Chapter I: Part 1

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WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS

A Pocket Guide to British Wild-Flowers for the Country Rambler

by

EDWARD STEP

Author of “By Vocal Woods and Waters,” “By Seashore, Wood and Moorland,” etc.

With Coloured Figures of 156 Species Black and White Plates of 22 Species and Clear Descriptions of 400 Species

London: Frederick Warne & Co. and New York 1895

PREFACE.

The purpose of this volume is to assist a very large and increasing class of persons who possess a strong love of flowers, but to whom the ordinary “Floras”--indispensable as they are to the scientific botanist--are as books written in an unknown tongue. With the enormous increase of our town populations, and the greater facilities for home travel, there has grown up a truer appreciation of the country and of all that is beautiful in nature; and it is hoped that this work may be of service to those who thus steal back to the arms of their Mother, but have not time or inclination to spell out and painfully translate the carefully-made terms of the exact descriptions which learned men have written for the use of the scientific student. Such terms are absolutely necessary, for the things they describe were unknown to our Celtic and Saxon forefathers, who would otherwise have left us names for them which would now be familiar words to all. In a work like the present such words could not be entirely avoided, but they have been used sparingly, and in a manner that will not involve continual reference to a dictionary of scientific terms.

The Author’s aim has been to write a book that, whilst it satisfied the rambler who merely wishes to identify the flowers by his path, might also serve as a stepping-stone to the floras of Hooker, Bentham, and Boswell-Syme; so that should the interest of any reader be sufficiently awakened he may take up the more serious study of either of these authors without having to unlearn what this modest pocket-book may have taught him. At the same time he will here find information on many points of great interest, such as are rarely, if ever, noticed in the “Floras.”

When it is stated that the “London Catalogue of British Plants”--meaning only the flowering plants and ferns--includes nearly 1,700 species, it will be understood that an inexpensive work for the pocket of the rambler can only give figures of a few of these; but the Author has tried to so use the 180 plants delineated that they may serve as a key to a much greater number of species. He regrets that technical difficulties connected with colour-printing and binding have made it impossible to carry out his original plan of grouping the plants according to their natural affinities; instead, he has had to arrange them more in seasons, a course which, after all, may be preferred by the rambler, who will thus find in contiguous pages the flowers he is likely to meet in the course of one ramble. The more scientifically inclined may find the species enumerated in the Natural Orders at the end of the work (page 153).

Several of the black and white figures are of trees which are not natives, but from the frequency with which they are now planted in woods and parks the question of their identity is constantly troubling the rambler, and it seems well to give him the power to decide what they are.

In conclusion, the Author would but express the hope that the present volume may receive a similarly encouraging reception to that which has been accorded to his previous efforts to popularize one of the most delightful branches of human knowledge.

WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS.

=The Daisy= (_Bellis perennis_).

So widely distributed and well known is this plant that surprise may be felt at its inclusion here; but its perfect familiarity marks it as a capital type of the important natural order to which it belongs. What is commonly known as the flower is really a _corymb_ or level-topped cluster of many densely-packed florets of two kinds. Those of the central yellow disc consist each of a tubular corolla, formed by the union of five petals, within which the five anthers unite to form a sheath round the central pistil. The outer or ray-florets have the corolla developed into an irregular white flag, which at once renders the composite flower conspicuous and pretty. These outer florets produce pistils only, as though the extra material necessary for the production of the white flag had made economy in other directions a necessity, and had prevented the development of anthers and pollen.

This is the only British species of its genus, which derives its name from the Latin _Bellus_, pretty. Its second, or specific, name signifies that the plant lives for several years. It flowers nearly all the year round, and occurs generally in grassy places throughout the British Islands.

The Natural Order _Compositæ_, to which _Bellis_ belongs, includes no less than forty-two British genera, which are divided into two series. Several of these genera will be illustrated and described in succeeding pages, but in all the flower-heads will be found to be constructed in the main after the manner of the Daisy. Some will be found to have no ray-florets, others to be composed entirely of ray-florets; and all these modifications of the type give the distinctive characters to the various genera.

Bellis perennis.

--COMPOSITÆ.--]

Primula veris.

--PRIMULACEÆ.--]

=The Cowslip or Paigle= (_Primula veris_).

In April and May in clayey meadows and pastures throughout England and Ireland the Cowslip is abundant; in Scotland rare. The flowers are of a rich yellow hue, and funnel-shaped, the five petals being joined to form a long tube. They are borne on short pedicels, a number of which spring from a long, stout, velvety stalk, three to six inches high. At the bottom of the tube is the globose ovary, surmounted by the pin-like style with the spreading stigma at the top. The five stamens are attached to the walls of the tube--in some flowers half-way down, in others at the top. In the first form the style is very long, so that the stigma comes to the top of the tube; in the second the style is short, and the stigma reaches half-way up only. The flowers are consequently termed _dimorphic_, and the two forms are borne on separate plants.

Though these two forms had long been known to country children as “pin-eyed” and “thrum-eyed” respectively, it remained for Charles Darwin to point out the significance of this variation, which is to ensure cross-fertilization by the visits of insects. A bee pushing its tongue to the bottom of a long-styled flower in search for honey would have its tongue dusted with pollen half-way down, and on visiting a short-styled flower some of this pollen would be sure to become detached by the sticky stigma at the same height; and _vice versâ_. The reader may prove this experimentally by selecting flowers of the two forms, and gently thrusting a grass stem into one after the other.

The other native species of the _genus_ Primula are:--

The Primrose (_P. vulgaris_) with inflated calyx and large
_pale_-yellow corollas on long pedicels. The thick stalk of the
cowslip is not developed here, but hidden amid the leaf-stalks.
Copses and hedge banks, April and May.

The Oxlip (_P. elatior_). Calyx less inflated, corolla pale, like
primrose; pedicels shorter; thick stalk developed and long like
cowslip. Confined to counties of Bedford, Cambridge, Suffolk and
Essex. Copses and meadows, April and May.

