Chapter IV: Part 4

In the genus _Ophrys_ we have three species whose flowers bear quite startling likeness to a bee, spider and fly respectively. What is the purpose of this counterfeit presentment it is difficult to conjecture. It has been suggested that it might be to warn off or deceive insects, as the flowers are self-fertilized, but Charles Darwin did not think this was the probable reason. There is no spur in this group, there is no rostellum, and the ovary is not twisted. The stalks (_caudicles_) of the pollinia are so long and thin that the weight of the pollen masses causes them to bend over and touch against the stigma, fertilizing it.

I. Bee Orchis (_O. apifera_). The labellum is very convex and
broad, three-lobed, of a rich velvety-brown colour, with a tail.
The sepals are pinkish. The spike has only about half a dozen
flowers upon it, with a large leafy bract under each. Hillsides,
fields and copses on chalk and limestone, chiefly in the South of
England and Ireland. June and July. (_Plate 77._)

II. Spider Orchis (_O. aranifera_). Similar to the last, but the
sepals greenish, labellum differently marked, and without a tail.
Similar situations to _apifera_, but much more rare. April and May.

III. Fly Orchis (_O. muscifera_). Sepals greenish, labellum narrow,
flat, brown, with a yellow-edged, squarish blue patch. Strikingly
like a fly. May to July.

The name of the genus is from the Greek, _ophrus_, an eyebrow, said
to refer to the markings on the labellum.

Several other British species in different genera from those named
bear similarly strange likenesses, such as the extremely rare
Lizard Orchis (_Orchis hircina_), but some of the foreign forms are
more remarkable still.

In addition to the species figured and those briefly described, we would call attention to a few others that may come under the rambler’s notice. In boggy ground and sphagnum beds he may be so fortunate as to find the rare Bog Orchis (_Malaxis paludosa_), a small plant with tiny yellow-green flowers (July to September), and the scanty leaves producing bulbils from their edges which grow into new plants. In similar situations in the eastern counties he may even find the larger but much rarer Fen Orchis (_Liparis loeselii_).

A singular species, to be found chiefly in beechwoods throughout the country, is the Birds’-nest Orchis (_Neottia nidus-avis_), so called from the peculiar character of its roots, which are stout and juicy, and woven into a resemblance to a nest. The whole plant is of a pretty uniform brown tint--both stem and flowers. There are no leaves, for the plant lives upon decaying vegetable matter, and has no necessity to bother about chlorophyll. It is botanically known as a saprophyte. Flowers June and July.

The very distinct Twayblade (_Listera ovata_) is sure to be encountered in woods and pastures. Its two leaves are very broad, and appear to be opposite, but are not really so. The flowers are small and greenish; they appear in May. There is a singular fact in connection with the fertilization of this plant that should be noted. The pollen-masses are dry and friable, and would not be likely to adhere to insects. But if the rostellum be touched ever so lightly, it instantly exudes a gummy fluid, which enables the pollen to stick tightly to the insect causing the irritation. Examine the flower with your lens, irritate the rostellum by prodding it with the point of a hair from your own head, and note what you observe.

At the end of Summer in dry pastures there may be found a slender plant with a twisted spike of fragrant white flowers. These flowers are very small, enclosed each in a hood-like bract. It is the Autumnal Lady’s-tresses (_Spiranthes autumnalis_). The rosette of leaves from the root does not appear until after the flowers.

Ophrys apifera.

--ORCHIDEÆ.--]

Campanula rotundifolia.

--CAMPANULACEÆ.--

=Common Centaury.=

Erythræa centaurium.

--GENTIANEÆ.--]

=Hairbell or Blue-bell= (_Campanula rotundifolia_).

This is the true Blue-bell of Scotland. As we have indicated (page 14), the Blue-bell of the Southron is the Wild Hyacinth. Scotsmen are very sensitive upon the point of the Hyacinth having so dear a name bestowed upon it, when it has already a sufficiently good and classical one, and there are few, if any, more certain ways of rousing a Scot than by exhibiting _Scilla_ as the _true_ Blue-bell, or by describing _Campanula_ as the Hairbell. Others have found the plant a fruitful source of controversy on a philological point--should it be spelled Hairbell or Harebell?--does its name refer to the slender hair-like stems, or to its habit of growing where hares delight to revel? As against Hairbell, which is descriptive of the plant, Harebell has no chance of retention among botanists, whatever philologists may say.

There are six species of _Campanula_ included in the British flora, of which two are rare, and one of these is probably only an escape from cultivation. _The_ characteristic of them all is a beautiful bell-shaped corolla with five lobes, five stamens, and the style with three to five stigmas. They are mostly perennial, and the flowers most frequently blue. _C. rotundifolia_ has a creeping rootstock, and several slender-angled stems. The first formed leaves, near the ground, are more or less rotund in shape, and stalked, but as they occur higher up the stem they are more and more linear. The flowers are nodding or drooping, and swayed by the breeze. Heaths and pastures. July to September.

The Nettle-leaved Bell-flower (_C. trachelium_) is an erect tall-stemmed (3 feet or more) hairy species, with leaves like nettles, with large purple flowers in a terminal panicle. Woody lanes and copses. August to October.

=The Centaury= (_Erythræa centaurium_).

A very neat and beautiful plant, not nearly so well-known as it should be. It is an annual plant, with erect stem, less than a foot in height, the leaves in pairs growing together at their bases, and funnel-shaped pink flowers produced in terminal cymes. It grows in woods and sandy or chalky pastures, flowering from June till September.

The name is from the Greek, _Eruthros_, red, in allusion to the pink flowers.

=Wild Mignonette= (_Reseda lutea_), and

=Weld or Dyer’s-weed= (_Reseda luteola_).

So familiar is the Sweet Mignonette of our gardens, and so like and yet unlike are these wild species, that whilst no one would take them for the garden plant one need not be a botanist to see their natural affinities at a glance. Like their garden relative these are annual herbs, becoming biennial when we have mild winters; with flowers that are individually inconspicuous, but which gain sufficient prominence by being associated in racemes. In colour they are a yellow-green. The calyx is irregular, and divided into from four to seven narrow segments; there is a similar number of unequal petals, each deeply cleft into two lobes, and a multitude of stamens. The stigmas are lobes at the mouth of the open ovary.

