Part 8

This pretty plant is very well known by its pale pink or pure white flowers. These flowers have a narrow tube which fits into the small green sepal-cup. But round the mouth this tube widens out into a beautiful bell, and the edges of the bell are gracefully waved all round. Inside the flower there are curious markings like large cream-coloured rays, and you must notice how wonderfully the flower of the Bindweed is folded when it is in bud.

The stem of the Bindweed is very curious. It is twisted like a piece of rope. This stem clings to any stronger plant within reach, and it will twist itself round and round that plant till it nearly chokes it.

The leaves are dark and shiny with smooth edges, and they are shaped like the head of an arrow. Each leaf has a short stalk of its own.

3. FOXGLOVE

This is one of the handsomest of our wildflowers. It grows abundantly in woods, on banks and in fields, and it flowers all summer and autumn.

The Foxglove is a tall plant with a very stiff stem, from one side of which hang beautiful rose-pink and purple bells.

These fairy bells are daintily scolloped round the mouth, and the pale pink lining inside is dotted all over with purple spots. When you look down the mouth of a Foxglove bell you see that two long and two short stamens with large yellow-heads are clinging to its side, and rising from the centre of the bell there is a fat green seed-vessel which sends up a slender yellow thread.

Those bells which are nearest the bottom of the stem come out first, and the buds are always found at the top. Behind each bell there are five green sepals with sharp points, and wherever the flower-stalk joins the main stem there is always a small green leaf.

The Foxglove leaves are broad and long, and they are pointed at the end. Each leaf is covered with a network of fine veins. These leaves are grey-green in colour, and the underside is hoary with soft, white woolly down.

PLATE XLII: 1. BROAD-LEAVED WILLOW HERB 2. CORN COCKLE 3. CROSS-LEAVED PINK HEATH

1. BROAD-LEAVED WILLOW HERB

The Broad-leaved Willow Herb is common in most parts of Britain. You find it growing on old walls, in woods and under hedges, and it blooms all summer and autumn.

It is a tall, thin plant, and has small pink flowers with four petals, each of which has a V-shaped notch cut in the outer edge. Behind these pink petals there are four narrow pointed green sepals, and within the flower grow eight stamens with tiny yellow heads. Amongst these stamens you can see the slender pillar which rises from the seed-vessel; it is divided at the top into four yellow rays.

The flowers grow singly, each at the end of a long thin pod which is slightly red in colour. When the petals and the green calyx fall off, this pod grows larger, and as soon as the seeds inside are ripe, it splits open into four strips, and each strip is lined with a row of small brown hairy seeds.

The leaves of this Willow Herb are oval, with pointed tips, and they are cut into sharp teeth all round the edge. These leaves are dark green, and usually they are smooth all over, but you sometimes find leaves which have hairs along the veins.

The stem is quite smooth, and it is red on the side which gets most sunshine.

2. CORN COCKLE

The Corn Cockle is common everywhere. It grows in the cornfields, and you find its pink flowers all summer.

The flowers are large and handsome. In shape they are like a Primrose, but the petals are pale pink and each has a tiny notch in the outer edge. On these petals there are tiny lines of dark purple dots, like rays, which run from the centre of the flower almost to the edge of the petal. The heads of the stamens can only just be seen in the centre of the flower where the five petals meet.

Behind the pink flower there is a green calyx-cup marked with ten ridges, and at the mouth of this cup there are five narrow green teeth, which are so long they look like pointed leaves. These sepals are dark green inside, but the outside is pale green and woolly. You can see their sharp points standing out beyond each of the petals of the flower.

The stem of the Corn Cockle is stiff, and it grows very straight. Like the calyx-cup, it is covered with soft white wool.

The leaves grow in pairs on each side of the stem. These leaves are long and narrow, with pointed ends. Each leaf is dark green above, but the back is always pale grey-green and woolly.

3. CROSS-LEAVED PINK HEATH

This waxen Pink Heath is to be found all over the country. It grows best in damp places, and is in flower in late summer and autumn before the purple heather is fully out.

The flowers grow in clusters of from five to twelve at the top of the woody stem. Each cluster is made up of pale pink waxy bells, and the mouth of each small bell is edged with four pointed teeth. If you split open one of these pink bells, you will find inside a round green seed-vessel like a tiny pea.

