrast to those of the Sugar-pine (Pinus tambertiana] whose
cones are said sometimes to measure two feet long. The
peculiar grace of the Hemlock is due to the symmetrically
arranged branches, and to their drooping tips ; but in later life
it becomes rugged, and loses much of its charm. Its wood is
not so highly esteemed as its bark, which is useful for tanning.
The Larch (Larix europad).
So frequently do we come across huge plantations of Larch
that we might be pardoned for supposing it to be a native tree ;
but though it was introduced to Britain as an ornamental tree
about two hundred and fifty years ago its true home is in the
South European Alps. It is singular in the fact of being a
deciduous conifer, that is it sheds all its leaves in the autumn;
and remains naked until the spring. A larch-wood in winter
presents rather a weird and dreary aspect, the grey branches
and trunks appearing as if dead and withered, an aspect that
is intensified when, as frequently happens, the branches are
thickly invested with the lichens Rainalina and Evernia. But
in spring the Larch again becomes a thing of beauty, and, as
Tennyson sings : —
" Rosy plumelets tuft the Larch,
And rarely sings the mounted thrush \
And underneath the barren bush
Flits by the sea-blue bird of March."
These " rosy plumelets " are the future cones, and they are
very conspicuous on the bare branches. They become ripe by
their first Autumn, when they are but little more than an inch
in length, rather oval than conical ; erect on the branch, and
the scales with irregular margins. When first the leaves
— '55 —
Larch.
Larix europeea.
— CONIFER/E.
156 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.
appear they are in tufts, arranged alternately, as shown in our
figure, but as the season advances each tuft lengthens into a
twig and the leaves become scattered along it as the wood
grows — the tree not gaining in good looks thereby. The tree
has a wonderfully slender pyramidal form, due to the downward
growth of all the branches. It is greatly appreciated as a
timber-producing tree, its useful wood being fit to use when the
tree is only forty years of age, in which respect it has distinct
advantage over the Scotch-pine, which requires eighty years in
order to produce serviceable timber. In its early years its
annual growth exceeds two feet. At ten years of age from the
sowing of the seed it has reached the height of twenty or
twenty-five feet, and at fifty years it is eighty feet high. Its
natural life is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred years.
The Larch and the Spruce-fir have to a great extent
supplanted the Scotch-pine in this country, owing to their more
rapid growth and development of wood.
In its native countries the bark of the Larch is used for
tanning, and the young shoots as fodder for cattle, whilst its
resin is an article of commerce under the title of Venice
turpentine.
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES
Illustrated or Described in the foregoing pages.
Order I. — Ranunculaceaa.
Genus l.—CLEAfATIS vitalba, 82
Genus III. —ANEMONE nemorosa,
3; pulsatilla, 4
Genus M.— RANUNCULUS acris,
1 8 ; butt os us, 18 ; ficaria, 6 ;
repens, 19
Genus VI.— CALTHA palustris, 13 ;
radicans, 13
Order II.— Berberidese.
Genus l.—BERBERIS vulgaris, 57
Order III. — Nymphseaceae.
Genus \.--NUPHAR hiteum, 106 ;
pumilum, 106
Genus \\.-NYMPHsEA alba, 106
Order IV. — Papaveracese.
Genus l.—PAPAVER hybridum,
61 ; ar^emo/ie, 61 ; dubium, 61 ;
rhceas, 61
Gerus III. — CHELIDONIUM
majus, 64
Order V. — Fumariacese.
Genus l.—FUMARIA capreo^ta,
9 ; officinalis,
parvifloi'a, 9
dcnsiflora, 9 ;
Order VI.— Cruciferas.
Genus I.* -- CHEIRANTHUS
chciri, 12
Genus M.—CARDAMINE hirsute,
ii ; pratensis, TO ; amara, ir;
impatiens, ir.
Genus Y&.-BRASSICA nigra, 90;
sinapis, 90; «/<fo, 90
Genus XV. — CAPS ELL A bursa-
pasloris, n
Order VII. — Resedaceae.
Genus I. — RESEDA luteola, 79;
lutea, 79
Order VIII. — Cistinese.
Genus I. — HELIANTHEMUM
vulgtre, 42 ; -polifolium, 42 ;
guttatum, 42 ; canum, 42.
Order IX. — Yiolaceae.
Genus I. — VIOLA palustris, 58;
odorata, 4 ; hirta, 58 ; cani/ia,
58 ; sylvatica, 58 ; arenaria, 58 ;
tricolor, 58
Order X.— PolygaleSB
Genus I. — POLYGALA vulgaiis,
28 ; calcarea, 29 ; amara, 29
N 2
159
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES.
Order XII. — Caryophyllese.