I. Wild Mignonette (_R. lutea_) grows in dry waste places, especially in chalky districts. Its leaves vary a great deal, but are either pinnate or deeply lobed in a somewhat irregular manner. Flowers, pale-yellow in a tolerably dense raceme. Very similar to the Sweet Mignonette, but stiffer, more erect, and scentless. Flowers June to September.

II. Weld (_R. luteola_). This is a much taller plant than _R. lutea_, with longer racemes and denser; the flowers more green than yellow, and with undivided glossy leaves. Petals, three, four, or five. In the days before aniline colours this plant was much used by dyers, and cultivated for their purposes. It yields a beautiful yellow dye, and its juice is also used in the preparation of the artist’s colour called Dutch pink. It is a common wayside plant in England and in Ireland, more rare in Scotland, and flowers from June to September.

Reseda lutea.

=Weld. Dyer’s Weed.=

Reseda luteola.

--RESEDACEÆ.--]

Borago officinalis.

--BORAGINEÆ.--]

The name is from the Latin, _Resedo_, to appease, from these plants being formerly considered as sedatives.

=Borage= (_Borago officinalis_).

This is a plant one may find on rubbish heaps and waste ground anywhere near the habitations of man, for it is not, strictly speaking, a native, though thoroughly well-established here. An old adage runs: “I, Borage, always bring courage,” and it was supposed to brace up the heart for great enterprises. It was therefore widely cultivated in old gardens, and has survived to this day in the grounds of old houses, where it has frequently made its escape, or surplus plants have been thrown out upon the rubbish heaps. Instead of allowing itself to go the way of garden refuse, it has taken hold of the ground there, multiplied and brightened the place with its beauty.

Every part of the plant, except the corolla, bristles with short stiff hairs. It has an erect juicy stem, and rough, lance-shaped leaves, the radical ones on long footstalks, those on the stem stalkless and clasping their support. The sepals are five in number, long and narrow, cohering by their bases. The corolla is of the form technically known as _rotate_, that is, with the petals joined at their lower parts to a short tube, from the top of which five pointed lobes radiate. It is coloured a most brilliant and beautiful blue, such as is rarely seen in flowers. There is a pale yellow ovary that secretes honey, and around it, attached to the throat of the corolla-tube, are the five united stamens. The anthers are dark purple, and open in such manner that the pollen falls between them and the pistil, somewhat as in _Viola_. By this arrangement both honey and pollen are protected from the depredations of insects who have no right to it. Bees, however, in forcing their tongues down to the honeyed ovary, separate the anthers and let loose the pollen, which falls upon their heads and will be brought into contact with the stigma of another flower at their next visit. Cross-fertilization is further helped by the stigmas of a flower not becoming ripe until its anthers have shed their pollen. Flowers June and July.

Name probably from the Latin _Bourra_, a flock of wool, in allusion to its hairy character.

=Oblong Pond-weed= (_Potamogeton polygonifolius_).

We have pond-weeds in abundance, but the Potamogetons are the pond-weeds _par excellence_. There is scarcely a piece of water in this country, be it river, lake, pond, canal, or intermittently dry ditch, but has one or more species growing there. The genus is a very difficult one, such as it is impossible to do more than show the general characters of here. Hooker and Bennett, in their revision of the genus, give twenty-one British species with a number of connecting sub-species and varieties. The one figured here is the Oblong Pond-weed (_P. polygonifolius_), with narrowly egg-shaped floating leaves, and narrower submerged leaves. All have long leaf-stalks. The floating leaves always present the upper side to the air, and are always perfectly dry. The flowers are greenish and unattractive, collected into a slender spike. Individually they consist of a four-parted perianth, four stamens, four carpels. There is a species (_P. natans_) with broader floating leaves and narrow submerged leaves. A broader still is _P. plantagineus_, with clearer leaves and more slender leaf-stalks. _P. crispus_, _P. densus_, _P. perfoliatus_, _P. prælongus_, etc., have only submerged leaves, which are more or less oblong.

Potamogeton polygonifolius.

--NAIADEÆ.--]

Clematis vitalba.

--RANUNCULACEÆ.--]

The species with floating leaves form refuges for many interesting low forms of life, and the microscopist will find them very fruitful in specimens for him.

The name is from the Greek words, _potamos_, a river, and _geiton_, a neighbour.

=Traveller’s Joy= (_Clematis vitalba_).

When rambling, in chalky districts especially, our readers will meet this climbing shrub at every turn, scrambling over all the hedges, flinging its arms out over the way, and clinging persistently to any branch or shoot it touches. It has a variety of names, some of which may be applied at different seasons by persons who think they are speaking of different plants. In the early summer it may be the White Vine, or the Virgin’s Bower; in autumn, when the feathery awns are lengthening on its seed-vessels, it may fitly be called the Old Man’s Beard, and when winter has cleared most things away from the hedges, but left these gleaming feathers in abundance, it may give the Traveller Joy to see them as he passes.

It is a perennial plant, with a tough stem, climbing by means of its leaf-stalks, which curl round any likely support, and become hard as wire. The leaves are opposite and compound, the leaflets usually five, the stalks of these also acting as tendrils. The flower has no corolla, but the four thick sepals are coloured greenish-white to serve instead. The stamens are a crowd round the central cluster of many-bearded styles, which afterwards elongate and become the “old men’s beards.” The flowers, which are slightly fragrant, may be found from July to September.

The Traveller’s Joy is peculiarly English, so far as its distribution in the United Kingdom is concerned. It is found only to the south of Denbigh and Stafford. This, too, is the only British member of the genus; but a very large number of foreign species are cultivated in our gardens, where they are quite hardy.

The name is from the Greek _Klema_, a vine-twig.

=The Self-Heal= (_Brunella vulgaris_).

