Part 12

=Groundsel= (Senecio vulgaris).

We have selected this very vulgar plant as a familiar example of a genus that contains some very striking species. They all produce composite flowers, but in this common weed the ray-florets are usually wanting, and consequently the few cylindric flower-heads have a very singular appearance. The leaves are deeply cut, the lobes irregularly toothed. The flowers are succeeded by the well-known fluffy pappus attached to the seeds, which has enabled the plant to become one of the most widely distributed in all temperate and cold climates. It is to this hoary head of seed-bearers that the genus is indebted for its name, which is derived from the Latin Senex--an old man. There are other eight British species, of which the most frequent are briefly noted below.

Senecio vulgaris.

--COMPOSITÆ.--]

Lolium perenne.

=Brome-grass.=

Bromus erectus.

--GRAMINEÆ.--]

I. Mountain Groundsel (S. sylvaticus). Leaves similar to S. vulgaris, but divisions more accentuated. When the ray is present it is rolled back. The flower-heads are more numerous than in vulgaris. Plant with unpleasant fœtid smell. Dry upland banks and pastures. July to September.

II. Stinking Groundsel (S. viscosus). More objectionable-smelling than the last. Leaves broader, more divided, glandular, hairy and viscid. Plant much branched and spreading. Flowers larger: rays rolled back. Waste ground. Local. July and August.

III. Ragwort (S. jacobæa). Stem thick and leafy, 2 to 4 feet high, somewhat cottony, with clusters of large golden yellow flower-heads with spreading rays. Leaves finely lobed and toothed. Waysides, woods and pastures. June to October. Very plentiful.

IV. Hoary Ragwort (S. erucifolius). Similar to the last, but the stem more loosely cottony; the segments of the leaves more regular and less divided; rootstock creeping. Hedges and roadsides. July and August.

V. Water Ragwort (S. aquaticus). Like S. jacobæa, but of lesser growth. Flower-heads larger, leaf-stalks longer. Wet places, riversides, ditches. July and August.

=Rye-grass= (Lolium perenne), and

=Upright Brome= (Bromus erectus).

The structure of grass-flowers has been already described, and the reader should refer back to page 19. The inflorescence is a spike, the spikelets arranged in two rows, with their edges to the stem, which is channelled. There is only one outer glume, which is strongly ribbed, and shorter than the spikelet. The flowering glumes number from six to ten, or more.

This is one of the grasses that send forth leafy runners, which root and occupy surrounding ground. It is one of the most valuable to the farmer, on account of it early ripening, and its usefulness either for permanent pasture or for cropping. With good management as many as four crops may be obtained in one year. It grows in all waste places, and flowers in May.

The Darnel (L. temulentum) is its only native congener; an annual. It is similar to L. perenne, but produces no runners. Its presence among wheat is dreaded, as when ground up into flour it is believed to produce headache, vertigo, and other symptoms of poisoning. Darnel is the Tares of the New Testament, and is one of the very few grasses that are deleterious.

Upright Brome (Bromus erectus) is a perennial of strong growth, with stout creeping rootstock, sending up smooth and rigid stems 2 or 3 feet in height. The narrow leaves have their edges rolled inwards. The inflorescence is a lax panicle; the spikelets purplish in tint. The two empty glumes are unequal, and contain from five to eight flowering glumes, with awns, and hairy all over. There are seven other British species in the genus.

=Henbane= (Hyoscyamus niger).

At one time the Henbane was held in great esteem as a medicinal plant, and was then to be found very commonly on rubbish heaps, and the banks of ditches. Although it is still retained in the Pharmacopœia, its empirical use is not so great as formerly, neither does the plant appear to be so plentiful as of old. Its appearance and smell are somehow suggestive of its evil nature. It has a stout, branching stem, growing to a height of about two feet. The leaves are oblong, with irregular lobes, and the bases of the upper ones clasp the stem. The flowers spring from the axils of the leaves, and are almost stalkless. The calyx is pitcher-shaped, with a five-toothed mouth. The corolla is funnel-shaped, with five unequal lobes, and of a dingy yellow, streaked with purple-brown veins, though a form occurs with the corolla uniformly yellow. The five stamens are inserted at the base of the corolla-tube, and end in purple anthers, discharging their pollen by slits. The ovary is two-celled, supporting a simple style with a round head--the stigma. The whole plant is densely covered with sticky hairs.

On fertilization the ovary grows into a constricted capsule, with a distinct lid, which drops off to release the numerous seeds. It is the only British representative of the genus, which is said to get its name from two Greek words, Us, a hog, and Kuamos, a bean, but such etymology cannot be considered at all satisfactory. It flowers from June to August.

Hyoscyamus niger.

--SOLANACEÆ.--]

Briza media.

=Foxtail-grass.=

Alopecurus pratensis.

--GRAMINEÆ.--]