There is a long green spike growing from the top of this seed-vessel, and you can see its point coming out of the mouth of the pink bell. There is also a ring of yellow stamens hidden inside the bell, and these grow close round the green seed-vessel.

The leaves of this Pink Heath are very small and pointed, and they have hairs along the edge. They grow in fours, and are placed crossways at short distances up the main stem. The edges are usually rolled back on to the woolly underside of the leaf.

The stem of the Cross-leaved Pink Heath is slender and wiry, and this pretty plant is never found growing in large bushes like the common heather. Sometimes the flowers are pure white.

Plate XLIII: 1. BLUE MEADOW CRANE'S-BILL 2. MILKWORT 3. CORN FLOWER OR BLUE BOTTLE 4. TUFTED VETCH

1. BLUE MEADOW CRANE'S-BILL

The Blue Meadow Crane's-bill is one of our handsomest wildflowers. It is to be found by the edge of the fields and in the meadows all over Britain in summer and autumn.

This plant is related to the beautiful geranium which grows in our gardens. The flowers have five large petals. In front these petals are bright blue and are painted with tiny pink streaks. Behind, they are a delicate pale pink.

In the centre of the flower there is a ring of stamens, and within this ring is the seed-vessel.

There is a circle of green sepals behind the pinky-blue petals.

After the blue petals are withered you can see a long spike with a small star at the end coming out from among the sepals.

This spike has five seeds clustered round the bottom, and whenever these seeds are ripe, the spike splits into five fine hairs. Each of these hairs curls up to the top, carrying a seed with it. Then the five seeds are blown by the wind away from the slender hairs.

The leaves of the Blue Meadow Crane's-bill are beautifully shaped. They are like a hand with five thin fingers, and each of these fingers is deeply cut up all round the edges.

The stem of the plant is covered with rough, hairy bristles.

2. MILKWORT

The Milkwort has flowers which are not always the same colour. You may find them either pink, or blue, or white, but I think the blue Milkwort is the commonest. It blooms all summer.

The flowers grow on spikes in which the buds are always at the top, and further down the same spike there are leaves. Each flower has five sepals. Three are only small green strips, but inside these three there are two which are large and broad, and beautifully coloured. These look like petals.

When the flower is withered these two sepals change colour and become green.

The real petals are paler in colour than the sepals. The lowest one is cut up at the end into little strips like a blue fringe, and there are two small side petals as well as two upper ones, which are so tiny that they are merely scales.

The leaves resemble narrow straps. They grow alternately on the stem, and they are dark green above and pale green below.

The Milkwort lies close to the ground among the grass. You would never notice it, were it not for its beautiful spikes of blue, pink-white flowers.

3. CORN FLOWER

The Corn Flower or Blue Bottle is common all over Britain; you find it in the cornfields and by the roadside, and it flowers all summer and autumn.

This pretty plant belongs to the same family as the Thistles. The flower-heads are made up of a great many flowers grouped together. In the outer row you find a circle of beautiful bright blue flowers, each of which consists of a blue tube which widens out at the mouth like a trumpet, and is edged with seven sharp points.

Inside this outer circle there is a mass of darker blue flowers, slightly tinged with rose-colour. These flowers are very much smaller, and their pinky tubes are very tiny. So are the strap-shaped teeth at the mouth of the tube. Coming out of the mouth of each tube is the dark purple tip of the seed-vessel.

Underneath this bunch of flowers there is a double ring of green scales with fringed edges. These scales are tightly pressed together in the shape of a cup, but they are not prickly as in some of the Thistles.

The stems of the Corn Flower are very tough. The plant is tall and straggling, and it has narrow strap-shaped leaves with smooth edges. These leaves, as well as the stems, are often covered with white woolly down.

4. TUFTED VETCH

The Tufted Vetch is a very common plant, and all summer-time you find its masses of bright blue or purple flowers growing up the hedges. It belongs to the large family of Pea-plants, along with the Broom and the Trefoils, and you will find that its bright bluish-purple petals are shaped as curiously as those of the other Pea-plants.

