Chapter VIII: Part 8

The other is the Ribwort Plantain (_P. lanceolata_), a somewhat similar plant, the leaves of which are narrow, tapering at both ends, with three or five strong, parallel ribs. Each flower-stalk bears a globular or oval spike from half an inch to an inch in length. This species also flowers from June to August.

There are a few summer-flowering species of Orchids that are more or less common in fields and pastures. One of these is the Marsh Orchis (_Orchis latifolia_), a plant so closely resembling the Spotted Orchis (p. 277) that it is sometimes regarded as a variety of the latter. Its tubers are palmately divided; and its stem, which is hollow, is usually from twelve to eighteen inches high. The leaves are large, sometimes spotted; and the spike of flowers is large, with leafy bracts longer than the ovaries. The flowers vary in colour from white to a deep purple, have a spur usually thicker than that of the Spotted Orchis, and a lip indistinctly divided into three lobes, with its sides curved backwards. The flower, which is represented on Plate VI, grows in moist meadows, marshes, and on moors, flowering during June and July.

Another species--the Butterfly Orchis (_Habenaria bifolia_)--has (usually) undivided tubers; a stem from six to twelve inches high with two broad leaves near the base, and surrounded below by a few sheathing scales; and a rather loose spike of white or greenish flowers with narrow bracts about as long as the ovaries. The petals and upper sepals are arched, the lateral sepals spreading, the lip narrow and undivided, and the spur about twice as long as the ovary. This flower is not uncommon in moist meadows, where it blooms from June to August. A large variety, with greener flowers, is sometimes known as the Great Butterfly Orchis.

A considerable number of summer-flowering grasses are more or less common in fields and meadows. We have not space for the descriptions of these, but introduce illustrations of a few, including the Cock's-foot Grass (_Dactylis glomerata_) which appears on Plate IV.

XV

BOGS, MARSHES AND WET PLACES--SUMMER

The Crowfoot group of the _Ranunculaceæ_ contains two bog-plants popularly known as Spearworts on account of their spear-like leaves. One of these--the Lesser Spearwort (_Ranunculus Flammula_)--is abundant in wet places, especially the edges of muddy pools and ditches, where its buttercup-like flowers may be seen from June to September. It is a slender, smooth plant, with a branched stem, more or less decumbent at the base, from four to twelve inches high. Its leaves are narrow-oval in form, stalked, and either slightly toothed or quite entire; and the yellow flowers are about half an inch in diameter, on long peduncles.

The other is the Greater Spearwort (_R. Lingua_), a much larger species, varying from two to four feet in height, and flowering during the same months. It has stout, hollow, erect stems which throw off whorls of root fibres from the lowest joints; and the glossy, yellow flowers vary from one to one and a half inches in diameter. This species is not nearly so common as the other, but occurs more or less in most parts of Britain.

Taking next the cruciferous plants (_Cruciferæ_), we have first to note a few species of the _Nasturtium_ genus, including the Water-cress and the Yellow-cress. These are all smooth plants, with small yellow or white flowers. They may be distinguished from other crucifers by their loose calyx; simple, rounded stigma on a very short style; and their oblong or narrow pods with the seeds arranged in two rows on each side of the membranous partition. The species with which we are at present concerned are:--

1. The Water-cress (_Nasturtium officinale_).--A succulent plant, with a branched stem rooting at the base, growing freely in ditches, shallow streams and muddy places, and flowering from May or June to the end of the summer. Its leaves are pinnately divided into from seven to eleven wavy or slightly-toothed segments, the terminal one of which is usually larger than the others and nearly round. The flowers are small, white, in short, crowded racemes; and the pods are spreading, more than half an inch long.

2. The Marsh Yellow Cress (_N. palustre_), common in muddy places.--A slender plant with a fibrous root, and pinnate leaves with irregularly-toothed segments which are smaller towards the base. The flowers are yellow, about an eighth of an inch in diameter, with petals no longer than the sepals. They bloom from June to September. The pods are oblong, swollen, slightly curved, a quarter of an inch long.

3. The Amphibious Yellow Cress (_N. amphibium_).--An erect plant, two or three feet high, with fibrous root and creeping runners, flowering from June to September, moderately common on the banks of muddy streams. Its leaves are narrow-oblong, three or four inches long, deeply toothed, or cut into narrow lobes; and the flowers are yellow, similar to those of the other species, and similarly arranged, but with petals twice as long as the sepals. The pods are broad, only about a sixth of an inch long, with a rather long style.

In the marshes of the South of England we may often see the Marsh Mallow (_Malva officinalis_ or _Althæa officinalis_), of the order _Malvaceæ_, flowering during August and September. Its stem is hairy, with erect flowering branches two or three feet high; and the leaves are shortly stalked, thick, velvety, broadly ovate, and sometimes divided into three or five lobes. The flowers are shortly stalked in the axils of the upper leaves, or sometimes collected into a terminal raceme. Round each one is a whorl of several narrow bracts, shorter than the calyx, and united at their bases. The calyx is five-lobed; and the corolla consists of five broad, rose-coloured petals. This plant is shown on Plate V, Fig. 4.

The Marsh St. John's-wort (_Hypericum Elodes_--order _Hypericaceæ_) is a somewhat shaggy little plant, common in the bogs of many parts of Britain, more especially in West England and Ireland. It varies from a few inches to a foot in length; with prostrate stems rooting at the base; and rounded, opposite leaves without stipules. Both stem and leaves are clothed with white, woolly hairs, the latter on both surfaces. The flowers, which bloom during July and August, are of a pale yellow colour, and form a few-flowered, terminal panicle. They have five small, oval sepals, fringed with little red-stalked glands; five petals, about three times as long as the sepals; and many stamens, united to more than half way up into three bundles. (See Plate V, Fig. 6.)

