FLOWERS OF THE CORNFIELD.

[XVII]
IN THE CORN FIELD

The flowers included in the present chapter are to be found principally in cultivated fields; but since they are more particularly associated with corn crops, or occur so commonly in those fields in which grain is one of the products included in the rotation adopted, we separate them from the other flowers of the field, and consider them under the above head.

It will be observed that the majority of the flowers thus dealt with are summer-bloomers that flower while the ears of corn are filling out, and consequently are in fruit at the time of harvest. Hence, when the corn is cut, their seeds are shaken from the ripe fruits, or the fruits are themselves levelled to the ground, with the result that those which are not ploughed too deeply into the soil spring up almost in the same position in the following season.

Starting with the species of the Buttercup family (order Ranunculaceæ), we take first the beautiful Pheasant's Eye (Adonis autumnalis), which is sometimes seen among the corn, especially in the fields of the southern counties. The plant is not a native, but has become well established as a wild flower in several parts, though it is common in only a few localities. It is erect, from six to twelve inches high, and flowers in summer and autumn. The coloured illustration on [Plate VII], Fig. 6, renders a written description unnecessary.

The little Mouse-tail (Myosurus minimus) of the same order is a very different kind of plant. It seldom exceeds a height of five or six inches, and is commonly only two inches high. Its leaves are all radical, very narrow, fleshy, and measure only from one to three inches, including the stalk; and the little yellowish-green flowers, which bloom from April to June, are solitary on radical stalks. Each flower has five spreading sepals which are prolonged downward at the base into a short spur; five very narrow, tubular petals; a few stamens; and a spike-like cluster of many carpels in the centre. As the fruit ripens the cluster of carpels lengthens into a slender spike from an inch to an inch and a half long. This species is rather common in the South and South-East of England, and is to be seen most frequently in moist fields.

The Corn Crowfoot (R. arvensis) is a slightly hairy plant, with a branched stem from six to eighteen inches in height. The whole is of a pale green colour, and the leaves are deeply cut into narrow, lobed segments. The flowers are pale yellow, about half an inch in diameter, with spreading sepals; and are usually placed opposite the leaves. Their carpels are few in number, comparatively large, flattened, and covered with hooked spines. This is an abundant species, especially in the southern counties, and is most common in weedy fields in which corn-crops have been previously raised. It flowers from May to July.