Genus 1 1 1 . — L YCHNIS ftos-cuculi,
65 ; diurna, 66 ; vcspcrtina, 88
Genus IV. — GITHAGOscgctum, 71
Genus M.—HOLOSTEUM umbel-
la turn, 20
Genus VI I. - S TELLARIA media,
55, 62 ; /wlosfea, 62 ; palustris,
62 ; graminca, 62
Order XV. — Hypericinese.
Genus \.-HYPERICUM an-
di-oscemum, 48 ; perforatitm, 47 ;
humifusum, 47; pulchnnn, 47;
hirsutum, 48 ; tetraptcrum, 47
Order XVI. — Malvaceae.
Genus \\.-MALVA sylveslris, 67;
rot undif olia, 67 ; moschata, 68
Order XVII. — Tiliaceae.
Genus I. — TILIA parvifolia, 133 ;
platyphyllos, 133
Order XVIII. — Linese.
Genus \.-LlNUM catharticum, 96 ;
persnne, 96; a ngzisti folium, 96;
usitatissimum, 96
Order XIX.— Geraniacese.
Genus I.— GERANIUM molle, 35;
rotundifolhim, 34; pusillum, 35 ;
columbinum, 35; disscctum, 35;
robertianum, 35 ; lucidum, 35
Genus \\.-ERODWM cicutarii/m,
35 ; moschatum, 36 ; maritimum,
36
Genus \\\. — OXALIS acetosdla, n ;
corniailata, 12; stricta, 12
Order XX.— Ilicinese.
Genus I. — ILEX aquifolium, 89
Order XXIV.— Sapindacese.
Genus I,— ACER campestrc, 13;;
pseiido-platauus, \^\\platano:des,
Order XXV.— Leguminosae.
Genus III. — CY-TISUS scoparius, ^
Genus IV.— ONONIS spinosa, 94;
rcclinata, 94.
Genus Vl.—MKDICAGO falcata,
72 ; saf/va, 72 ; lupulina, 72 ;
denticulata, 72 ; maculata, 72
Genus Vll.—MELILOTUS altis-
sima, 101 ; fl/&z, 101 ; qfficinalis,
101
Ge:ius VIII. — TRI FOLIUM subter-
raueum, 48 ; arvense, 49 ; //•#-
^«j^, 49 ; medium, 49 ; striatum,
49 ; scabrum, 49 ; rcpens, 49 ;
fragiferum, 49 ; procumbens, 49 ;
dub in m, 50
Genus IX.—ANTffYLL/S vulne-
raria, 52
Genus X. — LOTUS corniculatus,
43 ; uliginosus, 43 ; hispid us,
43 I angustissimus, 43
Genus JiV.—ONOBRYCHISsativa,
.5°
Genus XVI. — VICIA tetrasperma,
44; hirsiita, 44; cracca, 44;
orobits, 44 ; sylvatica, 44 ; sepimn,
4 4 ; j<7//zw, 43
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES
l6o
Order XXVI. — Rosaceae.
Genus I. — P.RUNUS communis,
109; insititia, 109; domestica,
109
Genus II. — SPIRsEA ulmaria, 93 ;
filipendula, 93
Genus lll.—RUBUSccesiiis, 31
Genus Vl.—FRAGARIA vesca, 27
GmusVll.—POTENTILLA tor-
went ilia, 63 ; reptans, 63 ; an-
serina, 62 ; fragariastntm, 27,
63
Genus IX. — AGRIMONIA ey pa-
tori t, 95
Genus X. — POTERIUM sangiti-
sorbct , 1 1 1 ; mltrica turn, 1 1 1 ;
officinale, in
Genus XL — ROSA spinosissima, 41 ;
rubiginosa, 41 ; canina, 41 ; ar-
vensis, 41
Genus XII. —PYRUS aucuparia,
117
Genus KUl. — CRATJEGUS oxya-
cantha, 17
Order XXVIL— Saxifrageae.
Genus lll.—PARNASSIA palns-
tris, 115
Order XXVIII.— Crassulacese.
Genus lll.—SEDUM acre, 100.
Genus III.* — SEMPERVIVUM
tectorum, 100
Order XXIX.— Droseraceae.
Genus l.—DROSEKA rotundifolia,
56 ; intermedia, 57 ; anglica,
57
Order XXXIV.— Umbelliferas.
Genus XXll.—FCEN/CU7MJf of-
ficinale, 55
Genus XXV. — s£ THUS A cyan.
pizun, 119
Order XXXV.— Araliacese.
Genus l.— HEDERA helix, 112
Order XXXVII.— Caprifoliacese.
Genus IV. — LO NICER A pericly-
menum, 31 ; caprifolium, 32
Order XXXVIII. — Rubiacese.
Genus \\.-GALlUM aparine, 87
Order XXXIX.— Yalerianeae.
Genus I. — VALERIANA diolca,
104 ; qfflc in alls, 104
Order XL. — Dipsaceas.