The Bird’s-eye Primrose (_P. farinosa_). The three former species
have _wrinkled_ leaves; this and the next have not, but theirs are
_very mealy_ underneath. Flowers pale _purple-lilac_ with a yellow
eye. Bogs and meadows from York northwards. Very rare in Scotland.
June and July. _Dimorphic_ like the foregoing.

The Scottish Primrose (_P. scotica_). Similar to Bird’s-eye,
but not half the size, though stouter in proportion. Flowers
_purple-blue_ with yellow eye. _Not_ dimorphic. Pastures in Orkney,
Caithness and Sutherland, June to September.

Name from Latin _Primulus_, first.

=The Wood Anemone or Windflower= (_Anemone nemorosa_).

One of the earliest of spring-flowers to greet us in the copse, by the woodside and in upland meadows is this bright-faced flower. Its firm, fleshy, almost woody rootstock creeps just below the surface of the mossy soil, and rapidly sends up its stems with folded leaves and drooping buds, after one or two genial days.

The Anemones constitute the genus _Anemone_ of the natural ordera Ranunculaceæ, and are characterized by having no corolla (petals). Instead, the six sepals (calyx) are coloured--in this case a very delicate pink-washed white inside, lightly tinged with purple outside. As a rule the stem bears three leaves, each split up into three leaflets, which are deeply toothed. Flowers from late March till early June. The name is derived from the Greek _anemos_--the wind--and was given because it was believed to open its buds only when the winds were blowing. Richard Jefferies, curiously ignoring the meaning of the word, entitled a chapter in one of his earlier works--“Wind Anemones.”

Anemone nemorosa.

--RANUNCULACEÆ.--]

Viola odorata.

--VIOLACEÆ.--]

There is one other native species:--

The Pasque-flower (_A. pulsatilla_). Blossoms before the leaves
mature. Flowers _dull purple_; exterior covered with silky hairs;
_leaves also silky_. Fruit, little nutlets (_achenes_) provided
with long feathered awns, with which they float on the wind when
ripe. Flowers, May and June, on chalk downs and limestone pastures
in Essex and Gloucestershire, and from York to Norfolk.

=The Sweet Violet= (_Viola odorata_).

One of the most valued flowers of spring in cities is the cultivated violet, and the rambler from town considers himself fortunate if he comes upon a sheltered bank whereon the wild Sweet Violets grow. We need not dwell at any length upon the special characters of this species, for its possession of sweet perfume is sufficient alone to separate it from the related species comprised in the genus _Viola_.

It will be seen to have a short rootstock, and to give off runners. The leaves are broadly heart-shaped, and have a way of enlarging after the plant has flowered--a characteristic shared by the Marsh Violet and the Hairy Violet. The flowers vary in colour; they may be blue, reddish-purple, or white. The petals are unequal in size and shape, there being two pairs and an odd one. This is larger than the others, and is produced backwards as a short hollow spur. It is really the uppermost of the five petals, but, owing to the flower-stalk (_peduncle_) invariably bending over near the summit, it appears to us always as the lowest.

A careful examination of the form and mechanism of the essential organs of this genus will be well repaid by the light thrown upon Nature’s methods to secure the continuity of species. The style on arising from the ovary is thin and bent, but gradually expands until the stigmatic surface is very broad in comparison. The stamens surround the style, the anthers so closely touching each other laterally that they enclose a space in which the ovary and style occupy the centre, and from which the stigma protrudes. The anthers shed their pollen, which is _dry_, into this space. Two of the stamens send out each a long tail into the hollow petal-spur, which secretes honey from its tip. The reason why the flower-stalk bends over is, that the stigma may hang down instead of being erect. A bee smells the honey and alights on the odd petal. The dark lines converging to the spur show where the honey lies, but the thick-headed stigma blocks the way. Thrusting in his tongue, the bee pushes the stigma aside with his head, which is the more easily accomplished owing to the thin base of the style. But this act also disarranges the anthers, and as a result the loose pollen drops out upon his hairy head, where it will come in contact with the viscid stigma of the next violet he visits. In this way an occasional cross is effected that the vigour of the race may be maintained, but for ordinary purposes of reproduction the violet has a more economical method. When the spring season is over the violet ceases to furnish flowers got up for show, and sets about producing buds which will never open (_cleistogamous_). These are without petals, and contain nothing but the essential organs; the anthers produce only enough pollen to fertilize the ovules in the ovary, which then develop into perfect seeds.

_Viola odorata_ is found truly wild only in the S. and E. of England, and possibly the E. of Ireland; but it is naturalized in many other parts of the kingdom. Flowers, March to May. The name _Viola_ is Latin, and is that by which the ancients knew it. There are six other British species, which will be found enumerated on page 58.

=The Lesser Periwinkle= (_Vinca minor_).

The Lesser Periwinkle is perhaps more familiarly known as a garden plant than as a wild-flower, and the former would appear to be its true character. It is now truly wild, in the Southern English counties at least, having probably been introduced by man at an early date (Chaucer mentions “fresh pervinke rich of hew”), and taken care to keep the foothold thus obtained. Its favourite position is a woodland bank, which it thickly covers with its dark evergreen leaves. Hooker (“Students’ Flora,” p. 268) describes the flowering stems as short and erect, and the peduncles not so long as the diameter of the corolla. As a matter of fact, the long trailing and rooting stems also bear flowers, and the peduncles vary in length from ¼ to 2 inches.

Vinca minor.

--APOCYNEÆ.--]

Ranunculus ficaria.

--RANUNCULACEÆ.--]

The petals are united for half their length to form a tube, and the five free lobes are oblique. The structure and arrangement of the stamens and pistil are very curious, and evidently have relation to cross-fertilization by insects, for the throat of the corolla-tube is closely guarded by a fringe of silky hairs, impassable by the thrips that vainly haunt the mouth in quest of pollen. The plant rarely, if ever, produces seed in this country, and this indicates that the insects necessary to its fertilization are not British. Flowers, April and May, and sparingly throughout the year.

