Field and Woodland Plants

by William S. Furneaux

The Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is readily recognised during winter and early spring by its smooth, thin, olive-grey bark, and its long tapering, pointed, brown buds. The expanding buds have already been mentioned (p. [44]) as of special interest as regards the fan-like folding of the young leaves, and the arrangement for preventing undue loss of moisture while the epidermis is as yet very thin and permeable. The leaves of this tree are ovate, smooth and glossy, with strongly-marked parallel veins branching from the midrib. When young they are very silky, but later the fine, silky hairs are seen only on the slightly-toothed margin, and even these disappear as the season advances. The flowers are imperfect, and appear in April or early May. The staminate catkins are of a dark purple-brown colour, rounded and pendulous, with from eight to forty slender stamens having exposed, yellow anthers. The pistillate flowers are grouped in little clusters of from two to four, each one having three stigmas, and being surrounded by a four-lobed prickly cupule which afterwards forms a closed case. The fruits are three-cornered nuts, enclosed in the hardened cupules which split longitudinally, when ripe, into four valves that are lined with soft, silky hairs.

The Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus) is a much smaller tree, more or less abundant in the damp, clayey woods of the South. Its bark is smooth or slightly furrowed, of a light greyish colour, and its leaves are elliptical-ovate, with a doubly-serrate margin and acute point. The arrangement of the principal veins is the same as that of the Beech, and the young leaves are similarly plaited in the bud, but the expanded leaves are broader at the base than those of the Beech, are rougher, and are permanently hairy on the under surface. As with the Beech, the leaves assume very pleasing tints in the autumn, turning first yellow, and then through shades of orange to brown; and, in sheltered woods, many of them remain on the tree throughout the winter. The flowers appear in May and early June, and are imperfect, male and female flowers being in separate catkins, but on the same tree. The staminate catkins are pendulous and leafy, each flower having oval, acute bracts, and from three to twelve stamens with forked filaments and hairy anthers. The pistillate flowers are in erect catkins and are arranged in pairs. Their outer bracts are shed early, but the inner bracts or bracteoles, which are three-lobed, grow very large as the fruits ripen, at which time, also, the whole catkin becomes pendulous. Each flower has a two-chambered ovary, and two styles; but only one cell develops, and thus the fruits, each with only one seed, lie on the bases of the leafy bracteoles which aid in their dispersion by the wind.

Our last example of the Cupuliferæ is the well-known Hazel (Corylus Avellana), which is generally found in trimmed hedges and among the undergrowth of woods. Its bark on the trunk and larger branches is grey; but brown, hairy, and dotted with glands, on the young shoots. The leaves are roundish, slightly cordate and unsymmetrical, with a sharp apex and an irregularly-serrate edge; and, when young, are longitudinally plaited in the bud. The flowers appear before the leaves, and are mature in March or early April, but the early stages of the catkins may be observed on the tree throughout the winter, and even in the preceding autumn. The staminate catkins are pendulous, from one to two inches in length when in full bloom, and are commonly known to country children as 'lambs-tails.' They are of a bright yellow colour, and each flower has from four to eight stamens, with hairy anthers that produce abundance of pollen. The pistillate catkins are small, oval, and sessile, hardly to be distinguished from the foliage buds until they protrude their bright crimson stigmas. The minute flowers are enclosed in overlapping bracts which afterwards form the leafy cupules of the large woody nuts; and each one has a two-celled ovary and two styles.

Our forest trees include three representatives of the order Betulaceæ—the Common Birch, the Dwarf Birch, and the Alder. The first of these, the Common Birch, Silver Birch, or Lady of the Woods (Betula alba), is at once recognised by its smooth, silver-white bark, which peels off in horizontal strips; its copper-brown branches; and its very slender, drooping twigs. The leaves are small, rhomboid or triangular, with an irregularly doubly-serrate margin, a sharp apex, and veins very prominent on the under side. They are also provided with long stalks which, together with the slender character of the weeping twigs, allow them to be moved by the slightest breeze. The male and female flowers are in separate catkins, the former of which may be seen on the tree throughout the winter, but do not bloom until April or May. Both are at first erect, but the staminate catkins droop as they mature, and shed abundance of yellow pollen. The flowers have three-lobed, deciduous, scale-like bracts; the male ones consist of two stamens with forked filaments; and the females of a flattened, two-celled ovary. The female catkins droop as they ripen, each one producing a large number of minute, one-seeded and broadly-winged fruits which are easily dispersed by the wind. Two varieties of this tree occur, one with the leaves and twigs covered with downy hairs, and the other with leaves of an oval-cordate form.