Do not forget to look at the stamens. You will see that there is one stamen whose slender stem is not joined with the others, but has a separate stalk of its own.

The flowers grow in clusters on a stiff stalk; the buds are at the end of the stalk, and the flowers that grow lowest on the stalk always open first. When the flower is withered, the seed-vessel grows into a small green pea-pod which has a curly tail at the end, and when the seeds are ripe, this pod turns brown.

The leaves are made up of short pointed straps, set opposite each other in pairs on each side of a thin stalk. You will often find ten pairs of little straps, and at the end of the stalk there grow curly green threads called tendrils. This Tufted Vetch is one of these climbing plants which are not strong enough to stand alone; so these tendrils curl themselves round the twigs of the hedges, and this helps the plant to rise high above the ground.

PLATE XLIV: 1. WILD SUCCORY. 2. BLUEBELL OR HAREBELL. 3. SEA HOLLY.

1. WILD SUCCORY

The Wild Succory is abundant all over England, but is not so plentiful in Scotland. It grows by the borders of fields, in waste places or by the roadside, and it blooms in late summer and autumn.

The flowers are like large blue dandelions. They have no stalks, but grow from top to bottom of the main stem.

The flowers at the bottom of the stem come out first and the buds are always at the top. Each of these large blue dandelions is made up of a great many tiny tubes grouped together.

In the inner circle there are a great many blue tubes which have no strap, but in the outer circle the flowers have a broad blue strap at one side, and the end of this strap is cut into fine teeth. In the centre of each tube you see the tip of the seed-vessel standing up. It looks like a white thread with two curly points at the end.

The heads of the stamens are placed edge to edge and form a collar close round this white thread.

Behind the blue flowers there is a green calyx-cup of narrow strap-shaped leaves, with reddish-brown tips. There is always a large pointed green leaf where the flower-bud joins the main stem.

The leaves of the Wild Succory are rough and hairy all over, and are a grey-green colour.

2. BLUEBELL OR HAREBELL

The Bluebell or Harebell is one of our prettiest wildflowers. It is common all over the country on heaths and on pastures, and it blooms in late summer and autumn.

The five petals of the flower are joined together into a beautiful bell. This bell is divided round the mouth into five pointed scollops, and when you look into the mouth of the bell you can see the yellow heads of the five stamens and the three-cornered top of the seed-vessel.

The flowers grow singly, on many very slender stalks which branch from the main stem.

The green calyx-cup behind the Bluebell is curiously marked with raised lines. It is deeply divided into five sharp green points, which stand out like the rays of a star at the back of the Bluebell.

The leaves of the Harebell are of two kinds. Those that grow on the main stem, where the flower-stalks branch from it, are narrow and pointed. But the leaves that spring from the root are quite different.

They are nearly round, with edges which are cut into large teeth, and each leaf has a stalk.

3. SEA HOLLY

This curious plant grows on sandy seashores in England, but it is not common in Scotland, and it will not grow far North.

The flowers grow in clover-shaped heads at the ends of very stiff stems. These flowers are very small, of a whitish-blue colour, and they are not at all attractive. If you examine one closely you find that the petals stand straight up, and each petal has a pointed beak which bends forward towards the centre of the flower. The stamens also curve inwards.

Outside this cluster of flowers there is a crowded mass of small green leaves, and each leaf ends in three short points. These leaves are a yellow-green colour, but all the rest of the flower is a beautiful grey-blue.

The stems of the Sea Holly are stiff, with ridges running up them, and the leaves have no stalks of their own, but grow in a circle of three or five, tightly clasping the main stem. These leaves are very smooth and thick. They are grey-blue in colour, with yellow-green patches between the veins, and they have very hard edges which are waved all round. Each of these waves ends in a sharp point.

The Sea Holly is quite as prickly as the Christmas Holly, and as it grows low down among the sands, bare-footed children must be careful not to stand on it.

PLATE XLV: 1. GERMANDER SPEEDWELL. 2. BROOKLIME SPEEDWELL. 3. GREAT WATER FORGET-ME-NOT.