A perennial herb of the wayside and the damp pasture, that has fallen upon evil days, so far as reputation is concerned. Time was when it was considered one of the most useful medicines for inward and outward wounds. Culpepper says “he needeth neither physician nor surgeon that hath Self-heal and Sanicle to help himself,” and he prints that sentence in italics, to impress it more firmly upon his readers. On this account it was called Carpenter’s Herb, Hook-heal, Sickle-wort, and Prunella. The last is a softened form of Brunella, from the German _Bräune_ (quinsy), because it was believed to cure that complaint. Its reputation has passed, but the names remain, and one has been adopted as its scientific appellation.

There is a suggestion of the Bugle in its general appearance, but seen together (_see_ page 21) there is no danger of mistaking them. In _Ajuga_ the whorls are far apart, in _Brunella_ they are contracted into a dense head. The corolla here is broader, the upper lip erect and vaulted, whilst in _Ajuga_ it is short and notched.

The plant has the square stem, lipped flowers, and four stamens, characteristic of the Labiate order, a creeping rootstock, and stalked leaves; these are long, oval, toothed, or with entire margins. The bracts of the flower-spike have purple edges. Leaves and stem more or less hairy; flowers purple, sometimes white or crimson. July to September. Occasionally small flowers are produced later, in which the anthers are suppressed, but the pistil is perfect.

This is the only British member of the genus, whose name has been explained above.

Brunella vulgaris.

--LABIATÆ.--]

Tragopogon pratensis.

--COMPOSITÆ.--]

=Goat’s Beard= (_Tragopogon pratensis_).

One of the folk-names of this plant is “John-go-to-bed-at-Noon,” and I think it is the only example of a British plant name that is a sentence of six words. “Three-faces-under-a-hood” runs it pretty closely, but the few names we have of this order do not usually exceed four words; such as Queen-of-the-Meadows, Jack-by-the-hedge, and Poor-man’s-weatherglass. John-go-to-bed, etc., is a nice expressive name, and is due to the fact that the flower is an early-closer with a vengeance. It is probably the originator of the eight-hours day, for it opens at four in the morning and closes by twelve. Farmers’ boys were said of old to consult its flowers with reference to dinner-time, but probably in these days of machine-made watches the practice is obsolete.

Goat’s-beard has a tap-root, somewhat like a parsnip, and long curling grass-like, stalkless leaves that clasp the stem by their bases. The flower-heads are solitary, yellow, and the eight involucral bracts are united at the base. All the florets (like those of Dandelion, Sowthistle and Chicory) are rayed, and contain both stamens and pistil. They are invested with pappus hairs (_see_ page 20), which are stiff and feathered. It is from these beards the plant gets its English name, which is reproduced in the Greek words from which the name of the genus is composed, _tragos_, a goat, and _pogon_, a beard. It flowers during June and July, and is fairly common in meadows and wastes in England; much more rarely in Scotland and Ireland.

There is an introduced species with larger purple or rose-coloured
flowers, found occasionally in damp meadows. This is the Salsify
(_Tragopogon porrifolius_). It is occasionally grown for the sake
of its roots, which have a medicinal value, but inferior to those
of Scorzonera, which it somewhat resembles.

=Wild Thyme= (_Thymus serpyllum_).

The Wild Thyme grows on the hills and the high heath lands, usually among fine grasses that are close-cropped by sheep and rabbits; or if on lower ground it will probably be found upon the light and well-drained soil of a mole-hill among mosses. In spite of its diminutive stature it is a shrub, with a woody rootstock and a creeping stem, from which arise the flowering stems. The leaves, which are very small and stalked, are egg-shaped, with even margins, often turned under. The rosy-purple flowers are produced in spikes. They are of the usual _labiate_ type, and both the calyx and the corolla are two-lipped. The upper lip of the calyx is three-toothed, the lower cleft in two, the whole of a purplish hue. The upper lip of the corolla is straight and notched, the lower cut into three lobes. There are two forms of flower--smaller and larger; the small are perfect, the larger bearing developed anthers only. It should be noted also that in the complete flowers the anthers shed their pollen before the stigmas are ripe; self-fertilization is therefore impossible. The flower produces much honey, the whole plant is highly fragrant, and in consequence is very much visited by insects who carry the pollen. While the stamens are ripe the pistil is short and almost hidden within the corolla-tube; when the pollen has been shed the style elongates, the two arms of the stigma diverge and occupy a prominent position far outside the lips. Under this arrangement insects alighting on the younger flowers dust themselves with pollen, and upon visiting those a day or two older could scarcely fail to deposit some of it upon the ripe stigmas.

This is the only native species of a genus named from the ancient Greek name for the plant.

Thymus serpyllum.

--LABIATÆ.--]

Chenopodium bonus-henricus.

--CHENOPODIACEÆ.--]

=Mercury Goosefoot= (_Chenopodium bonus-henricus_).

The genus to which this plant belongs consists of thorough weeds. Their habitat is waste places, usually where the soil is made up of man’s refuse. The plants are fairly uniform in colour, from stem to leaf and flower. They are fertilized by the wind, so they have no need to put on showy colours to attract insects. The flowers are small, and the petals are entirely wanting; they consist of from three to five sepals, from two to five stamens ranged around the ovary, which is surmounted by the two or three spreading stigmas. Some are distinguished by unpleasant odours, and they have little to attract popular attention, although some have been used as potherbs--notably the species figured, and which rejoices in the alternative titles of “Good King Henry” and “All-good.”

Mercury Goosefoot (_C. bonus-henricus_) is a perennial with a thick fleshy rootstock, and erect channelled stems from one to three feet in height. The leaves are large, dark green, and of the shape that botanists describe as “hastate,” that is, like the head of an ancient halberd. These leaves are somewhat succulent, and in some places are used as a substitute for spinach. The ovary when ripe becomes what is technically known as a _utricle_, a thin loose case containing a single seed. In this species the seed is black, marked with small punctures. Flowers May to August.

