slender plant with a fibrous root, and pinnate leaves with
irregularly-toothed segments which are smaller towards the base. The
flowers are yellow, about an eighth of an inch in diameter, with petals
no longer than the sepals. They bloom from June to September. The pods
are oblong, swollen, slightly curved, a quarter of an inch long.
3. The Amphibious Yellow Cress (_N. amphibium_).--An erect plant, two or
three feet high, with fibrous root and creeping runners, flowering from
June to September, moderately common on the banks of muddy streams. Its
leaves are narrow-oblong, three or four inches long, deeply toothed, or
cut into narrow lobes; and the flowers are yellow, similar to those of
the other species, and similarly arranged, but with petals twice as long
as the sepals. The pods are broad, only about a sixth of an inch long,
with a rather long style.
In the marshes of the South of England we may often see the Marsh Mallow
(_Malva officinalis_ or _Althæa officinalis_), of the order _Malvaceæ_,
flowering during August and September. Its stem is hairy, with erect
flowering branches two or three feet high; and the leaves are shortly
stalked, thick, velvety, broadly ovate, and sometimes divided into three
or five lobes. The flowers are shortly stalked in the axils of the upper
leaves, or sometimes collected into a terminal raceme. Round each one is
a whorl of several narrow bracts, shorter than the calyx, and united at
their bases. The calyx is five-lobed; and the corolla consists of five
broad, rose-coloured petals. This plant is shown on Plate V, Fig. 4.
[Illustration: THE GREAT HAIRY WILLOW-HERB.]
The Marsh St. John's-wort (_Hypericum Elodes_--order _Hypericaceæ_) is a
somewhat shaggy little plant, common in the bogs of many parts of
Britain, more especially in West England and Ireland. It varies from a
few inches to a foot in length; with prostrate stems rooting at the
base; and rounded, opposite leaves without stipules. Both stem and
leaves are clothed with white, woolly hairs, the latter on both
surfaces. The flowers, which bloom during July and August, are of a pale
yellow colour, and form a few-flowered, terminal panicle. They have five
small, oval sepals, fringed with little red-stalked glands; five
petals, about three times as long as the sepals; and many stamens,
united to more than half way up into three bundles. (See Plate V, Fig.
6.)
The Blue Marsh Vetchling or Marsh Pea (_Lathyrus palustris_--order
_Leguminosæ_) is occasionally to be met with in boggy places, flowering
from June to August. It is a smooth plant, with a weak, winged stem, two
or three feet long; and pinnate leaves consisting of from two to four
pairs of narrow, sharp leaflets, and terminating in a branched tendril.
At the base of each leafstalk are two narrow, half arrow-shaped
stipules. The flowers are of a bluish purple colour, and are arranged in
one-sided racemes, of from two to six flowers on long stalks. The pods
are smooth and about an inch in length. This plant is represented on
Plate V, Fig. 5.
[Illustration: THE PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE.]
Some of the Willow-herbs (_Onagraceæ_) are very partial to wet and boggy
places. A few species of other habitats are described in Chapters X and
XI, and these, together with the members that come within the range of
the present chapter, are readily distinguished by their willow-like
leaves and the very long inferior ovaries of their flowers. We shall
here note three species--
1. The Great Hairy Willow-herb or Codlins and Cream (_Epilobium
hirsutum_).--A large, erect, hairy plant, from three to six feet high,
with numerous underground suckers, and a stout, round, branched stem.
Its leaves are opposite, sessile, often clasping the stem, narrow, and
finely toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch in diameter, of a deep
rose colour, arranged in terminal, leafy racemes. They have four broad,
notched, spreading petals; eight erect stamens; and a four-lobed stigma.
The plant is common in wet places, and flowers during July and August.
2. The Narrow-leaved or Marsh Willow-herb (_E. palustre_).--A smaller
plant, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in height, frequent in bogs and
marshes, flowering during June and July. Its stem is round, with two
lines of downy hairs on opposite sides; and its leaves are sessile,
opposite, very narrow, tapering towards the base, and sometimes slightly
toothed. The flowers are small, pink, nodding when in bud, arranged in a
terminal raceme. Both flowers and fruit resemble those of the last
species except that the stigmas of the former are not divided.
3. The Square-stalked Willow-herb (_E. tetragonum_ or _E. adnatum_).--A
similar plant, from one to two feet high, common in bogs and ditches,
and easily distinguished from other species of the genus by the four
angles of the stem formed by the downward continuation of the margins of
the leaves. The flowers are small, in terminal, leafy racemes, and erect
when in bud. The petals are of a rose-pink colour, deeply notched; and
the stigma is not divided. This species flowers in July and August.