The Dwarf Birch (B. nana) is a mere shrub, seldom exceeding two feet in height, and is to be found only in some of the mountainous districts of Scotland. It has rounded, crenate leaves, with short stalks; and the wings of the fruit are very narrow.

The Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is common in wet woods, and especially along the banks of streams in wooded valleys. Some of the mountain streams of the West of England, Wales, and Scotland, are bordered with almost continuous lines of Alder for miles together. This tree has a very dark grey bark, and the young branches are more or less triangular in form. The leaves are round, with a wedge-shaped base, and are green on both sides. They have very short stalks, are very blunt, and have a wavy, serrate margin. When very young they are hairy and sticky to the touch; hence the specific name of glutinosa. The catkins appear before the leaves, and are mature in March or April. The staminate catkins are pendulous, and much like those of the Birch; but the flowers have red scales and four stamens. The pistillate catkins are short and erect, and each flower has a fleshy scale within a reddish-brown, woody bract. The fruits are shed in the autumn, but the thickened woody bracts of the female catkin remain on the tree till, and even after, the flowers of the following spring are in bloom.

Coming now to the order Salicaceæ, we have to deal with the Poplars, of which we have several species, all more or less common, and largely planted in cultivated ground. Our first example is the White Poplar (Populus alba), a large tree frequently seen in abundance in most woods. It has a smooth, grey bark, spreading branches, downy shoots and buds, and it throws off many suckers from its roots. The leaves are roundish, approaching a heart-shape, except those of the young shoots, which are divided more or less deeply into five lobes; and they are covered below by a white cottony down. The flowers are imperfect, and the male and female catkins, produced on different trees, are mature in March or April. The male catkins are three or four inches long, and each flower has from six to ten stamens, with red anthers. The female catkins are much shorter, and its flowers have divided stigmas, with long, narrow, yellow segments arranged like a cross. The ovaries ripen into capsules which split open in July, setting free seeds which are provided with cottony filaments; and the seeds often fall in such abundance as to almost completely cover the ground beneath the tree.

The Grey Poplar (P. canescens) grows in similar situations, and flowers at the same time. Its leaves are roundish, with a waved and toothed margin, and are covered beneath with a slight coating of grey down. Those of the youngest shoots are more or less lobed. In this species the two stigmas are purple, wedge-shaped, and divided into from two to four lobes.

A third species—the Aspen (P. tremula) receives its specific name from the tremulous movements of its leaves, which swing with a rotary movement when disturbed even by the slightest breeze. This characteristic is common, to a greater or lesser degree, to all the species of this genus, and is due to the peculiar nature of the leafstalks, which are long, and flattened in a plane at right angles to that of the blade of the leaf. The Aspen has a grey bark, spreading branches, and downy shoots. The leaves are nearly round, with a sharp point and a serrate margin. When young they are downy above and beneath, but become smooth later. The catkins are very dense, and the flowers of the female tree have two divided stigmas.

The Black Poplar (P. nigra) and the Lombardy Poplar (P. fastigiata), though very common, are not natives of this country. The former is a large, spreading tree, and the latter is readily distinguished by its tall, pyramidal form, with all its branches directed upward. Although these two trees are so very unlike in general appearance, yet they resemble one another so closely in the form of the leaves and the character of the flowers that they are sometimes regarded as two varieties of the same species. In both the leaves are very variable in form, being either triangular, rhombic, or nearly circular, with rounded teeth. Both have smooth shoots, and sticky buds; and their catkins are not so dense as in the other members of the genus. The leaves also are smooth on both surfaces except when young, at which stage they are slightly downy beneath. The male catkins are two or three inches long, of a deep red colour; and, since they appear before the leaves, are very conspicuous. The female catkins are much shorter and erect, and the ripe capsular fruits burst in June, setting free seeds which are covered with a cottony down. P. nigra has a furrowed grey bark, rendered still more irregular by prominent swellings, and it rarely produces suckers. P. fastigiata, on the other hand, often produces numerous suckers, and its trunk generally has a rough, furrowed, and twisted appearance. It is interesting to note that the female of the latter does not occur in our country. The tree was introduced by means of suckers, and it appears certain that suckers of the male tree only were brought over for this purpose.