WILD -FLOWERS
MACG
,B.Sc
THE PEOPLE'S B OOKS
BIOLOGY
LIBRARY
,, *^1 '
THE
PEOPLE'S
BOOKS
WILD FLOWERS
WILD FLOWERS
BY MACGREGOR SKENE, B.Sc.
LECTURER ON VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY
LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK
67 LONG ACRE, W.C., AND EDINBURGH
NEW YORK: DODGE PUBLISHING CO.
BIOLOGY
LIBRARY
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ........ 9
WHITE FLOWERS . . . . . . .15
YELLOW FLOWERS .33
ROSE FLOWERS ........ 51
RED FLOWERS 57
PALE PURPLE FLOWERS 59
PURPLE FLOWERS ....... 65
BLUE FLOWERS ........ 75
BROWN FLOWERS .80
GREEN FLOWERS ........ 82
FLOWERS RARELY FOUND OR VERY INCONSPICUOUS . 87
INDEX OF LATIN NAMES ... .89
INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES . . . . . .91
B30206
vii
WILD FLOWERS
INTRODUCTION
THAT curious characteristic of the human mind which will
scarcely let us rest content in the beauty of an object, but forces
us to seek out the something concrete with which the beauty is
associated, cannot be better exemplified than by the universal
desire to put a label on the object of our admiration, be it
picture, or mountain, or tree. For most of us the interest of
wild flowers lies chiefly in their aesthetic appeal; and yet,
though it does not affect the loveliness of the plant, there are
few who do not feel their interest quickened by the knowledge
of what the flower is called. To enable that great majority of
flower-lovers, which has no acquaintance with the technicalities
of botany, to acquire that knowledge is the aim of this book.
In such short space little more is possible ; but the attempt has
been made to indicate in some cases the peculiar interest that a
plant may have for mankind, in others some point worthy of
remark in its own life. The reader will also observe that plants
do not grow at random in any sort of situation, but that they
occur in nature in definite communities, one set preferring the
river-side, another the woodland, a third the moor or the
pasture. Such indications, though quite inadequate, may be
sufficient to widen somewhat the interest of our flowers.
The number of technical terms has been reduced to a mini-
mum, hardly a score of words not in everyday use being em-
ployed : the meaning of these will be clear to anyone who has
read the following introductory paragraphs.
GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE PLANT
Flowering plants are composed of four distinct sets of organs,
to each of which is assigned a particular role in the life of the
whole. (1) The Root serves to fix the plant firmly in the soil,
and to absorb from the soil the water and the mineral salts
9
10 WILD FLOWERS
which the plant requires. (2) The Stem bears the leaves and
flowers, holds them in advantageous positions, and carries to
them water and various nutrient material. (3) The Leaves re-
ceive from the root water and mineral substances, and from the
air the important gas Carbon dioxide; from these they are able
to build up the food of the plant — such substances as sugar and
starch. This they do by virtue of their green colouring-matter,
which absorbs a large quantity of light, necessary for the carry-
ing on of the chemical processes involved in the formation of
the food substances. (4) The Flowers have as their special
function the reproduction of the plant by means of seed-forma-
tion. In reality the flower is a collection of leaves, deeply
modified to enable them to perform their new work ; some
produce the true reproductive bodies — the pollen-grains and
the ovules — others protect these, and aid them in various ways.
For our present purpose it is necessary to consider the ex-
ternal form only of these different parts : a fuller treatment of
their structure, and of the way in which they carry on their
work, is to be found in another of the books of this series,
Dr. Marie Stopes' Modern Botany.
1. The Root. — Only in comparatively few cases does the root
present features of value for the identification of a plant ; of
interest are those roots, which serve to store food, and so be-
come swollen and tuberous (e.g. orchis).
2. The Stem. — It may be necessary to note whether the stem
is branched or without branches — simple. Many stems stand
straight up — erect; but frequently we meet with plants the
stems of which lie along the ground— prostrate; in yet other
cases the stem may support itself on external objects — climb or
ramble.
3. The Leaf is typically divided into two parts, the leaf-stalk
and the blade; very often, however, there is no stalk, and then
the leaf is said to be sessile. The margin of the blade is some-
times quite smooth — entire — but usually it is cut into or notched
in various ways. If it presents a series pf little teeth pointing
forwards, like those of a saw, it is serrate; if the teeth are more
irregular and point outwards, it is toothed. Often the cutting
is much more profound ; it may go right down to the central
vein (mid-rib) of the leaf, so dividing it into a number of
smaller leaflets, in which case we have a compound leafj as
opposed to a simple leaf — one in which the cutting does not
reach the mid-rib. If the cutting, though not deep enough to
form a compound leaf, yet divides it very deeply, we have a
segmented leaf ; if the cutting is" less marked still, the leaf is
said to be lobed. In compound, segmented, and lobed leaves
the cutting may take place in two different ways : (1) if the
INTRODUCTION
11
leaflets, segments, or lobes radiate out from one point at the
apex of the leaf -stalk, the leaf is palm-compound (segmented,
&c.) ; (2) if, on the contrary, they arise at the sides of the mid-
rib, it is feather 'Compound, <fec. Often the leaflets of a compound
leaf are themselves compound, in which case the leaf is doubly
compound : further complications are adequately described by
combinations of the terms given above.
The actual shape of the leaf or leaflets is described by a
series of terms, some of which are self-explanatory, while the
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 0.
Fig. 1.— Ovate leaf with toothed margins. Fig. 2. — Heart-shaped leaf with
serrate margins. Fig. 3.— Lance-shaped leaf. Fig. 4.— Elliptical leaf. Fig. 5. —
Arrow-shaped leaf . Fig. 6.— Halbert-shaped leaf. Fig. 7. — Feather- compound
leaf with seven leaflets and two stipules (st.). Fig. 8.— Palm-lobed leaf.
Fig. 9.— Feather-segmented leaf, lyre-shaped, with coarsely toothed margins.
meaning of the others may be best understood by reference
to the accompanying diagrams. One term requires special
mention ; by lyre-shaped, we mean a feather-compound or
feather-lobed leaf, in which the terminal lobe or leaflet is
larger than the others.
In many plants there are to be found, at the base of the
leaf-stalk, two leafy outgrowths, sometimes quite small, some-
times as large as the leaf itself — these are called stipules.
Of the surface of the leaf, we note that it may be smooth or
hairy; and of its texture that, in a few cases, it is fleshy or
leathery,
4. The Flower. — If we pull the flower of a buttercup to
12 WILD FLOWERS
pieces, we find that it consists of four different kinds of organs.
To the outside there is a whorl (or circle) of five greenish scales :
these are sepals, and together make up the calyx, which in the
bud protects the delicate internal parts of the flower. Then
comes a whorl of yellow petals, forming the corolla : its bright
colour, and the fact that frequently, as in this case, there is to
be found honey about its base, induce insects to visit the flower.
Inside the corolla there is a large number of stamens; each of
these consists of a delicate stalk, and a little head, in which is
produced the dust-like pollen. Finally, in the centre is a
number of green grains, the seed-vessels : at the tip of the seed-
vessel is a receptive spot — the stigma — which is frequently borne
on a slender stalk — the style. Before the flower can set seed, it
is necessary for the ovules, which are contained in the seed-vessel,
to be fertilised, and this can take place only if pollen from the
stamens reaches the stigma— the receptive spot of the seed-vessel.
It has been found that better and more abundant seed is set if
the pollen be obtained from the flower of another plant, and it
is for the purpose of attaining this end that the plant invites
the visits of insects. These, in their hunt for honey, brush
against the stamens and stigma, and as they always carry about
a dust of foreign pollen, there is a considerable chance that the
stigma of a flower will receive pollen from one of its kind,
growing on a separate plant.
The different parts of the flower may be arranged in different
ways : frequently a complete set of parts is wanting — the wood
anemone, for example, has no corolla, but only a calyx, which
has become brightly coloured to take the place of the missing
petals. If either stamens, or seed-vessel, be absent, then two
kinds of flowers, one male with stamens, one female with seed-
vessels, are found, and sometimes on different plants. The
numbers of the parts vary greatly. Frequently the parts of a
whorl are united to form a single piece. The seed-vessel is often
embedded in the flower-stalk, below the other parts, instead of
being above them, as in the buttercup.
The flowers may occur singly in the axils of the leaves, that
is, in the angle between the leaf and the stem ; but more fre-
quently they are grouped in characteristic inflorescences. By a
spike we mean, in this book, any elongated mass of flowers
occupying the apex of a stem or branch. By an umbel we
mean an inflorescence in which the stem or branch ends
abruptly, giving rise to a large number of flower -stalks, the
lengths of which are such that the flowers all occupy one level,
and so form a flat, pancake-like, or convex, umbrella-like group
(e.g. Figs. 6, 7). By a composite head we mean a close head of
flowers surrounded by a number of greenish scales or leaves —
INTRODUCTION 13
the daisy shows this type. If we examine the so-called flower of
the daisy, we find that it is made up of a great number of little
flowers— those to the centre with a tubular, yellow corolla,
stamens, and a seed-vessel ; those to the margin with a white,
strap-shaped corolla, and a seed-vessel : while outside is a large
number of green scales; these serve to distinguish this type
from the simple head of a clover, which does not possess them.
The centre part of the daisy flower-head is spoken of as the
disc, the marginal part as the ray.
IDENTIFICATION OP A WILD FLOWER
Plants are grouped in families, in such a way as to bring
together those which show a natural relationship to each other.
As the characters on which this natural grouping rests are
frequently obscure, it has been thought best to employ in
this book an artificial arrangement, designed to enable the be-
ginner to identify a strange plant by means of its more obvious
characters. In the first place the plants dealt with are ar-
ranged in ten colour groups. As considerable variation occurs
in colour, and as the value placed by different people on a par-
ticular colour shade is not always the same, it would be well
if, for example, a purplish flower could not be found under
purple, to try under pate purple.
As some of the groups are rather large, it has been found
necessary to subdivide them. The method of working the
classification employed may best be understood if we take a
concrete example. Suppose we have found a specimen of the
Greater Stitchwort. It is a white flower, so we turn to the
table at the beginning of " White Flowers," and find that these
are arranged in three groups. As the Stitchwort has neither
composite-heads nor umbels, it must belong to group III ; here
there are two sub-groups, in the second of which, B, it must
be placed, as its leaves are quite simple : we then count the
number of stamens, which we find to be ten, and so learn that
it is among plants 55-65. It only remains for us to read over
the descriptions of these, and to compare our plant with the
illustrations, to determine which fits it properly, and so find its
name to be Stellaria Holostea, the Greater Stitchwort.
With the aid of this book it will be found possible to identify
a considerable number of our commoner or more striking wild
plants ; but only about one sixth of the total number of British
species is mentioned. If the interest of the reader carries him
beyond the limits of these pages, and is sufficient to nerve him
to face the difficulties of a more minute examination, and of a
more extended technical vocabulary, we may conclude by ad-
14 WILD FLOWERS
vising him to turn his attention to one of the standard works
on the subject. Of these two may be mentioned : — Babington's
Manual of British Botany, 9th ed., and Bentham and Hooker's
Handbook of the British Flora, 8th ed. As neither is illustrated,
we might add, as a companion volume, Smith's Illustrations of
the British Flora, 6th ed.
For general works on other branches of botany the list of books
given in Dr. Marie Stopes' Modern Botany should be consulted.
WHITE FLOWERS, 1-50
I. Flowers grouped in Composite Heads .... 1-5
II. Flowers grouped in Umbels 6-15
III. Flowers grouped otherwise, or occurring singly . 16-50
A. Leaves compound, deeply cut, or lobed . . 16-25
B. Leaves quite simple, at most toothed . . 26-50
a. Stamens absent ...... 50
b. Stamens 2-4 in number . . . 26-32
c. Stamens 5-7 in number . 33-42, 44, 45, 48
d. Stamens 8 or more in number . . 43-50
1. Daisy, Bellis perenni*, Daisy family. The short horizontal
underground stem bears rosettes of leaves, which are oval in
shape, tapering to the base, and irregularly toothed : from
among these arise several flower-stalks, each a few inches high
1. Common Daisy.
2. Millefoil.
and with a single flower-head : the disc is yellow, the ray
white with pink tips : perhaps the commonest of our wild
flowers, to be seen during the greater part of the year in
grassy places : the flower-heads are very sensitive, closing in
darkness and wet weather.
2. Millefoil, Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium^ Daisy family.
A common and very pretty plant of meadows and pastures :
16 WILD FLOWERS
. the leaves are 3 to 4 ins. long and lance-shaped in outline, but
they are deeply lobed, and the lobes are cut into fine seg-
ments, so that the leaf has a dainty feather-like appearance :
3. Sneeze wort.
4. Ox-eye.
the stem is about 1 ft. high, and bears a flat head of small
flower-heads : flowers in summer.
3. Sneezewort, Achillea Ftarmica, Daisy family. Like the
preceding species, this is one of our common summer meadow
plants: the flower-heads are somewhat
larger but are gathered into the same flat
inflorescence : the stem is 1 to 2 ft. high,
and bears narrow lance-shaped leaves,
with serrate margins, and a shiny surface.
4. Ox-eye, Chrysanthemum Leucanthe-
mum, Daisy family. In hay-fields in
summer the large flower-heads of the
Ox-eye, with their broad white rays and
yellow discs, are frequently abundant :
the stem is 1 to 2 ft. high and bears only
a few flower-heads : the leaves are dark
green, glossy, serrate, and narrow to-
wards the base. The Feverfew, a related
species with numerous smaller heads, and
compound leaves having lobed ovate leaf-
lets, is found on waste ground.
5. Mayweed, Matricaria inodora,D'disy
family. A common weed in fields and waste places, flowering
in late summer and autumn : the stem is about 1 ft. high and
WHITE FLOWERS
17
may be branched : the leaves are twice cut and the segments
are very narrow, almost hair-like : the flower-heads are few in
number, fairly large, with white ray and yellow disc : the plant
has a scent resembling, but not so strong as, that of the related
Chamumile.
