LAN KEiRBHttfraijHiRHmJ HBBBHHH i ' in 1 ' siBBBBBB AGRfSOLTURAL THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Ex Libris ISAAC FOOT THE FLOWERING PLANTS, GRASSES, SEDGES, AND FERNS OF GREAT BRITAIN, AND THEIR ALLIES THE CLUB MOSSES, PEPPERWORTS AND HORSETAILS. BY ANNE PRATT, 41TTHOR OF OUR "NATIVE SONGSTERS," " WILD FLOWERS." ETC 3IHIOTICM OF VOL. I. (FLOWERING PLANTS, WITH 220 SPECIES COLOURED.) LONDON : FREDERICK W A R N E AND CO. BEDFORD STREET, STRAND. LONDON: E\V, & CO., PCJNTERS, WH1TEFK1ARS. LIST OF PLANTS IN VOL. I. Aconiium Napellu* Actaa spicata . . Adonis autumnalis . Ayrostemma Githayo Althaea qfficinalis . Jiirsuta . Anemone nemorosa . Piilsatilla . Apennina . ranunculoid;-i Aquikgia vulgar is . Ardbis thaliana . . hirsuta . . petrcea . . ciliata . . slricta . . Turrita . . Arenaria trinervis . serpyllifolla . verna . rubdla . . uliginosa . . (enuifolia . fastifjiata . Norvegica . ciliata . . rubra . , , Barbarea vulgarii . prcecox . . Berberis vulgarii . Common Monkshood . , . Baneberry ..... . Pheasant's Eye Corn Cockle Marsh Mallow Hispid Marsh Mallow ..... 47 Plate 8 8 3 37 47 Wood Anemone . . . Pasque-flower .... Blue Mountain Anemone Yellow Wood Anemone Common Columbine . . Hock- cress Hairy Rock-cress . . Alpine Rock-cress 22 Fringed Rock-cress 22 Bristol Rock- cress 22 Tower Rock-cress 22 Three-nerved Sand wort 43 Thyme-leaved Sandwort .... 43 Vernal Sandwort 43 Alpine Sandwort 43 Bog Sandwort Fine-leaved Sandwort 43 Level-topped Sandwort 43 Norwegian Sandwort Fringed Sandwort 43 Purple Sandwort 43 Sea-side Sandwort Spurrey ... 43 44 46 23 235 284 287 | 20 | 21 23 23 41 116 11(5 116 117 117 117 251 251 252 253 253 253 254 254 254 255 Bitter Winter-cress 23 2 118 Early Winter-cress 23 3 119 j Barberry 10 1 61 I ir LIST OF PLANTS IN VOL. I. Plate Fig. Pag* Snutica campestrit . . 28 1 139 oleracea .... Sea Cabbage 28 2 140 Monemis . . . Isle of Man Cabbage 28 3 144 Naput .... E-.pe Seed 28 4 144 Common Turnip 28 5 144 Buffonia annua . . . 45 7 262 Cardamine amara . . . Large-flowered Bitter-cress . . . 21 2 112 pratensis . . . Common Bitter-cress, or Cuckoo-flower 21 3 112 impatient , . . Narrow-leaved Bitter-cress .... 21 4 114 hirsuta .... Hairy Bitter-cress 21 5 115 CaTcile maritime . . . Purple Sea-Rocket 20 1 105 Caltha paluf .ris . . . . Marsh Marigold 7 2 38 ICamelina tativa .... Gold of Pleasure/ 19 1 102 Capsellji Bursa-pastorix . Shepherd's PursC 15 4 89 Cert siiwm viscosum . . Viscid Mouse-ear Chickweed . . . 44 3 257 vulgatum . . . Broad-leaved Mouse-ear Chickweed . 44 2 258 semidecandrwn . Little Mouse-ear Chickweed . . . 44 4 258 tetrandrwn . . . Four-cleft Mouse-ear Chickweed . . 44 5 259 arvense .... Field Chickweed 44 6 259 alpinum .... Hairy Alpine Mouse-ear Chickweed . 44 7 260 latifolluin . . . Broad- leaved Alpine Mouse-ear Chickweed 260 trigynum . . . Stitch wort Mouse-ear Chickweed . . 261 aquaticum . . . Water Mouse-ear Chickweed . . . 44 1 261 Cheiranthus Cheiri . . . Wallflower 27 1 132 Cherleria sedoides . . . Mossy Cyphel 45 1 261 Chdidonium majus. . . Larger Celandine 12 5 74 Clematis Vitalba . . . 2 1 16 C'Chlearia officinalis . . Grcenlandica . . Anglica .... Common Scurvy-grassJ^ .... Greenland Scurvy-grail '. . . . English Scurvy-grass 17 17 17 1 95 2 97 3 97 Danica .... Danish Scurvy-grass . . . . . 17 4 97 Armoracia . . 17 5 97 '] Coronopus Ruellii . . . 20 3 108 didyma '. . . . 20 4 108 i Corydalia claviculota . . 14 1 76 tolida .... 14 2 77 lutea 14 3 78 Crambe maritima . . . Sea Kale 20 2 106 Delphinium Consolida . Field Larkspur 8 2 49 Dcntaria bulbifera . . . 21 1 111 Dianthus Armeria . . . 36 1 206 36 2 206 Caryophyllus . . Clove Pink 36 3 207 LIST OF PLANTS IN VOL. I. V Plate Fig. Page TV il ' 36 4 218 deltoidea .... Maiden Pink 36 5 213 D 7i Vernal Whitlow-orass 18 2 99 uizoidcs '. . . . Yellow Alpine Whitlow-grass . . . 18 3 100 incana .... Twisted- podded Whitlow-giais . . 18 4 101 muroZi* .... Speedwell-leaved Whitlow-grass . . 18 5 101 . Rock Whitlow- grass 18 6 102 Dr s ra rotundi'fol'ia Round-leaved Sundew ..... 34 1 178 longi folia Spathulate-leaved Sundew .... 34 2 189 Anglica .... Great Sundew^X 34 3 190 Elatine hexandra . . Six-stamened Water- wort .... 35 4 201 Hydropiper . . . Eight-stamened Water-wort . . . 35 5 202 Epimedium alpinum . Alpine Barren-wort ...... 10 2 55 Erysimum cheiranthoides . Worm-seed Treacle-Mustard . . . 26 1 129 Alliaria .... Garlic Treacle- Mustard . ^. . . 26 2 129 orientale .... Hare's-ear Treacle- Mustard . . . 26 3 131 Frankcnia lewis .... Smooth Sea- Heath . 35 2 197 Powdery Sea-Heath ...... 35 3 200 Fumaria capreolata . . Ramping Fumitory 14 4 78 officinalis Common Fumitory 14 5 80 parviflora ... Least-flowered Fumitory .... 14 6 81 micrantha . . . Small-flowered Fumitory .... 81 Glaucium luteam . Yellow Horned-Poppy 12 4 72 phosniccum Scarlet Horned- Poppy 73 violaceum . Violet Horned-Poppy 13 4 74 Zlillcborus viridis 7 3 39 fwtidus .... 7 4 40 BcliafitJiCTnum vuloare Common rl^ck-rowe . . . . 32 1 161 surrejanum . Dotted-leaved R.ick-rose .... 32 5 161 canum .... Hoary Dwarf Eock-rose .... 32 2 163 guttatum. . . . Spotted Annual Rock-rose . . . 32 3 163 polifolium . White Rock-rose 32 4 163 ledifolium . . . Ledum-leuved Rock-rose .... 32 6 163 ITe&npris matrftnfLlii Dame's Violet 154 flolosteum umbellatum Umbelliferous Jagged Chickweed 40 5 240 Honckcnya pcploidcs Sea Purslane . . ... 43 1 250 Rock Hutcbinsia . 15 5 91 Iberis amara 16 5 95 / satis tinctoria .... Woad 19 3 109 Koniga maritima . Sweet Alyssum 19 2 lOf LIST OF PLANTS IN VOL. I. Lavatera arborea, . , ' Lcpidium latifolium, . . Sea Tree Mallow Common Pepperwort . . Flatt 47 16 Fig. 1 1 Pagt 282 92 ruderale . campestre . . Smithii . . . . Nai row-leaved Pepperwort . . . . Field Pepperwort . 16 16 16 2 3 4 94 94 94 Linum perenne . 45 3 26t5 angustifoliuiii . . Narrow-leaved Pale Flax .... 45 45 3 4 266 267 catharticum . Cathartic Flax 45 *> 272 LycJmis Flos-cuculi 39 1 f>27 viscaria . . . Red German Catchfly 39 2 233 . Red Alpine Catchfly .... 39 3 233 vespertine . . 39 4 234 diurna . . 39 *, 234 Mosncliia erecta . . . 40 4 240 Malva sylvestris . . . 46 1 275 rotundifolut . moschata . . . Dwarf Mallow . Musk Mallow 46 46 2 3 280 282 Hoary Shrubby Stock . ... 27 2 135 sinuata . . . . Great Sea Stock ./. Yellow Welsh Poppy 27 13 3 3 138 71 Myoaurus minimus . . Nasturtium officinale . . Common Mousetail 6 24 5 1 35 120 tylvestre . 24 123 amphibium . . terrestre . . . Nuphar lutea . . . pumila . . . Nymphcea alba . . . Paionia coralliua . . Papaver A rgemone . hybridutn . . dubium . Rhceas . . . . Amphibious Yellow Cress .... . Annual Yellow Cress . Yellow Water- Lily . Least Yellow Water-Lily .... . Great White Watcr-Lilyyf . . . . Entire-leaved Common Preony . . . Long Rough-headed Po:>py ... . Round Rough-headed P<>;>py . . . . Long Smooth-headed Poppy . . . Common Red Poppy . . . . 24 24 11 11 11 9 12 12 12 13 13 4 3 2 3 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 124 124 61 63 57 47 64 66 66 66 68 Polygala vulgaris . . 35 1 192 , Radiola mittegrana . Thyme-leaved Flax-seed .... 45 4 6 1 273 25 hederaceut . . . Ivy-leaved Crowfoot Alpine White Crowfoot . . 4 4 2 3 26 27 4 4 27 LIST OF PLANTS IN VOL. I. vii Plate Fig. Page Ranunculus Flammula . Lesser Spearwort ...... 4 5 27 Ficaria .... 5 1 28 auricomus . . Wood Crowfoot 5 2 80 tceleratus . . . Celery-leaved Crowfoot .... 5 3 30 bulbosus .... Bulbous-rooted Crowfoot . . . 5 4 31 repens .... 5 5 32 6 1 34 hirsutus .... 6 2 34 arvensis .... 6 3 34 parviflorus . . . Small-flowered Crowfoot . . . 6 4 35 Raphanus Raphanistrum . Wild Radish . 30 1 154 maritimus . Sea Radish . 30 2 156 Rc-scda Lutcola Dyer's Rocket ....... . 31 1 157 lutea Wild Mignonette . 31 2 157 fruticulosa . . . . 81 3 160 Sagina procumbent . . . Procumbent Pearl- wort. . . . . 40 I 237 apetala .... Annual Small-flowered Pearl-wort . 40 2 239 maritima . . . . 40 3 239 Saponaria officinalis . . Common Soapwort . 37 1 213 Stlene acaulia .... . 83 1 217 vnjlaio, . . . S3 j 219 maritima ... Sea-side Campion . 38 3 220 Oh'fea 4 221 Anglica .... . 33 5 221 nwtarcs .... . 38 6 222 Italica, .... Italian Catchfly . 224 conica .... . 38 7 224 Armeria .... Common Catchfly . 38 8 226 noctiflora . . . Night-floweriBg Catchfly . . . . 38 9 226 Sinapis arvensis . . . Charlock . 29 1 148 afta White Mustard . 29 2 149 . 29 3 149 Wall Rocket . 29 4 152 mwraZis .... Sand Rocket . 29 5 153 Sitymbrium officinale . . Common Hedge-Mustard ... . 25 1 124 Irio . 25 2 126 SqpAfa .... . 25 3 128 Spergula arvensis . . . . 41 1 241 nodosa .... . 41 2 242 saginoida . . . Pearl-wort Spurrey . 41 3 243 subultta .... . 41 4 243 Stellaria media .... Chickweed ........ . 42 2 243 holostea .... Greater Stitchworfc ./.... . 42 3 245 graminea . . . . 42 5 248 glauca .... Glaucous Marsh Stitchwort . . . 42 4 248 riii LIST OF PLANTS IN VOL. L Plate Fig. Pagt Stettaria uiiylnosa, . . . Bog Stitch wort 42 8 249 nemorum . . . Wood Stitchwort 42 1 249 Subularia aquatica. . . Water Awl- wort 18 1 98 Teesdalia nudicaulis . . Naked-stalked Teesdalia .... 15 6 92 T/ialictrum alpinum . . Alpine Meadow-Rue 22 18 minus .... Lesser Meadow-Rue 2 3 18 Jtavum .... Yellow Meadow-Rue 24 19 Thlaspi arvense .... Mithridate-Mustard 15 1 87 perfoliatum . . . Perforate Penny-cress 15 2 88 alpestre .... Alpine Penny-cress 15 3 89 Trdttiut Europeans . . . Mountain Globe-flower 71 36 Turritit glabra, . . . . Smooth Tower-Mustard 23 1 118 Violahirta Hairy Violet 33. 1 165 odorata .... Sweet Violet 33 2 166 palustris .... Marsh Violet 33 3 173 canina .... Dog Violet 33 4 174 pumila . . . ,. Dwarf Yellow- sparred Violet . . . 33 6 175 lactea, Cream-coloured Violet 33 6 175 tricolor .... Pansy Violet, or Heartsease ... 33 7 176 fofea . . Yellow Mountain Violet ... S3 8 177 THE FLOWERING PLANTS GEEAT BEITAIN. As one of the chief objects of this work is to aid those who have not hitherto studied Botany, some slight explanation is necessary of its mode of arrangement, and of the terms employed. English, rather than Latin, terms have in all cases been used by the writer, so as to adapt the Flora to the use of the unscientific. The method of classification is that which is termed the Natural System. The system of Linnaeus, though well suited for convenience of reference, has yielded in our day to an arrangement which is founded on the more true affinities in plants, and by which they are grouped according to their nature, structure, and proper- ties, instead of being classed by more arbitrary signs. Various Natural Systems have been employed by botanists, but that which is now chiefly used in Britain is one adapted from those of Jussieu and Decandolle. By this plan, the whole Vegetable Kingdom is divided VOL. i. p, 2 FLOWERING PLANTS into three great Classes. These are divided into Sub- classes, which are again divided into Orders, and these orders into Genera, containing Species and Varieties. The last-named distinction is not always so obvious as the others, and it is one on which botanists often differ, some regarding only as a variety thatwhich others have determined to be a species. A Species is a collection of individual plants which resemble each other in all im- portant points, these characters being found constantly in the plants underall circumstances of soil or situation. A Variety is a difference which is not permanent nor essential. Thus, the colour of a flower, an unusual number of the petals, the thorny or smooth condition of its stem, is sufficient only to constitute a variety, because under other conditions of its growth the plant would be likely to lose these peculiarities. The following explanation of the descriptive terms used will aid the reader to comprehend them : THE EOOT. This often consists, as in most Grasses, of a tuft of fibres (Fig. 1), with pores at their points, by means of which they absorb nutriment from the soil. In other cases, however, the nourishment drawn by the fibres is received in another organ ; and this part is then termed the root, and the fibres the rootlets. The principal forms of the root are The Creeping root (2), of which we have familiar examples in the Couch-grass and Horseradish. The Spindle-shaped root (3) : examples, Parsnep and Carrot. A spindle-shaped root ending abruptly, as if bitten off, is termed jpremorse, as in the Preinorse Scabious (4). OF GREAT BRITAIN. 3 The Tuberous root consists of one or more roundish solid masses, from the surface of which rootlets and buds arise, as in the Potato (5). The Bulbous root (6) is a round firm mass, with fibres issuing from its base, and a bud at its summit. It is formed either of fleshy scales, as in the White Lily (7) ; of several concentric coats, as in the Onion ; or of one uniform solid mass, like the Crocus (6). THE STEM. A stem is said to be simple when without branches, and bearing only leaves and flowers, or leaves only, as the Grass of Parnassus (8). A compound stem is repeatedly and irregularly branched, as in the Pearl wort (9). A stem is termed forked when it divides into two branches of equal, or nearly equal, size, as in the Annual Knawel (10). An ascending stem is one which, on first emerging from the root, is horizontal, and then becomes erect. When several stems grow from one root, the central one is often erect, and the others ascending, as in the Common Mallow (11). A prostrate stem runs along the ground, and never becomes erect. A creeping stem runs along the ground, and sends out roots from its joints. Some plants have erect stems and creeping scions or shoots from the base, as the Creeping Buttercup (12). THE AXIL. The angle between the leaf and the stem. A flower or bud rising from this angle is termed axil- lary. The blossoms of the Wall Pellitory, or the Balsam, are axillary between the leaves and the stem (1 3). 4 FLOWERING PLANTS THE LEAF. Leaves springing around the root are termed radical, as the Primrose ; those which grow on the stem are alternate, as the Balsam (13); or whorled,2& the Common Cleavers (15); or opposite, as the Pink (14). Leaves without stalks are termed sessile, as the Eryngo (16). A leaf which is composed of one piece only is said to be simple, as the Marsh Marigold (17); a ternate leaf consists of three leaflets on a common stalk, as in the Clover (18) ; a quinate, of five, as in Marsh Cinquefoil (19). A leaf is termed pinnate from penna,& feather when a number of leaflets are arranged along each side of a common leaf-stalk, as in the Brier-rose or the Vetches (20). A simple leaf is sometimes wavy at the edge, as in the Oak (21 ); or three, five, or seven-lobed, as in the Mallow (22). A leaf is said to be palmate when the five or seven lobes are more than half-way divided, leaving a portion in the centre of the leaf like the palm of the hand, as in the Hellebore (24). A leaf ispedate, when the two side lobes are divided a second time at the edge near the stalk (25). Kpinnatijid leaf is one which is cut regularly into narrow segments, almost to the middle rib, as in the Small Scabious. A pectinated leaf is one whose narrow segments re- semble the teeth of a comb, as the "Water Violet. A peltate leaf is one which has a stalk attached at, or near its centre, as the Garden Nasturtium (26). A perfoliate leaf is one, through the centre of which a stalk passes, as in Hare's Ear (27). Two leaves joined at their bases, and having a stem OF GREAT BRITAIN. 5 passing through them, are termed connate, as in the Chlora or Yellowwort (28). A leaf which clasps the stem at its base, like that of the Yellow-horned Poppy, is termed amplexicaul. The margin of a leaf may be entire, as in the Soap- wort (29); crenate, as in Marsh Pennywort (30); serrate (saw-edged), as in Rose (31); toothed, as in Enchanter's Nightshade (32); or fringed, as in Rock-rose (33). The terms employed in this volume, to describe the forms of leaves, are Hair -like ; as in Fennel (34). Linear ; as in Grass. Strap-shaped ; as in Sand Strap wort (35). Oblong ; as in Rock-rose (33). Elliptical ; oval, with both ends alike, as in the leaf- lets of Rose (31). Egg-shaped; oval, with the base broader than the extremity, as in Pear (36). Inversely egg-shaped; oval, with the base narrower than the extremity, as in Brook weed (37). Rounded ; as in Winter Green (38). Heart-shaped ; as in the Violet (39). Inversely heart-shaped; as in the leaflets of Medick (18). Kidney-shaped; as in Ground Ivy (40). Arrow-shaped; as in Tower Mustard (41). Halbert-shaped ; arrow-shaped, with the barbs turned outwards, as in the Common Pink Bindweed. Angular ; as in Frosted Sea Orache (42). Sword-shaped; as in Water Flag (43). STIPULES : two little wing-like pieces often seen at the 6 FLOWERING PLANTS base of the leafstalk, as in the Rose (44) and the Vetches. In the former, the stipule is oblong ; in the latter, it is often arrow-shaped. BRACTS are the small leaves, often situated beneath the flower, as in the Broom Rape (45), and Evening Prim- rose (46). When several of these floral leaves grow in a whorl, they form what is termed an involucre (48). In plants of the Umbelliferous tribe, they often grow at the base of the general and partial umbels, as in the Parsley (47); and in Compound flowers, as the Dandelion, they are numerous at the base of the heads of flowers. In this flower they are more like scales than small leaves. THE FLOWER. The CALYX or flower-cup. This enfolds the bud before fully blown, and generally afterwards surrounds the blossom. It is usually green, and its several leaves are termed sepals. Sometimes the sepals unite at the base, forming a true cup, but the calyx varies much in form. When composed of two distinct lobes, one of which overhangs the other, it is termed gaping : in some cases it is double (49) : and in the Compound and some other flowers, it is at first a mere ring, which ultimately becomes the pappus or down (50). THE COROLLA. This is the brightly tinted portion of the flower,whichis supportedby the calyx. The divisions are termed petals. The petals are either distinct, as in the Rose or Wall-flower, in which the upper large part of the petal is termed the limb, and the lower the claw ; or they are united below, like the Primrose, the flat portion of which is called the border, the lower the tube. The corolla has usually as many petals as there are sepals in OF GEEAT BEITAIN. 7 the calyx, and if these are all of the same size and shape, the corolla is termed regular, as in the Brier-rose (51). The most common forms of the regular corolla are Salver-shaped; as in the Primrose and Phlox (52). Funnel-shaped; as in the Cowslip (53). Wheel-shaped; when the tube is very short and its margin quite flat, as in the Speedwells (54). Hell-shaped; as in the Hyacinth (55). Trumpet-shaped; as in the Convolvulus (56). The irregular one-petalled corolla is in some cases divided into two lobes, one of which overhangs the other. It is then termed labiate or lipped. The Sage, Mint, and Thyme, are common examples of labiate flowers. If the lobes are open, as in the Yellow Dead Nettle (57), the corolla is said to be gaping ; if closed, as in the Toadflax (58), it is termed personate, from persona, a mask. Compound flowers, like the Daisy, Chamomile, &c., have frequently two kinds of florets in one blossom ; those of the disk, or centre, being of tubular form ; those of the ray, strap-shaped. When four petals are placed crosswise, the blossom is termed cruciferous, as the "Wall-flower (59). Papilionaceous, or butterfly-shaped blossoms, are those, which, like the Pea or Vetch (60), have five irregular petals, the upper one large, and termed the standard ; the two side ones, called the wings ; and two lower ones, which are often combined, and which are termed the keel. All flowers have not both calyx and corolla. The Lily and Tulip are examples of flowers without a green calyx; the little Pearl wort has no coloured corolla. The word perianth is used in both cases to express the part of the FLOWERING PLANTS llower which encloses the stamens and pistils. Some flowers, as the Water Starwort, have neither calyx nor corolla (61). When the perianth is said to be double, it signifies that both corolla and calyx are present. THE STAMENS. The stamens (62) are the small organs which stand around the centre of the perianth. The lower part of the stamen is termed the filament ; the anther is the upper part. When the filament is slender throughout, it is said to be threadlike ; but if thicker at the base and tapering at the point, it is termed awl- sltaped. The anther is most frequently oblong, com- posed of two lobes and two cells, which contain the fine yellow, white, or black dust, called the pollen. Anthers without filaments are said to be sessile. Sometimes the filaments are united into little bundles, as in the St. John's Wort (63) , sometimes they form a hollow tube, as in the Mallow (64), the anthers remaining separate, and being termed free ; sometimes they are united into a ring, as in the Heath (65). THE PISTIL (66) is the central part of the flower, and is composed of the ovary or germen (a), which contains the rudiments of the future seed ; the style or column (b) ; and the stigma (c), which is at the summit of the style. It is sometimes a mere viscid point, but more often it is a flat, lobed, or globular organ. Most flowers have but one pistil ; but there is fre- quently a single ovary bearing several styles and stigmas. The ovary, in such cases, usually consists of several cells, each of which, including its style and stigma, is termed a carpel (67). The same name is given to the ovaries in flowers when they are separated, or in others, when they are united. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 9 The same plant sometimes bears flowers, some of which have only stamens, while others have onlypistils. (68 69.) Willow and Oak. Such are termed moncecious plants. In other cases the pistils and stamens grow, not only on different flowers, but on different plants. These are then said to be dioecious. As those flowers only which contain pistilsprocluce seed, these are termed/AD LEAVED PEPPER "WORT . .ROW LEAVED ri'.lTER WORT Lepidiuin ruJeralo. 3. FIELD PEPPER-WORT . 4-. HAIRY PEPPER "WORT BITTER CANDY TOFT - OF GREAT BRITAIN. 93 to promise a saint yearly a pound of it was a liberal bequest, no wonder that the economical housewife, or the poor one, seasoned her dishes with the pungent leaves of some wild herb, and gave to it the name of Poor Man's Pepper. The young leaves are still sometimes eaten in salad, but their pungency is almost too powerful to be agreeable, though there is no doubt that they were well liked in former times. As Beckmann remarks, "Some plants, both indigenous and foreign, which were formerly raised by art, and used at the table, are no longer cultivated, because we have become acquainted with others more beneficial. Many of them served our forefathers in the room of foreign spices, to the use of which trading companies have accustomed us, much to their advantage, and our hurt." It is true, also, that many have been banished by fashion, which rules with universal sway, and commands the taste as well as the smell, to consider as intolerable, articles to which our ancestors had a peculiar attachment. The root of the plant was formerly used instead of Horseradish. It is very large and creeping, arid very acrid in flavour. The foliage is of a dull bluish green colour, and its small white flowers, which open in July, grow in crowded leafy clusters. It is found in salt marshes, and on the sea-coast, but is not frequent. Several species which grow .wild in other lands are used as food ; and the garden cress, which most of us have, during childhood, cherished on some tiny square of earth, and which will grow even on moistened flannel, is the Lepidium sativum of the botanist. One of the species common in New Zealand, Lepidium oleraceum, 91 FLOWERING PLANTS is a powerful antiscorbutic, and, in times before our naval crews were furnished with lime-juice, was of essen- tial service to mariners landing there, as it was very beneficial in the complaints induced by salt provisions. This species has the flavour of lettuce. Another kind is very serviceable to the Sandwich Islander, as it in- ebriates fish, and enables him to capture them readily. The French call our broad-leaved species La passerage. It is Die Kresse of the Grermans, the Pepper Kruid of the Dutch, and the Lepidio of the Italian and Spaniard. 2. L. ruderdle (Narrow-leaved Pepperwort). Leaves smooth ; lower ones pinnatifid and toothed ; upper ones linear and entire; petals wanting; stamens 2. Plant annual. This cress, w r hich flowers in June, in waste places near the sea, is much smaller than the preceding kind. It has a stem about a foot high, much branched, and a great number of seed-vessels. 3. L. campestre (Field Pepperwort). Leaves downy; upper ones arrow-shaped at the base ; pouch rough, with minute scales ; style scarcely longer than the notch. Plant annual. This is more frequent than either of the former species. It occurs in corn-fields on dry gravelly soils. It has an erect stem, from ten to twelve inches in height, and its white flowers bloom from June to August. 4. L. Smithii (Hairy Pepperwort). Leaves downy; upper ones arrow-shaped at the base ; pouch not scaly ; style much longer than the notch. Plant perennial. This, as well as the Field Pepperwort, is frequent. It is a greyish downy plant, with small white flowers, and numerous seed-vessels. It grows in abundance in hedges OF GREAT BRITAIN. C J5 about Belfast and Dublin, and is common in the North of Scotland, and in some counties in England. It is much like the Field Pepper, though truly distinct. 6. IBERIS (Candy-tuft). 1. /. amdra (Bitter Candy-tuft). Leaves lanceolate, acute, somewhat toothed, smooth ; pouch round, with a narrow notch. Plant annual. "We are far more fami- liar with the Candy-tuft as a garden than a wild flower, and its white and rich purple blossoms are very ornamen- tal to the border. Our wild kind has less pretensions to beauty, but it has thick clusters of white blossoms, and its stems are about a foot high, spreading around the root. It grows, though rarely, on chalky fields, but is thought to be either the outcast of gardens, or to have been introduced with grain from the south of Europe. It is not unfrequent in Oxfordshire and Berk- shire, and the author once saw a quantity of it in a field about three miles from Eoyston, in Cambridgeshire, far from any houses, and apparently wild. The whole plant is very bitter, and it is antiscorbutic. It is sometimes called Clown's Mustard. It is a native of Europe, from Portugal to Germany, and from England to Italy. The Dutch call it Sitter Scheefbloem ; the Spaniard, Carras- pique. It is L'Iberide of the French, and Die Iber- pflanze of the Germans. 7. COCHLEARIA (Scurvy-grass). 1. C. officindlis (Common Scurvy- grass). Pouch nearly globose ; root-leaves between heart-shaped and kidney-shaped, stalked; stem-leaves oblong, sessile, 90 FLOWERING PLANTS slightly lobed, toothed at the base, stem often much branched. Plant annual. The English name of this genus indicates the medicinal properties of the plants composing it. It is of old repute for diet drinks, and is one of the ingredients which formed the " Spring juices" of our forefathers, and which doubtless were beneficial to health. The common species had also, in olden times, the names of Scrubby-grass, and Spoon- wort, and very ample details have been given by medical botanists of its use in stimulating the digestive organs, and in removing cutaneous maladies. The circumstance of its growing near the sea, has long been regarded as a providential adaptation to the needs of the mariner ; and many a sailor, or passenger, after a long voyage, may have derived advantage from it in those complaints engendered by salt provisions, and absence of vegetable diet. The town of Barmouth is said to have formerly obtained its celebrity as a resort for invalids, on ac- count of the quantity of scurvy-grass growing in its neighbourhood. This plant blossoms in May. It has rather large corymbs of white flowers, and its succu- lent leaves, very variable in form, are sometimes hollow like the bowl of a spoon. They were formerly eaten by country people in salads, but they are very pun- gent. The author has known persons living in villages in Kent, to bruise them with a small quantity of water in a mortar, and take the juice thus expressed, dailj', as a spring drink. The plant grows on muddy shores and salt marshes, and on the Highland mountains. A smaller variety, common on these mountains, is regarded by some botanists as a distinct species, and termed OF GREAT BRITAIN. 97 CocJtlearia Grcenlandica. The Scurvy-grass is Das Losselkraut of the Germans, the Lepelkruid of the Dutch, Le Cranson of the Trench, and the Skee-wurt of the Danes. 2. C. Anglica (English Scurvy-grass). Pouch ellip- tical, veined ; root-leaves stalked, oblong, entire ; stem- leaves oblong, toothed at the base, sessile. Plant annual. This plant grows on the borders of inland rivers, and in salt marshes. It is more slender than the last-named species, and its seed-vessels and blossoms are larger. Its white flowers appear in May and June. It is found on the banks of the Thames, betweenLondon and Wool- wich, on the borders of the Avon, near Bristol, and in other similar localities, both in England and Scotland. Many writers think it but a variety of the Common Scurvy-grass, only altered by the circumstances of soil and situation. 3. C. Ddnica (Danish Scurvy-grass). Pouch ovate, veined ; leaves all stalked, lobed, and nearly triangular. Plant annual. This is as common a species as any, growing about hedges and on cliffs near the sea. It is very much smaller and less robust than C. qfficinalis. 4. C. Armordcia (Horseradish). Hoot-leaves oblong, on long footstalks, the edges with rounded notches ; stem-leaves long, lanceolate, serrated, or entire ; root long and tapering; pouch shorter than the flower-stalks. Plant perennial. The Horseradish has so long been cultivated as a condiment to the " Eoast Beef of old England," that it has become a familiar plant to us, both in gardens, and in many wild places. It grows by rivers, and though often the outcast of gardens, is VOL. I. O . 98 FLOWERING PLANTS considered by the authors of some Floras of the North of England to be truly wild there. It has small white flowers in May and June. It is called on the Continent, Cran, Cran de Bretayne, Eaifort, and Meeredyck. 8. SUBULARIA (Awlwort). 