The Blue Marsh Vetchling or Marsh Pea (_Lathyrus palustris_--order _Leguminosæ_) is occasionally to be met with in boggy places, flowering from June to August. It is a smooth plant, with a weak, winged stem, two or three feet long; and pinnate leaves consisting of from two to four pairs of narrow, sharp leaflets, and terminating in a branched tendril. At the base of each leafstalk are two narrow, half arrow-shaped stipules. The flowers are of a bluish purple colour, and are arranged in one-sided racemes, of from two to six flowers on long stalks. The pods are smooth and about an inch in length. This plant is represented on Plate V, Fig. 5.

Some of the Willow-herbs (_Onagraceæ_) are very partial to wet and boggy places. A few species of other habitats are described in Chapters X and XI, and these, together with the members that come within the range of the present chapter, are readily distinguished by their willow-like leaves and the very long inferior ovaries of their flowers. We shall here note three species--

1. The Great Hairy Willow-herb or Codlins and Cream (_Epilobium hirsutum_).--A large, erect, hairy plant, from three to six feet high, with numerous underground suckers, and a stout, round, branched stem. Its leaves are opposite, sessile, often clasping the stem, narrow, and finely toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch in diameter, of a deep rose colour, arranged in terminal, leafy racemes. They have four broad, notched, spreading petals; eight erect stamens; and a four-lobed stigma. The plant is common in wet places, and flowers during July and August.

2. The Narrow-leaved or Marsh Willow-herb (_E. palustre_).--A smaller plant, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in height, frequent in bogs and marshes, flowering during June and July. Its stem is round, with two lines of downy hairs on opposite sides; and its leaves are sessile, opposite, very narrow, tapering towards the base, and sometimes slightly toothed. The flowers are small, pink, nodding when in bud, arranged in a terminal raceme. Both flowers and fruit resemble those of the last species except that the stigmas of the former are not divided.

3. The Square-stalked Willow-herb (_E. tetragonum_ or _E. adnatum_).--A similar plant, from one to two feet high, common in bogs and ditches, and easily distinguished from other species of the genus by the four angles of the stem formed by the downward continuation of the margins of the leaves. The flowers are small, in terminal, leafy racemes, and erect when in bud. The petals are of a rose-pink colour, deeply notched; and the stigma is not divided. This species flowers in July and August.

Our next flower is the beautiful Purple Loosestrife (_Lythrum Salicaria_--order _Lythraceæ_), which is abundant in the marshes, ditches, and wet places of most parts of Great Britain. It has a creeping rootstock; a stout, erect, slightly-branched, four-angled stem, from two to four feet high; and sessile, narrow, clasping, entire, acute leaves, two or three inches long, arranged in opposite pairs or in whorls of three or four. The flowers are of a reddish purple or pink colour, nearly an inch across, arranged in whorls on a long, tapering, leafy spike. They have a toothed and ribbed, tubular calyx, with broad inner, and narrow outer segments; oblong, wavy, wrinkled petals; twelve stamens in two whorls of different lengths; and a superior ovary. The time of flowering of this species is July to September.

We have now to note several species of umbelliferous plants that grow in bogs and other wet places. The general features of the order (_Umbelliferæ_) will be found on p. 167, and the reader should refer to these, if necessary, before attempting to identify the following:--

The Procumbent Marsh-wort (_Helosciadium nodiflorum_ or _Apium nodiflorum_) is a creeping plant, abundant in ditches and other wet places, rooting at the base, with erect flowering stems that are sometimes very short, but often reach a height of three feet. The whole plant is smooth, with hollow stems; pinnate leaves with from three to nine or more pairs of ovate, bluntly-toothed leaflets; and almost sessile umbels of small, white flowers either opposite the leaves or in the angles of the upper branches. These umbels are compound, with about five or six rays, usually without primary bracts, but with several, narrow, secondary ones. The petals have their points turned inwards; and the carpels are oval, each with five narrow ribs. This plant is commonly seen growing in company with the Water-cress and the Brooklime, and blooms in July and August.

In ditches we occasionally meet with the Water Hemlock or Cowbane (_Cicuta virosa_)--a tall plant, from three to four feet high, bearing large, flat umbels of small, white flowers from June to August. Its stem is hollow, furrowed, and branched; and the leaves are large, twice pinnate or ternate, with lanceolate, acute leaflets, generally over an inch in length, the margins serrate or (sometimes) doubly serrate. Comparing this plant with the Common Hemlock (p. 169), we should note that the secondary bracts of the latter are three in number, almost invariably turned to the outside; and that its calyx teeth are very indistinct, while in the present species they are prominent above the ovary.

Next follow three species of Water Dropwort (genus _[OE]nanthe_)--smooth plants, with much-divided leaves and compound umbels of white flowers, with secondary, and sometimes also primary, narrow bracts. In all three species the central flowers of each secondary umbel are perfect and shortly stalked, while the outer ones are on longer stalks, and usually staminate. The petals are notched, with points turned inwards; and the fruits have two rather long styles, are crowned by the five minute teeth of the calyx, and their carpels have each five blunt ribs. The three species referred to are:--

1. The Common Water Dropwort (_[OE]. fistulosa_).--An erect plant, from two to three feet high, with a fleshy, fibrous root; creeping runners; and a thick, hollow, slightly-branched stem. Its radical leaves are bipinnate, with segments cut into three or five narrow lobes; and the stem leaves have long, hollow stalks, with a few narrow segments at the top. The umbels have from three to five rays, usually with no primary bracts, and a few, narrow secondary ones.