Our next flower is the beautiful Purple Loosestrife (_Lythrum
Salicaria_--order _Lythraceæ_), which is abundant in the marshes,
ditches, and wet places of most parts of Great Britain. It has a
creeping rootstock; a stout, erect, slightly-branched, four-angled stem,
from two to four feet high; and sessile, narrow, clasping, entire, acute
leaves, two or three inches long, arranged in opposite pairs or in
whorls of three or four. The flowers are of a reddish purple or pink
colour, nearly an inch across, arranged in whorls on a long, tapering,
leafy spike. They have a toothed and ribbed, tubular calyx, with broad
inner, and narrow outer segments; oblong, wavy, wrinkled petals; twelve
stamens in two whorls of different lengths; and a superior ovary. The
time of flowering of this species is July to September.
We have now to note several species of umbelliferous plants that grow in
bogs and other wet places. The general features of the order
(_Umbelliferæ_) will be found on p. 167, and the reader should
refer to these, if necessary, before attempting to identify the
following:--
The Procumbent Marsh-wort (_Helosciadium nodiflorum_ or _Apium
nodiflorum_) is a creeping plant, abundant in ditches and other wet
places, rooting at the base, with erect flowering stems that are
sometimes very short, but often reach a height of three feet. The whole
plant is smooth, with hollow stems; pinnate leaves with from three to
nine or more pairs of ovate, bluntly-toothed leaflets; and almost
sessile umbels of small, white flowers either opposite the leaves or in
the angles of the upper branches. These umbels are compound, with about
five or six rays, usually without primary bracts, but with several,
narrow, secondary ones. The petals have their points turned inwards; and
the carpels are oval, each with five narrow ribs. This plant is commonly
seen growing in company with the Water-cress and the Brooklime, and
blooms in July and August.
[Illustration: THE WATER HEMLOCK.]
In ditches we occasionally meet with the Water Hemlock or Cowbane
(_Cicuta virosa_)--a tall plant, from three to four feet high, bearing
large, flat umbels of small, white flowers from June to August. Its stem
is hollow, furrowed, and branched; and the leaves are large, twice
pinnate or ternate, with lanceolate, acute leaflets, generally over an
inch in length, the margins serrate or (sometimes) doubly serrate.
Comparing this plant with the Common Hemlock (p. 169), we should
note that the secondary bracts of the latter are three in number, almost
invariably turned to the outside; and that its calyx teeth are very
indistinct, while in the present species they are prominent above the
ovary.
Next follow three species of Water Dropwort (genus _[OE]nanthe_)--smooth
plants, with much-divided leaves and compound umbels of white flowers,
with secondary, and sometimes also primary, narrow bracts. In all three
species the central flowers of each secondary umbel are perfect and
shortly stalked, while the outer ones are on longer stalks, and usually
staminate. The petals are notched, with points turned inwards; and the
fruits have two rather long styles, are crowned by the five minute teeth
of the calyx, and their carpels have each five blunt ribs. The three
species referred to are:--
[Illustration: THE COMMON WATER DROPWORT.]
1. The Common Water Dropwort (_[OE]. fistulosa_).--An erect plant, from
two to three feet high, with a fleshy, fibrous root; creeping runners;
and a thick, hollow, slightly-branched stem. Its radical leaves are
bipinnate, with segments cut into three or five narrow lobes; and the
stem leaves have long, hollow stalks, with a few narrow segments at the
top. The umbels have from three to five rays, usually with no primary
bracts, and a few, narrow secondary ones.
2. The Hemlock Water Dropwort (_[OE]. crocata_) is a larger plant, from
two to five feet high, with a tuberous root and a thick, branched stem.
Its leaves are bipinnate, with stalked, shining leaflets that are
irregularly cut. The umbels are on long stalks, and have nearly twenty
rays, several narrow secondary bracts, and sometimes a few primary ones.
The middle flowers of each secondary umbel are perfect and almost
sessile, but the outer ones are stalked and staminate.
3. The Fine-leaved Water Dropwort (_[OE]. Phellandrium_) grows from one
to four feet high, and has an erect, creeping or floating stem with
runners at the base. The upper leaves are bipinnate, with small, cut
segments; and the submerged ones are deeply cut into very narrow, almost
hair-like lobes. The umbels are small, on short stalks in the angles of
the branches or opposite the leaves. They have about ten rays, narrow
secondary bracts, but no primary ones.