1. S.aqudtica (Water Awlwort). Leaves awl- shaped, few in number, and all springing from the root. This singular little plant is not unfrequent on the sandy or gravelly bottoms of Alpine lakes. The leaves are two or three inches long, the roots white and fibrous, and the small white flowers appear in July. It is a native also of Lapland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Holland, and other parts of the Continent ; and is La Sululaire of the French, the Wasserpfricmen of the German, and the Ebkruid of the Dutch ; while in Denmark it is known as the Sylblad, and in Norway as the Frytilje. It is a very curious plant, on account of its sometimes flower- ing beneath the water. This is contrary to the general habit of water-plants, which almost always rise above the surface of the stream before they expand, in order that fertilization may take place in air. The flowers are, doubtless, often perfected beneath the water ; but the Rev. HughDavies gives, in the " Welsh Botanology," an account which proves that the Awlwort sometimes expands above the surface. " In the dry summer of 1798," says this gentleman, "as I walked in the bed of a lake, called Llyn Llywenan, in the parish of Bodedern (Anglesea), whence the water had retired about two months before, I unexpectedly discovered this 8 . .VJCR.V/-J, WUITbOW Gi Ura.o., . ZELWtf AIJ-INK VfflTITOW CHASS OF GEEAT BRITAIN. 99 plant in great abundance. Notwithstanding that its appearance was very different from what I had been used to see in the Arvonian Alpine lakes, where it always blossoms and seeds at the bottom, under water of con- siderable depth, yet it did not seem to regret the priva- tion; the foliage was spread, the leaves somewhat reclining, and the flowering- stems procumbent; the calyx and corolla were fully expanded; the petals, which are white, and of an obovate form, were horizontal, the seed-vessels and seed quite perfected; and, on the whole, it seemed to indicate a quite different plant." 9. DRABA (Whitlow-grass). ]. D. verna (Vernal Whitlow-grass). Flower -stalks leafless ; petals deeply cleft ; leaves narrow, pointed, somewhat toothed, hairy. Plant annual. This is well named a vernal flower, and is truly welcome for its early bloom, bringing to remembrance the elegant fancy which Westwood has conceived of the Snowdrop : " It is the herald of the flowers, Sent with its small white flag of truce, to plead For its beleaguer'd brethren : suppliantly It prays stern Winter to withdraw his troop Of winds and blustering storms, and having won A smile of promise from its pitying foe, Returns to tell the issue of its errand To the expectant host." Theblossom of the Whitlow-grass wouldhardly attract the regards of any, save those who truly love wild flowers, for it grows in small clusters, on a stem about two, or, at most, three inches high ; though, when growing in 100 FLOWERING PLANTS any quantity, it whitens the summit of the wall or dry bank, during February and March. The leaves form a circle around the root, but seldom spread out so far but that a half-crown piece would hide them; and specimens of minute beauty may sometimes be seen, in which flower and foliage too would be enclosed in a circle not larger than a lady's ring. It sometimes peeps up above the snow ; and the author has seen its tiny flowers emerging from the white mantle which covered the summits of some of the old walls about Eochester Cathedral. Our fathers used to imagine that when it appeared in any quantity, it foreboded short cropsof corn in autumn; an idea, perhaps, not altogether without foundation, because it flourishes best in a rainy season, and such a season helps to fill the cornfield with weeds. The small white flowers of the Whitlow-grass droop during rain. The plant is very acrid, and is found on most of the mountainous countries of Europe. It flourishes at Tunbridge Wells, and many of our dry rocky places. A variety has been found by Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott among the shelvingrocks at Ben Lawers, which is remarkable for its inflated pouches. 2. D. aizoidcs (Yellow Alpine Whitlow-grass.) Flower-stalk leafless, smooth ; petals notched, twice as long as the calyx ; style much longer than the stamens ; leaves narrow, pointed, glossy, keeled, and fringed. Plant perennial. This elegant little plant forms dense tufts on the walls of Pennard Castle, near Swansea. It is rendered conspicuous from afar in March and April, by its flowers of bright yellow, which, though very small, are very abundant, and on stalks about two inches high. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 101 3. D. incdna (Twisted Whitlow-grass). Stem-leaves narrow, toothed ; petals entire ; pouch twisted. Plant biennial. The leaves of this species distinguish it from the common kind, for they are quite white with down. It is also much taller, sometimes attaining a foot in height, and though not a common plant, yet is less rare than several of the species, growing on mountain-rocks in Wales, the north of England, and in Scotland, and bearing white flowers in June or July. Several of our British species are also annual or perennial plants of the cold mountainous countries of Europe, and a few are natives of America. The French call the Whitlow-grass La Drane ; the Germans term it HungerUumchen ; and the Dutch Tasch Kruid. Its continental name of Hun- ger-flower, given, probably, on account of the barren soils on which the different species flourish, seems very general. Thus the Swedes call it also Hunger-blomster, and the Danes HungerUomst. The name of Whitlow- grass, as well as that of Nailwort, point to the opinion of our old herbalists, that the acrid juice of these plants, mingled with milk, cured whitlows, though, probably, the efficacy of the remedy belonged to the milk only, hot milk being still used in cases of whitlow. 4. D, murdlis (Speedwell-leaved Whitlow-grass). Stem leafy, branched ; leaves rough, egg-shaped, blunt, toothed, embracing the stem ; flower-stalks spreading horizontally. Plant annual. This species has the tallest stems of any of the family, its small white flowers some- times rising more than a foot high from the ground. It blossoms in May, on limestone rocks, but is a very rare plant. AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY ONIVtRSlTY Of CALIFORNIA CITRUS RESEARCH CENTER AND AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION RlVPPQinc O 102 FLOWERING PLANTS 5. D. rupestris (Rock Whitlow-grass). Flower-stalk leafless, or rarely with one leaf; pouch or pod, oblorig- oval ; leaves flat, lanceolate, and hairy. Plant perennial. This tiny flower is very beautiful, but very rare ; rising just above the green moss, its little white blossoms, during July, stand amid stems with branches, each crowned with a tuft of soft fringed leaves, several of the flower-stalks coming up from the same root, and sel- dom more than an inch and a half in height. The words of the Rev. F. H. Lyte occur to memory when thinking of this delicate little plant, which has beauties to be seen only by him who patiently examines it. " Spare this flower, this gentle flower The slender creature of a day; Let it bloom out its little hour, And pass away : Too soon its fleeting charms must lie Decay'd, unnoticed, overthrown ; Oh ! hasten not its destiny, Too like thy own ! " Oh spare this flower ! thou know'st not what Thy undiscerning hand would tear ; A thousand charms thou notest not Lie treasured there : Not Solomon, in all his state, Was clad like Nature's simplest child ; Nor could the world combined create One flow'ret wild." The Rock Whitlow-grass grows among the crevices, or at the summit of some of the Highland mountains. 10. CAMELINA (Gold of Pleasure). 1. C. sativa (Common Gold of Pleasure). Leaves entire, or sometimes slightly toothed, lanceolate and OF GREAT BRITAIN. 103 arrow-shaped at the base ; pouches very large, on long stalks ; seeds rough. This Gold of Pleasure is certainly rather a naturalized than a truly wild flower. It is found in fields of flax, or in places near where flax has formerly grown, straying from thence into the waste places and field borders at a short distance ; but it does not long propagate itself spontaneously in this country, and has disappeared from many localities in which it is recorded to have grown formerly. The author, a few years since, found a large quantity of it in a cornfield, near the strange-looking heap of stones between Eochester and Maidstone, commonly called Kit's Coty House, and believed to be the burial-place of Hengist and Horsa. The flowers grow, in June and July, in clusters ; they are of a full yellow colour. The plant, however, is quite as conspicuous after flowering as when in blossom, for the pouches on their long stalks present an appearance different from that of any other of our wild plants, and remind one, by the form of their branches, of an old- fashioned candelabrum. Why the plant should have been called Gold of Pleasure is not very apparent ; but Professor Burnett says that the name may have a satirical reference to the disappointment caused by gold spent in pleasure ; this plant having no great beauty. It is much cultivated in Germany and other parts of the Continent, for the sake of the oil contained in its seeds ; and it is known in most European countries. Gerarde says of it, " Euellius teacheth that the poore. peasant doth use the oile in banquets, and the rich in their lamps." One of its English names is Myagrum,; the French call it La Cameline ; the Germans, Der 104 FLOWERING PLANTS LcindotJter. It is the Vlaschdotter of the Dutch ; and the Miagro of the Italian and Spaniard. The seeds are said to be a favourite food of geese, and cattle eat the plant. The oil procured from it is used for culinary, medicinal, and various household purposes. About five or six years since, Mr. Taylor sent to the Eoyal Insti- tution a communication on the desirableness of intro- ducing the culture of this plant into Ireland. This gentleman, who had for twenty years past been occu- pied in making various experiments on plants contain- ing oil, had come to the conclusion that the oil contained in the CameUna was of much value, both to agriculturists and manufacturers. After describing the plant, and mentioning that it was a native of Siberia, he says, " The first supply of seed was received from Professor Fischer, of the Koyal Agricultural Society at St. Petersburg. The soils best adapted to its cultivation are those of a light nature, though it will yield a crop on those of a most inferior description, and has been found on barren sandy soils, where no other vegetation was to be seen. It should be sown early in spring, and may be cultivated after any corn- crops, and is a non-exhauster of the ground." Pro- fessor Van Ost, an eminent experimental chemist of Belgium, says, " If farmers did but know the value of this plant they would all grow it. A fine oil which can be produced from the seeds at a low cost is fit for burning in lamps ; it can also be used in the manufac- ture of woollen goods and soap, and it is highly nutritive to cattle." OF GREAT BRITAIN. 105 11. KONIGA (Sweet Alyssum). 1. K. marltima (Seaside Koniga, or SweetAlyssum). Stem somewhat woody at the base ; leaves linear, lance- olate, hoary. Plant perennial. We never find this flower inland, and rarely even by the sea. It is not truly wild, never occurring far from a garden where it is or has been cultivated. It has yellow, honey-scented flowers, which blossom in July and August. The Caly- cine Alyssum (Alyssum calycinuni) is sometimes enume- rated among British plants, having established itself in several wild places, both in France and England; but it appears to be of recent introduction. It is called Calycine because its calyx does not fall off like that of the other species. The genus Koniga is by many writers included in that of Alyssum, which is the Mad- wort of the ancients, and the plants of which were supposed to allay anger. Several species are common garden flowers. 12. CAKILE (Sea Rocket). 1. C. maritima (Purple Sea Eocket). Stem and foliage succulent ; leaves pinnatifid, somewhat toothed. Plant annual. This plant, which is not uncommon on our sandy shores, is easily distinguished byits succulent habit, and its purplish-lilac flowers, which blossom from June till September. It is somewhat bushy, spreading out its zigzag branches, and bearing the same sea-green tint as the foliage of the stock or wallflower. The blossoms are sometimes white, or white streaked or VOL. I. P IOG FLOWERING PLANTS tinged with purple. The seed-vessels are very peculiar, the upper seed in each pouch being erect, and the lower pendent. The whole plant is said, by Anguillaria, to have powerful remedial virtues. One of its old English names was Bunias, and the French term it Caquille ; the Germans, Meerscitf ; the Dutch, Europische KnodsvTugt ; while the Swedes call it Strandsenap. This, or a similar Sea Eocket, grows on the sandy shores of most coun- tries of the northern hemisphere. 13. CIIAMBE (Sea Kale). 1. C. maritima (Sea Kale). Pouch pointless; leaves roundish, waved, and toothed ; sea-green, and, as well as the stem, smooth. Plant perennial. It is chiefly on the sandy shores of the west of England that this plant abounds. It is not, however, confined to them, but grows in various places, both on cliffs and sand, as at St. Margaret's, and Langdon Bay, near Dover. It is very plentiful at some parts of the base of the cliffs between Dover and Folkestone, where, as we are whirled past it by the train, we may just get a glimpse of its white flowers and rich purpleleaves, which, at a distance, look like gay blossoms. It flowers in June, and differs in no respect from the kind cultivated as an esculent in the kitchen garden. Crambe is one of the Greek names applied to the Cabbage ; and our Kale is called by the French Le Crambe, and by the Italians Crambe marina. The Spaniards term it Col marina ; the Danes call it Strand Kaal ; it is Der Mcerkohl of the Germans, and Leerkool of the Dutch. The country people in the west OF GREAT BRITAIN. 107 of England have, for some centuries past, known its worth as a vegetable for the table, and have been in the habit of watchingthe young shoots and leaf-stalks,whicli no sooner push up the sand above them, than they are cut off underground, in the same way as asparagus. This occurs during March and April. The SeaKalewas introduced into gardens about the middle of the last century, and is now cultivated in every market garden, where it is forced, by planting it in a rich soil, and blanching the young shoots by sheltering them from the action of light. The origin of its cultivation as a garden vegetable is as follows. Many years since, Dr.Lettsom, when travelling along the southern coast of England, stayed to dine at Southampton. Wandering intheneigh- bourhood of that town,he sawsomewomen cuttingKale in the sand, and observed that the plants were nearly buried in it. He thought they resembled young shoots of asparagus, and found,upon inquiry, thatthefishermen and their families were in the habit of eating them when they could not procure other fresh vegetables. The Doctor tasted the raw succulent shoots, and ended by ordering some of this Sea Kale to be sent to the inn for his dinner. He some time after communicated this dis- covery to his friend, Mr. Curtis. The present mode of culture was introduced by that nurseryman, who having first made the plant known to the public by a pamphlet, which he published in its praise, afterwards sold packets of the seeds to the gardeners, and the plant came into general repute. The Tartarian Sea Kale, C. Tartarica, is called by the Hungarians Tartar bread ; and its lar^e fleshy root, stripped of the bark, and sliced, is eaten 108 FLOWERING PLANTS with oil and vinegar. Children eat this root boiled ; and the young shoots are also cooked, like those of our native Kale. 14. CORONOPUS (Wart-cress). 1. C. Ruellii (Wart-cress, or Swine's-cress). Pouch undivided, rough, with little sharp points ; style pro- minent; leaves twice pinnate, their segments linear. Plant annual. This, though a rare plant in Scotland, is common in England, and is in some country places called Star of the Earth. The flowers are very small and white, and blossom throughout the summer ; and the cut leaves, fancied to resemble the foot of a bird, are remarkably disagreeable, both in flavour and odour. Notwithstanding this, however, they were doubtless formerly gathered for salad, as another species of Wart- cress still is, according to Delille, in Egypt. Our Wart-cress is a common weed, by road-sides and on waste places, and is in some villages called Herb Ivy, or Herb Eve. 2. C. didyma (Lesser Wart-cress). Pouch of two wrinkled lobes, notched ; style very short ; leaves once or twice pinnate. Plant annual. Little green tufts of this plant are very common by road-sides on the south and west of England, and often grow on the sand, or am ongthe stones of theshore. Its small greenishflowers are to be detected throughout the summer, and the foliage, if trodden upon, emits a most disagreeable odour. The genus Coronopus is by some writers called Senediera, from M. Senebier, the Genevese physiologist. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 109 15. Is AXIS (Woad). 1. Pouch wedge-shaped, very blunt, smooth, thrice as long as broad, compressed on the summit and at the sides into a sharp edge ; root-leaves numerous, stalked, inversely egg-shaped, tapering at the base, crenate, smooth, or slightly hairy; stem-leaves entire, arrow- shaped at the base. Plant biennial. Many botanists consider that this plant is not truly wild, but it occurs in many places, as at the Isle of Ely, about old stone pits in some parts of Cambridgeshire, near Woolwich church, and other places. The old name of this plant was Glastum, from the Celtic glas, blue, whence also came the name of the town of Glastonbury. The ancient Britons are believed to have stained their bodies with the indelible woad ; hence came the name of Britain, from the Celtic Brith, which signified paint. Brithon, according to Camden, signified a stained man ; but it wouldbetoorugged a word to suitthe ear of theEomans, accustomed to amore euphonious language; hence, their historians called the country by the more sonorous name of Britannia. That we thus owe our oldest national name to the Woad, is an opinion pretty generally re- ceived ; but of the origin of the name itself, we have no certain knowledge. The Picts were so called by the Eomans because they, like the Britons, painted them- selves, at first, it would seem, to render themselves attractive, as the South-Sea Islander would now stain himself with red ; but that which was originallya mark of personal finery, was made in later times, by a refine- ment of barbarism, an object of terror, and the blue 110 FLOWERING FLANTS stains were deepened to frighten the enemy. Probably this staining of the body was, as Mr. D'Israeli conjec- tures, a slight defence from the rigours of the atmo- sphere, or the annoyance of insects. The brightness of the blue induced the Celts to call the plant Owed, a name still retained in France, where it is nowsometimes termed Gvesdc. The Anglo-Saxons appear to have called it Wad, or Woad. The German name for it is Fdrberwaid; and it is the Guado of the Italians. The Spaniard calls the plant Pastel, and it is also so called in some parts of Trance. Woad is still sometimes cultivated in England, as the dye obtained from its leaves is a substitute for indigo ; but its cultivation is rare, because the price of labour in this land renders it more expensive than the foreign dye. Before the introduction of indigo, however, woad was commonly raised in various parts of Europe, especially in Germany; but the introduction of that plant had a sudden effect in diminishing the use of woad. At first, indigo and woad were used together in dyeing ; then came the plan of using certain salts instead of woad, which in the then state of science pro- duced so much mischief by injuring the cloths, that orders were issued by the Government of Thuringia, in the sixteenth century, that the use of indigo should be abolished ; and it was in our country denounced as a dangerous drug, and ordered to be burned. Woad does not appear to have been a common crop in England at that time; and efforts were made to discourage its growth altogether. From the archives of the Corpo- ration of Southampton, in 1597, it appears that a OF GltEAT BlilTAlN. Ill remonstrance was entered against the sowing of woad in Hogland, " because the common sort of people find themselves greatly grieved withal, for that, after woad- sowing, there will grow no grass, or anything else for the cattle to feed upon." The flowers of the Woad are in panicles, and of a bright yellow. They grow on an upright stern, about two or three feet in height, and appear in June and July, small spear-shaped yellowish bracts growing among them. The plant is a native of the south and middle of Europe, in stony places, from Spain and Sicily to the shores of the Baltic Sea. It also grows in cul- tivated fields in many parts of Asia, but was probably introduced there among the grain. 16. DENTA'RIA (Coral-root). 1. D.bulb'tfera (Bulbiferous Coral-root). Podnaxtow and tapering ; stem quite simple ; lower leaves pinnated;' upper leaves often with buds on the axils. Plant perennial. This rare and pretty spring plant has, in April and May, pale purple flowers, scarcely darker than those of the Cuckoo-flower (Cardamine pratensis), and somewhat resembling them. The Coral root, how- ever, is very easily distinguished from other plants, by the little dark scaly buds which grow between the upper leaves and the stem, and which, when ripened, fall off and produce new plants. This plant grows in shady places in Middlesex, Sussex, Herts, and some other counties. The author once found it in a small wood nearTunbridge Wells. The roots, which are of whitish colour, and 112 FLOWERING PLANTS creeping, have thick fleshy scales upon them, and the stem is about a foot, or a foot and a half in height. Some very showy species are cultivated in gardens, with purple, white, or yellow flowers ; ancl the root of a plant, called the Two-leaved Coral-root, is used by the Americans instead of mustard, and is called Pepper- root. 17. CARDAMINE (Bitter Cress). 1. C. amdm (Large-flowered Bitter Cress). Leaves pinnate, without stipules; leaflets of root-leaves rounded, those of the stem-leaves toothed, or angular; stem creep- ing at the base ; style oblique. Plant perennial. The large white flowers, with purple anthers, at once cha- racterise this plant. It blossoms in April and May, and is much less frequent than the next species, though, like that, usually found in moist places. It is very bitter and astringent. 2. C. pratensis (Cuckoo-flower). Leaves pinnate, without stipules : root-leaflets roundish, and toothed, those of the stem nearly entire ; style straight. Plant perennial. The song of the cuckoo, though monotonous, is delightful, and its two sweet notes the only notes among birds which accord exactly with the musical scale awaken, as they echo against the hill-side, feel- ings of joy in many hearts. No wonder that the oldest ballad in our language told of the bird, and said, " Well singest thou, cuckoo !" No wonder that old lovers of flowers, as they walked the spring meadow, associated many of its blossoms with the voice of the bird, and that cuckoo's-meat and cuckoo-flowers were in abundance OF GREAT BRITAIN. 113 by their path. Gerarde says of this Cardamne, that it " doth flower in April and Maie, when the cuckoo doth begin to sing her pleasant notes without stammering." Never is the green earth greener or more gay with delicate flowers than at this season, when the white daisy is open all over the fields, " like labour smiling on a holiday ;" and the blue Speedwells gleam like gems among the grass, and the fairy Stitchwort nods by bluebells and primrose tufts. Shakespere speaks of the flower by another of its older names, and " The daisies pied and violets blue, And lady-smocks all silver white," were looked on by him, as by us, with joy. The origin of the poet's name is not so obvious as is that of Cuckoo-flower. Sir J. E. Smith supposes that this flower growing in great quantities, and bleached by long exposure to the sun, suggested to our fathers the idea of linen laid out on the grass to dry. The plant is still commonly called by the latter name in country places ; and poets of our day, like Millhouse, know it by the name familiar to their childhood : " Joyous I've found the glossy crocus blowing Fair in its bed of green; and onward stray'd To sunny dells, where April's hand was throwing Violets of virgin sweetness, and survey'd The pale-eyed primrose, glistening in the glade : Daisies, vermilion-tinged, were deem'd a prize And pluck'd in triumph ; while the sloe-bloom made Garlands for mating birds, and thence would rise Vouchings of parent love in anthems to the skies. VOL. I. Q 114 FLOWERING PLANTS " And at sweet May- tide, when the cowslip hung Its head in pensiveness, and crow-flowers bright Along the expanse of lengthening meads were flung, Mingled with lady-smocks and' daisies white, Lambsfoot and speedwell, and the lovely sight Of hawthorn blossoms fragrant on the gale Of eve ; full oft I've wander'd with delight ; Nor, time regretting, will I e'er bewail Those hours I loitering spent in woodland, mead, and dale." The poet was right, for hours spent in watching the flowers are not to be regretted. Many a lesson of God's love is learned among them ; many a scene of beauty gathered thence, to be laid up as a store for future memories. Such sights and thoughts come with so healing an influence to the care-worn spirit, that we are not surprised at the assertion of Priest, " that, in all his extensive practice in insanity, he never met with an insane naturalist." " Better for man, Were he and Nature more familiar friends." The leaves of the Cuckoo-flower are very pungent, but these, with many of their kind, were relished for- merly as salad herbs. The flowers are usually of delicate pale lilac, veined with a darker lilac ; some- times they are of pinkish white, and when about to wither, quite white. They are very plentiful in moist meadows, and are sometimes double. When this is the case, their leaflets, as they come in contact with the ground, often produce new plants while still at- tached to the old. 3. C. impdliens (Narro \v-leavedbitterCress). Leaves OF GREAT BRITAIN. 115 pinnate; leaflets lanceolate, slightly cut, or entire, fringed ; stipules at the base of the leaf-stalks. Plant annual. The moist rocks of some of our northern counties, and some parts of Scotland, are the recorded habitats of this rare flower. It has very small white blossoms during May and June, and the fringed sti- pules afford a distinctive mark to the species. 4. C. Jtirsuta (Hairy Bitter Cress). Leaves pinnate, without stipules ; leaflets stalked and toothed, those of the root rounded and angular, those of the stem nearly sessile and narrower ; pods erect. Plant annual. The long pods afford a good character for this species, and it is called impatient, from the hasty manner in which thecontents are jerked out. " The valves of these pods," says Mr. Johns, in his " Flowers of the Field," " when ripe, curl up with an elastic spring, if touched, and fly off, scattering the seeds to a considerable distance." The number of seeds, and their ready dispersion, account for the abundance of this plant, which is common every where, and is tobe found in flower all the summer, though the pods are more conspicuous than the blossoms. It does not, like most of the species, confine itself to moist lands, though these seem most favourable to it, as it withers much earlier in dry places, dying away by the end of April. The leaves of this species, also, are used -as salad, and are far more agree- able in flavour than those of the Cuckoo-flower. The French call the plant Le Cresson, the Germans Die Gauchblume, and the Italians Cardamindo. The plants are regarded by our continental neighbours, as well as by villagers in England, as possessing great stoma- 116 FLOWERING PLANTS chic virtues. Some very pretty species are cultivated by gardeners. 18. ARABIS (Bock Cress). 1. A. tlialidna (Th ale-cress, or Rock-cress). Leaves oblong, somewhat toothed, hairy ; root-leaves slightly stalked ; stem branched ; pods angular, twice as long as thoir stalk. Plant annual. This is a very common little herb on dry walls, bearing small white flowers from May to July. The stem is seldom more than six inches high. It is called in France L'Arabette, and in Germany, Der Gausekraut. The Dutch term this, or another of the species, Ilonigschub, and it is the Arabidu of the Spaniard. De Theis, in order to account for its botanical name, as well as that by which it is familiarly known in some countries, supposes that the plant is a native of Arabia, but this is a forced and improbable explanation. 2. A. Ursula (Hairy Rock-cress). Leaves all hairy and toothed j stem-leaves clasping, heart-shaped at the base, and numerous ; pods erect and straight. Plant biennial. The Hairy Rock-cress is a stiff rigid plant, common on walls, rocks, and banks, in England and Scotland. It is about a foot in height, and bears small white flowers during June and July. 3. A. Petrtea (Alpine Rock-cress). Root-leaves pin- natifid and stalked, with smaller lobes at their base ; stem-leaves nearly entire, and sessile. Plant perennial. This species is found on the rocks of Scotland and Wales. It has white flowers, tinged with purple, which are rather larger than those of the Hairy Rock-cress, and it OF GREAT BRITAIN. 117 blooms from June to August. It is frequent on the high mountains of the west and north of Scotland, and is a slender plant, from four to six inches in height, sometimes quite smooth, but usually more or less hairy. 4. A. cilidla (Fringed Eock-cress). Leaves somewhat toothed, oval, smooth, and fringed with minute hairs ; root-leaves obtuse, and nearly sessile; those of the stem either roundish at the base, or clasping; pods nearly erect. Plant biennial. The small white flowers of this species, which is rare, may be seen from August to September. It grows at Connemara, in Ireland, and Glen Esk, in Scotland, and its stem is from four to six inches in height. 5. A. stricta (Bristol Eock-cress). Root-leaves waved and toothed ; stem-leaves sessile ; stems hairy at the base ; pods erect. Plant perennial. This is very rare, growing on the limestone soil of St. Vincent's Eocks, near Bristol. The root-leaves are edged with many strong but fine hairs. The plant flowers from March till May, and is much like the Shale-cress, but its blossoms are about twice the size of those of that plant. 