Field and Woodland Plants

by William S. Furneaux

The very pretty Meadow Saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata), of the order Saxifragaceæ, is very abundant in the meadows of some parts of England and Scotland, and may sometimes be seen on grassy roadsides. It varies from six to about ten inches high, and flowers during May and June. The stem is erect, simple or slightly branched, and covered with spreading hairs; and the lower leaves are kidney-shaped, either crenate or lobed, having long stalks, while the upper ones are smaller, and either entire or sharply lobed. The rather large white flowers are in terminal cymes of from three to six. The calyx adheres to the ovary, and has blunt segments; the five petals are about twice as long as the sepals; and both petals and stamens are inserted into the bases of the segments of the calyx. The stamens are ten in number, and the ovary is two-celled, with two styles.

The principal spring-flowering umbelliferous plant of pastures is the common Earthnut or Pignut (Bunium flexuosum or Conopodium denudatum). This plant has a smooth, slender, stem, with a few forked branches, and is usually leafless at the base on account of the early decay of the lower leaves. Its popular names are due to the large, tuberous rootstock, which has somewhat the appearance of a chestnut, and is often eaten by country folk, and dug out of the ground by pigs. The lower leaves have three stalked segments, each divided pinnately into narrow lobes which are themselves divided; and the upper leaves, which are smaller, are cut into very narrow lobes, the middle one much longer than the others. The small, white flowers are arranged in umbels of from six to ten rays, with a few very narrow bracts or none at all. The umbels are usually terminal, and droop before the flowers are open. The fruit is oval or oblong, slightly flattened, with slightly-spreading styles, and ribs scarcely visible. The plant grows from one to three feet high, and flowers from May to July.

Dealing next with a few composite flowers (order Compositæ), we first call attention to the leading characters of the Common Daisy (Bellis perennis), which is abundant in fields and meadows almost everywhere, and flowers practically all the year round. It has a tufted, perennial rootstock, from which grows a cluster of obovate leaves, usually smooth, and slightly toothed. The leafless peduncles also start direct from the stock, each one bearing a solitary flower-head with an outer whorl of nearly smooth bracts; a ray of strap-shaped, white or pinkish florets; and a disc of numerous little yellow, tubular florets.

The Dandelion (Taraxacum Dens-leonis or T. officinale) is equally familiar as a meadow and wayside plant, commencing to flower in March, and continuing in bloom till October. It has a thick tap-root, with a very bitter taste; and direct from the crown of this grow the spreading leaves and the hollow stalks of the solitary flower-heads. The former vary very considerably in shape, but are usually long and narrow, broader at the apex, and cut into triangular lobes which generally point backwards. Sometimes, however, the leaves are almost entire; and they also vary in colour, from a bright to a very dull green. The peduncles vary from two to eight inches in length; and the florets of the head, which are all yellow, are surrounded by an inner whorl of narrow, erect bracts, and outer bracts which either overlap or are turned back on the stalk. The little fruits have projecting points towards the top, and are provided with a slender beak, three or four times as long as the achene itself, at the summit of which is a tuft of silky hairs.

The Butterbur.

Our last example of the composite flowers is the Butterbur, variously named Tussilago vulgaris, Petasites vulgaris, and Tussilago Petasites. It resembles the Common Colt's-foot (Tussilago Farfara) in several respects; and, as will be seen from the above names, is sometimes included in the same genus. Its leaves are very large, and very similar to those of the Colt's-foot, being cordate and toothed, and appearing after the flowers. The flowering stems each bear a dense cluster of dull pink or purple heads, forming a raceme from four inches to a foot in height. The pistillate and staminate flowers grow almost exclusively on separate plants. In the former case the heads are larger and densely clustered, each one consisting of filiform, pistillate florets only, or almost entirely of these with a few tubular, staminate florets in the centre. On other plants the flower-heads are smaller and not so densely clustered; and each head consists entirely of tubular, male flowers, or has a few filiform, female florets round the outside. The plant is common in many parts of Britain. It grows in damp meadows, especially along the banks of streams and ditches, flowering from March to May.

The Yellow Rattle.

The Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus Crista-galli), of the order Scrophulariaceæ, is abundant in damp pastures, flowering from May to July. It is a parasitic species, deriving a portion of its food, in the form of ready-made organic compounds, from the roots of surrounding grasses, and its parasitic habits are referred to in [Chapter XXIII]. Its stem is erect, from six to eighteen inches high; and the leaves are sessile, opposite, lanceolate, and coarsely toothed. The calyx is almost globular, slightly flattened, with four small teeth. The yellow corolla has a tube longer than the calyx, and terminates in two lips, one or both of which have often a purple spot. The stamens are in two pairs; and the fruit is an almost globular capsule, containing a few large, flat seeds.