Genus I. — DIPSACUS sylvestris,
107 ; pilcsus, 107
Genus ll.—SCABIOSA sited sa, 98;
columbaria, 98 ; arvensis, 98
Order XLI. — Compositse.
Genus \V.—BELLIS percnnis, i
Genus Xll.—ANTHEMIS arvensis,
46 ; cot ula, 47 ; nob His, 47
Genus Klll.—ACHILLEA f far-
mica, 37 ; millefolium, 36
Genus XVI. — CHRYSANTHE-
MUM segclum, 53 ; leucantlic-
•jniint, ^3 ; parthtnium, 54
Genus XVII. — TANACETUM
vulgare, 108
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES.
Genus XXl.—SENECIO -vulgaris,
37 ; sylvaticits, 38 ; viscoses, 38 ;
j a co baa, 38 ; erucifolhis, 38 ;
aqiiaticns, 38
Genus XXU.—ARCT1UM lappa,
87
Genus XXV. — CENTAUREA
n-gra, 67; scabiosa, 67; cyamts,
66
Genus XXXl.—CICHORIUM inty-
bus, 68
Genus XXXVll.—HYPOCHCERIS
glabra, 97 ; radicata, 97
Genus XXXIX. — TARAXACUM
officinale, 20
Genus XU..—SONCHUS arvensis,
1x4; palustris, 114; oleraceus,
"4
Genus XLII. — TRAGOPOGON
pratensis, 84 ; porrifvlius, 84
Order XLII. — Campanulacese.
Genus V.— CAMPANULA rotundi-
folia, 78 ; trachelium, 78
Order XLII I.— Ericaceae.
Genus V.— ERICA tetralix, 120 ;
cinerea, 120 ; ciliaris, 120 ; t^rt!-
^V7/?J, J20
Genus Vl.—CALLUNA vulgaris,
121
Order XLVI.— Primulaceae.
Genus I.— PRIMULA vulgaris, 3 ;
elatior, 3 ; veris, 2 ; farinosa, 3 ;
sco tic a, 3
Genus V I . —^4 A^ Gy/ ZZ. /5
jw, 54 ; tenclla, 54
Order XLVIL— Oleaceae.
Genus 1 1 . — FRA XINUS excelsior,
136
Order XLVIII. — Apocynacese.
Genus I. — VINCA minor, 5; major,
6 .
Order XLIX.— Gentiane^.
| Gvcn&lV.-ERYTHR&A centau-
rntm, 79
Order LI. — Boraginese.
Genus I.—ECHIUM vulgar et 26
Genus l.*—BORAGO officinalis, 80
Genus \\.-SYMPHYTUM offi-
cin.ile, 60; tuberosum, 60
Genus VI. — PULMONARIA an-
gustifolia, 10 ; officinalis, 9
Genus VII. - MYOSO HS palustris,
Order LII. — ConvolYulacese.
Genus I.— CON VOL VULUS arven-
sis, 63 ; sepium, 64; soldanclla,f>\
Genus ll.— CUSCUTA europaa, 70;
epithymum, 70; epiliniim, 71
Order LIIL— Solanaceae.
Genus \.-HYOSCYAMUS nigcr,
39
Genus II.— SOLANUM dulcamara,
99 : nignim, 99
Order LIV.— Plantagineae.
I Genus I.- PLAN TA GO major, 22;
media, 23 ; lanceolata, 22 ; wa-
ritima, 23 ; coronopus, 23
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES.
162
Order LV. — Scrophularinese.
Genus \\.-LINARIA cymbalaria,
33 ; spuria, 105 ; elatine, 105 ;
vulgaris, 105 ; repens, 105 ;
minor, 105
Genus VIII.— VERONICA chama-
drys, 28 ; bcccabunga, 29
Genus X . — E UPHRA SI A offidna-
lis, 50
Genus XIII. — MELAMPYRUM
pratense, 91 ; sylvaticum, qi ;
arvensc, 91 ; cristatum, 92
Order LIX.— Labiatse.
Genus I. — ME NTH A sylvestris, 59;
- rotund if olia, 58 ; piperata, 59 ;
aquatica, 59 ; saliva, 59 ; arven-
sis, 59 ; pulegium, 60
Genus I V. — TH YMUS serpyllum$$
Genus VI.— SAL VIA pratensis, 23
Genus Vll.—NEPETA cataria, 34;
glechoma, 33
Genus VIII.- BRUNELLA vulga-
ris, 83
Genus XIV. — LA MIUMpurpureum,
33 ; intermedium, 33 ; amplexi-
caule, 33 -, album, 33 ; galeobdo-
lon, 33
Genus X VII. —AJUGA reptans, 21
Order LXI. — Chenopodiaceae.
Genus l. — CHENOPODIUM vul-
varia, 86 ; polyspermum, 86 ;
album, 86; rubncm, 86; bonus-
henricus, 86
Order LXII. — Polygonaceae.