6. A. Turrita (Tower Eock-cress). Leaves clasping the stem ; pods slender, curved downwards, and flat, with the margins thickened ; bracts at the base of the flowers. Plant biennial. This plant, which is a doubt- ful native, would seem to have some preference to the halls of learning, for its only recorded habitats are the walls of Trinity and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge, and of Magdalen College, Oxford. It is well characte- rised by the form of its pods and its bracts. It blossoms in June. 118 FLOWERING PLANTS 19. TURRITIS (Tower-mustard). 1. T. ffldbra (Smooth Tower-mustard). Root-leaves toothed, hairy; stem-leaves clasping, entire, and smooth. Plant annual. The only British species of this genus is very similar to the Eock-cresses, being distinguished from them by having the seeds in its pods arranged in two rows instead of one. It is rather a local than a rare plant, growing very commonly on the dry banks of some counties, as of Norfolk and Suffolk. Its flowers are yellowish white, and open in June. The somewhat pyramidal appearance of the leaves and stem of this plant probably originated its generic name, and its long pod has given to it also the name of Long-podded Mustard. The French call the plant La Tourette, the Germans Das Thurnkraut. It is the Turrekruid of the Dutch, and its Swedish name is Eockentrap. 20. BARBAR^A (Winter-cress). 1 . B. vulgdris (Common Winter-cress) . Lower leaves lyre-shaped, the terminal lobe roundish; upper inversely egg-shaped, toothed. Plant perennial. The angular stem, and dark, shining, smooth leaves distinguish this plant from the wild mustard, which it much resembles. Its flowers appear from May to August, and are very numerous, and of bright yellow colour. The plant is often called Hedge-mustard, and is termed also Winter- cress, Yellow Eocket Herb, and Herb St. Barbara. The French call it La Barbarvc, the Spanish Hierba de Santa Barbara, and the Italians Barbarea. Itiscommou "MUSTARD . OF GREAT BRITAIN. 119 on moist waste grounds ; and although its leaves are disagreeably bitter, it is said to be cultivated now in some countries for salad ; and we well know that the young leaves were eaten in winter and early spring by our forefathers. It is not the English name alone which retains the memory of the Winter-cress, for the plant is Die Winter&resse of the Germans, and the Winterkers of the Dutch, while it is commonly called Vinterkurs in Denmark. The leaves are, at the best, so nauseous, however, that when we taste them, we are ready to invoke blessings on the man who introduced the lettuce and the radish. In Sweden they are sometimes boiled as greens. Cows will eat the plant, but it is refused by horses. Baxter remarks of this Winter-cress, "Aminute species of Tipula, or Gall-gnat, sometimes renders the flowers like a hop-blossom ; but this metamorphosis does not strictly partake of the nature of galls, as it originates, not from the egg, but from the larva, which, in the opera- tion of extracting theseed,in some way imparts a morbid action to the juices, causing the flower to expand unna- turally." He adds, "that a minute fungus, Uredo Candida, is parasitical on the under side of the leaves, and on the stem of this plant, all the summer." 2. B. prtecox (Early Winter-cress.) Lower leaves lyre-shaped, or pinnate; upper ones pinnatifid ; segments linear, oblong, entire., obtuse, scarcely thicker than the flower-stalk. Plant biennial. This species is more slender than the last, and has narrower leaves. It is not uncommon in the West of England. Several of the cresseshavebeenintroduced among seeds into Australia; and Backhouse describes a perennial species, which has 120 FLOWERING PLANTS become a very troublesome weed there, taking almost exclusive possession of the land. * Flowers white. 21. NASTURTIUM (Cress). 1. N. ojjicindle (Common "Water-cress). Leaves pin- nate ; leaflets roundish, or oblong, toothed and waved ; pods slender, about an inch long. Plant perennial. The small white flowers of this plant, though blooming from June to August, would scarcely be seen by any but a botanist. The Water-cress is found in many of our ponds and rivers, such as the poet has described " The rivulet, "Wanton and wild, through many a green ravine, Beneath the forest flow'd : sometimes it fell Among the moss, with hollow harmony, Dark and profound. Now, on the polish'd stones It danced, like childhood, laughing as it went. Then through the plain, in tranquil wanderings, crept, Reflecting every herb and drooping bud That overhung its quietness." Sweet little nooks abound in our country where crystal streams are lying, and where " The cresses, which grow where no man may see them," are springing up in plenty. The streams, indeed, are not always lined with verdure, especially in the neigh- bourhood of villages; yet sometimes, as we have looked even into these waters, gliding by the cresses, over some red tile, or pieces of blue earthenware, and sweeping down the emerald grasses in their course, it has seemed as if the waters were flowing over a bright OF GREAT BRITAIN. 121 mosaic work, and we have thought of the good moral lesson drawn by Ruskin from the gutter of the city. " Even in the heart of the foul city it is not altogether base ; down in that, if you will look deep, you may see the dark serious blue of far off sky, and the passing of pure clouds. It is at your own will that you see in that despised stream either the refuse of the street, or the image of the sky so it is with almost all other things that we unkindly despise." But the water-cress stream, whether running by the wayside, or half hiding itself amid shadowing trees, is almost sure to be discovered by some poor woman who earns a scanty subsistence by gathering and selling the wholesome salad. In all countries, from Sweden to Greece, and in the streams among the hills of India, Brazil, Australia, everywhere, may be found the water- cress. The Parisian calls it Cresson au Poulet, because he eats it with his roasted fowl; and the French peasant terms it Cresson de Fontaine- The substantial luncheon of the German is not without its -BrunnenJcresse ; while its name of Waterkers, still used by the Dutch, was probably too its old English name, for as Dr. Jacob has suggested, the vulgar proverb of not caring a " curse" for any thing was doubtless originally not caring a cress, Chaucer referring to the plant by the old Saxon name of Kcrs. The Italians give it the sweet- sounding name of Crescione, while it bears many a strange and uncouth name in some of the lands where the language shows the rudeness of the people. That the water-cress has long been used as a salad, both herbalists and poets have told us. Robert Herrick, VOL. I. R 122 FLOWERING PLANTS who in his later years lamented the " unbaptized rhymes" of his youth, has a little thanksgiving poem, beautiful for its simplicity, in which he alludes to it: " Lord, them hast given me a cell Wherein to dwell ; A little house, whose humble roof Is weather-proof, Under the spars of which I lie, r Both soft and dry; Where thou my chamber soft to ward, Hast set a guard Of harmless thoughts, to watch and keep Me while I sleep. Low is my porch as is my fate, Both void of state ; And yet the threshold of my door Is worn by the poor, Who hither come and freely get Good words or meat. Like as my parlour, so my hall And kitchen's small ; A little butter ie, and therein A little byn : Some little sticks of thorn or brier Make me a fire, Close by whose living coal I sit And glow like it. Lord, I confess too, when I dine The pulse is thine, And all those other bits that be There placed by Thee, The Avorts, the purslane, and the mess Of water-cress." Generally acceptable, however, as are the pungent leaves of the water-cress, they could excite the most painful sensations in the mind of the learned Scaliger, OF GREAT BRITAIN. 123 who used to turn pale at the very sight of them. They are said, by Hiiller, to contain iodine ; and the late M. Planche, and other chemists, have proved that they,as well as some other cruciferous plants, contain sulphur. M. Vogel, sen. , remarking this fact, thoughtthatas soils distant from volcanoes have not any perceptible traces of sulphur, it is not impossible that plants which are much disposed to assimilate it may have the property of de- riving sulphur from the decomposition of the sulphuric acid of sulphates. M. Yogel, however, found afterwards, that seeds placed in the soil perfectly free from sulphur or sulphates, yielded plants which contained a notable quantity of sulphur; water-cresses were of this descrip- tion; and this chemist states that 100 grs. of water-cress seeds contained 0'129 gr. of sulphur. He adds that this is a perfect enigma to him, as the growth of the young water-cresses took place in a soil devoid of sulphur and sulphates, and in a room which contained no sulphureous vapour. Since the year 1808, the water- cress has been largely cultivated by market-gardeners near London, Paris, Edinburgh, andotherlarge cities ; and Loudon mentions a pure stream which runs over chalk, near Eickmans- worth, in Hertfordshire, in which one cultivator grows four acres, and sends thence a daily supply to the London market. When much exposed to the light, the leaves acquire a purplish brown tint. * * Flowers yellow. 2. N. sylvestre (Creeping Yellow Cress). Leaves pinnate ; lea/lets lanceolate cut, those of the uppermost 124 FLOWERING PLANTS leaves almost entire ; root creeping ; pods long and narrow. Plant perennial. This is not a common cress either in England or Scotland, but it occurs on some waste places and river sides in both countries. The stem is about a foot high, branched and angular, and the yellow blossoms are open from June to August. 3. N. amphibium (Amphibious Yellow Cress, Great Water Radish). Leaves pinnatifid, or deeply serrated; roots stringy ; petals longer than the calyx. Plant perennial. This plant has yellow flowers from June.to August, and is much larger than the creeping species ; and very remarkable for the long stringy roots, which, springing from the lower joints of the stem, run down into the soft soil on the margins of rivers. 4. N. terrestre (Annual Yellow Cress). Leaves pin- natifid, somewhat lyre-shaped, unequally toothed; pods thick and oblong ; root fibrous. This cress, which is about a foot high, bears from June to September small yellow flowers, of which the petals are not longer than the calyx. It grows in watery places, and is annual. 22. SISY'MBRIUM (Hedge Mustard). 1. 8. officindle (Common Hedge Mustard). Pods downy, closely pressed to the stem ; leaves hairy, deeply lobed, with the points turned backward, the terminal lobe large and roundish in the upper leaves, and oblong in the lower ones. Plant annual. Everybody knows this common wayside flower, or weed as most would term it, for it has little beauty to recommend it. It may be seen all the summer long, grey with the dust of OF GREAT BRITAIN. 125 the road, and looking very shaggy in its foliage ; while the yellow flowers, on a stem one or two feet high, are almost too small to be noticed. It has the usual pun- gent flavour of the mustard plants; but in this case, that flavour is disagreeable. This species is of old renown as a medicinal herb, and has so much repute as a remedy for hoarseness and weak lungs, that the French term it Herbe aux cUanteurs. Dr. Cullen recommends its use when mixed with honey and sugar, for pulmonary affec- tions. The Greeks gave the name of Sisymbrium to s )me plant which they prized, but assuredly they did not allude to this hedge mustard, for theirs was an aquatic, and had, apparently, a pleasant odour ; and garlands of myrtle, roses, and Sisymbrium,were deemed meet offer- ings to Venus. The monks, too, cultivated a plant called Sisymbrium, but as the water-cress and radish were formerly included in this genus, it was probably one of thoseplants. The highly -prized virtues, however, both of this species and another of the genus, the flix- weed, render it not unlikely that it found a place in the monastery garden. An ancient plan of the monastery of St. Gall, near the lake of Constance, an institution celebrated throughout Europe for its learned men and complete library, enables us to form an idea of the plants which were, in the ninth century, considered of most importance in the continental monasteries ; and they were, doubtless, very similar to those valued in our country at the same period. Several vegetables yet in common use are included in this plan of the kitchen garden, for the monks had a great taste for horticulture, and were not slow to admit new plants, as, in some cases, , 126 FLOWERING PLANTS people of later days have been, when the potato was rejected with scorn, till Louis XV. of France recom- mended it in that country, by wearing amidst his courtiers a bouquet of its flowers; and till some English- men, spite of popular clamour, persevered in its culture here. In the thirteenth century, the religious order of the Cistercians were pre-eminent for their horticultural skill; and Necham,anabbot,describesthechief esculents of those days, as lettuce, rocket, mustard, water-cress, and hop. Some of these were cultivated at St. Gall. Thus the plan referred to describes the physic-garden as consisting of sixteen beds, each of which has the name of some herb inscribed upon it in the following order: peppermint, rosemary, white lily, sage, rue, comfrey, penny -royal, fengreek, rose, water-cress, or radish, or mustard (sisymbriuni], cummin, lovage, fennel, tansy, kidney-bean, savory. The beds of the kitchen garden were also marked out, and were thus arranged: onions, garlick, leeks, shallots, celery, parsley, coriander, chervill, dill, lettuce, poppy, savory, radish, parsnip, carrots, cabbage, beet, corn cockle. 2. S. Irio (London Rocket). Leaves deeply lobed, with the points turned backward, toothed, and, as well as the stem, smooth; pods erect. Plant annual. This rocket, which is still very common about our metropolis, first appeared there after the Great Fire of London. In the spring succeeding that calamity, the young plants were seen everywhere rising up among the ruins, and in the summer the crop was so luxuriant, that it was sup- posed the whole of Europe did not contain so many specimens of the rocket as were then crowded over the OF GREAT BRITAIN. 127 surface of London. It was at that time a great marvel to observing men ; and after all that has been written on the subject of the sudden appearance of plants in particular spots, it is a marvel still. The fact is well known, but not accounted for, that a layer of quicklime thrown over a soil will at once produce white clover plants in abundance, when they had not before grown on the spot ; and so, too, the burning of rubbish leaves ashes favourable to the growth of the rocket. Baxter in his "British Flowering Plants" mentions a circum- stance analogous to that which succeeded the fire of London, as having occurred near the Oxford Botanic Garden. " During the time," says this writer, " that the alterations were going on in the garden, last year, 1834, the rubbish was removed to a piece of ground on the outside of the walls. This rubbish as it accumulated was set fire to from time to time, and was frequently burning for two or three days together, so that in the course of the season a considerable quantity of ashes was produced. Having received in the spring of the present year, 1835, a valuable collection of cuttings of nearly all the species of British Willows, from W. Borrer, Esq., of Henfield, Sussex, this was the only piece of ground which we could appropriate to a Salicetum; and in order to prepare it for the reception of the cuttings, the ashes .were spread regularly over the surface, and the whole of it was trenched over ; in a short time the very spot on which the rubbish was burnt produced an abundant crop of Sisymbrium Irio, and that, on a part of the garden where I never remember seeing it before." 128 FLOWERING PLANTS The London Kocket is a leafy plant, about two feet in height, bearing small yellow flowers in July and August. It grows in waste places, but is not frequent. 3. S. Sophia (Fine-leaved Hedge-mustard, or Flix- weed). Leaves twice pinnatifid, and slightly hairy ; petals shorter than the calyx ; pods slender, and erect. Plant annual. There is little to attract us in this species, but it is of easy recognition, having a most marked cha- racter. It is a slender plant, about two feet high, branched, and bearing small yellow flowers from June to August ; and its leaves are divided into narrow seg- ments, a circumstance very unusual in the cruciferous tribe. It is not uncommon in waste places in England, though somewhat so in Scotland; and, as the Eev. C. A. Johns has remarked, its " numerous erect pods, when ripe, have the appearance of being beaded, from the great number of projecting seeds." It had a name among the herbalists expressive of some virtues which we in modern days do not discover, for they termed it SojjJda Cldrurgorum, the Wisdom of Surgeons; and one of them, who says that Paracelsus extols it to the skies, adds, " it is fitting that syrup, ointment, and plaisters of it were kept in your houses." It has been thought serviceable in hysterical cases, but its chief repute was for healing wounds. Its seeds, powdered and mixed with gunpowder, are said to increase its explosive force; it is probable that they contain sulphur, as do those of some allied plants. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 129 23. ERYSIMUM (Treacle-mustard). 1 . E. cheiranthoides (Worm-seed Treacle-mustard). Leaves-narrow 3,ud oblong, slightly toothed, rough, with starry, three-forked hairs : pods erect, on spreading J * ' L IT & stalks ; seeds small, and numerous. Plant annual. It is from this plant that the familiar name of the whole genus is derived, as it was formerly one of the ingre- dients of the famous Venice treacle. The name of "Worm-seed refers to the uses of the seeds in medicine. The plant is not uncommon in this country, on waste places, and cultivated lands, and frequently grows among osiers and willows, varying much in size, according to soil and situation. The stem, which is much branched, is from half a foot to two feet in height, and the flowers are very small and numerous, and appear in July and August. They are yellow, with whitish sepals, and the foliage is of dull green tint. It is by many writers thought to be not indigenous, but it has long estab- lished itself in most of the countries of Europe, as well as of North America. The leaves are pungent, and their juice is acrid, though less so than that of some other species, which will raise blisters on the skin. 2. E. Allidria (Garlic Treacle-mustard, Jack-by-the Hedge, or Sauce-alone). Leaves broadly heart-shaped, large, strongly veined, and stalked, with numerous broad teeth ; pods erect, on spreading stalks. Plant annual. Most persons who are accustomed during April and May to hunt the hedge -row for the hidden violet, have met with this Garlic Treacle-mustard. It is well, if at some time or other, the spring nosegay has not been VOL. i. s 130 FLOWERING PLANTS spoiled by its offensive odour, for the garlic-like scent not being perceptible till the plant is bruised, may not have been discovered till too late. If crushed, however, its odour is most disagreeable, and as powerful as the strongest garlic. The flowers grow in clusters, and are of pure white, and the stem is about a foot or more high. Its name of Sauce-alone was given from its uses, and to some who cannot afford more costly condiments, it is serviceable in adding flavour to the frugal diet. It is often the labourer's " sauce," and is eaten with their rustic dinner by some of those who, as "Wordsworth reminds us, " The poor men's children, they, and they alone, By their condition taught, can understand The wisdom of that prayer that daily asks For daily bread." Sometimes this Hedge Garlic is used as a salad herb with lettuce ; and Neill says that it makes an excellent vegetable when boiled and eaten with mutton, or salted meat. The author has often eaten it thus during child- hood, as well as when cut up into small pieces ; and, mixed with vinegar, it has been served up like mint sauce. Linnaeus ascertained by his experiments that cows, sheep, and poultry feed on it, but that it is refused by horses and goats. It is not a desirable herb, how- ever, on the pasture, as it gives a strong flavour of garlic to the milk of the cow, and the flesh of the fowl. It was very much prized in the olden times for its medi- cinal virtues, its seeds being thought useful in several maladies ; while even in the present day the leaves are OF GREAT BRITAIN 131 common used in villages as an external application for sore throat, and also for wounds. A species of Erysimum was prized by the ancients, but this appears to have been our garden cress, Lepidium sativum ; for Pliny tells us that the Grauls called his Erysimum velar, and this cress is still called vilhar in the Basque tongue, and beler, or veler, in some provinces of France. Our Jack- by-the-Hedge grows in hedges and ditches throughout Europe. The Germans call it by several names, as Das KnoUauchkraut, der Knoblauchhederick, Lauchel, Wald- knoblauch, Eamfen, Eamschelwourzel, Gernsel, Salickraut, Saskraud. In France it is termed L'Alliare, L'herbe aux Aittets, and Le velar. The Dutch call it Steenraket, the Italians Erisamo, and the Spaniards Jaramago. This plant is by many botanists made a distinct genus, under the name of Alliaria. 3. E. orientdle (Hare's-ear Treacle-mustard). Leaves elliptical, heart-shaped, obtuse, clasping the stem ; root- leaves inversely egg-shaped ; all smooth and undivided. Plant annual. This species, which is about a foot high, is chiefly found in this country near the sea, on cliffs, or in fields. It occurs in some parts of Ireland, and in various places on the coasts of Essex, Suffolk, and Sussex. It is also a native of the South of Europe. The flowers are small, white, or cream-coloured, and the leaves have the pale -sea-green powdery bloom on their surface which the botanist terms glaucous. There are above fifty species of the genus Erysimum, and several are very pretty garden plants, with yellow, white, or purple blossoms, several of the smaller ones being very ornamental to rock-work. 132 FLOWERING PLANTS 24. CHEIRANTIIUS (Wall-flower). 1. C. Ckeiri (Common Wall-flower). Leaves lanceo- late, acute, entire, downy; pods long and narrow; stem shrubby at the base. Plant perennial. Who has not welcomed the scent of the wall-flowers, as it was brought to him on the spring breezes, in his wanderings by the old tower, when they quivered to the passing winds, from ruined hall or ivied church? We can all recal places where it grows thus high above us ; and the thought can awaken associations connected with spots where, " The house of God uplifts its ancient walls, Wreath'd in the verdant honours of the year ; Within the sacred fane have race on race, The children of the upland and the dale, Devoutly worshipp'd; and beneath the mounds, The grassy mounds, which stud the village yard, Withdrawn to rest at last." Nor is it in our own loved land only that the wall- flower is associated with the buildings reared by men of other days. The traveller among the ruins of ancient Rome is gladdened by its scent and beauty; and broken walls and fallen capitals have the wall-flower waving on the summits, while the vermilion-spotted mignonette blends with it its own sweet odours. The traveller in Eastern lands sees it amongst the oriental flowers, still loving the old wall better than any other place, and affording to the Eastern poet as many an image and sentiment of loveliness as was gathered by the trou- badour, or is caught by the bard of our days and country. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 133 But though the wall-flower, as its name imports, springs from walls, yet the sea-cliffs afford it as welcome a place of growth. Many a crag and peak is enlivened in the early spring by its clumps of yellow flowers ; and in March and April the old cliffs of Dover, among whose shadows, or in whose hroad sunshine, lies many a lovely blossom, are rich with thousands of its blooms. Our fathers called it the Winter Gilly-flower, for it may be seen while wintry winds are still uttering their wild music ; and March Gilly-flower, which is another of their old names, is equally appropriate. The flower when truly wild is rarely tinged with iron-brown we never saw it so on the wall-flower of Dover ; but the variety which is cultivated in gardens has the deeper tint, and is less firm in its aspect, its petals becoming more flaccid. Yellow Violet and Yellow Stock Gilly-flowers were others of its old names ; and the Dutch now call it Fiolier, while it is the Giroflee of the French, and Die Leucoje of the Germans. By some botanists it is con- sidered to be the Viola of Classic authors. The wall-flower is of little economical use, though it is sometimes planted in pastures, as the leaves are beneficial in some cases to sheep. Our forefathers attributed to it various virtues ; and a conserve made of the flowers was used as a remedy both for the apoplexy and the palsy ; and was esteemed " a singular remedy for the gout and pains in the joints and sinews." But though we no longer use its petals for medicine, and cannot eat its pungent leaves, yet we regard its beauty and sweetness as its uses. The time was when men believed that every plant had its known or unknown 134 FLOWERING PLANTS virtues, and thought that they honoured the Great Creator by thus believing. But it is proof enough for us of God's goodness that the flower can charm the eye and elevate the thought, that it can soothe the sorrow, or awaken the memory ; that it can whisper to us a tale of His love and care for the flowers of the field, and a blessed assurance that we and our least concerns are under His watchful eye, and share in His ever-present goodness. And so our walks over hills and meadows, by sea-cliff or rural stream, shall teach us more of Him by means of His sweetest gifts. The wall -flower was early cultivated in the English garden, and is yet, in its rich varieties of brown and yellow and double and single blossoms, a favourite plant of the border. The little garden plots in the city or in the square send forth fragrance from its petals, though sometimes as we see them, we are re- minded of Elliott's description : " But mourning better days, the widow here Still tries to make her little garden bloom, For she was country-born. No weeds appear Where her poor pinks deplore their prison tomb ; To them, alas ! no second spring shall come ; And there in May the lilac gasps for breath, And mint and thyme seem fain their woes to speak, Like saddest portraits painted after death ; And spindling wall-flowers, in the choaking reek For life for life uplift their branches weak." The troubadours were very fond of the wall-flower, and the old Provencal' ballads told its praises, nor have men of modern times left it unsung. Moir thus says of it OF GREAT BRITAIN. 135 " Sweet wall-flower, sweet wall-flower i Thou conjurest up to me Full many a soft and sunny hour Of boyhood's thoughtless glee, "When joy from out the daisies grew In woodland pastures green, And summer skies were far more blue Than since they e'er have been !" 25. MATTHIOLA (Stock). 1. M.incdna (Hoary Shrubby Stock). Stem shrubby; leaves hoary with down, long and narrow, entire ; pods without glands. Plant perennial. This sea-stock waves its light purple flowers on the southern shores of our island, bearing too much resemblance, botli in form and odour, to the common Stock of the garden, to leave any doubt as to its name. It is found on the southern sea-shore of the Isle of Wight, especially about Niton, and on cliffs to the eastward of Hastings ; in all these places it is apparently wild, as it probably is also on the cliffs at the east of Ramsgate, where also it may be seen in May and June. It is the origin of the stocks of the garden, " The white and purple gillyflowers, that stay In blossom lingering summer half away;" and is there treated as an annual or biennial ; and cul- tivated in the flower borders of both rich and poor. Often, as the scent comes to us from some rich Double-Stock, we are reminded of the regard which Baron Cuvier had for this plant. It had been the favourite flower of his mother ; and the great naturalist never forgot that that mother first directed his thoughts to the observation of nature. Her loved flower was 136 FLOWERING PLANTS prized by him to his latest day of life, and so long as it was in season, his table was never without its fragrance. " A flower is not a flower alone, A thousand thoughts invest it." The French call the Stock, Le Giro/tie; our old writers term it Stock Gillyflower. In all old books on gardens we find how much it was prized ; and it is not possible to read the literature of past centuries with- out discovering how garden-flowers were valued then, though comparatively few but simplers noticed the wild flowers. In an old work called " Delightes for Ladies to adorne their Persons and Closets and Distillations, with Beauties, Banquets, Perfumes, and Waters," we see how ladies of the olden time amused themselves with roses, pansies, and stock gillyflowers ; and how, instead of making the modern compound of pot-pourri, they occupied themselves in " preserving single flowers with- out wrinkling." The author, Sir Hugh Plat, says, "I find the red-rose leafe best to be kept in this manner; also take away the stalks of pansies, stocke-gillyfloures, or other single floures ; pricke them one by one in sande, pressing down their leaves smooth with more sande laid evenly upon them ; and then you may have rose-leaves and other floures to laie about your basons, windows, &c. all the winter long." The mode pre- scribed for preparing these leaves was to wash some " Callis sand," and place it in a shallow square box, about six inches deep, and having made the sand level, to lay the petals of the flowers separately on the surface, placing a layer of sand over each layer of petals. The OF GREAT BRITAIN. 