Part 49

The White Mullein (V. Lychnitis) is not at all common, but may be found in similar situations. Its stem is angular, seldom more than three feet high, the leaves nearly smooth above, and the flowers white or cream, blooming from June to August.

A third species--the Yellow Hoary Mullein (V. pulverulentum)--grows on banks, chiefly in Norfolk and Suffolk, flowering during July and August. It is about three feet in height; the stem is round, with a mealy surface; and the leaves, which are not continued down the stem, are covered both above and below with starlike hairs that give them a mealy appearance. The flowers form a pyramidal panicle, and are of a bright yellow colour, with scarlet stamens covered with white hairs.

There is yet another species to be found on chalky soils, more especially in hedges and on banks and roadsides. It is the Dark Mullein (V. nigrum), so called on account of the darker hue of the stem and leaves. It grows to a height of about three feet and flowers from June to September. It is a beautiful plant, not so strong in build as the Great Mullein, with an angular stem, and oblong heart-shaped leaves, nearly smooth above, and covered with starlike hairs which give it a downy appearance, especially on the under surface. The leaves are not continued down the stem, and the lower ones have long stalks. The flowers are bright yellow, very numerous, and form a spike-like panicle. The stamens are covered with purple hairs.

The Spiked Speedwell (Veronica spicata), of the same order, neither common nor widely distributed, is to be found chiefly in the chalk and limestone districts of the South and West of England, flowering during July and August. It has a long, dense, terminal spike of blue or pink flowers about a quarter of an inch in diameter. The corolla has a long tube, and unequal, narrow lobes; and the flattened capsules split into two valves when ripe. A large variety of this species, known as the Tall Spiked Speedwell, occurs in limestone districts of the West. The normal form is shown in Fig. 4, of Plate VIII.

Of the Labiates perhaps the one most partial to the chalk is the Wild Sage or Clary (Salvia Verbenaca); and even this is not confined to calcareous soils, but thrives in dry pastures in many parts of the country, particularly near the sea. It is an aromatic herb, from one to two feet in height, with long spikes of bluish purple flowers that bloom from May to September. The leaves, which are not numerous, are oblong-cordate (the upper ones broadly cordate), blunt, coarsely toothed, and wrinkled. Other Labiates are very similar to this species, but the Clary may be distinguished by its two ovate, cordate bracts at the base of each flower, and by its narrow corolla, which is a little shorter than the calyx.

The Red Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis Ladanum), of the same order, is common in chalky fields. It is about a foot in height, and displays its rose-coloured flowers from July to October. The plant is covered with very soft hairs, and the stem is not swollen at the joints. These two features serve to distinguish the species from the Common Hemp-nettle (G. tetrahit) and the Large-flowered Hemp-nettle (G. versicolor) of the same genus. It should also be noted that the corolla is not really red, as the common name suggests, but rose-coloured, while in G. tetrahit it is purple or white, and in G. versicolor it is yellow. The upper lip of the flower, too, is only slightly notched.

The Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare--order Boraginaceæ) is common on dry soils, especially in calcareous districts, where it is often found close to the sea, even on the beach very near high-water level. It is a very peculiar plant, both stem and leaves being thickly covered with stiff, sharp bristles. The stem is unbranched, from two to three feet high; and the leaves are lanceolate. The flowers are of a bright rose-colour when they first open, and afterwards change to a bright purple-blue; they are arranged in short, lateral, curved, one-sided spikes. Both leaves and flowers droop very rapidly after they have been gathered. This plant flowers from June to August.

Another species of the same genus, known as the Purple Viper's Bugloss (E. Plantagineum), is common in the Channel Islands. It may be distinguished by its branched stem and longer spikes of flowers. The lower leaves, too, are oblong and stalked, while the upper ones are cordate and half clasp the stem.

No doubt the reader is already acquainted with the commoner Plantains (order Plantaginaceæ), so easily distinguished by their spreading radical leaves, with prominent, parallel ribs, and their dense spikes of greenish flowers. There are five British species, one of which--the Hoary Plantain or Lamb's-tongue (Plantago media) is particularly partial to chalky districts, where it grows in pastures and on dry banks. Its flowering stems grow from three inches to a foot in height, and the flowers bloom from June to September. The leaves are elliptical, either sessile or shortly stalked, and have from five to nine ribs. They lie so closely on the soil that nothing can grow beneath them, and even present the appearance of having been pressed against the ground. They also have a downy surface; and the stalk, where it exists, is flattened. The flowering stem is round, and the spike cylindrical. The calyx is cleft into four, with its segments turned backward; and the sepals are not keeled as they are in some other species. The corolla is tubular, with four spreading limbs; and the cream-coloured anthers are displayed on the tips of long filaments.

