Part 10

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.

=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.

=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.

=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.

II. Roman Nettle (_U. pilulifera_). Not so large. An annual; leaves smooth but for the stinging hairs, margin entire or toothed. Male flowers in panicles, female gathered in heads. Flowers larger than in _dioica_. Under walls and among rubbish, near habitations, chiefly in the Eastern counties, and near the sea. June to August.

III. Small Nettle (_U. urens_). The familiar annual plant of fields and wastes. Leaves coarsely toothed, smooth but for stinging hairs. Panicles containing flowers of both sexes; few flowered. Flowers June to September.

=Cat’s Valerian= (_Valeriana officinalis_).

The Great or Cat’s Valerian will come under the notice of the rambler whose way lies by the stream-side, through wet meadows or swampy woods. Where it is found it occurs in abundance, and its pretty flowers massed together in great heads will attract attention at once. It has a short perennial rootstock, increasing by suckers, and narrow pinnate leaves, those from the root soon withering. The stems are from two to four feet high, bearing the broad corymbs of pink or flesh-coloured flowers. The calyx is five-parted, and the lobes are at first rolled inward, but as the fruit matures these lobes expand and assume the form of a circlet of finely branched feathery hairs (_pappus_). The corolla is shortly tubular, with five lobes. The stamens three, and the stigma two-lobed. It flowers from June to August.

The roots have long been held in high esteem as a medicinal agent in certain nervous affections; and in some places the plant is known as All-heal, owing to its virtues. It has a warm aromatic taste, but when drying it develops a fœtid odour, which acts as a charm upon cats. If the reader would have cheerful nights let him plant Valerian in his garden, and every cat in the neighbourhood will call to enjoy it. Strange to say, rats are equally delighted with its fragrance, and rat-catchers are said to use Valerian to assist them in attracting their victims. Query: Had the Pied-piper a root of Valerian in his poke?

There is one other native species, the Small Marsh Valerian (_V. dioica_), chiefly affecting boggy places. It has a creeping rootstock, and the root leaves are egg-shaped, with a long footstalk, whilst those of the stem are deeply lobed in pinnate fashion, with a large leaflet at the tip. The flowers, which are pink, are minute, and of four distinct kinds, which may be thus enumerated according to the size of the corolla. 1. Large, with anthers, but no pistil. 2. Small, with anthers and rudimentary pistil. 3. Smaller, with pistil and rudimentary anthers. 4. Smallest, with pistil, but no anthers. Flowers May and June.

The name is from the Latin, _valere_, to be in health.

=Yellow Toadflax= (_Linaria vulgaris_).

We have already dealt with one species of Toadflax (_see_ page 33), and although in habit the Ivy-leaved is altogether unlike the Yellow Toadflax, their flowers will be found to have the same structure, and we must ask the reader to refer back for the description. The Yellow Toadflax (_L. vulgaris_) immediately reminds one of the Snapdragon (_Anterrhinum_), to which its raceme of flowers, bears close resemblance; but the flowers themselves will be found to differ from Snapdragon in having a long tail or spur. This spur is a hollow tube in which honey is secreted to attract long-tongued bees, in order that they may fertilize the ovules. The plant has a slender rootstock, which creeps extensively underground, branching and sending up many stems. If these get into a garden the owner is at first delighted with the neat, bright appearance of the tufts of linear leaves; but by-and-by he finds it has taken entire possession of the bed, and become extremely difficult to extirpate. It is abundant in hedges and waste places, flowering from June till October. Other species are:--

I. Round-leaved Toadflax (_L. spuria_) with egg-shaped or round leaves and trailing branches: hairy. Corolla yellow, with purple throat and spur greatly curved. Annual. Sandy cornfields. July to October.

II. Sharp-pointed Toadflax (_L. elatine_), with spear-shaped leaves and trailing hairy branches. Corolla yellow, upper lip purple beneath. Spur straight. Annual. Dry, chalky and gravelly cornfields. July to October.

III. Pale-blue Toadflax (_L. repens_). Perennial. Smooth. Rootstock creeping. Leaves narrowly lance-shaped. Corolla violet, with darker lines and yellow palate: spur blunt. Waste places, rare. July to September.

IV. Small Toad flax (_L. minor_). Annual. Downy. Leaves narrowly oblong. Corolla but slightly larger than the calyx, purple, the lower lip white, and the palate yellow. Local, in sandy and chalky cornfields. From May to October.

=Yellow Water-lily= (_Nuphar luteum_).

In some districts, where the Yellow Water-lily floats on the bosom of ponds and sluggish streams, it is known as the Brandy-bottle, partly by reason of its unpleasant odour and partly on account of its flagon-like seed-vessel.