107 whole were to be covered at top with a mass of sand, and to be set in the sunshine on a hot summer's day, and after a few days the dried flowers were to be care- fully removed without breaking. Something of a hortus siccus, on a more extensive scale, was also directed to be made in like manner ; for the author adds, " Also this secret is very requisite for a good simplifier, because he maie drie the leafe of any hearbe in this manner, and laie it very drie in his Herball, with the Simple which it representeth, whereby he may easily learn to know the name of any simple which he desireth." Happy the student of plants in our days, who needs to practise no such elaborate and uncertain methods of discovering the names of plants, but may find them all ready arranged for him in his Flora ; and taking his book in hand, may wander forth and learn the characteristics and properties of every flower of the fi eld. The leaves of all the stocks may be used, say our botanists, for salads or pot-herbs ; that is, they are wholesome, but few would think them any addition to the dish of lettuce or endive. The genus Matthiola was named from the Italian physician of Ferdinand of Austria. He died in 1577, after having published a " laborious commentary" on Dioscorides ; and commentaries in those days were indeed laborious, both to the writer and reader. Matthiolus was held in high repute as a botanist, and the beautiful stocks, such as our annual garden, wall-leaved, winter, and purple gilly-flowers are appropriate remembrances, and have remained on our beds amid all those changes of fashion which affect even flowers. The little garden flower used as an edging for the bed, and called the Virginian VOL. I. T 138 FLOWERING PLANTS stock, is properly the Mediterranean stock. It has been found apparently wild on some sea-cliffs near Dover, but doubtless was introduced there either by human hand, or by some of those aerial messengers which waft plants hither and thither. 2. M. sinuata (Great Sea-stock). Stem herbaceous, spreading ; leaves oblong, downy, the lower ones some- what lobed ; pods rough with prickles. Plant biennial. It is on the sandy coasts of Wales and Cornwall that we must look for this rare stock. It is night-scented, and very sober tinted, its blossom being of dull purple, and opening in the month of August. It is not, like many night-scented flowers, closed during day-time, but is like the blossoms of the lime-tree, the moschatel, and the musk mallow, in which the scent seems to increase as the dews of evening descend upon the petals. Through the night, too, its odour is perceptible, though this is not so powerful as in that singular species of the South of Europe, the Night-flowering Stock (Mattkiola tristis), which is all day like a withered flower, and needs the air of night to freshen it into vigour and sweetness. Linnseus named night-blooming flowers fores tristes, and many deserve this name in a peculiar manner, like this stock, by their dull colour. But all are not, at least in this sense, sorrowful flowers, for that most magnificent of blossomstheNight-floweringCereus (Cactus yrandiflord], whose beauty is never revealed in the day-time, and whose full glory of hue and fragrance is attained at midnight, is of a beautiful white hue, and has a coronal of golden stamens. Of all night flowers it is the queen, and its scent is far more powerful than OF GREAT BRITAIN. 139 that of any plant of our country. The dawn of morn- ing, which bids so many flowers unfold, is a warning to the night flower to close its petals, and Scented Night- stock and Cereus are then scentless, and the latter even faded. Little beauty as our great Sea-stock may have to attract the eye of the wanderer, yet its odour renders it welcome to those who ramble forth to see the moon- light on the waters. It is not on the shore that we expect the odour of flowers, any more than the singing of birds. Both sounds and sweet airs of the country must yield here to the music of winds and waters, and the odour of the salt sea waves. Little scent comes from the cliff or sand, either by day or night, save that of an occa- sional clump of white Burnet roses, which sometimes stud the shore, or, on some rare spots, the powerful odour of the night-flowering Catchfly, or this large Stock. 26. BRA'SSICA (Cabbage ; Turnip Navew). 1. B. campestris (Common Wild Navew). Stem- leaves heart-shaped, tapering to a point, clasping, glau- cous ; root leaves lyrate. toothed, somewhat rough ; pods erect. Plant annual. This plant during June and July, when it is in flower, is so much like the common Charlock as to be easily mistaken for it. The smooth- ness and sea-green tint of its upper leaves serve as a distinction, for all the foliage of the Charlock is rough. The Navew is common on field- borders, in corn-fields, and ditches. It has several varieties, one of them, the Srassica oleifera, called the Colsa, or Colza, is one of the plants cultivated for the sake of its seed, known as Cole-seed, which yields a large quantity of oil. The 1-10 FLOWERING PLANTS leaves of this plant are also used as fodder for cattle, and the stalks are burned for manure. It is thought to be the origin of the Swedish turnip of our agricultu- rists, and its root, which in its wild state is spindle- shaped, becomes, under culture, turnip-shaped. Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott remark, that, in Scotland, it has never been found, except where the Swedish turnip had been previously cultivated. 2. B. olerdcea (Sea Cabbage). Root stem-like, fleshy; leaves lobed, waved, smooth and glaucous ; upper ones sessile, and oblong. Plant biennial. Few plants are more conspicuous on some of our sea-cliffs than this cabbage. On many of the cliffs of Devonshire, Corn- wall, Wales, and Yorkshire, it is plentiful ; and on the lofty heights of Dover it is, from May till the end of summer, one of the loveliest ornaments of the cliffs. Its large panicle of lemon-coloured blossoms contrasts beautifully then with the pink Centaury, and purple Knapweeds, and the rich blue of the Bu gloss, which overtops them all. In winter, too, the old white cliffs receive some additional beauty from the foliage of this plant. Much of it is yet verdant when all around is fading ; and dark, purplish, red tinted leaves mingle with those which are green, and with others which are of deepest yellow, and please the eye by their varied hues and graceful forms; and when the hoar frost spangles them, they seem enriched with glittering diamonds. The wind revels among the cliffs, rattling as it passes the old withered stalks, which in the last summer were gay with the flowers, but which now stand out from the crevices like the naked boughs of some shrub. In OF GREAT BRITAIN. 141 summer the large blossoms may be seen far away up the cliff, hanging out from its very summit, or we may look at them as they cluster close by its base, or among the shingle and sand, just above the high-tide mark, but often dashed by the spray when winds are wild. The leaves have a salt and bitter flavour, but repeated wash- ings will fit this cabbage for use, and when boiled it is a good vegetable. Boys occasionally gather it from the cliff, and carry it into the town for sale, but it does not seem to be much used in the neighbourhood either by rich or poor. The common Cabbage butterfly, Pieris Brassica, the caterpillar of whichmakes so muchhavocin the kitchen garden, does not neglect the cabbage of the cliff, though it appears to prefer the cultivated plant. This the author had the opportunity of remarking in the summer of 1851, when a little garden on the cliff side, redeemed from the waste, and carefully tended by an industrious cottager, was visited by this caterpillar. A large piece of land had been planted with rows of cabbages, but not a single plant was uninjured. The whole produce was completely destroyed by the ravages of the devouring insects, while hundreds of wild cab- bage plants bloomed around with leaves unharmed, or only here and there betrayed marks of the destroyer. This Sea-cabbage, small as it is, with its few scattered leaves, is important as having been the origin of all the giant and small cabbages, both white and red, of Savoys and Brussels Sprouts, and delicate Cauliflowers and Brocoli, and all the varieties of greens which the gar- dener raises with so much care. None who looked on it as it grew on the cliff could have believed that culture 142 FLOWERING PLANTS could have wrought such changes ; but from earliest days it has received cultivation. There is no doubt that the JBrassica of the ancients belonged to the Cabbage genus, though it would, indeed, be a waste of labour to attempt to discover to which of the kinds the Greek and Eoman writers alluded. Indeed, in the lapse of ages so many new sorts have arisen, and, doubtless, so many old ones been lost, that it is impossible to tell whether that cabbage which the ancients ate raw to pre- vent intoxication is that of which the modern German makes his sauer kraut, or which the Turk pickles for his winter food, or which the Englishman boils for his " greens." We know that the ancients had a curled cabbage ; they therefore, probably, dined sometimes on Brocoli. Our Cauliflower was brought from the Levant into Italy about the sixteenth century, and gradually found its way into England, though it was long a rare vegetable, and seems to have been unknown to Conrad Gesner, while it was regarded by Bauhin as so rare, that he particularly names the garden where he saw it growing. In Tarragona this vegetable is said, in our day, sometimes to weigh as much as forty pounds. Numerous varieties of Brassica have been, and still are, produced by gardeners. There are thousand-headed and hundred-leaved varieties reared for cattle. There are drumheads, and various red and white cabbages and cauliflowers, cultivated for our vegetable diet, and savoys for our winter use. Our continental neighbours have produced their ribbed kale, and the Brussels sprouts are unexpanded leaf-buds of a common variety of cabbage. The celebrated Kohl-rabi, or turnip-stemmed OF GREAT BKITAIN. 143 cabbage, has been, of late years, introduced into this country as food for cattle, and when young is some- times cooked for our tables. There are Scotch Kales, Tree Kales, and Palm Kales, which last are sometimes ten or twelve feet in height ; and the Caesarean Cow- cabbage, which is described as attaining in La Vendee the enormous height of sixteen feet ; and these plants are somewhat palm-like in the tufts of leaves which surround their stems. The inner portion of thesa cabbages, their " hearts," as they are termed, are good for the table, and the outer leaves are given to cattle. It is principally for these outer leaves that the palm kale is cultivated in Jersey. The French have, like our own gardeners, a large number of varieties of cabbage under culture, and their C/toux verts, their Choux de Milan, their Cavaliers Roquet tes, and various others, are in common use. Our wild cabbage grows on the sea- cliffs of several parts of the shores of Europe, and other wild cabbages grow on more distant shores. The cabbage plant, too, is a frequent object of culture in the East. Mr. Fortune, in his " Wanderings in China," says that one of the cabbage tribe, Brassica Chinensis, is extensively culti- vated there, both in the province of Chekiang and also in Kiangse, and in great demand for the oil which is pressed from its seed. . Its stems are three or four feet high, with yellow flowers, and long pods, and he re- marks, " In April, when the fields are in bloom, the whole country seems tinged with gold ; and the fra- grance which fills the air, particularly after an April shower, is delightful." H4 FLOWERING PLANTS 3. B. Monensis (Isle-of-Man Cabbage). Leaves pin- natifid and glaucous ; stem nearly leafless, prostrate ; pods 4-angled, 1 to 3-seeded. Plant perennial. This species is found on some parts of the north-west shores of our island, growing on the sand. Its bright lemon- coloured flowers are streaked with purple, and it blos- soms in June and July. It is eaten by sheep and cattle with great avidity. 4. B. Napus (Rape or Cole-seed). Leaves smooth, somewhat glaucous, lower ones lyrate and toothed, upper ones narrow and heart- shaped, clasping; pods spreading. Plant biennial. The slender-rooted variety of this cabbage is so much cultivated for the oil produced by its seeds, that we have many of the young plants in our corn-fields and waste ground, though the species is not truly wild. It has small yellow flowers in June and July, and its stem is about one or two feet in height. The whole plant is, in winter, useful as fodder for sheep, and is sometimes sown for spring salads, like mustard and cress. It is sometimes called Heps or Navette. 5. B. Jidpa (Common Turnip). Hoot fleshy, round or oblong ; root-leaves lyrate and rough ; lower stem- leaves cut, upper ones ovate, heart-shaped and clasping. Plant annual. This is not truly a British plant, though often found wild on field borders, and it is probably a variety of B. campestris or B. Napus. Our common turnips, so valuable to the agriculturist, in all their various tints of white, yellow, green, black, and red, are varieties of B. Rapa. Some of them are flat or roundish in form, others are oblong, and are termed Decanter or Tankard Turnips. Their importance in husbandry, their OF GREAT BRITAIN. 145 value as food, both for man and animals, have rendered the culture of this vegetable very general both in this and other European countries. The roots are too well known on our tables to need any commendation, and the young green tops are also eaten. The loud cry of " Buy my turnip-tops," is one of the familiar sounds of the city on the early spring morning ; and, though slightly bitter, yet these leaves form a pleasant as well as wholesome vegetable, and are much better when procured from the open field than the garden. Sir Humphry Davy ascertained that a comparatively small amount of nutritious matter was contained inthe turnip not more than forty -two parts in a thousand. It is probable that the Romans first cultivated the vegetable in this country; and there seems no reason to doubt that this was the plant known to them by the name of Rapa, though we have in modern times a much larger variety of kinds than they had. Their ancient writers strongly recommend the extensive growth of the turnip, because, as they said, those roots which were not re- quired for human food could be given to cattle ; and both Columella and Pliny state that the turnip was to be considered as next to corn in value and utility. Pliny mentions some of the turnips of his times as weighing forty pounds each, a size never reached by the turnips of modern days; though a turnip grown in Surrey, in July 1828, is described as twenty-one pounds in weight, and one yard in circumference. It is well known that several plants introduced by the Romans were lost for a period, and their culture afterwards renewed ; but it is quile probable that the cultivation of VOL. r. u 146 FLOWERING PLANTS this was at no time wholly discontinued. It is certain that the root was grown in the land during the six- teenth century; but about that period several vegetables now in use were introduced by the Flemish, so that we cannot be assured that this was not among that number. The turnip is mentioned by several writers at the latter end of that century. Cogan, in his " Haven of Health," published in 1 5 97, says, that although many men love to eat turnips, yet do swine abhor them. From Gerarde's " Herbal," published at the same time, we may infer that more than one variety was cultivated in the neighbourhood of London at that period. " The small turnep," he says, "that grows by a village near London, called Hackney, in a sandie ground, and is brought to the crosse in Cheapside by the women of the village to be solde, is the best that I ever knew." Turnips have been used very extensively as food in seasons of dearth. Thus, in the years 1629 30, when there was great scarcity of pro visions in England, excel- lent white bread was made of these roots, which for this purpose were boiled, and, the moisture being ex- pressed, were kneaded with an equal quantity of wheaten flour. They were also thus eaten in Essex at a much later period. St. Pierre, speaking of the beauties of the vegetables of the north of Europe, describes some very richly- tinted roots of the Turnip. "Nature," he says, " to indemnify these countries for the scarcity of apparent flowers, of which it produces but a small number, has bestowed their perfumes on several plants, as the Sweet Eeed (Calamus aromaticus) ; the Birch, which in spring emits OF GREAT BRITAIN 147 a strong smell of roses ; and the Fir, the apples of which are sweet-scented. She has likewise diffused the most pleasing and the most brilliant colours of flowers on the most common of vegetables, such as the cones of the Larch, which are of a beautiful crimson, on the scarlet berries of the Service-tree, on the Mosses, theMushroom, and even on the Swedish Turnip. On the subject of this last vegetable, hear what the accurate Cornelius Le Bruyn says in his voyage to Archangel : ' During our residence among them (the Samojedes), they brought us several species of turnips of various colours, and of surprising beauty. Some were violet, like our plums ; others grey, white, yellowish ; all were streaked with red, like vermilion, or the most beautiful lake, and as pleasing to the eye as a carnation. I painted some of them on paper in water-colours, and sent a quantity to Holland, in a box filled with dry sand, to one of my friends, a lover of this kind of curiosities. I carried my paintings to Archangel ; when nobody would believe they were copied from nature, till I produced the turnips themselves, a proof that very little attention is there paid to the rarest and most curious productions of Nature.' These turnips I take to be of the species called Ruta baga, or Swedish Turnip, the bulb of which grows above the ground, at least, I presume so, from the drawing which Le Bruyn himself gives of it, and because I have seen such in Finland. The}'' are supe- rior in taste to our cabbage, and have a flavour similar to the hearts of artichokes. I have produced these testimonies of a painter, and that painter a native of Holland, on the beauty of these colours, to overthrow 148 FLOWERING PLANTS a prejudice which is so general, that in the Indies alone the sun gives a magnificent colouring to vegetables." 27. SINA'PIS (Mustard). 1. S. arvensis (Wild Mustard, or Charlock). Leaves rough, and toothed ; pods with many angles, rugged, and knotty, longer than the awl-shaped beak; stem bristly. Plant annual. This Charlock is too frequent in the corn-fields, its yellow flowers gleaming there all the summer long. It is, like all mustards, very pungent, and might be cultivated for its seeds, but that their flavouris not so pleasantas that of the species commonly reared for the mustard of our tables. The flowers look bright among the green spring blades, and at the later season have such floral companions as the poet has described : " Earth is very beautiful amid these steeps and valleys I Golden wheat now quivers rip'ning in the sun. Up yon hazel'd slope the farmer loudly rallies Reapers to their morning task ; lo, it is begun ! Wild flowers around their varied tints are showing, Sweeps of yellow Charlock around the fields are seen, The scarlet hoods of poppies, 'mid dark green turnips glowing, Are brighter than the ruby gems that deck an Indian queen. Earth is very beautiful Amid her valleys green 1" The Charlock is, in various counties, termed Cher- lock, Garlock, Chadlock, or Cad lock. In Yorkshire it is called Eunsh, and in many places is known by the name of Corn-mustard. Its young tops are boiled and eaten by country people. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 149 2. S. alia (White Mustard). Pods bristly, rugged, spreading, shorter than the flat two-edged beak ; leaves pinnatifid. Plant annual. This plant grows on waste ground and by field borders, and has large yellow flowers in June : its young leaves are used as salad. 3. 8. nigra (Common Mustard). Pods quadrangular, smooth, slightly beaked; lower leaves lyrate; upper, linear, smooth. This species and the last are the plants commonly cultivated for the mustard of commerce, and large fields are sown for this produce, in Essex and other counties. The pungent seeds consist of a mucilaginous and farinaceous substance, combined with a bland fixed oil, and a volatile or essential one, of great pungency, in which sulphur is said by Miiller to exist to the amount of about thirty per cent. The acridity of this latter oil is increased if the seeds are kept some time after they are gathered, or it is at once developed by steeping the seeds in vinegar. The seeds when prepared for use are first dried in a kiln, and ground to powder ; when, by some delicate process, the black husks are removed. In France this process is either ill understood, or the husks are retained because they possess greater pungency than the inner portion of the seed ; the French mustard is consequently stronger than ours, but not of so good a colour. Our English word " mustard," as. well as the moutarde of the French, is derived from mmtum ardens, " hot must ;" the sweet must of new wine having been an old ingredient of the condiment, as used in France. In our country it is often prepared for the table by the admixture of the juice of horseradish, or other pungent substances, as 150 .FLOWERING PLANTS well as with milk ; but when this is used, the prepa- ration is only fit for immediate use. The seeds of both this and the White Mustard have been used medicinally ; and, like many other remedies whose properties are apparent, they have often been taken in total ignorance of the disease for which they were applied; and though in many cases unobjection- able, or even useful, have in some produced evil conse- quences. Professor Wheeler has recorded in the Chelsea Catalogue instances in which the use of mustard-seed proved fatal. Old writers had the highest opinion of its invigorating powers. The seeds were recommended to be mixed with gum arabic and rose-water, and taken before meals by those who had little appetite, or a weak digestion. "Let old men and women," says one of the herbalists, " take much of this medicine, arid they will either give me thanks, or show manifest ingratitude." Its outward application was to produce marvellous relief to various pains, to take off the blackness of bruises, to cure the tooth-ache, and even to " help the falling off of the hair." The young plants of the common mustard are good for salad, and are often raised in gardens to be eaten with cress. The Germans call this plant Senf. It is fhefienepa of the Italians; foeMostaro of the Spaniards; and the Mostcrd of the Dutch. The seeds of the Mustard are remarkable for the rapidity of their development, a quality well known to children, who watch with eagerness for the first seed- leaves which emerge from the soil so soon after they have sown the seeds in their little gardens ; and it has OF GREAT BRITAIN. 151 been jocosely said, that a salad might be grown while a joint of meat was being roasted. Professor Burnett, remarking on the tenacity of life of these seeds, says that when a crop of mustard has once been seeded, self-sown stragglers will come up for a century after- wards. Their rapidity of growth is greatly accelerated by certain conditions of the atmosphere. Mr. Pine, in a paper read to the Electrical Society, brings many cases to prove that luxuriance of vegetation is in pro- portion to the positive state of the air, and the negative state of the soil. Thus, a drooping Narcissus being- removed into a room, the atmosphere of which was con- tinually surcharged with electricity from a machine often used for electrical purposes, revived, and attained the gigantic height of thirty-six inches. Mustard-seed, in a pot, tbe soM of which was negatively electrical, vege- tated with greater vigour than when in a positive soil, and much greater than when the seed was in its ordi- nary condition. The little Mustard-seed has aninterestingassociation, from having been more than once referred to by our Saviour ; and " small as a grain of mustard-seed," was probably a common comparison with the Jews. The plants of Scripture, like those of the classical writer's, have been the objects of much careful investigation, and, doubtless, many have been identified Iry the researches of late years. We owe much to Dr. Royle in this matter ; and in a paper read before the Eoyal Asiatic Society, in 1814, this botanist, after showing the unsuitability of various plants hitherto supposed to be the Sincqji of the New Testament, concludes that the 152 FLOWERING PLANTS true mustard-tree is the Khardal of the Arabs. This word is, in the Arabic language, synonymous with our mustard, and the tree thus named is abundant on the banks of the Jordan and the Sea of Tiberias, and is there used for the mustard of the table. It is the Salvadora Persica of the botanist, and is a tree with numerous branches, among which the birds of the air may take shelter, while its seed is so small, as well to symbolize that little germ of faith to which our Saviour referred, in answer to that prayer so needful for us all, which came at that time from the lips of his disciples, " Lord, increase our faith !" and which he elsewhere compared to the grain sown in the ground, which in- creased to the great tree. Irby and Mangles seem to have referred to this plant in their " Travels ;" and Dr. Royle, after having added various proofs that the Salvadora was also known by the name of Kharjal in the north-west of India, remarks, " It is, at all events, interesting, as proving that the name Kharjal, even in so remote a country, is given to the same plant which in Syria is called Kliardal, and which, no doubt, is the Chardaloii\\Q Talmudists, one of whom describes it as a tree of which the wood was sufficient to cover a po'tter's shed ; and another says, that he was wont to climb into it as men climb into a fig-tree." 4. S.tenuifolia (Wall- rocket). Pods shortly beaked, erect ; stems erect, leafy ; leaves long and narrow, very acute, pinnatifid, or twice-pinnatifid, smooth. Plant perennial. In the south, south-west, and east of Eng- land, this is a common plant, growing on a stem a foot or a foot and a half in height and bearing, from June to OF GREAT BRITAIN. 15U September, a few pale yellow flowers. The different species of wild mustard are sometimes difficult of deter- mination by the young botanist,but this may be known at once from the others by its peculiar odour. The flowers have a scent which, though disagreeable to some, is liked by others. The author was accustomed, during childhood, to call the flower Yellow Custards, because of its somewhat almond-like fragrance, a fragrance still pleasing to her, as to man}^ Of the odour of the leaves, however, there would be but one opinion, for though, while growing, they seem almost scentless, yet,onbeing crushed, they emit the most nauseous and disgusting scent. This rocket is often found in England, near houses, and on dry banks, or old walls, and heaps of rubbish about towns, and is very plentiful in the suburbs of London. Sir William Hookerand Dr. Arnottmention St. David's, Fifeshire, as a Scottish habitat for it, but add, that it was introduced there among ballast. This plant is by some placed in the genus Slsymbrium, and, with other writers, this, and the following species, con- stitute the British genus Diplotdxis. 5. jS. murdlis (Sand-rocket). Pods shortly beaked, erect; stem herbaceous, spreading, leafy only at the base ; leaves smooth, and waved. This species is much like the last, but it l:as a hairy stem, is much smaller, and is annual. It grows on sandy fields, near the sea, chiefly in the south and south-west of England. It is very abundant in cultivated lands in the Isle of 1 hanet, especially about Bamsgate. Dr. Withering observes of it : " This weed, which has overrun the whole arable land of the Isle of Thanet, was first remarked, some VOL. I. X 154 FLOWERING PLANTS twenty years ago, near to the beach at Broadstairs, and is believed to have been introduced on that spot by a corn-laden vessel, wrecked on that part of the coast." 28. HESPERIS (Dame's Violet). 1. H. matrondlis (Common Dame's Violet). Stem erect ; leaves broadly lance-shaped, toothed ; limb of the petals inversely egg-shaped ; pods erect. Plant peren- nial. This is a handsome flower, often cultivated in gardens, and known in old times by the name of Rogue's Gillyflowers. It is occasionally found on hilly pastures in several parts of the kingdom, but has, doubtless, been the outcast of some garden in the neighbourhood. It has purple flowers, fragrant in the evening, from May to July. The French call it La Julienne ; it is the NacJtt-viole of the Germans. It was because of the custom of German ladies of placing these flowers in their rooms, that the plant was called Dame's Gillyflower. Queen's Gillyflower was another of its old names. It was also termed Damask Violet. 29. RAPHANUS (Radish). 1. R.RapJtamstrum (Wild Radish). Leaves lyrate, and stalked \pods jointed, 1-celled. Plant annual. This wild radish is often called Jointed Charlock, and has much of the general aspect of the wild mustard, though it is readily distinguished by its jointed pods, and pale straw-coloured flowers, veinedwith purple. These blos- soms may be found throughout the summer, and are often white, but occasionally tinged with red. It is a OF GREAT BRITAIN 155 rough plant, growing in corn-fields, and by road sides. Its roots have the odour of those of the garden radish, but are more pungent ; and they are said to be prefer- able to horse-radish for the table, but when quite young are milder. The leaves were formerly much valued as a pot-herb. Thisradishgrowsincultivated lands through- out Europe, and in wet seasons a great quantity of the plant is found in the barley-fields of Sweden. Its seeds become mingled with the grain, and when ground with the corn and made into barley bread, they were sup- posed, by Linna3us, to be the cause of a violent and dangerous spasmodic disease, called Raphania, which is an occasional epidemic of Sweden. The plant, however, abounds in our English fields, and in some of the cold moist valleys of Dauphiny is one of the most frequent weeds, yet in neither country is this disease experienced. Professor Burnett thinks that the injurious effect of the plant in some circumstances may be owing to a morbid condition of the seeds, or to the growth of noxious funguses upon them, rather than to anything unwhole- some in the seeds themselves ; and this would account for the fact that Tvaphania is an occasional, and not an annual disease ; but many writers think that the malady is altogether unconnected with the plant. The garden radish, that common salad root, is the Raphanus sativus. It has several varieties, as the turnip, Spanish, and other well-k>'own radishes. The tree- radish, Raplianm caudaltis, is remarkable for the length of its pod, which is greater than the whole height of the plant. The young leaves of most of the species are eaten as salads in the lands in which they grow. The 156 FLOWERING PLANTS radish is called Eaifort by the French, Der Eettig by the Germans ; it is the Tamme Eadys of the Dutch, and the Eafans of the Italians. 