S, sepals. P, petals. L, lip. C, spur. A, pollen masses. B, stigma.]

We have now to consider several representatives of the Orchidaceæ, and it will be well here to note the general characters of this remarkable order as a whole. The Orchids have rounded or palmate tuberous roots, a few glossy leaves which sheath the stem, and simple spikes or racemes of flowers, the prevailing colours of which are red, pink, green and white. The sepals, three in number, often partake more of the nature of petals. There are three petals, the lowest one, forming the lower lip of the flower, often prolonged into a spur, and frequently assuming a remarkable form resembling an insect or some other member of the animal creation. The stamens are united to the style, and form with it a solid column, but usually only one produces pollen, and this one commonly consists of one or two club-shaped masses. The ovary is inferior, often twisted so as to invert the flower, and sometimes so long as to be mistaken for a flower stalk. The stigma is hollow, sticky, and situated just in front of the column above mentioned. The fruit is a three-valved capsule, containing many seeds.

Orchids are generally scented flowers, and produce nectar which is stored either in the cavity of the spur, or within the tissue of the same. In the latter case it cannot be obtained by insects unless they bore into the substance of the spur, and the delay caused renders the removal of the pollen more certain. While the nectar is being withdrawn, the head of the insect is pressed against a sticky disc at the base of the pollen masses, with the result that both disc and pollen masses are bodily removed, and the insect leaves the flower with the whole attached to its head. It often happens, too, that the pollen masses bend forward as the insect flies through the air, and thus they are more likely to be pressed against the stigma when another flower is visited. Here, then, is another wonderful contrivance for the purpose of securing cross-fertilisation, and the whole process may be imitated by thrusting the point of a pencil into the spur of a flower which has not been previously visited by an insect, and then inserting the point into the spur of a second flower. It should be noted, also, that the pollen is not all removed by contact with the sticky surface of a stigma against which the pollen masses are pressed, and thus the pollen obtained from one flower will often fertilise several others.

Our first species--the Broad-leaved Helleborine (Epipactis latifolia), is common in hilly woods, where it flowers during July and August. Its single stem grows from one to three feet high, and the leaves are broadly ovate and ribbed. The flowers are greenish, with reddish-purple lips, and are arranged in a long, loose, one-sided raceme. The sepals are ovate, longer than the acute lower lobe of the lip; and the bracts are generally longer than the flowers. The ovary is downy, and not so long as the bracts. (Plate II, Fig. 5.)

The somewhat similar Large White Helleborine (Cephalanthera grandiflora), which bears creamy white flowers in May and June, is also common in some of the woods on calcareous soils.

The Pyramidal Orchis (O. pyramidalis) grows in limestone pastures, flowering during July and August. This species varies from six to eighteen inches in height, and has linear, acute leaves. The spike of flowers is very dense, of a pyramidal form, and the individual blooms are small, usually of a rose colour, but occasionally white or nearly so. The sepals are spreading, and the lip of the flower has three equal lobes which are oblong and abruptly cut at the tips. The spur is slender and longer than the ovary.

The Fragrant Gymnadenia or Sweet-scented Orchis (Habenaria conopsea or Gymnadenia conopsea) is common on chalky heaths and hilly pastures. It grows from twelve to eighteen inches high, has palmate, tuberous roots, and oblong-lanceolate, acute, keeled leaves. The flowers appear from June to August, and are in a dense, elongated spike. The buds are of a deep rose colour, and the open flowers are very fragrant, of a lighter colour, and not spotted. The bracts have three veins; the lateral sepals are spreading; the spur long and slender, much longer than the ovary; and the lip of the flower has three, equal, undivided lobes.

The Green Man Orchis (Aceras anthropophora), though rather rare, and confined to the dry, chalky pastures of East England, is too interesting to be omitted from our selection. The plant is from six to twelve inches high, with palmate tubers, and mostly radical leaves. The flowers are sessile, forming a loose spike, and are strange caricatures of the human figure. Each has a comparatively large green hood, a slender yellowish lip with two lateral lobes to represent the arms, and two similar terminal lobes for the legs. The lateral sepals are green, ovate and convergent; and the flower has no spur. The time of flowering is June and July.