2. The Hemlock Water Dropwort (_[OE]. crocata_) is a larger plant, from two to five feet high, with a tuberous root and a thick, branched stem. Its leaves are bipinnate, with stalked, shining leaflets that are irregularly cut. The umbels are on long stalks, and have nearly twenty rays, several narrow secondary bracts, and sometimes a few primary ones. The middle flowers of each secondary umbel are perfect and almost sessile, but the outer ones are stalked and staminate.

3. The Fine-leaved Water Dropwort (_[OE]. Phellandrium_) grows from one to four feet high, and has an erect, creeping or floating stem with runners at the base. The upper leaves are bipinnate, with small, cut segments; and the submerged ones are deeply cut into very narrow, almost hair-like lobes. The umbels are small, on short stalks in the angles of the branches or opposite the leaves. They have about ten rays, narrow secondary bracts, but no primary ones.

All three of the above species flower from July to September.

Next follow a few composite flowers (order _Compositæ_), the first of which is the Marsh Thistle (_Carduus palustris_) that varies from two to eight feet in height, and bears dense clusters of purple (occasionally white) heads during July and August. Its stem is stiff, hollow, slightly branched, and thickly covered with very prickly wings that are continuous with the margins of leaves above them. The leaves are narrow, wavy, deeply divided into prickly lobes, with scattered hairs on both surfaces; the lower ones often seven or eight inches long; and the upper much smaller and narrower. The flower-heads are ovoid, surrounded by an involucre of many closely-overlapping bracts with prickly tips.

The two Bur Marigolds (_Bidens_) are more or less common in marshes and other wet places. They are both smooth plants with opposite leaves, and hemispherical heads of yellowish flowers surrounded by two or three rows of bracts, the outer of which are spreading. The receptacle is flat, with membranous scales between the florets; and the fruits are crowned by from two to five stiff, prickly bristles. The more abundant of these is the Nodding Bur Marigold (_B. cernua_), a stout plant, from one to two feet high, distinguished by its narrow, entire, sessile leaves, and its drooping flower-heads. The other--the Trifid Bur Marigold (_B. tripartita_)--has three-cleft, stalked leaves, and heads erect or only slightly drooping.

The Common Ragwort of waste places, described on p. 187, is represented in marshes and wet places by a very similar plant called the Marsh Ragwort (_Senecio aquaticus_), which varies from one to three feet in height, and flowers in July and August. Its stem is more slender than that of _S. Jacobæa_, and is usually more branched. The leaves are either deeply toothed, or pinnately cut into segments which decrease in size towards the base. The yellow flower-heads are not so densely crowded as in the Common Ragwort, and have longer stalks.

The _Scrophulariaceæ_ contains three common plants of the _Veronica_ genus that grow in wet places. All three are similar in that they have opposite leaves; a corolla with a short tube, and four spreading limbs, of which the lowest is narrowest; two stamens; and a capsular fruit, flattened at right angles to its partition, opening by two valves, and containing a few seeds.

One of these is the Marsh Speedwell (_Veronica scutellata_), abundant in the marshes and ditches of most parts of Britain. It has a weak, straggling stem, from four to eight inches high, with creeping runners at the base; narrow, smooth, sessile leaves, either uncut or only slightly toothed; and slender racemes of pale pink or white flowers on axillary peduncles arranged alternately, there being only one raceme at each node.

The second is the Water Speedwell (_V. Anagallis_), a smooth plant, varying from six inches to two feet high, abundant in marshes and ditches, bearing small lilac or white flowers in July and August. Its stem is stout, succulent, hollow, erect, and slightly branched; the leaves narrow, acute, toothed, sessile, sometimes clasping the stem; and the racemes axillary and opposite. The flowers are only a fifth of an inch across.

The third is the Brooklime (_V. Beccabunga_), a very abundant plant commonly seen growing in ditches in company with the Water Cress and the Marsh-wort. It is a smooth plant, with a stem from one to two feet long, procumbent at the base and rooting at the joints; erect, succulent flowering branches; thick, elliptical, blunt, slightly-toothed leaves on short stalks; and opposite, axillary racemes of blue (occasionally pink) flowers about a third of an inch across.

Two of the Figworts, belonging to the same order (_Scrophulariaceæ_), are abundant in wet places all over Britain. They are both tall erect plants, with opposite leaves, and peculiar greenish brown or dull purple flowers. In both the corolla is almost spherical and shortly lipped. Two of the five lobes form the upper lip; two are at the sides; and the other, forming the lower lip, is turned down. There are five stamens, four of which are fertile and turned down, while the fifth is barren and scale-like, under the upper lip of the corolla.

One species--the Water Figwort (_Scrophularia aquatica_)--grows in marshes and on the banks of ditches and streams. It has a stout, angular stem, the angles of which are drawn out into narrow wings; smooth, opposite, blunt leaves, cordate at the base, with crenate or toothed margins; and long, narrow panicles of flowers with blunt bracts. The five lobes of the calyx are fringed with a conspicuous, transparent, membranous border.

The other is the Knotted Figwort (_S. nodosa_), which is much like the last, but emits a disagreeable odour, and may be further distinguished by the little green, fleshy knots of its rhizome. Its stem is sharply four-angled, but not winged; its leaves are acute, and doubly toothed; and the panicle has small, narrow, sharp bracts.

Passing now to the order _Labiatæ_, we come first to the Gipsy-wort (_Lycopus europæus_), an erect, branched, slightly hairy plant, from one to three feet high, bearing dense whorls of small, white, sessile flowers from June to September. The calyx has five equal teeth with stiff points; and the corolla, which is only slightly longer than the calyx, has four nearly equal lobes. This plant is abundant in most parts of Britain, and is generally seen on the banks of ditches.

