The Sweet Woodruff.
There are two Periwinkles (order Apocynaceæ), both of which have been introduced into Britain as garden flowers, but have become established as wild flowers in several parts. One of these—the Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor)—is moderately common, especially in the West, where it is often seen in thickets and other shady places, flowering during April and May. It has a trailing stem, from one to two feet long, rooting at the nodes; and short, erect, leafy, flowering branches. The leaves are opposite, narrow-elliptical, entire, and quite smooth; and the blue or violet flowers, which are about an inch in diameter, are solitary on short, erect stalks. The calyx is free, and deeply divided into five narrow segments; the corolla has a narrow tube, and five broad, spreading parts; there are five stamens, enclosed in the tube of the corolla; and the carpels are distinct at the base, but connected at the top by the single style.
The other species—the Greater Periwinkle (Vinca major)—is a very similar plant, but its leaves are broader, with minute hairs on the margin; the calyx segments are also hairy at the edges; and the corolla is larger, with a broad tube.
The Tooth-wort (Lathræa squamaria—order Orobanchaceæ) is a peculiar, fleshy, pinkish plant, to be found among decaying vegetable matter or at the roots of the Hazel, Elm and a few other trees. It is partly parasitic, deriving its nourishment from the roots of the trees to which it is attached, or sometimes obtaining its food partly or entirely from decaying leaves and stems. Its upright stem, which reaches a height of from five to ten inches, is covered with tooth-like, hollow scales, and bears a one-sided raceme of purple-brown flowers. This peculiar plant is not only a parasite on trees, but is also a carnivorous species, provided with the means of capturing and digesting very small animals, and a more detailed account of its form and habits will be found in our short [chapter] devoted especially to carnivorous plants.
The Bugle (Ajuga reptans, of the order Labiatæ), is a very abundant flower in moist woods and pastures, blooming in May and June. It has a short root-stock, generally with creeping runners; and erect, smooth flowering stems from three to twelve inches high. At the base is a tuft of obovate, radical leaves, from one to two inches long, gradually narrowed into the stalk, with wavy margins; and on the stem are shorter leaves, with very short stalks, the upper ones often deeply tinged with blue or purple. The flowers are blue (occasionally pink or white), and are arranged in whorls of from six to ten in the axils of the upper leaves, the whole forming a leafy spike. They have a five-cleft calyx; a corolla with a short, erect, notched, upper lip; and a longer lower lip with three spreading lobes, the middle one of which is broader and notched.
The Lesser Periwinkle.
The stamens, of which there are two pairs, project beyond the upper lip of the corolla; and the four nutlets of the fruit are rough and united.
The Yellow Dead Nettle, Weasel-snout, or Archangel (Galeobdolon lutea or Lamium Galeobdolon) of the same order is very much like the White Dead Nettle (p. [102]) in habit, but is rather more slender, and less branched. It is not a very common plant, but is abundant in certain localities, forming one of the conspicuous flowers of thickets, copses and shady hedgerows during May and June. Its leaves are opposite, stalked, ovate, acute, and coarsely toothed; and the handsome large yellow flowers are in dense whorls of from six to ten in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx has five short teeth; and the corolla has a short tube, not much longer than the calyx, and two lips, the upper of which is arched, while the lower is spotted with red, and has three lobes.
Our next example, the lovely Primrose (Primula vulgaris or P. acaulis—order Primulaceæ), which so beautifully bedecks our woods and banks in April and May, is so well known that a description for purposes of identification is quite unnecessary.