The Green Musk Orchis (Herminium Monorchis), also rather rare, is to be found in chalky pastures of the South, flowering in June and July. It has oval, stalked tubers; two lanceolate, radical leaves, and generally only one leaf on the slender stem. The spike is loose and slender; and the flowers, which are small and green, are sessile, and emit a musky odour during the night. The sepals are broad ovate; the petals narrower; and the lip is three-lobed, pouch-like at the base, with terminal lobe longer than the other two.

One of the most remarkable, and, at the same time, one of the most beautiful of Orchids is the Bee Orchis (Ophrys apifera). Although not to be described as common, it is frequently to be seen in moderate numbers on banks and in open ground in calcareous districts. Its height is from six to twelve inches, and it flowers during June and July. The leaves are short, oblong, and mostly radical; the bracts large and leafy; and the flowers, numbering from two to six, are arranged in a lax spike, and very closely resemble certain species of bees. The sepals are spreading, oval, and pink inside; and the petals are linear and downy. The lip of the flower is swollen and broad, very velvety, and of a rich brown colour variegated with yellow. It is not longer than the sepals, and has four lobes, the two lower of which are hairy, while the other two are bent under. There is also a sharp, reflexed appendage in the notch. The flower is shown on Plate VIII.

A rare variety, very much like the commoner type just described, is occasionally seen in Kent and Surrey. It is called the Late Spider Orchis (variety arachnites), and is supposed to resemble a spider more than a bee. The petals are more triangular than in the Bee Orchis, and the lip is longer than the sepals. It may also be distinguished by the appendage in the notch, which is cordate in form, and flat.

Another rare plant--the Spider Orchis (Ophrys aranifera) is to be found in chalky pastures of the South-East. Its flowers are smaller, and generally fewer in number. The sepals are yellowish-green inside, and the petals smooth and linear. The lip is swollen and four-lobed, but without any appendage in the notch, and is of a deep purple-brown, with yellowish markings. This is an earlier species, flowering during April and May.

Our last example of this order is the pretty little Fly Orchis (Ophrys muscifera). It is a slender plant, with a few oblong leaves, and usually from two to ten flowers arranged in a loose spike. The sepals are yellowish-green, and the very slender petals resemble the antennæ of an insect. The lip of the flower is of a brownish purple colour, with a blue blotch in the middle; and is oblong, with three lobes, the middle of which is divided into two. This species grows from six inches to a foot in height, and flowers from May to July. It is moderately common in the open spaces and on the banks of some calcareous districts.

Although a great variety of Grasses (order Gramineæ) are to be found on calcareous soils, there are two common species which are almost exclusively confined to dry, chalky pastures. One is the Downy Oat Grass (Avena pubescens), which flowers in June and July. It has a creeping stem, and grows from one to two feet high. The radical leaves are short, hairy, with sharply-pointed ligules, and terminate abruptly in a sharp point. The flowers are arranged in a nearly simple panicle, with erect spikelets of five or six flowers. The glumes are nearly equal, the inner one with three ribs. The flowering glume is divided at the tip, and provided with a long, bent, twisted bristle.

The other, numbered 7 on Plate VIII, is the Yellow Oat Grass (A. flavescens), which grows to about the same height, and flowers at the same time. In this species the radical leaves are hairy, and also terminate suddenly in a sharp point. The panicle is much branched, with erect spikelets of five or six flowers. In this one, too, the inner glumes have three ribs, but it may be distinguished from the last by the two terminal bristles of the inner scales, and by the blunt ligules (appendages at the base) of the sheathing leaves.

XIX

BY THE RIVER SIDE

We have already dealt with flowers that grow in various damp situations, as moist meadows, woods, &c.; but there are a few such which seem to be particularly partial to the banks of rivers, streams, and ditches: short descriptions of these will be placed separately in the present chapter.

It will be understood from the foregoing remark that the species taken here form only a small proportion of the flowers that actually grow by the river side; for although the numerous species commonly seen in moist fields and meadows may flourish quite to the water's edge, yet there are not many which require the extreme wetness of soil that restricts them to the sodden banks of rivers and streams.