Plate II.
FLOWERS OF THE WOODS.
- 1. Great Valerian.
- 2. Foxglove.
- 3. Succory-leaved Hawk's-beard.
- 4. Nettle-leaved Bell-flower.
- 5. Broad-leaved Helleborine.
- 6. Hairy Brome-grass.
A small-leaved variety, sometimes regarded as a distinct species (Tilia parvifolia), has a thin, angular fruit; and another, known as Tilia grandifolia, has very large, broad leaves, downy on both sides, and a downy fruit with from three to five prominent ribs.
The Large-Flowered St. John's Wort.
Several species of St. John's-wort (order Hypericaceæ) grow in thickets and other wooded spots. They vary considerably in size, as well as in general appearance, but all agree in the following features: Their leaves are opposite, entire, without stipules, and either sessile or very shortly stalked. The flowers are regular, with five sepals; five petals, often oblique at the tip; numerous stamens, united or clustered into three or five sets; and a superior ovary that ripens to a capsule with many seeds. No less than four species of the genus (Hypericum) come within the province of the present chapter. They are:—
1. The Tutsan (H. Androsæmum).—An erect, shrubby plant, from one to three feet high, flowering from June to August, common in the thickets of most of the western and southern counties of Britain. It has several erect, slightly-flattened stems; and large, blunt, ovate leaves, two or three inches long, with very small, transparent dots that are easily seen when the leaves are held up to the light. The flowers are yellow, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and form a compact, terminal corymb. The sepals are broad, about a third of an inch long; the petals a little longer, and oblique; and the stamens are in five sets, connected at the base.