6. Hemlock, Conium tnaculatum, Hemlock family. A plant
of hedgerows and waste places : it is easily recognised by the
fact that the stem (3 to 5 ft. high) is spotted with dull purple,
and by its mouse-like smell : the whole plant is smooth, with
a slight bloom : the leaves are large and doubly feather-com-
pound : the secondary leaflets are deeply notched : the large
6. Hemlock.
7. Gout-weed.
white umbels are to be seen in summer : the plant is highly
poisonous.
7. Gout-weed, Bishop's-weed, JBgopodiwm podagraria, Hem-
lock family. The leaves of this plant often cover considerable
areas in damp shady places, and it is frequently an annoying
garden weed : the leaves are large and divided into three
leaflets, each of which is again divided into three leaflets,
these being ovate, serrate, and glossy-green: from among the
leaves rises the flower stem, about 1 to 2 ft. high, with several
smallish umbels of yellowish-white flowers : flowers in summer.
8. Burnet- Saxifrage, Pimpinella Saxifraga, Hemlock family.
A common plant of pasture-land, flowering in autumn : from
the base of the stem spring a few feather-compound leaves,
with ovate, notched leaflets : the stem (1 to 2 ft. high) looks
bare, as its few leaves are divided into narrow, notched
18
WILD FLOWERS
segments ; the stem bears several small umbels, which are white
or tinged with red.
9. Pig-nut, Gonopodium denudatum, Hemlock family. The
8. Burnet-Saxifrage.
9. Pig-nut.
root is a single tuber which lies about 6 ins. underground, and
is frequently dug up and eaten by children : the stem is slender,
10. Sweet Cicely.
11. Shepherd's Needle.
especially below, and about 1 ft. high, with a few rather small
umbels: the leaves are doubly feather-compound, and the
WHITE FLOWERS 19
leaflets deeply notched, giving the plant a very graceful ap-
pearance : flowers in early summer.
10. Sweet Cicely, Myrrhis Odorata, Hemlock family. The
Myrrh of country children is fairly common on pastures and
damp waste ground : it is a tall (3 ft.) handsome plant with
large doubly or triply feather-compound leaves : the whole
plant is soft with fine hairs : the umbels are large and cream-
coloured : the fruits, as well as the leaves and stem, are
12. Wild Chervil.
13. Angelica.
aromatic and are eaten by children because of their pleasant
flavour : flowers in early summer.
11. Shepherd's Needle, Scandix Pecten-Veneris, Hemlock
family. The English name of this plant of the fields refers to
the long (2 ins.) slender needle-like fruits, which are very
striking after the flower has fallen : the stem is about 1 ft.
high with long triply feather-compound, light green leaves,
the segments of which are very narrow : the small umbels occur
one or two together : flowers summer.
12. Wild Chervil, Anthriscus sylvestris, Hemlock family.
One of our commonest hedgerow plants : it is coarse, with a
rough, furrowed stem about 3 ft. high, and large, doubly
feather-compound leaves, the leaflets of which are mucn
notched : the umbels are large, and show well the special
advantage of this type of inflorescence — the individual flowers
are small and inconspicuous, but in the mass they form a very
showy object: the effect is still further enhanced by the fact
that the external petals of the external flowers are much
20 WILD FLOWERS
enlarged : flowers in spring and early summer. The Rough
Chervil has less cut leaves and ribbed, instead of smooth, fruits.
13. Angelica, Angelica sylvestris, Hemlock family. A com-
mon plant in damp shady places : the stem is smooth, tinged
with purple, about 3 ft. high, and bears the large pinkish-white
umbels and the leaves: these are large, smooth, doubly com-
pound, with ovate, serrate leaflets : flowers in late summer.
A related species cultivated in gardens and occasionally escaping
was formerly used in medicine and is still employed in making
confectionery.
14. Cow-parsnip, Hog-weed, Heracleum Sphondylium,
Hemlock family. This coarse plant is a common weed of
14. Cow-parsnip.
15. Hedge Parsley.
banks and pastures : the stem is about 4 ft. high, and, as well
as the leaves, is rough with coarse hairs : the leaves are very
large and compound, the leaflets being deeply cut into serrate
lobes : the umbels are large, creamy or tinged with red, and
flower about mid-summer.
15. Hedge Parsley, Caucalis Anthriscus, Hemlock family.
The slender stems are usually about 2 ft. high, and carry
numerous small umbels of white or reddish flowers, opening
in summer: the fruits are markedly prickly : the leaves are
fine, doubly feather-compound, and with ovate, serrate leaflets :
the plant is common on banks and in hedges.
16. Traveller's Joy, Old Man's Beard, Clematis Vitalba,
Crowfoot family. One of the most familiar and beautiful
denizens of the English hedgerows: the stem rambles over
bushes and trees, often almost hiding the hedge : the leaves are
WHITE FLOWERS
21
opposite, feather-compound with ovate, coarsely serrate leaflets :
the leaf stalk acts as a tendril, twisting round any convenient
support, and so aiding the plant to climb : the flowers which
appear in June, in small bunches, in the leaf axils are devoid
of petals, and possess only 4 oval greyish sepals : in autumn
the flowers are succeeded bv clusters of little seed-like fruits,
16. Traveller's Joy.
17. Wood Anemone.
each with a long feathery style, and to these the plant owes
its chief claim to beauty.
17. Wood Anemone, Anemone nemorosa, Crowfoot family.
A familiar plant in shady woods, flowering in spring : the stem
is subterranean, and gives rise each year to 2 to 3 leaves, and a
slender flower-stalk, which bears 3 leaves and a single flower :
the leaves are deeply palm-divided into
3 to 5 notched segments : the flower is
devoid of corolla, but the sepals are petal-
like, generally white, but sometimes
purple in colour.
18. Water Crowfoot, Ranunculus
aquatilis, Crowfoot family. A large
number of forms of Water Crowfoot, all
resembling each other fairly closely, are
to be found in our streams and ponds :
all have submerged leaves, which are cut
into a number of very fine hair-like segments ; some have in
addition less divided aerial leaves : the small flowers are pro-
duced above the surface of the water ; the petals are white,
except for a yellow spot on the inner side : flowers in summer.
The Ivy -leaved Crowfoot is a form common in ditches, with leaves
like those of the ivy.
19. White Climbing Fumitory, Corydalis claviculata, Fumi-
tory family. A slender rambler, often attaining a length of
3 to 4 ft., and growing through and over bushes (especially
18. Water Crowfoot.
22 WILD FLOWERS
whin and bramble): the leaves are bright green and feather-
compound, each leaflet being divided into three secondary leaflets ;
the tip of the leaf is occupied by the delicate branched tendril,
which enables the plant to climb : the flowers, which are small
and cream-coloured, have a blunt spur
(projecting back, and occur in little groups
of four or five in summer.
20. Water-Cress, Nasturtium officinale,
Cress family. The Water-Cress is found
everywhere in small streams of running
water : the stein is usually 1 to 2 ft. long,
rising out of the water at least at the
tip, which bears a spike of small white
flowers : the leaves are feather-compound,
with ovate leaflets : the plant is much
more slender if it grows out of water,
but in suitable wet positions may be very luxuriant : flowers in
summer.
21. Hairy Bitter-Cress, Cardamine hirsuta, Cress family. A
common plant of moist meadows : it has a rosette of feather-
19. White Climbing
Fumitory.
20. Water-Cress.
21. Hairy Bitter-Cress.
compound leaves, with roundish, toothed leaflets: from this
rises the stem about 1 ft. high, with a few leaves and a spike
of small white flowers : the hairy sepals distinguish it readily
from land forms of the preceding species: flowera from
spring to autumn : the Common Bitter-Cress is a larger species
with large white flowers, which have conspicuous violet sta-
mens.
WHITE FLOWERS 23
22. Shepherd's Purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris, Cress family.
Perhaps the commonest of our weeds, found in fields, gardens,
roadsides, and woods, flowering almost all the year round : from
22. Shepherd's Purse.
23. Wood Sorrel.
the rosette of more or less deeply feather-cut leaves springs
a stalk about 1 ft. high, with a spike of inconspicuous white
flowers : the plant is most readily recognised by its fruits, which
are little heart-shaped pouches with the
notch turned outwards.
23. Wood Sorrel, Oxalis Acetosella,
Wood Sorrel family. One of the prettiest
of our woodland plants : there is a knotty
underground stem, from the apex of
which arise the slender leaf-stalks, each
with a leaf composed of three heart-
shaped leaflets, the base of the heart being
turned away from the stalk: among the
leaves there appear in early summer one
or two flower-stalks, each with a delicate,
drooping, bell-like flower, the white petals <
of which are veined with purple: the
leaves, which are occasionally used as a
salad, have a pleasant acid flavour.
24. Dutch Clover, Trifolium repens,
Vetch family. The stem is more or less
prostrate, and gives off leaves on long
stalks ; these are divided into three serrate leaflets, and possess
ovate stipules ; the flower stalks are longer than the leaves, in
the axils of which they grow, and bear heads of cream-coloured
24. Dutch Clover.
24 WILD FLOWERS
flowers, which turn brown with age : the flowers have a fine aroma,
and are much visited by bees for their honey : common in pastures
and meadows, flowering throughout summer and autumn.
25. Meadow-Sweet, Spircea Ulmaria, Rose family. The
" Queen-of-the-Meadow" is frequent in meadows and on river-
25. Meadow-Sweet
i. Great Bed-straw.
banks : the tall (2 to 3 ft.) stem bears handsome spikes, com-
posed of many cream-coloured flowers, and large feather-com-
pound leaves, with alternate pairs of
large and small, serrate leaflets: stem
and leaves alike have a reddish tinge :
flowers throughout summer: very fra-
grant.
26. Great Bed-straw, Galium Mollugo,
Bed-straw family. The stem is long,
branched, and scrambling amongst grass
and bushes : it bears small, narrow leaves
in whorls of 6 to 8 : the small white
flowers are grouped in a large, loose,
much-branched terminal brush : flowers
in late summer.
27. Stone Bed-straw, Galium Saxatile,
Bed-straw family. A small plant creep-
ing amongst rocks and on short turf : the
stem is branched, and has whorls of a^out 6 small, sharply-
pointed leaves : the small white flowers are grouped in loose,
branched clusters at the ends of the flowering steins : flowers in
late summer.
27. Stone Bed-straw.
WHITE FLOWERS
25
28. Goose-grass, Cleavers, Galium Aparine, Bed -straw family.
The long weak stems scramble in thickets : they bear whorls of
6 to 8 leaves, in the axils of which may grow little clusters of
small, yellowish-white flowers : the whole plant, especially the
28. Goose-grass.
'. Woodruff.
fruits, is clad with hooked bristles: these enable the plant to
scramble the more securely, and the fruits to hang on to passing
animals, and so become dispersed : flowers
in summer.
29. Woodruff, Asperula odorata, Bed-
straw family. The erect stem is ^ to 1 ft.
high, with whorls of about 6 to 8 stiff
lance-shaped leaves : the small white
flowers are gathered in loose terminal
groups : the plant is very fragrant, especi-
ally when dry : common in woods, flower-
ing in early summer.
30. Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Vero-
nica serpyllifolia, Fox-glove family. This
little plant is a common weed in gardens,
woods, and roadsides : the branched stem
lies along the ground, and has pairs of
smooth, oval leaves ; the terminal portion
of each branch is, however, erect, and
bears a single spike of flowers ; the flowers,
which are small and white, with delicate blue veins, appear
throughout summer.
31. Eye-bright, Euphrasia officinalis, Foxglove family. A
very variable little plant, common on heaths and pastures,
30. Thyme-leaved
Speedwell.
26 WILD FLOWERS
where it flowers in summer : it may range from 1 to 8 'ins. in
height, the stem being simple or slightly branched, and bearing
pairs of ovate, serrate, sessile leaves : the flowers form a short,
terminal spike : in colour they may be white, white veined
with purple, or completely purple.
32. Wood-sage, Teucrium Scorodonia, Dead-nettle family.
The stem is square and about 1 ft. high, with pairs of wrinkled,
81. Eye-bright.
32. Wood-sage.
ovate or heart-shaped leaves, the margins of which are bluntly
serrate : the flowers are rather small, tubular, dirty-white in
colour, and occur in two or three terminal spikes : the plant,
which has an aromatic smell if crushed, flowers in late summer,
and is common in dry woods and on
banks.
33. Spring Whitlow-grass, Erophila
verna, Cress family. This pretty little
plant occurs in patches on walls and bare,
dry banks, and in spring speckles them
with the white of its starry flowers : the
flower-stalks rise from a rosette of lance-
shaped, toothed leaves, and are either simple
33. Spring Whitlow-gras3.witf; ^ or ^ fl( p
several little spikes : each petal is deeply divided into two
lobes : the plant is usually less than 2 ins. high, but may
sometimes reach a height of about 4 ins.
34. Scurvy-grass, Cochlearia officinalis, Cress family. A
plant of the sea-coast, flowering on grassy slopes, and in crevices
WHITE FLOWERS
27
of the cliffs, in spring and summer : the leaves are smooth and
rather fleshy, those at the base of the stem being more or less
heart-shaped, while the leaves of the flowering stems have no
stalks, and tend to be arrow-shaped : the
flowers occur in dense spikes : the plant
was formerly used as a cure for and pre-
ventive of scurvy by whalers and Arctic
travellers.
35. Jack-by-the-Hedge, Sauce-alone,
Sisymbrium A lliaria, Cress family. A tall
plant (1 to 3 ft.) of hedges and damp
woods : the stem is slender, with large,
thin, light-green leaves, the upper heart-
shaped and coarsely toothed, the lower
more rounded : the small flowers are
gathered in short spikes, and appear in
early summer : " the plant smells of garlic
when crushed.
36. Pepperwort, Lepidium Smithii,
Cress family. A common weed of dry
banks, flowering in summer : the stem is £ to 1 ft. high,
and is closely clad with arrow-shaped, sessile leaves : the
lower leaves are narrowed into a stalk : the flowers are small
34. Scurvy-grass.
35. Jack-by-the-Hedge.
. Pepperwort.
and gathered in short thick spikes : the fruit is an ovate pouch
with an apical notch : the plant is rough with hairs.
