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.
[Illustration: THE FIELD PENNY CRESS.]
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.
[Illustration: THE WILD PANSY.]
Coming now to the Crucifers, we have first to note the Field Pennycress
(_Thlaspi arvense_), which may be recognised at once by reference to our
illustration. It is an erect, smooth, plant, from six to twenty inches
in height, a common weed in cultivated ground, flowering from May to
July. Its radical leaves are stalked, and wither early; and the small
white flowers are soon followed by round siliquas, about half an inch
in diameter, with a broad wing notched at the top.
The same order includes the Cuckoo Flower, Lady's Smock, or Meadow
Bittercress (_Cardamine pratensis_), which is certainly one of our
prettiest spring flowers, growing in abundance in most moist meadows,
and flowering from April to June. It has a short rootstock, with small,
fleshy scales, often so much swollen as to resemble tubers; and the stem
is erect, either simple or branched, and a foot or more in height. The
leaves are pinnately divided, the leaflets of the lower ones being ovate
or round, and those of the upper ones very narrow. The flowers are
rather large, white or lilac in colour, with stamens about half as long
as the petals, and yellow anthers. The fruits are usually more than an
inch in length.
[Illustration: THE RAGGED ROBIN.]
One of the common weeds of cultivated fields is the pretty Wild Pansy or
Heartsease (_Viola tricolor_), of the order _Violaceæ_. The plant may be
easily recognised by its resemblance to the Garden Pansy, which is a
variety of the same species. It is very variable, both in regard to its
general build, and to the colour and size of the flowers. The plant is
either smooth or slightly downy, and its branching stem varies from four
to ten inches in length. The leaves are oblong or cordate, with crenate
edges; and each one has a large, leafy stipule which is divided into
oblong or very narrow lobes. The flowers are coloured with varied
proportions of yellow, white, and purple; and the lower petal, which is
the broadest, is usually purple at the base. This species flowers from
May to the end of the summer.
In damp meadows, and especially near ditches and in marshy ground, we
meet with the Ragged Robin (_Lychnis Flos-cuculi_ of the order
_Caryophyllaceæ_). This is an erect plant, from one to two feet high,
with a viscid stem that is slightly downy and never much branched. The
leaves are few and small, the upper ones sessile and the lower stalked.
The pretty red or rose-coloured flowers are arranged in a very loose
terminal panicle, and have no scent. The petals are each divided into
four very narrow lobes, of which the two middle ones are longest; and
the fruit is a broad oval capsule, which opens, when ripe, by five
teeth. The flowers appear first in May, and continue to bloom till the
end of June or the beginning of July.
Several spring-flowering leguminous plants (order _Leguminosæ_) are to
be found in fields and meadows, and of these we will first notice the
Spotted Medick (_Medicago maculata_), generally easily distinguished by
the dark spot in the centre of the leaflets of its trifoliate leaves. It
is a smooth plant, with procumbent, branching stems varying from six
inches to two feet in length. There are fine, spreading hairs on the
leafstalks, and the leaflets are obcordate and toothed. At the base of
each leafstalk there is a pair of toothed stipules. The small, yellow
flowers are in short, dense racemes, only a few in each cluster; and the
pods are little compact spirals, almost globular in general form, with
three or four ridges, and a central furrow broken by a number of fine,
curved prickles. The plant is abundant in the southern counties of
England and Ireland, where it grows on pasture-land, flowering from May
to near the end of the summer.
The Netted Medick (_M. denticulata_), of the same genus, is a similar
plant, flowering during the same period, and often seen in the southern
and eastern counties of England, especially in fields near the coast.
Its prostrate stems are of the same length as those of the Spotted
Medick; and its leaves are also very similar, but the stipules are
bordered with very fine teeth. The flowers are in small, yellow heads;
and the pod forms a loose, flat spiral of two or three coils, deeply
netted on the surface, and bordered with curved prickles.
We have next to note several species of Trefoils (genus _Trifolium_),
all distinguished by trifoliate, compound leaves, so familiar to us in
the clovers; and stipules which adhere to the leafstalks. Their flowers
are in dense clusters, and each one has a five-toothed calyx, and an
irregular corolla of narrow petals which usually remains, in a withered
condition, around the ripening pod. There are ten stamens, the upper one
free, while the remaining nine, united by their filaments, form a split
tube round the ovary. The pod sometimes contains only one seed, and
never more than four.
The Subterranean Trefoil (_T. subterraneum_), which is abundant on the
dry pastures of South England, is characterised by a stem, from six to
eighteen inches long, which is underground for the greater part. The
visible portion of the plant is small, and more or less covered with
long, spreading hairs. The leaves are on long stalks, with obovate
leaflets, and broad stipules. The flowers vary in colour from white to
pink or crimson, and are usually in hairy clusters of from two to four.
As the fruit ripens, the peduncle lengthens and bends downward. At the
same time the calyx turns back on the stalk, exposing short fibres, each
with five spreading teeth which fold over the fruit. The flowers appear
during May and June.
