Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

=Meadow Sage= (_Salvia pratensis_).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

=Vernal-grass= (_Anthoxanthum odoratum_).

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

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

=Viper’s Bugloss= (_Echium vulgare_).

Our artist has chosen to delineate a specimen of this striking plant that has passed its prime in a flowering sense. To our mind the Viper’s Bugloss is prettiest when only one or two flowers are open on each cyme. The recurved cymes are then very short, and the unopened flowers packed closely together. As in Lungwort (p. 9), the unopened corollas are purplish-red in colour, when opened bright blue. After flowering, the cymes lengthen until they are as long as shown in our illustration. The parts of the flower, it will be seen, are in fives: calyx five-parted, tubular corolla with five-lobed “limb,” as the free portion is called, stamens five, stigma two-lobed. The lobes of the corolla are unequal, and one of the stamens is shorter than the other four, which protrude from the corolla considerably; in fact, they serve as a platform upon which insects alight. When the flower opens the anthers are ripe and shed their pollen, so that bees or other insects alighting are sure to get their under surface dusted with it. At this period the pistil is short and immature, so that it cannot be fertilized by its own pollen; but as the pollen disappears the pistil lengthens, until its stigmas are in the position where they are bound to receive pollen brought on the under surface of a visiting insect. The leaves are strap-shaped, long, and rough with hairs.

Much fault is found with scientific names on account of their uncouthness and obscurity. But they are mostly derived from Greek and Latin roots, and reflect some peculiarity of the plant; whereas many of the English or Folk-names are most arbitrary, and require much explaining, which is sometimes not easily done. “Viper’s Bugloss” is a puzzle, and authors have pretended to see likenesses to a viper in the markings of the stem, the shape of the flower and of the seeds; others have taken shelter behind Dioscorides, who said that a decoction of the plant was a protection from the effects of a viper’s bite. If a man knew he was going to be bitten by a viper and took a certain dose of this plant beforehand he was all right! But the word bugloss seems a worse puzzle than the plant’s connection with vipers. Most dictionaries will help to the extent of telling that bugloss is the name of a plant, and no more. The truth is, it is as Greek as any scientific name, being compounded of the words _Bous_, an ox, and _glossa_, a tongue, from its leaves being rough, like the tongue of an ox.

It is common on gravelly and chalky soils, flowering from June to August. It is rich in honey, so that it is much frequented of sweet-tongued insects. The name _Echium_ is from the Greek _Echis_, a viper.

=Wild Strawberry= (_Fragaria vesca_).

Well known as the Wild Strawberry is, the Barren Strawberry (_Potentilla fragariastrum_) when flowering is often mistaken for it. The general resemblance is fairly close, but a botanist can distinguish each at a glance. In each the leaves are divided into three leaflets, the flowers are white and five-parted; but in _F. vesca_ the upper side of the leaf is channelled with sunken nerve-lines, whilst in _P. fragariastrum_ it is smooth. The real strawberry sends off runners with young rooting plants; the false does not. When the fruit is formed there is no longer danger of confounding the two species, for the false plant entirely lacks the fleshiness of the true. The fruit of the Strawberry is a compound one, consisting of a large number of achenes scattered over the enlarged and succulent top (_receptacle_) of the flower-stalk, beneath which are spread out the persistent green calyx-lobes.

It is a widely distributed species, flowering from April to June, and found on shady banks, and in woods. The name _Fragaria_ is from the Latin _fragrans_, fragrant, and has reference to the perfumed fruit.

=Milkwort= (_Polygala vulgaris_), and

=Germander Speedwell= (_Veronica chamædrys_).

Nestling closely among the grass of heaths and dry pastures, the Milkwort, though commonly and profusely distributed, is not a well-known plant. It is only a few inches in height, and scarcely noticeable when not in flower. The narrow, tough leaves are scattered alternately on the stem. The broad inner two of the five sepals are coloured purple, and the corolla may be the same hue, or pink, blue, white or lilac. The structure of the flower is very curious, and should be carefully noted by aid of the pocket-lens. The stamens cohere, and the corolla is attached to the sheath thus formed. The pistil has a protecting hood over it, obviously with reference to the visits of insects; but the flower is also self-fertile. When the fruit is formed the sepals turn green. The name of the genus is derived from two Greek words, _polus_ and _gala_, meaning much milk, from an ancient notion that cows eating this plant were enabled to give a greatly increased supply of milk.

There are two other British species:--

I. Proliferous Milkwort (_P. calcarea_), branches rooting, and giving rise to new plants. Inner sepals broader and longer. Dry soils in south and south-east of England.