The Greater Periwinkle (_Vinca major_) is also naturalized in places. It is much larger in every respect than _V. minor_. The name of the genus is supposed to have been derived from the Latin _Vincio_, to bind or connect, in allusion to the manner in which its trailing stems thrust down a root from every node.

=The Lesser Celandine= (_Ranunculus ficaria_).

As soon as there comes a slackening of the iron rule of winter, whether it be early in February or late in March, then on sunny banks and at the feet of pasture-hedges, or on waste-ground by the roadside, the burnished gold stars of the Lesser Celandine glitter in the wintry sunshine. It is a charming little plant in its brightness and compactness, and not in the least suggestive of weediness; yet, if introduced into the garden it can become an absolute nuisance. Its roots produce a large number of cylindrical tubers, which--when the “doctrine of signatures” was in fashion--were held to resemble hemorrhoids, and therefore to be medicinal for that painful malady: hence one of its folk-names--Pilewort. Each of these tubers is capable of producing a new plant, and reproduction by this method is speedily effected.

The leaves vary much in shape and in size. The larger, from the root (radical), are more or less heart-shaped, the edges bluntly angled; the smaller ones, from the stem (caudal), may approach towards the form of an ivy-leaf. The sepals (calyx) vary from three to five, usually three, and the petals from seven to twelve. The stamens are numerous, as also are the carpels or divisions of the fruit. As in the Anemone (page 3), these are _achenes_, a form persistent throughout the genus Ranunculus; each contains a single seed. The plant is well distributed throughout the country, and may be found in flower until May.

=The Broom= (_Cytisus scoparius_).

The Broom is sadly liable to be confounded with the Furze by the non-botanical rambler, chiefly, we believe, because of the similarity of the flowers and the partiality of both for heaths and commons. There are, however, several points of difference between them; but one is sufficient for a rough-and-ready distinction. The Furze began life with a few leaves similar to those of the Broom, but as it grew it put forth sharp spines instead of ordinary leaves, until it became more difficult to handle than any hedgehog. The Broom rarely puts on any prickles at all, and its compound leaves, of three small leaflets, may be seen as in the illustration, close to the pliant stems.

Cytisus scoparius.

--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]

Fumaria officinalis.

--FUMARIACEÆ.--]

The flowers, too, are larger than those of the Furze, though similar in structure. The calyx is two-lipped, the petals five, unequal in size and shape. The very large upper petal erects itself somewhat, and is known as the “standard.” The two lateral ones are called “wings,” and the lower pair are united all along their lower edges, to form a boat-shaped body, called the “keel.” In this keel lie the stamens and pistil, which are curved, and the former have the filaments united into a tube within which lies the ovary. The stamens also vary in length, and should a bee alight on a newly-opened blossom in quest of pollen--for the Broom produces no honey--the pressure of the “wings” upon the “keel” forces out the shorter stamens, and they dust the bee’s abdomen with pollen. Should, however, the insect visit a flower lower down the stem and consequently a day or two older, the long stamens and the pistil spring out with some force, and the hairs on the pistil brush out the shed-pollen from the “keel” and sprinkle it on the bee’s back. Then the pistil curls so that the stigmatic surface shall come in contact with the abdomen of the next bee that arrives, probably with pollen from another flower. Thus fertilized the ovary develops into a valved pod like that of the garden pea, but smaller, of course, and black. When ripe the valves separate, twist up and scatter the seeds. Press down the wings with the finger in the position a bee would occupy, and observe the action of this remarkable mechanism, which, with variations, is common to all Leguminous plants (_see_ pages 43, 44, 47, 48, 49, 52, 73, 94, 101, 132). The Broom flowers from April to June, and is widely distributed throughout the kingdom.

=Fumitory= (_Fumaria officinalis_).

I have frequently found that the grace and lightness of the Fumitory suggest to the non-botanical mind some kind of relationship with the Maidenhair-fern; more especially is this the case with the lower portion of the plant. The leaves are thin and much divided. The flowers are peculiarly formed, and their arrangement is known as a _raceme_. Each consists of a couple of small sepals, and four petals arranged in two unequal pairs; the upper petal is spurred at the base, the lateral pair connected by their tips and completely enclosing the stamens and pistil.

The plant is common in dry fields and waste places throughout the three kingdoms, and indeed over a great part of the earth, for it is a plant that has followed close in the wake of cultivation. The name is an ancient one, derived from the Latin, _fumus_, smoke, some have said on account of the light unsubstantial character of the plant; but, according to Pliny, because the watery juice brought on such a flow of tears that the sight was dimmed as by smoke. This is not very satisfactory; but nothing better in the way of explanation has been offered, so we must be content with it. It had formerly a great reputation in medicine. Flowers from May till September.

There are three other British species:--

Rampant Fumitory (_F. capreolata_) which climbs to a height of 1½
to 2 feet by means of its twisting leaf-stalks. Its cream-coloured
flowers are more loosely borne in the raceme than in _F.
officinalis_. Small-flowered Fumitory (_F. densiflora_), similar to
_F. officinalis_, but smaller and weaker, flowers paler, racemes
short, leaflets smaller and narrower.

Least-flowered Fumitory (_F. parviflora_), with small pale flowers
and minute sepals; racemes dense.

These three species are rare, the last especially so.

=Lungwort= (_Pulmonaria officinalis_).

Occasionally in woods and copses the rambler will come across this plant, which flowers in April and May. It is not truly a native, but has become naturalized in England and the South of Scotland. Time was when well-nigh every garden had its clump of Lungwort, for it had a splendid reputation for chest complaints. It is from these garden specimens that our naturalized plants have originated.