37. Penny-Cress, Thlaspi arvenst, Cress family. The stem,
which is about 1 ft. high, is loosely clad with arrow-shaped
28 WILD FLOWERS
leaves : the small white flowers are gathered in loose spikes :
the most notable feature is the fruit, which gives the plant its
name ; it is a large disc-shaped pouch, with the centre swollen,
and with an apical notch: a common field weed, flowering in
summer.
38. Grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris, Saxifrage
family. A very beautiful and not uncommon bog plant, flower-
ing in autumn : it has a rosette of stalked heart-shaped leaves,
from which rise the flowering stems : the leaves on the stems
are sessile : the flowers are large and creamy white : the plant
is about | ft. high, and is quite smooth.
39. Sundew, Drosera rotundifolia, Sundew family. A little
37. Penny-Cress.
38. Grass of Parnassus.
bog plant, readily recognised by its rosette of round, stalked
leaves, which are covered with small, red tentacles, and have a
glistening appearance, as if spangled with dew : any insect
which lights on the leaf is held by a sticky fluid, and the ten-
tacles close over it, pouring on to it a digestive liquid, which
enables the plant to absorb the nutritious part of its prey : the
Sundew is thus insectivorous: the small, whitish flowers are
born in little clusters on stalks, rising from the rosette in late
summer.
40. Chickweed Wintergreen, Trientalis europcea, Primrose
family. The stem is about 4 ins. high, and bears a single whorl
of pointed leaves, oval in shape, but broadest towards the tip :
from this spring several delicate flower-stalks, each with a fairly
large, white, star-like flower : the plant is a very beautiful, but
by no means common inhabitant of northern woods, flowering
in early summer.
WHITE "FLOWERS 29
41. Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, Forget-me-not family. A
tall (1 to 2 ft.) coarse plant, common in damp, shady places :
39. Sundew.
40. Chickweed Wintergreen.
the large lance-shaped leaves are continued down the stem in
the form of prominent ridges : the flowers occur in small,
drooping clusters in the leaf -axils : they are bell-shaped, usually
41. Comfrey.
42. Ramsons, Wild Garlic.
white, but sometimes purple, and appear in early summer : the
whole plant is very rough with hairs.
42. Ramsons, Wild Garlic, A Ilium ursinum, Hyacinth family.
From the subterranean bulb arise two large, soft, oval, pointed
so
WILD FLOWERS
leaves, and a long triangular flower-stalk, which bears a single
umbel of large white flowers ; below these are two membranous
leaves : the whole plant gives off a smell of garlic if crushed : it
is fairly common in damp woods, often
occurring in large patches : flowers in
early summer.
43. Water-Lily, Castalia alba, Water-
lily family. The most striking of our
water plants : the large white flowers
appear on the surface of the water in
August : it is of interest to note that
the petals pass gradually into the
stamens : the seeds are liberated only
when the fruit rots away : the leaves
are large, floating, and rounded heart-
shaped.
44. Mouse-ear, Cerastium vulgatum,
Pink family. An insignificant little
weed of the garden, the field, and the roadside : the branches
of the stem are mostly prostrate, but some rise from the ground,
and these bear groups of small white flowers, the petals of which
43. Water-Lily.
44. Mouse-ear.
4"). Chickweed.
are almost hidden within the calyx: the leaves are in pairs,
lance-shaped, and, like the whole plant, more or less downy :
flowers almost the whole year through.
45. CMckweed, Stellaria media, Pink family. A common
garden weed : the stem is much branched, and often reaches a
considerable length, trailing on the ground : the leaves are in
WHITE FLOWERS
31
pairs, ovate and bright green : the flowers occur singly in the
leaf axils, as well as in little groups at the tips of the stems ;
they are small, and the petals, which are hidden in the calyx,
are cleft in two almost to the base : flowers throughout the year.
46. Greater Stitchwort.
47. Pearlwort.
46. Greater Stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea, Pink family. A
handsome, early summer plant : the weak stems, about 1 to 2 ft.
long, generally grow in the rough grass
of hedges and banks, which supports
them : the leaves are in pairs, lance-
shaped, drawn out, and rough ; flowers
large, white, in terminal groups : the
Lesser Stitchwort is a more slender plant
flowering in summer : the Marsh Stitch-
wort is found in wet places, and has quite
small flowers.
47- Pearlwort, Sagina nodosa, Pink
family. The steins occur in a group, are
at first prostrate, and then rise to a height
of 3 to 4 ins., bearing each 1 to 3 flowers :
the flowers are large, delicate, and white :
the leaves are short and narrow, and oc-
cur 2 to 4 together on the stems : a fresh
little plant, common in moist places,
flowering in summer : it has one or two
similar relatives, with inconspicuous
flowers having only 4 stamens,
48. Spurrey, Spergula arvensis, Pink family. The stem is
about 1 ft. high, with whorls of long narrow leaves, each with a
48. Spurrey.
32 WILD FLOWERS
furrow along its lower face : the flowers are of medium size,
and are gathered in loose, leafless spikes at the end of the
stems ; when the fruit is formed the flower-stalks bend down-
wards : a common weed of cultivated land, flowering in summer,
and emitting an evil stench, especially when wet with dew or
rain : it occurs in two varieties, the commoner of which has
frequently fewer stamens — often only 5.
49. Wintergreen, Pyrola minor, Heath family. The stem
is prostrate for a short distance, and bears several rounded oval
49. Wintergreen.
50. Arrowhead.
leaves, then it bends sharply upwards, and ends in a slender
spike of drooping flowers, almost globular in shape, and in colour
white, with a shade of pink : a pretty summer flower, found in
woods and heaths.
50. Arrowhead, Sagittaria sagittifolia, Water-plantain family.
A plant of English ditches and rivers : the leaves rise from the
water on long stalks, and are arrow-shaped: in the centre of
these is the tall flower-stalk, with a spike of large, white flowers,
some of which have only stamens, and others only seed-vessels :
many leaves remain submerged, and these possess only long
narrow stalks without blades : flowers in August.
YELLOW FLOWERS
33
YELLOW FLOWERS, 51-99
I. Flowers grouped in Composite Heads .... 51-65
II. Flowers grouped otherwise or occurring singly . . 66-99
A. Leaves compound, deeply cut, or lobed . 66-80
B. Leaves quite simple, at most toothed . 81-99
a. Stamens absent, or 3-4 in number 81-86
b. Stamens 5-6 in number . . 87-90
c. Stamens more than 6 in number . 91-99
51. Golden-rod, Solidago Virgaurea, Daisy family. The
leaves are lance-shaped with serrate edges, dark green in colour,
and borne on the angular branched stem : flower-heads small
but numerous and gathered into a handsome, yellow, brush-like
inflorescence : the plant is medium-sized, 1 to 2 ft. high, and
51. Goldeu-rod.
52. Corn-Marigold.
inclined to be bushy : it grows in thickets, flowering in late
summer : the leaves were formerly much used for dressing
wounds : foreign species are cultivated as the Golden-rods of the
garden.
52. Corn-Marigold, Chrysanthemum segetum, Daisy family.
The leaves are very smooth, and bright green, oblong in shape,
but deeply notched : flower-heads large, with a conspicuous ray,
and occurring singly : the plant is small, about 1 ft. nigh, and
slightly branched : it occurs in corn-fields, where it flowers from
c
34 WILD FLOWERS
June to August : not originally a native in Britain, but now
completely at home.
53. Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, Daisy family. The leaf is
deeply feather-cut into slender segments ; these are again divided,
and the segments so formed are serrate ; in consequence the whole
leaf has a feathery appearance. The flower-heads are small,
button-like, and have no ray : they occur in large, flat, umbel-
like inflorescences : the plant is 2 to 3 ft. high, and has a hand-
some appearance : it grows about roadsides and river-banks,
and is cultivated in old gardens for the sake of its strong aroma.
53. Tansy.
51. Coltsfoot.
Tansy Tea, made from the leaves, was formerly a much used
medicine.
54. Coltsfoot, Tussilago Farfara, Daisy family. This plant
possesses an underground stem, which lives through the winter,
and in March sends up a short stalk, clothed with small,
pointed, reddish scales, with a single large, bright yellow flower-
head: in early spring these are conspicuous and beautiful
along roads, railways, and field-sides : the leaves only appear
when the flower is over : they are large, roundish heart-shaped,
with toothed margins: the under surface is covered with a
white down : the leaf is still used as a substitute for tobacco,
and is supposed to be a cure for colds.
55. Groundsel, Senecio vulgaris, Daisy family. The leaves
are smooth and sometimes woolly, cut into blunt, toothed
lobes : the flower-heads are small, somewhat egg-shaped, with-
out a ray, and occur a few together at the apex of the stem : the
YELLOW FLOWERS 35
plant is a weed of cultivated land, and particularly of gardens :
its only use is as a food for canaries : Senecio sylvaticus is a very
similar plant, growing by roadsides: it may be distinguished
by its sticky stem, woolly leaves, and by its disagreeable smell.
1 56. Ragwort, Senecio Jacobcea, Daisy family. A tall, coarse
55. Groundsel.
56. Ragwort.
plant which grows on commons and pastures : it is sometimes
called the Tansy, but is readily distinguished from that plant :
it has no aroma : its flower-heads have
a distinct ray, and are gathered into a
large and conspicuous head : the leaves
are deeply cut into toothed lobes, but
have not the feathery appearance of those
of Tanacetum : a handsome plant, but an
annoying weed : S. aquations is a similar
plant which grows in boggy situations.
57. Nipplewort. Lapsana communis,
Daisy family. Tne lower leaves are
lyre-shaped, with one large, ovate ter-
minal looe and several pairs of smaller
lobes : the stem is slender, about 2 ft.
high, branched, and stem and leaves are
slightly hairy: the flower-heads are
small and gathered into a loose terminal g7 lewort.
inflorescence : the fruit has no pappus
(see Hypochceris) : the plant is common in shady places, where
it flowers in late summer.
36
WILD FLOWERS
58. Hawk's-beard, Crepis virens, Daisy family. A slender
branched plant of medium size, common in meadows, where
it flowers in summer : the upper leaves are arrow-shaped, arid
clasp the stem ; the lower are frequently cut into blunt
segments, or they may only have large, narrow teeth : the
leaves are all smooth : the flower-heads are smallish, and
occur in a loose brush : C. paludosa is a larger-flowered species,
with dandelion-like leaves, which grows in marshy ground.
59. Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Hieracium Pilosella^ Daisy family.
The leaves form a rosette on the surface of the ground : they
are oval and pointed, very hairy on both sides, and white
underneath : the flower-heads are fairly large, and occur singly
58. Hawk's-beard.
59. Mouse-ear Hawkweed.
on the end of stalks 3 to 4 ins. high, several of which may
rise from the centre of the rosette : the rosette also gives rise
to leafy runners : the plant is common on dry sunny banks,
and flowers all summer.
60. Hawkweed, Hieracium boreale, Daisy family. A tall
(2 to 4 ft.), handsome plant, with large yellow flower-heads,
gathered into a loose apical inflorescence : the stem is leafy
and branched, the leaves toothed, ovate or lance-shaped, the
upper sessile, the lower narrowed into a stalk : flowers about
August, and is common in dry sunny situations : there is a
very large number of different species of Hawkweedj many of
which differ only slightly from each other.
61. Cat's-ear, Hypochceris radicata, Daisy family. The leaves
form a rosette : they are oblong, with large, blunt teeth pointing
backwards, and covered with short rough hairs ; the stem is
about 1 ft. high, is branched, and has only very small leaves :
YELLOW FLOWERS
37
the flower-heads are large, and occur singly at the apices of the
stem branches : like most other members of the daisy family,
the little, seed-like fruits are crowned by a circle of fine hairs —
60. Hawkweed.
61. Cat's-ear.
the "pappus" — which represents the calyx of the flower : this
pappus enables the fruit to remain long suspended in the air,
so that it may be borne a considerable
distance by the wind, and settle in a
new position far from the parent plant :
in the case of the Cat's-ear (and some
others), the pappus is borne, not on the
fruit itself, but on a slender beak situ-
ated on the apex of the fruit : it has
the appearance of a tiny umbrella : the
Cat's-ear grows on waste ground, and
flowers in July.
62. Hawkbit, Leontodon autumnalis,
Daisy family. Closely resembles the
Cat's-ear, but may be distinguished from
it by the pappus, which rests on the
fruit, and by the fact that the leaves
are narrower, more deeply cut, and not
so hairy : found in pastures and waste
ground, flowering all summer.
63. Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale,
Daisy family. The leaves of this familiar meadow and road-
side plant are long, pointed, bright glossy green, and have
large teeth pointing backwards : they are arranged in a rosette
62. Hawkbit.
38
WILD FLOWERS
from which spring the hollow flower-stalks, each with its
single, large, bright yellow head : as conspicuous as the flower-
head is the fruiting-head, which suc-
ceeds it : each little seed-like fruit is pro-
vided with an umbrella-like pappus,
and the whole head — the material of a
familiar game in every country — is a
dainty ball of plumes.
64. SowtMstle, Sonchus oleraceus,
Daisy family. A tall, coarse plant, with
a thick, somewhat branched stem : little
bunches of the large, bright yellow
flower-heads are borne about the tips
of the branches : the leaves and stem
have a strikingly glossy, dark-green
appearance : the upper leaves are arrow-
shaped, sharply toothed, and clasp the
stem : the lower leaves may be lobed : flowers in summer, being
abundant on waste ground.
65. Goafs-beard, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, Tragopogon pra-
tense, Daisy family. The leaves are long, narrow, and sharply
63. Dandelion,
64. Sowthistle.
65. Goafs-beard,
J ack-go-to-bed-at-Ncon.
pointed : the stem is about 18 ins. high, and is branched : at the
tips of the branches are borne the large, yellow flower-heads,
which only open in the early morning, closing about eleven
o'clock : the pappus (see Hypochceris) is very conspicuous, and is
borne on. the end of a long beak : common in pastures,
flowering in June.
YELLOW FLOWERS 39
66. Upright Crowfoot, Buttercup, Ranunculus acris, Crow-
foot family. The bright yellow flowers of the Buttercup are
familiar in all meadows : they appear in summer on stems
1 to 2 ft, high : most of the leaves grow on long stalks from
66. Upright Crowfoot,
Buttercup.
67. Greater Celandine
near the root : they are hairy and deeply palm-divided, the
segments being also cut : the flower-stalks are not furrowed.