In the same order we have the Mints (genus _Mentha_)--strongly-scented plants with creeping rootstocks and runners; and small flowers in dense, axillary whorls, or in terminal spikes or clusters. In all the calyx has five equal teeth; and the corolla is bell-shaped, with a short tube, and four lobes of which the upper is broader. There are four erect, equal stamens; and the fruit consists of four small, smooth nuts. Three species, more or less abundant, occur in marshy or other wet places. They are:--

1. The Round-leaved Mint (_Mentha rotundifolia_).--A moderately common, erect, hairy plant, from one to three feet high, with a powerful but hardly agreeable odour. Its stem is green, hairy, and branched; and the leaves are sessile, broadly ovate or round, blunt, wrinkled, green above, and whitish and shaggy beneath. The flowers are small, lilac (occasionally white), in dense, cylindrical, leafy spikes from one to two inches long. The bracts are rather narrow and sharply pointed, and the corolla is hairy. The time of flowering is August and September.

2. The Water Mint (_M. aquatica_).--An abundant marsh plant, from one to three feet high, flowering from July to September, possessing a strong, pleasant odour. Its stem is much branched, generally clothed with soft hairs; and its leaves are stalked, ovate, serrate, the upper ones passing into bracts which are shorter than the flowers. The latter are lilac, and form dense, terminal, oblong or globular clusters, with, frequently, two or three dense, axillary whorls beneath. The calyx is tubular, about an eighth of an inch long, with very sharp teeth.

3. The Marsh Whorled Mint (_M. sativa_).--A very similar plant, common in wet places, flowering during July and August. It grows from two to five feet high; and its elliptical, toothed leaves are hairy on both sides. The flowers are lilac, in dense, axillary whorls, without any terminal cluster.

There is yet another marsh plant of the _Labiatæ_ to be considered, and that is the Marsh Woundwort (_Stachys palustris_), which is very much like the Hedge Woundwort described on p. 199. It has a stout, hollow, hairy stem, from one to three feet high; and narrow, coarsely-toothed leaves, from two to four inches long, the upper ones sessile and the lower shortly stalked. The flowers are pale purple or dull, light red, arranged in whorls of from six to ten in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is bell-shaped, with ten ribs and five long, acute teeth; and the lower lip of the corolla has its side lobes turned back.

We now reach the interesting _Myosotis_ genus of the _Boraginaceæ_, containing the favourite Forget-me-not and the similar Scorpion-grasses. They are all rather low and weak plants, with small, sessile, narrow leaves; and small flowers in one-sided, curved racemes without bracts. The calyx is cleft into five; and the corolla has a short tube, partially closed by five little scales, and five spreading or concave lobes. The stamens are enclosed in the tubes of the flower. Three species are common in wet places. They are--

1. The Forget-me-not (_Myosotis palustris_).--An abundant plant, growing to a foot or more in height, and bearing, from June to August, bright blue flowers, nearly half an inch across, with a yellow centre. It has a creeping rootstock, with runners, and rather weak ascending stems clothed with spreading hairs. The leaves are blunt, and often covered with hairs that lie close against the surface. The calyx is divided to about a third of its length into short, triangular teeth, and is covered with closely-pressed hairs.

2. The Creeping Water Scorpion-grass (_M. repens_).--A very similar plant, sometimes regarded as a variety of the last. Its stock emits leafy runners above the ground, and the stem is more hairy. The flowers, too, are of about the same size, but of a sky-blue colour, and their stalks are longer, bending downwards when in fruit. The calyx is divided to about the middle into narrow teeth.

3. The Tufted Water Scorpion-grass (_M. cæspitosa_).--Also a similar plant, often regarded as a variety of _M. palustris_; but its flowers are only about half the size, of a sky-blue colour, with narrow calyx teeth almost as long as the corolla. It is of a paler green colour, and the stems are tufted by a free branching at the base.

All three of these flower at the same time, and grow in similar situations. Several intermediate forms occur, and thus it is often a difficult matter to distinguish between them.

We must here mention the Butterwort (_Pinguicula_) as a summer-flowering plant of marshy places; but this is a carnivorous species; and as such is described, together with other plants of similar habits, in Chapter XXIV.

In most parts of Britain we may meet with the pretty little Bog Pimpernel (_Anagallis tenella_) of the _Primulaceæ_. It is a delicate, creeping plant (see Plate V, Fig. 7), only about three or four inches long, with a slender, decumbent stem; and very small, opposite, rounded leaves on short stalks. Its flowers are funnel-shaped, of a pale pink colour, on long, slender, erect, axillary peduncles. The calyx is cut into five pointed lobes; and the corolla is deeply cleft into five segments which are much longer than the calyx. The fruit is a globular capsule that splits transversely into two hemispheres, like that of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Ditches are frequently quite overgrown with the Water Pepper or Biting Persicaria (_Polygonum Hydropiper_), which is very much like the Spotted Persicaria (p. 205) of the same order (_Polygonaceæ_), but is much more slender, is creeping and rooting at the base, and more or less biting to the taste. Its stem is freely branched, from one to three feet high; its leaves narrow and wavy, with membranous stipules much fringed at the top; and the little pinkish-green flowers are in slender, drooping, interrupted spikes, leafy at the base.

Of the _Orchidaceæ_ we shall note here but one species--the Marsh Helleborine (_Epipactis palustris_), which is widely distributed, and really abundant in places, flowering during July and August. It is very much like the Broad-leaved Helleborine described on p. 308, and represented on Plate II, but is not so tall, being only about a foot high, and its leaves are narrow. The flowers, too, are fewer than in the Broad-leaved Helleborine, and the raceme is not one-sided. The sepals are narrow, of a pale green colour, striped with red or purple; and the petals are white, striped with red at the base. The lower lobe of the lip is blunt and thick; and the bracts are shorter than the flowers.