[Illustration: THE MARSH THISTLE.]
All three of the above species flower from July to September.
Next follow a few composite flowers (order _Compositæ_), the first of
which is the Marsh Thistle (_Carduus palustris_) that varies from two to
eight feet in height, and bears dense clusters of purple (occasionally
white) heads during July and August. Its stem is stiff, hollow, slightly
branched, and thickly covered with very prickly wings that are
continuous with the margins of leaves above them. The leaves are narrow,
wavy, deeply divided into prickly lobes, with scattered hairs on both
surfaces; the lower ones often seven or eight inches long; and the upper
much smaller and narrower. The flower-heads are ovoid, surrounded by an
involucre of many closely-overlapping bracts with prickly tips.
The two Bur Marigolds (_Bidens_) are more or less common in marshes and
other wet places. They are both smooth plants with opposite leaves, and
hemispherical heads of yellowish flowers surrounded by two or three rows
of bracts, the outer of which are spreading. The receptacle is flat,
with membranous scales between the florets; and the fruits are crowned
by from two to five stiff, prickly bristles. The more abundant of these
is the Nodding Bur Marigold (_B. cernua_), a stout plant, from one to
two feet high, distinguished by its narrow, entire, sessile leaves, and
its drooping flower-heads. The other--the Trifid Bur Marigold (_B.
tripartita_)--has three-cleft, stalked leaves, and heads erect or only
slightly drooping.
[Illustration: THE BROOKLIME.]
The Common Ragwort of waste places, described on p. 187, is
represented in marshes and wet places by a very similar plant called the
Marsh Ragwort (_Senecio aquaticus_), which varies from one to three feet
in height, and flowers in July and August. Its stem is more slender than
that of _S. Jacobæa_, and is usually more branched. The leaves are
either deeply toothed, or pinnately cut into segments which decrease in
size towards the base. The yellow flower-heads are not so densely
crowded as in the Common Ragwort, and have longer stalks.
The _Scrophulariaceæ_ contains three common plants of the _Veronica_
genus that grow in wet places. All three are similar in that they have
opposite leaves; a corolla with a short tube, and four spreading limbs,
of which the lowest is narrowest; two stamens; and a capsular fruit,
flattened at right angles to its partition, opening by two valves, and
containing a few seeds.
One of these is the Marsh Speedwell (_Veronica scutellata_), abundant in
the marshes and ditches of most parts of Britain. It has a weak,
straggling stem, from four to eight inches high, with creeping runners
at the base; narrow, smooth, sessile leaves, either uncut or only
slightly toothed; and slender racemes of pale pink or white flowers on
axillary peduncles arranged alternately, there being only one raceme at
each node.
The second is the Water Speedwell (_V. Anagallis_), a smooth plant,
varying from six inches to two feet high, abundant in marshes and
ditches, bearing small lilac or white flowers in July and August. Its
stem is stout, succulent, hollow, erect, and slightly branched; the
leaves narrow, acute, toothed, sessile, sometimes clasping the stem; and
the racemes axillary and opposite. The flowers are only a fifth of an
inch across.
[Illustration: THE WATER FIGWORT.]
The third is the Brooklime (_V. Beccabunga_), a very abundant plant
commonly seen growing in ditches in company with the Water Cress and the
Marsh-wort. It is a smooth plant, with a stem from one to two feet long,
procumbent at the base and rooting at the joints; erect, succulent
flowering branches; thick, elliptical, blunt, slightly-toothed leaves on
short stalks; and opposite, axillary racemes of blue (occasionally pink)
flowers about a third of an inch across.
Two of the Figworts, belonging to the same order (_Scrophulariaceæ_),
are abundant in wet places all over Britain. They are both tall erect
plants, with opposite leaves, and peculiar greenish brown or dull purple
flowers. In both the corolla is almost spherical and shortly lipped. Two
of the five lobes form the upper lip; two are at the sides; and the
other, forming the lower lip, is turned down. There are five stamens,
four of which are fertile and turned down, while the fifth is barren and
scale-like, under the upper lip of the corolla.
[Illustration: THE GIPSY-WORT.]