II. Bitter Milkwort (_P. amara_), much smaller in all respects than the others; the inner sepals are narrow, and the leaves form a rosette. Very rare. Found only on the margins of rills in Teasdale, and Wye Down, Kent. They all flower from June to August.

The Germander Speedwell (_Veronica chamædrys_) is the representative of a genus which includes sixteen native species, most of them with bright blue flowers of a particular form. The corolla is tubular for half its length, the upper portion divided into four spreading lobes, of which the upper and lower are usually broader than the lateral pair. The two stamens are attached within the corolla-tube just below the upper lobe, and the anthers and stigma protrude beyond the mouth of the tube. _V. chamædrys_ grows to greatest advantage in a great mass on a sloping bank, where, in May and June, its intensely bright blue flowers are very attractive. It is a most disappointing flower to gather, for the corollas readily drop off, and the beauty of the “button-hole” has rapidly passed. A fine robust species, the Brooklime (_V. beccabunga_), grows in bogs, ditches, and by the margins of streams, with stout stem and thick leaves; flowering from May to September.

=The Spurge Family= (_Euphorbia_).

The whole of the British species of Spurge have a singular character, which enables the tyro in botanical matters to determine the genus at a glance, though he may not be so successful in distinguishing between the twelve or thirteen native species. This singularity is chiefly due to the colour and arrangement of their flowers. These possess neither sepals nor petals; instead, a number of unisexual flowers are wrapped in an _involucre_. An individual involucre of, say, the Sun Spurge, should be detached and examined with the aid of the pocket-lens. It will be seen to have four lobes, to each of which is attached an orbicular yellow gland. Within the involucre are several flowers, each consisting of a single stamen on a separate flower-stalk (note joint), and from the midst of these arises a single pistillate flower on a long, curved stalk. With slight variations this is the form of inflorescence which characterizes the whole genus. The British species may be briefly enumerated thus:--

I. Sun Spurge (_E. helioscopia_). Annual herb with yellow green obovate leaves, the margin of upper half toothed. Milky juice used as a wart-cure. Waste places, June to October.

II. Broad-leaved Spurge (_E. platyphyllos_). Annual. Leaves broad, lance-shaped, sharp-pointed, toothed above middle. Fruit (capsule) warted. Fields and waste places from York southwards: rare. July to October.

III. Irish Spurge (_E. hiberna_). Perennial. Leaves thin, ovate, not toothed, tip blunt or notched; upper leaves heart-shaped. Glands of involucre purple, kidney-shaped. Hedges and thickets, rare; only in North Devon and South and West of Ireland. Flowers May and June. Juice used by salmon-poachers for poisoning rivers.

IV. Wood Spurge (_E. amygdaloides_). Perennial, stout, red, shrubby. Leaves obovate, thick, tough, reddish, 2 to 3 inches long, hairy beneath, lower on short stalks. Involucral glands half-moon shaped, yellow. Woods and copses, chiefly on clay soils. Flowers March to May.

V. Petty Spurge (_E. peplus_). Annual. Leaves thin, broadly obovate, on short stalks, ¾ inch long. Involucral glands half-moon shaped (_lunate_), with long horns. Waste ground, market-gardens and flower-beds. July to November.

VI. Dwarf Spurge (_E. exigua_). Annual. Much branched. Leaves very narrow and stiff. Involucres small, almost stalkless. Involucral glands, rounded with two blunt-pointed horns. Fields, especially on light soil. July to October.

VII. Portland Spurge (_E. portlandica_). Perennial, tufted, many-branched stems. Leaves tough, obovate acute, spreading. Involucral glands, lunate, with two long horns. Sandy shores, on South and West coasts, and in Ireland. May to August. Rare.

VIII. Sea Spurge (_E. paralias_). Perennial, bushy, many-stemmed, stout, reddish, woody below. Leaves narrow, concave, very thick, arranged in whorls. Points of involucral glands short. Sandy shores, July to October.

IX. Leafy-branched Spurge (_E. esula_). Perennial. Rootstock creeping. Stem slender. Leaves thin, narrow, sometimes toothed. Involucres small, on long stalks, glands lunate, with short straight horns. Woods and fields; Jersey, Forfar, Edinburgh, and Alnwick. July.

X. Cypress Spurge (_E. cyparissias_). Perennial. Rootstock creeping. Leaves _very narrow_, not toothed. Woods, England, June and July.

