Field and Woodland Plants

by William S. Furneaux

The Dwarf Thistle.

The Small Scabious (Scabiosa Columbaria), of the order Dipsaceæ, is common on the dry heaths of England, and is readily distinguished from the Devil's-bit Scabious, which it somewhat resembles, by its deeply-divided leaves and pale purple or lilac flowers. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high. The lower leaves are rather crowded, and usually have a large, oval or oblong, terminal segment, deeply toothed or lobed, and some smaller ones below it. The stem leaves are cut into very narrow segments which are either entire or pinnately lobed. The flowers are in dense, terminal heads, surrounded by a whorl of short bracts, and intermixed with the little, narrow scales of the receptacle, the outer flowers of each head being larger than the others, and very irregular. This plant flowers during July and August.

Of the Compositæ we shall first take the Hairy Hawkbit (Leontodon hirtus), which is very common on moors in most parts of Great Britain, flowering during July and August. Although known as the Hairy Hawkbit, this plant is sometimes quite smooth; more commonly, however, the leaves and peduncles are clothed with thinly-scattered, stiff, forked hairs. Its leaves are all radical, either oblong or very narrow, with coarsely-toothed or wavy margins. The flower-heads are solitary, on peduncles from three to eight inches long, and of a bright yellow colour. Each head is surrounded by a whorl of about a dozen green, smooth bracts, outside which are several shorter ones. All the florets are strap-shaped and perfect; and the fruits, which taper at the top, are mostly crowned by a pappus of feathery hairs as long as the achene itself, with a few shorter ones outside. This species appears on [Plate VI], Fig. 4.

We have next to note a few thistles that are more or less common on downs and moors, the first being the Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans), common in the South of England, but much less frequent in the North. It is a stout plant, usually scantily covered with a loose, cottony down, with a furrowed stem from one to three feet high. The leaves are very deeply divided pinnately, very prickly, and extend down the stem in the form of narrow, prickly wings. The flower-heads are very large, of a purple or crimson colour, drooping, usually solitary, but sometimes in loose clusters of from two to four. Each head is surrounded by numerous very narrow, stiff bracts, more or less covered with cottony down. All of these terminate in a sharp prickle which is erect on the inner bracts, but spreading or turned backward in the case of the outer ones. This thistle may be seen in flower from May to October. It appears on [Plate VI], Fig. 1.

The next species—the Dwarf Thistle (Carduus acaulis)—is found only in the southern and midland counties of England, but is very common on some of the elevated downs of the South-East, especially on chalky soils. It has a very thick and hard rootstock, but hardly any trace of a stem, so that its spreading tuft of radical leaves lie close on the ground, around the large, purple, stemless, and, usually, solitary flower-head. The plant flowers from July to September.

The Carline Thistle.

The Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris), as its name shows, does not belong to the same genus as the others, from which it differs principally in having its inner bracts coloured and spreading. It is an erect plant, with a stiff stem, usually branching, from six to eighteen inches high. Its leaves are very prickly, and do not form wings down the stem. The flower-heads are particularly interesting, having much the appearance of everlasting flowers. In fact, the whole plant is of such a stiff and dry nature that it undergoes but little change in appearance when cut and preserved. The outer bracts are leafy and spreading, with strong, prickly teeth or lobes; and the inner ones are very narrow, entire, white or pale yellow, of a chaffy nature and very glossy. The latter are very sensitive to atmospheric conditions, spreading horizontally when the air is dry, and closing over the florets in humid air; and they respond so readily to the changed conditions that their movements may be watched as they are transferred from warm, dry air to a moist chamber, or vice versa. This plant is common on the downs of England and Ireland, and flowers from July to September.

The Common Chamomile.