Genus I.— POLYGONUM bistorta,
118 ; amphibium, 118 ; persicaria,
118 ; aviculare, 119; convolvu-
lus, 119; fagopyrum, 118
Order LXV.— Elaeagnaceae.
Genus I. — HIPPOPHAE rham-
noides, 92
Order LXVI.— Loranthaccse.
Genus 1.— V1SCUM album, 121
Order LXVIII.— Euphorbiacese.
Genus I.— EUPHORBIA heliosco-
pia, 30 ; platyphyllos, 30 ; Az'^^r-
^^-,30; amygdala ides ,y>; peplus,
30; exigua, 30; portlandica, 30;
paralias,y>\ esula,^i; lathyris,
31 ; ^//w, 31
Order LXIX.— Urticaceae.
Genus l.—ULMUS montana, 138 ;
campeslris, 138
Genus \\.-URTICA urens, 103;
dioica, 103 ; pilulifera, 103
Genus IV.-HUMULUS lupuhis,
Order LXXI.— Cupuliferae.
Genus l.—BETULA alba, 149
Genus II.— ALNUS glutinosa, 150
Genus III.- QUERCUS robur, 142
Genus IV.—FAGUS sylvatica, 140
Genus V.—COR YLUS avellana, 144
Genus Vl.—CARPINUS letulus,
145
Order LXXIL— Salicinese.
Genus \.-POPULUS alba, 147;
tremula, 147 ; fastigiata, 147
j Genus \\.-SALIX viminalis, 146
i63
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES.
Order LXXIV.— Coniferae.
Genus I.— PIN US sylvcslri-s, 151 ;
pinaster, 152
Oenus II. —j UNI PER US commu-
nis, 102
Order LXXVL— Orchideae.
Genus \.-MALAXIS paludosa, 77
Genus \\.-LIPARIS loestlii, 77
Genus IV.—NEOTTIA nidus-avis,
77
Genus V.— LISTER A ovaia, 77
Genus Vll.—SPIRANTHES au-
tumnalis, 77
Genus XL- ORCHIS latifolia, 74 ;
hircina, 76
'Genus XIII.— OPHR YS apifera,^ ;
aranifera, 76 ; muscifera, 76
Gm\isKV.—H ABENAKI A bifolia,
76
Order LXXVII.— Irideae,
Genus III. — IRIS pscudacorus, 73;
fcetidissima, 73
Order LXXX.— Liliacese.
Genus III.— POZ. FGOA^^ TUMvcr-
ticillatum, 17; multijlorum, 16;
officinale, 17
GewsV.—CONVALLAjRIA maja-
lis, 16
Genus IK.—SCILLA verna, 15;
autumnalis, 15 ; mitans, 14
Genus XV.-COLCH/CUM aunim-
nale, 122
Order LXXXI.— Junceae.
Genus II. — LUZULA maxima, 69;
vcrnalis, 69 ; fonteri, 69 ; raw-
pestris, 70 ; spicata, 70 ; arcuata,
70
Order LXXXIII.— Typhaceaa.
Genus 1 1. — TYPHA latifolia, 51;
atigustifoiia, 52
Order LXXXI V.—Aroideae.
Genus I. — ARUM macnlatitm, 15 ;
italicum, 16
Order LXXXV.— Lemnaceae.
Genus l.—LEMNA minor, 45 ; /rz-
sulca, 46 ; gibba, 46 ; polyrhiza,
46
Order LXXXVI.— Alismaceae.
! Genus IV.—SAGITTARIA sagitti-
folia, 113
Order LXXXVIL— Naiadaceae.
Genus III.— POTAMOGETON na-
tans, 8 1 ; polygonifolius, 81 ;
plantagineus, 81 ; prtelongus, 82 ;
crisjus, 8 1 ; densus, 81
Order LXXXIX.— Gramineae.
Genus \\.-ANTHOXANTHUM
odoratiim, 25
Genus VIII. — ALOPECURUS
agreitis, 40 ; alpinus, 40 ; /ra-
tensis, 40 ; geniculaius, 40
Genus X.— PHLEUM pratense, 25
G^nus XXV.— ^4 KfiA^ /<*/«<*, 116;
pratensis, 116 ; pubescens, 117 ;
sativa, 116
Genus XXXVI. -DACTYLIS glo-
merata, 24
Genus
40 ; minor, 40
NATURAL ORDERS, GENERA AND SPECIES.
164
Genus XXXVIII.— POA anmia, 24
Genus KLI.—BROMUS erectus, 38
Genus KL\\l.—LOUUM peremie,
38 ; tcmulentum, 39
Genus yilNll.—HORDEUM muri-
num, 19
Order XC.— Filices.
Genus Vll.-ASPLENIUA! tricho-
mancs, 124; viride, 124
Genus Vlll.—SCOLOPENDRIUM
vulgare, 123
Genus XII. —NEPHRODIUMfilix-
mas, 124 ; spimilosum, 125 ; ore-
opteris, 125
Order XCL— Equisetaceae.