All the other British species are annuals, and among them may be
noted the Stinking Goosefoot (_C. vulvaria_), with spreading stems,
small, greasy, mealy leaves, grey-green, and with an odour like
rotten fish. Many-seeded Goosefoot (_C. polyspermum_), with several
spreading branches, ovate leaves and many minute, rough, dark-brown
seeds. White Goosefoot (_C. album_), leaves ovate, covered with a
white mealy substance, upper portions _toothed_, sepals keeled,
seed dark, shining, very minutely dotted. Red Goosefoot (_C.
rubrum_), with erect, frequently red, stems, smooth and shining,
leaves variable in form, and the character of the margin, sometimes
toothed, sometimes entire, sepals not keeled. The name is from two
Greek words, signifying Goosefoot, in reference to the shape of the
leaves in some species.

=Burdock= (_Arctium lappa_).

The Burdock is a plant well-known to artists and boys; the former being interested in it as a fine foreground plant, the latter on account of its hooked bracts, which make the fruit-head an admirable instrument of torture, or an ornament for decorating some other person’s clothes. In its young state the plant is suggestive of the Butterbur, the fine bold lower leaves having a densely cottony underside as in that plant. But there the similarity ends, for in Butterbur there is no rising stem, whereas in Burdock this ordinarily reaches a stature of three or four feet. We encountered a fine specimen near Chessington, Surrey, in June, 1894, that had reached the height of seven feet three inches, and as it had only just commenced flowering it would probably put on a few additional inches before its growth ceased. The stem is stout, the leaves alternate, heart-shaped, thick. The flowers are in dense heads, like a thistle, but without any spreading rays. The involucre globose, of many leathery bracts ending in long stiff hooks, by means of which the ripe heads become firmly attached to the coats of animals, and the seeds are thus carried far and wide. Corollas, five-lobed, purple. Common in all waste places. Flowering from June to September. According to Hooker this is the only British species, but the “splitters” have made four or more species out of it.

The name is from the Greek, _Arktos_, a bear, from its rough appearance.

=Goosegrass or Cleavers= (_Galium aparine_).

Although Goosegrass has nothing else in common with Burdock it resembles it in the fact that its fruit “sticketh closer than a brother.” It is a plant of the hedge, where it forms dense masses, the whole plant--stem, leaves and fruits--being covered with flinty hooks. The rambling botanist, when playfully inclined, detaches a yard-length from the hedge and deftly throwing it against his unconscious companion’s back, causes a hundred hooks to catch in the warp or weft of his coat. It belongs to the Bedstraws, a genus comprising nearly a dozen British species, and distinguished by having minute flowers, yellow, white or greenish, calyx minute, a mere ring, the corolla four or five-lobed, honeyed. Stamens four, styles two, united at their bases. The leaves are borne in whorls of from four to ten, at distant intervals on the square stem. In _G. aparine_ the leaves vary from six to eight, the flower-cymes arise from their axils, the flowers are white, the fruit first green then becoming purplish. Flowers June and July.

Arctium lappa.

--COMPOSITÆ.--

=Goose-grass. Cleavers.=

Galium aparine.

--RUBIACEÆ.--]

Lychnis vespertina.

--CARYOPHYLLEÆ.--]

=White Campion= (_Lychnis vespertina_).

On page 66 we gave a figure of _Lychnis flos-cuculi_, and descriptions of that species and _L. diurna_, the Red Campion. The present species was classed by Linnæus as a mere variety of _L. diurna_, the two being combined under the name of _L. dioica_. In general characters the White Campion agrees with the Red, but the calyx is more greenish, and the petals are entirely white (occasionally reddish). The plant is larger and more coarse than its diurnal relative--for, as its name signifies, _L. vespertina_ opens in the evening and is fertilized by night-flying moths. It is a fragrant plant, but its fragrance is reserved for its flowering time--not that its nocturnal visitors require the scent to direct them to the flowers, for they glow and gleam in the dark field and hedgerow from May to September.

=The Holly= (_Ilex aquifolium_).

The popular knowledge of the Holly has been gained chiefly about Christmas-tide, when its brightly varnished yet repellent leaves and its brilliant berries are much sought for household decoration. To most persons the flower is unknown; yet if they sought the holly in the woods or hedges any time from May to August they would probably find the white flowers produced in “umbellate cymes” from the axils of the leaves. The calyx is slightly downy, with four or five divisions. The petals are four in number, white, conjoined at their bases, or entirely separate. The stamens are four, one attached to the base of each petal; stigmas also four, attached to the ovary, without intervening styles. The fruit, with which we are all so familiar by sight, is technically a _drupe_, in which category are also placed the cherry and the plum, fruits which have the seed enclosed in a hard “stone” (or _endocarp_), surrounded by a fleshy _pericarp_. The holly-berries, as the fruits are called (though they in no wise resemble the gooseberry, which is a true berry), contain four of such stones. This is the only British species.

The name _Ilex_ is said to be of Celtic origin, and derived from _ec_ or _ac_, a sharp point, but this appears to us very unsatisfactory. Its old English name was _holm_, a word that has become fixed in some of our place-names for localities where holly is still abundant: such as Holmesdale, Holmwood, and Holmbury, all in Surrey.

If the smooth grey bark of old hollies be scrutinized closely one may find upon it a number of raised black cuneiform marks, not unlike the characters of the Chinese alphabet. They are really the fruits of a lichen, _Graphis elegans_. With care the piece of bark containing these curious marks may be cut out without defacing or injuring them.

Ilex aquifolium.

--ILICINEÆ.--]

Brassica sinapis.

--CRUCIFERÆ.--]

=Charlock or Wild Mustard= (_Brassica sinapis_).

An upland cornfield in June with Charlock between the short corn-plants is a beautiful sight for the rambler, but the farmer may be pardoned if he fails to take the æsthetic view; for all that vegetable gold must be laboriously hand-picked, or “cleaned,” as he would probably express it. Charlock is a weed that keeps close to the farmer; that likes the comparatively light and dry soil of the ploughed field.

It is a hairy annual belonging to the cabbage tribe, which is a branch of the _Cruciferæ_ or Cross-worts, so-called from the four petals being arranged cross-wise. In this and the two following species the petals are bright yellow. To make the flower symmetrical there should be four or eight stamens; there are six, and it has been suggested that there were eight, but two have been suppressed. The fruit is an angular pod, with a straight beak, not persistent, and two hairy valves, but containing only one row of dark-brown seeds. Flowers from May to August.