There are several related species which are quite common :
the Creeping Crowfoot with a furrowed
flower-stalk, and sending out runners :
the Bulbous Crowfoot with the sepals bent
sharply back, and the base of the stein
much swollen: Goldilocks, common in
woods, distinguished from the others by
the fact that there is no little scale inside
the petals at their base : the Corn Crow-
foot in corn-fields with spiny seed-vessels.
67. Greater Celandine, Chelidonium
majus, Poppy family. The stem is tall,
branched, and leafy : the leaves are fairly
large and deeply lobed : the flowers are
small, and the fruits long and pod-like :
the plant is common in shady waste
places, and is peculiar in possessing a
thick juice, which is bright orange in
colour : flowers in summer.
68. Yellow Rocket, Barbarea vulgarly
Cress family. The stem is 1 to 2 ft.
high, and may be slightly branched : the leaves are feather-
lobed, lyre-shaped, and dark, glossy green : the flowers are
small, yellow, and borne in crowded spikes at the ends of the
68. Yellow Rocket.
40
WILD FLOWERS
branches; the fruits are long slender pods containing many
seeds: a common weed of waste places and cultivated fields,
flowering throughout summer.
69. Charlock, Brassica arvensis, Cress family. This "wild
mustard" is an exceedingly common weed in corn-fields: it
69. Charlock.
70. Mignonette.
flowers in summer, when the corn is still green, and sometimes
turns whole fields into a mass of gold : the stem is about Ij ft.
high : the upper leaves are ovate, notched, and sessile ; the lower
have stalks and are feather-lobed : the
flowers occur in terminal spikes : the
pods are knotty.
70. Mignonette, Reseda lutea, Mignon-
ette family. The wild Mignonette is not
unlike the garden sort, but it is odour-
less : the stem is taller, and the flowers
are yellow with a greenish tinge : they
are borne in spikes at the end of the leafy
stem : the leaves are much cut, and are
smooth : the seed-vessel is peculiar as it
is always open : the Weld is a close
relative ; it is a taller, coarser plant with
green flowers ; both plants are common
on waste ground, flowering in summer.
t 71. Black Medick, Medicago lupulina, Pea family. Many
tiny yellow flowers are gathered in little oval heads, borne on
short stalks along the stem : the leaves have 3 leaflets, which
71. Black Medick.
YELLOW FLOWERS
41
72. Meiilot.
are toothed : stipules small, toothed : the fruit is a little, curved
pod, green at first, then black : the teeth of the calyx are equal
in length : the plrnt is quite small, and trails along the ground :
common on waste ground, flowering
throughout the summer.
72. Meiilot, Melilotus officinalis, Pea
family. The stems are erect 2 to 3
ft. high : the leaves have 3 elliptical,
serrate leaflets, and small, sharply-
pointed stipules : the flowers are small,
and borne in long slender spikes, in the
leaf axils, on the upper part of the
stems : the plant is common in dry
pastures, flowering in summer : it has a
delightful, sweet, aromatic odour, espe-
cially when dry, and is used in flavouring
gruyere cheese.
73. Hop Trefoil, Trifolium procum-
"bens, Pea family. The flowers are crowded
into little stalked heads of about 40 :
the leaves have 3 leaflets : the stem
is trailing : 2 of the calyx teeth are
much shorter than the other 3 : the stipules are entire :
common about roadsides and other dry places, flowering in
summer : the Lesser Trefoil is a smaller species with only
about a dozen flowers in the heads, and
resembles the Medick, from which it may
be distinguished by the character of the
pod, which remains hidden within the
withered corolla.
74. Lady's Finger, Kidney Vetch,
Anthyllis Vulneraria, Pea family. Several
short (6 to 12 ins.) stems rise close together
from the root : the feather-compound
leaves have 7 to 11 leaflets, and are soft
with hairs : the pale-yellow flowers are
gathered in heads, 2 heads always stand-
ing together at the tip of a branch :
common on dry banks, flowering in sum-
mer : the leaves were formerly used for dressing wounds.
75. Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, Pea family.
Another creeping plant, with orange-yellow flowers gathered in
heads : the flowers are, however, large, and only 5 to 10 occur in
a head : the stalk which bears the head is long and slender :
the pod is long and narrow : the leaves have 3 leaflets, but
appear to have 5, because the stipulei are large and resemble
73. Hop Trefoil.
42 WILD FLOWERS
leaflets : the leaflets are sharply pointed : the plant is common
in dry pastures, flowers in summer, and has a pleasant odour.
76. Meadow Vetchling, Lathyrus pratensis, Pea family. The
stem may be a yard long, and rambles over the banks on which
the plant grows : the leaves have 2 lance-shaped leaflets, and
2 fairly large stipules : the tip of the leaf is converted into a
delicate branched tendril, which aids the plant in climbing:
the flowers occur several together in loose heads, borne on long
stalks, in the leaf axils : flowers in late summer.
77. Wood Ayens, Geum urbanum, Rose family. The stem
is about 2 ft. high, and is branched : the small vellow flowers
74. Lady's Finger, Kidney
Vetch.
75. Bird's-foot Trefoil.
occur singly about the tips of the branches : the leaves are lyre-
shaped ; leaflets serrate ; stipules prominent. The little seed-like
fruit, when ripe, is provided with a hooked spine, by which it
becomes attached to passing animals, and is carried oft' to a new
situation : it is common in woods and thickets, flowering in
summer.
78. Tormentil, Potentilla sylvestris, Rose family. The stem
is trailing, and arises from a woody stock : the leaves are palm-
compound, the upper sessile, the lower stalked ; leaflets serrate ;
stipules prominent : the flowers are small, with slender stalks,
ana stand singly in the leaf axils: common on dry banks,
flowering in summer: the woody stock has been used in
medicine, and for dyeing.
79. Silver- weed, Potentilla Anserina, Rose family. The stem
is creeping, and bears leather-compound leaves, with many
YELLOW FLOWERS 43
serrate leaflets ; these are not all of one size, smaller alternate
with larger: the leaves are of a silvery white colour beneath:
the flowers are large, and occur singly : the plant is a common
76. Meadbw Vetchling.
77. Wood Avens.
weed of roadsides, flowering in early summer : the root is used
as food by swine.
80. Agrimony, Agrimonia Eupatoria, Rose family. The stem
78. Tormentil.
79. Silver-weed.
is erect and of medium height : the feather-compound leaves
have about 7 large leaflets, and a number of intermediate
small ones : leaflets are sharply serrate and hairy : the flowers
44
WILD FLOWERS
are small, and pale yellow, and are borne on a long slender ter-
minal spike : the plant grows on dry sunny banks and fields,
and flowers in summer : formerly used for medicinal purposes.
A. odorata, a similar plant with a fragrant odour, is much rarer.
81. Crosswort, Galium cruciata, Bed-straw family. The stem
is 1 to 2 ft. long, and is somewhat weak, so that the plant tends
to trail in the coarse grass or bushes amongst which it grows :
the leaves are numerous, and are arranged in whorls of 4 ; they
are oval and hairy : in the axils of the upper whorls are groups
of flowers : the flower is small, pale yellow, and shaped like a
four-rayed star : flowers in spring and early summer
82. Yellow Bed-straw, Galium verum, Bed-straw family.
The stem is erect, about 1 to 1| ft. high : the leaves are
80. Agrimony.
81. Crosswort.
numerous, and occur in whorls of about 8 : they are very
narrow, needle-shaped, and dark, glossy green : the flowers are
like those of the Crosswort, but are bright yellow, and occur in
a conspicuous, crowded brush at the end of the stem, giving
the plant a striking appearance on the dry banks and turfy
places, where it flowers in summer.
83. Yellow Toad-flax, Linaria vulgaris, Foxglove family.
The stem is 1 to 2 ft. high, clad with dark, smooth, narrow
leaves, and ending in a handsome spike of flowers : the flowers
are large and yellow with an orange spot : the corolla is in one
piece, with 2 lips, the lower lip being pursed up so as to close the
opening : it is provided with a honey-containing spur behind :
found on gravelly soil, flowering in summer.
84. Musk, Mimulus Langsdorfii, Foxglove family. This plant
is found commonly on the margins of ponds and ditches : it
YELLOW FLOWERS 45
has a thick stem 1 to 2 ft. high, which bears large, smooth,
ovate leaves with serrate edges : the flowers are large, bright
yellow, and occur at the tip of the stem : the plant is a native
82. Yellow Bed-straw.
83. Yellow Toad-flax.
of America, but is now quite acclimatised and widely spread in
this country ; it flowers throughout summer.
85. Yellow Rattle, Rhinanthus Crista-galli, Foxglove family.
84. Musk.
85. Yellow Rattle.
The stem is 1 to 2 ft. high, and bears many pairs of lance-shaped,
sharply serrate leaves : the flowers are in a loose terminal spike :
the yellow corolla protrudes only slightly from the bladder-like
46
WILD FLOWERS
calyx : the plant is common in pastures, flowering in summer,
and is interesting because it attaches its roots to those of grasses,
and draws nourishment from these.
86. Spotted Hemp-nettle, Gakopsis versicolor, Dead-nettle
86. Spotted Hemp-nettle.
87. Primrose.
family. This is one of the most striking weeds of cultivated
ground, being specially abundant in potato and turnip fields :
it is at once distinguished by its tall (2
to 3 ft. high), square, branched stem, and
its large yellow, purple-spotted flowers,
with their 2-lipped corollas: the leaves
are ovate, with a narrow point and serrate
margin, and are borne in pairs : flowers
in autumn.
87. Primrose, Primula vulgaris, Prim-
rose family. The primrose is one of our
most typical spring flowers: it is to be
found in all sorts of positions, from dry
sunny banks to damp woods, flowering as
1 early as March: the oblong, wrinkled leaves
form a rosette on the ground, from which
rise the flower-stalks, each with a single
flower : the flowers are of two kinds : in
one, called thrum-eyed, the little bunch
88. Loosestrife. of 5 stamens appears in the opening of
the salver-shaped corolla: in the other,
the pin-eyed, found on a different plant, the opening is closed
by thepinhead-like stigma : this is an adaptation to secure cross-
YELLOW FLOWERS
47
89. Yellow Pimpernel.
fertilisation, as the part of an insect which touches the stamens
of the one kind of flower will touch the stigma of the other
kind only : Primula veris, the Cowslip, has a little bunch of smaller
and darker yellow stalked flowers at the tip of a common stem.
88. Loosestrife, Lysimachia vulgarly Primrose family. A
tall plant, 2 to 3 ft. high, flowering on stream banks in July :
the leaves are large, ovate, and borne in groups of 2 to 3 to 4 :
the yello\v iluwers occur in a dense terminal pyramid.
89. Yellow Pimpernel, Lysimachia nemorum. Primrose
family. A little creeping plant found in
damp woods : the stem Dears pairs of glossy,
ovate leaves, from the axils of which spring
slender stalks, each with a single small,
starry, yellow flower, later on replaced by
a globular seed-vessel. L. Nummularia,
the Moneywort, grows in similar situations :
its leaves are broader, and its flowers, on
shorter stalks, are much larger ; altogether
a more striking species : both flower in
summer.
90. Bog - Asphodel, Narthecium ossi-
fragum, Hyacinth family. A pretty little
plant about 6 ins. high, common in peat-
bogs, flowering in summer : the single stem bears a spike of
golden yellow flowers and a few short leaves : from the lower
part of the stem spring groups of grass-
like sword-shaped leaves.
91. Lesser Spearwort, Ranunculus
Flammula, Crowfoot family. Growing
in wet places along the margins of
streams and lakes, the Spearwort has an
upright stem, about 1 to 1J ft. high,
bearing leaves, the lower ovate, the upper
quite narrow; they are entire, and smooth:
the flowers are few in number, bright
yellow, and about \ in. across : the juice
of the plant acts as a strong irritant on
the skin : flowers in summer : the Greater
Spearwort is a rarer plant, with much
larger flowers.
92. Lesser^ Celandine, Ranunculus
Ficaria, Crowfoot family. This beauti-
ful spring flower carpets the forest floor
with golden flowers in March and April, and with glossy green
leaves in early summer: the leaves are roundish, heart-shaped,
stalked, and in a rosette, from which rise the flower-stalks, each
90. Bog- Asphodel.
48 WILD FLOWERS
with a single bright yellow flower: the roots, which persist
during winter, are tuberous, and carry a store of food, thus
enabling the plant to produce flowers and leaves early in the
year.
93. Marsh- Marigold, Caltha palustris, Crowfoot family. The
91. Lesser Spearwort.
92. Lesser Celandine.
large yellow flowers of this handsome plant appear in spring,
borne at the tip of the hollow stem : the plant is frequent in
marshes and ditches : the leaves are rounded heart-shaped and
93. Marsh-Marigold.
94. Yellow Water-Lily,
Brandy- Bottle.
dark glossy green: there is no corolla, the calyx taking its
P94." Yellow Water-Lily, Brandy-Bottle, Nymphasa , lutea,
Water-lily family. The leaves are elongated, heart-shaped
they are unwettable, and float on the surface of the water,
YELLOW FLOWERS 49
while the plant roots in the mud below : the flowers appear in
July, and are large, with a smell like brandy : the seecf-vessel
is urn-shaped.
95. Rock-Rose, Helianthemum Chamcecistus, Rock-rose family.
This is a common plant on dry banks and pastures : it is
small, low-growing, and somewhat shrub-
by : the stems bear pairs of small, oval,
slightly hairy leaves, with stipules, and
a few large, bright yellow flowers, with
fragile petals: flowers in summer and
autumn.
96. St. 'John's Wort, Hypericum pul-
chrum, St. John's Wort family. The
loose spikes of the small yellow flowers,
with reddish buds and stamens, are a
common feature of our heaths and hedges
in summer : the slender stem may be
slightly branched, and has pairs of small,
sessile, heart-shaped leaves : the small black dots on the petals
and sepals are glands : several other species, all with spikes of
yellow flowers, but differing in various respects, are common.
