XVION HEATH, DOWN AND MOOR

The Forget-Me-Not.

We now reach the interestingMyosotisgenus of theBoraginaceæ, containing the favourite Forget-me-not and the similar Scorpion-grasses. They are all rather low and weak plants, with small, sessile, narrow leaves; and small flowers in one-sided, curved racemes without bracts. The calyx is cleft into five; and the corolla has a short tube, partially closed by five little scales, and five spreading or concave lobes. The stamens are enclosed in the tubes of the flower. Three species are common in wet places. They are—

1. The Forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris).—An abundant plant, growing to a foot or more in height, and bearing, from June to August, bright blue flowers, nearly half an inch across, with a yellow centre. It has a creeping rootstock, with runners, and rather weak ascending stems clothed with spreading hairs. The leaves are blunt, and often covered with hairs that lie close against the surface. The calyx is divided to about a third of its length into short, triangular teeth, and is covered with closely-pressed hairs.

The Water Pepper or Biting Persicaria.

2. The Creeping Water Scorpion-grass (M. repens).—A very similar plant, sometimes regarded as a variety of the last. Its stock emits leafy runners above the ground, and the stem is more hairy. The flowers, too, are of about the same size, but of a sky-blue colour, and their stalks are longer, bending downwards when in fruit. The calyx is divided to about the middle into narrow teeth.

3. The Tufted Water Scorpion-grass (M. cæspitosa).—Also a similar plant, often regarded as a variety ofM. palustris; butits flowers are only about half the size, of a sky-blue colour, with narrow calyx teeth almost as long as the corolla. It is of a paler green colour, and the stems are tufted by a free branching at the base.

All three of these flower at the same time, and grow in similar situations. Several intermediate forms occur, and thus it is often a difficult matter to distinguish between them.

We must here mention the Butterwort (Pinguicula) as a summer-flowering plant of marshy places; but this is a carnivorous species; and as such is described, together with other plants of similar habits, inChapter XXIV.

In most parts of Britain we may meet with the pretty little Bog Pimpernel (Anagallis tenella) of thePrimulaceæ. It is a delicate, creeping plant (seePlate V, Fig. 7), only about three or four inches long, with a slender, decumbent stem; and very small, opposite, rounded leaves on short stalks. Its flowers are funnel-shaped, of a pale pink colour, on long, slender, erect, axillary peduncles. The calyx is cut into five pointed lobes; and the corolla is deeply cleft into five segments which are much longer than the calyx. The fruit is a globular capsule that splits transversely into two hemispheres, like that of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Ditches are frequently quite overgrown with the Water Pepper or Biting Persicaria (Polygonum Hydropiper), which is very much like the Spotted Persicaria (p.205) of the same order (Polygonaceæ), but is much more slender, is creeping and rooting at the base, and more or less biting to the taste. Its stem is freely branched, from one to three feet high; its leaves narrow and wavy, with membranous stipules much fringed at the top; and the little pinkish-green flowers are in slender, drooping, interrupted spikes, leafy at the base.

Of theOrchidaceæwe shall note here but one species—the Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris), which is widely distributed, and really abundant in places, flowering during July and August. It is very much like the Broad-leaved Helleborine described on p.308, and represented onPlate II, but is not so tall, being only about a foot high, and its leaves are narrow. The flowers, too, are fewer than in the Broad-leaved Helleborine, and the raceme is not one-sided. The sepals are narrow, of a pale green colour, striped with red or purple; and the petals are white, striped with red at the base. The lower lobe of the lip is blunt and thick; and the bracts are shorter than the flowers.

Rushes and Sedges are so abundant in marshes and other wet places that they form quite a characteristic feature of these localities; and the number of common species is so large that we must necessarily confine our attention to a very small proportion.

The Rushes, which constitute the orderJuncaceæ, are stiff, smooth plants, often of such social habits that they cover large patches of wet or watery soil. Their stems are usually erect, and seldom branched; and their stiff, smooth leaves are frequently cylindrical, like the stems, with a soft, pith-like tissue within, but occasionally flat and narrow like those of grasses. The flowers are perfect, with a regular, inferior perianth of six dry segments; and they have generally six stamens, a three-celled ovary, and three slender stigmas. They are very small, either separate or in clusters; and each flower or cluster has a dry, sheathing bract at its base.

The Bog Ashphodel.

