Vetchling (_Lathyrus pratensis_), which is a very common flower of moist
pastures. The plant is straggling, with a weak, angled stem that
supports itself by interlacing with the surrounding herbage, aided by
its branched tendrils. Its stipules are large, narrow-oval in form, with
an arrow-shaped base. The compound leaf has only one pair of lanceolate
leaflets, the remaining leaflets having been modified into tendrils for
the support of the plant. The long axillary peduncles each bear a
one-sided raceme of from six to ten yellow flowers, which are followed
by rather large, smooth pods. The plant flowers from June to September.
The order _Rosaceæ_ contains the Great Burnet (_Sanguisorba
officinalis_), the only British representative of its genus. It is very
much like the Lesser Burnet (p. 301) in general appearance, but
much taller and larger. It is a smooth plant, with an erect stem from
one to two feet high, the upper part of which is almost leafless. The
leaves are mostly radical or on the lower part of the stem, and are
pinnate, with from seven to thirteen oval or oblong, toothed leaflets.
The long peduncles each bear an oval head of crowded flowers of a dark
purple colour. Each flower has a calyx of four coloured lobes, enclosed
within bracts; and four stamens. There are no petals. The plant is
moderately common in the damp meadows of England and South Scotland, and
flowers from June to August.
The Lady's Mantle (_Alchemilla vulgaris_) is a common plant in the hilly
pastures of North England, but is much less frequent in the South. It
varies from six to eighteen inches in height, and bears loose, terminal
clusters of small yellowish-green flowers from June to August. The
little flowers have a free calyx of eight segments in two whorls of
four, the outer ones smaller than the inner; no petals; a few stamens;
and an ovary of one or two one-seeded carpels enclosed in the tube of
the calyx.
In moist meadows and other damp places we commonly see the fragrant
Meadow Sweet or Queen of the Meadows (_Spiræa Ulmaria_), of the same
order. This is an erect plant, from two to four feet high, bearing
densely-crowded cymes of small, creamy-white flowers from June to
August. Its stem is rather thick, often reddish in colour; and the
leaves are large, pinnate, with from five to nine ovate,
irregularly-toothed leaflets, two or three inches long, and also several
smaller leaflets at the base of the stalk or between the larger ones.
Each of the little flowers has a five-lobed, free calyx; five petals;
numerous stamens; and an ovary that ripens into from five to eight
little twisted capsules.
[Illustration: THE MEADOW SWEET.]
The Burnet Saxifrage (_Pimpinella Saxifraga_), of the order
_Umbelliferæ_, is a common plant in dry pastures, and is very generally
distributed. Its stem is from one to two feet high, and but little
branched; and the leaves are very variable in form--the radical ones
usually pinnate, with from three to nine oval or round leaflets that are
either lobed or deeply toothed; and the upper also pinnate, with the
segments of the leaflets few and very narrow. The umbels are terminal,
with from eight to sixteen slender rays, and no bracts. The flowers are
small and white, and appear from July to September.
The Wild Carrot (_Daucus Carota_) of the same order is also common in
pastures. It is an erect plant, with a tap root, and a branching stem
from one to two feet high. The lower leaves are two or three times
pinnate, with segments pinnately divided into narrow lobes. The upper
leaves are much smaller, with narrower divisions. The umbels are large
and terminal, on long stalks. The rays are numerous and crowded; the
middle ones being shorter, with pale purple flowers; and the outer ones
longer, with white flowers. After flowering the rays close together,
forming a dense, globular mass, or an inverted cone, concave at the top,
thus more or less covering the fruits, in which they are aided by the
long, narrow lobes of both the primary and secondary bracts. The fruits
are covered with little hooked prickles.
[Illustration: THE BURNET SAXIFRAGE.]
The Devil's-bit Scabious (_Scabiosa succisa_--order _Dipsaceæ_) is very
common in the pastures of almost all parts of Britain, and much
resembles the Field Scabious (p. 290) in general habit. Its stem
is erect, branching, from one to two feet high. The radical leaves are
stalked, ovate or oblong, and generally quite entire; and the
stem-leaves, which are few, are of the same general form, but are
sessile, and sometimes slightly toothed. The heads of purple-blue
flowers are on long peduncles, and each one is surrounded at the base
by about three whorls of bracts which decrease in length inwards, the
outer and longest being about as long as the flowers. The flowers of the
head are all nearly of the same size and form. Each one is enclosed in a
tubular whorl of united bracts with small teeth. This whorl might easily
be mistaken for a calyx by those who are not acquainted with the general
features of the flowers of this order, but the calyx is really combined
with the ovary, its four bristly teeth being very conspicuous round the
top of the fruit. The corolla is tubular, deeply cleft into four lobes;
and four stamens are inserted into its tube. The fruit is small and
seedlike, and does not split. This plant flowers from July to September
or October.
