Our first example of this division is the Seaside Plantain (Plantago maritima), of the order Plantaginaceæ. This is a stem-less herbaceous plant, with ribbed leaves and small green flowers, common on many parts of the coast, and also found on the mountains of Scotland, flowering throughout the summer. It may be distinguished from the other plantains by its narrow fleshy leaves. As in the other species, the flowers form a cylindrical spike.
Fig. 296.—The Sea-side Plantain
Fig. 297.—The Sea Lavender
The order Plumbaginaceæ contains several sea-side plants, including the Sea Pink or Thrift (Armeria maritima) and the various species of Sea Lavender (genus Statice). They are characterised by a tubular membranous calyx, persistent and often coloured, a regular corolla of five petals united at their bases, five stamens opposite the petals and attached at the base of the ovary, and a free one-celled and one-seeded ovary. The well-known Sea Pink, with its compact head of rose-coloured flowers, in bloom throughout the spring and summer, and linear one-veined leaves, may be seen on most of our coasts, as well as on high ground in inland districts. The Sea Lavender, of which there are four British species, have their flowers arranged in spikes. The commonest species (Statice limonium) may be found principally on muddy shores. Its leaves are narrow and one-ribbed, and the bluish-purple flowers arranged in short dense spikes, the flower stalk being branched only above the middle. One variety of it has its flowers in a loose pyramidal cluster, while another bears its spikes in a compact level-topped corymb with short firm branches. Another species (S. bahusiensis) is characterised by long spikes of distant flowers, the stalk being branched from near the base. The Upright Sea Lavender (S. binervosa) of rocky shores has the stalk branched from the middle, with, usually, nearly all the branches flowering, though there are varieties in which the flowers are differently arranged. The Matted Sea Lavender (S. caspia) grows in salt marshes on the east coast of England. Its flower stalk is branched from the base, but the lower branches are barren and tangled, while the upper bear small crowded lilac flowers. The leaves of the last two species are spatulate in form.
The Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade (Solanum Dulcamara) of the order Solanaceæ is common in hedgerows and waste places almost everywhere, but a variety of it (marinum) has its habitat along the coast. It may be distinguished from the normal form by its prostrate branched and non-climbing stem, and by its fleshy leaves. The latter are all cordate, while in the normal the upper leaves are auricular. The order to which Solanum belongs is characterised by a regular five-cleft calyx and corolla, four or five stamens attached to the corolla, and a superior two-celled ovary. The flowers are in axillary cymes, and the fruit is a berry.
Convolvulaceæ is represented on sandy shores by the Sea-side Bindweed (Convolvulus Soldanella), a small species, with pinkish purple flowers, the prostrate stem of which rarely measures more than a foot in length. The plants of this order are generally climbing plants with alternate leaves and regular showy flowers. The calyx is composed of five sepals, the corolla of four or five lobes, and the stamens are attached to the corolla. The ovary is superior, two- or four-celled, and the fruit a capsule. The above species may be recognised by its reniform leaves (sagittate in the others), which are also fleshy.