Genus I. —EQ VISE TUM arvense.
EXOTIC GENERA.
Order Xanthoxylaceae.
AILANTUS glandulosa, 130
Order Leguminosae.
ROBIN! A pseudacacia, 132
Order Arctocarpeas.
MORUS nigra, 134
Order Cupuliferaa.
CASTANEA vulgaris, 138
Order Platanaceas.
PLATANUS oricntalis, 148
Order Coniferse.
LARIX europcea, 155
ABIES excels .1, 154 ; pectimta, 153
INDEX.
(The popular names are printed in italics. )
PAGE
FACE
ABIES excelsa .
• 154
Arctium lappa .
. 87
,, pectinata
• 153
Arrow-head
• "3
Acer campestre
J OA
Ash . . . . '.
136
,, pseudo-platanus
• AO r
• i34
,, Mountain .
. 117
,, platanoides
• i3S
Asplenium trichomanes .
. 124
Achillea millefolium .
• 36
,, viride
. 124
,, ptarmica
• 37
Avena fatua
. 116
^Ethusa cynapium
. 119
pratensis
. 116
Agaric us campestris .
iji
,, pubescens
. 117
,, muscarius .
• 131
,, sativa
. 116
Agrimonia eupatoria
• 95
Agrimony
• 95
BARBERRY.
• 57
Ailantus gland ulosa .
• 133
Bailey, Wall .
• 19
Ajuga reptans .
. 21
Beech ....
Alder ....
. T50
Eee Orchis
. 76
Alnus glutinosa
• 150
Bellis perennis .
i
Alopecurus agrestis .
. 40
Berberis vulgaris
• 57
,, alpinus .
. 40
Betulaalba
• 149
,, geniculatus
. 40
Bindweed, Small
- 63
,, pratensis
. 40
Birch ....
• 149
Anagallis arvensis
• 54
Bird ' s-eye Primrose .
3
,, tenella
• 54
Bird ' s-foot Trefoil .
- 43
Anemone nemorosa '.
3
Biting Stonecrop . . .
. 100
,, pulsatilla .
4
Bittercress
10
Annual Meadow-grass
. 24
Bittersweet
• 99
Anthemis arvensis .
. 46
Blackthorn
. 109
,, cotula
. 46
Blue-bell . . .
. 78
,, nobilis
• 47
Blue-bottle
. 66
Anthoxanthum odoratum .
• 25
Boletus edulis .
• 131
Anthyllis vnlneraria .
• 52
Borage ....
. 80
Arum maculatum
• 15
Borago officinalis
. 80
Arum italic um .
. 16
Brandy Bottle .
. 106
i67
INDEX.
Briza media
PAGE
. 40
Charlock
1>ACE
90
,, minor
40
Cheiranthus cheiri
12
Brassica alba .
90
Chelidonium majus .
64
,, nigra .
. 90
Chenopodium album
86
,, sinapis
• ^
,, bonus-henricus .
86
Brome-grass
• 38
,, polyspermum
86
Bromus erectus .
• 38
,, rubrum
86
Broom ....
7
,, vulvaria
86
Brunella vulgaris
8^
Chestnut .....
141
Buckwheat
J)
. Tl8
68
Bugle ....
21
Chickweed ....
55
87
Chickweed, Ragged .
20
Buttercup ....
. 18
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum
53
Biitterjly Orchis
. 76
,, partheniutn .
54
segetum .
53
CALLUNA vulgaris
121
Cichoriurn intybus .
68
Caltha palustris
• 13
Cladonia pyxidata .
128
,, radicans
13
,, rangiferina.
128
Campanula rotundi folia .
. 78
Clematis vitalba
82
,, trachelium
• 78
Clovers .....
43
Campion, Red .
. 66
Cluster-pine ....
152
White
. 88
Cock' s-foot grass
24
Cantharellus cibarius
. 132
Colchicum autumnale
122
Capsella bursa-pastoris
ir
Comfrey .....
60
Cardamine amara
ii
Convallaria majalis . .
16
,, hirsuta
it
Convolvulus arvensis
63
,, impatiens
ii
,, sepium .
64
,, pratensis .
10
Corn-cockle . . .
7i
Carpi nus betulus
• 145
Corn Chamomile
46
Castanea vulgaiis
. 141
Corylus avellana
144
Cat-mint ....
• 33
Cowslip
2
Cafs-ear ....
.. 97
Cow-wheat .
91
Cats-tail Grass
• 25
Crane's-bills .
34
Cat's- Valerian . ,
. 104
Cralsegus oxyacantha
17
Celandine, Lesser
6
Cuckoo-flower .
10
Greater .
. 64
Cuckoo-pint .