95. Rock-Rose.
96. St. John's Wort.
97. Petty Whin.
97. Petty Whin, Genista anglica, Vetch family. On heather
moors, in moist but not boggy positions, the Petty Whin is fre-
quently found : it is a little plant with a trailing, slightly
branched stem : the leaves are small and ovate, and, besides these,
D
50
WILD FLOWERS
the stem bears slender compound thorns, which are modified
branches : the flowers are fairly large, occurring in loose clusters
in early summer : the pods are much swollen when ripe.
G. tinctoria, a less common species, without thorns and with
elliptic leaves, goes by the name of Dyer's-weed, as it yields a
yellow dye.
98. Furze, Gorse, Whin, Ulex europceus, Vetch family. The
Whin is very common on heaths, pastures, and waste places,
and lends a note of colour to the country-
side in the early months of the year, when
it begins to flower : the leaves and many
of the branches are reduced to the char-
acteristic spines — this at the same time
preventing loss of much water, and pro-
tecting the shrub from browsing animals :
Furze, Gorse, Whin.
Wall-Pepper, Biting
Stouecrop.
the large yellow flowers and their peculiar fragrance are familiar
to all.
99. Wall-Pepper, Biting Stonecrop, Sedum acre, Stone-
crop family. This little plant is common in dry rocky places :
in such situations it is exposed to great drought, but its little,
cylindrical, fleshy leaves act as water-stores, and only dry up
with great difficulty : if chewed they have a flavour of pepper :
the flowers are star-like and yellow, appearing in summer.
ROSE FLOWERS
51
ROSE FLOWERS, 100-116
A. Leaves compound, deeply cut, or lobed . . 100-104
B. Leaves quite simple, at most toothed . . 105-116
100. Fumitory, Fumaria officinalis, Fumitory family. A
common weed of cultivated land : the stem is low, weak, and
much branched, so that the plant has a
bushy appearance : the leaves are bright
green, and twice compound : the flowers,
which are small ana gathered in little
spikes at the ends of the branches, have
a little spur, so that they appear to be
fixed sideways on the stalk : the tips of
the petals are often darker than the rest
of the flower : flowers throughout the
summer.
101. Rest-harrow, Ononis repens,
Vetch family. The prostrate, branched,
and often somewhat woody stem grows
along the sand and turf of dunes and
similar barren situations : the leaves are compound, with 3 leaf-
lets, and usually the plant is provided with a few spines ; the
•3?
I c Q7
101. Rest- Harrow.
102. Water-Avens.
flowers, which occur singly in the leaf-axils, are fairly large, and
rose-pink, veined with crimson ; they appear throughout summer.
102. Water Avens, (Jeum rivale, Rose family. Stem is 1 to
52 WILD FLOWERS
1J ft. high: the leaves are feather-compound, with 1 large
terminal leaflet, and several pairs of smaller ones : at the apex
of the stem are borne a few flowers : these are large, drooping,
and in colour rose, tinged with brown ; they open in summer •
the whole plant is hairy, the fruits are distributed by small
animals, to which they become attached
by a hooked bristle : a plant of damp
meadows.
103. Buckbean, Menyanthestrifoliata,
Gentian family. A very beautiful plant
of boggy ground : the thick round stem
generally lies under water, and gives off
the leaves, which have long stalks, and
3 serrate oval leaflets, and the flower-
stalk, at the apex of which is a spike
of large, pale rose flowers : the inner
side of the petals is covered with delicate
white hairs : flowers in early summer.
104. Red Battle, Pedicularis sylvatica,
Foxglove family. A little plant (4 to
6 ins.) of moist woods and heaths : the
stem branches at the base, and the pros-
trate branches rise at the tips, holding up short spikes of large
rose-coloured flowers : the leaves are deeply cut into many
notched segments : flowers in summer : the Lousewort (P. palus-
103. Buckbean.
104. Red Rattle.
105. Maiden Pink.
tris) is a similar but larger and more erect plant, with brighter
flowers, common in bogs.
105. Maiden Pink, Dianthus deltoides, Pink family. A very
beautiful but rather rare little plant, of dry turfy ground : the
stem is much branched below, and bears many pairs of small,
narrow leaves : the flowers are fairly large, of exactly the form
ROSE FLOWERS
,53
of our single garden pinks, bright rose-coloured, with a darker
" eye," ana scentless : flowers in summer and autumn.
106. Bagged Robin, Lychnis Flos-ciwuli, Pink family. The
tall slender stems and spikes of large pink flowers of this plant
are common and beautiful objects on marshy ground : the leaves
occur in pairs, and are lance-shaped, the lower ones narrowed
towards the base : the edges of the petals are cut into a fringe,
giving jthe flower its " ragged " appearance : the stem is sticky :
flowers in early summer.
107. Cat's-foot, Mountain Everlasting, Antennaria dioica,
Daisy family. The little creeping stem bears many small oval
106. Ragged Robin.
107. Cat's-Foot, Mountain
Everlasting.
leaves, broadest towards the tip, shiny above, and silvery with
hairs on the lower surface: from it arises a simple flowering
stem, about 4 to 6 ins. high, with 4 to 5 small flower-heads, pale
rose or white in colour: common on heaths, flowering in
summer.
108. Cross-leaved Heath, Erica Tetralix, Heath family. A
common plant of boggy heaths, flowering in late summer and
autumn : it is most readily distinguished from the other common
heaths by its drooping cluster of large, egg-shaped, pale rose
flowers : the stem is 6 to 8 ins. high, and bears many whorls of
4 small, narrow, hairy leaves, and at its apex the drooping cluster
of flowers.
109. Thrift, Sea-daisy, Statice maritima, Thrift family. A
common plant of grassy slopes and clefts of rocks near the sea :
the woody stock gives rise to a tuft of grass-like but rather
fleshy leaves, and to one or more flower-stalks : the flower-stalk
54 WILD FLOWERS
is 6 to 8 ins. high, and bears a single globular head of rose
flowers : flowers from spring to autumn.
110. Centaury, Erythrcea Centaurium, Gentian family. The
stem is about a foot high, and is square, bearing pairs of smooth
elliptical leaves : towards the apex it is slightly branched, and
has a large, flat brush of bright rose-coloured flowers, individually
small, but making a handsome show in the mass : flowers in late
summer, and not uncommon on dry waste ground and pastures :
E. littoralis is a similar, but smaller and rarer plant, growing by
the sea.
111. Bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis, Bindweed family. The
stein is slender, and twines through grass and hedges : the
108. Cross-leaved Heath.
109. Thrift, Sea -Daisy.
leaves are halbert-shaped and stalked : the flowers are large,
shaped like an open bell, in colour white, variegated with pink :
flowers in summer. C. sepium9 the Great Bindweed, has very large
white flowers and arrow-shaped leaves : C. Soldanella, the Sea
Bindweed, is less common : it has fleshy, kidney-shaped leaves
and handsome pink and yellow flowers.
112. Knot-Grass, Polygonum aviculare, Dock family. A very
common weed of cultivated and waste ground : the long,
branched, creeping stems bear many small elliptical leaves,
each with a membranous sheath at the base : in the axils of the
leaves are little groups of small pink flowers, tinged with green :
flowers from spring to autumn.
113. Spotted Persicaria, Polygonum Persicaria, Dock family.
A common weed of cultivated laud : the stem is about 1 ft.
ROSE FLOWERS 55
high and generally somewhat prostrate: the leaves are fairly
large, lance-shaped, provided with a fringed sheath, smooth,
110. Centaury. 111. Bindweed.
dark green, and often spotted with dark brownish purple : the
flowers are arranged in close spikes, in the leaf axils and at the
112. Knot-Grass. 113. Spotted Persicaria.
apex of the stem ; they are pale rose-coloured, appearing in
summer and autumn.
114. Amphibious Persicaria, Polygonum amphibium, Dock
family. This plant is an inhabitant of ponds and ditches, and
56
WILD FLOWERS
according as it grows actually in the water or only along the
water's edge, it produces different types of leaves : in the water
114. Amphibious Persicaria.
115. Water-Plantain.
the leaves are oblong, dark glossy green, and unwettable, so that
they float on the surface : on land they are lance-shaped, lighter
green, and slightly hairy : the flowers
are pale rose, and gathered in close ter-
minal spikes; they appear in late summer
and autumn.
115. Water-Plantain, Alisma Plan-
tago-aquatica, Water- Plantain family. A
plant of the boggy margins of ponds and
lakes, flowering in late summer : the tall,
slender stem bears a large, loose brush
of small, pale rose-flowers: the leaves
are large, ovate or lance-shaped, with
long stalks, but any growing under water
are quite narrow.
116. Flowering-Rush, Butomus umbel-
latus, Water-Plantain family. A very
beautiful inhabitant of the margins of
ponds and slow streams : the stem is
short, horizontal, and roots in the mud :
116. Flowering-Rush. it sends up a number of long, narrow
leaves, and in summer a tall flowering-
stem (2 to 3 ft.), with a single, terminal umbel of large rose-
flowers.
RED FLOWERS
57
RED FLOWERS, 117-121
117. Poppy, Corn-Rose, Papaver Rheeas, Poppy family.
Stem 1 to 2 ft. high, rough with hairs : the leaves are oval and
deeply feather-divided into notched segments : the flowers are
large, with 4 scarlet petals, the bases of which are black : the
seed-vessel is roundish and smooth : common in corn-fields,
flowering in summer. P. Argemone, the Prickly-headed Poppy, is
117. Poppy, Corn-Rose.
118. Purple Clover.
also fairly common : it has smaller, paler flowers, and long seed-
vessels, covered with stiff hairs.
118. Purple Clover, Trifolium pratense, Vetch family. The
stem is prostrate at the base, and then rises to a height of about
1 ft., bearing dense, oval heads of many, deep crimson, almost
purple flowers : the leaves are compound, with 3 oval leaflets,
and are provided with stipules : common in fields and pastures,
and very frequently cultivated as a fodder plant: flowers
throughout summer.
119. Marsh Cinquefoil, Potentilla palustris, Eose family. A
common marsh plant : the stem rises from the water : the leaves
are feather-compound with 5 to 7 elliptical, serrate leaflets, and
have stipules : the flowers are large, occurring in small groups
at the tip of the stem, and are deep crimson -brown, or with
a purple tinge, in colour : flowers in August.
58
WILD FLOWERS
120. Scarlet Pimpernel, Poor Man's Weather-Glass, Ana-
gallis arvensis, Primrose family. The stem is branched, lying
119. Marsh Cinquefoil.
120. Scarlet Pimpernel, Poor
Man's Weather-Glass.
along the ground, and rising at the tips : the leaves are in pairs,
sessile, and ovate in shape : the iiowers arise singly on slender
stalks from the leaf axils; they are
small, star-like, and bright scarlet : a
weed of dry, sandy soil, flowering in
summer : this pretty little plant owes
its second English name to the fact that
the flowers close up in damp weather.
121. Sheep's Sorrel, Rumex Aceto-
sella, Dock family. A weed, the occur-
rence of which in abundance is a sure
indication of poor soil : it is readily
recognised by its leaves, which are
smooth, bright green,and halbert-shaped :
the flowers are small and inconspicuous,
but gathered in a branched spike at the
end of the stem (9 ins. high) they make
a bright show of crimson variegated
with green. R. Acetosa, the Sorrel, or
Kourock, has arrow-shaped leaves of a pleasant acid flavour
much appreciated by children.
121. Sheep's Sorrel.
PALE PURPLE FLOWERS
PALE PURPLE FLOWERS, 122-138
A. Leaves compound, deeply cut, or lobed . . 122—126
B. Leaves quite simple, at most toothed . . . 127-138
122. Cuckoo-Flower, Lady's Smock, Cardamine pratensis,
Cress family. A conspicuous spring flower, of moist meadows :
the stem is 1 to 1^ ft. high, and is crowned by a loose bunch of
large lilac flowers : the leaves are feather-compound : the leaflets
of the lower leaves are roundish, of the upper, lance-shaped : as
the English name would indicate, it flowers when the call of the
cuckoo is heard.
123. Sea-Rocket, Cakile maritima, Cress family. A curious
little plant found on sandy sea-shores quite close to the high-
122. Cuckoo-Flower, Lady's
Smock.
123. Sea-Rocket.
water mark : the stem, which is usually less than 1 ft. high, is
branched, and at the apex of each branch is a spike of fairly
large, pale purple flowers : the leaves are cut deeply into lobes,
and, as is often the case in seaside plants, are fat and fleshy :
the fruit is a little pod, jointed in the middle ; when it is ripe
the top joint falls off : flowers in summer.
124. Stork's-bill, Erodium cicutarium, Crane's-bill family.
The stem lies along the sandy ground, on which the plant
usually grows, and produces pairs of feather- compound leaves :
the leaflets are in turn deeply cut into notched segments : the
flower-stalks bear little umbels of pale purple flowers: the
beaks of the ripe fruits show peculiar twisting movements
when drying up, and help to scatter the seeds: flowers in
summer and autumn.
60
WILD FLOWERS
125. Valerian, Valeriana officinalis, Valerian family. A
handsome plant of stream sides and other damp places: it is
readily picked out, even when not in flower, by the appearance
of the leaves : they are feather-compound, with lance-shaped
serrate leaflets, and in colour a curious greyish green, with a
tinge of pink : the pale purple flowers are produced in large
umbels at the end of the tall (2 to 4 ft.) stem, in summer : the
seeds have little hairy floats.
126. Field Scabious, Scabiosa arvensis, Scabious family. A
tall (2 to 3 ft.) plant of the fields and hedges, flowering in late
124. Stork's-bill.
125. Valerian.
summer : the leaves are lance-shaped and deeply notched, the
upper more so than the lower : the flowers are gathered in large,
pale purple composite heads.
127. Marsh Violet, Viola palustris, Violet family. In
marshes, in spring, may be found the small, pale purple flowers
of this little plant : the petals are streaked with lines of darker
colour : the leaves are rounded heart-shaped.
128. Willow Herb, Epilolium montanum, Willow herb family.
The stem is generally about 1 ft. high : it bears pairs of smooth,
broad, lance-shaped, serrate leaves, with quite short stalks : at the
apex is a spike of small pale purple flowers with 4 petals, and
apparently situated on long stalks, which are in reality the seed-
vessels : when ripe these open and set free dozens of tiny seeds,
each with a little hairy float, by means of which they may be
blown to a considerable distance by the wind : the plant is common
PALE PURPLE FLOWERS
61
but inconspicuous, in dry shady places, where it flowers in
summer: it has several close relations, some of which prefer
stream sides, and which differ from it
in the shape of the leaves and other
minor points.