Rushes and Sedges are so abundant in marshes and other wet places that they form quite a characteristic feature of these localities; and the number of common species is so large that we must necessarily confine our attention to a very small proportion.

The Rushes, which constitute the order _Juncaceæ_, are stiff, smooth plants, often of such social habits that they cover large patches of wet or watery soil. Their stems are usually erect, and seldom branched; and their stiff, smooth leaves are frequently cylindrical, like the stems, with a soft, pith-like tissue within, but occasionally flat and narrow like those of grasses. The flowers are perfect, with a regular, inferior perianth of six dry segments; and they have generally six stamens, a three-celled ovary, and three slender stigmas. They are very small, either separate or in clusters; and each flower or cluster has a dry, sheathing bract at its base.

The pretty little Bog Asphodel (_Narthecium ossifragum_) shall first receive our attention because botanists are not yet in agreement as to its correct position among the monocotyledonous plants. It is certainly allied to the rushes, but on account of its larger and more succulent flowers it is often included among the lilies. It has a creeping rootstock, and stiff, erect stems from six to ten inches high. Its bright yellow, starlike flowers form a stiff, terminal raceme, with a bract at the base, and another one above the middle of each pedicel. The segments of the perianth are about a third of an inch long, yellow above and greenish below. The stamens are a little shorter than the perianth segments; and their filaments are clothed with white woolly hairs. This plant is common on wet moors and in mountain bogs, flowering from June to August.

The Common Rush (_Juncus communis_) is a very abundant species, to be found in almost all wet and marshy places, flowering during July and August. Its stems are round, leafless, soft, faintly furrowed, solid, with a continuous pith. They are from one to three feet high, and are sheathed at the base by a few brownish scales, but the plant has no true leaves. Most of the stems bear a panicled cluster of green or brown flowers about six inches from the top. These panicles are very variable in form and size, being either loose or dense, and varying from one to three inches in diameter.

The Hard Rush (_Juncus glaucus_) is a very similar plant, flowering at the same time; but its stem is slender, rigid, deeply furrowed, with the pith interrupted by air spaces. It is generally from one to two feet high; and, like the last species, has no true leaves. The panicle is looser than that of _J. communis_, with fewer and larger flowers; and it is never more than two or three inches below the top of the stem.

A few of the Rushes form a group known collectively as the Jointed Rushes, because their cylindrical or slightly-flattened, hollow leaves are divided within by transverse partitions of pith which give them a jointed appearance, especially when they are dried. Two or three of the species referred to are very common in wet places. They are very similar in general appearance, and one of them--the Shining-fruited Jointed Rush (_Juncus lamprocarpus_) is selected for illustration.

Another species is the little pale-coloured Toad Rush (_J. bufonis_), which grows to a height of only a few inches. It has tufted stems that branch from near the base; and its flowers are either solitary or in clusters of two or three.

As regards the Sedges (order _Cyperaceæ_), the species are so numerous that it is impossible to do them justice in a work of this nature.

Their stems are solid, usually more or less triangular, not swollen at the nodes as in grasses; and the sheaths of the leaves which surround the stems are not split. The flowers are in little green or brown spikelets that are either solitary at the top of the stem, or collected into a cluster, spike, panicle, or umbel. Each spikelet is in the axil of a scaly or leafy outer bract, and consists of several scales or glumes, each with a single sessile flower in its axil. The flowers have no perianth, but there are often a few very small scales or bristles at their base. They have two or (generally) three stamens; a one-celled ovary; and a style that is more or less deeply cleft into two or three slender stigmas. The fruit is a small, one-seeded nut, usually flattened in the species which have two stigmas, and triangular where the stigmas are three.

The reader should make himself thoroughly acquainted with the above features of the sedges, in order to avoid any confusion with the rushes, on the one hand, and with the grasses on the other; and he must not be led astray by the fact that some of the sedge family are popularly known as rushes.

Of this order the pretty Cotton Grasses (_Eriophorum_) often form a very conspicuous feature of marshes and other wet places. They are tufted or creeping plants with terminal spikelets, very much like those of the other sedges, but their flowers are perfect, and the bristles which represent the perianth grow to a considerable length as the flowering advances, protruding far beyond the overlapping glumes, and at last forming dense tufts of fine cottony hairs.

Two species are decidedly common and widely distributed, more especially the Common Cotton Grass (_Eriophorum polystachyon_), which is often so abundant as to give a general whitish appearance to whole patches of boggy land. It is a creeping plant, with solid, rigid, solitary stems, from six inches to over a foot in height; a few shorter, radical leaves; and a few leaves on the stem. Its spikelets, three to twelve in number, form a terminal cluster, the inner ones sessile, or nearly so, and the outer stalked and more or less drooping. They are at first oval or oblong, about half an inch long; but in fruit, usually in the month of June, they form dense cottony tufts from one to two inches in length.

The other is the Hare's-tail or Sheathing Cotton Grass (_E. vaginatum_)--a tufted species, common on boggy moors, with many stems which are round below and triangular above, at first about six or eight inches high, but lengthening as the flowering advances. At the top of each stem is a solitary oval spikelet, of a dark brownish-green colour, over half an inch long, with many straight bristles that eventually form a dense, globular, cottony tuft about an inch in diameter. This is an earlier species, flowering during April and May.