The pretty little Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) shall first receive our attention because botanists are not yet in agreement as to its correct position among the monocotyledonous plants. It is certainly allied to the rushes, but on account of itslarger and more succulent flowers it is often included among the lilies. It has a creeping rootstock, and stiff, erect stems from six to ten inches high. Its bright yellow, starlike flowers form a stiff, terminal raceme, with a bract at the base, and another one above the middle of each pedicel. The segments of the perianth are about a third of an inch long, yellow above and greenish below. The stamens are a little shorter than the perianth segments; and their filaments are clothed with white woolly hairs. This plant is common on wet moors and in mountain bogs, flowering from June to August.

The Common Rush.

The Common Rush (Juncus communis) is a very abundant species, to be found in almost all wet and marshy places, flowering during July and August. Its stems are round, leafless, soft, faintly furrowed, solid, with a continuous pith. They are from one to three feet high, and are sheathed at the base by a few brownish scales, but the plant has no true leaves. Most of the stems bear a panicled cluster of green or brown flowers about six inches from the top. These panicles are very variable in form and size, being either loose or dense, and varying from one to three inches in diameter.

The Hard Rush (Juncus glaucus) is a very similar plant, flowering at the same time; but its stem is slender, rigid, deeply furrowed, with the pith interrupted by air spaces. It is generally from one to two feet high; and, like the lastspecies, has no true leaves. The panicle is looser than that ofJ. communis, with fewer and larger flowers; and it is never more than two or three inches below the top of the stem.

A few of the Rushes form a group known collectively as the Jointed Rushes, because their cylindrical or slightly-flattened, hollow leaves are divided within by transverse partitions of pith which give them a jointed appearance, especially when they are dried. Two or three of the species referred to are very common in wet places. They are very similar in general appearance, and one of them—the Shining-fruited Jointed Rush (Juncus lamprocarpus) is selected for illustration.

Another species is the little pale-coloured Toad Rush (J. bufonis), which grows to a height of only a few inches. It has tufted stems that branch from near the base; and its flowers are either solitary or in clusters of two or three.

As regards the Sedges (orderCyperaceæ), the species are so numerous that it is impossible to do them justice in a work of this nature.

The Shining-Fruited Jointed Rush.

Their stems are solid, usually more or less triangular, not swollen at the nodes as in grasses; and the sheaths of the leaves which surround the stems are not split. The flowers are in little green or brown spikelets that are either solitary at the top of the stem, or collected into a cluster, spike, panicle, or umbel. Each spikelet is in the axil of a scaly or leafy outer bract, and consists of several scales or glumes, each with a single sessile flower in its axil. The flowers have noperianth, but there are often a few very small scales or bristles at their base. They have two or (generally) three stamens; a one-celled ovary; and a style that is more or less deeply cleft into two or three slender stigmas. The fruit is a small, one-seeded nut, usually flattened in the species which have two stigmas, and triangular where the stigmas are three.

The Common Sedge.

The reader should make himself thoroughly acquainted with the above features of the sedges, in order to avoid any confusion with the rushes, on the one hand, and with the grasses on the other; and he must not be led astray by the fact that some of the sedge family are popularly known as rushes.

Of this order the pretty Cotton Grasses (Eriophorum) often form a very conspicuous feature of marshes and other wet places. They are tufted or creeping plants with terminal spikelets, very much like those of the other sedges, but their flowers are perfect, and the bristles which represent the perianth grow to a considerable length as the flowering advances, protruding far beyond the overlapping glumes, and at last forming dense tufts of fine cottony hairs.

Two species are decidedly common and widely distributed, more especially the Common Cotton Grass (Eriophorum polystachyon), which is often so abundant as to give a general whitish appearance to whole patches of boggy land. It is a creeping plant, with solid, rigid, solitary stems, from six inches to over a foot in height; a few shorter, radical leaves; and a few leaves on the stem. Itsspikelets, three to twelve in number, form a terminal cluster, the inner ones sessile, or nearly so, and the outer stalked and more or less drooping. They are at first oval or oblong, about half an inch long; but in fruit, usually in the month of June, they form dense cottony tufts from one to two inches in length.

The Marsh Sedge.

The other is the Hare's-tail or Sheathing Cotton Grass (E. vaginatum)—a tufted species, common on boggy moors, with many stems which are round below and triangular above, at first about six or eight inches high, but lengthening as the flowering advances. At the top of each stem is a solitary oval spikelet, of a dark brownish-green colour, over half an inch long, with many straight bristles that eventually form a dense, globular, cottony tuft about an inch in diameter. This is an earlier species, flowering during April and May.