There are many species of _Brassica_, two of which may be confounded with _B. sinapis_; they are:--

I. Black Mustard (_B. nigrum_). Stem bristly, upper leaves very
narrow, lance-shaped, smooth, with entire or toothed margins. Pods
awl-shaped, quadrangular. Beak short and slender, containing no
seeds. Valves keeled. Seeds reddish-brown, oblong. Flowers June to
September in hedges and wastes.

II. White Mustard (_B. alba_). Hairy, like _B. sinapis_, but
the hairs pointing downwards. The upper leaves deeply lobed,
lyre-shaped, the lobes being again cut and lobed. Stem marked with
longitudinal incised lines. Pod short, no longer than the flat
thin, or sword-shaped, ribbed beak. Seeds larger than the last,
more globose, yellow. Flowers June and July in cultivated ground.

The genus bears the Latin name for the Cabbage, the wild form
of which is _B. oleracea_, a wild plant on the sea-cliffs of
South-west England and Wales, from which have arisen the cultivated
varieties known as Scotch-kail, cow-cabbage, savoys, brussels
sprouts, red cabbage, white cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli.

=Common Cow-wheat= (_Melampyrum pratense_).

Quite a number of our common plants have been distinguished in popular nomenclature by the prefix “cow,” and as a general rule it would appear to have been applied in depreciation, as in the parallel cases of “dog,” “horse,” and “hog,” to signify coarseness or worthlessness. In the case of the Cow-wheat our forefathers had a notion that if its seeds were ground up with wheat the bread made from the flour would be black. One of the species (_M. arvense_) affects cornfields, and its seeds are like black grains of wheat, and from this fact the genus gets its scientific appellation from the Greek, _melas_, black, and _puros_, wheat. In addition the plants themselves turn black when dead and dry.

I. Common Yellow Cow-wheat (_M. pratense_) is an annual, partially
parasitic upon roots, like Eyebright. The leaves are almost
stalkless, very narrow, with even margins, and produced in pairs.
The flower follows the general structure of the Scrophularineæ
(_see_ pp. 33 and 50 _ante_). The calyx is five-toothed, the
corolla tubular, straight, dilated at the mouth and two-lipped,
the upper with the edges turned back, the lower three-lobed. The
four stamens will be found close under the upper lip, with the
small stigma. It should be noticed that in this species, which is
common in dry woods and on heaths, the pale yellow flowers assume
a horizontal position, whilst the capsule is more deflexed. May to
September.

II. Small-flowered Yellow Cow-wheat (_M. sylvaticum_) is a rare
species, found in alpine woods from Yorkshire northwards. It has
a small deep yellow corolla, which is borne more erectly than in
_pratense_. Other points of difference will be found in the curved
corolla-tube, and in the position of the capsule, which is not
deflexed. Flowers July and August.

III. Purple Field Cow-wheat (_M. arvense_). This is a local species
whose distribution in this country is restricted to Norfolk,
Suffolk, Essex, Herts, and the Isle of Wight. Where it occurs it
is a conspicuous item in the cornfield flora, by reason of its
large spikes of flowers with their many colours. The bracts are
reddish-purple, the corolla rosy, with yellow throat, and the lips
a full pink. Flowers July and August.

IV. Crested Cow-wheat (_M. cristatum_). This also is a rare plant,
confined to the Eastern counties of England, and affecting woods,
copses, and cornfields. It has broad, heart-shaped, purple bracts,
with long fine teeth. The flowers in a dense spike (not so large as
in _arvense_); corolla-tube curved, yellow, the upper lip purple
within. Flowers September and October.

Melampyrum pratense.

--SCROPHULARINEÆ.--]

Hippophae rhamnoides.

--ELÆAGNACEÆ.--]

=Sea Buckthorn= (_Hippophæ rhamnoides_).

Let us say at once that this plant is in no way related to _the_ Buckthorns, properly so called. It is another example of the readiness with which our fathers seized upon a mere superficial resemblance as justification for the partial repetition of a name, and to save them the trouble of finding a new one.

Sea Buckthorn is the sole representative in this country of the Natural Order Elæagnaceæ, and is a low shrubby tree, growing on sand-hills and cliffs on the East and South-east coasts from York to Sussex. The branches commonly end in a spine, which has brought the plant its alternative name of Sallow-thorn. The alternate leaves are a dull leaden green above, but the underside is covered with silvery scales. At first they are egg-shaped, but lengthen after the plant has flowered. The flowers are of two kinds, borne on separate plants (_diæcious_), one kind containing stamens only, the other a pistil alone. The staminate flowers are produced in clusters from the axils, and consist of two sepals with four stamens. The pistillate flowers are produced singly. The ovary is enclosed in the calyx-tube, and develops into the globose orange-yellow fruits. Flowers from May to July.

The fruits do not appear to be used in this country; though in Tartary they are said to be made into a pleasant jelly, and in the Gulf of Bothnia they are used in the concoction of a fish-sauce. Their flavour is decidedly acid.

The name has been derived from the Greek _hippos_, a horse, and _phao_, to give light, from a supposed power of curing equine blindness; also from _hippos_, and _phao_, to destroy, from its fatal effects when eaten by horses; and from _hypo_, under, and _phao_, to shine, in allusion to the silvery underside of the leaf. The reader will kindly select that which seems the most reasonable--or reject them all.

=Meadow-sweet= (_Spiræa ulmaria_).

Our first encounter with the Queen of the Meadows, or Meadow-sweet, is an event to be remembered. It will probably be beside a shallow stream, and for a long distance we shall see the continuous line of thick clumps, with the handsome, much-divided radical leaves standing erect around the taller furrowed stems. Individually the creamy-white flowers are minute, but combined in large dense cymes they are very conspicuous. There is an airy grace about the plant that is particularly charming, quite apart from the attraction of its powerful fragrance.

