Part 9

The Strawberry-leaved Cinquefoil or Barren Strawberry (_Potentilla Fragariastrum_) is very similar to the Wild Strawberry, with which it is often confused; but no difficulty will arise if it be noted that the species we are now considering produces no running stems. The Barren Strawberry is a silky little plant, with a thick, prostrate stem; and, as one of its popular names implies, a ternate leaf resembling that of the Wild Strawberry. The flowers are white, half an inch or less in diameter, on slender peduncles, with notched petals. This is one of our earliest spring flowers, blooming from February or early March to about the end of May; and is very common on banks, in hedgerows, and in weedy wastes.

The Tuberous Moschatel (_Adoxa Moschatellina_) is a very inconspicuous but an interesting little plant. It is sometimes placed in the same order (_Araliaceæ_) as the Ivy, while some botanists regard it as belonging to the Honeysuckle family (order _Caprifoliaceæ_). It has a scaly, creeping, thick, underground stem or rhizome, and a four-angled aerial stem; and the whole plant emits the scent of musk. The flowers are small, of a yellowish-green colour, and are clustered together into five-flowered, terminal heads. The petals are spreading, the stamens four or five in number, and the fruit is berry-like, with one-seeded chambers. The plant is only four or five inches in height, and though not common, may be found in shady places in many parts. It flowers during April and May.

The White or Red-berried Bryony (_Bryonia dioica_) is a very common hedgerow climber, the only British representative of its order (_Cucurbitaceæ_). It has a very thick rootstock; a slender stem, that often reaches a length of ten feet or more; large, bright green, palmate leaves with three, five or seven angular, coarsely-toothed lobes; and long simple or branched tendrils. The flowers are imperfect, the males and females growing on separate plants. The former are of a pale yellow colour, in stalked clusters, each one consisting of a spreading, five-lobed corolla, about half an inch in diameter, and five stamens, one of which is free, while the other four are united in pairs: the females are smaller, generally in pairs, each consisting of a globular ovary with three stigmas, and a superior, five-lobed corolla. The fruit is a scarlet or orange-coloured berry, about a third of an inch in diameter, containing several seeds. The whole plant is clothed with small, white hairs, and contains an acrid sap. Time of flowering--May to September.

The Common Beaked Parsley (_Anthriscus vulgaris_), of the order _Umbelliferæ_, is very common by waysides, flowering during May and June. The stem of this plant is smooth and shining, from two to three feet high, slightly swollen at the nodes. The leaves are tri-pinnate, with blunt segments, and slightly hairy on the under side. The white flowers are arranged in compound umbels with short stalks, and the umbels droop before the flowers open. There are no bracts at the base of the main pedicels, but five or six _bracteoles_, with fringed edges, lie at the foot of the secondary pedicels. The fruits are short, ovate, with short beaks and hooked bristles. As with the other members of this genus, the petals have an inflexed lip.

This genus includes the Chervil or Wild Beaked Parsley (_A. sylvestris_), which is very common in hedges and waysides, flowering from April to June. It grows from three to four feet high, and has tri-pinnate leaves with coarsely-serrated edges. The umbels are terminal, on long stalks. There are no bracts, but about five narrow, ovate bracteoles with fringed edges. The flowers are white; and the fruits are long and narrow, smooth, with short beaks.

The Garden Beaked Parsley (_A. cerefolium_) is very similar to the last species, but has only three bracteoles in a whorl, and the umbels are lateral and shortly stalked. Also, the fruit, which is of the same form, has a longer beak. This species is not a native, but is often found as a garden escape. It grows to a height of about eighteen inches, and flowers from May to July.

Our last example of the _Umbelliferæ_ is the Goutweed, Bishop-weed or Herb Gerard (_Ægopodium Podagraria_), a rather coarse, erect, smooth plant, from one to two feet high, commonly seen in wayside ditches and other damp places. It was formerly cultivated largely for medicinal purposes, consequently it is to be found chiefly near towns and villages, where it occurs as a garden escape. It has a creeping, aromatic stock; a hollow, grooved stem; large long-stalked, biternate radical leaves, with ovate or narrow, toothed segments, two or three inches long; and smaller stem-leaves with fewer segments. The flowers are greenish white, in umbels of many rays, with few or no primary or secondary bracts; and the fruits are oblong, about a sixth of an inch long, with the two diverging styles curved downward. The plant flowers from May to August.