[Illustration: THE WILD CARROT.]
Coming now to the _Compositæ_, we have a considerable number of meadow
flowers to describe; and we assume that the reader has already made
himself acquainted with the nature of the flowers of this order as given
on p. 175. If such is not the case, we advise him to refresh his
memory with regard to them, in order that the terms used in the
following descriptions may be thoroughly understood.
[Illustration: THE DEVIL'S-BIT SCABIOUS.]
Our first species is the Rough Hawkbit (_Leontodon hispidus_), which is
very abundant in all parts of Britain except the extreme north, its
rather large, yellow flower-heads being often mistaken for those of the
Dandelion that are frequently seen in company with them on pasture land.
Its specific name is due to the short, stiff hairs, often more or less
branched, that clothe all parts of the plant. The leaves are all
radical, long and narrow, decreasing in width towards the base, and
either coarsely toothed or deeply cut into pointed lobes. The
flower-stalk widens immediately below its solitary head, which is
surrounded by hairy bracts--two or three whorls of short ones without,
and a whorl of long ones within. All the florets are ligulate or
strap-shaped, and yellow. The fruits are long achenes, narrower towards
the top; and the pappus consists of a few short, outer hairs,
surrounding about twice the number of brown, feathered ones three or
four times as long. The flower stalks vary from a few inches to a foot
or more in height, and the flowers bloom from June to September.
[Illustration: THE ROUGH HAWKBIT.]
Equally abundant is the Autumnal Hawkbit (_Leontodon autumnalis_), which
is also found in pastures. It is a very similar plant in many respects,
but may be easily distinguished by its smaller heads of flowers on
branching stalks. The flowering stems are erect, from six to eighteen
inches high, each with one or two branches bearing a few small scales
and a single head of flowers. The involucre consists of several rows of
smooth, closely-overlapping bracts, and is narrowed at the base into the
enlarged upper part of the stalk. The florets are all ligulate, as in
the last species; and the pappus consists of brown, feathery hairs, all
of the same length. The flowers appear during August and September.
The Meadow Thistle (_Carduus pratensis_) is abundant in some of the
southern counties of Britain and Ireland, but is rarely seen in the
north. Nearly all the leaves of this plant are radical, and these are
long, narrow, and covered with cottony hairs. The few leaves of the stem
are narrow, with short teeth that are only slightly prickly. The stem
itself grows from twelve to eighteen inches high, and is usually
unbranched, with a single head of flowers; sometimes, however, it has
one or two branches, each terminating in a flower-head. The involucre is
globular in form, covered with cottony hairs, and composed of
closely-placed bracts. The flowers are purple. The plant grows chiefly
in moist pastures, and flowers from June to August.
[Illustration: THE AUTUMNAL HAWKBIT.]
The Black Knapweed or Hardhead (_Centaurea nigra_) is a very common
flower of meadows and pastures, flowering from June to September. Its
stem is erect, tough, branched, from a few inches to three feet in
height. The leaves are long and narrow; the upper ones entire or nearly
so, and clasping the stem; and the lower coarsely toothed or divided
into lobes. The flower-head has somewhat the appearance of a purple
thistle, but the involucre is not prickly. The latter consists of an
almost globular mass of closely-overlapping bracts, the visible
portions of which are dark brown or black fringes. The florets are
generally all equal, but the outer ones are sometimes larger than the
others, and sterile.
[Illustration: THE MEADOW THISTLE.]
The Great Knapweed (_Centaurea Scabiosa_) is a somewhat similar plant,
but usually larger, its stout, branched stem being generally two or
three feet high. It may be easily distinguished by its larger
flower-heads, the outer, neuter florets of which are considerably
enlarged. As a rule the florets are all purple, but occasionally all are
white, or the outer ones white and the others purple. The bracts of the
involucre are broad, with a green centre and a dark, downy margin. The
fruit is surmounted by a pappus of stiff, bristly hairs of about its own
length. This plant is common in the south of Britain, and flowers during
July and August.