The large genusCarexcontains many common sedges with grass-like leaves springing from the base or the lower part of the stem. Some of them have a solitary spikelet; others have several spikelets in a terminal cluster or spike, with, sometimes, stalkedspikelets below; or they are arranged in a compound spike or panicle. The flowers are all imperfect, without perianth; and the male and female flowers are either in separate spikelets or in different parts of the same one. The glumes overlap all round the axis of the spikelet; there are generally three stamens; and the ovary is enclosed in a little vase-shaped covering with a little hole at the top through which the two or three stigmas protrude.

We give illustrations of two of the commonest species; the Common Sedge (Carex vulgaris), which flowers from June to August; and the Marsh Sedge (C. paludosa), that flowers in May and June. The former grows to a height varying from six inches to two feet; and the latter to from two to three feet.

Plate VI.FLOWERS OF DOWN, HEATH AND MOOR.1. Musk Thistle.2. Clustered Bell-flower.3. Spiny Rest Harrow.4. Hairy Hawkbit.5. Sheep's-bit.6. Spotted Orchis.7. Heath Rush.

Plate VI.

FLOWERS OF DOWN, HEATH AND MOOR.

On the exposed and more or less bleak heath, down and moor we do not meet with many species of spring flowers, and for this reason we have included both spring and summer blossoms in the same chapter.

It must not be supposed, however, from the above statement, that we regard these exposed situations as devoid of interest, or even lacking in flowers, for the small number of species flowering early in the season is often compensated for by the profusion in which their blossoms are produced.

The golden blaze of the Furze or Gorse, aided more or less by the similar flowers of its little relative—the Petty Whin, is alone sufficient to add a charm to the scene, while the large yellow blossoms of the Broom often take the place of, or add to, the glorious display, which is frequently varied by the globular flowers of the Whortle, and the catkins and early leaves of the Dwarf Willow. Occasionally the scene is still further varied by the evergreen, needle-like foliage of the Juniper, intermixed with the little axillary catkins; while among the surrounding grass we see the pretty flowers of the little Eyebright; the brown flowers and hairy leaves of the Field Woodrush, often growing as thickly as the grass itself; and the short, stiff leaves and sessile spikelets of the Spring Sedge.

Among the more gaudy flowers we may note the large purple heads of the Musk Thistle, a common plant on the heaths of some southern counties; and in boggy districts we may see the abundant white, silky tufts of the Hare's-tail Cotton Grass; and the flower-clusters of the Yellow Sedge.

These and the few other spring flowers of heaths and moors are described, in their order, among the summer flowers of the present chapter. Some of them are exclusively spring blossoms, and are to beseen only in their fruiting stages during the summer months, but a few continue to bloom after spring has ended, and even far into the summer. The Furze, which often commences to flower during the first few weeks of the year, may be seen, still in bloom, during July and early August; and the Eyebright may be found in flower even to the beginning of autumn. The Musk Thistle, too, though its first flower-heads may be observed in May, or, sometimes, even in April, will continue producing new flowers well into October.

The Milkwort.

A good many species are included in the present chapter, and most of these, at least, will be easily identified by the descriptions given.

On almost all heaths and downs we may see the pretty littleMilkwort (Polygala vulgaris)—the only British representative of its order (Polygalaceæ), unless we regard some varieties of this variable plant as distinct species, according to the opinions of some authorities. It is a smooth or slightly hairy plant, with a woody stem that gives off several spreading branches varying from two to nine inches in length. The nature of the leaves and the arrangement of the flowers are shown in our illustration. The latter are very variable in colour, ranging from a pure white to lilac and a deep, rich blue; and each has five sepals, of which the two inner ones are wing-shaped, persistent, and coloured like the corolla; and at its base are three bracts, the middle and largest of which is as long as the short pedicel. The petals, three to five in number, are united, smaller than the wing-sepals, and the lowest is keel-shaped. The plant blooms from June to August; and the drooping flowers, though small, are often so abundant as to distinctly modify the general colouring of patches of heath and moor.

The Broom.

