A FRAGMENT OF THE FLORA OF HAMPSTEAD.
In the reigns of Elizabeth and James the herbalists appear to have had Hampstead Heath very much to themselves. The laundresses must have had light feet, and children have been comparatively few.
Otherwise they did not wander so far as Bishop’s Wood, or the old Target Bank, where the lilies of the valley grew so plentifully in Johnson’s time. Johnson was the pupil of Gerard, and the editor of a new edition of his master’s work, the ‘Great Herbal.’ To this lover of Nature, an apothecary by profession, is due the honour of having prepared the first catalogue of local plants ever published in England, the locality of these plants being the Heath and the Woods of Hampstead; many of the plants have survived the predatory habits of London flower-vendors, and still flourish in their old habitats.
Of the survivors, we are glad to give the following list from personal acquaintance with them:
March and April.
Common Daisy (Bella perennis).—Perennial everywhere. We gathered it on the East Heath January 26, 1874.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).—Upper and West Heath.
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris).—The borders of the old watercourse at the back of Jack Straw’s Castle. This watercourse is now extinct (1895).
Pasque Flower (Anemone Pulsatilla).—On a bank at the edge of the Upper Heath. A small bed of it amongst the whitethorn-trees going to the Leg of Mutton Pond.
Dandelion (Leontodon taraxacum).—In grassy places. East and West Heaths, everywhere.
Wood Crowfoot, Goldylocks (Ranunculus auricomus).—Amongst the trees beyond the red viaduct, Lower Heath.
We look in vain for the primroses which adorned the hedgerows and overspread the woods in Gerard’s time, and the cowslips ankle-deep in the meadows between Kilburn and the Heath. Like the lilies of the valley, the orchids and ophreys, they have long since been exterminated by mendicant root-vendors, or buried under the foundations of modern streets.
May.
Wild Hyacinth, Bluebell (Hyacinthus non-scriptus).—Plentiful on the grassy banks beside the New Road leading to Child’s Hill.
Speedwell Germander (Veronica).—In the same neighbourhood.
Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella).—Under the shade of some old thorn-stocks, south side of the watercourse, Upper Heath.
Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus).—Bushy places about the neighbourhood of the pond, near the red viaduct, Lower Heath.
Shepherd’s Purse (Bursa pastoris).—Common by roadsides everywhere.
Crab Apple (Pyrus malus).—On the right hand of the watercourse behind Jack Straw’s Castle, descending the Heath, near the pond.
Hawthorn, Hagthorn, Maybush (Crategus oxyacanthus).—In the same neighbourhood, right and left.
Dog Violet (Viola canina).—In various places on the West Heath.
Dwarf Willow (Salix repens, Smith, Salex repens, Bab.).—Near the bog opposite the grounds of Hill House, North End.
June.
Common Watercress (Nasturtium officinalis).—In a pool at the lower end of the watercourse.
Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi).—On the moist margin of the same place near the pond.
Marsh Stitchwort (Stellaria glauca).—Same habitat as the above.
Water Ranunculus (R. aquatilis).—In the pond at the bottom of the old watercourse.
Needle Green-weed, Petty-whin (Genista anglica).—On high ground on the West Heath.
Common Broom (Cytisus scoparius).—Frequent on both Heaths, making the gravelly hollows luminous. These now effaced (1895).
Buck Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata).—On the sphagnum by the watercourse.
Marsh Red Rattle (Pedicularis palustris).—Beds of its rosy flowers in moist places frequent on the West Heath.
Cotton Grass, Downy-stalked (Eriophorum pubescens).—Once plentiful in May and June beside the watercourse, in the bed of which I found it lingering in the summer of 1873. Abundant June 3, 1874; lost 1895.
Cotton Grass (Eriophorum angustifolium).—Same habitat.
Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris).—In damp places on the West Heath.
Cuckoo-flower, Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis).—On bogs on West Heath, of a beautiful deep lilac hue.
Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris).—I call it gay-wings. Blue, pink, purple and white, disports itself in all the grassy hollows on the Western Heath.
Sweet Woodruff (Asperula odorata).—In the shade of the trees in the neighbourhood of the red viaduct, near Lord Mansfield’s grounds, Lower Heath.
Scarlet Pimpernel, Shepherd’s Weather-glass (Anagallis arvensis).—Borders of the sandy roadsides, fields and paths.
Lesser Stitchwort (Stellaria graminea).—In the little dells on lower part of West Heath.
Rest Harrow (Ononis arvensis).—On Upper Heath.
Common Furze (Ulex europæus).—Everywhere amongst the gravelly mounds and hollows on the Upper Heath and North End Hill.
Mare’s-tail (Hippurus vulgaris).—Margins of ponds, Upper and Lower Heath.
Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga).—In channel of the old watercourse.
