plants that are well-known to everybody, and consequently very few
persons know anything of them. This is a paradox; but they are so
common and so small that the average man or woman is content to know
them in the aggregate, and cannot condescend to a more intimate
acquaintance with individuals, or with the different species, yet
like many other small things--“unconsidered trifles”--they are very
interesting to the botanist; for these are among the smallest and
simplest of the flowering plants. Taking up two or three plants from
one pond and comparing them with some from another piece of water, we
shall probably find a difference in them; but they are all possessed
of a more or less flattened green body that floats on the water, and
which we shall be inclined to call a leaf. It is not a leaf, however,
but a plant that produces no leaves, though it has roots and flowers.
To be more accurate we will call it a frond, from whose under-surface
there goes down one or more simple unbranched roots, and in clefts of
whose margin are simple flowers. The flower consists of an envelope
or spathe (_see_ page 15), within which is a bottle-shaped pistil,
with one or two stamens beside it. Some authorities contend that the
pistil and each of the stamens is really a distinct flower similar
to those in _Arum_. These flowers are so minute that they are rarely
seen, and so are thought to flower only occasionally. The plant is
chiefly multiplied by the production of new fronds from its edges. The
four species figured give the whole of the genus, so far as Britain
is concerned; but three others are known in foreign waters. The
differences in the natives may be thus briefly enumerated:--
[Illustration: =Duckweeds.=
1. Lemna minor.
2. -- tisulca.
3. Lemna gibba.
4. -- polyrhiza.
--LEMNACEÆ.--]
[Illustration: =Corn Chamomile.=
Anthemis arvensis.
--COMPOSITÆ.--]
I. Least Duckweed (_Lemna minor_). The most frequent species. Frond
not more than a quarter of an inch long, egg-shaped, the top flat
and bright green, underside very pale green and slightly convex,
with a single root. Spathe two-lipped, one much larger than the
other. Stamens two, one maturing before the other; style long.
Flowering in July.
II. Ivy-leaved Duckweed (_L. trisulca_). Frond thin and flat,
nearly an inch long, tailed at one end, coarsely toothed at the
other. New fronds emerge at right angles to the parent. Roots
solitary. Stamens two; style short. June and July.
III. Thick-leaved Duckweed (_L. gibba_). Frond nearly round,
narrowed at one end, large, almost flat, green opaque on top,
greatly swollen beneath, whitish, clear, the cell-structure being
very noticeable. Root solitary, stamens two. Flowers June to
September.
IV. Great Duckweed (_L. polyrhiza_). At once distinguished from
the others by its _bunch_ of roots from each frond. Upper surface
slightly convex, dark green with seven nerves. Underside purple,
as also the upper margins. Stamens two. Flower has been rarely, if
ever, seen in this country.
Late in Autumn the fronds sink to the bottom of the ponds and
ditches, and remain there hibernating till Spring, when they arise
to the surface, and again vegetate. The name of the genus is the
old Greek appellation of the plant _Lemna_, supposed to be derived
from _Lepis_, a scale.
=Corn Chamomile= (_Anthemis arvensis_).
We have already described several species of Compositæ, and now return
to that order to describe a type of flower very similar in general
appearance to the Daisy (page 1). The Corn Chamomile is an annual
plant; the lower portion of its stem is prostrate, sending up erect
branches with alternate, prettily cut leaves, twice pinnate. The
flower-heads are borne singly on long stalks, and the floral envelope
(_involucre_) consists of a number of over-lapping scales (_bracts_),
whose margins are dry and chaffy. The base (_receptacle_) upon which
the florets are packed is convex and covered with little chaffy scales,
which stand up between the florets. The disc-florets contain both
anthers and pistil; the ray-florets are pistillate only. The whole
plant is downy. It occurs in fields and waste places, flowering from
May to August. Though somewhat widely distributed, it is a local plant.
The name is an old Greek name for the Chamomile, from _anthemon_, a
flower, probably owing to the profusion of its blossoms.
The other British species of the genus are two only:--
I. The Stinking May Weed (_A. cotula_). Ray-florets usually without
pistils. The plant is smooth or hairy, _not_ downy, but the leaves
are quite smooth, and covered with minute glands, which secrete a
fœtid-smelling and acrid juice, causing swelling of the hands in
persons clearing fields of this weed. The flower-stalks are more
slender than in _arvensis_, and the involucral bracts are narrower
at their tips. Fields, wastes and roadsides; very common in South
of England, rare in the North. Flowers June to September.