The large genus _Carex_ contains many common sedges with grass-like leaves springing from the base or the lower part of the stem. Some of them have a solitary spikelet; others have several spikelets in a terminal cluster or spike, with, sometimes, stalked spikelets below; or they are arranged in a compound spike or panicle. The flowers are all imperfect, without perianth; and the male and female flowers are either in separate spikelets or in different parts of the same one. The glumes overlap all round the axis of the spikelet; there are generally three stamens; and the ovary is enclosed in a little vase-shaped covering with a little hole at the top through which the two or three stigmas protrude.

We give illustrations of two of the commonest species; the Common Sedge (_Carex vulgaris_), which flowers from June to August; and the Marsh Sedge (_C. paludosa_), that flowers in May and June. The former grows to a height varying from six inches to two feet; and the latter to from two to three feet.

XVI

ON HEATH, DOWN AND MOOR

On the exposed and more or less bleak heath, down and moor we do not meet with many species of spring flowers, and for this reason we have included both spring and summer blossoms in the same chapter.

It must not be supposed, however, from the above statement, that we regard these exposed situations as devoid of interest, or even lacking in flowers, for the small number of species flowering early in the season is often compensated for by the profusion in which their blossoms are produced.

The golden blaze of the Furze or Gorse, aided more or less by the similar flowers of its little relative--the Petty Whin, is alone sufficient to add a charm to the scene, while the large yellow blossoms of the Broom often take the place of, or add to, the glorious display, which is frequently varied by the globular flowers of the Whortle, and the catkins and early leaves of the Dwarf Willow. Occasionally the scene is still further varied by the evergreen, needle-like foliage of the Juniper, intermixed with the little axillary catkins; while among the surrounding grass we see the pretty flowers of the little Eyebright; the brown flowers and hairy leaves of the Field Woodrush, often growing as thickly as the grass itself; and the short, stiff leaves and sessile spikelets of the Spring Sedge.

Among the more gaudy flowers we may note the large purple heads of the Musk Thistle, a common plant on the heaths of some southern counties; and in boggy districts we may see the abundant white, silky tufts of the Hare's-tail Cotton Grass; and the flower-clusters of the Yellow Sedge.

These and the few other spring flowers of heaths and moors are described, in their order, among the summer flowers of the present chapter. Some of them are exclusively spring blossoms, and are to be seen only in their fruiting stages during the summer months, but a few continue to bloom after spring has ended, and even far into the summer. The Furze, which often commences to flower during the first few weeks of the year, may be seen, still in bloom, during July and early August; and the Eyebright may be found in flower even to the beginning of autumn. The Musk Thistle, too, though its first flower-heads may be observed in May, or, sometimes, even in April, will continue producing new flowers well into October.

A good many species are included in the present chapter, and most of these, at least, will be easily identified by the descriptions given.

On almost all heaths and downs we may see the pretty little Milkwort (_Polygala vulgaris_)--the only British representative of its order (_Polygalaceæ_), unless we regard some varieties of this variable plant as distinct species, according to the opinions of some authorities. It is a smooth or slightly hairy plant, with a woody stem that gives off several spreading branches varying from two to nine inches in length. The nature of the leaves and the arrangement of the flowers are shown in our illustration. The latter are very variable in colour, ranging from a pure white to lilac and a deep, rich blue; and each has five sepals, of which the two inner ones are wing-shaped, persistent, and coloured like the corolla; and at its base are three bracts, the middle and largest of which is as long as the short pedicel. The petals, three to five in number, are united, smaller than the wing-sepals, and the lowest is keel-shaped. The plant blooms from June to August; and the drooping flowers, though small, are often so abundant as to distinctly modify the general colouring of patches of heath and moor.

Two small species of St. John's Wort (order _Hypericaceæ_) are moderately abundant on downs and commons, especially in South Britain. The flowers of this order are all yellow, and may be easily recognised by their stamens, three or five in number, which are so much branched that they give the appearance of a large number of stamens arranged in three or five clusters. In the two species we have to consider these stamens are three in number. One is the Trailing St. John's Wort (_Hypericum humifusum_), a little tufted, prostrate plant, with small oblong leaves marked by minute transparent spots, and by black dots under the margins; and flowers with unequal sepals. The other is the Small St. John's Wort (_H. pulchrum_) which is erect, from one to two feet high, with cordate leaves that embrace the stem, and panicled flowers which are tipped with red when in the bud. Both species flower during July and August.

Passing now to the _Leguminosæ_, we take first the Broom (_Sarothamus scoparius_ or _Cytisus scoparius_)--a smooth or slightly hairy shrub, from two to six feet high, bearing large, yellow flowers during May and June. Its branches are long, erect, angular and green; and the leaves are small, ternate, with obovate, silky leaflets, or sometimes reduced to a single leaflet. The large flowers are either solitary or in pairs, shortly stalked, and arranged in the axils of the leaves of the previous summer. The fruits are black pods, usually more than an inch long, hairy round the edges of the valves, and surmounted at first by a spirally-curved style.

The Furze, Gorse, or Whin (_Ulex europæus_) is a bush of about the same size, with more or less erect branches that all terminate in a sharp, rigid point. Sometimes little lanceolate leaves may be seen near the bases of the short branches, but normally all the leaves are reduced to sharp, green spines, about half an inch long. The flowers, usually more than half an inch long, are placed singly in the axils of the thorny leaves of the previous season, and are often so abundant as to form dense, showy clusters. The Furze is abundant in all parts of Great Britain with the exception of North Scotland, and may be seen in flower from February (or even January if the weather is mild) to July.

The Dwarf Furze (_Ulex nanus_), also abundant on the heaths of most parts of Britain, commences to flower in July--just about the time that the last species ceases to produce its blossoms, and continues in bloom almost to the end of the year. It is a much smaller shrub, usually from one to two feet high, of a deeper green colour. Its stem is usually procumbent; its spines weaker, and generally turned downward; and its flowers smaller, and of a deeper, golden yellow.