129. Marsh Pennywort, Hydroco-
tyle vulgaris, Hemlock family. This
member of the hemlock family is strik-
ingly different from all those de-
scribed under " white " flowers : it is
126. Field Scabious.
127. Marsh Violet.
found in marshy places, and has a slender creeping stem : at
regular intervals this sends a little bunch of roots into the soil,
and 2 to 5 leaves up to the air : the leaves have long stalks
128. Willow Herb.
129. Marsh Pennywort.
joined to the middle of the lower surface, and are circular :
amongst the leaves are produced in summer little stalked heads
of pale purple flowers.
62 WILD FLOWERS
130. Field Madder, Sherardia arvensis, Bed-straw family. A
pretty little plant of dry fields, flowering in summer : the stem
is lowly, and much branched : the leaves are lance-shaped,
pointed, and occur in whorls of 6 : at the tips of the branches
are little groups of small, starry, lilac flowers.
131. Butterbur, Petasites officinalis, Daisy family. In April
the Butterbur sends up a thick flower-stalk, with a large hand-
some spike of purplish flower-heads : only when these are over
do the leaves appear ; they are rounded heart-shaped, with
scalloped edges, and, when they have attained their full size,
may measure a yard across ; the under surface is white with
down : not uncommon along stream sides and on marshy ground.
130. Field Madder.
131. Butterbur.
132. Scottish Heather, Ling, Calluna vulgaris, Heath family.
Familiar to all is this inhabitant of the dry moors, which so
transforms miles of mountain country, when its pale purple
flowers appear in late summer : in size it varies from a little
shrub a few inches high to a large bush of 2 ft. and more : the
leaves are small, almost scale-like, and arranged in 4 rows on
the stem : the flowers are in fine terminal spikes : the pure
white variety is quite rare, but may be recognised even at a
distance by its paler, bright green leaves.
133. Field Gentian, Gentiana campestris, Gentian family. A
little plant of dry heaths and grassy places on the hills, flowering
in autumn : the stem is usually about 6 ins. high, and often
branched : the leaves are in pairs, smooth, and broadly lance-
shaped : the flowers are fairly large, tubular, pale lilac, and
occur in groups at the tip of the stem. G. Amarella, the Felwort,
PALE PURPLE FLOWERS
63
is distinguished by having 5 petals instead of 4. G. Pneumon-
anthe is a much more beautiful English plant, with large deep-
blue flowers.
134. Capitate Mint, Meniha aquatica, Dead-nettle family.
The stem is about 1£ to 2 ft. high, and bears pairs of hairy,
ovate, serrate leaves on short stalks : in the axils of the upper-
most leaves are large, dense, globular clusters of small, pale
purple flowers, and the tip of the stem is occupied by a similar
cluster : the plant is common in damp situations, flowering in
late summer : M. arvensis, the Corn Mint, is a smaller plant,
132. Scottish Heather, Ling.
133. Field Gentian.
common in corn-fields, with the apical cluster wanting. M.
Pulegium, the Pennyroyal, is a prostrate, much branched plant,
with small leaves, and many clusters of flowers. The mints are
all fragrant.
135. Hemp-Nettle, Galeopsis Tetrahit, Dead-nettle family.
A tall (1 to 2 ft.) coarse weed of cultivated land : the branched
stem is square, and bears pairs of ovate, serrate leaves with long
points : the flowers are small, with a 2-lipped, pale purple
corolla, and occur in little clusters in the axils of the upper
leaves, in late summer and autumn.
136. Red Dead-Nettie, Lamium purpureum, Dead-nettle
family. One of the commonest weeds of gardens and cultivated
land : the stem is branched, spreading, and more or less prostrate :
64 WILD FLOWERS
the leaves are heart-shaped, with blunt serrations : the flowers,
which are pale reddish purple, occur in little clusters in the axils
of the leaves, and may be found practically throughout the year.
134. Capitate Mint.
135. Hemp- Nettle.
137. Spotted Hand-Orchis, Orchis maculata, Orchis family.
A common spring and early summer flower, of moist woods and
136. Red Dead- Nettle.
137. Spotted Hand-Orchis.
pastures : the stem is J to 1 J ft. high, unbranched, and bears at
its tip a thick spike of pale purple flowers : these have short
spurs and large lips, which are generally spotted with darker
PALE PURPLE FLOWERS 65
purple : the leaves are long, blunt, fleshy, and spotted with dark
brownish purple : if the plant be dug up, it will be found to
possess 2 fat tuberous roots, besides several others more fibrous
in character.
138. Scented Orchis, Habenaria conopsea, Orchis family.
138. Scented Orchis.
The stem is 9 to 12 ins. high, and bears a spike of lilac-coloured
flowers : the flower has a long delicate spur and a small lip :
the leaves are long and pointed : the flowers, which appear in
early summer, are very fragrant : common on moist heaths and
hilly roadsides.
PURPLE FLOWEBS, 139-163
A. Leaves compound, deeply cut, or lobed . . 139-150
B. Leaves quite simple, at most toothed . . 151-163
139. Heartsease, Pansy, Viola tricolor. Violet family. The
stem is weak, and rambles in the coarse grass of the pastures
and wayside banks, where the plant commonly occurs : the
leaves are ovate and bluntly serrate, but as they are provided
with very large, deeply cut stipules, the effect is that of a much
divided leaf: the flowers are large, and occur singly on long
stalks in the leaf axils : the lower petal is spurred : the dominant
66
WILD FLOWERS
colour of the flower is deep pure purple, but usually the 3
lower petals are paler, and one may be yellow : flowers from
spring to autumn.
140. Bloody Crane's-bill, Geranium sanguineum, Crane's-bill
family. A bushy plant, about 1 ft. high, not uncommon on
dry cliffs and sandy banks, where it flowers in summer: the
leaves are large, stalked, and deeply palm-cut into 7 notched
segments: the flowers occur singly on slender stalks in the
leaf axils; they are large, brilliant red- purple, and very
handsome ; the ripe fruits are scattered by the peculiar move-
139. Heartsease, Pansy.
140. Bloody Crane's-bill.
ment of their beaks, which roll up like watch-springs as they
dry.
141. Field Crane's-bill, Geranium pratense, Crane's-bill family.
The stem is tall (1 to 3 ft.) and much branched : the leaves are
large, sessile, and cut into toothed lobes : the flowers are
numerous, occur in pairs, and are purple in colour : a common
plant of meadows and waysides, flowering in summer.
142. Herb Robert, GeraniumRobertianwn, Crane's-bill family.
The weak, brittle stem is much branched, and bears pairs of
stalked leaves : the leaves are compound, with 3 to 5 notched
leaflets : the flowers, which occur in pairs on slender stalks, are
small and reddish purple in colour : the whole plant is sticky,
and has a not unpleasant odour : very common in damp shady
places, flowering from spring to autumn.
143. Tufted Vetch., vicia Cracca, Vetch family. A common
and striking plant of dry banks and hedgerows : the long weak
stem rambles over other plants, aided by the slender-branched
tendrils, which occupy the tips of the leaves: the leaves are
PURPLE FLOWERS
67
feather-compound, with stipules: the leaflets, of which there
are about 10 pairs, are lance-shaped, and provided with
141. Field Crane's-bill.
142. Herb Robert.
minute, sharp points : from the axils of the upper leaves spring
the long flower-stalks, each with a dense tuft of many small,
bright bluish-purple flowers : flowers in summer.
143. Tufted Vetch.
144. Bush Vetch.
144. Bush Vetch, Vicia sepium, Vetch family. Another
common plant of banks and hedges : the stem is not so long as
68 WILD FLOWERS
that of the Tufted Vetch, and there are only a few flowers in
the shortly stalked tufts: the leaves have about 6 pairs of
narrowly ovate leaflets, with sharp points, and are provided with
stipules and tendrils : the flowers, which are dull purple (rarely
white), appear in summer.
145. Tuberous Vetchling, Lathyrus montanus, Vetch family.
The stem is slender and prostrate : the leaves have 2 to 3 pairs
of narrow elliptical leaflets, are provided with stipules, but are
without tendrils, the tip of the leaf being occupied by a short
point : the flower stalks, arising in the axils of the leaves, are
long and slender, with 3 to 4 flowers : the flowers are rich or
sometimes pale purple in colour and appear in summer : the
145. Tuberous Vetchling.
146. Hemp-Agrimony.
plant has a tuberous root, and is common in heathy woods and
pastures, and on moors.
146. Hemp- Agrimony, Eupatorium canndbinum, Daisy family.
An ancient "simple," this fine plant grows in moist places
along stream sides : the stem is 1 to 3 it. high, with pairs of
leaves so deeply cut as to be almost compound : the lobes are
3 to 5 in number, and are serrate : the small flower-heads are
massed in a large, flat inflorescence of a dull purple colour:
flowers in late summer and autumn.
147. Spear Thistle, Cnicus lanceolatus, Daisy family. The
national flower of Scotland is onlv too common in pastures
and waste ground : it owes its wiue distribution to the fact
that the numerous little fruits are each provided with a very
efficient float — the pappus — by means of which the wind can
scatter them far and wide : the tall stem is clothed with oblong,
PURPLE FLOWERS 69
jagged, and spiny leaves, and bears several large heads of purple
flowers : flowers in late summer and autumn.
148. Marsh Thistle, Cnicus palustris, Daisy family. A less
conspicuous plant than the Spear Thistle, but very common in
damp places: the stem may be over 3 ft. high, and is clothed
with long, deeply cut, and very spiny, dark green leaves : the
flower-heads are of medium size, occurring in clusters : flowers
purple, appearing in late summer. 0. arvensis, the Creeping
147. Spear Thistle.
148. Marsh TliL-lk.
Thistle, which is similar, but with whitish green leaves and
paler flowers, is common on waste ground.
149. Knapweed, Centaur ea nigra, Daisy family. A common
plant in pastures, flowering fromjune to autumn : the leaves
are long, lance-shaped, and the lower ones are deeply notched :
the stem is 1 to 2 ft. high, and bears several large heads of deep
purple flowers.
150. Bittersweet, Solanum Dulcamara, Bittersweet family.
The slender stem rambles amongst bushes in hedges and woods :
the leaves are almost compound, with 3 ovate lobes : the flowers
occur in drooping clusters, and resemble those of its relative
the potato in shape : the 5 petals are fine purple, each with
2 green spots, and in the centre of the flower is a little yellow
crown of stamens: the flowers appear in summer, and are
followed by small, red, slightly poisonous berries : the plant
was formerly much employed medicinally.
70
WILD FLOWERS
151. Sweet Violet, Viola odorata, Violet family. Less
common than the Dog Violet, the Sweet Violet is found in woods :
the leaves are heart-shaped, with rounded tips and serrate
149. Knapweed.
150. Bittersweet.
margins : the flowers are purple in colour, or sometimes white,
and sweet scented, appearing in spring : like the other violets,
the sweet violet produces, besides the conspicuous coloured
ilowers, and later than these, small, green, bud-like flowers,
which never open, but which nevertheless set abundant seed.
151. Sweet Violet.
152. Dog Violet
152. Dog Violet, Viola canina, Violet family. One of the
commonest and prettiest of our wild flowers: it is found in
woods, hedges, on banks, river shingle, and along stream sides :
the leaves are in a tuft, and are heart-shaped, with serrate edges :
the flowers, borne singly on long stalks, are large, scentless, and
PURPLE FLOWERS
71
purple, in some forms almost blue : one petal is provided with
a nectar-containing spur : flowers in spring and early summer.
153. Red Campion, Lychnis dioica, Chickweed family. A
handsome plant of hedges, banks, and woods: the tall (2 ft.)
stem bears pairs of downy ovate leaves : the flowers, crowded
at the apex, are large and red purple : male and female flowers
occur on different plants. L. alba is a very similar plant, with
white flowers, which have a delicate scent in the evening : both
flower in summer.
154. Corn-Coekle, Lychnis Githago^ Chickweed family. A
striking weed of corn-fields : the stem is about 2 ft. high, with
153. Red Campion.
154. Corn-Cockle.
pairs of lance -shaped leaves : the flowers occur singly on stalks
in the axils of the upper leaves; they are large and bright
purple : if abundant, it is dangerous, as the seeds are poisonous
and contaminate the grain with which they become mixed :
flowers in summer.
155. Fine-leaved Heath, Erica cinerea, Heath family. A
small plant of dry heaths : the stem is erect, branched, and
about 4 to 6 ins. high : the leaves are in whorls, generally of
3 : the flowers, which occur in little clusters at the tips of
the branches, are small, egg-shaped, with the mouth of the
corolla pointing downwards and outwards ; they are a rich
purple in colour, and appear in summer.
156. Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, Foxglove family. One of
our most beautiful woodland plants: it produces in the first
72 WILD FLOWERS
year a rosette of soft, broad, lance-shaped leaves, with serrate
edges, and from this arise, in succeeding years, the tall, flower-
ing stems : the flowers, which open in summer, are arranged in
a handsome terminal spike : they are large, pendant, purple or
rarely white, and, as the English and Latin names suggest, in
shape like the finger of a glove : one of the few native plants
which is still usea medicinally, it contains a strong poisonous
essence.
157. Butterwort, Pinguicula vulgaris, Butterwort family.
A pretty little plant of bogs and wet heaths : the leaves, which
are grouped in a rosette, are broadly elliptical, bright green, and
155. Fine-leaved Heath.
156. Foxglove.
viscid : from the rosette rise several slender flowering-stalks,
each with a single flower, which superficially resembles that of
the violet, and which is violet in colour : the edges of the leaves
roll in on any insect which lights on them, and the prey is
digested and utilised as food : flowers in early summer.
158. Wild Thyme, Thymus Serpyllum, Dead-nettle family.
The stem is more or less woody, much branched, and spreads it-
self out on the dry banks, where the plant grows : the leaves
are in pairs, small, and lance-shaped : the flowers are gathered
at the tips of short, erect branches ; they are small, purple, and
appear in summer : the whole plant is pleasantly aromatic.