Meadow-sweet has a short perennial rootstock, the leaves are interruptedly pinnate (_see_ p. 63), the terminal leaflet three-lobed. The undersides are downy and white. The stem-leaves are provided with broad-toothed stipules. In spite of their fragrance the flowers produce no honey, but, attracted by the sweet odour, insects visit them in great numbers, and from the closeness of the flowers cannot help fertilizing them. The calyx has four or five lobes, turned back; the petals are four or five, the carpels vary from five to nine, curiously twisted, and surrounded by a large number of stamens. It flowers from June to August, and may be found beside watercourses and in wet meadows, as well as by the sides of streams and rivers.

There is one other British species:--

The Dropwort (_Spiræa filipendula_), which grows far away from the
haunts of the Meadow-sweet, delighting in high dry pastures, chalk
downs, and gravelly heaths. He that has seen _ulmaria_ will not
fail to identify _filipendula_ as the sister of the meadow queen,
for though much smaller it is in general appearance very similar.
The unopened flowers are rosy, but the inside of the petals is
of the same creamy-white as in Meadow-sweet. It is not fragrant.
Flowers June and July.

A third species, the Willow-leaved Spiræa (_S. salicifolia_), may
occasionally be met in plantations; but it is not a native.

Spiræa ulmaria.

--ROSACEÆ.--]

Ononis Spinosa.

--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]

=Rest-Harrow= (_Ononis spinosa_).

The Rest-Harrow or Wrest-Harrow is one of those plants whose presence in the pasture is said to indicate its poverty or the neglect of the cultivator. In Sussex and Hampshire it is known as the Cammock. It is a perennial low shrub, sometimes creeping near the ground, and at others growing more erect. The rootstock often creeps underground, a habit to which the plant owes its popular name, as it is said to be so tough as to _wrest_ the harrow from the even tenor of its way. The more prostrate form is covered with viscid hairs; the more erect-growing plants are spiny. In the latter condition it is said that only donkeys will eat it, and hence its scientific name _ononis_, from _onos_, an ass, but it is open to question whether the ass has any fondness for it if he can get other food. The flowers are of the usual papilionaceous structure already described (_see_ pp. 7, 43, 48, 50, 52, 72), and may be borne either singly or in racemes. They are pink in colour; the petal known as the standard is very large in this species, and streaked with a fuller red. The pod is very small, and in the hairy form is not so long as the calyx. The flower does not secrete honey, but in spite of this fact, it seems to be chiefly if not exclusively fertilized by bees, who are evidently fooled by its resemblance to other flowers of the same form that do offer refreshment to insect visitors. The worker-bees, however, get pollen for their pains, but the males are sadly disappointed. Rest-Harrow will be found flowering in dry wastes from June to September.

There is another species, the Small Rest-Harrow (_O. reclinata_),
an annual with spreading hairy, viscid stems, only a few inches in
length, stalked rosy flowers not half the size of _spinosa_, and a
hairy pod as long as the calyx, or longer. It is exceedingly local,
and has only been reported as occurring on sandy cliffs in Devon,
Wigton and Alderney. Flowering in June and July.

=Agrimony= (_Agrimonia eupatoria_).

One of the prettiest of wayside plants is the golden-starred Agrimony, growing on the waste green flanks of the road and making it beautiful. It is a perennial plant, with a short woody rootstock, and “interruptedly pinnate” leaves, somewhat resembling those of the Silver-weed, the leaflets increasing in size as they near the terminal leaflet. The flowers are borne on that kind of inflorescence called a _raceme_, in which each flower is attached to the central stem by a stalk of its own. Were these stalks suppressed the inflorescence would be termed a _spike_, and indeed some authors have so described the flower-clustering of Agrimony. The flowers are little roses, and consist of a top-shaped spiny calyx, tubular, with contracted mouth and five overlapping lobes; five golden petals, ten or more stamens, and two carpels sunk in the calyx-tube, their styles and two-lobed stigmas protruding. They do not secrete honey, and are seldom visited by insects.

As the lower fruits ripen the raceme lengthens, and concurrently the calyx-tubes harden and assume a drooping position, owing to the downward curving of their little foot-stalks.

There is a variety with resinous-scented, larger, more crowded flowers, of local occurrence. Agrimony was formerly held in some repute as a medicinal plant, and from this circumstance it gets its name. The ancient Greeks had a word _argema_ signifying the affection of the eyes to which we apply the term cataract, and a plant which was reputed to cure argema they called _argemone_, a word which has since been corrupted into agrimony. “Yarb doctors” still give it a place in their pharmacopœia.

Agrimony flowers from June to September.

Agrimonia eupatoria.

--ROSACEÆ.--]

Linum usitatissimum.

--LINEÆ.--]

=Common Flax= (_Linum usitatissimum_).

Occasionally the rambler will find the Flax in cornfields and wastes, by oil-mills and in the neighbourhood of railway stations. Wherever it may be found it is an escape from cultivation. As a truly wild plant the “most used” flax is not known: in cultivation, as the parent of linen garments, it has been known from the infancy of the human race. To-day the exports of flax and linen from the United Kingdom are worth about £5,500,000 per annum. It is therefore a plant that would be entitled to respectful consideration when we meet it, even if it had no grace or beauty to commend it to us.

Common Flax is an annual plant, with erect slender stems about a foot and a half high. Its narrow lance-shaped leaves are arranged alternately and at a distance from each other. The flowers are large, and purplish-blue in colour. Five is the number dominating the structure of the flower: sepals, petals, stamens, glands, ovary (5 cells), styles--all in fives. It flowers in June and July.

There are three other species that are truly wild in Britain:--

I. Purging Flax (_L. catharticum_). A smaller species, half a foot
high, with _white_ flowers, affecting heaths and pastures. It has
opposite, very narrow leaves, and the unopened buds nod. Flowers
June to September.

II. Perennial Flax (_L. perenne_). A very rare perennial plant with
exceedingly narrow leaves, alternate on the numerous wiry stems.
Plant about 2 feet high. The large bright-blue flowers, which may
be found from June to September, are of two forms, long-styled and
short-styled, like the Primroses (_see_ p. 2), and for a similar
purpose. On chalky soils from Durham to Essex.

III. Narrow-leaved Flax (_L. angustifolium_). Leaves alternate, as
narrow as in the last species, but smaller and not so plentiful.
Flowers smaller and paler, petals smaller in proportion to the
calyx. Flowers May to September. Sandy and chalky pastures, not
farther north than Lancashire.