The Dutch Clover or White Clover (_T. repens_) is one of the most
familiar of the Trefoils. It is very abundant in English pastures, and
has been introduced into Ireland, where it is now often selected as the
national emblem in the place of the Wood Sorrel (p. 52), which
is regarded by many as the original 'true Shamrock.' The whole plant is
smooth or slightly hairy; and its creeping stem, from two to twenty
inches in length, sends down root-fibres from its nodes. The leaves have
long stalks, with stipules at the base; and the leaflets are broadly
oval or obovate, finely toothed, and have usually a lighter,
crescent-shaped mark near the middle. The flower-stalks are long,
growing from the axils of the leaves; and each one bears a globular head
of white or pinkish flowers. The plant flowers from April to the end of
the summer.
A very similar species--_T. hybridum_--has been introduced into our
country, and has now become established in many places where it was
formerly cultivated. Its stipules are larger than those of the Dutch
Clover; the pod contains only two seeds; and the flowers are usually
pinkish.
The Common Purple Clover (_T. pratense_) is also largely cultivated for
fodder, but it is indigenous, and grows abundantly in most parts as a
wild plant. It is very similar to the Dutch Clover in general build,
but its stem is more or less erect, the flowers are purple, and the
whole plant is generally more hairy. The stipules are ovate, larger,
veined, and have long points; and each flower-head has a pair of
trifoliate leaves at its base. The individual flowers are about half an
inch long; and the hairy calyx has the lower tooth longer than the
others. The pod contains only one seed, and is surrounded by the brown,
withered corolla, as well as by the calyx, which remains erect while the
fruit ripens. This species also flowers from May to the end of the
summer.
[Illustration: THE PURPLE CLOVER.]
Two of the Vetches (_Vicia_--of the order _Leguminosæ_) are also to be
included among our spring-flowering field-plants. One of these is the
Spring Vetch (_V. lathyroides_), which may be found in flower from April
to June on dry pastures. It is a small plant, with a hairy stem that
gives off spreading branches, from six to eight inches long, at the
base. The leaves are pinnate, with two or three pairs of leaflets,
rounded and notched at the apex, and no tendrils. The flowers are small,
solitary, of a rich purple colour, situated in the axils of the leaves.
The pods are smooth and usually less than an inch long.
The other species--the Common Vetch (_V. sativa_)--is a very similar
plant, but its trailing stems grow to a length of from one to two feet.
Its leaves have from four to seven pairs of leaflets, varying in form
from linear to obovate or obcordate, and have branched tendrils. At the
base of each leaf is a toothed stipule with, usually, a dark spot in the
centre. The flowers are axillary and sessile, either solitary or in
pairs, rather large, and of a pale purple colour. The pods are narrow,
smooth, from one to two inches long, and contain about twelve smooth
seeds. The plant is common in fields, and flowers during May and June.
It is represented in Fig. 5 of Plate IV.
[Illustration: THE DAISY.]
The very pretty Meadow Saxifrage (_Saxifraga granulata_), of the order
_Saxifragaceæ_, is very abundant in the meadows of some parts of England
and Scotland, and may sometimes be seen on grassy roadsides. It varies
from six to about ten inches high, and flowers during May and June. The
stem is erect, simple or slightly branched, and covered with spreading
hairs; and the lower leaves are kidney-shaped, either crenate or lobed,
having long stalks, while the upper ones are smaller, and either entire
or sharply lobed. The rather large white flowers are in terminal cymes
of from three to six. The calyx adheres to the ovary, and has blunt
segments; the five petals are about twice as long as the sepals; and
both petals and stamens are inserted into the bases of the segments of
the calyx. The stamens are ten in number, and the ovary is two-celled,
with two styles.
The principal spring-flowering umbelliferous plant of pastures is the
common Earthnut or Pignut (_Bunium flexuosum_ or _Conopodium
denudatum_). This plant has a smooth, slender, stem, with a few forked
branches, and is usually leafless at the base on account of the early
decay of the lower leaves. Its popular names are due to the large,
tuberous rootstock, which has somewhat the appearance of a chestnut, and
is often eaten by country folk, and dug out of the ground by pigs. The
lower leaves have three stalked segments, each divided pinnately into
narrow lobes which are themselves divided; and the upper leaves, which
are smaller, are cut into very narrow lobes, the middle one much longer
than the others. The small, white flowers are arranged in umbels of from
six to ten rays, with a few very narrow bracts or none at all. The
umbels are usually terminal, and droop before the flowers are open. The
fruit is oval or oblong, slightly flattened, with slightly-spreading
styles, and ribs scarcely visible. The plant grows from one to three
feet high, and flowers from May to July.
Dealing next with a few composite flowers (order _Compositæ_), we first
call attention to the leading characters of the Common Daisy (_Bellis
perennis_), which is abundant in fields and meadows almost everywhere,
and flowers practically all the year round. It has a tufted, perennial
rootstock, from which grows a cluster of obovate leaves, usually smooth,
and slightly toothed. The leafless peduncles also start direct from the
stock, each one bearing a solitary flower-head with an outer whorl of
nearly smooth bracts; a ray of strap-shaped, white or pinkish florets;
and a disc of numerous little yellow, tubular florets.