Two small species of St. John's Wort (orderHypericaceæ) are moderately abundant on downs and commons, especially in South Britain. The flowers of this order are all yellow, and may be easilyrecognised by their stamens, three or five in number, which are so much branched that they give the appearance of a large number of stamens arranged in three or five clusters. In the two species we have to consider these stamens are three in number. One is the Trailing St. John's Wort (Hypericum humifusum), a little tufted, prostrate plant, with small oblong leaves marked by minute transparent spots, and by black dots under the margins; and flowers with unequal sepals. The other is the Small St. John's Wort (H. pulchrum) which is erect, from one to two feet high, with cordate leaves that embrace the stem, and panicled flowers which are tipped with red when in the bud. Both species flower during July and August.

Passing now to theLeguminosæ, we take first the Broom (Sarothamus scopariusorCytisus scoparius)—a smooth or slightly hairy shrub, from two to six feet high, bearing large, yellow flowers during May and June. Its branches are long, erect, angular and green; and the leaves are small, ternate, with obovate, silky leaflets, or sometimes reduced to a single leaflet. The large flowers are either solitary or in pairs, shortly stalked, and arranged in the axils of the leaves of the previous summer. The fruits are black pods, usually more than an inch long, hairy round the edges of the valves, and surmounted at first by a spirally-curved style.

The Furze or Gorse.

The Furze, Gorse, or Whin (Ulex europæus) is a bush of about the same size, with more or less erect branches that all terminate in a sharp, rigid point. Sometimes little lanceolate leaves may be seen near the bases of the short branches, but normally all the leavesare reduced to sharp, green spines, about half an inch long. The flowers, usually more than half an inch long, are placed singly in the axils of the thorny leaves of the previous season, and are often so abundant as to form dense, showy clusters. The Furze is abundant in all parts of Great Britain with the exception of North Scotland, and may be seen in flower from February (or even January if the weather is mild) to July.

The Tormentil.

The Dwarf Furze (Ulex nanus), also abundant on the heaths of most parts of Britain, commences to flower in July—just about the time that the last species ceases to produce its blossoms, and continues in bloom almost to the end of the year. It is a much smaller shrub, usually from one to two feet high, of a deeper green colour. Its stem is usually procumbent; its spines weaker, and generallyturned downward; and its flowers smaller, and of a deeper, golden yellow.

On heaths and downs of most parts of England and Scotland we may meet with the Needle Green-weed, Needle Whin, or Petty Whin (Genista anglica)—a little spiny shrub, varying from a few inches to two feet in height, with erect stem and spreading branches. Its lower branches are simple, or are reduced to branched thorns, while the upper are compound, bearing small ovate or narrow leaves; and solitary, axillary, pale yellow flowers in short, leafy clusters. This species flowers during May and June.

In the same order (Leguminosæ) are two species of Rest Harrow, common on heaths and stony banks. One of these—the Common Rest Harrow (Ononis arvensis)—is a very variable plant, with pink or rose-coloured flowers that bloom from June to September. Its stem is sometimes procumbent and rooting at the base, sometimes ascending or nearly erect, and is thinly clothed on all sides by soft, spreading hairs. The leaves are usually trifoliate, with obovate or oblong, toothed leaflets, but the lateral leaflets are often very small or altogether wanting. The flowers are solitary, sessile or shortly-stalked, on short, lateral branches; and the standard (upper petal) is streaked with a darker colour.

The other species, shown onPlate VI, Fig. 3, is the Spiny Rest Harrow (O. spinosa), which, however, is sometimes regarded as a variety of the last. Its flowers are very similar in form and colour, and appear during the same time; but the stem is erect, spiny, without runners, seldom more than a foot high, and has two longitudinal rows of hairs.

Passing next to the orderRosaceæ, we first note the Dropwort (Spiræa Filipendula), of the same genus as the Meadow Sweet, frequently met with on the downs and dry pastures of England and Scotland. Its leaves are mostly radical, three or four inches long, interruptedly pinnate, with many oval or narrow segments which are themselves pinnately lobed or deeply toothed. At the base of each is a pair of stipules which are attached to the leaf-stalk throughout their length. The flowers, which appear during June and July, are white, and very much like those of the Meadow Sweet (p.219), but are larger, without scent, and generally pink when in the bud. The height of the plant is usually from twelve to eighteen inches.

In the same order we have the Tormentil (Potentilla Tormentilla), which is very abundant on heaths, dry pastures and stony banks, flowering from June to August. This plant has a prostrate (rarelyerect) stem, from six to ten inches long, repeatedly forked, and clothed with silky hairs. The leaves are compound, with three or five deeply-toothed leaflets; the lower ones sometimes shortly stalked, but the upper always sessile. The flowers are rather small, yellow, generally with four petals, on slender peduncles arising from the axils of the leaves or from the forks of the stem.