=Long-rooted Cat’s-ear= (_Hypochæris radicata_).

Cat’s-ear is one of those plants that are passed by the rambler as being “perplexing hawkweeds which no one but a German botanist understands.” It is not exactly a hawkweed, though it comes pretty close to that family, and roughly may be said to resemble them. Of the Composite flowers we have already dealt with, it will be seen that the Cat’s-ear has a blossom similar in structure to _Sonchus_ (page 114), _Taraxacum_ (page 20) and _Tragopogon_ (page 84). It has a perennial tap-root, from which arises and spreads a circlet of many rough hairy leaves, their edges scalloped; there are no stem leaves. The flower-stem is branched, each branch bearing but one flower-head. The involucral bracts are in several series, laid one over the other like tiles. All the corollas are strap-shaped, toothed at the free end, yellow. The pappus or down that surrounds the fruit consists of a row of feathery hairs, surrounded by an outer row of shorter bristles. The flowers are longer than the involucre. Flowers June to September. There are two other British species:--

I. Smooth Cat’s-ear (_H. glabra_). An annual plant, found chiefly
in dry fields on gravelly soil, but not nearly so commonly as
_radicata_. Its leaves are broader, egg-shaped, and smooth. It
has several branched flower-stems. The involucre as long as the
florets, the bracts few and unequal. Flowers June to September.

II. Spotted Cat’s-ear (_H. maculata_). A rare perennial, confined
to chalky and limestone pastures in several counties, _i.e._,
the Lizard, Cornwall; Orme’s head, North Wales; Westmoreland,
Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex. Leaves rough, with hairs,
stalkless, egg-shaped, often spotted. Flower-stems seldom branched,
usually with several small leaves and one large flower-head
(sometimes several). Involucre shorter than the florets; outer row
of pappus absent. Flowers July and August.

Hypochæris radicata.

--COMPOSITÆ.--]

Scabiosa arvensis.

--DIPSACEÆ.--]

=The Field Scabious= (_Scabiosa arvensis_).

Should any reader who has not previously made a study of botany, but who has followed us thus far, be asked to name the order to which the Scabious belongs, he would almost certainly say the Compositæ. He would be wrong, but almost right. Scabious is certainly a Composite flower, though not one of the Compositæ; it is, instead, included in the order Dipsaceæ. We have already made the acquaintance of so many composite flowers that our readers may be presumed to be fairly familiar with their general structure. It will be remembered, then, that the anthers of Composites are all joined together to form a tube: in Dipsaceæ they are free. Again, the calyx in Compositæ is reduced to a series of hairs (_pappus_), whilst in Dipsaceæ there is a distinct tubular calyx invested in a separate _involucel_ (or little involucre) of tiny bracts, quite independent of the common involucre that invests the whole head of florets.

I. The Field Scabious (_S. arvensis_), is a perennial with a stout
rootstock, and a hairy stem. The leaves vary considerably in
different specimens, but usually those from the root are entire, of
an oblong lance-shape, with toothed margins. The stem leaves are
lobed, sometimes almost pinnate. The flower-heads are borne on a
long stout stalk, and consist of about fifty florets, increasing
in size from the centre to the outer margin, and of a pale blue
or lilac colour, the central ones more inclined to red; anthers
yellow. Involucral bracts broad and leaf-like, in two rows. Dry
fields and downs. June to September.

II. Devil’s-bit Scabious (_S. succisa_). Rootstock short, coming
to an abrupt conclusion, as though bitten off. Culpepper accounts
for this and the name by saying: “This root was longer, until the
Devil (as the friars say), bit away the rest from spite, envying
its usefulness to mankind; for sure he was not troubled with any
disease for which it is proper.” Leaves all entire. Involucral
bracts lance-shaped, shorter than the corollas, in two or three
rows. Anthers reddish-brown. Florets nearly equal in size. Flowers
purplish-blue, sometimes white. July to October, in meadows and
pastures.

III. Small Scabious (_S. columbaria_). Rootstock thick and woody.
Root leaves entire, narrow; stem leaves deeply cut, almost pinnate.
Involucral bracts longer than the corollas, in one row. Corollas
five-lobed (in the other species four-lobed), the outer row
considerably larger than the inner ones, and of irregular form.
Anthers yellow, corollas purplish-blue. July to September, in
pastures and wastes.

The name is derived from the Latin, _scabies_, the itch, it being
formerly used in curing this and other cutaneous disorders.

=Bitter Sweet= (_Solanum dulcamara_).

One of the most familiar objects in the hedge is the trailing stem and variously-shaped leaves of the Bitter Sweet or Woody Nightshade; the singular flowers or the red berries attract our attention at once. This and the Common or Black Nightshade are the sole British representatives of a genus that includes the Potato among other valuable exotic species.

Bitter Sweet is a perennial, with a creeping rootstock, from which arise the long trailing stems that have no means of climbing in the shape of tendrils, hooks, prickles, or the power of twining, but yet by leaning against the stouter hedge plants manage to attain a height of four or five feet. The leaves vary much, the lowest being heart-shaped, the upper more or less spear-shaped, with gradations between these forms. They are very dark green in colour, and all stalked. The calyx is five-parted; the purple corolla with five lobes, each having at its base two small green tubercles. The five yellow anthers have their edges united, so that they form a pyramidal tube, through which the style protrudes. The anthers discharge their pollen by terminal pores. The succeeding berries are egg-shaped, and go through a series of colour-changes from green through yellow and orange to a fine red. The popular name is founded upon a peculiarity which we have never tested: it is said the stems when tasted are first bitter, then the sensation changes to one of pleasant sweetness. Flowers June to September.

The Common or Black Nightshade (_S. nigrum_) is an annual with an
erect stem, about 2 feet in height. Its leaves are egg-shaped, the
blade gradually narrowing to the stalk, with a waved or toothed
margin. The corolla is white, the berries rounder, usually black,
but sometimes yellow or red. Fields and waste places. From July to
October.

Solanum dulcamara.

--SOLANACEÆ.--]

Sedum acre.]