2. E. maritimus (Sea Radish). Leaves interruptedly lyrate; pod jointed, marked with lines and larger than the preceding. Plant biennial. This plant, which grows on sea cliffs, and bears its yellow flowers in June, is very similar to the last species. It is by many writers regarded as a variety only, its chief points of difference being its larger pods, and the form of its leaves, which are composed of small and large leaflets } arranged alternately. It has been found on Beachy Head, and on some parts of the Scottish shores. ORDER VII. RESEDACE^. THE ROCKET TRIBE. Sepals narrow, from four to six in number ; petals unequal, jagged or fringed at the back ; stamens as well as the petals inserted on an irregular disc, on one side of the flower; stigmas 3, sessile; ovary 3-lobed, 1 -celled, many-seeded, open at the summit ; seeds in two rows ; plants herbaceous, more rarely somewhat shrubby, their flowers being arranged in clusters or spikes, and their leaves alternate. The properties of all are innocuous, and, with the exception of the Dyer's Weed, they are little used for any economical purposes. 1. RESEDA (Rocket). Calyx of one piece, many- parted ; petals entire, or variously cut, unequal ; stamens OF GREAT BRITAIN. 157 numerous; capsule 1 -celled, opening at the summit. Name from resc'do, to "calm," from the supposed sedative effect of some of the plants 1. RESEDA (Rocket, Mignonette). 1. R. Lutiola (Dyer's Rocket, Yellow Weed, or Weld). Leaves long, narrow and undivided; calyx 4-parted ; stigmas 3. Plant biennial. On chalky inland or sea-side cliffs, or by the road-side, or field borders, this tall, slender species often attracts the eye of the wanderer over the chalky or limestone soil. It is an erect, herbaceous plant, from two to three feet high, its pale yellow greenish flowers, blossoming in July, having very conspicuous stamens, and being succeeded by short flattened capsules. It was, in former times, much used by dyers, and cotton, silk, linen and woollen materials receive a beautiful tint from its juices; while blue cloths dipped in the dye assume a rich green colour. Every portion of the plant is used by the dyer, and to the juices of this yellow weed the artist owes the colour called Dutch pink. This plant is remarked as being one of the first which appear on the rubbish thrown from coal-pits. Linnaeus observes of it, that it follows the course of the sun even when obscured by clouds, pointing throughout the day in its direction, turning to the east at the dawn of morning, looking southwards at noonday, saluting the west at sunset, and at midnight standing due north. 2. R. hitea (Wild Mignonette). Leaves 3-cleft, lower ones pinnatifid; calyx 6 -parted; petals 6, very 158 FLOWERING PLANTS unequal. Plant biennial. This is so much like the Garden Mignonette, the Little Darling of the French, " The Frenchman's Weed," as Cowper calls it, that it would at once be known as a Mignonette by any who are familiar with the scented flower. Its spikes of blossoms, however, have not the pretty reddish tinted stamens of that species, being altogether of yellowish green hue. The odour of the Wild Mignonette, too, is rather unpleasing than agreeable, though it is not powerful. Calder Campbell, in a little poem which he has written for this volume, alludes to this circumstance. " The flowers we gather in the sun may soothe us in the shade, As thoughts amid the crowd that spring our lonely hours pervade ; Consoling us for pleasures past by whispering of those That yet shall crown our honest toils with justly-earu'd repose. " A book may hold a rose's leaf, preserved for many years, Whose scents and hues can conjure up sad smiles that turn to tears : Affection dormant, if not dead, may wake again restored, By finding faded nosegays in some old neglected hoard. " When I remember blossoms cull'd in early days of yore, I seem to smell their fragrance, though I see their blooms no more ; A mem'ry thus oft makes the false, reality assume, As thoughts of violets with their scents may fill my quiet room. " Thus wandering o'er the cliffs one da}-, a wayside plant I saw, Which from my unaccustom'd lips did joyful welcome draw; A gush of perfume, at the sight, around me breathed, but when I sprang and pluck'd the flowers, ah me ! where was the fragrance then ? " 'It is the Mignonette,' quoth J; 'yet odour there is none !' Abundant o'er the chalky hills its blossoms met the sun ; A deeper yellow on them lay than clad my garden flowers, And yet there was no soothing scent, the semblance only ours. H1U) MICNi' | OF GREAT BRITAIN. 161 some of them being natives of almost all the countries of the world. The balsam called Ladanum, which is so much used as a perfume in Greece and in oriental countries, and which is prized for its tonic and stomachic properties, is produced by the Cistus Creticus. Southey has described the fragrance of the Cistus plants : " The forest or the lonely heath wide spread, Where Cistus shrubs sole seen, exhaled at noon Their fine balsamic odour all around, Strew'd with their blossoms, frail as beautiful, The thirsty soil at eve ; and when the sun Relumed the gladden'd earth, opening anew Their stores exuberant, prodigal as frail, Whiten'd again the wilderness." 1. HELIANTHEMUU (Rock-rose). Sepals 5, the two outer either smaller or wanting ; petals 5 ; stamens numerous ; capsule 3-valved. Named from the Greek helios, the sun, and anthos, a flower, because the flowers expand in the sunshine. 1. HELIA'NTHEMUM (Rock-rose). 1. H. vulf/are (Common Rock-rose). Stem shrubby, prostrate; leaves with fringed stipules, opposite, oblong, green above, hoary beneath; calyx of five leaves, the two outer very small and fringed; seeds black. Plant peren- nial. Any one used to roam over the chalky or gravelly soils of this country must have often seen,earlyin spring and late in autumn, the prostrate branches of this Rock- rose, covered with their leaves. In spring these are of a tender verdant tint ; but late in the year they are rigid, of a dark myrtle-colour, and siiine with the deepest VOL. I. Y 162 FLOWERING PLANTS green hue on the reddened leaf-stems. When the sun- shine of July pours down on the grassy slopes, and tinges their sides with its gleams, these clumps of brilliant yellow flowers are bright, as if the sun had turned them into gold. They are truly, as the ancients called them, Beauties of the Sun, or, as some country people term them, Sun-Roses ; never opening save when skies are bright, and never lingering on till the late autumnal season. Their petals are crumpled and fragile, and the little unblown buds are very pretty, standing by thou- sands as they do among the grass on a cloudy day, waiting for the morrow's sun. The stamens are very sensitive, and if only touched by the wing of an insect or the point of a needle, they all lie down on the petals. They are long before they resume their erect position, and in some cases appear not to do so at all. The bees seem very fond of these flowers, flying from one clump to another, with their deep joyous humming, passing by their favourite wild thyme, to rob the cistus flower, which first invited them; for by some strange instinct, these sagacious insects keep throughout the morning to the same kind of blossom as that from which they first gathered the honey, and never mingle the sweets of the thyme and the cistus. Many writers on the flowers of Scripture consider that a variety of this Rock-rose is the plant alluded to in the Canticles, as the Rose of Sharon. It does not appear that the Hebrew word, Chabazzeleth, which our translators have rendered by " rose," is ever applied to that flower; and as the plains of Sharon are full of the red variety of the Cistus, it is reasonable to suppose that OF GREAT BRITAIN. 163 this may be intended. The subject has been well in- vestigated by learned and judicious botanists; but whether this pretty Cistus, the Asphodel, the true Eose, or the Narcissus, is the flower alluded to, cannot be fully ascertained. 2. //. canum (Hoary Dwarf Bock-rose). Shrubby, without stipules; leaves opposite, egg-shaped or oblong, hoary beneath ; racemes of flowers terminal. Plant perennial. This very rare plant is truly alpine in its place of growth, and occurs in the north of England and in Wales. Its flowers are small and yellow, blossoming from May till July. The leaves are quite grey with down. 3. //. guttdtum (Spotted Annual Eock-rose). Stem erect ; leaves long and narrow, the lower ones opposite and without stipules, the upper ones alternate. This very rare plant has but two recorded British habitats, and both are in Ireland. It flowers from June to Sep- tember. It is a common species in France, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey ; and is found, but rarely, in Jersey. Its flowers are yellow, with a deep-red spot at the base of the petals. 4. //. ledifolinm (Ledum-leaved Eock>rose). Stem herbaceous, slightly downy, with stipules; kaves lance- shaped ; flower-stalks solitary, opposite to the leaves ; capsule smooth and. shining. Plant perennial. This Cistus was described by Hudson, ay growing on Brean Downs, in Somersetshire, but it is probably not a native of Britain. 5. H. polifolium (White Eock-rose). Shrubby, pro- cumbent, stipuled, hoary ; leaves oblong, more or less 164 FLOWERING PLANTS rolled under at the margin ; racemes solitary, terminal. Plant perennial. This white-flowered Cistus is very rare, and is by many botanists thought to be a variety of the Common Rock-rose, which, as we may see in our gardens, exhibits under culture tints of all hues of red, yellow, and white. This plant has been gathered in several parts of the south of England, as at Torquay, Babbicombe, and other places ; and many a botanist of these neighbourhoods goes forth to seek its blossoms in July, reminding one of Wordsworth's words : " Happy, in my judgment, The wandering herbalist, who, clear alike From vain, and that worse evil, vexing thoughts, Casts on these uncouth forms a slight regard Of transitory interest, and peeps round For some rare flow'ret of the hills, or plant Of craggy fountain; what he hopes for, wins, Or learns, at least, that 'tis not to be won : Then, keen and eager as a fine-nosed hound, By soul-engrossing instinct driven along Through wood or open field, the harmless man Departs intent upon his onward quest ! No flow'ret blooms Throughout the lofty range of these rough hills, Or in the woods, that could from him conceal Its birth-place 1 " ORDER IX. VIOLACEjE. THE VIOLET TRIBE. Sepals 5 ; petals 5, sometimes unequal ; stamens 5 ; anthers lengthened into a flat membrane ; style with an oblique hooded stigma; ovary 1 -celled; seeds numerous. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1G5 in three rows. This order, which consists chiefly of the Violet genus, contains many favourite flowers of the gardener. The greater number of the tribe are hardy herbaceous plants, some remarkable for their fragrance, others for their beautiful colours ; but few are shrubs. They are found in most parts of the world, often occu- pying very elevated situations ; but they are entirely absent from the countries of Tropical Asia. The plants of this order which occur in temperate regions are gene- rally herbaceous, but in South America the species are mostly shrubs. Their medicinal properties are found chiefly in the roots, which appear in all the violets to possess emetic properties, in a greater or less degree. One of the Ipecacuanhas, so valuable as a medicine, is the root of a Brazilian violet; and several of the shrubby Violacets of Brazil are plants of great interest. 1. VIOLA (Violet). Sepals 5, extended at the base; petals 5, unequal, the lower one lengthened into a hollow spur beneath ; anthers united into a tube, the two lower ones furnished with spurs, which are enclosed within the spur of the corolla ; capsule with three valves. Viola was the Latin name of some fragrant flower called Ion by the Greeks. 1. VIOLA (Violet). * Leaves and flowers all springing directly from the root. 1. V. hirta (Hairy Violet). Leaves heart-shaped, hairy, as are also the leaf-stalks and capsules ; bracts below the middle of the flower-stalks ; sepals obtuse ; 166 FLOWERING PLANTS lateral petals usually with a hairy central line. Plant perennial. This violet, more than any other species, resembles that favourite flower, the sweet-scented wo(vl- violet ; but its blue tint is darker and duller, and it has not creeping shoots. The rough hairs which beset the leaf-stalks and leaves, and the total want of the sweet scent of that violet, are also obvious distinctions. It blossoms in April, and is occasionally pale blue or white. It is not unfrequent in English woods and pastures, preferring a chalky or limestone soil, and thriving espe- cially near the sea ; but it is a rare plant in Scotland, and found only in Dumfriesshire, and in the eastern parts of the country. The flowers of this, as well as of some other species, are often destitute of petals. 2. V. odordta (Sweet Violet). Leaves heart-shaped, slightly downy, especially beneatli ; bracts above the middle of the flower-stalks; sepals obtuse; lateral petals with a hairy central line ; scions creeping. Spring violets ! What lover of the country is not gladdened by their coining, and is not willing to search again for their buds among the dark-green leaves, as he did in his childhood? What wonder that poets have made them symbolic of beauty and virtue, from the old Arab bards and the Provencals of later years, and the Eastern min- strel who sings of the violet-tinted eyelid, to him who in our days compares the eye to the violet dropping dew, or the secluded maiden to the " Violet by the mossy stone, half hidden from the eye ! " The south wind that came over the bed of violets, the touching remark of Ophelia, who coloured all naturo OF GREAT BRITAIN. 167 with the hues of her own sad thoughts, " I would give you violets, but they withered all when my father died:" these and many another sweet poetic passage, serve to show how men in all ages have prized our spring flower. Which of us could spare the Violet from the memories of early life ? And how many of us are even now reminded by its passing scent of scenes which may never be revisited, but whose verdure and sunshine and song made a picture on which the eye of the mind can linger as long as life itself shall last. The Violet is so associated with green meadows speckled over with lambs, and woods made musical with voices of singing birds and softly breathing winds, that many a lover of Nature can respond to the expression of Willis :- " I have found Violets, April hath come on ; And the cool winds feel softer, and the rain Falls in the beaded drops of summer-time. You may hear birds at morning and at even; The tame dove lingers till the twilight falls, Cooing upon the eaves, and drawing in His beautiful bright neck ; and from the hills A murmur, like the roaring of the sea, Tells the release of waters; and the earth Sends up a pleasant smell, and the dry leaves Are lifted by the grass, and so I know That Nature with her delicate ear hath heard The dropping of the velvet foot of Spring. Smell of my Violets ! I found them where The liquid south stole o'er them, on a bank That lean'd to running water. There's to me A daintiness about these early flowers That touches me like poetry; they blow With such a simple loveliness among The common herbs of pasture, and breathe out H* 8 FLOWERING PLANTS Their lives so unobtrusively, like hearts Whose beatings are too gentle for this world. " I love to go in the capricious days Of April, and hunt violets ; when the rain Is in their blue cups trembling, and they nod So gracefully to the kisses of the wind. It may be deem'd unmanly, but the wise Read Nature like the manuscript of Heaven, And call the flowers its poetry." The Sweet Violet is rare in Scotland, and is thought by some botanists not to be truly indigenous to that country. It occurs, however, in most of the countries of Europe. The violets of Athens and of Psestum have had their praises sung by poets, and these flowers still attract the eye of the traveller among the ruins of Eome. Daisies, shepherd's purse, wild marigolds, and other well-known flowers are described as blooming with the violet in the neighbourhood of the Ancient City, as early as the month of January ; and the Rev. T. H. White records their beauty and fragrance as still enlivening some spots interesting from their old asso- ciations. " The Via Domitiana" says this writer, " by which we departed for Baire, a hilly road, paved with enormous flag-stones, and bordered by high banks and hedges, owes its principal distinction to a stately arch with walls, niches, and windows, which was evidently one of the gateways of Cumse, and is now entitled Arco Felici. I confess that my memory lingers around the Arco Felici chiefly on account of the prodigious quan- tity of violets which I found beneath its walls, of so large a size, of such an intense purple, and exhaling such a perfume, as in England we may look for in vain." OF GREAT BRITAIN. 169 Mr.Lyelltellsof his gathering violets among the spring flowers in his ramblings around New Orleans, but he was not attracted by their odour, for American violets are scentless ; though our sweet flower, in all its fra- grance, blooms beneath the palm-trees in many Eastern lands, and is a native of Barbary, Japan, China, and Arabia. The sweet violets of Palestine blossom with the narcissus and the hyacinth, in the opening month of the year ; and at that time, too, the women of Aleppo gather them to adorn their dark tresses. In all Eastern countries the violet is a favourite flower, and a sherbet flavoured with its blossoms is a common drink at the Persian and Arabian banquets. The flower is sold in the modern markets there, as it is in those of Paris or London, and as it was in those of Athens in former years, when people were employed to arrange bouquets for gifts, so as to be expressive of the sentiments of the donor. In olden times this species was called the March Violet, and it is still the Margveilclien of the Germans, and the Violette de Mars of the French. Gerarde also calls it Black Violet, perhaps because of its purple hue, or perhaps because Theophrastus having described the violet as black, our herbalists thus distinguished the species which they supposed to be intended by the ancient writers. " They have," he says, "a great pre- rogative above the other violets, not only because the niinde conceiveth a certaine pleasure and recreation by smelling and handling these most odoriferous flowers, but also for that very many by these violets receive ornaments and comely grace; for there be made of VOL. i. z 170 FLO WEEING PLANTS them garlands for the head,nosegaies, and posies, which are delightful to look upon, and pleasant to smell to, speaking nothing of their appropriate virtues ; yea, gar- dens themselves receive by these the greatest ornament of all cheerful beautie and most gallant grace. And the recreation of the minde which is taken thereby cannot but be very good and honest, for they admonish and stir up a man to do that which is comely and honest ; for flowers, through their beautie, variety of colour, and exquisite forme, doe bring to a liberal and gentlemanly minde the remembrance of honestie, comelinesse, and all kindes of virtues. For it would be an unseemelie thing for him that doth look upon and handle faire and beautiful things, and who frequenteth and is conversant in faire and beautiful things, to have his minde not faire but filthie and deformed." The old herbalist was right; the love of flowershas a refining and elevating influence, and the flower has so much to tell the listening heart of God's care and goodness in creation, that he is indeed slow to learn the highest lessons, who shall gain no thought of their Maker while looking at them, and whoseheart shall never utter the sentiment of Linnaeus, "Blessed be God for the green earth !" Pliny, and our old herbalists, had much to tell of the properties of the violets. The Roman naturalist said, that their odour cured headache, and that great healing virtues existed both in leaf and flower. In modern practice, a syrup of -sweet violets is occasionally given to children, and the tincture of the flowers is a useful chemical test, uncombined acids changing the blue to red, and alkalies to green. By some botanists the OF GREAT BRITAIN. 171 flowers are considered anodyne in properties. Professor Lindley says, "They certainty induce faintness and gid- diness in particular constitutions, as I have witnessed. Triller mentions a case in which theyproduced apoplexy." But peculiar effects are produced by the odour of other flowers besides violets, the rose even not excepted. The violet has ever been prized as an old English flower ; and we find the "cool violet," as Spenser calls it, named in the list of those which were present in all the old floral usages. Thus, in Dr. Eoger Hacket's cele- bratedsermon,entitled"AMamagePresent,"theauthor introduces as flowers fitted to be used at weddings, violets, and the roses called Maiden's Blushes, though the rosemary was praised beyond them all, as " medi- cinable for the head, and well affecting the heart," an opinion which poets of the day fully declared to be general. From Googe's translation of that old work, " The Popish Kingdom," we find that the violet was among the flowers used in the old ceremony called "Creeping to the Crosse," when on Good Friday, priests, clad in crimson, and "singing dolefully," carried the image of the cross, accompanied by another image, representing a person just dead. u With tapers all the people come, And at the barriers stay, Where down upon their knees they fall, And night and day they pray; And violets, and ev'ry kind Ot flowers about the grave They strawe, and bring in all The presents that they have." The Abbot Necham gives us his idea of a " noble 372 FLOWERING PLANTS garden," which he says should be arranged with roses, lilies, sunflowers, violets, and poppies ; he mentions, also, the narcissus. Mr. Macaulay, in his paper on the " Flower Gardens of the Ancients," remarks : " The Athenians always had flower-gardens attached to their country houses. One of those which Anacharsis visited he thus describes: 'After having crossedacourt-yard full of fowls and other domestic birds, we visited the stables, sheep-folds, and likewise the flower-gardens, in which we successively saw bloom narcissuses, hyacinths, irises, violets of different colours, roses of various species, and all kinds of different plants.' " The violet was, in early times, in our country, regarded as an emblem of con- stancy. Thus an old poem says " Violet is for faithfulnesse, "Which in me shall abide; Hoping, likewise, that from your heart You will not let it slide." The Troubadours classed it with the wallflower, as an emblem of this virtue. Their prize of a golden violet, awarded to the best versifier, proves, too, how much the flower was esteemed by them. This violet, though usually of very dark blue, yet is sometimes found of pale lilac. White sweet violets are very common ; and the Rev. W. T. Bree found this flower of a red colour at Castle-hill, Allersley, and on the mount of Warwick Castle. Botanists have also found the red violet in other countries. We used in childhood to think the white blossoms more fragrant than the blue ones, and they probably are so. Mr. Knapp, in his " Journal of a Naturalist," mentions a OF GREAT BRITAIN. 173 pretty practice of country children with these flowers. " We have," he says, " our daisies strung and wreathed about our dress, our coronals of orchises and primroses, and our cowslip halls ; and one application of flowers at this season I have noticed, which though, perhaps, it is local, lias a remarkably pretty effect, forming, for the time, one of the gayest little shrubs that can be seen. A small branch or long spray of the whitethorn, with all its spines uninjured, is selected, and on these its alter- nate thorns, a white and a blue violet, plucked from their stalks, are stuck upright in succession, until the thorns are covered ; and. when placed in a flowerpot full of moss, has perfectly the appearance of a beau- tiful vernal-flowering dwarf shrub, and as long as it remains fresh, is an object of surprise and delight." 3. V.palmlris (Marsh Violet). Leaves heart-shaped, or kidney-shaped, quite smooth ; sepals obtuse ; spur very short ; root creeping ; scions none. Plant peren- nial. This little flower is like the other violets in form, but it is much paler in colour than most of the species, being of a light grey lilac tint, marked with darker veins. It is in flower from April to June, among the large mosses of the bogs, or sometimes, as in the neighbour- hood of Clifton, in shady moist lanes. Its stalks are short, and its leaves of pale green, often tinted with purple on the under side. It is less frequent in the south than the north of England, but is very abun- dant in Scotland, where it sometimes grows even at a considerable elevation. It is usually described as scentless, but, in some instances, it has the odour of the sweet violet, though not quite so powerful. 174 FLOWERING PLANTS ** Furnished with an evident stem. 4. V. canina (Dog Violet). Stem channelled, leafy, ascending ; leaves heart-shaped, and pointed ; sepals acute ; stipules long, toothed, and fringed ; bracts awl- shaped, entire. Plant perennial. This species, unlike the scented violet, is not hidden among the leaves, but stands up on longer stalks, where it may he easily seen. It is usually more abundant than the sweet violet, in woods, hedges, and the borders of pastures, and it remains longer in bloom than most of the species, coming with the sweet violet, in April, and continuing till July. It is the largest of our native violets, and, notwithstanding that it is scentless, it is very lovely in its pale blue lilac tint, sometimes in its profusion giving its own peculiar colour to some sunny bank. We have gathered these violets from the woods of Kent, with the flower twice the size of the scented species, standing on a stalk seven inches high, though the common height is about five inches ; and we have thought that it merited some better name than that of Dog Violet, given in a contemptuous spirit, doubtless, because it lacked perfume. The leaves are small and thin, pale green, on long stalks. The flower is easily known from the fragrant species by its look of airiness and grace, and when growing high up in the clefts of rocks, as it sometimes does, it is very attractive. It had an old repute as a medicine in cutaneous disorders, and modern practitioners consider this as not wholly un- merited. In common with all the species of violet, it has the power of throwing its seeds to a distance ; and OF GREAT BRITAIN". 175 any one who in early summer will gather these capsules and place them in the sunshine, may see the mode in which the dispersion of the seed is effected. The cap- sule consists of one cell, which is full of seeds, and which is formed of three valves. The seeds are attached to the inner part of each of these valves, and the parchment- like covering bursts open as it ripens into three divi- sions, exposing to view the closely arranged glossy seeds on each valve. The atmosphere soon shrivels these por- tions of the capsule, when the edge of the valve presses upon the polished oval seeds, gradually working its way over their smooth surface till it suddenly detaches them, and they are jerked off to a considerable distance. The capsule of the violet, after ripening, stands upright on the stalk. " This upright position," says a writer in the " Magazine of Natural History," speaking of it as occurring in the scented violet, " appears to be intended by Nature to give more effect to the valvular mechanism for scattering the seeds, as it thus gains a higher eleva- tion, in some cases more than an inch, from which to project them ; and this will give it, according to the laws of projectiles, a very considerable increase of hori- zontal extent." A smaller variety of the dog violet is sometimes called Viola pumila ; it has paler, or even white flowers, and thicker leaves, and grows on heaths, or other open places. 5. V. Idctea (Cream-coloured Violet). Stem divided into procumbent or sub-erect flowering branches; leaves egg-shaped, scarcely heart-shaped at the base ; sepals pointed. Plant perennial. This violet grows on moun- tains, and is not unfrequent on boggy heaths in England. 176 FLOWERING PLANTS It has also been found, though rarely, in Scotland avid Ireland. Its flowers appear in May, and are pale blue or white. It is by many botanists considered to be but a variety of the dog violet. 6. V. tricolor (Pansy Violet, or Heartsease). Stem angular, branched; /^y^oblong,crenate; stipules deeply cut; terminal lobe broad, crenate. Plant generally annual. This, and the following species, are the only representatives in our fields of the Pansy, that beautiful velvet-like flower, which has so many varieties in the garden. Most of our garden pansies, as well as many of the cultivated violets, have been brought from the South of Europe, though several come from colder countries ; and, in many cases, are so altered by the management of the gardener, as to be very different from their condition when wild. Few flowers have received more attention from florists, or more praises from the old poets, than the pansy, which is called by the latter, Pensee, Pawnee, or Pansie, as well as by its old familiar names, still used in country places, of Kit-run-the-street, and Heartsease. That it was an acknowledged symbol of remembrance we know from Shakspeare, Spenser, and the poets of those days ; and Chapman too, who wrote in 1605, says, " What flowers are these ? The Pansie this ; Oh ! that's for lover's thoughts.'* But our field pansy the poets have not regarded, and it is little noticed save by botanists and country children, and by the farmer, who calls it a troublesome weed. It grows on a stem about half a foot high, and bears its OF GREAT BRITAIN. 