1. GERMANDER SPEEDWELL

This bright blue flower is to be found on banks, and in woods and pastures all over the country. It blooms in spring and early summer. Many people call this the Forget-me-not, but that is not correct, and you should notice carefully the difference between the two plants. They are not really alike.

The Germander Speedwell is a slender, wiry plant, whose stem sometimes creeps along the surface of the ground before it grows upward.

The flowers have four small petals of the brightest blue, and within the flower at the foot of the petals is a small white circle, like a little white eye looking up.

Two stamens with crimson heads rise from this white circle, and in the very centre of the flower there is a tiny green seed-vessel, with a spike coming out of the top.

The four sepals are very narrow green straps with sharp points.

The dark green hairy leaves are oval, with the edges cut all round like the teeth of a saw. They have no stalks, and they grow in pairs opposite each other. The slender stems, which bear the flowers in loose heads near the top, spring from between the leaf and the main stem.

2. BROOKLIME SPEEDWELL

The Brooklime Speedwell is quite as common as its cousin the blue Germander Speedwell, but it grows in damp places. You find it in ditches and beside slow-running streams, and the flowers are in bloom from spring to autumn.

The plant has a round juicy stem, which is hollow in the middle. It rises straight up from its muddy bed.

The flowers have four small petals which are a dull blue in colour, and are not very attractive.

In the centre of the flower there is a tiny blue ring, and to this ring are fastened the two red-headed stamens.

The seed-vessel is a small green dot with a spike at the top. It is so tiny that you can scarcely see it until the blue petals have fallen off.

Behind the flower there are four small green sepals.

The leaves of the Brooklime Speedwell are smooth and glossy. They are oval with blunt points, and the edges are waved. These leaves grow in pairs opposite each other, and have very short stalks which widen out at the foot so as to clasp the stem.

The flowers grow in loose heads on a long thin stalk, which springs from between the leaf and the stem.

3. GREAT WATER FORGET-ME-NOT

Every child knows the pale blue Forget-me-not with its dainty flowers. It has many varieties which are found all over the country, but the Water Forget-me-not is one of the loveliest, and grows abundantly in ditches and marshes from spring to autumn.

It is a tall straggling plant, with long flower-stalks which grow singly on alternate sides of the stem. Those flowers nearest the bottom of the stalk come out first, and they soon fall off. The pink buds are always at the very top of the stem, and the full-open flowers are close below them.

Each flower has five small round blue petals which lie open like a wheel, and in the centre of the flower there is a bright yellow eye.

The stamens are hidden from sight in the small blue tube below the petals. So is the seed-vessel. There is a green calyx-cup which is hairy all over, and round the mouth it is edged with sharply pointed teeth.

The leaves of the Forget-me-not are long and narrow, with blunt points and smooth edges. They are as glossy as if they were wet, and they clasp the stem.

The lowest part of the stem is four-sided and hairy, and it creeps along the mud before it rises up to bear the leaves and flowers.

Plate XLVI: 1. COMMON BORAGE. 2. EVERGREEN ALKANET. 3. WOOD HYACINTH.

1. COMMON BORAGE

The Borage is not a very common plant, though it is widely distributed throughout the country. You find it on hedge-banks and in waste places, and it blooms in summer and autumn.

It has beautiful bright blue flowers, with five petals which are gracefully pointed at the tips. These flowers droop either singly or in clusters at the end of stout, hairy stalks.

The stamens of the Common Borage have no thread-like stalks; their purple heads are placed close together in a circle round the slender white pillar of the seed-vessel. Notice the curious purple horns that rise from the back of each stamen. There is a ring of dark purple scales with white blotches on them at the base of the petals. The calyx has five long narrow pointed sepals. These are covered with bristly hairs, and so are the leaves, stalks, and stem.

The leaves of the Borage are a dusty grey-green colour. Wherever the stem forks, you find a large stalkless leaf clasping it. These leaves are usually oval, but they are very varied in shape, and those leaves that rise from the root are frequently quite different.

The stem is light green and is round, with a hollow in the centre.

2. EVERGREEN ALKANET

Some people do not consider this one of our native plants, but it is widely distributed over the country. You find it in hedge-banks and by the roadside in spring and autumn.