Sempervivum tectorum.

--CRASSULACEÆ.--]

=Biting Stonecrop= (_Sedum acre_).

Of the eight British species of _Sedum_, and the two or three additional kinds that have escaped from gardens and become locally naturalized, this is the best known. Rocks and old walls are its favourite resorts, the stems growing downwards and curving outwards. The leaves are small, thick, produced into a kind of spur at the base, and closely pressing the older on the newer. The calyx is in one with five lobes, the corolla consists of five distinct golden yellow petals: stamens ten, with yellow anthers; carpels five, united at their bases. Flowers June and July. Another popular name for it is Wall Pepper, both names being due to the acrid taste.

The scientific name is from the Latin _sedeo_, to sit, from the peculiar habit of the plant.

=Houseleek= (_Sempervivum tectorum_).

Although the Houseleek is not a true native of Britain it has been so long established on old walls and the roofs of out-houses that it is quite a familiar object in a country ramble. As its scientific name (from _semper_, always, and _vivum_, fresh, green) indicates, it dies hard, and alike endures frost and drought. The story is told of one that a botanist tried hard for eighteen months to dry for his herbarium, but failing in his object planted it again, and it grew as though nothing had occurred to interfere with its ordinary life. The leaves are borne on the flowerless stems in the form of a rosette, the oldest flat, the youngest erect; thick, fleshy, the edges purple, tips sharply pointed. Flowering stems with alternate leaves; flowers dull purple in cymes. Sepals twelve, petals twelve, stamens twenty-four, but twelve of these are imperfect or aborted. Flowers June and July.

=Yellow Melilot= (_Melilotus officinalis_).

Occasionally on roadside wastes, railway banks and similar refuges for the vagabonds of plant-life, especially if it be in the Eastern counties, the rambler comes across a slender plant with loosely trifoliate leaves on long stalks, and long narrow racemes of pale yellow flowers. These flowers, considered individually, are seen to be shaped like several we have already considered (_see_ page 43), with a certain amount of variation, of course. This is the Common Yellow Melilot, a plant that is not truly indigenous, but one that has been cultivated in this country for a great number of years, and of which some escapes from the meadows have settled like gipsy squatters on the unenclosed wastes. But the field-path rambler is sure to come across it in the meadows, so it is as well that he should know it. It will be at once noted that the flowers are all drooping from the flower-stem, and that when the petals drop off they reveal a similarly drooping olive-coloured pod, which is small, egg-shaped and rough, with transverse ribs. In the process of drying Melilot develops an odour similar to that of the Sweet Vernal-grass that gives the pleasant scent to new-mown hay. Flowers June to August.

There are two truly indigenous species:--

I. Tall Melilot (_M. altissima_), with _deep_ yellow flowers. Pod
compressed, covered with net-like markings, hairy, black when ripe.
Fields. June to August.

II. White Melilot (_M. alba_). More slender than the last, with
smaller _white_ flowers. Pod stouter, smooth, black. Waste places.
July and August.

The name of the genus is compounded of _mel_, honey, and _lotus_,
the name of another genus = the lotus with the sweet or honeyed
smell.

Melilotus officinalis.

--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]

Juniperus communis.

--CONIFERÆ.--]

=Juniper= (_Juniperus communis_).

Hitherto we have been considering plants that have stigmas and ovaries, whether they had or had not a calyx or a corolla; but we must now introduce our patient readers to a cohort of plants which contrive to make an important figure in the world without either calyx, corolla, stigma, or ovary. These plants are generally forest trees, most important as timber producers, but their flowers consist solely of anthers and open carpels containing the ovules, which are fertilized by actual contact with the pollen-grains, instead of through the medium of a stigma and style which have to be pierced by the pollen-tube. This cohort contains the pines and firs; also the Juniper and the Yew.

Juniper is a dark foliaged evergreen shrub or small tree, usually four or five feet in height, but occasionally attaining a stature of ten, fifteen, or even twenty feet. It occurs on heaths and open hillsides, sometimes in great profusion, as on parts of the North Downs in Surrey and Kent. Its leaves are very narrow, pointed, and borne in threes. Their midribs and margins are thicker than the intermediate portions, and they have a pungent resinous odour. Each anther is borne on a scale, a number of which are formed into a cone, and is four-celled. The female flower consists of five or six scales united at their bases to form a kind of involucre, within which are three naked ovules. The pale yellow pollen is blown into this by the wind, and falls directly upon the ovules. Having become fertile the seeds mature, and the scales develop into a fleshy cone, outwardly resembling a berry, of a blue-black hue with a glaucous bloom upon it. The pollen is shed in May and June, but the fruit is not ripe until the following spring. This is the only British species; its essential oil has long been used as a diuretic and flavouring substance, notably for giving its distinctive flavour to Gin, whose name is derived from _Genevrier_, the French for Juniper.

=Stinging Nettles= (_Urtica_).

Surely, the reader says, we know a nettle when we see it, and certainly know it when we touch it, without needing description or figure. Perhaps so, but the average rambler, for whom this book is primarily intended, would certainly pass _Campanula trachelium_ as a nettle if he encountered it before it flowered; and though he may know a nettle by being stung, he cannot in that simple manner determine the species, for there are three kinds occurring in England. We will, however, meet the objection so far that we will not waste many words in a general description, but deal more with the points of difference between the species. All have a liberal supply of the stinging hairs, and green flowers of two kinds. The staminate flowers consist of a four-parted perianth enclosing four stamens with kidney-shaped anthers. Pistillate flowers consist of a perianth and a single carpel, surmounted by a brush-like stigma. The name of the genus is from the Latin _uro_, to burn, in reference to the sensation produced by the stings.

I. The Great Nettle (_Urtica dioica_), is the species figured. It
is our largest native nettle, and attains the height of 4 or 5
feet, the stem rising from a branching perennial rootstock which
throws out runners. The large leaves are saw-edged, and apart from
the stinging hairs are downy. Flower spikes given off in pairs,
each spike consisting of either staminate or pistillate flowers
only; the pistillate more dense than the others. Hedgebanks
chiefly. Flowering from June to September.