On heaths and downs of most parts of England and Scotland we may meet with the Needle Green-weed, Needle Whin, or Petty Whin (_Genista anglica_)--a little spiny shrub, varying from a few inches to two feet in height, with erect stem and spreading branches. Its lower branches are simple, or are reduced to branched thorns, while the upper are compound, bearing small ovate or narrow leaves; and solitary, axillary, pale yellow flowers in short, leafy clusters. This species flowers during May and June.

In the same order (_Leguminosæ_) are two species of Rest Harrow, common on heaths and stony banks. One of these--the Common Rest Harrow (_Ononis arvensis_)--is a very variable plant, with pink or rose-coloured flowers that bloom from June to September. Its stem is sometimes procumbent and rooting at the base, sometimes ascending or nearly erect, and is thinly clothed on all sides by soft, spreading hairs. The leaves are usually trifoliate, with obovate or oblong, toothed leaflets, but the lateral leaflets are often very small or altogether wanting. The flowers are solitary, sessile or shortly-stalked, on short, lateral branches; and the standard (upper petal) is streaked with a darker colour.

The other species, shown on Plate VI, Fig. 3, is the Spiny Rest Harrow (_O. spinosa_), which, however, is sometimes regarded as a variety of the last. Its flowers are very similar in form and colour, and appear during the same time; but the stem is erect, spiny, without runners, seldom more than a foot high, and has two longitudinal rows of hairs.

Passing next to the order _Rosaceæ_, we first note the Dropwort (_Spiræa Filipendula_), of the same genus as the Meadow Sweet, frequently met with on the downs and dry pastures of England and Scotland. Its leaves are mostly radical, three or four inches long, interruptedly pinnate, with many oval or narrow segments which are themselves pinnately lobed or deeply toothed. At the base of each is a pair of stipules which are attached to the leaf-stalk throughout their length. The flowers, which appear during June and July, are white, and very much like those of the Meadow Sweet (p. 219), but are larger, without scent, and generally pink when in the bud. The height of the plant is usually from twelve to eighteen inches.

In the same order we have the Tormentil (_Potentilla Tormentilla_), which is very abundant on heaths, dry pastures and stony banks, flowering from June to August. This plant has a prostrate (rarely erect) stem, from six to ten inches long, repeatedly forked, and clothed with silky hairs. The leaves are compound, with three or five deeply-toothed leaflets; the lower ones sometimes shortly stalked, but the upper always sessile. The flowers are rather small, yellow, generally with four petals, on slender peduncles arising from the axils of the leaves or from the forks of the stem.

Our last example of the _Rosaceæ_ is the Blackberry (_Rubus fruticosus_); but it should be mentioned at once that the popular name of Blackberry embraces quite a number of shrubs, often estimated at some scores of species and varieties. We cannot here, however, attempt to divide and classify the group; but we shall simply point out the features by which the shrubs in question may be distinguished, collectively, from allied shrubs that are not properly included under the same popular name. The stem of the Blackberry grows to from three to twelve feet long, and has stiff or downy hairs in addition to the prickles. It is sometimes quite prostrate, sometimes erect, but more commonly arched, and rooting at the tips as they bend to the ground. The leaves are very variable, but usually consist of three or five large, ovate leaflets, with toothed edges, more or less downy, having curved prickles along the midrib and stalks. The flowers are white or pink, in terminal panicles, with five free sepals, five distinct petals, and many stamens. The fruit is black, and consists of several one-seeded carpels which do not readily separate from the receptacle when ripe; and the persistent sepals are usually bent downward below it.

Coming now to the _Rubiaceæ_, we have to note four species, all characterised by whorled leaves; a corolla of four, united petals; stamens attached to the corolla; and an inferior ovary, of two carpels, that ripens to a dry fruit. Three of the four belong to the Bedstraw genus (_Galium_), in which the corolla is wheel-shaped. They are:--

1. The Yellow or Ladies' Bedstraw (_G. verum_), very abundant on downs and dry banks, flowering from June to September. It has a prostrate or semi-erect, smooth stem, from six inches to two feet in length; and small, narrow leaves, six to eight in a whorl, generally slightly rough on the edges. The flowers are pale yellow, golden yellow, or greenish, arranged in dense, terminal and axillary panicles. The fruit is small and smooth.

2. The Smooth Heath Bedstraw (_G. saxatile_).--Abundant on downs, flowering from June to August. Its stem is prostrate, smooth, from four to six inches long; and the leaves are generally in whorls of five or six. The flower-stalks are numerous, erect, weak, angled, smooth, each bearing a terminal panicle of many small, white flowers. The fruit is small, with a granulated surface.

3. The Upright Bedstraw (_G. erectum_).--Not so common as the preceding, but often found on downs and hilly pastures, flowering from June to August. It is sometimes regarded as a variety of the Great Hedge Bedstraw (_G. Mollugo_), described on p. 172. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high; and the leaves, six to eight in a whorl, are very narrow, with marginal prickles pointing forwards. The flowers are white, in a panicle with slender, erect branches; and the fruit is smooth.

The remaining plant of this order is the Small Woodruff or Squinancy-wort (_Asperula cynanchica_), which is common in many parts of England and Ireland. Its stem is smooth, sometimes erect with scattered leaves, and sometimes prostrate, leafy and tufted. It varies in length from six to ten inches. The leaves are very narrow, usually four in a whorl, and very unequal. At the upper nodes two of each whorl are often reduced to mere scales, or are absent altogether. The flowers, which appear during June and July, are white or pinkish, and are clustered at the tips of the erect stems. The fruit is small, with a granulated surface.