17V flowers throughout the summer. These are usually of a pale yellowish hue, or cream colour, but they are sometimes veined, or more or less tinged, with purple, and the calyx of the huds is usually purplish. The flower, when bruised, has a faint scent of peach ker- nels, an odour which is more powerful in the cultivated kinds, and which is communicated to water in which the heartsease is distilled. This fragrance, like that of the Meadow-sweet and the Hawthorn, seems to indi- cate the presence of prussic acid in the plant 7. V. Idtea (Yellow Mountain-violet, or Heartsease). Stem angular, branched chiefly at the base ; leaves oblong, crenate ; stipules deeply cut ; terminal lobe narrow, entire. Plant perennial. This pansy, which flowers in June, on mountainous pastures, is much like the last; but its flowers, which are variable in size, are usually much larger. Though it is distin- guished as the yellow violet, the petals are often of a deep purple. A number of garden violets are known by the general name of V. liitea, on account of their colour. Many of these are very pretty. The species called Veitch's yellow violet, which was raised by ihe Messrs. Veitch from seeds sent from the inhospitable shores of Patagonia, is a very beautiful kind ; it was first discovered growing wild about the Straits of Magellan. It is of a very bright yellow. VOL. I. 178 FLOWERING PLANTS ORDER X. DEOSEEACEjE. SUNDEWS. Sepals 5, equal ; petals 5 ; stamens distinct, either equal in number to the petals, or 2, 3, or 4 times as many; ovary single; styles 3 5, often 2-cleft or branched; capsule of 1 3 cells and 3 or 5 valves, which bear the seeds at the middle or at the base. This is a small Order. The plants composing it are, in one or two instances, shrubby, but the British spe- cies are all herbaceous. The leaves are alternate, and, when young, are rolled up in the same manner as the young fronds of ferns. These plants are natives of bogs, marshes, and inundated lands, in all the tem- perate regions of the world, and are remarkable for the abundance of glandular hairs, which cover all parts of the foliage. They possess an acrid principle, but their medical properties are not of much power. 1. DROSERA (Sundew). Sepals '5; petals 5; stamens 5; styles 3 5, deeply cleft; cajjsule 1-celled, 3 5-valved. Name from the Greek, drosys, dew, the leaves being co- vered with drops which, during sunshine, look like dew. 1. DROSERA (Sundew). l.D.rotundifolia (Eound-leaved Sundew). Leaves all from the root, spreading around in a horizontal direc- tion; leaf -stalks hairy ; seeds chaffy. Plant perennial. It is not all lovers of wild flowers who have an opportunity of seeing the sundew, for it is not to be found on every bog. Still fewer are they who may look on it when fully expanded, for, from some circumstances unknown to OF GREAT BRITAIN. 179 botanists, and apparently, no way dependent on the shining of the sun, this flower often remains closed during the greater part of its flowering season, which is in July and August. So much is this the case, that the author of these pages had long watched it without seeing the white petals fully open, until the doubt had arisen whether they ever opened at all. Many who have observed this plant have thought so too, and believed that the half-opened buds, gracefully curving downwards from the top of the stalk, were its perfect condition. A writer in "London's Magazine of Natural History," in 1831, made some inquiry respecting this plant, which soon elicited answers from various observers of flowers, proving that many had been perplexed by the Sundew. " Has any person," wrote one inquirer, " ever seen the blossoms of the Eound-leaved Sundew fully expanded? It is so represented in the 'Encyclopaedia of Plants, 'but in such a state it has never fallen under my observation. Wishing to obtain a specimen of this little plant with its flowers in full bloom, to sketch from, I have visited, at almost every hour of the day, a bog traversed by a small rivulet, whose margin is thickly dotted with its glowing leaves, looking as if they had, indeed, impaled drops of the morning-dew to cool them through the day. I have watched it from the time in which its slender scape first rises from amidst a bunch of circinate leaves, to that in which it forms at top into a nodding raceme ; but never have I seen its minute white flower-buds unclose. They would always appear as if about to open, and so lead me on to this hope, until the gradual enlargement of the seed vessel within them warned me to give up the 180 FLOWERING PLANTS expectation. Does this pretty lover at once of an exposed and moist situation, then, never expand its flower, or does it open for a short time at sunrise, or when it is hidden beneath the soft twilight of a summer night?" So wrote one who had evidently well observed the plant, and various answers were given. Linnseus had said that the blossom opens in the morning, and shuts at noon, and a correspondent who had gathered the Sundew often from a moor near Kichmond,in York- shire, and elsewhere, confirmed the truth of the state- ment of the great botanist. Having been much disap- pointed at never seeing the flower expanded, this writer had at length transferred from the bog into pots in his garden, some plants of the Droscra rotundifolia, and on the 6th of July, at half-past ten in the morning, perceived that a single flower had fully expanded ; this closed at one o'clock, as did also four other flowers which opened on the following day. On the other hand, several cor- respondents added, that although this Sundew opened only at those hours, yet even in the fairest weather and sunshine it often continued closed at the time at which it might have been expected to open. The writer first alluded to adds, that the divisions of the calyx, when examined through a microscope, appear extremely cellular, like the leaves and capsules of mosses ; he also suspects that each blossom expands but once, and that only during sunshine. It is no wonder, therefore, that Gerarde and our old herbalists always in their engravings represented the flower in its drooping, unfolded condition. It is, however, sometimes to be seen open on its native bog, early in the day, as OF GREAT BRITAIN. 181 well as when gathered and transferred to the house, as the author of this volume found with great delight, after long watching for the flower ; and the Rev. W. T. Bree also records the pleasure which he experienced at see- ing the white unfolded stars in large quantities on a bog, which he had known from boyhood, and yet on which he had never, in the course of former years, seen the fully expanded blossoms. This species is from three to six inches high, and the numerous red hairs on its leaves are thickly besprinkled with the clammy drops, so like the dew, save that it is not exhaled by the sun. It well deserves its old name of JRos-solis, as well as our English synonym. The plant grows in such spots as the poet has described : " The streamlet makes in winding nooks Clear pools all gaily laced with green ? The sagittaria's foliage looks Like arrows of some nymph unseen ; 'Midst which, white blossoms bloom around, While up the margin quaint and rude Horsetails, with branches whorled, abound, And hispid comfrey eyes the flood. " Beyond, the moorland has its wealth Of pink and purple, blue and gold ; Heather and gorse, whose breath gives health, And ling, a hive of bees that hold : And when there's moisture in the brake, The clammy sundew's glistening glands 'Mid carmine foliage boldly make Slaves of invading insect bands." That the foliage of the Sundew makes captive many a gauzy-winged insect, no one can doubt who has seen how its leaves are disfigured by their dead remains. 182 FLOWERING PLANTS The beauty of some other of our wild plants is also destroyed in this manner. Several kinds of vegetable fly-traps may be enumerated. These are, first, such as entrap insects by the irritability of their stamens, which close immediately on touching them. Of this kind our British flowers afford no example, for although the Ber- berry, the Pellitory of the Wall, and the Rock-rose, have very sensitive stamens, yet an insect must be very minute to be caught by them ; nor do we ever see on them the remains of insects thus entrapped. The stamens of the Virginian Swallow- wort, the odoriferous and beautiful flowers of which delight the traveller in the Canadian woods ; the Tutsan-leaved Dog's-bane of North America; and the common Oleander, whichblooms in so great abundance by the streams of Palestine as to have led to the opinion of some writers that it is the willow of Scripture, are enumerated by Dr. Barton as possessing this power. So great a fly-trap are the flowers of the Virginian Swallow- wort, AsdepiasSyriacus, that a prodigious number of insects are destroyed by it, since it is scarcely possible to find a blossom which has not entrapped its victims ; and in the United States whole acres of ground are sometimes covered with these flowers. Another kind of vegetable trap comprises such plants as, being invested with a clammy substance, hold the insects attracted by it so closely as to prevent escape. Both our wild and garden flowers present instances of this kind. Such is the Eed German Catch fly (Lychnis Fiscaria), found wild in a few places of Scotland and Wales; and such are several of our wild species of OF GREAT BRITAIN. 183 Silene, commonly known by the name of Catchfly, the stems of which are sometimes crowded in summer with small black insects. The Ehododendrons, the Kalmias, and the Eobiniasof the garden, are traps of this descrip- tion ; and such too is the Purple Loosestrife, which makes many of our river-sides gay with its tall crimson flowers. That well-known tree, the Tacmahac Poplar (Populus balsamiferd}, has its buds from autumn till the leafing season so covered with its glutinous yellow resin, that the latest insects of summer and the earliest of spring are often ensnared. Then there are plants which entrap thirsty insects and drown them in the water held by their leaves. The Urania speciosa is called by the Dutch the Water-tree, on account of the great quantity of water which flows from its stem, or leaf-stalk, when cut across. Mayen says that he has seen a plant of this kind which every day secreted from a single sheath of flowers more than a quart of water, which was so sweet that it was like liquid honey, in which thousands of insects found their death. The Tree-pine (Tiflandsia} forms little reservoirs in the hollow of its leaves, in which insects and tree- frogs are continually drowned, while the thirsty tra- veller is glad of even this refreshment in the dreary places where it grows. In some of the vegetable traps of this kind an odour of carrion, suggesting to the winged wayfarer an idea of food, serves as an additional inducement. Such is the nature of those singular plants termed Side-saddle Flowers, which attract insects by their scent of decayed animal substance, and which finally drown them in the 184 FLOWERING PLANTS water held by their leaves. The celebrated Pitcher- plant invites many a bright-winged fly by the clear pools secreted by its vase-like leaves, and numbers of little creatures perish in the too eager draught. Few of our native plants belong to a class which can be said to drown their victims ; and the only remarkable one is the Teasel, whose large leaves form a kind of hollow basin, which retains the clear drops of rain and dew, in a little crystal pool, in which we have often seen thirsty flies struggling for life, or leaving their black remains to float in the water. Another class of vegetable fly-traps are those whose leaves or flowers close over the insects, so as to pre- vent escape. Something of this kind are our native Snapdragons, whose blossoms often shut up unwary little creatures, as in a prison ; but the contrivance for their detention there is not so apparent as in the Aris- tolochias of the greenhouse. This is most singular in the Sea-green Birth wort (AristolocJiia ylancci). The whole internal surface of this tubular flower is beset with very small spines, pointing downwards ; at the base of the blossom is a sweet juice, and the insect in search of the nectar finds no difficulty in descending the tube. But its exit from this flowery tunnel is quite another matter. The delicate creature is met at its re- turn by the inverted spines, and its little wings are torn in attempting to pass them. The flower, too, makes a remarkable curve, bending up like a horn, so that the insect is beaten back by striking against this spiny roof, and falls down in helpless despair, to be drowned in the nectar at the base. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 185 None of these fly-traps, however, has so strong a similarity to the construction of our Sundews, as one well-known as the Virginian Fly- trap (Dionaamuscicapd), a plant of Carolina, and whose name has its synonym in all countries. The leaves of this plant are set round with sharp firm spines, which enclose the intruder as in a steel trap, and effectually prevents its escape; and they are said, by Ellis, to grasp as closely a needle, a straw, or other small substance which touches them. Our sundews are considered by many botanists as having a somewhat similar apparatus; but there are others who believe that the insect which is attracted by the viscous fluid on the tips of the hairs is merely retained there by its glutinous nature, and not by any irritability of the hairs themselves. "Loudon's Magazine of Natural His- tory," which a few }^ears since afforded a good medium by which naturalists in all parts of the country might communicate to each other and the public the result of their observations, published many comments on this subject, some of which we shall present to the reader. A writer who had evidently given very careful atten- tion to the Sundew, declared his belief that the power possessed by the leaf of retaining insects was to be attributed solely to the clammy juice exuding from the extremities of the hairs. " When touched with the finger," says this writer, " this moisture is so viscid, that it will draw out into threads of more than an inch in length ; and it is not likely that an insect, once touch- ing a leaf, and becoming entangled, as it were, amidst the globules, should ever be able to effect its escape. In fact, as I have seen, by placing a minute fly on the VOL. I. B B 186 FLOWERING PLANTS surface of a leaf, every struggle, by rendering the parts of the body more clammy with the moisture, does but make its extrication more difficult. In respect to the hairs themselves, I did not observe anything like move- ment, or a spontaneous attempt to capture their prey." This was the opinion of a naturalist who, during the course of one whole month, examined the Eound-leaved Sundew ; but the same writer, in a subsequent number of the Magazine, very candidly retracted it. He said that further study of the plant had shown him, that when an unfortunate insect had entangled itself in the clammy juice of a fresh leaf of Sundew, the hairs gra- dually close upon their victim, and the edges of the leaf itself curl inwards, remaining so, long after the captive has died. Slowly unclosing at length, they discover its remains, and the leaf loses much of its healthful appear- ance for a time. He adds, that he has seen a fly, much like a common house-fly, captured by one of these leaves, and held fast until the relaxing hairs exhibited its blackened remains. Mr. William Thomson of Man- chester, who afterwards communicated his observations, made in June 1832, says that he can safely affirm that the three species of Sundew, rotundifolia, lonyifolia, and Anglica, have the irritability ascribed to them as surely as has the leaf of the far-famed Venus's Fly -trap. He adds, that it is quite possible that the little drops of liquid which stud the tips of the hairs may be power- fully instrumental in detaining the venturous insect, and that they may be poisonous to it. He says, however, that, according to his observation, "when an unfortunate fly has got into the centre of a lesfofDroscra, every hair OF GREAT BRITAIN. 187 turns inward, and remains curled in till the prisoner is not only dead, but entirely consumed ; and then the disk, which was before extremely contracted and cone- like, expands to its fullest breadth, and the hairs become fully erect." He observes, that the leaf of Drosera Anglica, when a fly settles on it, becomes rolled up, and remains in this scroll-like form till the animal is dead. Accustomed as we are, when examining Nature, to see everywhere around us the wondrous exhibition of God's goodness to behold in the great and the minute, continued evidences of beneficence, we naturally inquire for what purpose the great Creator designed the vege- table insect-traps? We may not be able to answer such questions fully, for the works of the Infinite may not always be understood by the finite mind ; yet various reasons may be suggested. Some have thought that the decomposition of the insect may afford stimulant to the plants ; yet, growing, as the Sundew does, on the boggy soil, it would scarcely seem to need this. The experi- ments made by Mr. Knight on the subject have some- times excited a smile, but Mr. Knight has been an intelligent observer of plants, and his opinion deserves some attention. This observer laid some fine threads of raw beef as an animal manure on the leaves of the Sundew, and he considered that the plants so treated were much more luxuriant in their growth than others. It is not impossible that the air evolved from the putre- fy ing insects, which, as in the case of the Purple Side- saddle flower, is sometimes so powerful as to scent the atmosphere, may, in a similar manner, be favourable to 188 FLOWERING PLANTS the vegetation of our Sundews ; but, perhaps, the best reason to be assigned for its fatal power over the insect race would be, that it is in accordance with that law reigning throughout Nature, by which one kind of created things preys upon another, thus keeping the number of all within due limits, and preventing any serious departure to bo made from that variety which gives to the earth one of its greatest charms. The juice of the round-leaved, as well as of the other species of Sundew, is very acrid ; sufficiently caustic, indeed, to erode the skin ; yet, when diluted with milk, it makes one of the best vegetable cosmetics ; it also curdles milk. In its fresh state the juice is used by country people to destroy warts and corns. The plant is in some places called Eed-Eot, because it is supposed to cause some maladies in sheep feeding on it. The pastures where it abounds would, from their moist nature, be unfavourable to the health of sheep, but the plant itself may probably merit the disfavour of the shepherd, as Professor Lindley mentions a Brazilian species which is considered poisonous to cattle. The celebrated aqua rosa soils, called also rosala, or spirit of sundew, and which was highly praised by old writers as a remedy for convulsions, and even for the plague, was made from this plant. The juice of the Sundew distilled with wine affords a very stimulating spirit, and, spiced and sweetened, it was formerly much used as a tincture. The French call the plant Le Rossolis; it is Der Sonnethau of the Germans ; and the Zonnedaauw of the Dutch ; while the Italians term it Rugiada del Sole. It turns black in drying for the herbarium, but tinges OF GREAT BRITAIN. 189 the paper in which it is kept with a red hue. Dr. Lindley remarks, that some of the Swan Eiver species of Drosera might perhaps be turned to account by dyers, for every part of Drosera gigantea stains paper of a deep purple, and when treated with ammonia, yields a clear yellow. 2. D. longifolia (Spathulate-leaved Sundew). Leaves all from the root, erect, oblong, broad at the upper part, and tapering towards the base; leaf -stalks smooth; seeds with a rough, not chaffy coat. Plant perennial. This Sundew sometimes grows in the bogs with the round- leaved species, but it is less frequent, and is altogether a smaller plant. It is more abundant in the south than the north of England, and, like the other species, its leaves are frequently darkened with the remains of insects. Its flowers are white, and it blossoms in July and August. We never see this plant without recalling the anec- dote of the little Swedish naturalist, Pyppon. This narrative is pleasantly told by Dr. E. D. Clarke, in his voluminous " Travels" travels so interesting in their details, that we remember in childhood closing the twelfth volume with a sigh that there were not twelve more to follow. This little Pyppon was a barefooted boy, who, at the time of this traveller's visit to Sweden, was apprenticed to an apothecary. His love for natural history was so great, that he rose daily at three o'clock in the morning to ramble over the country in search of plants and insects, hiding them in his hat lest they should be seen by his master. The apothecary thought, perhaps with some reason, that these pursuits might prevent him from giving due attention to the business 190 FLOWERING PLANTS of the shop, and therefore he opposed them angrily. As it often happens, however, enthusiasm is the secret of success; and the ardent young naturalist had searched the neighbourhood so well, that he knew the habitat of every plant which grew in it. Dr. Clarke told this boy that he had been looking in vain for some specimens of the Siberian sowthistle, which was said to grow near the town ; and he had scarcely uttered the word, when the young enthusiast dashed from the spot, and, running as fast as possible, soon returned with the plant in his hand. Many a happy hour was spent by youngPyppon with his new friend, who purchased various articles from the shop that the boy might have to bring them, and who, at length, succeeded in persuading his master to allow more scope to his favourite pursuits. One long and happy day was granted, in which Pyppon was permitted to accompany Dr. Clarke to Tornea, and the parting was at last very bitter to the hitherto friendless boy. When the traveller asked him what he should send him as a gift from England, he replied with characteristic simplicity, and with eyes filled with tears, " If you should remember me when you arrive in your country, send me Drosera longifolia ; I am told it is a common plant in England." 3. D. Anylica (Great Sundew). Leaves all from the root, erect, oblong, on very smooth stalks ; seeds with a loose chaffy coat. Plant perennial. This is the rarest species, growing, like the others, in boggy places. Its leaves are long and narrow, and Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott remark, that this plant would better than the last deserve the name of longifolix. It occurs OF GREAT BRITAIN. 191 in some parts of Scotland, and in Lancashire, Norfolk, Devonshire, and some other English counties. ORDER XL POLYGALE^. THE MILKWOET TEIBE. Sepals 5, unequal, the two inner larger, generally petal-like; petals 3 5, unequal, more or less combined with the filaments ; stamens 8, in two equal parcels ; anthers 1-celled, opening by pores at the summit; pistil 1 ; capsule 1 3-celled ; seeds pendulous. This Order, though possessingbut one genus of British plants, has many exotic genera, several of which are well worthy the attention of the gardener. They are either herba- ceous or shrubby, and some are remarkable for their beauty or neatness, and others for their medicinal pro- perties. Several of them are very small. Our native species is not a large plant, and dwarf specimens of the Purple Milkwort of North America are frequently not more than an inch high. The shrubbyspecies vary from humble rigid plants to tall, graceful, drooping ones. The leaves are generally bitter and astringent, and the roots, which are especially so, are also acrid, and some- what resinous in flavour. Our British Milkwort has these properties, but the species most remarkable for them is the North American Snake-root. (Polyyala Senega), which has been highly extolled as a medicine by some practitioners. The well-known Rhatany root of Chili is the root of a plant of this order, and possesses 192 FLOWERING PLANTS tonic and astringent properties. According to the analysis of a French chemist, it contains gallic acid, but neither tannin nor resin, 1. POLY*GALA (Milkwort). Sepals 5, the two inner coloured, wing-shaped ; petals combined with the fila- ments, the lower one keeled ; capsule flattened, 2-celled, 2-valved; seeds downy, crested at the base. Name from the Greek, signifying much milk, the juice of the root being milky. 1. POLYGALA (Milkwort). 1. P. vulffdris (Common Milkwort). Lower petal crested in a star-like manner ; wings of the calyx about equal in length to the corolla ; bracts three at the base of each flower; stems simple, ascending ; leaves narrow; brandies procumbent. Plant perennial. Those who are accustomed, during May and June, to wander in the country where the soil is of chalk, and where hilly pastures and open heaths abound, well know this pretty flower. Its tufted stems, copiously furnished with dark-green leaves, and terminated by spikes of purple, pale blue, lilac, or purplish red flowers, are very orna- mental. The blossom of the Milkwort is very sin- gular, and often puzzles the inexperienced botanist by its general aspect of resemblance to the butterfly- shaped flowers which belong to the Leguminous Order; but it is rather the calyx than the corolla which is, in this case, butterfly -shaped. One of its old names was Hedge-hyssop ; the French term it Le Polygale, the Germans Kreuzblume, the Dutch Kruisbloem ; and it is OF GREAT BRITAIN. 193 the Poll/gala of the Italian and Spaniard. But its old English names of Rogation Flower, Gang Flower, and Procession Flower, invest this plant with a degree of interest, by reminding us of the ancient usages with which it was connected. Eogation Sunday was the beginning of a week during every day of which it was customary to offer prayers against plagues, fires, and wild beasts. Hence the whole week was termed Roga- tion week, and as the bounds of the parish were tra- versed on one of the days, it was termed also Gang week. On this day the bishop of the diocese, or one of the clergy, walked around these limits, accompanied by the churchwardens and parishioners, many carrying garlands of flowers ; after which the whole company went into the fields, and implored that God would avert pestilence, tempest, and other ills. Mention of these processions and litanies occurs as early as the year 550 of the Christian era, and remains of them yet exist in the custom of walking in procession around the bounds of the parish on one day of Rogation week. George Herbert spoke of this practice as a pious and thanks- giving custom ; and George Withers praises it, too, as he says, " That every man might keepe his own possession, Our fathers used a reverend procession, With zealous prayers, and with praisel'ul cheere, To walk their parish limits once a yeare; And well-known markes, with sacrilegious hands Now cut or breake, so border'd out their landes, That every one distinctly knewe his owne, And many brawles now rife were then unknowne." In Queen Elizabeth's time, the J03rd Psalm was VOL. I. C C 194 FLOWERING PLANTS usually sung on these occasions ; and Izaak Walton tells how the pious Hooker took these opportunities to " drop some loving observations, and to express some pleasant discourse with his parishioners." There was something ver}' beautiful and touching in these proces- sions, and they seemed a natural and thankful way of pouring out the praises of a glad heart to God in the midst of His works ; but like so many other customs of those days, innocent and even laudable in themselves, they soon became perverted to seasons of revelry. That such was the case with Rogation ceremonies, both the old poems and sermons of those days abundantly prove. In one of the latter, the preacher exclaims, " Alacke for pitie, these solemn and accustomable processions be nowe growen into a right foule and detestable abuse ; so that the most part of men and women do come forth rather to set out and shew themselves, and to passe the time with vayne and unprofitable tales and merrie fables, than to make generall supplications and prayers to God for their lacks and necessities." Our Milk wort seems in those days to have been generally recognised as a proper adornment to the garland carried on these occasions ; for Bishop Kennet in naming it says, " Gang-flower, Rogation-flower ; a sort of flower in prime at Rogation week, of which the maids make garlands, and use them in these solemn processions." Gerarde speaks also of its being used at this time, and says, " It serveth well to the decking up of houses and banquetting-rooms, for places of ] leasure, and for beautifying of streets in the Crosse or Gang-week, and such like." OF GREAT BRITAIN. 195 Shaw, in his " History of Staffordshire," speaking of Wolverhampton, says, " Many of the older inhabitants can well remember wher* the sacrist, resident preben- daries, and members of the choir, assembled at Morning Prayer, on Monday and Tuesday in '.Rogation week, with the charity children, bearing long poles clothed with all kinds of flowers then in season, and which were after- wards carried through thestreets of the town with much solemnity ; the clergy, singing men and boys, dressed in their sacred vestments, closing the procession, and chanting in a grave and appropriate melody, the Canticle, ' Benedicite opera,' &c." This ceremony is said by Sir Henry Ellis to be of high antiquity, its origin having been, probably, the Roman offerings of the Primitia3. Like many other Pagan ceremonies, it was adapted by the early Chris- tians to a purer worship. It was discontinued about a century since. M. Chateaubriand, in his " Beauties of Christianity," gives a most glowing description of the manner in which it is still observed in some parts of France. Our Milkwort is little heeded now by any but the lovers of wild flowers ; but few of these would pass it without a thought of praise for its beauty, as they see it among the short grass of the hill-side, where it " Purples all the ground with vernal flowers." Mr. Lyell speaks of the beauty of the Polygala parm- fora, in Virginia, where it contrasted with the pale anemone ; and Backhouse mentions a plant similar to our Milkwort, with the bright-blue flowers of which one 19G FLOWERING PLANTS of the people of Australia decked the bat of the Com- mandant, mingling it with the flexible branches of the twining Comesperma. The Common Milkwort is the only British species ; but many very handsome Polyyalas are brought us from other lands, and some continue in flower in the greenhouse throughout the winter. In Arabia, Brazil, China, Java, and several countries, various species are highly prized. In our native kind of Milkwort, the somewhat creamy substance which exists in the root is bitter and slightly astringent ; but the Polygala vetie- \iata of Java is said to possess very powerful properties. Commerson states that when he touched a leaf of this plant with the end of one of his fingers, he was seized with long and violent sneezings, and an oppressive faint- ness. His guide cautiously avoided coming in contact with it, and the Javanese generally have great dread of its poisonous effects. Some botanists consider that a variety of the Milk- wort, growing in our chalk districts, shouldbe considered as a distinct species, and it has been called Chalk Milk- wort (Poly gala calcdred). It blooms earlier in the year than the ordinary form of the plant, and its lowest leaves are the largest. Other writers have termed our species Polt/gala oa'7/jjfcra r P. amara, or P. dcprcssa. OF GUE AT BRITAIN*. 