159. Ground-Ivy, Nepeta Glcchoma, Dead-nettle family. The
stem is branched and prostrate, with pairs of rounded, heart-
shaped leaves on long stalks : the leaf margins are scalloped :
the flowers are in clusters in the axils of the upper leaves : the
corolla protrudes markedly from the calyx, and is bright blue-
PURPLE FLOWERS
73
purple : common in shady woods, flowering in spring and early
summer.
160. Self-heal, Prunella vulgaris, Dead-nettle family. A very
common plant of meadows and pastures, flowering in late
157. Butter wort.
158. Wild Thyme.
summer : the stem is less than 1 ft. high, and has pairs of blunt,
ovate leaves : the flowers are crowded into terminal heads of a
159. Ground-Ivy.
160. Self-heal.
dull purple colour : occasionally white-flowered plants are found :
formerly a highly prized "simple."
161. Betony, Stachys Betonica, Dead-nettle family. A plant
of the woods and hedges : it may be most readily recognised by
its paired, stalked leaves, which are oblong, with the base heart-
74 WILD FLOWERS
shaped, and with bluntly serrate margins : the stem is 1 to 2 ft.
high, with the red-purple flowers mostly gathered in short ter-
minal spikes : flowers in late summer and autumn.
161. Betony.
162. Hedge- Woundwort.
162. Hedge-Woundwort, Stachys sylvatica, Dead-nettle
family. A common plant of woods and thickets : the tall rank
stem has pairs of large, stalked, serrate,
heart-shaped leaves, with a peculiar soft,
hairy surface: the flowers, which are
small and dull purple, occur in little
groups in the axils of the upper leaves :
the plant has an unpleasant foetid odour,
and was formerly used as a salve for
cuts.
163. Early Purple Orchis, Orchis mas-
cula, Orchis family. A fairly common
and very handsome plant of pastures,
flowering in early summer : the stem is
1 ft. high, and bears a long loose spike
of fine purple flowers, each with a spur
and a broad 3-lobed lip, the middle
lobe notched in the middle : the leaves
are long, fleshy, and spotted. 0. lati-
folia, the Marsh Orchis, has a denser
spike, of deep purple flowers, the lips of
which are only very slightly lobed: it is common on moist
pastures, flowering in summer.
163. Early Purple Orchis.
BLUE FLOWERS
75
BLUE FLOWERS, 164-177
<$
164. Milkwort, Polygala vulgaris, Milkwort family. A little
„ plant of pastures and heaths, remarkable for the colour varia-
J tions of its flowers : the most common colour is deep blue, but
pink, white, and sky-blue are very frequent : the stem is
branched at the base ; each branch is about 4 ins. high, with small
lance-shaped leaves, and a spike of flat flowers : flowers in
0 summer.
165. Deyil's-bit Scabious, Scabiosa Succisa, Scabious family.
The stem is usually unbranched and about 2 ft. high : there is
164. Milkwort.
166. Devil's-bit Scabious.
a tuft of leaves at the base, and a few pairs on the stem, oblong-
elliptical, and sometimes slightly notched : the flowers are
gathered in small, round heads, blue with a slight tinge of
purple, occasionally white : the name refers to the character of
the underground stock, which ends abruptly, as if bitten off : a
common plant of dry pastures, flowering in late summer and
autumn.
166. Sea Starwort, Aster Tripolium, Daisy family. A plant
of salt-marshes near the sea : the stem is 1 to 2 ft. high, with
long, elliptical leaves, which are usually somewhat fleshy : the
flowers are in large handsome heads, with a bright blue ray and
yellow disc : flowers in autumn.
167. Corn-flower, Bluebottle, Centaurea Cyanus, Daisy
family. One of the most beautiful plants of our corn-fields,
76 WILD FLOWERS
flowering in late summer : the stem is tall and slender, with
many narrow leaves : the flowers are in heads, those at the
166. Sea Starwort.
167. Corn-flower, Bluebottle.
margin of the head being large and bright blue, those at the
centre smaller and more purple.
168. Chicory, Succory, Cichorium Intylus, Daisy family.
168. Chicory, Succory.
169. Giant Bell-flower.
The stem is about 2 ft. high : the lower leaves are oblong in
shape, with broad toothed segments: the upper leaves are
smaller, toothed, lance-shaped, and clasp the stem : the flower-
heads are large and of a fine blue colour ; usually only a few are
BLUE FLOWERS
77
open at one time, and these are then surmounted by spikes of
buds : not uncommon on waste ground, flowering in late summer
and autumn.
169. Giant Bell-flower, Campanula latifolia, Hair-bell family.
A tall, handsome plant of shady places, flowering in late summer
and autumn : the leaves are stalked, narrowly ovate in shape,
and with serrate margins: the flowers, which are gathered in a
long terminal spike, are large, bell-shaped, erect, and of a fine
blue colour.
170. Hairbell, Campanula rotundifolia, Hairbell family. The
Bluebell of Scotland is one of the most familiar flowers of dry
pastures and banks : the slender stem is about 1 ft. high, with
170. Hairbell.
171. Bugloss.
many narrow leaves : the round leaves of the Latin name are
found at the base of the stem, hidden by the grass in which the
plant grows: the flowers, which occur in graceful spikes, are
bright blue, or sometimes white, bell-shaped, and pendant : the
English name is also written Harebell.
171. Bugloss, Lycopsis arvensis, Forget-me-not family. An
inconspicuous inhabitant of fields and waste ground : the stem
is about 1 ft. high and slightly branched : the leaves are bluntly
lance-shaped : both stem and leaves are very rough, with short
stiff hairs : the small blue flowers are gathered in terminal
spikes : flowers in summer.
172. Forget-me-not, Myosotis scorpioides, Forget-me-not
family. Several closely-related species of Myosotis are common
in this country, but the most beautiful is M. scorpioides, which is
found in ditches : the leaves are elliptical, and bright green : the
flowers, which are larger than those of any other common native
78
WILD FLOWERS
species, have a salver-shaped, bright blue corolla, with a yellow
eye : they occur in spikes at the apex of the stem : flowers in
summer and autumn.
173. Variegated Forget-me-not, Myosotis versicolor, Forget-
me-not family. A common plant of fields and waste places :
the stem is slender, slightly branched, about \ to 1^ ft. high :
the leaves, which are mostly gathered at the base, are elliptical :
the flowers occur in slender spikes, are quite small, and when
nearly open are yellow, changing to pink, and finally to blue :
flowers in early summer.
174. Viper's Bugloss, Echium vulgare. Forget-me-not family.
The stem is very rough with stiff hairs, and reaches a height of
172. Forget-me-not.
173. Variegated Forget-
me-not.
1 to 2 ft. : the leaves, which are also rough, are lance-shaped
and fairly large : the flowers are massed in a handsome terminal
spike : the corolla is tubular and twisted, at first dull purple,
but, when fully open, changing to a deep blue : not uncommon
on dry banks, flowering in summer.
175. Germander Speedwell, Veronica Chamcedrys, Foxglove
family. A very pretty woodland flower : the stem is more or
less prostrate, with pairs of sessile, ovate, serrate leaves ; from the
axils of the upper leaves arise slender stalks, each with a spike
of large blue flowers : the corolla has 4 petals, very unequal in
size, the lower one being much smaller than the others. A very
different-looking plant is the Brooklime, V. Beccabunga, which is
common in ditches : the stem is thick, with pairs of smooth,
fleshy leaves : the little spikes of flowers resemble those of the
Speedwell, though the flowers are smaller.
176. Bugle, Ajuga reptans, Dead-nettle family. A common
BLUE FLOWERS
79
early summer plant of damp meadows and stream sides • from
the base of the stem arise several prostrate runners, which, like
174. Viper's Bugloss.
175. Germander Speedwell.
it, bear pairs of smooth, oval leaves : the flowering stem is erect,
about 6 ins. high, with little groups of flowers in the axils of the
upper leaves : the corolla is tubular, with a large, lobed lower
176. Bugle.
177. Wood Hyacinth, English
Bluebell.
lip ; the upper lip, which is present in most members of this
family, is wanting : flowers blue, occasionally white.
177. Wood Hyacinth, English Bluebell, Scilla non-scripta,
80
WILD FLOWERS
Hyacinth family. The plant rests in the form of a bulb through-
out the winter, and in spring sends up several long, narrow,
fleshy leaves : in early summer appears the flower stalk, about
9 ins. high, with a terminal spike of drooping, bell-shaped
flowers, bright blue in colour : a flower of shady woods.
BROWN FLOWERS, 178-184
178. Hare's-foot Trefoil, Trifolium arvense, Vetch family.
On dunes and other sandy ground the Hare's-foot Trefoil is
frequently met with : the stem is branched, often creeping, and
may reach a length of about 1 ft. : the leaves are compound, with
3 harrow leaflets : the flowers are united in stalked, oval heads,
178. Hare's-foot Trefoil.
179. Cudweed.
of a light greyish-brown colour: flowers in late summer and
autumn.
179. Cudweed, Gnaphalium sylvaticum, Daisy family. A
common, but not very conspicuous, plant of dry fields and
pastures, flowering in late summer : the simple stem is usually
6 to 9 ins. high, but varies greatly, and may be much taller or
shorter: the small, oval flower-heads are chocolate-brown in
colour, and form a spike on the upper half of the stem: the
leaves are narrowly lance-shaped. The Marsh Cudweed, a related
plant of moist meadows, has a shorter, branched stem and paler
flower-heads.
180. Knotted Figwort, Scrophularia nodosay Foxglove family.
BROWN FLOWERS
81
The tall (2 to 4 ft.) stem is markedly square, and bearspairsof large,
ovate, serrate leaves ; it is thickened at the points where these
180. Knotted Fig wort.
181. Ribwort.
arise : the flowers are small, roundish, and rich brown and green,
in colour : common in moist shady places, flowering in summer.
181. Ribwort, Plantago lanceolata, Plantain family. A
familiar weed 'of road-sides and grassy
places : from the rosette of long, ribbed,
lance-shaped leaves spring several flower-
stalks, from 3 ins. to 1 ft. high : each
bears a single head of small flowers,
which is dark brown or black in colour,
except when the flowers are fully open,
when it takes on a greyish or yellowish
tinge: the Carl-Doddie of Scottish chil-
dren,fromits use in an ancient war-game of
Charles against George: flowers in summer.
182. Common Bush, Juncus communis,
Rush family. The short creeping stock
gives rise to long, slender, cylindri-
cal, green stems about 2 ft. high and
sharply pointed : at the base of these are
2 to 3 sheaths, which represent the
leaves : the stems are soft, and filled with
a white pith, which is used even to-day
as a lamp -wick : some of the stems are barren, but from near
the apex of others springs a dense, round head of brown flowers :
flowers in summer on marshy ground.
182. Common Hush.
82 WILD FLOWERS
183. Great Wood-Rush, Luzula sylvatica, Rush family. A
very common plant in shady woods, where it often covers large
patches of soil : the leaves, which arise in tufts, are sword-
shaped, and dark, shining green, the edges covered with long,
silky hairs : the flowers are small, pale brown, and occur in a
branched cluster, at the apex of the flowering stem : flowers in
spring and early summer.
184. Reed-Mace, Typha latifolia, Reed-mace family. A typical
plant of the margins of ponds and lakes : the stem may be 6 ft.
183. Great Wood-Rush. 184. Reed-Mace.
high, and bears at its tip 2 inflorescences : the lower is firm,
cylindrical, dark brown, and consists of female flowers ; the
upper is looser, paler, and consists of male flowers : the leaves
are broad and long, overtopping the inflorescences : a species
with narrower and shorter leaves is also found : flowers in
GREEN FLOWERS, 185-195
185. Lady's Mantle, Akhemilla vulgaris, Rose family. A
common plant of moist pastures, flowering in summer : it is
readily recognised by its leaves, which are almost round and
palm-lobed, with about 7 serrate lobes : they are unwettable,
and when plunged in water or covered with rain-drops take on
a silvery appearance : they are provided with stipules, and when
young are plaited: the flowers are small, star-like, yellowish
green, and occur in brushes at the end of the flowering stems.
GREEN FLOWERS
83
186. Golden Saxifrage, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Saxi-
frage family. A spring flowering plant of stream-sides and wet
places, particularly in woods : the stem may be 6 ins. high, with
pairs of shortly stalked, roundish leaves with scalloped edges :
the flowers are small in numerous little groups at the apex of
the stem, and are green with a golden tinge.
187. Moschatel, Adoxa Moschatellina, Moschatel family. A
delicate little plant of damp woods, flowering in spring: the
stem is horizontal, and lies just under the surface of the soil : it
sends up several stalked leaves, and a single flower-stalk with 2
leaves, and a little head of 5 flowers : the leaves are compound,
185. Lady's Mantle.
186. Golden Saxifrage.
with 3 leaflets, each 3-lobed : the flowers are pale green : the
apical flower of the head has 4 petals, and the others have
each 5.
188. Goose-foot, Fat Hen, Chenopodium album. Goose-foot
family. A common weed of waste ground and cultivated land,
flowering in autumn : the stem is tall and branched, with stalked
rhomboid-shaped leaves, the margins of which are coarsely
toothed : the flowers are small and greenish, in little spikes in
the axils of the upper leaves : the plant has a slightly mealy
appearance.
189. Black Bindweed, Polygonum Convolvulus, Dock family.
A common and troublesome weed of gardens : the root descends
to great depths, and is very difficult to eradicate : in corn-fields
it twines round the stems of the corn: the leaves are arrow-
shaped, and in their axils occur in summer and autumn little
groups of green flowers, tinged with pink.
190. Curled Dock, Rumex crispus, Dock family. The stem is
84 WILD FLOWERS
about 3 ft. high, and bears very large, long, lance-shaped, wavy
leaves : the flowers are small, green, pendulous, and occur in
187. Moschatel.
188. Goose-foot, Fat Hen.
prominent, branched, terminal spikes : the stem and flowers
have often a reddish tinge : there are several closely-related
189. Black Bindweed.
190. Curled Dock.
species, which differ only in details : common about cultivated
land, flowering in summer and autumn.