On dry banks by the wayside we may commonly meet with the Crosswort or Mugwort (_Galium Cruciatum_) of the Bed-straw Family (_Rubiaceæ_). It is a prostrate plant, with stem from six to eighteen inches long; and soft, downy, elliptical leaves arranged crosswise in whorls of four. Its fragrant little yellow flowers are in whorled, axillary cymes, each cluster having from six to eight blossoms. The lower flowers have stamens and no pistil, and the upper ones pistil only. The fruits are smooth. The time of flowering is from April to June.

Composite flowers (Order _Compositæ_) are mostly summer-bloomers, but three at least are very common by waysides in spring. One of these is the Mouse-ear Hawkweed (_Hieracium Pilosella_), a slender plant with leafy runners, rendered silky in appearance by long, soft hairs. The stem is almost leafless, but there are elliptical-lanceolate, entire, radical leaves covered, especially on the under side, by starlike hairs. The yellow heads are solitary, on stalks varying from two to ten inches long. This species flowers from May to August.

The second species is the Common Groundsel (_Senecio vulgaris_), which may be seen in bloom throughout the year. Though so well known, we think it advisable to call attention to one or two of its characteristic features. The leaves are smooth, deeply cut, toothed, and half clasp the stem. The flower-heads have no ray florets; and the outer bracts are very short, with black tips.

From March to April almost all damp places are more or less thickly dotted with the bright yellow flowers of the Colt's-foot (_Tussilago Farfara_); and later, after all the flowers have ceased to bloom, the same places are covered with the large, heart-shaped, angular leaves, four or five inches wide, thickly clothed beneath with a loose, cottony down which is also sparingly scattered over the upper surface. The early flowering stems are rather thick and fleshy, about six inches high, and downy. They bear a number of small, narrow, erect, scale-like leaves, and, at the top, a single flower-head, surrounded by a whorl of narrow bracts, and a few smaller outer bracts. The inflorescence consists of several whorls of narrow, strap-shaped, outer florets, with no stamens; and a few central, tubular, perfect florets. The fruits are cylindrical, with a tuft of long, simple hairs.

The Speedwells (_Veronica_) belong to the order _Scrophulariaceæ_. They are all herbs, with simple leaves; slightly irregular flowers with an unequally four-cleft, spreading corolla, the lower lobe of which is smallest; and only two stamens. At least six species of this genus may be found by waysides, in flower during the spring months.

One of these--the Thyme-leaved Speedwell (_Veronica serpyllifolia_), is common in most waste places. It is a small plant, with a downy, prostrate stem from three to ten inches long. The leaves are broadly elliptical, slightly crenate, blunt, and somewhat leathery in nature. The flowers are about a quarter of an inch across, of a light blue or lilac colour, striped with dark blue veins; and appear from May to July. They are arranged in several spike-like, many-flowered racemes. The corolla tube is very short; the style long and persistent; and the fruits are inversely-cordate capsules.

The Common Speedwell (_V. officinalis_) is a small plant, with hairy, prostrate stems from two to ten inches in length. It is common in dry places. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, serrate, with short stalks. The pale blue flowers, which are only about a sixth of an inch in diameter, are in many-flowered, axillary, spike-like racemes. The capsules are of the same form as in the last species, but are deeply notched. This species flowers from May to July.

The Germander Speedwell (_Veronica Chamædrys_) is one of our most beautiful and most abundant spring flowers. It is very common on banks and by roadsides, flowering during May and June. Its stem is weak, decumbent, rooting at the base, often considerably more than a foot in length, and remarkable for the line of hairs that changes to alternate sides at each node. A raceme of flowers, much longer than the leaves, arises from several of the nodes. The flowers are bright blue, about half an inch in diameter, with a four-cleft calyx; a deeply four-cleft corolla, the lower lobe of which is narrowest; and two prominent stamens. The fruit is a very broad, flat capsule, notched at the top, narrowed towards the base, splitting into two valves when ripe.