II. The Chamomile (_A. nobilis_). Perennial. Branches spreading
from the root, leafy and furrowed, hollow. Leaves woolly, aromatic.
Flower-stalk long and slender; involucre downy and chaffy. The
ray-florets are sometimes wanting. In great favour as a remedy
for indigestion. Gravelly pastures and dry wastes in England and
Ireland. Rare. It is not a native of Scotland. Flowers July to
September.
=St. John’s Wort= (_Hypericum perforatum_).
There are no less than eleven native species of St. John’s Wort, all
characterized by a neat habit, clean-cut leaves without stalks, yellow
flowers in cymose clusters, and a multitude of stamens, which are more
or less joined in several bundles.
The species represented on our plate is one of the commonest, and
occurs in copses and hedgebanks throughout the kingdom, as far north
as Sutherland, flowering from July to September. It is very erect in
habit, the stems two-edged, pale brown and smooth, two or three feet
high. If the leaves are held up to the light it will be found that
the veins (_but not the reticulations_) are pellucid, and that the
leaf is thickly dotted with pellucid glands. The flowers are 1 to 1¼
inch in diameter. The calyx, corolla, and sometimes leaves are more or
less marked with black dots and lines. The sepals and petals are each
five in number; the ovary large, pear-shaped, surmounted by three long
styles, which are longer than the ovary. The stamens joined in three
bundles by their bases only. Sepals glandular.
Among the other British species are:--
I. Square-stalked St. John’s Wort (_H. tetrapterum_). Stem
with four narrow wings, 1 to 2 feet, leaves broader than in
_perforatum_, but the glands, veins _and reticulations_ are
pellucid. Styles shorter than the ovary. Flowers dense, ½ to ¾
inch. across. Moist places, July and August.
[Illustration: =St John’s Wort.=
Hypericum perforatum.
--HYPERICINEÆ.--
=Hop Trefoil.=
Trifolium procumbens.
--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]
[Illustration: =Red Clover.=
Trifolium pratense.
--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]
II. Trailing St. John’s Wort (_H. humifusum_). Stems slender,
compressed, prostrate, not exceeding a foot. Leaves small, oblong;
glands pellucid; the margins are often marked with black glands,
and are sometimes rolled back. Flowers, ½ inch across. Sepals
unequal. Styles very short. Commons and wastes. July and August.
III. Small Upright St. John’s Wort (_H. pulchrum_). Stems slender,
round, smooth, erect. Leaves heart-shaped, with pellucid glands.
Sepals small, oblong, with black glandular teeth. Petals yellow,
tinged with red, and edged with black glands. Styles short; anthers
red. Flowers ¾ inch, loose panicles. Dry woods and heaths. June and
July.
IV. Hairy St. John’s Wort (_H. hirsutum_). Stem erect, round,
downy. Leaves large, _with short stalks_, downy beneath, pellucid
glands. Sepals very narrow, half length of petals, with black
glandular teeth. Woods and thickets, especially on chalk. July and
August.
V. Tutsan (_H. androsæmum_). Stem shrubby, compressed, 2 feet high.
Flowers few, ¾ inch across. Sepals unequal, glandular, except
margin. Petals and stamens not permanent. Stamens in five bundles.
Styles shorter than stamens. Hedges and thickets. July to September.
=Clovers= (_Trifolium_).
Everybody knows a Clover when he sees it; it is therefore unnecessary
to take up our space with a general description. Their great value as
pasture plants has caused their typical forms of flower and leaf to be
well known; but we have so many native species, to say nothing of the
introduced kinds, that few besides botanists and agriculturists are
acquainted with their specific characters.
All the Clovers or Trefoils are Leguminous plants, and the structure of
the individual flower is very similar to that of _Lotus_ and _Vicia_;
but the flowers are much smaller, and are gathered into a conspicuous
head. In certain species there are floral bracts, and in some these
form an involucre. It is characteristic of most of the clovers that
when the seed is set the petals do not fall off, but simply dry up
and wrap round the pod. The name of the genus is Latin, and signifies
_three-leaved_. The principal British species are:--
I. Subterranean Trefoil (_T. subterraneum_), so called from its
singular habit of burying its pods in the earth when they are
ripening. The plant has many creeping stems, covered with soft
hairs. The heads of flowers are cream-coloured, and are produced in
the axils. The individual flowers are long and slender; only a few
in each head are fertile, and in this species the petals fall off
early. The pod is a compressed orb. Dry, gravelly pastures. May and
June.