15
Centaurea cyanus
. 66
Cup-moss .
128
„ nigra
. 67
Cuscuta epilinum
7i
,, scabiosa .
. 67
,, epithymum .
70
Centaury ....
• 79
,, europaea
70
Chanterelle
• 132
Cytisus scoparius
7
INDEX.
168
DACTYLIS glomerata
PAGE
PAGE
Daisy ....
I
Fennel ....
• 55
Dandelion
£O
Field Horsetail
• 125
Dead-nettles
- 33
Fine-leaved Heath
I2O
Dewberry ....
31
Flag
• 73
Dipsacus pilosus
. 107
Flax
. 96
,, S}lvestris .
. 107
Foeniculum officina!c
• 55
Dodders ....
• 70
Fool's Parsley .
. 119
Dog-rose .....
. 41
Forget-me-not .
21
Drosera anglica
• 57
Foxtail Grasses
40
,, intermedia .
• 57
Fragaria vesca .
. 27
,, rolundifolia .
• 56
Fraxinus excelsior
. 136
Duckweeds
• 45
Fumaria capreolata .
9
,, densiflora .
9
ECHIUM vulgare .
. 26
,, officinalis
8
Elm
. 138
,, pjirviflora
9
Equisetum arvense .
. 125
Ftiinitorv •
8
Erica ciliaris
I2C
Fungi ....
. 130
,, cinerea
I2O
,, tetralix .
. 120
GALIUM aparine .
. C7
,, vagans .
. 120
Geranium columbinum
35
Erodium cicutarium .
• 35
,, dissectum .
• 35
,, maritimum
. 36
,, lucidum .
• 35
,, moschatum
• 36
molle
• 35
Erylhrasa centaurium
• 79
pusillum .
• 35
Euphorbia amygdaloides .
• 3°
,, robertianum
• 35
,, cyparissias
• 30
,, rotundifoliuni .
• 34
,, esula
• 31
Githago segetum
• 7*
,, exigua
• 30
Goat' s-bcard .
. 84
, , helioscopia
• 3°
Goosefoot ....
86
,, hiberna
• 3°
Goose-grass
. 87
lathyris .
31
Grass of Parnassus .
• iJ5
,, paralias .
• 30
Greater Celandine .
. 64
,, peplis
• 31
Ground Ivy
• 33
,, peplus
• 30
Groundsel. . .
• 37
, , platyphyllos
• 30
portlandica
• 3°
HABENARIA bifolia .
. 76
Euphrasia officinalis .
• 5°
Hairbell ....
. 78
Hart' s-tongue Fern .
_2_
Hawthorn
17
FAG US sylvatica .
139
Hazel
144
169
INDEX.
Heather ....
PAGE
121
KIDNEY Vetch .
PAGE
• 52
Heaths ....
. 120
Hedera helix .
. 112
LADY'S Smock .
10
Helianthemum canura
. 42
Lamium album
• 33
,, guttatum .
. 42
,, amplexicaule
• 33
,, polifolium
42
, , galeobdolon
• 33
,, vulgare .
. 42
,, intermedium
• 33
,, purpureum .
OO
Hippcphae rhamnoides .
. 92
Larch , .
^) J
• XS5
Holly ....
8q
Larix europea .
IC^5
Holosteum umbellatum .
20
Lecidea geographic*
. 129
Honeysuckle
• 31
Lemna gibba .
• 45
Hop
. no
,, minor .
• 45
Hordeum murinum .
• 19
,, polyrhiza
. 45
Hornbeam
• 145
,, trisulca .
• 45
Horsetails
• 125
Lesser Celandine
6
Houseleek ....
. TOO
Lichens . . .
. 127
Humulus lupulus
no
Lily of the Valley .
. 16
Hyacinth, Wild
14
Lime-trees
• 133
Hyoscyamus niger .
• 39
Linaria cymbalaria .
• 33
Hypericum androsasmum .
. 48
,, elatinc .
. 105
,, hirsuturn
, 48
,, minor .
. 105
,, humifusum
47
repens .
. 105
,, perforatura
• 47
,, spuria .
. 105
,, pulchrum
47
vulgaris
. 105
,, tetrapterum .
47
Linum angustifolium
. 95
Hypochoeris glabra .
• 97
,, catharticum .
. 95
,, maculata
• 97
,, perenne.
. 95
,, radicata*
• 97
,, usitatissimum
. 96
Hypnum tiiquetrum.
. 130
List era ovata
• 77
Lolium perenne
• 38
ILEX aquifolium
. 89
,, temulentum .
• 39
Iris fcetidissima .
• 73
Lombardy Poplar
• 147
,, pseudacorus
• 73
Lonicera caprifolium
• 3i
Iris, yellow . »
• 73
. ,, periclymenum
• 3i
Ivy , . ...
. 112
Lotus angustissimus .
• 43
Ivy-leaved Toadflax .