Pulmonaria officinalis.

--BORAGINEÆ.--]

Cardamine pratensis.

=Shepherd’s purse.=

Capsella bursa-pastoris.

--CRUCIFERÆ.--]

Lungwort has a creeping rootstock, from which arise stalked, ovate, hairy leaves, dark green in colour, with white blotches. On the erect flowering stem the leaves are smaller and not stalked. The flowers consist of a five-angled calyx, a funnel-shaped corolla with five lobes, five stamens, style arising from a group of four nutlets and terminated by a rounded stigma. Like the cowslip, Lungwort is dimorphous. It secretes plenty of honey, and is consequently much visited by bees. Before the flowers open they are pink, but afterwards change to purple. As a garden flower it is also known as the Jerusalem Cowslip.

The name is from the Latin, _Pulmo_, the lungs, in allusion to the leaves, spotted like the lungs, and which under the doctrine of signatures was held to indicate that it was good for consumption and other lung troubles.

There is another species which is really indigenous to this country, the Narrow-leaved Lungwort (_P. angustifolia_), but it is very rare, and occurs only in the Isle of Wight, the New Forest, and in Dorset. It is taller than _P. officinalis_, the leaves of a different shape, and the corolla finally bright blue.

=Lady’s Smock= (_Cardamine pratensis_).

In all moist meadows and swampy places, from April to June, the eye is pleased with a multitude of waving flowers which in the aggregate look white, but at close quarters are seen to be a pale pink or lilac. They are Shakespeare’s “Lady’s smocks all silver-white,” that “paint the meadows with delight.” It is our first example of the Cruciferous plants, the four petals of whose flowers are arranged in the form of a Maltese cross. Its leaves are cut up into a variable number of leaflets; those from the roots having the leaflets more or less rounded, those from the stem narrower. The radical leaves as they lie on the wet ground root at every leaflet, and develop a tiny plant from each. The flowers are nearly ¾ of an inch across.

There are three other native species:--

Hairy Bitter Cress (_C. hirsuta_), with white flowers, ⅛th of an
inch in diameter; anthers yellow.

Large-flowered Bitter Cress (_C. amara_), with creamy white flowers
½ inch in diameter; anthers purple. Riversides: rare.

Narrow-leaved Bitter-Cress (_C. impatiens_), white flowers, ¼ inch
across; anthers yellow. Shady copses, local.

Name from the Greek _Kardamon_, a kind of watercress.

=Shepherd’s Purse= (_Capsella bursa-pastoris_).

One need not travel far to find a specimen of Shepherd’s Purse, for almost any spot of earth that man has tilled will furnish it. Wherever his fork or spade has gone in temperate regions this plant has gone with him, and stayed. The flowers are very minute, white, and are succeeded by the heart-shaped seed-vessel (capsule) which gives its name to the whole plant, from its resemblance to an ancient form of rustic pouch. This splits into two valves, and the numerous seeds drop out. The only native species: flowers throughout summer.

Name: Latin, diminutive of _Capsula_, a little box.

=The Wood Sorrel= (_Oxalis acetosella_).

One of the most graceful and charming of native plants. It abounds in moist shady woods, rapidly covering the leaf-mould with its fresh yellow-green trefoils and pink-streaked white flowers. In such a situation in April or May it produces beautiful effects. A favourite position for it is the rotten centre of some old beech stump, from which it will spread in a loose cluster, “covering with strange and tender honour the scarred disgrace of ruin,” as Ruskin says of the lichens.

The roots are fine and scattered along the creeping knotted pink stems. The leaflets droop close to the stalk at night or on the approach of rain. The flower is regular; sepals five, petals five, stamens ten, stigmas five. The fruit is a five-angled, irritable capsule, from which the seeds are thrown with great force to a distance of several yards. In addition to the coloured spring flowers the Wood-Sorrel produces throughout the summer a large number of buds which never open (_cleistogamous_), but which develop into seed-vessels and discharge good seeds. The leaves have a pleasant acid flavour, due to the presence of oxalic acid. The generic name refers to this fact, and is derived from the Greek _Oxys_, sharp.

Oxalis acetosella.

--OXALIDEÆ.--]

Cheiranthus cheiri.

--CRUCIFERÆ.--]

This is the only truly native species, but two others with _yellow_ flowers have become naturalized in the S.W. of England. These are:

Procumbent Wood-sorrel (_O. corniculata_), with much-branched
stalk; both stalk and branches soon becoming procumbent; and the
flowers borne two or three on one peduncle. Leaves and stalks
bronzed. Flowers June to September.

Upright Yellow Wood-sorrel (_O. stricta_), similar to the last, but
with stem more erect; flowers two to eight on one peduncle.

=The Wallflower= (_Cheiranthus cheiri_).

This is not a British plant, though it has become firmly established on many old ruins throughout the country. It is a native of Central and Northern Europe, and according to Loudon was introduced to England in 1573. It is never found growing on rocks in this country, as would be the case were it a native. In some districts it is known as Gillyflower, a name corrupted from the French, _Giroflée de Muraille_. Old writers who use the name Gillyflower refer to the Clove Pink; in the present day the plant usually intended by the term is the Garden Stock. Culpepper calls this Winter Gillyflower. The wild plants are always the single yellow variety.

It is a Cruciferous plant, like the Bittercress and Shepherd’s Purse, and the structure of the flowers is very similar to those. The sepals are very long, and for economy’s sake that part of the petal that is hidden within the calyx is a narrow claw. The long ovary is surmounted by the two-lobed stigma, and develops into a long pod, 2 or 2½ inches long, containing a large number of reddish seeds. It flowers in May and June chiefly, but also irregularly in mild winters.

It is the only species occurring wild, but in the garden it has produced many grand varieties. The name is most probably derived from the Greek, _cheir_, the hand, and _anthos_, flower--that is a flower suited by its fragrance to be held as a bouquet.