The Dandelion (_Taraxacum Dens-leonis_ or _T. officinale_) is equally
familiar as a meadow and wayside plant, commencing to flower in March,
and continuing in bloom till October. It has a thick tap-root, with a
very bitter taste; and direct from the crown of this grow the spreading
leaves and the hollow stalks of the solitary flower-heads. The former
vary very considerably in shape, but are usually long and narrow,
broader at the apex, and cut into triangular lobes which generally point
backwards. Sometimes, however, the leaves are almost entire; and they
also vary in colour, from a bright to a very dull green. The peduncles
vary from two to eight inches in length; and the florets of the head,
which are all yellow, are surrounded by an inner whorl of narrow, erect
bracts, and outer bracts which either overlap or are turned back on the
stalk. The little fruits have projecting points towards the top, and are
provided with a slender beak, three or four times as long as the achene
itself, at the summit of which is a tuft of silky hairs.
[Illustration: THE BUTTERBUR.]
Our last example of the composite flowers is the Butterbur, variously
named _Tussilago vulgaris_, _Petasites vulgaris_, and _Tussilago
Petasites_. It resembles the Common Colt's-foot (_Tussilago Farfara_) in
several respects; and, as will be seen from the above names, is
sometimes included in the same genus. Its leaves are very large, and
very similar to those of the Colt's-foot, being cordate and toothed,
and appearing after the flowers. The flowering stems each bear a dense
cluster of dull pink or purple heads, forming a raceme from four inches
to a foot in height. The pistillate and staminate flowers grow almost
exclusively on separate plants. In the former case the heads are larger
and densely clustered, each one consisting of filiform, pistillate
florets only, or almost entirely of these with a few tubular, staminate
florets in the centre. On other plants the flower-heads are smaller and
not so densely clustered; and each head consists entirely of tubular,
male flowers, or has a few filiform, female florets round the outside.
The plant is common in many parts of Britain. It grows in damp meadows,
especially along the banks of streams and ditches, flowering from March
to May.
[Illustration: THE YELLOW RATTLE.]
The Yellow Rattle (_Rhinanthus Crista-galli_), of the order
_Scrophulariaceæ_, is abundant in damp pastures, flowering from May to
July. It is a parasitic species, deriving a portion of its food, in the
form of ready-made organic compounds, from the roots of surrounding
grasses, and its parasitic habits are referred to in Chapter XXIII. Its
stem is erect, from six to eighteen inches high; and the leaves are
sessile, opposite, lanceolate, and coarsely toothed. The calyx is almost
globular, slightly flattened, with four small teeth. The yellow corolla
has a tube longer than the calyx, and terminates in two lips, one or
both of which have often a purple spot. The stamens are in two pairs;
and the fruit is an almost globular capsule, containing a few large,
flat seeds.
In similar situations we may find the Field Louse-wort (_Pedicularis
sylvatica_) of the same order, also a parasitic species, extracting
nourishment from the roots of grasses. It has spreading branches from
three to ten inches long, more or less recumbent. Its leaves are
alternately arranged, and pinnately cut into small, toothed segments.
The flowers are sessile in the axils of the upper leaves, and vary in
colour from rose to white. The calyx is broadly oblong, with five
unequal lobes. The tube of the corolla is considerably longer than the
calyx; and its upper lip has a very small tooth on each side, just under
the tip. The plant flowers from April to July.
[Illustration: THE HENBIT DEAD NETTLE.]
The only common spring labiate flower (order _Labiatæ_) of fields is the
Henbit Dead Nettle (_Lamium amplexicaule_), which is frequently met with
on sandy soils, flowering from April to the end of the summer. It is a
low plant, seldom reaching a foot in height, with a branching stem that
is too weak to stand erect. The upper leaves are sessile, round, much
wrinkled, and deeply crenate; while the lower ones, of the same form,
are on long petioles. The flowers are arranged in a few compact whorls,
in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is much shorter than the
tube of the corolla; and its five, pointed teeth, which are as long as
the tube, bend together as the fruit ripens. The lipped corolla is of a
rose or purple-red colour, about half an inch long, with a comparatively
long, straight tube.
In damp meadows we frequently see the changing Scorpion-Grass (_Myosotis
versicolor_), also known as the Yellow and Blue Scorpion Grass, deriving
its name from the fact that the corolla is yellow at first, and
afterwards changes to a dull blue. It is a hairy plant, with an erect
stem, from four to ten inches high, slightly branched. The leaves are
oval or ovate, narrow, and sessile; the lower ones forming a spreading
tuft at the base, while the others, few in number, are erect on the
stem. The flowers are very small, almost sessile, and arranged in a
one-sided, curved raceme. The calyx is deeply cleft into five parts
which close quite over the ripening fruit; and the small corolla has a
comparatively long tube and five spreading lobes. The plant flowers from
April to June. It belongs to the order _Boraginaceæ_.