• 33
,, corniculatus .
• 43
,, hispidus .
• 43
JAGGED Chickweed .
20
Lotus uliginostts ;
• 43
Juniper ....
IC2
Lucerne ....
• 72
Juniperus com munis .
. 102
Lungwort ....
9
INDEX.
170
Luzula arcuata .
PAGE
70
Mentha aquatica
PAGE
• 59
,, campestris
70
,, arvensis
• 59
forsteri .
. 69
,, piperata
• 59
,, maxima.
. 69
pulegium
60
„ spicata .
. 70
,, rotundifolia .
• 58
vernalis.
. 69
,, sativa .
59
Lychnis diurna .
. 66
,, sylvestris
• 59
,, flos-cuculi .
. 65
Mignonette, Wild .
• 79
,, vespertina
. 88
Milfoil .
• 36
Lycoperdon gemmatum
• 131
Milkworts.
. 28
,, giganteum
• J31
Mints .
• 58
Mistleto .
. 121
MAIDENHAIR Spleenwort
. 124
Morus nigra
• 137
Malaxis paludosa
• 77
Mosses ....
. I29
Male-fern ....
. 124
Mountain Ash .
. 117
Mallows ....
. 67
Mulberry .
• 137
Malva moschata
. 68
Musci .
. 129
,, rotundifolia
. 67
Mushrooms
• 130
,, sylvestris
• 67
Mustards ....
. 90
Maples ....
Myosotis palustris
21
Marsh Marigold
• 13
,, Orchis .
• 74
NEOTTIA nidus-avis
• 77
Meadow Fox-tail-grass
. 40
Nepeta cataria .
• 33
Meadow-grass .'
. 24
,, glechoma
• 33
Meadow Saffron
122
Nephrodium spinulorum .
. 125
Meadow Sage .
• -3
,, fiiix-mas
. 124
Meadow Sweet .
• 93
,, oreopteris
. 125
Medicago denticulata
. 72
Norway Spruce-fir .
• 154
,, falcata
. 72
Nuphar luteum. . .
. loS
,, lupulina .
• 72
,, pumilum
106
,, maculata .
• 72
Nymphaea alba.
. 106
,, sativa
. 72
Medick, Purple
. 72
OAK .
. 142
Melampyrum arvense
• 9i
Oat-grass ....
. 116
,, cristatum .
• 9t
Onobrychis sativa
• So
,, pratense
• 9i
Ononis reclinata
• 94
, , sylvaticum .
. 91
,, spinosa .
• 94
Melilot ....
IOI
Ophrys apifera .
. 76
Melilotus alba . .
. IOI
,, aranifera
• 76
Melilotus altissima .
. IOI
,, muscifera
. 76
,, officinalis .
IOI
Orchids, British . 74,
75. 7°, 77
INDEX,
Orchis hlrcina .
PAGE
. 75
Polygonum arnphibium .
PAGE
. 118
„ latifolia .
• 74
, , aviculare
. 119
Osier ....
. 146
,, bistorta .
. 118
Oxalis acetosella
ii
,, convolvulus .
. 119
,, corniculala
12
, , fagopyrum
118
,, stricta .
12
, , persicaria
. 118
Ox-eye Daisy
• 53
Polytrichum formosum
. 130
Oxlip .
3
Pond-weeds
. 81
Poplar
. 147
PANSY, Wild .
• 53
Poppy ....
. fo
Papaver argemone .
. 61
Populus alba
• M7
,, dubium
. 61
,, fastigiata .
• ^47
,, hybridum .
. 61
,, tremula
• 147
,, rhoeas .
. 60
Potainogeton crispus
. 8 1
Parmelia perlata
. 129
,, densus
. Si
,, • saxatilis
. 129
,, natans .
. 81
Parnassia palustris .
• "5
,, perfoliatus .
. 8t
Periwinkle
5
,, plantagineus
. 81
Phleum pratense
• 25
polygonifolius
. 81
Physcia parietina
. 129
,, praslongiis „
. 81
Pilewort ....
6
Potent ilia anserina .
. 62
Pimpernel
• 54
, , fragariastrum .
27, 63
Pinaster ....
. 152
,, reptans
• 63
Pinus pinaster .
. 152
,, tormentilla
• 63
,, sylvestris.
• 151
Poterium murieatum
. in
Plane-trees
. 148
,, officinale ..
. in
Plantago coronopus .
• 23
,, sanguisorbn
. in
,, lanceolata .
22
Primrose ....
2
,, major
22
Primula elatior .
3
,, maritima .
• 23
,, farinosa
3
,, media
• 23
,, scotica
3
Plantains
22
,, veris .
2
Plat anus occidentalis
• 149
vulgaris
3
,, ori entails .
. I48
Prunus communis
. 109
Poa annua
24 ,, domestica
. 109
Polygala amara
. 29
,, insititia .