The Cruciferæ, to which these plants belong, is an important
Natural Order, containing five-and-twenty British genera and a
great many species. All are distinguished by the cruciform flowers,
by means of which a botanist can distinguish a crucifer at once.
Many of our most important garden and kitchen herbs are crucifers,
including the majority of our green vegetables and roots, such as
cabbage, turnip, radish, mustard (_see_ p. 90), cress, kale, etc.

=Marsh Marigold= (_Caltha palustris_).

In marshes and river-meadows in spring this is the most conspicuous plant, and to acquire it the rambler will not hesitate to risk getting wet feet. What time the sallow first puts out her silvery “palm,” the Marigolds then “shine like fire in swamps and hollows grey” (Tennyson). In some districts it is the May-blob, Mare-blob, and Marybud. It has a thick, creeping rootstock, and broadly heart-shaped glossy leaves with very large stipules. After flowering the leaves increase in size considerably, and in some places they reach an enormous size for so small a plant. The flower has no petals, but the five sepals are enlarged and richly coloured, as with gold, and burnished. The centre of the cup is occupied by a number of carpels, which are surrounded by an indefinite crowd of stamens, and which develop after fertilization into as many follicles containing great store of seeds. The plant is poisonous. The flowering time lasts from April till August.

There is one other British species--some say it is a mere variety of the foregoing--Rooting Marsh Marigold (_C. radicans_), with triangular leaves and rooting stems. It occurs only in Forfarshire, and is very rare.

Caltha palustris.

--RANUNCULACEÆ.--]

Scilla nutans.

--LILIACEÆ.--]

The name is derived from the Greek, _Kalathos_, a cup, in allusion to the form of the flower.

=Wild Hyacinth, or Blue-Bell= (_Scilla nutans_).

After the daisy, buttercup and primrose, few wild flowers are better known than the Blue-bell or Wild Hyacinth. In the very earliest days of spring its leaves break through the earth and lay in rosette fashion close to the surface, leaving a circular tube through which the spike of pale unopened buds soon arises. A few premature individuals may be seen in full flower at quite an early date; but it is not until spring is fully and fairly with us that we can look through the woods under the trees and see millions of them swaying like a blue mist; or, as Tennyson has finely and truly worded it, “that seem the heavens upbreaking through the earth.” This must not be confounded with the Blue-bell of Scotland, which is _Campanula rotundifolia_ (_see_ page 78).

If we dig up an entire specimen we shall find that, like the hyacinth of the florist, its foundation is a roundish bulb, in this case somewhat less than an inch in diameter at its stoutest part. The leaves have parallel sides, or, as the botanist would say, they are linear; and before the plant has done flowering they have reached the length of a foot or more, whilst the flower-stalk is nearly as long again. Before the flowers open the buds are all erect, but these gradually assume a drooping attitude; though when the seeds are ripening the capsule again becomes erect.

The flower is an elongated bell, showing no distinction between calyx and corolla; it is therefore called a perianth. It consists of six floral leaves, joined together at their bases, the free portions curling back and disclosing the six yellow anthers, which are attached to the sides of the perianth, one to each segment. The ovary is surmounted by the thread-like style, ending in a minute stigma. The capsule is three-celled, and when the seeds are ripe each cell splits down the side to release the shining black seeds.

The Genus _Scilla_ belongs to the Natural Order Liliaceæ; its name is classical, and probably derived from the Greek _Skyllo_, to annoy, in allusion to the bulbs being poisonous. There are two other native species:--

The Vernal Squill (_S. vernalis_). Flower-scapes, one or two, not so long as leaves. Like _S. nutans_, it has a couple of long bracts at the base of the pedicels, as the short stalks are called, which connect the flowers with the tall scape. This is a rare plant, occurring only in rocky pastures near the west coast from Flint to Devon; also Ayr and Berwick to Shetland, and in the E. and N. E. of Ireland. April and May.

The Autumnal Squill (_S. autumnalis_) throws up several flower-scapes before the leaves. Flowers, reddish-purple, not drooping, but spreading or erect; July to September in dry pastures from Gloucester to Cornwall, from Middlesex to Kent. No bracts.

=The Cuckoo-pint= (_Arum maculatum_).

Lords-and-Ladies, Cuckoo-pintle, Priest’s-pintle, Calves-foot, Starchwort, Ramp, and Wake-robin are also names by which this very familiar spring-plant is known in different localities. Its appearance is remarkable, and its structure no less interesting. About a foot below the surface of woods and hedgebanks is the tuberous rootstock, from which arise above ground in March the handsome arrow-shaped leaves, more or less spotted with red or purple. From the midst of these leaves in April rises the flower-stalk, bearing an enormous pale-green rolled-up bract-leaf, of similar nature to the small thin bract we observed at the base of the pedicels in _Scilla_, but larger than the ordinary leaves. It unrolls and then resembles a monk’s-cowl, and also discloses a purplish cylindric column. The green envelope is called a spathe, and must not be taken for a flower. The flowers are there in great number, but they are small and arranged round the lower part of the central column (spadix). The lower third of the spathe is marked off from the rest by a slight constriction, and if with a sharp knife we slice off the front portion of this part we shall there find the flowers in four series.

Arum maculatum.

--AROIDEÆ.--]

Convallaria majalis.

=Solomon’s Seal.=

Polygonatum multiflorum.

--LILIACEÆ.--]

Proceeding downwards we first find a ring of abortive stamens, each ending in a long, deflexed hair. A little lower is a series of perfect anthers, and below these a similar group of pistils, the topmost row of which consists of abortive organs with hair-like processes. Small flies are attracted to the spathe by the carrion-like colour and odour of the spadix, and explore the lower premises. The hairs allow easy descent, but prevent return. If the flies have already been in an Arum flower they bring with them pollen on wings and feet, and find the stigmas ripe to receive it. When these are no longer fit for fertilization the anthers open and discharge their pollen in a shower on the insects; the stigmas secrete honey as a reward to the imprisoned flies, and the upper series of hairs shrivel up and set the insects free to carry their pollen to another Arum.