The Small Scabious (_Scabiosa Columbaria_), of the order _Dipsaceæ_, is common on the dry heaths of England, and is readily distinguished from the Devil's-bit Scabious, which it somewhat resembles, by its deeply-divided leaves and pale purple or lilac flowers. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high. The lower leaves are rather crowded, and usually have a large, oval or oblong, terminal segment, deeply toothed or lobed, and some smaller ones below it. The stem leaves are cut into very narrow segments which are either entire or pinnately lobed. The flowers are in dense, terminal heads, surrounded by a whorl of short bracts, and intermixed with the little, narrow scales of the receptacle, the outer flowers of each head being larger than the others, and very irregular. This plant flowers during July and August.

Of the _Compositæ_ we shall first take the Hairy Hawkbit (_Leontodon hirtus_), which is very common on moors in most parts of Great Britain, flowering during July and August. Although known as the _Hairy_ Hawkbit, this plant is sometimes quite smooth; more commonly, however, the leaves and peduncles are clothed with thinly-scattered, stiff, forked hairs. Its leaves are all radical, either oblong or very narrow, with coarsely-toothed or wavy margins. The flower-heads are solitary, on peduncles from three to eight inches long, and of a bright yellow colour. Each head is surrounded by a whorl of about a dozen green, smooth bracts, outside which are several shorter ones. All the florets are strap-shaped and perfect; and the fruits, which taper at the top, are mostly crowned by a pappus of feathery hairs as long as the achene itself, with a few shorter ones outside. This species appears on Plate VI, Fig. 4.

We have next to note a few thistles that are more or less common on downs and moors, the first being the Musk Thistle (_Carduus nutans_), common in the South of England, but much less frequent in the North. It is a stout plant, usually scantily covered with a loose, cottony down, with a furrowed stem from one to three feet high. The leaves are very deeply divided pinnately, very prickly, and extend down the stem in the form of narrow, prickly wings. The flower-heads are very large, of a purple or crimson colour, drooping, usually solitary, but sometimes in loose clusters of from two to four. Each head is surrounded by numerous very narrow, stiff bracts, more or less covered with cottony down. All of these terminate in a sharp prickle which is erect on the inner bracts, but spreading or turned backward in the case of the outer ones. This thistle may be seen in flower from May to October. It appears on Plate VI, Fig. 1.

The next species--the Dwarf Thistle (_Carduus acaulis_)--is found only in the southern and midland counties of England, but is very common on some of the elevated downs of the South-East, especially on chalky soils. It has a very thick and hard rootstock, but hardly any trace of a stem, so that its spreading tuft of radical leaves lie close on the ground, around the large, purple, stemless, and, usually, solitary flower-head. The plant flowers from July to September.

The Carline Thistle (_Carlina vulgaris_), as its name shows, does not belong to the same genus as the others, from which it differs principally in having its inner bracts coloured and spreading. It is an erect plant, with a stiff stem, usually branching, from six to eighteen inches high. Its leaves are very prickly, and do not form wings down the stem. The flower-heads are particularly interesting, having much the appearance of everlasting flowers. In fact, the whole plant is of such a stiff and dry nature that it undergoes but little change in appearance when cut and preserved. The outer bracts are leafy and spreading, with strong, prickly teeth or lobes; and the inner ones are very narrow, entire, white or pale yellow, of a chaffy nature and very glossy. The latter are very sensitive to atmospheric conditions, spreading horizontally when the air is dry, and closing over the florets in humid air; and they respond so readily to the changed conditions that their movements may be watched as they are transferred from warm, dry air to a moist chamber, or _vice versa_. This plant is common on the downs of England and Ireland, and flowers from July to September.

Our last Composite flower is the Common Chamomile (_Anthemis nobilis_), which is abundant on the downs of the southern counties of England, flowering from July to September. It is an aromatic herb, with a procumbent stem, from six to twelve inches long, and ascending, leafy, flowering branches. The leaves are bipinnate, slightly downy, with very fine, almost hairlike, segments. The flower-heads are terminal, with a white ray and yellow disc, surrounded by blunt bracts the inner of which have membranous tips. On the receptacle are little broad scales, nearly as long as the disc florets.

On heaths almost everywhere we may see the pretty Roundleaved Bell-flower or Harebell (_Campanula rotundifolia_), which displays its gracefully drooping bells from July to September. It has a slender, smooth, erect or ascending stem, from six to twenty inches high, which is usually branched. Its popular and scientific names both appear to be inappropriate if we examine the plant during its flowering season, for the only leaves then usually observable are the very narrow ones, generally quite entire, attached to the stem; earlier in the year, however, it has a few round or heart-shaped leaves, with long stalks, close to the base of the stem; but these commonly die about the time that the flowers commence to appear. The flowers are sometimes solitary, but often form a loose raceme of several bells.

The Clustered Bell-flower (_Campanula glomerata_) is common on the downs of most parts of England, and often very abundant in the South. It has a stiff, hairy, erect, angular, unbranched stem, from three to eighteen inches high. On some of the dry, chalky downs of the South the plant is often very dwarfed, being scarcely noticeable among the rather closely-cropped grass. The leaves are oblong or lanceolate, with crenate margins, rough and hairy, the lower ones stalked, but the upper sessile and clasping the stem. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and form a dense cluster among the upper leaves. The corolla is blue, bell-shaped, with five spreading lobes; and the fruit is a short, broad capsule, surmounted by the teeth of the calyx, and opens, when ripe, by slits near the base. This species flowers during July and August. It may be identified by reference to Fig. 2 of Plate VI.