II. Hare’s-foot Trefoil (_T. arvense_). Stems almost erect.
Flower-heads numerous, dense, cylindric, softly hairy; flowers
pinky-white, minute; teeth of the calyx longer than the corolla.
Corn-fields and dry pastures. July to September.
III. Common Purple or Red Clover (_T. pratense_). (_See_
figure.) This is the clover so commonly grown in meadows as an
important ingredient in the hay-crop. Its large oval leaflets are
frequently marked with a whitish band that takes more or less
of a quarter-moon shape. Its flower-heads are round, afterwards
becoming longer than broad, purplish red in colour. Calyx-teeth
slender, bristly, not longer than corolla. Top of pod dropping
off when ripe. This is the clover Darwin made famous by showing
that the cultivated forms must die out but for the humble-bees,
whose tongues alone are long enough to fertilize its long flowers.
Meadows, pastures and roadsides. May to September.
IV. Zigzag or Meadow Clover (_T. medium_). Leaflets more pointed
than in _pratense_, and spotless. Stem branched in such a manner
as to give it a peculiarly zigzag appearance. Heads larger, and of
a deeper purple than _pratense_. Calyx-teeth half the length of
corolla. Pod splitting lengthwise. Pastures, flourishing in lighter
soils than _pratense_. June to September.
V. Soft Knotted Trefoil (_T. striatum_). Stem more or less
reclining, downy or silky. Flower-heads both terminal and axillary,
small, rosy-red, broader at the base. Calyx-tube swollen, ribbed,
contracted at mouth, teeth not so long as corolla. Dry pastures.
June and July.
VI. Rough Rigid Trefoil (_T. scabrum_). Stems rigid, prostrate.
Leaflets rigid, toothed, the veins thickened. Flower-heads broadest
in middle. Flowers small, the corolla white, calyx purple;
calyx-teeth as long as corolla. Chalky and sandy pastures near sea.
May to July.
VII. Dutch Clover (_T. repens_). Stems smooth, creeping, but not
rooting. Leaflets often with a dark spot at the base, below a
whitish band. Heads of flowers globose, all produced from the
axils, on long stalks. The flowers white or pinkish, attached by
short stalks, which are recurved after flowering, so that the pods
are all drooping. Meadows and pastures. May to October.
VIII. Strawberry-headed Clover (_T. fragiferum_). Similar in habit
to the last. Flower-head globose, of small purple-red flowers, much
larger after flowering, when the calyces swell and take on a red
colour, which increases size of head to an inch in diameter, and
gives it a strawberry-like aspect. Meadows and pastures. July and
August.
IX. Hop Trefoil (_T. procumbens_). (_See_ Figure on p. 47.)
This must not be confounded with the Hop Trefoil of the farmer
(_Medicago lupulina_), in which the flowers are borne in spikes
(_see_ p. 73). The stems are downy, one growing erect, others all
round it creeping. The flowers are pale yellow, crowded in the
heads, the upper petal (_standard_) broad, and arched over the
_straight_ pod, turning bright brown, which gives the head the
appearance of a hop strobile. The pods are always so covered in
this species, whereas, in _Medicago lupulina_ they are naked. Dry
pastures and roadsides. June to August.
X. Small Yellow Trefoil (_T. dubium_). Stems slight, creeping,
nearly smooth. Heads smaller, on long slender stalk. Flowers
yellow, the standard narrow, keeled, turning dark brown after
flowering and wrapped round the pod. Similar situations and date to
last.
[Illustration: =Sainfoin.=
Onobrychis sativa.
--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]
[Illustration: =Eyebright.=
Euphrasia officinalis.
--SCROPHULARINEÆ.--]
=Sain Foin= (_Onobrychis sativa_). Plate 49.
Still keeping to the Leguminous plants, we have here a handsome herb of
aspect very different from that of the Trefoils. It is much cultivated
as a fodder plant in dry fields, but will also be found growing wild
on chalk-hills and downs. It is, however, suspected of being an
escape from cultivation that has taken to an independent life. The
plant springs from a perennial woody rootstock, and its stout downy
stems are more or less erect. The leaves are pinnate, the leaflets in
about twelve pairs and a terminal one. The flowers are in spikes, the
standard broad; bright clear pink, veined with a deeper rosy tint. The
pod is semicircular, wrinkled, and contains but one seed. Flowers June
to August. The name is derived from two Greek words, signifying the
braying of an ass, because that animal is fabled to bray after it when
he sees but cannot reach it.