The spathe and spadix wither, but the ovaries develop into codlin-shaped pale scarlet berries. This species is plentiful throughout the country. There is one other species, _Arum italicum_, found locally from Cornwall to Sussex. It is larger and stouter in all respects; the upper part of the spathe bending over, and the spadix yellow. Flowers in June.

=Lily of the Valley= (_Convallaria majalis_).

=Solomon’s Seal= (_Polygonatum multiflorum_).

These plants are very familiar as garden flowers; they are nevertheless natives, though by no means common in the wild state. Both are characterized by having thick creeping rootstocks. _Convallaria_ differs from _Polygonatum_ in having no stem; the two or three leaves springing direct from the rootstock. The flower is a bell-shaped perianth, the mouth split into six recurved lobes. Stamens six, attached to the base of the perianth, around the ovary, which ultimately becomes a globose red berry. It is much more widely distributed than _Polygonatum_. In woods; flowers May and June. Name from the Latin _Convallis_, a valley. The only British species.

Solomon’s Seal has a distinct arching stem, with alternate erect leaves. The flower-stalks spring from the axils of the leaves, and bear from two to five greenish-white flowers each. The berries that succeed the flowers are blue-black. The flowers are similarly formed to the last-mentioned, but longer, more tubular, and the lobes not turned back. The stamens are attached about half-way down the perianth. There are two other native species, both rare.

The Angular Solomon’s Seal (_P. officinale_), much smaller than the last, the flowers mostly occurring singly, larger and greener. Wooded limestone cliffs, May and June.

Narrow-leaved Solomon’s Seal (_P. verticillatum_), with leaves in whorls around the angled stem. Wooded glens, Northumberland, Perth and Forfar only. June and July; very rare.

Name from the Greek, _polys_, many, and _gonatos_, a knee or angle, in allusion to the many nodes.

=Hawthorn= (_Cratægus oxyacantha_).

The Hawthorn, May, or Whitethorn, is too well known to require much description. Its more familiar appearance is as a hedge-forming shrub, when it is not allowed to have any natural form, but in the woodlands it becomes a round-headed tree, and when fully in flower looks like a monstrous snow-ball on a stalk. The tyro in botany can tell almost with a glance at its beautiful flowers that it is a member of the great order of Roses, and not distantly removed from the apple section of that order. The calyx-tube adheres to the ovary, and the five petals are inserted at the mouth of the calyx. The stamens are numerous; the styles one, two, or three, corresponding with the number of carpels. In the fruit these are covered by the red, fleshy coat in which the bony cells are enveloped, and which is valued as a food by birds in autumn and winter.

Cratægus oxyacantha.

--ROSACEÆ.--]

Ranunculus acris.

--RANUNCULACEÆ.--]

May and June are the usual months for flowering, but occasionally it is in blossom at the end of April. Though the characteristic odour from these flowers is sweet, now and then a tree will be found whose every flower gives out a distinctly fishy flavour that is far from pleasant; often, too, it may be found with pink or crimson blossoms. This is the only British species. The name is from the Greek, _Kratos_, strength, in allusion to the hardness of its wood.

=Buttercup= (_Ranunculus acris_).

There are three species of _Ranunculus_ to which the name of Buttercup is applied impartially; but the one to which it most properly belongs is the Bulbous Crowfoot (_R. bulbosus_), in which the cup-shape is more perfect than in the others. We have already dealt with the general characters of the genus in describing the Lesser Celandine: here we will glance only at the specific differences between this and the other buttercup-species of Ranunculus or Crowfoot.

I. _Ranunculus acris_ is the Upright Crowfoot. The rootstock is straight and erect. The lower leaves are divided into wedge-shaped segments, which are again much cut up--the upper leaves less intricately so. The petals are broader than in the Celandine, and fewer--usually five, more or less flat when fully expanded. Flower-stalk not furrowed; sepals spreading. Stem one to three feet high. Meadows and pastures everywhere, June and July.

II. _R. repens_, the Creeping Crowfoot. Rootstock stout, stem declining, _with long runners_. Flower-stalk _furrowed_, sepals spreading, but petals less so than in _R. acris_. Stem one to two feet. Pastures and waste places, too frequent, May to August.

III. _R. bulbosus_, Bulbous Crowfoot. Stem erect, half to one foot, greatly swollen at base: no runners. Flower-stalk furrowed, _sepals turned back_, nearly or quite touching the stalk; petals not spreading, but cup-shaped. Meadows everywhere, April to July.

The name Ranunculus is derived from the Latin, _Rana_, a frog, in allusion to the damp meadows and the ponds where certain species are to be found in company with frogs.

=Wall Barley= (_Hordeum murinum_).

In all waste places on a sandy soil, near towns and villages especially, the Wall Barley, Mouse Barley, Barley-grass, or Way-bent flourishes. At the base of walls is a favourite post for it, where it collects dust, and generally contributes to an appearance of untidiness. Its bristly spike is well known to the schoolboy, who breaks it off and inserts the stem end in the cuff of his shirt-sleeve, whence it works its way automatically to the shoulder. If the spike is cut across its length, the spikelets of which it is made up may be separated and examined with a lens. It will then be seen that the spikelets are borne in threes side by side, but that only the central one is a perfect one, the lateral ones being barren. Taking this central one from the others, we find two outer inflated scales (_glumes_) embracing two other scales, one of which, with the cleft tip and two keels on the back, is the _pale_, the other, ending in a long awn, is the flowering glume, within which is the ovary, surmounted by its two feathery stigmas. From beneath the ovary spring the three stamens and two minute scales, called _lodicules_, which answer to the perianth in ordinary flowers. It would be well to quite master this arrangement by dissection, for all grass flowers are built on a similar plan.