Two species of Fleabane have to be noticed. They belong to the genus
_Inula_, and are distinguished by a distinct division of the flower-head
into disc and ray, and also by two minute 'tails' at the bottom of the
anthers.
One of these is the Common Fleabane (_I. dysenterica_)--a woolly plant,
abundant in the moist pastures of the southern counties, flowering from
July to September. Its erect stem is loosely branched, from six inches
to two feet high. The leaves are oblong and wavy--the lower ones
stalked, and the upper clasping the stem with rounded lobes at the base.
The flower-heads are yellow, about three-quarters of an inch in
diameter, arranged singly on the tips of the branches, or on stalks
arising from the axils of the upper leaves. The florets of the ray are
spreading, and much longer than those of the disc; and the fruits have a
minute cup at the top, from the inside of which spring the hairs of the
pappus. The smoke arising from the burning Fleabanes was supposed to
kill fleas and other vermin; and the specific name _dysenterica_ is due
to the fact that this species has been used as a medicine in cases of
dysentery.
[Illustration: THE BLACK KNAPWEED.]
[Illustration: THE GREAT KNAPWEED.]
The Small Fleabane (_I. Pulicaria_) is a similar plant, but smaller
(from six to twelve inches high) and less woolly. Its flower-heads are
yellow, much smaller, on terminal and axillary stalks; and the florets
of the ray are only slightly longer than those of the disc. The hairs of
the pappus are not surrounded at the base by a little cup, but by a few
minute and distinct scales. This species grows in the south-eastern
counties of England, and flowers during August and September.
The White Ox-eye Daisy (_Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum_) is one of the
largest and most conspicuous of our composite flowers, and is abundant
in dry pastures all over Britain. The plant is generally smooth; and its
erect stem, either simple or slightly branched, is from one to two feet
high. The lower leaves are obovate, coarsely toothed, on long stalks;
and the upper ones are narrow and sessile, with a few teeth. The
flower-heads are large, and placed singly on long, terminal stalks. The
bracts are closely overlapping, with narrow, brown margins; the ray
florets white, strap-shaped, over half an inch long; and the disc
florets numerous and tubular. The flowers bloom from June to August.
[Illustration: THE COMMON FLEABANE.]
Our last composite flower is the Sneezewort (_Achillea Ptarmica_), which
is common in the hilly pastures and meadows of most parts of Britain. It
has an erect stem, one to two feet high. The leaves are sessile, narrow,
with fine, regular teeth, and a smooth surface. The flower-heads are
arranged in a loose, terminal, flat-topped corymb. Each is surrounded by
an involucre of overlapping bracts; and consists of numerous little
disc-florets, intermixed with small scales, and about twelve short,
broad, white florets of the ray. The time of flowering is July and
August.
The Common Centaury (_Erythræa Centaurium_), of the order
_Gentianaceæ_, is a very common plant in dry pastures. Its stem is
erect, simple below, freely branched towards the top, from six to
eighteen inches high; and the leaves are ovate, spreading and closely
placed below, narrow and more distant above. The flowers are rose-red or
pink, in a dense corymb, with a calyx of five very narrow segments, and
a corolla consisting of a narrow tube and five spreading lobes.
[Illustration: THE OX-EYE DAISY.]
Of the order _Convolvulaceæ_ we shall note one species--the Small
Bindweed (_Convolvulus arvensis_), so well known as a troublesome weed
in cultivated fields. It has a creeping rootstock, and a twining stem,
from a few inches to two feet in length, that sometimes climbs, but
more commonly trails along the ground and over low-growing plants. The
leaves are stalked, arrow-shaped, about an inch and a half long, with
sharp, spreading lobes at the base. The axillary peduncles are usually
forked, with a single flower on each of the two branches; and there are
two small bracts at the angle of the fork, and another one or a pair
above these, but some distance below the flower, on each branch. The
calyx is very small, but the salver-shaped corolla is usually over an
inch in diameter, either pink or pinkish white. The plant flowers from
June to August.
[Illustration: THE SNEEZE-WORT.]
The Meadow Clary (_Salvia pratensis_--order _Labiatæ_), shown on Plate
IV, Fig. 6, is a rather rare plant, apparently to be seen only
in the dry fields of Oxfordshire, Kent, Surrey, and the extreme
south-west of England; but it is one of the most handsome of the
Labiates. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high. The radical
leaves are large, stalked, ovate or cordate, toothed, and much wrinkled;
and the stem-leaves few, ovate or lanceolate, acute, the upper ones
sessile. The flowers are arranged in whorls of from four to six at
regular distances, the whole forming a long, simple or branched spike.