=Eyebright= (_Euphrasia officinalis_).
From the close-cropped turf of our commons and in meadows the bright
eyes of this plant peep out through the summer. In such situations
it is a very lowly herb, only an inch or so in height, but in some
places, as in the pastures of the Highlands, it grows erect to a height
of nearly a foot, with many opposite branches. The leaves are ovate,
opposite, without stalks, and of a dark-green hue. The flowers are
borne near the extremities of the branches. Some of the flowers are
much larger than others, and in the larger the stigmas ripen before
the anthers; in the smaller the anthers mature before the stigmas.
The tubular calyx is divided into four sharp lobes. The corolla is
white, streaked with purple, except the central lobe of the lower lip,
which is yellow. This is the only native species of the genus--which
is comprised in the order Scrophularineæ--though there are several
varietal forms. Flowers from May to September. The name is from the
Greek, _Euphraino_, to delight or gladden, in allusion to the pleasing
contrast of its bright flowers with the dark foliage, or from its
supposed efficacy for complaints affecting the eyes--its removal of
these giving gladness.
The plant is--at least partially--a parasite, and preys upon the roots
of other plants, which it robs. Probably the lowly forms to which we
have referred may be less parasitic than those of greater stature; for
if the seeds are sown in pots by themselves they will germinate and
grow, but will never get large robust plants.
=Great Reed Mace= (_Typha latifolia_).
Of late years it has become the general error to call this plant
Bulrush, a name which belongs by right to _Scirpus lacustris_. Every
autumn the hawkers in London and other cities offer the cylindrical
spikes of Typha for sale as æsthetic decorations, and call them
bulrushes; but they are not the originators of the blunder. It is the
artists who have done this thing, especially one Delaroche, whose
picture of “The Finding of Moses” is of world-wide popularity. In that
painting he depicted the future leader of his people rocking in his ark
amid a forest of _Typha_. What more was needed to associate the word
bulrush of the Bible (itself a blunder of the learned translators) with
this plant?
[Illustration: =Reed mace.=
Typha latifolia.
--TYPHACEÆ.--]
[Illustration: =Kidney Vetch.=
Anthyllis vulneraria.
--LEGUMINOSÆ.--]
There are two British species, perennial plants with long, narrow,
grass-like leaves, the bases of which sheath the stem. The stamens
and pistils are produced in separate flowers, but upon the same plant.
The flowers have no perianth other than a few slender hairs. The
staminate flowers occupy the upper portion of the well-known spike or
“mace,” and consist simply of several stamens joined together, the
anthers opening along their sides. The pistillate flowers consist of a
stalked ovary with a slender style and a one-sided narrow stigma. The
specific differences are as follows:--
I. Great Reed Mace (_T. latifolia_). Leaves as much as an inch and
a half broad, in two rows, bluish-green. Flowering stem naked, 6
or 7 feet high. Staminate and pistillate spikes continuous, or but
slightly interrupted. Growing in lakes and on the banks of rivers.
Flowering in July and August.
II. Lesser Reed Mace (_T. angustifolia_). Whole plant smaller.
Leaves half the width, dark green, grooved at lower end. Staminate
and pistillate spikes separated by an interval. Stigmas broader.
Ditches and pools. Less common than _latifolia_. Flowering July.
Name from Greek, _Tiphos_, a fen or marsh, from the habitat.
=Kidney Vetch= (_Anthyllis vulneraria_).
The Kidney-vetch or Lady’s fingers was celebrated from early times
as a plant that was efficacious in the cure of wounds, and hence its
specific name _vulneraria_. There is no doubt that this reputation was
well-founded, for its bluish leaves are covered with silky hairs and
its calyces downy. It is a perennial herb that affects dry pastures and
rocky banks. From a woody rootstock arise several stems and a large
number of radical leaves; these consist of a long terminal leaflet
and two disproportionately small lateral leaflets. The leaves from
the stems (caudal leaves) have a larger number of leaflets in pairs,
as well as a terminal one. The flowers are borne in heads, with an
involucre of leaflets, and the heads are chiefly in pairs. The calyx
is membranous, and therefore permanent, the mouth oblique, with fine
teeth. The petals are nearly equal in length, and typically yellow, but
subject to considerable variation. After flowering the straw-coloured
calyx becomes inflated, and the roundish smooth and veined pod with
its solitary seed is hidden within. In some of the coast localities
for this plant it will be found with flowers white, cream-coloured,
crimson, and purple; this has been especially noted at the Lizard in
Cornwall. It is ordinarily in flower from June to August. This is the
only British species.
