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.
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.
The Butterfly Orchis
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 , grows in moist meadows, marshes, and on moors, flowering during June and July.