197 ORDER XII. FRANKENIACE.E. SEA-HEATHS. Sepals 4 5, united into a furrowed tube ; petals of the same number as the sepals, furnished with claws, iiaving usually scales at the point of union of the claw with the limb ; stamens equal in number to the petals ; ovary I ; style very slender, 2, 3, or 4-cleft ; capsule 1- celled, 2, 3, or 4-valved ; seeds very small, attached to the edges of the valves. The inflorescence is terminal, or seated in the angle formed by the leaf and the stem. When terminal it is in a cluster ; when axillary, the flower is solitary. 1. FRANKENIA (Sea-Heath). Style 3-cleft; lobes oblong, with the stigma on their inner side ; capsule 3 4-valved. Name from John Franken, who first enumerated the plants of Sweden, and who died in 1661. 1. FKANKENIA (Sea-Heath). 1. F. Itfuis (Smooth Sea-heath.) Leaves narrow, rolled back at the margin, smooth, fringed at the base. Plant perennial. We shall not easily forget the appear- ance of the salt marsh on which for the first time we discovered this rare flower. On many a marsh and chalky cliff had we long searched in vain for the Sea- heath, and the botanist will appreciate the pleasure which the first sight of the plant afforded. It was a bright day, early in September, when we visited Shellness, a sandy margin of the sea, about four miles from Ramsgate, and the way to which lies over a wide, 198 FLOWERING PLANTS grassy, marshy flat, dreary enough in general appearance, but affording to the botanist a wealth of plants peculiar to the saline soil. The sands were brown with the dried remnants of the tall sea- side grasses; and the sharp triangular leaf of the Salt-marsh Club-rush (Scirpus maritimus] seemed well to defend the brown bristly clusters which grew at the top of its tall stem; while the less frequent, but dark and glossy clusters of the Great Sharp Sea-rush (Juncusacutus), stoodup in leaflesshardi- hood, among the barren scapes whichlooked like leaves. A carpet of flowers was at our feet, for the Thrift, with its pink tufted blossoms whitening with age, stood above the thousands of lilac starry flowers which studded the slender branches of the Sandwort (Arenaria marina), and almost hid from view the little pale pink blooms which still stood here and there on the spreading branches of the Sea Milkwort, and which a month or two earlier had doubtless grown there in great multitudes. On the sand, the branches of the Sea Purslane (Are- naria peploides) spread flowerless, but clothed with their four-ranked leaves ; and branches of pale-green prickly foliage grew in clumps, to remind us that in earlier months the Yellow Horned-poppy had waved there its golden petals to the wind. The Sea-holly (Eryngium maritimuvi), with its beautiful sea-green richly veined leaves, seemed so clad with prickles that we could scarcely venture to touch it ; while its scaly head had almost lost all the blue tint of the florets which a short time since had enlivened its pale green. The tall Star- wort {Aster Tripoliuvi) yet bore its lilac rays around its golden disk, and, though not abundant, was still the OF GREAT BRITAIN. 109 mostshowy plant of the marsh. We trod everymoment on some succulent bright-green stem of the jointed Glasswort (SalicormaJierbacea), whose pale-green flowers had perished long ago, but whose clear and bright sterna looked almost like green -coloured glass tubes ; while at every footstep we crushed some of the pale whitish-green sprays of the Sea Southernwood (Artemisia maritiwa), and walked on amid continual aroma diffused from the bruised plant. The little sprays of this Southernwood, scarcely more than a foot high, were yet in such abun- dance that they gave a white tint to many a spot on which they grew, and, looked at singly, reminded one by their form, though not by their hue, of a miniature fir-tree. Then there were species of Sea Orache, some of them with leaves and flowers tinged with redness; but the most common kind there was the sea-side species (Atrijjlex marina), with its pale narrow leaves, and large flat seed-vessels ; and here and there a clump of the sharp and spiny leaves which grew on the angled and rough stems of the Saltwort (SahoJa Kali], which, though its greenish flowers were gone, still showed the three sharp-looking leaf- like bracts which had formerly grown at their bases. We had wandered for a mile over this singular scene, now listening to the screams of the sea-bird over the waters, or to the soft murmurs of the waves which fell gently over the shelly margin, when all at once we came to some dark sprays, looking so like the branches of heath, that weknewin an instant that the lorig-looked-fur plant was found. The narrow, almost thread-like leaves, crowded on the branches, and there among them grew 200 FLOWERING PLANTS the pretty little pink campion-like flowers, so small that the half of a split pea might cover one of them, but very elegant in their form, and of a delicate rose-coloured hue. The blossom is nearly allied to the Pink and Campion tribe ; and on pulling out the petals, we find them clawed like those of the Pink, though the general structure of the plant is very different. The leaves are very numsrous, growing in bundles, and much like those of our common purple heather ; and the stems are wiry and spreading. This species is found more at the eastern coast of England than elsewhere. It is not un- common on several muddy shores of the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent ; and about Yarmouth, on the salt marshes. It also grows on some sea cliffs, as at Archcliff Fort, at the west of Dover, and at LYydden Spout, which lies at the east of that ancient town. It is unknown on our northern coasts. On those of France it is common ; and the plant is called by the French, La Frenkcnne. Backhouse, in his work on Australia, speaking of the country in the neighbourhood of Adelaide, says, that the salt marsh there was covered with two kinds of Glass- wort, one of which was shrubby ; and that interspersed among them were two species ofFran&enia, one of these being bushy, about a foot high, and besprinkled with rosy-pink blossoms, the size of a silver penny. 2. F. pulverulenta (Powdery Sea-heath). Leaves in- versely egg-shaped, and blunt, smooth above, downy and powdery beneath. Plant annual. This plant is commonly enumerated in our list of British species, b-ut no habitat is now known for it. It was found in the time of Dillenius on the coast of Sussex. Us stems are OF GREAT BRITAIN. 201 described as prostrate, and its flowers rather smaller than those of the Smooth Sea-heath. The Sea-heaths in general are not sufficiently showy to obtain much atten- tion from gardeners ; but two or three species are border flowers, and are natives of Siberia or the Cape of Good Hope. ORDER XIII. ELATINE,E.-~WATEK-WORT TEIBE. Sepals 3 5, distinct, or growing together at the base ; petals equal in number to the sepals ; stamens the same in number as the petals, or twice as many ; ovary with 3 5 cells and as many styles and globular stigmas; capsule with 3 5 cells and valves; seeds numerous, wrinkled, arising from the centre of the cap- sule. These Water-worts are annual, aquatic, herba- ceous plants, with rooting, pipe-like stems and opposite leaves. They are not showy flowers, but homely weeds, abounding in marshes and waste places in most parts of the world. They are, as far as is known, perfectly harmless ; but they possess no medicinal properties. 1. ELATINE (Water- wort). Sepals 3 4, growing together at the base ; petals 3 4 ; stamens 3 4, or 6 8; styles 3 4-celled, many seeded: seeds cylin- drical, furrowed, and marked with transverse lines. Origin of name doubtful. 1. ELATINE (Water- wort). 1. E. kcxdndra (Six-stamened Water- wort). Flower stalked; petals 3; stamens 6 ; capsule 3-celled; seeds VOL. I. D D 202 FLOWERING PLANTS straight. Plant annual. This, though by no means a common aquatic, is found in some lakes and pools, growing either entirely below the surface of the water, or forming dense masses at their margins. The whole plant is small, and the minute rose-coloured flowers are produced from July to September. Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott give as the places of growth of this species, several pools in various counties of England. The Rev. C. A. Johns remarks of this plant, in his " Flowers of the Field," that when left by the sub- siding water it assumes a bright-red hue. 2. E. Injdropiper (Eight-stamened Water-wort). Flowers sessile ; petals 4 ; stamens 8 ; capsutc 4-celled ; seeds curved. Plant annual. This species grows in similar places to the last, and flowers in the same season, but is still more rare ; it is so much so, that Professor Hooker and Dr. Arnott have seen only a specimen procured from Paris ; but these botanists give as its habitats, Farnham, in Surrey; the cast end of Llyn Coron, in Anglesey ; Newry ; and at the Lough Neagh outlet of the Lagan Canal, Ireland. ORDER XIV. CAEYOPHYLLE^E. Sepals 4 or 5, connected into a distinct tube ; petals of the same number as the sepals; stamens usually twice as many as the petals, sometimes equalling them in number, and like them inserted on the stalk or ring of the ovary ; ovary 1, raised on a short stalk, or inserted in a ring; stigmas 2 5, running along the inner surface OF GREAT BRITAIN. 203 of the styles; capsule 1, or imperfectly 2 5-celled, opening by twice as many teeth or valves as there are styles; seeds inserted on a central column. The plants of this order are herbaceous or shrubby, inhabiting the mountains and pastures of the temperate and frigid zones of the globe. In Europe they are particularly abundant, and least so in Africa and America. Many, as the Carnations and Pinks, have highly fragrant flowers; and others, like various species of Lychnis and Catchfly, have blossoms of rich hue and beautiful form. Our woods and meadows are adorned by the wild species, andCuckoo-flowers, and Stitchworfcs, Sand worts, Spurreys, Catchflies, and Campions belong to this tribe. The medicinal properties existing in the Caryophyllete are not very numerous ; and the beautiful Pink genus is its greatest attraction. This order is again divided into the two groups, or sub-orders, Silenta and Alsinea. Sub-order I. SILENEJE Pink Tribe. Sepals connected into a tube ; stamens united at the base with the stalk of the ovary. * Calyx -cleft ; petals 5, with long claws; stamens 10. 1. DIANTHUS (Pink). Calyx tubular and toothed, with two or more opposite scales at the base outside ; styles 2 ; capsule 1 -celled, opening at the top with 4 valves ; seeds flattened. Name from the Greek words for Jupiter and a flower, expressive of its beauty and fragrance as worthy of the gods. 204 FLOWERING PLANTS 2. SAPONA'RIA (Soap-wort). Calyx naked at the base; styles 2; capsule 1 -celled, opening at the top with 4 valves ; seeds rounded. Name from sctpo, soap ; the plant possessing the soapy principle. 3. SILENE (Catchfly). Calt/x naked at the base ; petals generally crowned at the top of the claw ; styles 3 ; capsule imperfectly 3-celled, opening at the top with 6 valves. Name supposed to be from the Greek saliva, on account of the viscid moisture on the stalks of some species. 4. LYCHNIS (Campion). Calyx naked at the base ; petals generally crowned at the top of the claw ; styles 5; capsule opening at the top with 5 or 10 teeth. Name from the Greek lychnos, a lamp ; the cottony down on the leaves of some species having been used as wicks for lamps. 5. AGROSTE.MMA (Corn-cockle). Calyx naked at the base, tough, with 5 teeth. Name signifying, in Greek, Crown of the Field. Sub-order II. ALSINEJ; Chickwccd Tribe. Sepals distinct ; stamens inserted into a ring beneath the capsule, which is not stalked. 6. SAGINA (Pearl-wort). Sejjals 4 5, spreading when in fruit ; petals 4, sometimes wanting ; stamens 4 styles 4 ; capsule 4-valved. The name, in Latin, signifies fattening meat, but is inappropriate. 7. MCENCHIA. Sepals 4, erect; petals 4 ; stamens 4 ; styles 4 ; capsule opening at the top with 8 teeth. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 205 Named in honour of Conrad Mcench, Professor of Botany at Hesse Cassel. 8. HOLOSTEUM (Jagged Cbickweed). Sepals 5; petals 5, toothed at the margin ; stamens 3 5 ; styles 3 ; capsule opening at the top with G teeth. The name in Greek signifies all bone, but the reason of its being so applied is doubtful. 9. SPERGULA (Spurrey). Sepals 5 ; petals 5, entire; stamens 10 or 5 ; styles 5; capsule 5-valved. Named from sparffo, to scatter, from the seeds being so widely scattered. 10. STELLA'RIA (Stitch wort). Sepals 5 ; petals 5, deeply 2 -cleft; stamens W ; styles 3; capsule opening with G valves or teeth. Name from stella, a star, from the form of the flowers. 11. HoNCKlNTA (Sea-Purslane). Sepals 5 ; petals 5; stamens 10; styles 3 5; capsule with 3, 4, or 5 valves. Name from Honckeny, a German botanist. 12. ARENARIA (Sand wort). Sepals 5 ; petals 5, en- tire; stamens 10; styles 3; capsule opening with G valves. Name from the Latin arena, sand, from the soil on which most of the species grow. 13. CERASTIUM (Mouse-ear duckweed). Sepals 5 ; petals 5, 2-cleft; stamens 10 or 5; styles 5; capsule tubular, opening at the end with 10 or 5 teeth. Name from the Greek ceras, a horn, from the shape of the capsule in some of the species. 14. CHERLEHIA (Cypliel). Sepals 5 ; petals or 5, exceedingly minute, notched ; stamens 10, the 5 outer ones with glands at the base; styles 3; capsule 3-valvecl. Name from J. H. Clierler. an eminent botanist. 206 FLOWERING PLANTS 15. BUFFONIA. Sepals 4; petals 4, entire; stamens 4 ; styles 2 ; capsule ] -celled, 2-valved, 2-seeded. Name from the celebrated naturalist, Buffon. 1. DIANTHUS (Pink). * Plotters clustered. 1. D. Armeria (Deptford Pink). Stem and leaves downy \flowers in close tufts; calyx scales very narrow, downy, as long as the tube. Plant annual. This is not generally a common plant in England, but it arrows in many places in Kent, as well as in some other counties, seldom however occurring in any quantity. The author once gathered about twenty specimens, on a hedge bank between Cobham and Higham, in Kent, and has found it near Sandwich, in the same county, on a stem nearly a yard high. The stem, however, is usually from a foot to a foot and a half in height, the upper part being much branched. It is rather downy, and has at its summit a little cluster of small rose-coloured flowers, which are dotted with white. The whole appearance of the plant is so like that of pinks in general, that no one would mistake it ; and one of the most obvious features of difference between this and the next species, is the little white dots which always besprinkle its petals. This pink opens in July and August. It grows in fields, and on hedge-banks. It is apparently not wild in Scotland ; for though it has been found in Angusshire,it is thought to have been introduced there. 2. D. prolifer (Proliferous Pink). Stem smooth; leaves rather rough at the edgejjfowera in heads; calyx- scales membranous, transparent. Plant annual. This OF GREAT BRITAIN. 207 rare species of wild pink is found chiefly in gravelly pastures. Its flowers are rose-coloured, and grow on a stem which is about a foot in height : and the plant may be known from the last species by the dry brown scales which enclose the heads of the flowers. Another characteristic of this species is, that only one of the flowers in the cluster is open at a time. This mark, which in the Proliferous Pink is constant, is shared, though in a less degree, by the Deptford Pink ; as in this latter kind, we may occasionally, though rarely, find more than one flower expanded. This plant flowers in June. * * Flowers not clustered. 3. D. caryophyUus (Clove Pink, Carnation, or Clove Gillyflower). Flo icer solitary ; calyx with four broad- pointed scales one -fourth of its whole length ; petals notched ; leaves slender, glaucous, with smooth edges. PI ant perennial. Fragrant as are the wall-flowers, which send their odours from tower and turret, yet they are not more sweetly scented than this " chronicler of crum- bled halls." On the very summit of some of those for- tresses which our warlike ancestors built forthedefence of the adjacent country, this pink grows in luxuriance, nodding to the breeze which sweeps over the green ivy. No wonder that the sight of it on the old Norman keep of Eochester Castle suggested the lines byH. Gr. Adams on this flower : " The Castle pink, the Castle pink, How wildly free it waves, Exposed to every blast that blows, To every storm that raves; 208 FLOWERING PLANTS It heedetli not the pelting rain, Nor whistling gales that sweep Around the time-worn battlement, Around the massy keep ; But smileth still, and flourisheth The various seasons through, For God He nourisheth the plant With sunshine and with dew. " The swallow loves the Castle pink ; And now and then a bee, Borne upwards by a sudden gust, Clings to it lovingly; Like one who journeyeth afar Where unknown realms extend, Whose heart is gladden'd by the sight Of some familiar friend ; The dusky rooks around it caw When evetide veils the sky, They mark it blooming sweetly there, And know their home is nigh." This pink grows on Sandown Castle, near Deal, on the old walls at Norwich, and a few other places in England. It is not likely that it is truly wild on any of these situations, but it has been known to grow on our castles for at least a hundred and eighty years ; and strange it is that the habitats recorded for this and some other plants, should, century after century, be the same. Thus, in another instance, John Eay mentioned that the beautiful little Sea Lavender (Stdticv spatliulatci) grew at Kamsgate, in Kent ; and there it still grows in great luxuriance, on one part of the chalk cliff between Eams- gate and Broadstairs, in such profusion, as to clothe some yards of the surface of the cliffs with its flowers, while it is to be found on that spot only. Quite as OF GREAT BRITAIN. 209 singular is it that the Hispid Marsh Mallow (Althaa kirsuta), which was recorded as growing near Cobhain more than fifty years ago, still grows there, though it can be found in no other part of the kingdom. The DianthuscaryopJiylltis, with its pleasant clove-like odour the July flower of our ancestors varies in hue from a deep red to a pale rose-colour, or white. It is usually about a foot high. It is the origin of our valued flower the Carnation, and some botanists have thought that we owe to it all our beautiful varieties of pinks, Sweet- Johns, and Sweet- Williams, of the garden. These have long been favourite border-flowers, and Gerarde tells how, in his day, the Sweet- William was esteemed for its " beauty to deck up the bosoms of the beautiful, and for garlands and crowns for pleasure." These flowers, however, doubtless owe their origin to some smallerspecies,asthe Dept ford pink of our own pastures, or the feathered pink (Dlan thus plumarms] of southern Europe, or the Carthusian pink (Dianthus Carthusia- noruni) of Germany. Dr. Withering remarks on this subject : " Gardeners well know that from the seed of the carnation pinks are never obtained, nor from that of pinks can carnations be procured. In fact, these favourite flowers originate from distinct species, and are not mere varieties of the same, as has been erroneously, and even recently, intimated. The art of floriculture, sometimes despised with a reprehensible degree of fas- tidiousness, has, in this instance, transformed a plant, comparatively obscure, into one of the most delightful charms which the lap of Flora contains. The surprising metamorphoses which the most indifferent are accus- VOL. i. E E 210 FLOWERING PLANTS tomed to contemplate with pleasure, were probably commenced under a more genial sky than that of Britain; for we learn from Pliny, that these productions were unknown to the Greeks, and equally so to the Eomans, until the Augustan age, when they were obtained from the brave Biscay ans, as one trophy result- ing from the conquest of that province, and were thence called Cantabrica. Our gardens may now receive em- bellishments from more than three hundred different kinds of carnations, under the denominations of Flakes, Bizarres, and Picotees (Picquette, spotted) ; and these may be propagated by seed, but more successfully by cuttings, about the month of July." Rare as our carnation pink is in this country, it is not uncommon on the south side of the Swiss Alps ; and Meyen says, that at St. Jago de Chile it is quite as beautiful as with us, and probably more aromatic. It has been cultivated from time immemorial in Europe for its spicy odour and its beauty. A pleasant syrup is still in some countries made of its flowers, which our fathers termed Sops-in-wine, because of their old uses in giving flavour to the festive cup. It appears in former days to have been customary for persons who were betrothed to wear some flower as an external and conspicuous token of their engagement. The carnation was, it would seem, often chosen for this purpose ; hence the lines of Spenser : " Bring Coronations and Sops-in-wine, Worn of paramours." Michael Drayton calls them Cloves of Paradise; indeed, of all the flowers prized by our forefathers, this, OF GREAT BRITAIN. 211 the Clove dc giro/lee, was, next to the rose, the highest in esteem. It is amusing to read its praises, written by Lawson at the close of the sixteenth country, where he terms it the king of flowers, except the rose; and prides himself onbeing the possessor of gillyflowers "of nine or ten different colours, and divers of them as bigge as roses." " Of all flowers, save the damask rose," he says, " they are the most pleasant to sight and smell;" and adds, that " their use is much in ornament, and comforting the spirites by the sense of smelling." " There was a variety of this flower," says Mr. Hudson Turner, " well known in former times as the wall gilly- flower, or bee flower, because growing on walls, even in winter, and good for bees ;" but we are inclined to believe that this was our wallflower, which the old her- balists commonly called the winter gillyflower. " The reserved rent," says Mr. Turner, in his paper on the Hor- ticulture of the Middle Ages, " the unius clam gariofli, which is of such frequent occurrence in mediaeval deeds relatingto land, meant simply the render of a gillyflower, although it has usually been understood to signify the payment of a clove of commerce." " The incorrectness of this rendering," adds this learned and interesting writer, "must be apparent, if we recollectthat the clove was scarcely known in Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when this kind of reserved rent was most common." The French term the Clove Pink V (Billet, and the Germans Die nelke. It is the Anyclicr of the Dutch, the Garofan oof the Italian, and the Claveloi the Spaniard. In its cultivated form of the Carnation, it is the chief 212 FLOWERING PLANTS florist's flower of Germany. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, nearly 400 varieties had been enumerated by gardeners, and that number is probably now increased. One addition to their worth as garden- flowers is, that the Carnation and most of the Pinks have their foliage as abundant in winter as in summer, and of as rich a sea-green tint. The Dutch, who cultivate all the tribe largely, as we do, call the Sweet- Williams Keykens, which is their name for a nosegay. With us they are prized in the grandest as well as the humblest garden, and many may say with Hurdis " Ye botanists, I cannot talk like you, And give to every plant its name and rank, Taught by Linne, yet I perceive in all, Or known or unknown, in the garden raised, Or nurtured in the hedge-row or the field, A secret something which delights my eye And meliorates my heart. And much I love To see the fair one bind the straggling pink, Cheer the sweet rose, the lupin, or the stock, And lend a staff to the still gadding pea ; And let me praise the garden-loving maid, Who innocently thus concludes the day : Ye fair, it well becomes you !" On a few walls in this kingdom, as on those of Ludlow Castle, the common Pheasant's-eyePink (Dian- ihus plumarius) grows apparently wild, but it is not truly so. It is a hardy flower, and has been much cultivated by mechanics and operative manufacturers around large towns. The muslin-weavers about Paisley havebeen celebrated for thebeauty of the Pheasant's-eye Pinks which adorn their gardens, and afford them so OF GREAT BRITAIN. 213 good a recreation from toil. These growers reckon above 300 varieties of this species. 4. D. ccesius (Mountain Pink or Cheddar Pink). Stems mostly single flowered : scales of the calyx, roundish, slightly pointed, about one- fourth as long as the tube ; leaves long and narrow, glaucous, rough at the edges; petals bearded and irregularly jagged. Plant perennial. This is an exceedingly rare species, growing on the limestone cliffs at Cheddar in Somer- setshire, and bearing, in July, large fragrant rose- coloured flowers. 5. D. deltoides (Maiden Pink). Flowers solitary; calyx scales pointed, usually 2, half the length of the calyx ; jjcfals notched ; stem and leaves somewhat rough. Plant perennial. This is a rare pink, found on dry banks, where the soil is of gravel. The stems are from six to twelve inches high, and much branched. The flower appears in July and August ; it is rose- coloured, dotted with white, and has a dark ring around the centre. It is without perfume. 2. SAPONARIA (Soap-wort). 1. S. officindlis (Common Soap-wort). Leaves oppo- site and connate, broad, pointed, and smooth; panicle of several large flowers. Plant perennial. This is not an uncommon plant by road-sides, and on the margin of woods and hedge-banks, but it is rarely seen at any dis- tance from houses. It cannot be regarded as truly wild, and as it was valued by our forefathers for " decking of houses," we are doubtless indebted to them for it in our hedges. The whole herb is full of a mucilaginous juice, 214 FLOWERING PLANTS which will lather with hot water, and may be used as an indifferent substitute for soap. The roots contain this soapy principle {saponine} in a greater degree than the foliage, and might perhaps be employed with greater advantage. Saponine has been found by chemists to exist in several other of our wild and gar- den plants ; and these plants are said, by M. Bonnet and M. Malapert, to be poisonous, in consequence. In some plants this principle exists only in the root, in others in the foliage and seed. These great chemists found that, in the Corn-cockle (Agrostemma}> it was found in the unripe seed, and in the roots, but in no other part of the plant. The Nottingham Catchfly (Silcne nutans) contains at least as much saponine as the Soapwort, and here it is diffused in all parts of the plant except the seed. Our Clove Pink, as well as several other of our garden and wild pinks, have it also chiefly in the roots, a small portion existing in the leaves, and none in the flower, or seed. The wild Lychnis (Lychnis dioica), and the brilliant Scarlet Lychnis of the flower-bed, as well as the little Scarlet Pimpernel and some other field flowers, have it in more or less abundance. It seems to be detected chiefly in plants belonging to the Order Caryophyllese, but it is quite absent from some genera of this Order, as in the Sandworts and Stitchworts. Onaccountofthe quantity of thesoapy principle known to exist in the Soapwort, the learned botanist Fuchs thought that this must be the plant termed *$VrMw by the ancients, which they used as soap, and also in dyeing, and which must doubtless have possessed a saponaceous OF GREAT BEITAIX. 