The Shrubby Mignonette (Reseda suffruticulosa), of the order Resedaceæ, is a common sea-side plant that grows to a height of one or two feet on sandy shores, bearing spikes of white flowers in July and August. The order is characterised by alternate exstipulate leaves, persistent calyx with four or five sepals, corolla of from four to seven petals, many stamens, and a three-lobed, one-celled ovary. The sea-side species is very much like the wild mignonette so common in chalky districts, but differs in having all its leaves pinnate, waved, and glaucous, with linear segments; and in having five equal sepals and petals. In a variety of the species, however, the sepals and petals are six in number.
The Crucifers are fairly well represented by coast plants, there being several maritime species of the order. The Cruciferæ are named from the nature of the corolla, the limbs of the four petals of which are arranged so as to resemble the Maltese cross. The flowers have also four sepals, six stamens, two of which are shorter than the other four, and the fruit takes the form of a two-celled pod or pouch which opens by the separation of its two valves from the central partition.
Fig. 305.—The Wild Cabbage
Fig. 306.—The Isle of Man Cabbage
Our first example is the Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), which, although so unlike the cabbage of our gardens, is really the parent of all the cultivated varieties, including the cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, &c. It is a biennial plant, with fleshy lobed wavy leaves that are covered with bluish bloom, and a fleshy cylindrical root. It grows erect to a height of one or two feet, bearing yellow flowers during the summer months. An allied species (B. monensis), with a prostrate stem and deeply-divided leaves, occurs locally on the sandy shores of the Isle of Man.
Two species of Stock (Matthiola) are to be found on the coast, both being characterised by purple flowers. The Great Sea Stock (M. sinuata) is a rare plant growing on the shores of Wales and Cornwall, and may be known by its herbaceous stem and narrow downy leaves; and the other species—the Hoary Shrubby Stock (M. incana)—is also a rare plant, found principally on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight, and is the parent of the Brompton Stocks of our gardens. The latter has a branched woody stem and narrow leaves. Both species grow to a height of about eighteen inches, and the latter flowers in May and June, while the former is in bloom during the hottest summer months.