The Alkanet is an erect, hairy plant, which is not quite so bristly as its cousin, the Common Borage.

The flowers have small blue tubes, lined inside with white, and there is a deeply waved sky-blue wheel round the mouth. When in bud the flowers are deep pink. These flowers grow either singly or two or three together, at the end of straight stalks which rise from between the leaf and the stem.

There are five purple-headed stamens clinging to the white lining of the tube, and there is also a tiny seed-vessel. These you cannot see until you pick the flower to pieces.

The mouth of the calyx-cup is edged with five blunt points, and it is covered with soft hairs.

The leaves also are covered with soft hairs and have scarcely any stalks, but grow singly on alternate sides of the stem. These leaves are oval, with smooth, regular edges. They are olive-green above and bluey-green underneath.

If you cut the stem across, near the ground, you will see that it is six-sided. It is a juicy stem, with scarcely any hollow in the centre, and it is covered with fine, soft hairs.

3. WOOD HYACINTH

The graceful Wood Hyacinth is one of our prettiest flowers. You will find the woods and hedge-banks covered with its masses of pale blue flowers in late spring and early summer.

The leaves appear first,--long, narrow green straps, with a point at the end, and each green strap looks as if it had been folded in the middle and not quite flattened out again.

These leaves spring from a bulb which lies deeply buried in the ground. Underneath this bulb are a few white thread-like roots.

The Hyacinth flowers grow, all on one side, towards the end of a tall and juicy flower-stalk. This flower-stalk droops when the flowers are in bud, and again when the flowers are faded. But it stands proudly erect when its bells are in full bloom.

Each bell is made up of six long, narrow petals. These petals are really separate, but about half way down, they touch each other and so form a bell. The tips of each petal fold back at the mouth.

There is a yellow-headed stamen clinging to the side of every petal, and in the centre of the bell sits a green pear-shaped seed-vessel, with a short pillar on the top. In the Wood Hyacinth there is no calyx.

Every blue bell hangs from a short stalk of its own, and wherever a flower-stalk joins the main stem there are two narrow pointed leaves.

PLATE XLVII: 1. FIELD GENTIAN. 2. SEA ASTER. 3. VIPER'S BUGLOSS.

1. FIELD GENTIAN

The Field Gentian is to be found in damp pastures all over the country, especially in Scotland, where it is very plentiful. It blooms in late summer and autumn.

It is a stout, upright plant, but not very tall. The short stalks, which fork from the main stem and bear the flowers, stand straight up very stiffly, and the main stem itself is very firm, and has ridges running from top to bottom.

The flowers grow singly, each on its own stalk. They consist of four lilac-blue petals with the lower parts joined together to form a tube.

At the top of this tube, the petals fold back in four points, and within the tube, standing close up round the mouth, there is a blue fringe.

Inside the blue tube are four stamens clinging to its sides, as well as an upright, green seed-vessel.

The four bluey-green sepals are unequal in size. The two inner ones are narrow, with pointed ends; the outer sepals are much broader, and they are blunt at the tip.

The dark green leaves grow in pairs, opposite each other, and they clasp the main stem closely. These leaves taper to a point, and have long veins running from the broad part to the tip.

There is very often a single flower-bud growing close to the stem, where the leaves meet.

2. SEA ASTER

This somewhat dingy-looking plant loves to grow in muddy salt marshes close to the seashore; you find it in bloom all round our sea-coasts in autumn.

The Sea Aster is a stout, coarse plant, with straight, stiff stems which are ribbed from top to bottom. The dark green leaves are shaped like a sword, and as they have no stalks, they clasp this rough stem closely on alternate sides. These leaves are thick and fleshy, with smooth edges.

The flowers grow on short stalks, in dense heads which branch from the upper part of the main stem. These heads are made up of two kinds of flowers. In the centre you find a crowded mass of tiny yellow tube-flowers which are evenly notched all round the mouth. And outside these yellow flowers is arranged a double ring of tiny tubes, each of which has a broad, blue strap at one side. These blue straps stand out like a frill all round the centre bouquet of yellow flowers.

These flower-heads are placed in a green cup, composed of row upon row of small green pointed leaves, laid closely one above the other, like the scales of a fir-cone.