The Wall Pellitory.
Our last example of this order is the Cut-leaved or Mossy Saxifrage (S. hypnoides), a very variable plant, from three to ten inches high, rather rare in South England, but much more common in the rocky parts of North England and Scotland. It has numerous procumbent, barren stems with tufted leaves; and erect flowering stems bearing a few small leaves and a loose cyme of a few white flowers. Most of the leaves are narrow, pointed, entire, about a quarter of an inch long; but the larger ones, at the base of the plant, are about twice as long, and divided into three or five narrow lobes. The calyx adheres to the ovary to about two-thirds of the length of the latter, and has five lobes about one-third as long as the petals. This species flowers from May to July.
Old walls, ruins, and limestone cliffs are frequently adorned with the pretty flowers of the Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus—order Scrophulariaceæ) which bloom from July to September. The plant varies from one to two feet in height, is tufted and leafy at the base, and has erect stems which bear racemes of large flowers. The leaves are very narrow and entire; and the flowers, which are usually white, pink or crimson, are shortly stalked in the axils of the small upper leaves. The calyx is deeply divided into broad lobes very much shorter than the corolla; and the latter consists of a broad tube and two lips, the whole being over an inch in length. The mouth of the flower is closed by a projecting 'palate,' but is easily opened by pressing the flower at the sides between finger and thumb. There are four stamens on the corolla, two longer than the others; and the fruit is an unsymmetrical capsule that opens when ripe by a few holes near the top.
The Ivy-leaved Toadflax or Mother of Thousands (Linaria Cymbalaria), of the same order, is a pretty little trailing plant very commonly seen on old walls in many parts of Britain, particularly in the South-West. It will grow luxuriantly in places where there is no soil other than that afforded by the crumbling mortar, and will often establish itself even on new walls so compactly built that it is difficult to see how the plant can find the necessary moisture or how its roots can penetrate the hard material to which it is attached. Its slender stems vary from a few inches to two feet in length, often rooting at the nodes; and its little leaves are smooth, with three or five lobes, and generally of a purplish colour on the under side. The little flowers, which bloom from May to September, are of a pale blue or lilac colour. The lipped corolla is very similar to that of the last species, with a yellowish palate closing the mouth, but it has a short spur at the base.
The one remaining flower of this chapter is the Wall Pellitory (Parietaria officinalis), which belongs to the Nettle family (Urticaceæ). It is a somewhat bushy plant, varying from six inches to two feet in height, bearing axillary clusters of small, sessile, green flowers from June to September, and is common on walls and stony banks, more especially in the South of England. Most of the flowers are usually imperfect, and the clusters are surrounded by a whorl of a few divided bracts. The males are few in number, each consisting of a hairy perianth, and four stamens which are jointed and very elastic, springing suddenly and shedding their pollen when touched; the females have a tubular, hairy perianth of four lobes, and a single tufted stigma.
[XXI]
FIELD AND WAYSIDE IN AUTUMN
From the end of September onward the number of wild flowers is rapidly decreasing, but still there is much to be seen that will be interesting to the observant student of Nature. Many of the summer flowers are quite over, while others continue to bloom till, at last, they succumb to the intensifying frosts; but hundreds of species of the summer-flowering plants are now in fruit, and some of these are almost as interesting in this stage as when in flower. Many plants will have been observed in flower before any of their fruits were fully formed, but autumn is the season when a large number of these may be seen in full fruit, and watched as they make arrangements for the dispersal of their seeds.
We have already given (p. [12] an outline classification of the various kinds of fruits, and if the reader will study this during the autumn months, and examine the field and woodland plants that fall in his way, he will find abundance of work awaiting him on every country ramble.