The Star of Bethlehem.
On [Plate I] (Fig. 3) we represent the Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium Calceolus)—a rare and beautiful orchis found in some of the limestone woods of North England. Its stem is downy and leafy, reaching a height of about one foot. The leaves, of which there are three or four, are oblong and ribbed; and the one or two large flowers are brownish with the exception of the lip, which is yellow and inflated.
Two species of Garlic (order Liliaceæ) are also to be found in woods early in the season. They are both strong-smelling plants with bulbous roots, radical leaves, and flowers arranged in an umbel with membranous spathes. One—the broad-leaved Garlic or Ramsons (Allium ursinum)—is very common, grows to a height of from six to twelve inches, and flowers from April to June. The stem is bluntly triangular and leafless; and the broad, radical leaves are much like those of the Lily of the Valley. The flowers are white, and form a flat umbel with two sharply-pointed bracts at its base.
The second species—the Sand Leek or Sand Garlic (A. Scorodoprasum)—grows to two or three feet, and is found almost exclusively in sandy woods of North England, where it flowers a little later than the Ramsons. The stem-leaves are linear, and form two-edged sheaths; and the flowers, which are reddish-purple, are in a loose umbel. ([Plate I], Fig. 4.)
The Hairy Sedge.
The Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) is a pretty flower that was originally introduced for cultivation, but has now become well established as a wild flower in many parts of Britain. It is found chiefly in copses and thickets, especially in the neighbourhood of towns and villages, and flowers in April and May. It has an oval bulb containing an abundance of viscid sap; long narrow, limp, radical leaves; and a flowering stem from six to twelve inches high. The flowers are white, from six to ten in number, arranged in a raceme the lower stalks of which are lengthened in such a manner as to bring all the flowers to a level, thus giving the general appearance of an umbel. There is a membranous bract at the base of each pedicel; and each flower has a perianth of six free, spreading, persistent segments, marked outside with a central, green line, and having a nectary at the base.
The same order includes the well-known Blue-bell or Wild Hyacinth (Hyacinthus nonscriptus or Scilla festalis), which is occasionally confused with the Harebell of the order Campanulaceæ. The leaves of this plant are linear and channelled, and the drooping flowers form a raceme of from six to twelve blooms. The perianth is bell-shaped, composed of six united parts, usually blue, but rarely pink or white. The anthers are yellow, and as with all the plants of this order, the ovary is superior. (See [Plate I], Fig. 5.)
In damp woods we often meet with the Hairy Sedge (Carex hirta), which grows from one to two feet high; and in similar situations, the Pendulous Wood Sedge (C. sylvatica)—a tufted species, with a weak, leafy stem, from two to three feet high, and flaccid leaves. The latter has a single terminal, male spikelet, of about an inch long; and slender, drooping female spikelets, of about the same length, on long stalks.