It has a thick fleshy rootstock, which creeps in the mud, and is rich in tannic acid; it is said to be a fatal lure to cockroaches if bruised and soaked in milk. Some of the leaves are submerged, and these are thin, but the floating ones are thick and leathery. The leaves are heart-shaped, the lobes not far apart; the stalks somewhat triangular in section, and traversed by a great number of fine air-canals, as are the flower-stalks also. The most conspicuous portion of the flower is the sepals, five or six in number, which are very large and concave. The petals are much smaller, and number about twenty; they produce honey at their base. The stamens are even more numerous than the petals, in several rows, their blunt tips bent over away from the many-celled ovary. The stigma is rayed. The fruit ripens above water, and is, as we have indicated, flagon-shaped; the seeds are imbedded in pulp. Flowers from June till August.

There is another species:--

The Lesser Yellow Water-lily (_N. pumilum_), which occurs in Shropshire and in Scotland, from Elgin to Argyll, but it is rare. Its oblong leaves are divided at the base, the lobes becoming distant from each other. The petals are rounder than in _luteum_, the anthers shorter, and the rays of the stigma reach to the margin, which is lobed.

The name is from the Arabic for this or a similar plant, _naufar_.

The White Water-lily (_Nymphæa alba_), though constituting the British representative of a distinct genus, is closely allied, as, indeed, is the magnificent _Victoria regia_ of South American rivers, with leaves 10 or 12 feet across, and flowers 15 inches and more in diameter.

=Wild Teasel= (_Dipsacus sylvestris_).

We have explained (page 98) in what respect the Scabious differs from the somewhat similar flowers of Compositæ, and to a considerable extent that explanation will hold good for the genus _Dipsacus_, which is united to _Scabiosa_ in the Natural Order Dipsaceæ. There is this difference, however: in _Dipsacus_ the flower-bracts end in long, straight, sharp points, and the involucel is four-angled. There are two British species:--

I. Wild Teasel (_D. sylvestris_). A striking object in copse or hedgerow; its stout, angular and spiny stems rising to a height of 4 or 5 feet, and crowned by the prickly-cylindrical heads of flowers. These heads have an involucre, consisting of from eight to twelve slender rigid bracts, spiny, longer than the flower-head, curved upward and ending in a fine point. The corolla is purple, tubular, with four short unequal lobes. It is a biennial plant, and only has radical leaves during its first year, sending up the flowering stem the second season. These are stalked, lance-shaped, with a stout mid-rib, which is armed with short curved spines. The stem-leaves are opposite, not stalked, the lower couples joined together by their bases, thus forming a large cup, in which rain collects and drowns many insects that attempt to ascend the tall stem. Flowers August and September. The Fuller’s Teasel (_D. fullonum_), of so great importance to the cloth manufacturer, is believed to be a cultivated variety of _sylvestris_, having the involucral bracts shorter and spreading, and the scales of the flower-heads hooked.

II. Small Teasel (_D. pilosus_). This is a more slender plant, the stem not so tall or stout, and the prickles ending in soft hair-points. Leaves stalked, hairy. Flower-heads at first drooping, then erect; smaller, rounder, hairy, the involucral bracts shorter than the head. Flowers white. August and September, in moist hedges; not so generally distributed as _sylvestris_.

=Common Tansy= (_Tanacetum vulgare_).

Time was when every cottage garden and every kitchen garden had its clump of Tansy, for it was a valued item in the housewife’s pharmacopœia, and was all but invaluable in cookery. A belief is entertained by some botanists that the Tansy-plants growing wild in waste places by field and roadside throughout the country are garden escapes, or their descendants, that have become naturalized.

The Tansy is a perennial, with creeping rootstock, from which arise beautiful broad feathery radical leaves and flowering stems. The leaves are very deeply divided in a pinnate or bi-pinnate manner, the segments toothed. The angled stem reaches a height of about two feet, and then branches off into a _corymb_ of flower-heads. Each flower-head is enclosed in a half-rounded involucre of leathery bracts. There is an outer row of ray-florets, but they are very short, and of the same dull yellow colour as the disk-florets; they are pistillate only, whilst the disk-florets are all staminate. Flowers during August and September.

All parts of the plant give off a strong aromatic scent when touched or handled, and the taste is exceedingly bitter, a quality which caused it to be used as a stomachic tonic and a vermifuge.

This is the only British species of the genus, whose name is said to be a corruption of _Athanasia_ deathless; but probably it is not so derived.

=Blackthorn, or Sloe= (_Prunus communis_).