Our last example of theRosaceæis the Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus); but it should be mentioned at once that the popular name of Blackberry embraces quite a number of shrubs, often estimated at some scores of species and varieties. We cannot here, however, attempt to divide and classify the group; but we shall simply point out the features by which the shrubs in question may be distinguished, collectively, from allied shrubs that are not properly included under the same popular name. The stem of the Blackberry grows to from three to twelve feet long, and has stiff or downy hairs in addition to the prickles. It is sometimes quite prostrate, sometimes erect, but more commonly arched, and rooting at the tips as they bend to the ground. The leaves are very variable, but usually consist of three or five large, ovate leaflets, with toothed edges, more or less downy, having curved prickles along the midrib and stalks. The flowers are white or pink, in terminal panicles, with five free sepals, five distinct petals, and many stamens. The fruit is black, and consists of several one-seeded carpels which do not readily separate from the receptacle when ripe; and the persistent sepals are usually bent downward below it.

Coming now to theRubiaceæ, we have to note four species, all characterised by whorled leaves; a corolla of four, united petals; stamens attached to the corolla; and an inferior ovary, of two carpels, that ripens to a dry fruit. Three of the four belong to the Bedstraw genus (Galium), in which the corolla is wheel-shaped. They are:—

1. The Yellow or Ladies' Bedstraw (G. verum), very abundant on downs and dry banks, flowering from June to September. It has a prostrate or semi-erect, smooth stem, from six inches to two feet in length; and small, narrow leaves, six to eight in a whorl, generally slightly rough on the edges. The flowers are pale yellow, golden yellow, or greenish, arranged in dense, terminal and axillary panicles. The fruit is small and smooth.

2. The Smooth Heath Bedstraw (G. saxatile).—Abundant on downs, flowering from June to August. Its stem is prostrate, smooth, from four to six inches long; and the leaves are generallyin whorls of five or six. The flower-stalks are numerous, erect, weak, angled, smooth, each bearing a terminal panicle of many small, white flowers. The fruit is small, with a granulated surface.

3. The Upright Bedstraw (G. erectum).—Not so common as the preceding, but often found on downs and hilly pastures, flowering from June to August. It is sometimes regarded as a variety of the Great Hedge Bedstraw (G. Mollugo), described on p.172. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high; and the leaves, six to eight in a whorl, are very narrow, with marginal prickles pointing forwards. The flowers are white, in a panicle with slender, erect branches; and the fruit is smooth.

The Smooth Heath Bedstraw.

The remaining plant of this order is the Small Woodruff orSquinancy-wort (Asperula cynanchica), which is common in many parts of England and Ireland. Its stem is smooth, sometimes erect with scattered leaves, and sometimes prostrate, leafy and tufted. It varies in length from six to ten inches. The leaves are very narrow, usually four in a whorl, and very unequal. At the upper nodes two of each whorl are often reduced to mere scales, or are absent altogether. The flowers, which appear during June and July, are white or pinkish, and are clustered at the tips of the erect stems. The fruit is small, with a granulated surface.

The Dwarf Thistle.

The Small Scabious (Scabiosa Columbaria), of the orderDipsaceæ, is common on the dry heaths of England, and is readily distinguished from the Devil's-bit Scabious, which it somewhat resembles, by its deeply-divided leaves and pale purple or lilac flowers. Its stem is erect, from one to two feet high. The lower leaves are rather crowded, and usually have a large, oval or oblong, terminal segment, deeply toothed or lobed, and some smaller ones below it. The stemleaves are cut into very narrow segments which are either entire or pinnately lobed. The flowers are in dense, terminal heads, surrounded by a whorl of short bracts, and intermixed with the little, narrow scales of the receptacle, the outer flowers of each head being larger than the others, and very irregular. This plant flowers during July and August.

Of theCompositæwe shall first take the Hairy Hawkbit (Leontodon hirtus), which is very common on moors in most parts of Great Britain, flowering during July and August. Although known as theHairyHawkbit, this plant is sometimes quite smooth; more commonly, however, the leaves and peduncles are clothed with thinly-scattered, stiff, forked hairs. Its leaves are all radical, either oblong or very narrow, with coarsely-toothed or wavy margins. The flower-heads are solitary, on peduncles from three to eight inches long, and of a bright yellow colour. Each head is surrounded by a whorl of about a dozen green, smooth bracts, outside which are several shorter ones. All the florets are strap-shaped and perfect; and the fruits, which taper at the top, are mostly crowned by a pappus of feathery hairs as long as the achene itself, with a few shorter ones outside. This species appears onPlate VI, Fig. 4.