. 109
,, calcarea
• 29
Puff-balls.
• I31
,, vulgaris
. 23
Pulmonaria angustifolia .
10
Polygonatum multiflorum .
. 16
,, officinalis
9
. , officinale
17
Pyrus aucuparia
. 117
, verticillatum
'7
INDEX.
172
QUAKE-grass
PAGE
. 40
Self-Heal ....
PAGE
• 83
Quercus robur .
. 142
Sempervivum tectorum
. 100
Senecio aquaticus
. 38
RAGGED Robin .
• 65
,, erucifolius .
• 38
07
,, jacobsea
•38
Ranunculus acris
. 18
,, sylvatica . ,
o
. 38
,, bulbosus
. 19
,, viscosa
. 38
,, ficaria .
6
,, vulgaris
• 37
,, repens .
. 19
Shepherd's purse
ii
Reed-mace
• Si
Silver-fir ....
• 153
Reseda lutea .
• 79
Silverweed
. 62
,, luteola .
• 79
Sloe
. 109
Rest-Harrow
• 94
Sneezewort
• 37
Robinia pseudacacia .
• 135
Solanum dulcamara .
• 99
Rock-rose ....
. 42
,, nigrum
. 99
Rosa arvensis .
• 4i
Solomon s Seal .
. 16
,, canina
• 4i
Sonchus arvensis
. 114
,, rubiginosa
"• 4i
,, oleraceus .
. 114
,, spinosissima
41
,, palustris
'. 114
Rowan ....
. 117
Sow-thistles
. 114
Rubus caesius .
• 3i
Speedwell ....
. 28
Rye-grass ....
• 38
Spiraea filipendula .
• 93
,, ulmaria.
• 93
SAGITTARIA sagittifolia
• H3
Spiranthes autumnalis
• 77
Sainfoin ....
• HO
Spruce-fir,
• 154
Saint Johns Worts .
• 47
Spurges ....
. 29
Salad Burnet .
Til
Squills ....
. 14
Salix viminalis .
146
Stellaria graminea .
. 62
Salvia pratensis
• 23
,, holostea
. 61
Scabiosa arvensis
. 98
,, media .
55. 62
, , columbaria .
. 98
,, palustris
. 62
,, succisa
. 98
Stinging-nettles
. 103
Scabious ....
. 98
Stitchworts
. 61
Scilla autumnalis
• is
Stonecrop .....
. 100
,, nutans
14
StorKs-bills
• 35
,, vernalis .
• 15
Strawberry, Wild ,
. 27
Scolopendrium vulgare
. 123
Sundews .
• 56
Scotch-pine or fir
• 151
Sweet Violet
4
Scottish Primrose
3
Sycamore ....
• 134
Sea-Buckthorn ,
. 92
Symphytum officinale
. 60
Sedum acre
. 100
, , tuberosum
. 60
173
INDEX.
I'AGE
TAXACETUM vulgare .
108 Veronica beccabunga
Tansy ....
. 108
,, chamcedrys
Taraxacum officinale
20
Vetch
Teasels ....
. 107
Vicia cracca
Thyme ....
• 85
,, hirsuta
Thymus serpyllum .
• 85
,, orobus
Tilia parvifolia .
• 133
,, sativa
,, platyphyllos
• ^33
, , sepium
Timothy-grass .
• 25
,, sylvatica .
Toadflax ....
33- 105
,, tetrasperma
Tolter-grass
. 40
Vinca major
Tragopogon porrifolius
. 84
,, minor
pratensis
. 84
Viola arenaria .
Travellers Joy
. 82
,, canina
Tree of the Gods
• 133
,, hirta
Trifolium arvense
• 49
,, odorata .
,, dubium
• 50
,, palustris .
, , fragiferum
• 49
,, sylvatica .
,, medium
• 49
,, tricolor .
,, pratense .
. 49
Viper ' s Bugloss
,, procumbens
• 49
Viscum album .
,, repens
. 49
,, scabrum .
• 49
WALL Barley
,, striatum .
• 49
Wallflower
,, subterraneum .
. 48
Wall Lichen .
Typha angustifolia .
51
Water Lily
,, lati folia .
51
Weld
Wild Hyacinth
ULMUS campestris
• 138
Wood A nemone
,, montana .
. 138
Woodrush
Urtica dioica .
. 103
Wood Sorrel .
„ pilulifera
. 103
,, urens
. 103
YARRO W .
Yellow Flag .
VALERIANA dioica
. 104
,, Melilot .
,, orficinalis .
. 104
, , Stonecrop
Vernal Grass .
• 25
,, Toadflax
Vernal Woodrush .
. 69
,, Water lily .
PAGE
29
28
43
44
44
44
43
44
44
44
5
5
58
58
58
4
58
58
58
26
121
19
12
128
106
79
J3
3
69
ii
36
73
101
ICO
105
106
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