A fourth species, the Wall Speedwell (_V. arvensis_), is abundant on walls and dry roadsides. It is a prostrate, downy plant, generally more or less thickly covered with dust, flowering from April to about the end of summer. The stem is from four inches to a foot in length, and two lines of hairs run along the branches. The leaves are oval-cordate, crenate, and slightly stalked. The flowers are very small and inconspicuous, and are frequently almost completely hidden by the crowded upper leaves. They have very short corolla-tubes, and are arranged in loose, terminal, spikelike racemes.

The Grey Field Speedwell (_V. polita_) is common in waste places and rough fields, flowering from April to September. Its flowers are bright blue, about a quarter of an inch across, solitary, axillary, on stalks which are longer than the leaves. The sepals are broadly oval and pointed, and the petals are all of the same colour. The leaves of this plant are stalked, cordate, and irregularly toothed.

Our last example of the order is the Green Field Speedwell (_V. agrestis_), also common in fields and by the roadside. It has several prostrate stems, from four to eight inches long; and stalked, cordate leaves with irregularly serrate margins. The flowers are small, about a fifth of an inch across, solitary, axillary, on stalks shorter than the leaves. The sepals are narrow, oblong, and blunt; and the lower petal is white. This species flowers from April to the end of the summer.

The Dead Nettles (genus _Lamium_, of the order _Labiatæ_) may be readily distinguished from the Stinging Nettles, with which they are often confused, by their square stems, and whorls of showy, lipped flowers. Further, these flowers may be recognised from among the others of their own order by the ten-ribbed, bell-shaped calyx; and by the one or two teeth on each side of the lower lip of the corolla.

Three of this group are very common wayside spring flowers. One is the White Dead Nettle (_Lamium album_), with large, white flowers forming whorls in the axils of the leaves. The leaves of this plant are all stalked, cordate, with a very sharp point, deeply serrate, and often marked with white blotches. The teeth of the calyx are narrow, as long as the tube, with long slender points; and the tube of the corolla is curved, longer than the calyx, gradually widening from below upwards. The two lower stamens are longer than the upper pair, and the anthers are black. The plant varies from six to eighteen inches in height, and flowers from April to September.

The Red Dead Nettle (_L. purpureum_) grows to the same height, but has much smaller cordate or kidney-shaped leaves, with blunt apices and crenate edges. The upper ones are very crowded, and often tinged with red; and all the leaves are stalked. The flowers are small, of a red-purple colour (rarely white), in crowded whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. The tube of the corolla is straight, longer than the calyx; and the calyx teeth are spreading.

The third species--the Cut-leaved Dead Nettle (_L. incisum_ or _L. hybridum_)--is not so abundant as the other two, but moderately common on waste land. Its leaves, which are all stalked, are very deeply cut in a serrate manner; the lower ones being cordate, while the upper are more triangular. The flowers are of a rose-red colour, in crowded whorls near the top of the stem. The tube of the corolla is _shorter_ than the calyx, and straight; and the teeth of the calyx are about as long as its tube. The plant grows from six to eighteen inches in height, and flowers throughout the whole of spring and summer.

Another common Labiate--the Ground Ivy (_Nepeta Glechoma_)--may be seen almost everywhere in the spring, in bloom from March to May. It has a procumbent, creeping stem, and deeply-crenate, kidney-shaped leaves. The flowers are of a blue-purple colour, arranged in whorls of three or four in the axils of the leaves. The calyx has five teeth and fifteen ribs; and the two front stamens are shorter.