We have next to note a few thistles that are more or less common on downs and moors, the first being the Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans), common in the South of England, but much less frequent in the North. It is a stout plant, usually scantily covered with a loose, cottony down, with a furrowed stem from one to three feet high. The leaves are very deeply divided pinnately, very prickly, and extend down the stem in the form of narrow, prickly wings. The flower-heads are very large, of a purple or crimson colour, drooping, usually solitary, but sometimes in loose clusters of from two to four. Each head is surrounded by numerous very narrow, stiff bracts, more or less covered with cottony down. All of these terminate in a sharp prickle which is erect on the inner bracts, but spreading or turned backward in the case of the outer ones. This thistle may be seen in flower from May to October. It appears onPlate VI, Fig. 1.

The next species—the Dwarf Thistle (Carduus acaulis)—is found only in the southern and midland counties of England, but is very common on some of the elevated downs of the South-East, especially on chalky soils. It has a very thick and hard rootstock, but hardly any trace of a stem, so that its spreading tuft of radicalleaves lie close on the ground, around the large, purple, stemless, and, usually, solitary flower-head. The plant flowers from July to September.

The Carline Thistle.

The Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris), as its name shows, does not belong to the same genus as the others, from which it differs principally in having its inner bracts coloured and spreading. It is an erect plant, with a stiff stem, usually branching, from six to eighteen inches high. Its leaves are very prickly, and do not form wings down the stem. The flower-heads are particularly interesting, having much the appearance of everlasting flowers. In fact, the whole plant is of such a stiff and dry nature that it undergoes but little change in appearance when cut and preserved. The outer bracts are leafy and spreading, with strong, prickly teeth or lobes; and the inner ones are very narrow, entire, white or pale yellow, of a chaffy nature and very glossy. The latter are very sensitiveto atmospheric conditions, spreading horizontally when the air is dry, and closing over the florets in humid air; and they respond so readily to the changed conditions that their movements may be watched as they are transferred from warm, dry air to a moist chamber, orvice versa. This plant is common on the downs of England and Ireland, and flowers from July to September.

The Common Chamomile.

Our last Composite flower is the Common Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis), which is abundant on the downs of the southern counties of England, flowering from July to September. It is an aromatic herb, with a procumbent stem, from six to twelve inches long, and ascending, leafy, flowering branches. The leaves are bipinnate, slightly downy, with very fine, almost hairlike, segments. The flower-heads are terminal, with a white ray and yellow disc, surrounded by blunt bracts the inner of which have membranous tips. On the receptacle are little broad scales, nearly as long as the disc florets.

On heaths almost everywhere we may see the prettyRoundleaved Bell-flower or Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), which displays its gracefully drooping bells from July to September. It has a slender, smooth, erect or ascending stem, from six to twenty inches high, which is usually branched. Its popular and scientific names both appear to be inappropriate if we examine the plant during its flowering season, for the only leaves then usually observable are the very narrow ones, generally quite entire, attached to the stem; earlier in the year, however, it has a few round or heart-shaped leaves, with long stalks, close to the base of the stem; but these commonly die about the time that the flowers commence to appear. The flowers are sometimes solitary, but often form a loose raceme of several bells.

The Harebell.

The Clustered Bell-flower (Campanula glomerata) is common on the downs of most parts of England, and often very abundant in the South. It has a stiff, hairy, erect, angular, unbranched stem, from three to eighteen inches high. On some of the dry, chalky downs of the South the plant is often very dwarfed, being scarcely noticeable among the rather closely-cropped grass. The leaves are oblong or lanceolate, with crenate margins, rough and hairy, the lower ones stalked, but the upper sessile and clasping the stem. The flowers are about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and form a dense cluster among the upper leaves. The corolla is blue, bell-shaped, with five spreading lobes; and the fruit is a short, broad capsule, surmounted by the teeth of the calyx, and opens, when ripe, by slits near the base. This species flowersduring July and August. It may be identified by reference to Fig. 2 ofPlate VI.

