Field and Woodland Plants

by William S. Furneaux

The Spindle Tree.

The Sycamore grows to a height of from forty to fifty feet and flowers in May or early June, some time after the appearance of the leaves. The leaves are simple and cut into five lobes, with a palmate venation and irregularly toothed margins. The flowers are small, yellowish green, and produced in graceful, pendulous racemes. Each one is about a quarter of an inch in diameter, with five narrow sepals, five narrower petals, eight stamens, and a two-lobed, flattened, hairy ovary which develops into a pair of 'keys' or samaras, with wings about an inch and a half long.

The Maple (Acer campestre) is a much smaller tree, with a very rugged, corky bark. In woods it often reaches a height of fifteen to twenty feet, though it produces flowers and fruit long before it is fully grown; and it is often seen, more or less trimmed and stunted, among hedgerow shrubs. Its leaves are opposite, two to four inches wide, on slender stalks, palmately veined, and divided to about the middle into five obtuse, entire or crenate lobes. The greenish flowers are much like those of the Sycamore, and appear at the same time, but grow in loose, erect, axillary racemes; and the wings of the fruit always spread horizontally in a straight line. On p. [337] is a photograph of a twig of this tree in fruit.

The Spindle Tree (Euonymus europæus), the only British member of the order Celastraceæ, is a moderately common wood and hedgerow shrub which is usually from four to ten feet high, when untrimmed, bearing yellowish-green flowers during May and June. Its branches are smooth, green and angular; and its leaves are opposite, shortly-stalked, oval, acute, finely toothed, with a shining surface. The flowers are usually from three to five together in loose axillary clusters. They have a small, flat calyx of four short sepals; four spreading petals, about a sixth of an inch long; four stamens, about half the length of the petals; and an ovary of from three to five cells embedded in the fleshy disc. The fruits are very pretty, and often form a conspicuous feature of the hedgerow during late summer. They are lobed capsules which open at the angles, exposing the bright orange mace that encloses the seeds.

Several of the prettiest of our trees and shrubs belong to the order Rosaceæ, and among these we may name the Dwarf Cherry, Bird Cherry, Gean, Sloe, Bullace, Hawthorn, Wild Pear, Crab Apple, Service Tree, White Beam Tree, and Mountain Ash. The first of these, known variously as the Wild Cherry, Dwarf Cherry, and Red Cherry (Prunus Cerasus), grows from four to eight feet high, and bears white flowers, in almost sessile umbels, during May and early June. Its bark is of a reddish colour, and numerous suckers arise from its root. The leaves are oval-oblong, smooth, firm, and nearly erect; and the fruit is round, juicy, and red. Although in the wild state the fruit is very acid, this is the tree from which our sweet, cultivated cherries have been derived. In order to distinguish this from other similar species, it should be noted that the tube of the calyx is not contracted at its mouth.

The Bird Cherry (P. Padus) is found principally in North England, where it is moderately common in parts. It is larger than the last, often reaching a height of fifteen feet. Its leaves are narrow, somewhat egg-shaped, smooth, with a doubly-serrate margin. The flowers, which appear in May or June, are white, and arranged in pendulous racemes; and the fruit is oval, almost black, and bitter.

The Wild Cherry.

Another wild cherry, generally known as the Gean (P. Avium), is still larger, sometimes reaching a height of thirty feet, and is not uncommon in woods and hedges. The bark is smooth; the leaves abruptly pointed, soft, drooping, and downy beneath; and the beautiful white flowers are in almost sessile umbels. The calyx-tube of this species is contracted at the mouth, and the fruit is either red or black, heart-shaped, and bitter. The leaves turn to a deep red colour in the autumn.