The Early Field Scorpion Grass (_Myosotis collina_) belongs to the order _Boraginaceæ_--a family of (usually) hairy herbs with alternate leaves and one-sided spikes or racemes of showy flowers. The flowers have a five-lobed calyx and corolla, five stamens, and a fruit of four nutlets. It is in the same genus as the familiar Forget-me-not, and, in fact, somewhat closely resembles that plant, which is often confused with certain species of Scorpion Grass. It is a slender, more or less prostrate herb, with blunt oblong leaves; and minute, bright blue flowers which are at first hidden among the leaves, but afterwards exposed by the lengthening of the stem. The flowers have very short pedicels; and are in long, slender, leafless, spikelike racemes, with a single flower some distance down, in the axil of the highest leaf. The popular name of Scorpion Grass has been given on account of the characteristic arrangement of the flowers when in the bud, these being then tightly coiled in a scorpoid fashion. In order that the present species might be distinguished from allied plants, we should note that the pedicels are shorter than the calyx; that the calyx is furnished with hooked bristles, and is open and swollen when the fruits are formed; also that the tube of the corolla is very short. The Early Field Scorpion Grass is very common on dry banks. Its stems vary from about four to ten inches long, and the flowers appear during April and May.

The Wood Loosestrife or Yellow Pimpernel (_Lysimachia nemorum_) of shady waysides and woods is a member of the _Primulaceæ_ or Primrose family. It is altogether a pretty little plant, much like the Scarlet Pimpernel in general appearance, but somewhat larger and more glossy. It has a prostrate, spreading stem, often tinged with red; and opposite, oval, acute leaves with short stalks. The flowers are yellow, usually a little more than half an inch in diameter, with a spreading corolla. They are axillary, placed singly on very slender peduncles, and have very narrow sepals. This species flowers from May to August.

The Perennial or Dog's Mercury (_Mercurialis perennis_), of the _Euphorbiaceæ_ or Spurge family, is one of our earliest spring flowers, and may be seen in abundance on almost all shady waysides, in bloom from March to May, and growing from six to eighteen inches high. The minute green flowers, which have three sepals and no petals, are in racemes or spikes that grow from the axils of the upper leaves. They are unisexual; the staminate flowers in slender racemes, with several erect stamens; and the pistillate ones in short, few-flowered spikes, with a two-celled ovary, two styles, and a few imperfectly formed stamens.

The Black Bryony (_Tamus communis_)--order _Dioscoriaceæ_--is a pretty climbing plant, the slender stem of which twines for several feet among the hedgerow trees and shrubs. Its leaves are cordate and acute, and change either to a bright yellow or a beautiful bronze colour in the autumn. The flowers, which appear in May and June, are yellowish green, in small clusters; and the fruits are oblong berries, turning to a bright scarlet as the leaves assume their autumn tints.

Our next flower is the peculiar and interesting Wild Arum (_Arum maculatum_), of the order _Araceæ_, also known as Lords and Ladies, Cuckoo Pint, and Wake Robin. It is a very common flower of shady waysides, blooming during April and May. The plant is succulent, with a short, fleshy rhizome; and large, smooth, sagittate leaves that are often spotted with purple. The floral stalk is thick and fleshy, and supports numerous unisexual flowers which are clustered round a central axis or _spadix_ that is prolonged above into a club-shaped appendage. The whole of the spadix is surrounded by a large bract or _spathe_ which is contracted a little distance above its base. The portion of the spathe below the constriction encloses the flowers, and remains permanently closed as long as they are in bloom; but the upper part opens on one side, just before the flowers begin to mature, exposing the club of the spathe. The club is thick and fleshy, and coloured either dull purple, bright red, pink, or yellow. The pistillate flowers are clustered round the bottom of the spadix, and consist of a number of sessile ovaries. Above them is a ring of imperfect flowers consisting of styles only, and above these again is the cluster of staminate flowers, with some aborted stamens at the top. After fertilisation has taken place the spathe and the spadix soon wither away, and the ovaries develop into a cluster of large berry-like fruits, each containing a few seeds. These fruits, mounted on the summit of the lengthened, fleshy peduncle, are very conspicuous objects in the autumn hedgerows.