The same order includes the Sheep's-bit (Jasione montana), also known as the Sheep's Scabious. It certainly resembles a Scabious in general appearance (see Fig. 5 ofPlate VI), with its dense clusters of blue or deep lilac flowers, but may be readily distinguished from it by the united anthers of its five stamens, and by the absence of the involucel that surrounds the individual flowers of the Scabious flower-head. The dense cluster of flowers, surrounded by a whorl of many ovate bracts, might also be mistaken for that of a Composite at first sight; but here again we find exclusive distinguishing features, for the flowers of the cluster are not sessile on a common receptacle; and the fruits, instead of being one-seeded achenes, are two-chambered capsules. The plant is from six to twelve inches high; and its leaves are oblong or very narrow, wavy, blunt, and hairy. The flower-heads are hemispherical, about half an inch in diameter. Both calyx and corolla have five narrow, spreading lobes. The plant is common on heaths, and flowers from June to September.

The Cross-Leaved Heath.

We now come to those interesting plants known collectively as Heaths, and which add so much beauty to our heaths and moors. They belong to the orderEricaceæ, and are all readily distinguished by their bushy appearance, hard woody stems, and small, simple leaves arranged in pairs or whorls. The flowers, too, are very characteristic, each one having an inferior calyx of four sepals; a bell-shaped or pitcher-shaped, persistent corolla, with five lobes; eight stamens free from the corolla; and a four-chambered ovary that ripens to a capsule.

The Cross-leaved Heath (Erica Tetralix) is common all over Britain, especially so in the West. It is a wiry little shrub, from a foot to eighteen inches high, much branched at the base. Its leaves are short, narrow, downy above, fringed with stiff hairs, and arrangedin whorls of four, each whorl forming a cross. The drooping flowers, which appear during July and August, are usually rose-coloured, occasionally white, and are arranged in close, terminal, one-sided clusters.

The Ciliated Heath (Erica ciliaris), perhaps the most beautiful of the British species, is found only in the West of England, but is really abundant on some of the Devon and Cornwall moorlands. It is of a somewhat straggling nature, and its ovate leaves, which are downy above, and fringed with stiff hairs, are in whorls of three or four. The flowers are sometimes nearly half an inch long, of a bright rose or crimson colour, and are arranged in broken, one-sided racemes. The corolla is pitcher-shaped, with four lobes round the narrow mouth. The plant reaches a length of from twelve to eighteen inches, and flowers from June to September.

The Bell Heather or Fine-Leaved Heath.

Our last example of this genus—the Bell Heather or Fine-leaved Heath (E. cinerea)—is, perhaps, the commonest of all, for it abounds on the moors and heaths of nearly all parts of Britain. It is a very tough and wiry shrub, from one to two feet high, with narrow leaves in whorls of three or four, and smaller leaves in their axils. The flowers vary in colour, being either purple, crimson, rose, or occasionally white. They are in dense, leafy racemes, not one-sided, but rather regularly whorled. The time of flowering is from July to September.

In the same order is the Common Ling (Calluna vulgaris)—a straggling shrub, from one to three feet high, bearing rose-coloured, lilac or white flowers from July to September. This shrub may be identified at once by its leaves, which are very small, and closely overlapping in four rows. Its flowers are small, drooping, shortlystalked, each with two pairs of small bracts at its base; and are arranged in irregular, leafy racemes on the topmost branches.

Still in the same order (Ericaceæ), but quite distinct from the Heaths, are a few moorland shrubs the berries of which are largely eaten by the country-folk. They belong to the genusVaccinium, and have scattered, deciduous or evergreen leaves. We have noticed that in the heaths the ovary is superior, but in the present genus it is inferior; that is, it is situated below the calyx and corolla, which parts are attached to its upper border. The calyx has four or five lobes; and the corolla, which is bell-shaped or pitcher-shaped, has the same number of lobes or teeth. The stamens, eight or ten in number, are usually rendered peculiar by the tubular bristles that extend upwards from the anther cells. The berries are globular or nearly so, and contain several seeds. Some species of this genus are rare, but three, at least, may be included here. They are—

1. The Whortleberry or Bilberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus).—A smooth shrub, from six to eighteen inches high, common everywhere except in some of the eastern counties, flowering from April to June. Its stem is erect or spreading, branched, green, and sharply angular. The leaves are shortly stalked, ovate, serrate, seldom more than an inch long; and the flowers are nearly globular, with small teeth, drooping on short stalks, and placed singly in the axils of the leaves. They are of a greenish rose or flesh-colour, often tinged with red, and have a very waxy appearance.