Hordeum murinum.

--GRAMINÆ.--

=Jagged Chickweed.=

Holosteum umbellatum.

--CARYOPHYLLÆ.--]

Taraxacum officinale.

--COMPOSITÆ.--]

_Hordeum_ is the old Latin name for barley. Flowers June and July.

=Jagged Chickweed= (_Holosteum umbellatum_).

This is a very rare plant, occurring only on old walls about Norwich, Bury and Eye. The rambler in those localities might pass it by as a variety of the vulgar Chickweed, to which, however, it is distantly related. The small white flowers are arranged in an umbellate manner, though not forming a true umbel. Whilst flowering the long pedicels are erect, but after flowering they hang down; after fruiting they become erect again. Flowers April and May.

Name derived from the Greek _olos_, all, and _osteon_, bone, but Artemus Ward would have said it was “wrote sarcastick,” for there is nothing suggestive of bones in so soft a plant.

=Dandelion= (_Taraxacum officinale_).

Everyone thinks he knows the Dandelion when he sees it and probably he does; but often when he sees a Hawkbit he believes it to be a Dandelion. We may not like to find the Dandelion taking possession of our lawn, but we should regret to miss it from the odd corners by the fence and the roadside. It is a flower of three seasons, for it blooms continuously from March to October, and it is no unusual thing to see its golden flower in winter.

This is a Composite flower, like the Daisy, but whereas the Daisy head was seen to be made up of a host of tubular flowers, with a single outer row of _ligulate_, or strap-shaped ones, those of the Dandelion are all ligulate. It therefore stands as a representative of the second series of Composite genera. The plant has no proper stem, the leaves springing directly from the long, thick root. From their midst arise the flower-heads on their hollow stalks. The floral envelope (_involucre_) consists of a double row of scales (_bracts_), the inner long, the outer shorter. The outer are turned back and clasp the stalk, the inner erect. Take off a single floret and examine with a lens. It will be seen that each is a perfect flower, containing both anthers and stigmas. The ovary is crowned by the corolla, which is invested by a _pappus_ of soft white silky hairs. Within the corolla the five anthers unite to form a tube, in which is the style, which divides above into two stigmas. After fertilization the corollas wither, the inner bracts closing over them while the fruits grow. Then the bracts open again, each pappus spreads into a parachute, and the whole of them constitute the fluffy ball by which children feign to tell the time. A light wind detaches them, and they float off to disperse the seeds far and wide. The only British species.

The name is believed to be derived from two Greek words, _Taraxos_, disorder, and _akos_, remedy: in allusion to its well-known medicinal qualities as an alterative.

=The Bugle= (_Ajuga reptans_), and

=The Forget-me-not= (_Myosotis palustris_).

The Common Bugle meets one from April to July in wood and field, and on the waste places by the roadside. It is a creeping plant, runners being sent out from the short stout rootstock, and these rooting send up flowering stems from ½ to 1 foot in height. The leaves from the root are stalked; those from the stem are not. The flowers and the upper bract are dull purple in colour. The flowers are peculiarly fashioned in what is botanically termed a labiate manner: that is to say, the five petals of the corolla are united to form a somewhat bell-shaped flower, the mouth of which is divided into two unequal lips. The upper lip is two-lobed, the lower three-lobed. The upper usually acts as a roof to shelter the stamens and stigmas, the lower as a platform upon which insects may alight when they come to seek honey and to fertilize the flower. In the present species the anthers and stigmas project beyond the upper lip, which is very short; but they are protected by the overhanging lower bract of the flower above. There are interesting facts in connection with the fertilization of these labiate flowers, which, however, we must leave for a couple of pages. It is characteristic of the Labiatæ that the stems are square, the leaves opposite, the corolla bilabiate, the stamens less in number than the lobes of the corolla.

Ajuga reptans.

--LABIATÆ.--

=Forget-me-not.=

Myosotis palustris.

--BORAGINÆ.--]

Plantago lanceolata.

=Greater Plantain.=

Plantago major.

--PLANTAGINEÆ.--]

The Forget-me-not is so well known that with our limited space we will be content with noting that its flowers are similar in structure to those of the Lungwort (page 9), though the tube is shorter. Like _Pulmonaria_, it is a plant of the order Boragineæ, genus _Myosotis_. There are six British species. Name, from two Greek words signifying mouse-ear, in allusion to the shape of the leaves.

=The Greater Plantain= (_Plantago major_), and

=The Ribwort Plantain= (_P. lanceolata_).

These are among the despised of our wild-flowers, weeds among weeds. They are considered of interest only to the keeper of cage-birds, by whose pets the ripe fruit-stalks are much appreciated. But if we knew the plants better we should appreciate them more. There must be something worthy of respect in a plant that has contrived to get itself so taken throughout the world that it is known wherever Europeans have been, and is called the White-man’s Foot. The leaves of the genus are characterized by having strongly developed parallel ribs on the under surface. There is no stem, the leaves all springing from the stout rootstock. The flowers are borne on tall spikes which spring from the axils of the leaves. Each blossom consists of four persistent sepals, a salver-shaped corolla with four lobes, between which are fixed the four stamens surrounding the long, simple and hairy style. There are five British species, of which we figure two. The name _Plantago_ is the classic Latin one, from which the English has been evolved.

I. The Greater Plantain (_P. major_) has very broad leaves and
broad, short leaf-stalks. Stamens short, anthers purple. Seeds
black and rough. Pastures and roadsides, May to September.

II. Hoary Plantain (_P. media_): leaves not so broad, flower-scape
shorter. Stamens long, anthers whitish. Seeds brown, rough.
Pastures and waste places in a dry soil, June to October. Plant
more or less covered with short hairs.

