In the same order we have the Tormentil (Potentilla Tormentilla), which is very abundant on heaths, dry pastures and stony banks, flowering from June to August. This plant has a prostrate (rarely erect) stem, from six to ten inches long, repeatedly forked, and clothed with silky hairs. The leaves are compound, with three or five deeply-toothed leaflets; the lower ones sometimes shortly stalked, but the upper always sessile. The flowers are rather small, yellow, generally with four petals, on slender peduncles arising from the axils of the leaves or from the forks of the stem.
Our last example of the Rosaceæ is the Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus); but it should be mentioned at once that the popular name of Blackberry embraces quite a number of shrubs, often estimated at some scores of species and varieties. We cannot here, however, attempt to divide and classify the group; but we shall simply point out the features by which the shrubs in question may be distinguished, collectively, from allied shrubs that are not properly included under the same popular name. The stem of the Blackberry grows to from three to twelve feet long, and has stiff or downy hairs in addition to the prickles. It is sometimes quite prostrate, sometimes erect, but more commonly arched, and rooting at the tips as they bend to the ground. The leaves are very variable, but usually consist of three or five large, ovate leaflets, with toothed edges, more or less downy, having curved prickles along the midrib and stalks. The flowers are white or pink, in terminal panicles, with five free sepals, five distinct petals, and many stamens. The fruit is black, and consists of several one-seeded carpels which do not readily separate from the receptacle when ripe; and the persistent sepals are usually bent downward below it.
Coming now to the Rubiaceæ, we have to note four species, all characterised by whorled leaves; a corolla of four, united petals; stamens attached to the corolla; and an inferior ovary, of two carpels, that ripens to a dry fruit. Three of the four belong to the Bedstraw genus (Galium), in which the corolla is wheel-shaped. They are:—
1. The Yellow or Ladies' Bedstraw (G. verum), very abundant on downs and dry banks, flowering from June to September. It has a prostrate or semi-erect, smooth stem, from six inches to two feet in length; and small, narrow leaves, six to eight in a whorl, generally slightly rough on the edges. The flowers are pale yellow, golden yellow, or greenish, arranged in dense, terminal and axillary panicles. The fruit is small and smooth.
2. The Smooth Heath Bedstraw (G. saxatile).—Abundant on downs, flowering from June to August. Its stem is prostrate, smooth, from four to six inches long; and the leaves are generally in whorls of five or six. The flower-stalks are numerous, erect, weak, angled, smooth, each bearing a terminal panicle of many small, white flowers. The fruit is small, with a granulated surface.
3. The Upright Bedstraw (G. erectum).—Not so common as the preceding, but often found on downs and hilly pastures, flowering from June to August. It is sometimes regarded as a variety of the Great Hedge Bedstraw (G. Mollugo), described on p. [172]. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high; and the leaves, six to eight in a whorl, are very narrow, with marginal prickles pointing forwards. The flowers are white, in a panicle with slender, erect branches; and the fruit is smooth.
The Smooth Heath Bedstraw.
The remaining plant of this order is the Small Woodruff or Squinancy-wort (Asperula cynanchica), which is common in many parts of England and Ireland. Its stem is smooth, sometimes erect with scattered leaves, and sometimes prostrate, leafy and tufted. It varies in length from six to ten inches. The leaves are very narrow, usually four in a whorl, and very unequal. At the upper nodes two of each whorl are often reduced to mere scales, or are absent altogether. The flowers, which appear during June and July, are white or pinkish, and are clustered at the tips of the erect stems. The fruit is small, with a granulated surface.