2. The Great Bilberry or Bog Whortleberry (Vaccinium uliginosum).—A smaller and more woody shrub, from six to ten inches high, growing only in the moorland bogs of North Britain. Its stem and branches are round or scarcely angular, and usually procumbent and crooked. The leaves are small, obovate or round, entire, thin, deciduous, with the veins strongly marked on the under side; and the flowers are globular, of a pale pink colour, smaller than those of the last species. This species flowers during May and June.

3. The Red Whortleberry or Cowberry (V. Vitis-idæa).—A straggling, much branched, and woody shrub, from six to eighteen inches high, found chiefly on the mountainous heaths of the North. Its leaves are evergreen, obovate, dotted beneath, with the margins slightly rolled back; and the flowers are bell-shaped, of a pale pink or flesh-colour, arranged in rather dense, drooping clusters. The latter, which bloom from June to August, are followed by red, globular berries.

On wet, marshy heaths we occasionally meet with the MarshGentian (Gentiana Pneumonanthe). It is a very local plant, growing chiefly, though not exclusively, in the northern and midland counties of England. Its stem is erect, stiff, leafy and unbranched, usually from six to ten inches high; and its leaves are sessile, linear, obtuse, rather thick, the lower ones broader than the upper. The flowers, which bloom during August and September, are represented onPlate V.

The Eyebright.

In the same order (Gentianaceæ) is the Autumn or Small-flowered Gentian (Gentiana Amarella)—a little erect plant, from three to twelve inches high, common on dry heaths and stony pastures. Its stem is square, very leafy, simple or branched, often of a blue-green or purple colour; and the leaves are sessile, opposite, ovate or lanceolate. The flowers are of a pale purple colour, from half to three-quarters of an inch long, arranged in an oblong, leafy cluster. The calyx is divided quite half way down into five unequal, narrow segments; and the corolla has a broad tube with four or five ovatelobes that spread only in the direct rays of the sun. The time of flowering is August and September.

One of the Dodders—the Lesser Dodder (Cuscuta Epithymum)—is essentially a plant of heaths and moors, where it is parasitic on Heaths, Thyme, and other shrubby plants. It is described inChapter XXIII, where will also be found a short account of its growth and parasitic habits.

Our only example of theScrophulariaceæas far as this chapter is concerned—the Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis)—is also a partial parasite, and is referred to, with other plants of the same nature, inChapter XXIII. It is a little plant, the general appearance of which is shown in our illustration. It varies from one to eight inches high, and bears little lilac, lipped flowers, streaked with purple, with a rather large yellow spot at the base of the lower lip.

One of the Mints—Mentha Pulegium(orderLabiatæ)—well-known as a garden herb under the name of Pennyroyal, is to be found on damp heaths. Though not very common, it is widely distributed, occurring in nearly all parts of Great Britain. It is very aromatic, and is largely cultivated for use as a remedy for colds. The flowers are of a lilac colour, arranged in dense, distant whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is downy without, hairy at the throat within; and the corolla has almost equal lobes, the upper of which is notched. The plant flowers in August and September.

In the same order is the Wild Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum)—a little, wiry, prostrate plant, with an aromatic odour, very abundant on the dry heaths of most parts of Britain, flowering from June to August. Its stem is thin but hard, and much branched, the numerous flowerless branches usually forming a dense tuft close to the ground. The flowers are purple, in whorls of five or six in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is lipped, of a deep red colour, and its mouth is closed with hairs after the corolla is shed. The corolla is of a paler colour, and indistinctly divided into two lips, the upper of which is erect and notched, while the lower is cleft into three lobes. The time of flowering is from June to August.

The Wood Sage or Wood Germander (Teucrium Scorodonia) is very abundant on damp heaths, and is also commonly seen in hedgerows and on banks, especially in hilly and heathy districts. It is an erect plant, from one to two feet high, with a hard, hairy, slightly-branched stem. Its paired leaves are stalked, ovate or cordate, toothed, downy, and much wrinkled like the leaves of thetrue Sages. The flowers are yellowish white, arranged in pairs on terminal and axillary racemes, with a small bract at the foot of each short flower-stalk. Although not very conspicuous, they are very attractive to bees, providing abundance of nectar. There is no true upper lip to the corolla, the upper part being deeply cleft, with a small lobe on each side; and the stamens and stigma project beyond the petals. This plant flowers during July and August.

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