The name is the one in use among the ancient Greeks, and signifies
_bearded flower_, which is obviously a reference to the woolly calyces.
=Ox-eye Daisy= (_Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_).
We have already given several examples of Composite flowers, and an
examination of the Ox-eye Daisy would quickly convince the reader that
he has another Composite under consideration. The popular eye noted
long ago its similarity to a big daisy, and named it accordingly. In
Scotland, too, where _the_ daisy is known as a “gowan,” the resemblance
has been recorded by calling the Ox-eye a “horse gowan.” If reference
be made back to the Daisy (page 1), it will be seen that the involucre
consists of a single series of green scales, whilst in the Ox-eye this
part of the flower consists of three or four series of scales with thin
brown or purple edges, overlapping each other after the manner of the
tiles on a roof. The white ray-florets are notched at the ends, unlike
those of the Daisy. The Ox-eye, too, it will be noted, has a distinct
stem, the leaves of which differ from those produced directly from the
rootstock, being narrower, deeply toothed and stalkless. It is but too
abundant in pastures and hay fields, which are effectively whitened
by its flowers from May to August. The name is from two Greek words,
_Chrysos_, golden, and _anthemon_, flowers, from the golden discs of
the flower-heads.
There are two other British species:--
I. Corn Marigold (_C. segetum_). A troublesome annual weed
in cornfields, but as handsome as it is mischievous. Its
ray-florets are of a deep yellow hue, their tips not notched but
divided into two lobes by a central indentation. The involucral
bracts are broad, with wide margins. Flowers June to September.
II. Fever Few (_C. parthenium_). Like the Ox-eye, this is a
perennial plant with a much-branched erect stem, broad pinnate
leaves, downy and aromatic. The flower-heads are small, and are
clustered in many-headed flat-topped bouquets (_corymbs_). The
white rays are short and broad. Whole plant bitter and tonic. Waste
places and hedgebanks. July to September.
[Illustration: =Ox-eye Daisy.=
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum.
--COMPOSITÆ.--]
[Illustration: =Pimpernel.=
Anagallis arvensis.
--PRIMULACEÆ.--
=Chickweed.=
Stellaria media.
--CARYOPHYLLEÆ.--]
=Pimpernel= (_Anagallis arvensis_).
The Scarlet Pimpernel, or Poor Man’s Weather-glass, is one of those
wild flowers with which every country-dweller is acquainted, for it has
long enjoyed a reputation as a cheap barometer, in consequence of its
habit of closing the petals over the essential organs on the approach
of rain. The genus _Anagallis_ belongs to the order Primulaceæ, at
whose characteristics we have already glanced (_see_ page 2). It has
a square stem, which lies along the ground and sends up many erect
branches. The leaves are ovate, the margins entire, stalkless, usually
borne in pairs, but occasionally in threes or fours. The flowers are
produced singly, on very long and slender stalks, from the axils of the
leaves. The sepals are narrow, sharp-pointed, almost as long as the
corolla. When the flower has passed, their long stalks curve downwards
with the globose seed-vessel. When these are ripe they open by a clean
fissure all round, so that the upper half falls off and discloses the
numerous seeds. There is a variety often found with blue flowers, which
was formerly regarded as a distinct species, but experiments with the
seeds have proved it to be a mere variety. One or other of these forms
is common in all fields and wastes from May till November.
The Bog Pimpernel (_A. tenella_) is a distinct and very beautiful
species. It has a creeping and rooting stem, with small
broadly-ovate leaves on short stalks. The flower-stalks are shorter
and stouter than in _arvensis_, and the sepals much shorter than
the graceful pale-rosy funnel-shaped corolla, which is very large
in proportion to the leaves and stem. It may be found in boggy
places growing amid sphagnum-moss, and flowering in July and
August. The name _Anagallis_ is the old Greek name, and is made up
of _ana_, again, and _agallo_, to adorn.
=Chickweed= (_Stellaria media_). Plate 54.
To utilize a blank space we have printed the portrait of the lowly
and ubiquitous Chickweed, a plant that has followed English pioneers
wherever they have gone about the world. It is thoroughly known to all,
but for particulars concerning it and the genus the reader is referred
to page 62.
=Fennel= (_Fœniculum officinale_).