One species--the Water Figwort (_Scrophularia aquatica_)--grows in
marshes and on the banks of ditches and streams. It has a stout, angular
stem, the angles of which are drawn out into narrow wings; smooth,
opposite, blunt leaves, cordate at the base, with crenate or toothed
margins; and long, narrow panicles of flowers with blunt bracts. The
five lobes of the calyx are fringed with a conspicuous, transparent,
membranous border.
The other is the Knotted Figwort (_S. nodosa_), which is much like the
last, but emits a disagreeable odour, and may be further distinguished
by the little green, fleshy knots of its rhizome. Its stem is sharply
four-angled, but not winged; its leaves are acute, and doubly toothed;
and the panicle has small, narrow, sharp bracts.
Passing now to the order _Labiatæ_, we come first to the Gipsy-wort
(_Lycopus europæus_), an erect, branched, slightly hairy plant, from one
to three feet high, bearing dense whorls of small, white, sessile
flowers from June to September. The calyx has five equal teeth with
stiff points; and the corolla, which is only slightly longer than the
calyx, has four nearly equal lobes. This plant is abundant in most parts
of Britain, and is generally seen on the banks of ditches.
[Illustration: THE ROUND-LEAVED MINT.]
In the same order we have the Mints (genus _Mentha_)--strongly-scented
plants with creeping rootstocks and runners; and small flowers in dense,
axillary whorls, or in terminal spikes or clusters. In all the calyx has
five equal teeth; and the corolla is bell-shaped, with a short tube, and
four lobes of which the upper is broader. There are four erect, equal
stamens; and the fruit consists of four small, smooth nuts. Three
species, more or less abundant, occur in marshy or other wet places.
They are:--
1. The Round-leaved Mint (_Mentha rotundifolia_).--A moderately common,
erect, hairy plant, from one to three feet high, with a powerful but
hardly agreeable odour. Its stem is green, hairy, and branched; and the
leaves are sessile, broadly ovate or round, blunt, wrinkled, green
above, and whitish and shaggy beneath. The flowers are small, lilac
(occasionally white), in dense, cylindrical, leafy spikes from one to
two inches long. The bracts are rather narrow and sharply pointed, and
the corolla is hairy. The time of flowering is August and September.
2. The Water Mint (_M. aquatica_).--An abundant marsh plant, from one to
three feet high, flowering from July to September, possessing a strong,
pleasant odour. Its stem is much branched, generally clothed with soft
hairs; and its leaves are stalked, ovate, serrate, the upper ones
passing into bracts which are shorter than the flowers. The latter are
lilac, and form dense, terminal, oblong or globular clusters, with,
frequently, two or three dense, axillary whorls beneath. The calyx is
tubular, about an eighth of an inch long, with very sharp teeth.
3. The Marsh Whorled Mint (_M. sativa_).--A very similar plant, common
in wet places, flowering during July and August. It grows from two to
five feet high; and its elliptical, toothed leaves are hairy on both
sides. The flowers are lilac, in dense, axillary whorls, without any
terminal cluster.
There is yet another marsh plant of the _Labiatæ_ to be considered, and
that is the Marsh Woundwort (_Stachys palustris_), which is very much
like the Hedge Woundwort described on p. 199. It has a stout,
hollow, hairy stem, from one to three feet high; and narrow,
coarsely-toothed leaves, from two to four inches long, the upper ones
sessile and the lower shortly stalked. The flowers are pale purple or
dull, light red, arranged in whorls of from six to ten in the axils of
the upper leaves. The calyx is bell-shaped, with ten ribs and five long,
acute teeth; and the lower lip of the corolla has its side lobes turned
back.
[Illustration: THE FORGET-ME-NOT.]
We now reach the interesting _Myosotis_ genus of the _Boraginaceæ_,
containing the favourite Forget-me-not and the similar Scorpion-grasses.
They are all rather low and weak plants, with small, sessile, narrow
leaves; and small flowers in one-sided, curved racemes without bracts.
The calyx is cleft into five; and the corolla has a short tube,
partially closed by five little scales, and five spreading or concave
lobes. The stamens are enclosed in the tubes of the flower. Three
species are common in wet places. They are--
1. The Forget-me-not (_Myosotis palustris_).--An abundant plant, growing
to a foot or more in height, and bearing, from June to August, bright
blue flowers, nearly half an inch across, with a yellow centre. It has a
creeping rootstock, with runners, and rather weak ascending stems
clothed with spreading hairs. The leaves are blunt, and often covered
with hairs that lie close against the surface. The calyx is divided to
about a third of its length into short, triangular teeth, and is covered
with closely-pressed hairs.