The calyx is divided into two lips, the upper of which has often three
small teeth, while the lower is divided into two lobes; and the corolla
is of a bright blue colour, about three times as long as the calyx, with
a long, arched upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip. There are two
stamens, each with a fertile and an abortive anther connected by a thin
stalk which is fastened to the short filament in such a manner that it
rocks. This plant flowers from June to August.
[Illustration: THE SMALL BINDWEED.]
The peculiar arrangement of the stamens above described is sufficient in
itself to distinguish the genus _Salvia_ from all the other Labiates,
and the importance of the peculiarity in connexion with the pollination
of the flower is so interesting that we may well spend a few minutes in
studying it before passing on to other species. In the first place it
should be mentioned that the stamens of _Salvia_ are mature before the
stigma, and that, as a consequence, self-pollination is impossible. The
lower, abortive anthers of the two stamens are joined together and form
a little valve which closes the throat of the corolla tube. Each one,
however, has a notch in its inner side, and the two notches, meeting in
the middle, form a little hole. When a bee visits the flower, it alights
on the lower lip of the corolla, and thrusts its tongue through the
hole to reach the nectar at the base of the tube. In doing this it
pushes the abortive anthers backwards, and the upper, fertile anther
cells, which rest under the arched upper lip, are thus made to swing
downwards and forwards so that they touch the bee's back; and, if they
are ripe, to deposit some pollen. After the pollen has been thus
removed, the style lengthens and curves downward, bringing the stigma,
which is now mature, to the position previously occupied by the fertile
anther cells at the time they were made to swing downwards by the bee.
Thus, if a bee which has previously visited a flower with mature anthers
now comes to one in which the stigma is ripe, the pollen dusted on its
back by the former is rubbed against the stigma of the latter, and
cross-fertilisation is the result.
[Illustration: SECTION OF THE FLOWER OF _Salvia_.
1. Stigma--not yet mature. 2. Stamen.]
[Illustration: THE SELF-HEAL.]
The Common Marjoram (_Origanum vulgare_) is an aromatic plant that often
grows in great abundance on dry hilly pastures, especially in limestone
and chalky districts. Its stem is thin and hairy, a foot or more in
height; and the leaves are stalked, ovate, blunt, slightly toothed,
downy, and about an inch in length. The flowers, which bloom from July
to September, are of a rosy purple colour, in numerous globular
clusters, the whole inflorescence forming a leafy panicle. The
overlapping bracts are about as long as the calyx, and usually tinged
with red or purple; the calyx has five, short, equal teeth, and is very
hairy in the throat; the corolla is about twice the length of the
calyx, and has four lobes, the upper of which is a little broader than
the others; and the stamens are in two pairs, one pair longer than the
other. It will be noticed that some of the flowers are larger than
others, and that these are perfect, while the smaller ones have no
stamens.
In the same order (_Labiatæ_) there is the Self-Heal (_Prunella
vulgaris_), a very common plant in moist meadows, flowering from July to
the end of the summer. The lower portion of the stem of this plant
usually rests on the ground and roots at the nodes, but from this arises
the erect branches, four to ten inches high, bearing pairs of oval or
oblong, slightly-toothed leaves; and a dense terminal spike of whorled
flowers immediately above the last pair. The lipped corolla is of a
violet or purple colour, usually about half an inch long. During the
flowering stage the spike is very short, but as the fruits ripen it
lengthens out to about an inch and a half or two inches.
[Illustration: THE RIBWORT PLANTAIN.]
Coming now to the Plantains (order _Plantaginaceæ_) we have two species
to note, both of which are very abundant on pasture land. One is the
Greater Plantain (_Plantago major_)--a very low plant, with a short,
thick rootstock, and a radical cluster of spreading or ascending leaves
with grooved stalks. These leaves are ovate, nearly as broad as long,
and traversed by five, seven, or nine strong parallel veins which
converge into the stalk at the base. Each little flower of the long,
slender spike has four sepals; a corolla with a tube and four spreading
lobes; and four stamens that project beyond the corolla. The fruit is a
small capsule which splits transversely when ripe. The plant flowers
from June to August.