GREEN FLOWERS
85
191. Petty Spurge, Euphorbia Peplus, Spurge family. The
Spurges are readily recognised among our green-flowered plants
191. Petty Spurge.
192. Dog's Mercury.
by the fact that they exude a milky juice when wounded : the
stem is branched, with smooth leaves of a fine green, oval or
ovate in shape : the apparent flowers are small and green ; in
reality they are little inflorescences of
much-simplified flowers : a common gar-
den weed, flowering in autumn : the Sun
Spurge is a common field weed, with serrate
leaves and yellowish green inflorescences.
192. Dog's Mercury, Mercurialis peren-
nis, Spurge family. A common spring
plant of shady woods : the stem is about
1 ft. high, with pairs of broadly lance-
shaped, serrate leaves : the flowers are of
two kinds, male and female, occurring on
different plants : they are in little spikes
in the axils of the upper leaves, the former
yellowish green, the latter green : highly
poisonous.
193. Bur-reed, Sparganium erectum,
Bur-reed family. A common plant grow-
ing in the muddy margins of sluggish
streams : the stem is about 2 ft. high, and
is slightly branched : the flowers are gathered into spiky, spherical,
green heads, which are situated about the tips of the branches :
the leaves are long and sword-shaped : flowers in summer.
193. Bur-reed.
86
WILD FLOWERS
194. Cuckoo-Pint, Lords-and-Ladies, Arum maculatum,
Cuckoo-pint family. The plant at once attracts attention by its
large, glossy, arrow-shaped leaves, which rise from the ground
on longish stalks : among them appear in April or May the
curious inflorescences : these consist of a stalk, on which are
arranged first female flowers reduced to a single seed-vessel, then
male flowers reduced to a single stamen, ahove these a circle of
stout hairs, and finally a long, dark purple club, the whole being
enclosed by a long, pointed, pale green hood : in autumn the
194. Cuckoo-Pint, Lords-and-
Ladies.
195. Cotton-Grass.
hood and the upper parts of the inflorescence die away, leaving
the stalk crowned by a little bunch of scarlet berries : not un-
common in woods and hedges.
195. Cotton-Grass, Eriophorum polystachion, Sedge family. A
striking plant of boggy ground : the leaves are long, narrow, and
pointed : the stem is slender, about 1 ft. high, and bears several
heads of flowers on delicate drooping flower-stalks : in colour
they are greenish, tinged with yellow and brown : the plant is
most remarkable when in fruit, as the head then presents the
appearance of a flock of cotton-wool: Harems-tail Gotton-grasst
a related species, bears only a single, erect flower-head on each
stalk ; flowers in summer.
FLOWERS RARELY FOUND
87
FLOWERS RARELY FOUND OR VERY
INCONSPICUOUS, 196-200
196. Mare's-Tail, Ilippuris vulgaris, Mare's-tail family. A
not uncommon plant of quiet water : the stem is partly (or in
running water completely) submerged : it is simple or slightly
branched, with many whorls, of 6 to 12 stiff, narrow leaves, with
196. Mare's-Tail.
197. Water Milfoil.
hard points : the submerged leaves are soft and long : flowers
very small, in the axils of the upper leaves, in summer.
197. Water Milfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum, Mare's-tail
family. A common plant of ponds and slow streams : the slender
stem bears whorls of 4 brownish, feather-
like leaves: the plant is submerged,
except for the slender terminal spikes
of very small flowers, which appear in
summer.
198. Water Starwprt Callitriche aqua-
ticat Mare's-tail family. An extremely
common plant of ditches, ponds, and
quiet streams : the stem is slender,
branched, and haa pairs of elliptical
leaves, broader towards the tip : in
some forms the leaves are quite narrow and pointed: flowers
small, and green in the leaf axils : the plant is of a fresh green
colour.
198. Water Starwort.
88 WILD FLOWERS
199. Greater Bladderwort, Utricularia vulgarisy Butterwort
family. A fairly common submerged plant of pools, especially
on peaty soil: the leaves are very much divided into narrow,
hair-like segments ; some of the segments are replaced by little
bladders, which act as traps for small
water-animals, the dead bodies of
which are utilised by the plant as
food : the large yellow flowers are
produced in spikes above the water in
, 199. Greater Bladderwort.
200. Water-Thyme.
Bummer, but the plant flowers only rarely : the Lesser Bladder-
wort has more slender leaves and small pale flowers.
200. Water-Thyme, Elodea canademis, Water-thyme family.
The stems are long, slender, and submerged, with close whorls
of 3 narrow, blunt, olive-green leaves : the flowers, which are
rarely seen, are small, on slender stalks, and pale violet : the
plant is not a native, but since its introduction from America it
has spread enormously, and often seriously chokes ponds and
canals.
INDEX OF LATIN NAMES
The numbers refer to the figure numbers, not to the pages
ACHILLBA, 2, 3
DlANTHUS, 105
Lychnis, 106, 153, 154
Adoxa, 187
Digitalis, 156
Lycopsis, 171
^Egopodium, 7
Drosera, 39
Lysimachia, 88, 89
Agrimonia, 80
Ajuga, 176
Alchemilla, 185
ECHIUM, 174
MATRICARIA, 5
Alisma, 115
Alliura, 42
Anagallis, 120
Anemone, 17
Angelica, 13
Antennaria, 107
Anthriscus, 12
Anthyllis, 74
Arum, 194
Asperula, 29
Elodea, 200
Epilobium, 128
Erica, 108, 155
Eriophorum, 195
Erodium, 124
Erophila, 33
Erythrsea, 110
Eupatorium, 146
Euphorbia, 191
Euphrasia, 31
Medicago, 71
Melilotus, 72
Mentha, 174
Menyanthes, 103
Mercurialis, 192
Mimulus, 84
Myosotis, 172, 173
Myriophyllum, 197
Myrrhis 10
Aster, 166
FTJMARIA, 100
NARTHECIUM, 90
Nasturtium, 20
BARBAREA, 68
Nepeta, 159
Bellis, 1
GALEOPSIS, 86, 135
Nymphrea, 94
Brassica, 69
Galium, 26, 27, 28, 81, 82
Butomus, 116
CAKILE, 123
Genista, 97
Gentiana, 133
Geranium, 140, 141, 142
ONONIS, 101
Orchis, 137, 163
Oxalis 23
Callitriche, 198
Geum, 77, 102
Calluna, 132
Gnaphalium, 179
Caltha, 93
PAPAVER, 17
Campanula, 169, 170
Capsella, 22
Cardamine, 21, 122
HABENARIA, 138
Helianthemum, 95
Parnassia, 38
Pedicularis, 104
Petasites, 131
Castalia, 43
Caucalis, 15
Centaurea, 149, 167
Cerastium, 44
Chelidonium, 67
Chenopodium, 188
Hieracium' 59, 60
Hippuris, 196
Hydrocotyle, 129
Hypericum, 96
Hypochseris, 61
Pimpinella, 8
Pinguicula. 157
Plantago, 181
Polygala, 164
Polygonum, 112,113, 114,
189
Chrysanthemum, 4, 52
Chrysosplenium, 186
.TUNCUS, 182
Potentilla, 78, 79, 119
Primula, 87
Cichorium, 168
Prunella, 160
Clematis, 16
LAMIUM, 136
Pyrola, 49
Cnicus, 147, 148
Lapsana, 57
Cochlearia, 34
Lathy rus, 76, 145
Conium, 6
Leontodon, 62
RANUNCULUS, 18, 66, 91,
Conopodium, 9
Lepidium, 36
92
Convolvulus, 111
Linaria, 83
Reseda, 70
Corydalis, 19
Lotus, 75
Rhinanthus, 85
Crepis, 58
Luzula, 183
Rumex, 121, 190
89
90
INDEX
SAGINA, 47
Spergiila, 48
Trientalis, 40
Sagittaria, 50
Spiraea, 25
Trifolium, 24, 73, IIS,
Scabiosa, 126, 168
Stachys, 161, 162
178
Scandix, 11
Statice, 109
Tussilago, 54
Scilla, 177
Scrophularia, 180
Stellaria, 45, 46
Symphytum, 41
Typha, 184
Sedum, 99
Senecio, 55, 56
Sherardia, 130
TANACETUM, 52
ULEX, 98
Utricularia, 199
Sisymbrium, 35
Taraxacum, 63
Solanum, 150
Teucrium, 32
VALERIANA, 125
Solidago, 51
Thlaspi, 37
Veronica, 30, 175
Sonchus, 64
Thymus, 158
Vicia, 143, 144
Sparganium, 193
Tragopogon, 65
Viola, 127, 139, 151, 152
INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES
The numbers refer to the figure numbers, not to the pages
AGRIMONY, 80
Corn-Marigold, 52
HAIRBELL, 170
Anemone, 17
Corn Rose, 117
Hare's-foot Trefoil, 178
Angelica, 13
Cotton-grass, 195
Hawkbit, 62
Arrow-head, 50
Cow-parsnip, 14
Hawk's-beard, 58
Avens, 102
Cowslip, 87
Hawkweed, 59, GO
Crane's-bill, 140, 141
Heartsease, 139
BED-STRAW, 26, 27, 82
Bell-flower, 169
Betony, 1(31
Bindweed, 111, 230
Bird's-foot Trefoil, 75
Bishop's-weed, 7
Bitter- Cress, 21
Bittersweet, 150
Black Bindweed, 189
Bladderwort, 199
Bluebell, 170, 177
Blue-bottle, 167
Bog- Asphodel, 90
Brandy-bottle, 94
Crosswort, 81
Crowfoot, 18, 66
Cuckoo-flower, 122
Cuckoo-pint, 194
Cudweed, 179
DAISY, 1
Dandelion, 63
Dead-nettle, 136
Devil's-bit, 165
Dock, 190
Dog's Mercury, 192
Dutch Clover, 24
Heath, 108, 155
Heather, 132
Hedge Parsley, 15
Hemlock, 6
Hemp- Agrimony, 146
Hemp-nettle, 86, 135
Herb Kobert, 142
Hog-weed, 14
Hyacinth, 177
JACK-BY-THE-HEDGE, 35
Jack-go-to-bed-at-Noon,
65
Brooklime, 175
Buckbean, 103
Bugle, 176
EYEBRIQHT, 31
KIDNEY VETCH, 74
Knapweed, 149
Bugloss, 171, 174
Knot-grass, 112
Burnet-Saxifrage, 8
FAT HEN, 188
Bur-reed, 193
Butterbur, 131
Buttercup, 66
Butterwort, 157
Felwort, 133
Feverfew, 4
Figwort, 180
Flowering-rush, 116
LADY'S FINGER, 74
Lady's Mantle, 185
Lady's Smock, 122
Ling, 132
Forget-me-not, 172, 173
Loosestrife, 88
CAMPION, 153
Cat's-ear, 61
Foxglove, 156
Fumitoiy, 19, 100
Lords-and-Ladies, 194
Louse-wort, 104
Cat's-foot, 107
Furze, 98
Celandine, 67, 92
Centaury, 110
MADDER, 130
Chamomile, 5
GARLIC, 42
Maiden Pink, 105
Charlock, 69
Gentian, 133
Mare's-tail, 196
Chervil, 12
Goafs-beard, 65
Marsh-Cinquefoil, 119
Chickweed, 45
Golden-rod, 51
Marsh-Marigold, 93
Chickweed Wintergreen,
40
Golden Saxifrage, 186
Goldilocks, 82
Mayweed, 5
Meadow-Sweet, 25
Chicory, 168
Goosefoot, 189
Medick, 71
Cleavers, 28
Goose-grass, 28
Melilot, 72
Clover, 24, 118
Gorse, 98
Mignonette, 70
Coltsfoot, 54
Goutweed, 7
Milkwort, 164
Conafrey, 41
Grass of Parnassus, 88
MillefoU, 2
Corn-Cockle, 154
Ground Ivyt 159
Mint, 134
Corn-flower, 1C7
Groundsel, 55
Moneywort, 89
91
INDEX
Moschatel, 187
RAGGED ROBIN, 106
TANSY, 63
Mountain - Everlasting,
Ragwort, 66
Thistle, 147, 148
107
Ramsons, 42
Thrift, 109
Mouse-ear, 44
Red-Rattle, 104
Thyme, 158
Musk, 84
Reed-mace, 184
Toad-flax, 83
Mustard, 87
Rest-harrow, 101
Tormentil, 78
Myrrh, 10
Ribwort, 181
Traveller's Joy, 16
Rock-rose, 95
Trefoil, 73, 75, 178
Rocket 68
NIPPLEWORT, 57
Rush, 182
VALERIAN, 125
Vetch, 143, 144
OLD MAN'S BEARD, 16
ST. JOHN'S WORT, 96
Vetchling, 76, 145
Orchis, 137, 138, 163
Sauce-alone, 35
Violet, 127, 151, 152
Ox-eye, 4
Scabious, 126, 165
Viper's Bugloss, 174
Scurvy-grass, 34
Sea-Daisy, 109
WALL-PEPPER, 99
PANSY, Io9
Pearlwort, 47
Penny Cress, 37
Pennyroyal, 164
Pennywort, 129
Pepperwort, 36
Persicaria, 113, 114
Petty Whin, 97
Sea-Rocket, 123
Self-heal, 160
Shepherd's Needle, 11
Silver-weed, 79
Sneezewort, 3
Sorrel, 121
Sourock, 121
Sowthistle, 64
Water-Cress, 20
Water-Lily, 43, 94
Water-Milfoil, 197
Water-Plantain, 115
Water-Starwort, 198
Water-Thyme, 200
Weld, 89
Whin, 98
Pig-nut, 9
Pimpernel, 89, 120
Pink, 105
Plantain, 181
Poor Man's Weather-
Spear wort, 91
Speedwell, 30, 175
Spurge, 191
Spurrey, 48
Starwort, 166
Whitlow-grass, 33
Willow Herb, 128
Winter-green, 49
Woodruff, 29
Woodrush, 183
glass, 120
Poppy, 117
Primrose, 87
Stitchwort, 46
Stonecrop, 99
Stork's-bill, 124
Wood-Sage, 32
Wood-Sorrel, 23
Woundwort, 162
Succory, 168
QUEEN - OP - THE -
MEADOW, 25
Sundew, 39
Sweet Cicely, 10
YARROW, 2
Yellow Rattle, 85
12/13
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