Field and Woodland Plants

by William S. Furneaux

The Red Hemp-Nettle.

There is yet another species to be found on chalky soils, more especially in hedges and on banks and roadsides. It is the Dark Mullein (V. nigrum), so called on account of the darker hue of the stem and leaves. It grows to a height of about three feet and flowers from June to September. It is a beautiful plant, not so strong in build as the Great Mullein, with an angular stem, and oblong heart-shaped leaves, nearly smooth above, and covered with starlike hairs which give it a downy appearance, especially on the under surface. The leaves are not continued down the stem, and the lower ones have long stalks. The flowers are bright yellow, very numerous, and form a spike-like panicle. The stamens are covered with purple hairs.

The Spiked Speedwell (Veronica spicata), of the same order, neither common nor widely distributed, is to be found chiefly in the chalk and limestone districts of the South and West of England, flowering during July and August. It has a long, dense, terminal spike of blue or pink flowers about a quarter of an inch in diameter. The corolla has a long tube, and unequal, narrow lobes; and the flattened capsules split into two valves when ripe. A large variety of this species, known as the Tall Spiked Speedwell, occurs in limestone districts of the West. The normal form is shown in Fig. 4, of [Plate VIII].

Of the Labiates perhaps the one most partial to the chalk is the Wild Sage or Clary (Salvia Verbenaca); and even this is not confined to calcareous soils, but thrives in dry pastures in many parts of the country, particularly near the sea. It is an aromatic herb, from one to two feet in height, with long spikes of bluish purple flowers that bloom from May to September. The leaves, which are not numerous, are oblong-cordate (the upper ones broadly cordate), blunt, coarsely toothed, and wrinkled. Other Labiates are very similar to this species, but the Clary may be distinguished by its two ovate, cordate bracts at the base of each flower, and by its narrow corolla, which is a little shorter than the calyx.

The Red Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis Ladanum), of the same order, is common in chalky fields. It is about a foot in height, and displays its rose-coloured flowers from July to October. The plant is covered with very soft hairs, and the stem is not swollen at the joints. These two features serve to distinguish the species from the Common Hemp-nettle (G. tetrahit) and the Large-flowered Hemp-nettle (G. versicolor) of the same genus. It should also be noted that the corolla is not really red, as the common name suggests, but rose-coloured, while in G. tetrahit it is purple or white, and in G. versicolor it is yellow. The upper lip of the flower, too, is only slightly notched.

The Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare—order Boraginaceæ) is common on dry soils, especially in calcareous districts, where it is often found close to the sea, even on the beach very near high-water level. It is a very peculiar plant, both stem and leaves being thickly covered with stiff, sharp bristles. The stem is unbranched, from two to three feet high; and the leaves are lanceolate. The flowers are of a bright rose-colour when they first open, and afterwards change to a bright purple-blue; they are arranged in short, lateral, curved, one-sided spikes. Both leaves and flowers droop very rapidly after they have been gathered. This plant flowers from June to August.

Another species of the same genus, known as the Purple Viper's Bugloss (E. Plantagineum), is common in the Channel Islands. It may be distinguished by its branched stem and longer spikes of flowers. The lower leaves, too, are oblong and stalked, while the upper ones are cordate and half clasp the stem.

No doubt the reader is already acquainted with the commoner Plantains (order Plantaginaceæ), so easily distinguished by their spreading radical leaves, with prominent, parallel ribs, and their dense spikes of greenish flowers. There are five British species, one of which—the Hoary Plantain or Lamb's-tongue (Plantago media) is particularly partial to chalky districts, where it grows in pastures and on dry banks. Its flowering stems grow from three inches to a foot in height, and the flowers bloom from June to September. The leaves are elliptical, either sessile or shortly stalked, and have from five to nine ribs. They lie so closely on the soil that nothing can grow beneath them, and even present the appearance of having been pressed against the ground. They also have a downy surface; and the stalk, where it exists, is flattened. The flowering stem is round, and the spike cylindrical. The calyx is cleft into four, with its segments turned backward; and the sepals are not keeled as they are in some other species. The corolla is tubular, with four spreading limbs; and the cream-coloured anthers are displayed on the tips of long filaments.