The contrivance by which cross-fertilisation is secured in these flowers is particularly interesting:--Numbers of little insects (midges) are attracted by the brightly coloured club, and, possibly, also by the foetid odour of the flowers. These creep down the spadix, passing through the narrow neck into the closed compartment below. The neck is more or less obstructed by the upper, abortive, staminate flowers, which consist merely of a few whorls of bristles. Since, however, many of these bristles point downwards, they offer but little obstruction to insects as they enter; but prevent their escape. Thus, on cutting open the lower part of the spathe, we may frequently find quite a number of midges that have been imprisoned, their bodies covered with pollen that has probably been carried from another Arum previously visited. The pistillate flowers are mature first, and thus the imprisoned insects, creeping about in their cell during this early stage of the flower, are sure to bring pollen cells in contact with some of the ripened stigmas.

After the work of fertilisation has been accomplished, the anthers ripen, setting free abundance of pollen which now covers the bodies of the insects in the place of that which has been rubbed on to the stigmas. Then the abortive stamens, which prevented the escape of the insects, wither; and, at the same time, the neck of the spathe relaxes. Thus the prisoners are again set free, and possibly a large proportion of them enter another flower and repeat the process of cross-pollination.

The commonest of the early-flowering Grasses of the wayside is the Annual Meadow Grass (_Poa annua_)--a small tufted species, varying from a few inches to nearly a foot in height. It commences to flower in March, and remains in bloom till the end of the summer. It is represented on Plate III.

VIII

MEADOWS, FIELDS AND PASTURES--SPRING

It is, of course, impossible to draw a hard and fast line between the flowers of spring and those of summer, for not only does each individual species vary in the time of its first appearance, according to the nature of the season, but many of the spring and summer flowers overlap in such a manner that it is difficult to decide which season has the greater claim to each one. In the present chapter, however, we shall include those flowers of our fields and meadows which usually _commence_ to bloom before the beginning of June, even though they may continue to produce blossoms well into the summer.

One of the most conspicuous features of the meadows in spring is certainly the abundance of those bright yellow flowers known collectively as the Buttercups. But the name of Buttercup, standing alone, has no definite, scientific meaning, the name being applied to quite a number of flowers of the _Ranunculus_ genus of the order _Ranunculaceæ_.

The earliest of these is undoubtedly the Pilewort or Lesser Celandine (_Ranunculus Ficaria_), which appears early in April, and often in such abundance as to cover the ground with its leaves and flowers. This flower is not confined to fields and meadows, but often covers large patches of bank and hedgerow, where, together with the Greater Stitchwort, it produces a most brilliant show of white and yellow stars.

The plant has a small rootstock, with a number of little oblong tubers which are renewed every year, and sometimes a branched, creeping stem. Its leaves usually all grow direct from the rootstock, and are stalked, heart-shaped, glossy, with crenate or angled margins. The flower-stalks bear a few small leaves, and a single flower with three sepals, and about eight glossy, oblong, yellow petals. The cluster of carpels in the middle of the flower form a large, globular head.

A little later in the season our pastures are bountifully bedecked by two of the most familiar Buttercups--the Creeping Buttercup (_R. repens_) and the Bulbous Buttercup (_R. bulbosus_), both of which appear early in May.

The former grows from six inches to a foot in height, and may be easily distinguished by its creeping stems, which give off root fibres and produce new plants at every node. The flowering stems of this species are clothed with long hairs, and the leaves are divided into three stalked segments which are lobed and toothed, the middle segment projecting much beyond the other two. The flowers are in loose panicles, on long, furrowed stalks, with five yellowish-green, concave, spreading sepals that are shorter than the petals. The carpels are ovate in form, somewhat flattened, arranged in a globular head; and the fruits are smooth. This plant is abundant almost everywhere, and continues to flower till the end of the summer.

The Bulbous Buttercup is very similar to the last species, but may be known at once by its swollen, bulbous root. Its leaves are divided into three segments which are more or less toothed and lobed, and the sepals bend backwards on the peduncle as soon as the flower opens. Its carpels are smooth, and form a globular head; and the ripened achenes are also smooth. The plant is very abundant. It flowers from May to August.