The other is the Ribwort Plantain (_P. lanceolata_), a somewhat similar
plant, the leaves of which are narrow, tapering at both ends, with three
or five strong, parallel ribs. Each flower-stalk bears a globular or
oval spike from half an inch to an inch in length. This species also
flowers from June to August.
[Illustration: THE BUTTERFLY ORCHIS.]
[Illustration: 1. CAT'S-TAIL GRASS. 2. MEADOW BARLEY.]
There are a few summer-flowering species of Orchids that are more or
less common in fields and pastures. One of these is the Marsh Orchis
(_Orchis latifolia_), a plant so closely resembling the Spotted Orchis
(p. 277) that it is sometimes regarded as a variety of the
latter. Its tubers are palmately divided; and its stem, which is hollow,
is usually from twelve to eighteen inches high. The leaves are large,
sometimes spotted; and the spike of flowers is large, with leafy bracts
longer than the ovaries. The flowers vary in colour from white to a
deep purple, have a spur usually thicker than that of the Spotted
Orchis, and a lip indistinctly divided into three lobes, with its sides
curved backwards. The flower, which is represented on Plate VI,
grows in moist meadows, marshes, and on moors, flowering during June and
July.
[Illustration: RYE GRASS OR DARNEL.]
[Illustration: SHEEP'S FESCUE.]
Another species--the Butterfly Orchis (_Habenaria bifolia_)--has
(usually) undivided tubers; a stem from six to twelve inches high with
two broad leaves near the base, and surrounded below by a few sheathing
scales; and a rather loose spike of white or greenish flowers with
narrow bracts about as long as the ovaries. The petals and upper sepals
are arched, the lateral sepals spreading, the lip narrow and undivided,
and the spur about twice as long as the ovary. This flower is not
uncommon in moist meadows, where it blooms from June to August. A large
variety, with greener flowers, is sometimes known as the Great Butterfly
Orchis.
A considerable number of summer-flowering grasses are more or less
common in fields and meadows. We have not space for the descriptions of
these, but introduce illustrations of a few, including the Cock's-foot
Grass (_Dactylis glomerata_) which appears on Plate IV.
XV
BOGS, MARSHES AND WET PLACES--SUMMER
The Crowfoot group of the _Ranunculaceæ_ contains two bog-plants
popularly known as Spearworts on account of their spear-like leaves. One
of these--the Lesser Spearwort (_Ranunculus Flammula_)--is abundant in
wet places, especially the edges of muddy pools and ditches, where its
buttercup-like flowers may be seen from June to September. It is a
slender, smooth plant, with a branched stem, more or less decumbent at
the base, from four to twelve inches high. Its leaves are narrow-oval in
form, stalked, and either slightly toothed or quite entire; and the
yellow flowers are about half an inch in diameter, on long peduncles.
The other is the Greater Spearwort (_R. Lingua_), a much larger species,
varying from two to four feet in height, and flowering during the same
months. It has stout, hollow, erect stems which throw off whorls of root
fibres from the lowest joints; and the glossy, yellow flowers vary from
one to one and a half inches in diameter. This species is not nearly so
common as the other, but occurs more or less in most parts of Britain.
Taking next the cruciferous plants (_Cruciferæ_), we have first to note
a few species of the _Nasturtium_ genus, including the Water-cress and
the Yellow-cress. These are all smooth plants, with small yellow or
white flowers. They may be distinguished from other crucifers by their
loose calyx; simple, rounded stigma on a very short style; and their
oblong or narrow pods with the seeds arranged in two rows on each side
of the membranous partition. The species with which we are at present
concerned are:--
1. The Water-cress (_Nasturtium officinale_).--A succulent plant, with a
branched stem rooting at the base, growing freely in ditches, shallow
streams and muddy places, and flowering from May or June to the end of
the summer. Its leaves are pinnately divided into from seven to eleven
wavy or slightly-toothed segments, the terminal one of which is usually
larger than the others and nearly round. The flowers are small, white,
in short, crowded racemes; and the pods are spreading, more than half an
inch long.
[Illustration: _Plate V._
FLOWERS OF BOGS AND MARSHES.
1. Marsh Gentian. 2. Marsh Marigold. 3. Marsh Orchis. 4. Marsh Mallow.
5. Marsh Vetchling. 6. The Marsh St. John's-wort. 7. Bog Pimpernel.]
[Illustration: THE LESSER SPEARWORT.]