Common Elder (Sambucus nigra).—Plentiful in hedgerows and lanes in the vicinity of the Heath. Constable noticed the beauty of its rounded cymes.
Speedwell (Veronica spicata).—On West Heath, near Leg of Mutton Pond.
Sheep’s Sorrel (Rumex acetosella).—Abundant on West Heath, its deep red clustered spikes of flowers conspicuous above the yet unopened white ones of Galium saxatile, among which it frequently appears.
Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea).—Amongst the bushes near the Leg of Mutton Pond, West Heath.
White Dutch Clover (Trifolium repens).—Sparsely on the West Heath, near the reservoir, and in the fields going to Parliament Hill.
Dwarf Mallow (Malva rotundifolia).—Under the garden-wall of Hill House, North End.
July.
Devil’s-bit Scabious (Scabiosa succisa).—On the higher part of West Heath.
Common Eye-bright (Euphrasia officinalis).—On the high ground under the western plateau of the Heath. One of Milton’s flowers.
Common Bugle (Ajuga reptans).—In moist places; abundant over all the Heath; perennial.
Upright St. John’s Wort (Hypericum pulchrum).—On the dry banks above Leg of Mutton Pond, at the foot of the watercourse.
Common Filago (F. germanica).—Frequent about the gravel-pits, Upper Heath.
Wood Sage (Teucrium scorodonia).—Abundant on Upper Heath.
Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).—Abundant on the West Heath.
Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus major).—Near the old watercourse, towards the pond.
Purple Sandwort (Arenaria rubra).—On the sandy paths and hillocks east of Jack Straw’s Castle, Lower Heath.
Tormentilla (T. reptans).—Its red trailing stems, strawberry-shaped leaves, and bright yellow flowers, common everywhere upon the Heath all summer.
Heath Bedstraw (Gallium saxatile).—Great spaces on the high ground of the Upper Heath snowy white with the dense panicles of this lovely little plant.
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).—Common over all the upper parts of the Heath.[300]
Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula).—Along the margins of the old watercourse.
Celery-leaved Crowfoot (R. sceleratus).—In the same neighbourhood.
Great Reedmace, or Cat’s-tail (Typha latifolia).—In the pond on Lord Mansfield’s grounds, beside the viaduct, where an old boat lies stranded (1856).
Water Violet (Viola palustris).—Margin of the same pond, and in the pool at the bottom of the watercourse behind Jack Straw’s Castle.
Meadowsweet, Queen of the Meadow (Spiræa ulmaria).—In the bed of an old runnel on the right of the New Road going to Child’s Hill.
Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia).—Boggy places amongst sphagnum beds in the vicinity of the watercourse, West Heath.
Common Yarrow, Milfoil (Achillea millefolium).—Almost everywhere on the Heath.
Mouse-ear Hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella).—Runs over all the little mounds and hillocks on the Western Heath; abundant all the summer.
August.
Common Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis).—In many places on the Upper Heath.
Dodder (Cuscuta epithymum).—Found on furze bushes on the Upper Heath August, 1859.
Betony (Betonica officinalis).—Amongst furze clumps in a line with the old watercourse.
Fine-leaved Heath (Erica cinerea).—On the West Heath in gravelly, grass-grown hollows.
Ling (Calluna vulgaris).—Amongst the gravel-beds frequent.
Yellow Water-lily (Nuphar lutea).—In the pond at the viaduct, Lower Heath. Note its flask-like seed-vessels, which have libelled it with the name of ‘brandy-bottle.’
Common Arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia).—Margins of the same pond.
Small-flowered Hairy Willow Herb (Epilobium parviflorum).—Lower end of old watercourse.
Sweetgale (Myrica).—On West Heath.[301]
To this list I may add a few other plants found on the Heath and its vicinity by Messrs. Bliss, Hunter and others, leaving out those proper to Caen Wood, which is still rich in the plants that flourished on the Heath and in the woods when Gerard wrote:
Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger).—Near the Vale of Health.
Lesser Centaury (Erythræa pulchella).—In the same habitat and on the West Heath.
Great Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris).—In a field near North End.
Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor).—Under the hedge in Belsize Lane.
Bog Pimpernel (Anagallis tenella).—Boggy places on the Heath, west side.
Black Whortleberry, or Whinberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).—On several parts of the Heath.
Lesser Skullcap (Scutellaria minor).—Among the bushes near the bogs on the west side of the Heath, and very abundant on the east side between the Vale of Health and Well Walk.
Musk Mallow (Malva moschata).—In a field between Turner’s Wood and North End.
Only two species of moss were said to grow in a bog to the west of the Heath, and these I found still growing there, viz.: Hypnum stramineum, straw-like feather moss, and Hypnum cuspidatum, pointed bog feather moss. In 1895, the researches of the London Natural History Club added quite a long list to them, and they appear to be as numerous in the bogs and on the Heath as in the strictly preserved precincts of Caen Wood.