XI. Caper Spurge (_E. lathyris_). Biennial. Stem short and stout, 3 to 4 feet second year. Leaves narrow, broader at base, opposite, alternate pairs placed at right angles to each other (_decussate_). Copses and woods, June and July. Fruit used as a condiment.

XII. Purple Spurge (_E. peplis_). Annual. Stems prostrate, purple, glaucous. Leaves oblong, heart-shaped, thick, on short stalks, with stipules, opposite. Glands oblong. Very rare. On sandy coasts, South Wales, Cornwall to Hants, and Waterford. July to September.

All the species have milky sap. Poisonous.

=Dewberry= (_Rubus cæsius_). Plate 30.

A sub-species of the Blackberry; too well known to require description.

=Honeysuckle= (_Lonicera periclymenum_).

The Woodbine or Common Honeysuckle is one of the most familiar of our wild flowers, and as great a favourite as any. It owes its popularity not only to the beauty of its flowers, but also to its strong sweet odour, and in some measure to its graceful twining habit. The tough stem grows to a great length--ten to twenty feet in some cases--and always twines from left to right. The egg-shaped leaves are attached in pairs, the lower ones by short stalks, but the upper ones are stalkless (_sessile_). The flowers are clustered, the calyces closely crowded, five-toothed. The corolla-tube may be from one to two inches long, the free end (_limb_) divided into five lobes, which split irregularly into two opposite lips. It is rich in honey, the corolla being often half filled with it, and consequently it is a great favourite with bees and moths, who are bound to bring and fetch pollen from the outstanding anthers of one plant and deposit it upon the equally obtrusive stigma of another. The flowers are succeeded by a cluster of round crimson berries. Widely distributed in hedges, copses, and on heaths.

Perfoliate Honeysuckle (_L. caprifolium_) is similar to the last, but the upper pairs of leaves are joined together by their broad bases. The corolla-tubes are longer than in the common species, and it therefore becomes impossible for even the longest-tongued bees to carry off much of the honey. Moths with their long trunks can; and consequently they swarm upon it at night, and carry the pollen from plant to plant. This species may be found in copses in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, but is believed to be only naturalized--not a true native. Flowers May and June. The name Lonicera was bestowed by Linnæus in honour of a German botanist named Adam Lonicer.

=Dead Nettles= (_Lamium_).

Our forefathers, when giving English names to plants, found it by no means easy work, and the greater number of our native species they left unnamed altogether. Many of the names they did invent were made to serve many times by the simple expedient of prefixing adjectives. Thus, having decided on Nettle as the distinctive name of certain stinging herbs (_Urtica_), they made it available for the entirely unrelated genus _Lamium_ by calling the species Dead (or stingless) nettles. In a similar fashion they made Hemp-nettle, and Hedge-nettle.

Apart from the resemblance in form of the leaves in certain species, there is little likeness between _Lamium_ and _Urtica_, the large and graceful flowers of the former contrasting strongly with the inconspicuous green blossoms of the stinging nettles (_see_ page 103). In the absence of flowers the difference may be quickly seen by cutting the stems across, when _Urtica_ will exhibit a round solid section, whilst _Lamium_ is square and tubular. The flowers, like those of Bugle (page 21) and Meadow-Sage (p. 23) are labiate, and are produced in whorls. The calyx is tubular, with five teeth. The corolla tubular, with dilated _throat_, whence the name from _Laimos_ (Gr.), throat. The British species are five:--

I. Red Dead Nettle (_Lamium purpureum_). Leaves heart-shaped, with rounded teeth, stalked. Bases of flower-bracts not overlapping. Corolla purplish-red. Whole plant often purple. Hedge-banks and waste places. April to October.

II. Intermediate Dead Nettle (_L. intermedium_). Intermediate between the first and the next species, but more robust. Bracts overlapping. Teeth much longer than calyx-tube, spreading. Cultivated ground, not in S. of England. June to September.

III. Henbit Dead Nettle (_L. amplexicaule_). Calyx more hairy than in I. and II.; teeth equal to tube in length, converging when in fruit. Corolla slender, deep rose-colour, often deformed. Bracts broad, overlapping. Waste places. April to August. Above three species are annuals, the remainder perennials.

IV. White Dead Nettle (_L. album_). Corolla large, creamy white, upper lip vaulted. Calyx teeth long. Waste places. March to December.

V. Yellow Archangel (_L. galeobdolon_). Corolla yellow, the lower lip orange, spotted with brown. Hedges and woods. May and June.

=Ground Ivy= (_Nepeta glechoma_), and

=Ivy-leaved Toad-flax= (_Linaria cymbalaria_).