III. Ribwort Plantain (_P. lanceolata_): as the scientific name
implies, the leaves are lance-shaped, long and narrow. The
flower-scape is deeply furrowed, the flower-spike short. Stamens
long, white. Seeds black, shining. Pastures and heaths, May to
October.

IV. Seaside Plantain (_P. maritima_). Rootstock branched, crown
woolly. Leaves narrower than the last, margins more parallel, ribs
weak. Stamens pale yellow. Seeds brown, slightly winged at end.
Pastures, salt-marshes and rocks by the sea, June to September.

V. Buck’s-horn Plantain (_P. coronopus_). Leaves narrow, linear,
divided, or deeply-toothed, suggesting the popular name; ribbed,
hairy. Stamens pale yellow. Seeds pale brown. Poor gravelly soils,
chiefly near coast. June to August.

=Meadow Sage= (_Salvia pratensis_).

In speaking of the Bugle on page 22 we promised to say more of Labiate flowers further on. _Salvia_ is a labiate, and of similar construction to _Ajuga_. _S. pratensis_ is a rare plant, found only in Cornwall, Kent, and Oxford, from June to August. The soft wrinkled leaves have the edges cut into convex teeth (_crenate_). The flowers are large and bright blue; they are borne in whorls, usually of four or five flowers, on a tall spike. There is a more frequent species, the Wild Sage or Clary (_S. verbenaca_), found in dry pastures all over the kingdom south of Ross-shire from June to September. It is similar in habit to _S. pratensis_, but smaller, with the flowers more inclined to purple. The Sage of the kitchen-garden is _S. officinalis_; not a native plant. The name _Salvia_ is from the Latin _Salvo_, to save or heal, from its former great repute in medicine.

Salvia pratensis.

--LABIATÆ.--]

Poa annua.

=Cock’s-foot-grass.=

Dactylis glomerata.

--GRAMINEÆ.--]

Most labiate flowers produce honey from the base of the ovary; and this, of course, is a distinct bribe to insects to visit them. It would not be an economical arrangement for a flower to provide honey for all comers without the plant getting a _quid pro quo_; we therefore find all sorts of “dodges” to ensure a service being done by the honey-seeker. As we have shown in the Bugle, the anther and stigma occupy the arch of the upper lip. As a rule the ripe anthers first occupy the foremost position, so that if a bee alights on the lower lip and pushes into the corolla for the honey his hairy back will brush off the pollen from the anthers. After the honey is shed the stigmas come forward and occupy the former position of the anthers. Should a bee that has got dusted with pollen at an earlier flower now pay a visit the stigmas will collect some pollen from his back and the ovules become fertilized. This is the general plan in the order Labiatæ, but there are modifications in each genus.

=Annual Meadow-grass= (_Poa annua_), and

=Cock’s-foot-grass= (_Dactylis glomerata_).

In describing the Wall Barley we gave a general idea of the structure of grass flowers, and those of _Poa_ are very similar to those of _Hordeum_; but the flower-cluster (_inflorescence_) is very different. In _Hordeum_ (which see) this is a _spike_, bearing many three-flowered spikelets on each side. In _Poa_ it is more branched and diffuse, and is called a _panicle_. In _P. annua_ the branches grow two together, and are branched again. The spikelets are not awned as in _Hordeum_. There are eight British species of _Poa_, which, however, we have not space to describe. The name is Greek, and signifies fodder. All the species are perennial, with the exception of _P. annua_, which is an annual, as the name indicates. It flowers from April to September, and abounds in meadows, pastures and by roadsides.

The Cock’s-foot-grass (_Dactylis glomerata_) is an ingredient of most pastures, and one of our most familiar grasses. Its long stout stem creeps for a distance, then rises very erectly and gives off horizontal flowering branches. The violet-tinted spikelets are gathered into dense one-sided clusters. Each spikelet contains three or four flowers, which are supposed to be arranged after the fashion of fingers on a hand, whence the Greek name _Daktulos_, fingers. Each flowering glume ends in a short awn-like point. This is the only British species. It is generally distributed, and will be found in waste places as well as pastures, flowering in June and July. The whole plant is rough to the touch. The leaves are long, flat and keeled.

=Cat’s-tail, or Timothy-grass= (_Phleum pratense_), and

=Vernal-grass= (_Anthoxanthum odoratum_).

Timothy is one of the most valuable of our grasses, and forms an important portion of the hay crop, from the fact that it is one of the earliest and most abundant species. The inflorescence is a crowded spike, reminding one somewhat of a miniature reproduction of the Reed-mace (_Typha_). The spikelets are one-flowered. The outer glumes are boat-shaped, with a stout green keel, fringed with stiff hairs. The flowering glume is glassy, and entirely included within the outer ones, from which, however, the long stamens and feathery stigmas protrude. The anthers are yellow and purple. The plant is perennial, and flowers from June to September. The name _Phleum_ is the classic Greek one for the plant. The figure represents the spike after the anthers have passed their prime; at an earlier period these stand out well from the glumes, and give a very light appearance to the spike. There are three other native species, but they are all more or less local.

Phleum pratense.

=Vernal-grass.=

Anthoxanthum odoratum.

--GRAMINEÆ.--]

Echium vulgare.

--BORAGINEÆ.--]

The Sweet Vernal-grass is singular among grasses in the fact that it possesses but two stamens. The panicle is spike-like, with short branches. The spikelets are one-flowered. The outer glumes are four in number, one flowering glume, a pale, but no lodicules. In the Linnæan system plants were classified according to the number of their stamens and pistils, and the artificiality of it was strikingly shown when this plant had to be widely separated from all other grasses, because it was one stamen short, though agreeing with them in all other essentials. The species is abundant in most meadows, and were it absent one of the charms of the hay harvest would be gone also; for this is the grass that gives the characteristic odour to ripe new-mown hay. It flowers in May and June. The name is from two Greek words, signifying yellow blossoms.

=Viper’s Bugloss= (_Echium vulgare_).