[Illustration: THE WATER PEPPER OR BITING PERSICARIA.]
2. The Creeping Water Scorpion-grass (_M. repens_).--A very similar
plant, sometimes regarded as a variety of the last. Its stock emits
leafy runners above the ground, and the stem is more hairy. The flowers,
too, are of about the same size, but of a sky-blue colour, and their
stalks are longer, bending downwards when in fruit. The calyx is divided
to about the middle into narrow teeth.
3. The Tufted Water Scorpion-grass (_M. cæspitosa_).--Also a similar
plant, often regarded as a variety of _M. palustris_; but its flowers
are only about half the size, of a sky-blue colour, with narrow calyx
teeth almost as long as the corolla. It is of a paler green colour, and
the stems are tufted by a free branching at the base.
All three of these flower at the same time, and grow in similar
situations. Several intermediate forms occur, and thus it is often a
difficult matter to distinguish between them.
We must here mention the Butterwort (_Pinguicula_) as a summer-flowering
plant of marshy places; but this is a carnivorous species; and as such
is described, together with other plants of similar habits, in Chapter
XXIV.
In most parts of Britain we may meet with the pretty little Bog
Pimpernel (_Anagallis tenella_) of the _Primulaceæ_. It is a delicate,
creeping plant (see Plate V, Fig. 7), only about three or four
inches long, with a slender, decumbent stem; and very small, opposite,
rounded leaves on short stalks. Its flowers are funnel-shaped, of a pale
pink colour, on long, slender, erect, axillary peduncles. The calyx is
cut into five pointed lobes; and the corolla is deeply cleft into five
segments which are much longer than the calyx. The fruit is a globular
capsule that splits transversely into two hemispheres, like that of the
Scarlet Pimpernel.
Ditches are frequently quite overgrown with the Water Pepper or Biting
Persicaria (_Polygonum Hydropiper_), which is very much like the Spotted
Persicaria (p. 205) of the same order (_Polygonaceæ_), but is
much more slender, is creeping and rooting at the base, and more or less
biting to the taste. Its stem is freely branched, from one to three feet
high; its leaves narrow and wavy, with membranous stipules much fringed
at the top; and the little pinkish-green flowers are in slender,
drooping, interrupted spikes, leafy at the base.
Of the _Orchidaceæ_ we shall note here but one species--the Marsh
Helleborine (_Epipactis palustris_), which is widely distributed, and
really abundant in places, flowering during July and August. It is very
much like the Broad-leaved Helleborine described on p. 308, and
represented on Plate II, but is not so tall, being only about a
foot high, and its leaves are narrow. The flowers, too, are fewer than
in the Broad-leaved Helleborine, and the raceme is not one-sided. The
sepals are narrow, of a pale green colour, striped with red or purple;
and the petals are white, striped with red at the base. The lower lobe
of the lip is blunt and thick; and the bracts are shorter than the
flowers.
Rushes and Sedges are so abundant in marshes and other wet places that
they form quite a characteristic feature of these localities; and the
number of common species is so large that we must necessarily confine
our attention to a very small proportion.
The Rushes, which constitute the order _Juncaceæ_, are stiff, smooth
plants, often of such social habits that they cover large patches of wet
or watery soil. Their stems are usually erect, and seldom branched; and
their stiff, smooth leaves are frequently cylindrical, like the stems,
with a soft, pith-like tissue within, but occasionally flat and narrow
like those of grasses. The flowers are perfect, with a regular, inferior
perianth of six dry segments; and they have generally six stamens, a
three-celled ovary, and three slender stigmas. They are very small,
either separate or in clusters; and each flower or cluster has a dry,
sheathing bract at its base.
[Illustration: THE BOG ASPHODEL.]
The pretty little Bog Asphodel (_Narthecium ossifragum_) shall first
receive our attention because botanists are not yet in agreement as to
its correct position among the monocotyledonous plants. It is certainly
allied to the rushes, but on account of its larger and more succulent
flowers it is often included among the lilies. It has a creeping
rootstock, and stiff, erect stems from six to ten inches high. Its
bright yellow, starlike flowers form a stiff, terminal raceme, with a
bract at the base, and another one above the middle of each pedicel. The
segments of the perianth are about a third of an inch long, yellow above
and greenish below. The stamens are a little shorter than the perianth
segments; and their filaments are clothed with white woolly hairs. This
plant is common on wet moors and in mountain bogs, flowering from June
to August.
[Illustration: THE COMMON RUSH.]