215 juice. Difficult, however, as it may be to decide what this plant may have been, its description is not believed by learned men in general to be at all applicable in other respects to the Soap wort. Beckmann, referring to the subject, says, " We may conjecture, with some probability, that the plant called Gysoplnjla struthium by Linna3us, (which is also a plant of the Caryophylla- ceous family,) is the struthium of the ancients ; and it is still used for washing in the lower part of Italy and Spain. This opinion acquires some strength by the plant having been thus adopted among the Italians and Spaniards, and because, as Pliny says, it grows on a rocky soil, and on the mountains. It is also still called Lanaria by the Calabrian peasants. It has a tender stem. ; its leaves are so like those of the olive-tree, that they might be confounded with them by those who are not botanists, and its root is large, but the plant is neither rough nor prickly." Theophrastus and Pliny both describe the plant as prickly, so that some difficulty occurs on this point, but Linnaeus felt quite convinced that the Gysophyla furnished the soap of the ancients. Loffling, who found this plant in the Spanish mountains, as well as in the neighbourhood of Aranjuez, relates, that in the province of La Manclia the people boil clothes, that are to be washed, with its root, instead of soap. The juice of .our common Soap wort is used in Italy for cleansing wool and cloth; and in the Helvetian Alps the sheep, before they are shorn, are washed with a decoction of this plant ; and a preparation of its roots with a mixture of ashes is commonly used there in washing linen. Gerarde tells us, that, in former days, 216 FLOWERING PLANTS the plant was used in batlis, " to beautifie and cleanse the skin." One of its old names, also, was Fuller's herb. The saponine principle abounds in the fruit of the horse-chestnut, which is still used in the south of Europe for washing various substances. It is certain that the ancients not only used plants in washing, but that they made soap, as we do in modern times, by a mixture of lixivious salts, with grease ; and that the mineral alkali of the people of Egypt was made in the time of Pliny from the ashes of plants is pretty certain. A similar alkali was used by the ancient Hebrews ; and when the pro- phet Jeremiah said, "Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap (borith)" the latter material was doubtless then in use, and was probably the borak of the Arab in the present day, which is pro- cured from the ashes of the saltworts of the desert, and other plants. Some species of the fig marigold are called by these people the washing herbs. The nitre of the ancients was doubtless an alkaline salt. The double variety of Soapwort is a pretty border plant, but it is inconvenient on account of the spreading nature of its roots, which run underground like couch. Its flowers are like those of the wild species, of a pale rose-colour. Our wild Soapwort blossoms in August and September, and sometimes bears double flowers. It grows on a stem a foot or a foot and a half in height, and the smooth leaves are of a dark glossy green. Its bitter juices were formerly considered a good remedy for bruises, and it was called Bruisewort ; the French call it La Savonniere, and the Germans Das Seisenkraut. Its name of Sheep-weed (Zeepkruid} points to its uses OF GREAT BRITAIN. 217 in Holland ; and the Italians term it Saponana, and the Spaniards Sahonera. The Sajjonaria Faccaria, a species found wild in Germany, is the celebrated Cow- herb, which is so valued by the continental herdsmen as food for their cows. 3. SILESE (Catchlly). * Stems tufted, short ; flowers solitary. 1. S. acaulis (Moss Campion, or Stemless Campion). Stem much branched, tufted ; leaves narrow, fringed at the base ; flower-stalk single-flowered ; petals crowned, and notched. Plant perennial. We have several wild flowers which are called stemless, as the stemless thistle and campion ; but this is not because the stem is entirely absent, but because it is very short. In this instance the flower-stalks are two or three inches high, and this pretty alpine campion forms a dense matted turf, with its beautiful bright purple flowers peeping up among the foliage like stars. It is never seen on lowland ground, but is found only at the summits of our loftiest British mountains. It is one of the love- liest ornaments, during June and July, of the rocky parts of Snowdon, and on the Helvellyn side of Grise- dale Tarn, in Cumberland, where " Up among the mountains, In soft and mossy cell, By the silent springs and fountains The lovely wild-flowers dwell." It is abundant on all the Scottish mountains ; its branching stems bear a profusion of flowers, whicli vary sometimes to white, and are prized as alpine VOL. I. F F 218 FLOWERING PLANTS flowers must be, not only for their own loveliness, but from their association with the wildest and grandest scenery which earth can exhibit. Dr. J. H. Balfour, in his notice of a botanical excursion made in the High- lands of Scotland, gives us a graphic picture of the plants which adorn their alpine tracts. "The Alpine Veronica," he says, "there displays its lovely blue corolla on the verge of dissolving snows ; the Forget-me-not of the mountain summit, whose tints far excel those of its namesake of the brooks ; the Woodsia, with its tufted frond, adorning the clefts of the rocks ; the sunny Grentian, concealing its eye of blue in the ledges of the steep crags ; the Alpine Astragalus, enlivening the turf with its purple clusters; the Lychnis, choosingthe stony and dry knoll for the evolution of its pink petals ; the Sonchus Mulgedium, raising its stately stalk and azure head in spots which try the enthusiasm of the adven- turous collector; the pale-flowered Mountain Sorrel, confining itself to a single British cliff; the Azalea, forming a carpet of the richest crimson; the Saxifrages, with their yellow, or white, or pink blossoms, clothing the sides of the streams; the Saussurea and Erigeron, crowning the rocks with their purple and pink heads ; the Purple Cinquefoil, blending its yellow flowers with the white of the Alpine Cerastiums, and the bright blue of the stony Veronica; the stemless Silene giving a pink and velvety covering to the decomposing granite ; the yellow Hawkweeds, whose varied transition forms have furnished such a fertile source of dispute among bota- nists; the slender and delicate grasses; the Chickweeds the sedges, and the rushes, which spring up on the OF GREAT BRITAIN 219 moist alpine summits ; the graceful ferns, the tiny mosses with their urn-like thecaa ; the crustaceous dry lichens, with their spore-bearing apothecia : all these add such a charm to Highland botany, as to throw into comparative shade all the vegetation of the plains." * * Stem elongated ; flowers panided \ calyx inflated, bladder-like. 2. S. infldla (Bladder Campion). S/em erect; leaves oblong, tapering ; flowers panicled, numerous ; calyx in- flated, bladder-like; pefafs deeply cloven,rarely crowned. Plant perennial. This species of S'dene is not difficult of distinction, being at once recognised by its thin globular flower-cup, delicately marked with a network of purplish brown or darker green veins. The calyx, as well as the foliage, has a pale sea-green bloom on the surface ; and the plant bears its white flowers in June and July. As early as April the young shoots of the Bladder Campion are to be found under the hedge; and many of us have eaten their pale, delicate, green young leaves, and thought how much their flavour and odour resembled those of the green peas of the table. Professor Burnett remarks, that they make a very agreeable vege- table, if gathered when about two inches long ; but we have found that even when boiled they retain a slight * degree of bitterness, which prevents their being pleasant. As that botanist has remarked, however, this is a plant deserving cultivation, as it might be substituted for green peas or asparagus, having something of the flavour of both. This flower is very common in corn-fields, pastures, and hedges, in most parts of the kingdom, but 220 FLO WEEING PLANTS is not universally so ; for the author of these pages was once promised by a botanist, near Tunbridge Wells, the sight of a rare plant, and was somewhat amused after a long walk to find that this botanic curiosity was a fine specimen of Bladder Campion, which her companion greatly exulted in having discovered in one or two places in that neighbourhood, but which she had been accustomed to regard as scarcely more rare than a prim- rose. The foliage is usually smooth, but a downy variety is occasionally found. Baxter remarks, that two minute funguses, (Ecidium Behenis and Uredo Bchenis, are parasitical on the leaves and stems of the Bladder Campion. " I found them both," says this accurate writer, " on this species of Silene, near the road leading from Bullington Green to Cheyney Lane, near Oxford, in August, 1827. I do not know," he adds, "that either of them had been found before in England." 3. 8. maritima (Sea Campion, or Catchfly). Stems many from the same root, spreading, either single or few flowered ; leaves oblong and pointed, and sometimes narrowing towards the base, finely toothed at the edges; petals crowned and slightly cleft. Plant perennial. Those who are used to gather the Bladder Campion from the lane or field, are sometimes surprised to see it growing on the sandy sea-shore, where they could expect to find little but Sandworts and sea-side grasses. Excepting that its flowers are larger, and its stems much shorter, the shore species resembles the common Bladder Campion, having those same bladdery cups which children often snap suddenly on the back of the hand, with a sharp noise. This plant is not uncommon OF GREAT BRITAIN. 221 on the sandy or stony shore, flowering there all the summer ; it is also found by alpine rills. The Rev. C. A. Johns states, that he has found in Devonshire a variety with double flowers. * * * Stems elongated, flowers in whorls. 4. S. fifes (Spanish Catchfly). Stems erect, some- what branched, with few leaves ; petals narrow and neither cleft nor crowned; stamens and pistils on dif- ferent plants ; leaves narrowing at the base. Plant perennial. This is a rare, or at least a local plant, easily known by its whorls of small flowers with their narrow petals of yellowish- white colour, which expand in July. It occurs on sandy fields in some of the eastern counties of England. The stems are about a foot high and very clammy at the middle. * * * * /Stems elongated flowers in leafy dusters, alternate. 5. S. Anglica (English Catchfly). All parts of the plant hairy and clammy; petals small, crowned, slightly cleft or entire ; flowers lateral, alternate, erect, lower ones bending downwards when in fruit; leaves narrow, taper- ing. Plant annual. This species too is somewhat local, though in many parts of England it occurs in plenty, attaining greater or less luxuriance according to the soil. Its stem is from 6 to 12 inches high, and it is so clammy as to be often quite disfigured by the insects adhering to it, their little wings held tightly by the viscid substance which allured them thither. The flowers, 222 FLOWERING PLANTS whichmaybe found all through the summer, are usually pinkish white, and very small ; but several varieties are found of the plant, in one of which the flowers are solitary in the axils of the upper leaves. This has usually a red spot on each of its petals. It has been found wild near Wrotham, in Kent, and some other places ; and it was formerly much planted in gardens, under the name of Silene quinque-vulnera. It grows low, and is very prolific, so that it is well adapted for sowing in pots ; but it is less generally cultivated than it once was. The Dutch call this, or some other species of Catchfly, Veldkaars. * * * Stems panicled, leafy ; calyx not bladder-like. 6. 8. mitans (Nottingham Catchfly). Flowers all drooping one way ; branches opposite, 3-forked ; calyx much swollen, and marked with dark-brown lines; petals deeply cloven, crowned ; stem-leaves lance-shaped, those of the root tapering at the base. Plant perennial. Those who have never scented the evening air made fragrant by a number of these flowers, can hardly imagine how powerful an odour they exhale. It has somewhat of that perfume, so like that of prussic acid, which exists in several of our flowers, as the Meadow- sweet and Blackthorn ; but it is far more powerful than the scent of either of these blossoms ; and when borne to us, as it sometimes is, on the sea-breeze, it is truly delicious. This plant flowers during June or July, on some limestone and chalk rocks of our sea- shores, as well as on those of inland districts, but is not OF GREAT BRITAIN. 223 common. On portions of the sides of those towering and majestic cliffs which border the shore for several miles along the east of Dover, as well as at some parts of the cliffs standing to the west of the town, thousands of the pretty white starry blossoms of the Catchfly may be seen in the evening, growing on stems about a foot high. Nor do these flowers wait, as some night flowers do, for darkness ere they expand; for the author has seen them in their full glory by eight o'clock, before the soft twilight had thrown its subdued shadow over the summit of the cliffs. Many a lovely flower grows on those cliffs ; for although on sailing past them at a distance their white surfaces seem only streaked with stripes of verdure, yet on walking by them we find that their crags and clefts shelter the flowers so well, and the sun shines on them so fully, that plants peculiar to the chalk could hardly find a better place of growth. Many a wanderer goes thither in the earlier part of the day, and brings home nosegays of Horned-poppy, and Viper's-bugloss, and Sea-lavender, and pink Centaury. Many such a one sees the Catchfly, and passes it by, deeming it a plant which has lost its blooom, and is all unfit to mingle with gayer, fresher flowers ; he can at that time detect neither beauty nor odour. These are truly " The flowers that shun the blaze of noon, To blow beneath the midnight moon ; The garish world they will not bless, But only live in loneliness." This plant received the name of Nottingham Catchily, because itiscommonin the neighbourhood of that town. 2-24 FLOWERING PLANTS It is found also on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight, and on the mountain-limestone rocks of Orme's Head, as well as on the rocks about Knareshorough, in Yorkshire, Dovedale, and other places, growing in more or less abundance. Its profusion on the cliffs of Dover gained for it in former days the name of Dover Catchfly. It is the Silune paradoxa of our older botanists. It retains its peculiarity of opening only in the evening, even after it is gathered ; and its scent is then almost too powerful to be borne in a room. It may be raised from seed in a garden, if the soil is chalky ; but the odour there is not so powerful as when in its wild state, and in such cases as are known to the author, the plant soon degenerated. 7. S. Itdlica (Italian Catchfly). Stems erect, downy, bearing several flowers ; brandies opposite, with blunt teeth; petals deeply cleft, not crowned; root-leaves on long stalks, tapering at the base ; stem-leaves without stalks, long and narrow. Plant perennial. The white flowers of this rare plant expand in July and August, and much resemble those of the Nottingham Catchfly; but this species may be distinguished by its longer and blunter calyx. The plant is downy, and the panicles are somewhat clammy. It is probably not a truly wild flower, but has been found on Dover cliffs and in the neighbourhood of Dartford. 8. S. conica (Striated Corn Catchfly). Stem erect, forked ; leaves narrow, downy ; petals crowned ; calyx of the fruit conical. Plant annual. This is a rare species of Catchfly, with small flowers of a purplish-red colour, several of which grow on short stalks on a stem OF GREAT BRITAIN. 225 from six to twelve inches high, flowering from May to July. The calyx of the fruit, which is conical in form, is said by the Eev. C. A. Johns, to have thirty furrows, while that of the Silene nocti/lora is ten-ribbed. Minute as distinctions of this kind are, they are quite constant, exciting the admiration of every thoughtful observer, and affording an evidence of the continued care of God over all his creation. And as we trace these proofs of design, we are reminded of the words of the poet: " Suppose that on awaking Some morning from repose, We saw the green earth studded o'er With every flower that blows : " Suppose -until that moment We ne'er had seen a flower, That one had never graced the earth, Even in Eden's bower : " Say, should we ask these visitants Their birth-place and their home ; If they had come to stay with us, Or were again to roam ? " And should we gaze upon the rose, In its rich variety, And ask what hand had mingled thus Its graduated dye ? " And who had given the luscious scent Which from its ambush stole, Spreading luxurious influence, Like music, o'er the soul ? *' We who had seen the stars career Still in their nightly dance, Should we look on these gems of earth, And say they came by chance ? VOL. I. G G 226 FLOWERING PLANTS " No, in the lily's grandeur, And in the rose's hue ; In the bright dahlia's gorgeousness, In the violet's eye of blue ; " In the pencilling of the passion-flower, In its deep mysterious sign, All hearts would feel, all lips confess, Their Maker is divine." The Corn Catchfly grows on sandy fields, and lias been found near Bury and Thetford, in Suffolk ; at Dirleton,inHaddingtonshire; and near SandownCastle, Kent. The latter place is interesting to the botanist at the season of its growth, because on this castle may be found the Clove-pink ; and on the beach beside it in some seasons, the Sea-pea (Lcitlyrus maritimus), with its rich clusters of flowers, trails among the shingle. 9. S. Armeria (Common or Lobel's Catchfly). Stem erect and viscid ; petals notched, and crowned with awl- shaped scales ; calyx club-shaped, and smooth ; leaves broadly lance-shaped ; panicles of flowers level topped. Plant annual. This is very well known as a garden flower, its handsome pink cluster expanding in July and August, and growing on a stem a foot or a foot and a half high. It is now extinct as a wild flower, but is retained in the list of the British Flora, from having been found on the banks of the D-ee, and at Yalding, in Kent, by Dr. Eichardson and Mr. Borrer, who con- sidered it was naturalised on those spots. It grows wild in France, Germany, and Switzerland. 10. 8. noctifora (Night- flowering Catchfly). Stem erect, many times forked ; calyx with long teeth, oblong OF GREAT BRITAIN. 227 when in fruit, 10-ribbed; leaves lance-shaped, lower ones tapering towards the base. Plant annual. This is, too, a night-scented species, opening its rather large and fragrant reddish-white flowers at sunset, and closing them by day. It is not a common plant, though found on sandy and gravelly corn-fields in various parts of England and Scotland. It blossoms in July and August. The upper part of the stem, which stem is about a foot in height, is much branched, each branch- let having a single flower, and one also appearing in the axil of the branch. The flower-stalks are clammy. 4. LYCHNIS (Campion). 1. L. Flos Cucicli (Eagged Eobin, or Cuckoo-flower). Flowers loosely panicled; petals deeply 4-clefl, crowned ; leaves very narrow. Plant perennial. All dwellers in the country like well to hear the cuckoo's voice ; not that his monotonous tones have a melody like the notes of the thrush, for there is little real sweetness in the loud echo which they waken from the distant wood, now so full of the mirth and music of multitudes of singing birds. But when the cuckoo's notes are sounding over hill and dell, we know that summer is brightening the green earth. We hear that song while budding trees and blooming flowers are around us, and from earliest times, as our oldest English ballad proves, that voice has been welcomed. No wonder, then, that in days when men thought not of scientific names for the flowers, ere as yet those affinities had been traced which enabled the botanist 228 FLOWERING PLANTS to arrange and name them no wonder that the English peasant, or the old herbalist, or the resident of the monastery, gave to the flowers such simple English names as linked them with nature, and serve even yet to awaken pleasant memories. It is interesting to trace in the old names of our flowers the old modes of thought and habits of life to which some of them point. The cuckoo was evidently a favourite bird, for many a pretty flower yet bears its name. There was the pungent Cardamine of the fields and woods, which still has, as well as the Anemone, the name of Cuckoo-flower. Then we have this bright and ragged Lychnis, while the Cuckoo-buds of the old poets are known to moderns as butter-cups, There was the Wood Sorrel, which was called Cuckoo's-meat, because, as Grerarde said, it came at the time when the cuckoo might need it for her food There, too, is the Cuckoo- pint, which is still a rustic name for the Arum, and which may have been so called, because its half- folded vase-like leaf might hold some drop of dew or rain to refresh the early bird ; or its name may be a cor- ruption of Cuckoo-point, given because the purple or green column in the centre of its leaves was growing when the cuckoo was singing. Many another bird or animal of the country was linked, too, with the flowers in the names of these olden days. The Swallow-wort, fancied to benefit the youngling swallow, and Hawk-weed, deemed good for the vision of the birds of prey ; and Sheep's Sca- bious, and Bird's Cherry, and Duck- weed, and Adder's- meat, and Cow-berry, and Cow- wheat, and Dog's OF GKEAT BRITAIN. 229 Mercury, were, doubtless, all so named from their real or supposed uses. Many flowers, too, suggested, in some part of their structure, some animal feature ; thus Stork's-bill,Crane's-bill, Pheasant's-eye, Hare's-ear, Mouse-tail, Hound's-tongue, Cat's-tail, Ox-eye, Ox- tongue, and Crow-foot, were so named from blossom, or leaf, or seed-vessel ; while the entangling fibres of the root of one of the Orchises suggested the name of Bird's- nest orchis; and one of the velvety flowers of spring won for itself the name of Cowslip. Then there was an asso- ciation with the times and seasons in the names Wake- robin, Day's-eye, Winter- weed, Maythorn, Blackthorn; St. John's-wort, of Midsummer-day, and St. Patrick's Cabbage, of St. Patrick's-day ; and Evening Primrose, and Snow-drop, and Spring Cresses. The rustic list had its classic allusion in the name of the Grass of Parnassus ; and its touches of sentiment in those of the Forget-me-not, Pansy, Heartsease, True-love, and True-love-knot; while the Wayfaring-tree, and Tra- veller's Joy, and the Queen of the Meadows, all remind us that those who so called them had an eye for the beauty of the landscape and its vegetation. Poor Man's Weather-glass, Shepherd's Needle, and Shepherd's Purse, all tell a tale of rural imaginations ; while the old names of Fuller's Teasel, Fowler's Service, Dyer's Weed, Bed-straw, Flea-bane, Dyer's Rocket, Glass- wort, are still records of old uses of plants. The intercourse with foreign lands and the improvements in horticulture have so well filled our kitchen-gardens with a provision for the tables, that Salad Burnet, Lamb's Lettuce, Sauce- alone, Hedge-mustard, Winter Cresses, Poor Man's 230 FLOWERING PLANTS Pepper, and Corn-salad, grow now ungathered, and we only wonder, while thinking on their names, at the simple taste which enabled our fathers to relish such a vegetable diet. A large number of plants were named for their heal- ing virtues, and though the herbalist often overpraised his simples, yet a few of them deserved their repute. In some, however, whose praises filled the pages of the old writers on plants, we can find no powers to correspond with their alleged properties ; and we can only think that fevers were allayed by the water in which the herbs were mingled, and wounds healed by time, rather than by the reputed remedies ; so that we could join in the recommendation given by Sir Kenelm Digby for some of the plasters then in use, that they should be applied to the weapons rather than the wounds. If Carpenter's Herb, and Sickle Herb, and Scurvy-grass, and Tout- saine, and Wound-wort, Shepherd's Spikenard, Fever- few, Self-heal, Poor Man's Parmacetti, and Souldier's Milfoil, had some small degree of healing virtues, yet we should be sorry to trust our afflicted friends to the cures effected by Palsy-herb, or Whitlow-grass, or Lung- wort, or Liver-wort. These last names, indeed, remind us of the notion that plants indicated by some external sign the healing powers which they possessed, so that the spotted leaves of the Lung-wort showed that it was good for diseased lungs, and the lobed form of the Liver-wort leaf marked its uses to man ; while, on the same principle, the spotted stem of the Viper's Bugloss indicated its power to remedy the bite of the reptile. Some of the prettiest of our country names are OF GEEAT BRITAIN. 231 derived from resemblances apparent to us all. Such are Sundew, Satin-flower, Allseed, Arrow-liead, Awl- wort, Pearl- wort, Monkshood, Bladder-wort,GoldenRod, Bee Orchis, and many another ; and the appropriate- ness of some which we see in our every country walk gives us a feeling of pleasure as we think of them. The winding habit of our favourite woodland climber is well described by the name Woodbine,, and its honey-bearing tubes by that of Honeysuckle ; the names of Bitter* sweet and Deadly Nightshade are no less appropriate. The name Foxglove, which is but a corruption of Folks'-glove,orFairies'-glove, has a thought of poetryin its name ; and the Speedwell was given by one who loved flowers, and that of Thrift by one who marked how, growing as it can on the scantiest soil, it resem- bled the virtue which made good use of small means. Gold-knobs, Gold-cups, Goldings, and King-nobs, were pretty names for the buttercups which clothe our mea- dows in such numbers and varieties, that old Culpepper says, " So abundant are the sorts of this herbe, that to describe them all would tire the patience of Socrates himself; but because I have not yet attained to the spirits of Socrates," he adds, " I shall describe their most usual forms." Besides those which we have given, the herbalist describes as common names in his day, for these plants, Frog-foot, Trail-flower, Poll-locket, Goulions, and Crowsfoot, so that, as he says, " This furious biting herb hath obtained almost enough to make up a Welshman's pedigree, if he fetched no further than John of Gaunt, or William the Conqueror." The Lily of the Valley, the Mountain Ash, Heath, 232 FLOWERING PLANTS Meadow Rue, Corn Marigold, Marsh Trefoil, Brook- lime, Pond -weed, Water Avens, Alpine Gentian, AVood Anemone, Water-wort, Wall-flower, Tower Mustard, Sea-side Poppy, Shore-weed, and Salt-wort, are all appropriate and expressive names, and serve to indicate the spots on which we may find them growing. Many of our common wild flowers received their names as expressive of the pious feelings of our ances- tors. In these days, Eevelation has come to almost every home of our land, teaching us no longer to adore fallible men, but to trust our sins and sorrows to Him who alone could atone, who alone can mediate. But in former days men mingled up strangely and darkly the intercessions of the saints and the Saviour; and the names of the flowers prove at least the religious thought which possessed the mind of him who so called them. The mother of our Lord, she who to latest days must be loved and honoured as "blessed among women," shared then, in the fond idolatry of human hearts, in a reverence accorded to holy men of old, or to others of whom we know nothing, save such legends as were traced by the hand of superstition. Wherever we find the word Mary or Lady in any way connected with the flower, we may generally infer that the latter is but the remains of " Our Lady," and that both refer to the Virgin. Nor was it the flower alone which received this associating name; the little insect which the merry child bids " fly away home," the Lady-hird, La vache de la Vierge of the French, was named, too, after "Our Lady." Lady's Tresses, Lady's Mantle, Lady's Slipper, Marygold, and Kosemary, Herb Rennet, OF GREAT BRITAIN. 233 Herb Eobert, St. Peter's and St. James's-wort, Sweet Cicely, Sweet Basil, are but a few of the names which, probably originated from the monastery ; and ancient associations are recorded in the names of Holy Herb, Holy Oak, Star of Bethlehem, Procession-flower, Herb of Grace, Trinity Herb, and many others; while a remembrance of old superstitions lurks in such names as that of Enchanter's Nightshade. But our Meadow Lychnis, our Cuckoo-flower, has been long forgotten in the remarks which its name suggested. It is a very pretty flower, often sprinkling the grass far over the moist meadows with its rose-coloured jagged petals, which grow on a reddish-coloured stem, two or three feet high, during June and July. The lower part of the stem is hairy, and the upper part clammy. It is often, in country places, called Eagged Eobin, or Bachelor's Buttons, a kind of button* having been for- merly worn which was made of pieces of cloth cut somewhat in the form of its petals. 2. Z. Viscdria (Eed German Catchfly). Petals slightly notched at the extremity ; stem clammy at the joints; leaves lance-shaped and pointed. Plant peren- nial. This plant, which grows on dry alpine rocks, is found on Craig Breiddin, Montgomeryshire, and in the, neighbourhood of Edinburgh and some other parts of Scotland. Its flowers, are large, and grow in a panicle, on a stem about a foot in height. They are of a bright rose-colour, and the flowers appear in June. 3. L. alpina (Eed Alpine Catchfly). Petals cleft; flowers growing in a corymbose head. This is a rare plant, and in all probability not truly wild, though two VOL. I. H H 234 FLOWERING PLANTS places of its growth in this kingdom have been re- corded by botanists. One is on the summit of Little Kilrannoch, between Glen Prosen and Grlen Callater ; the other on Hobcaster Fell, Cumberland. 4. I/. Vespertina (White Campion). Floivers having usually the pistils and stamens on separate plants ; petals 2-cleft and crowned ; capsule with erect teeth ; leaves oblong and tapering ; stem and leaves downy. Plant perennial. This flower, which is by many bota- nists regarded as a variety of the following species, is very common on hedge-banks, in grass meadows, and corn-fields, from June to September ; its substantial stem rising sometimes to the height of two feet, and the large flower of pure white overtopping the ripening corn or the tall flowering grass. Its specific name is given because it is a vesper flower, for though it is open all day, it breathes no sweet incense till the evening dews are on its petals. Sometimes the flower is deli- cately tinged with red, and its stems, which are viscid at the joint, are often of a brownish hue. 5. L. diurna (Eed Campion). Flowers having usually the pistils and stamens on separate plants ; capsule nearly globose, the teeth recurved ; leaves broadly oblong, tapering, downy as well as the stem. Plant perennial. This Eed Campion is rarely seen in the corn-field ; its most frequent places of growth being the moist hedge- bank or the wood where water is standing. In some damp shady places the plant attains a great height, and is very abundant. The author has seen a wood of this description, which lay in a valley, filled during June and July with these plants, in so luxuriant a condition, the OF GREAT BRITAIN. 235 steins a yard high, and the flowers so large, and of so deep a red, that the traveller paused in coming down the hill-side to look at the rosy hue of the landscape before him. The blossoms grow in a loose panicle, varying in tint from a deep rose-red to pale-pink or white ; and the ordinary height of the stem is about one or two feet. Many beautiful species of Lychnis are cultivated by our gardeners. The white and red Campions are attractive flowers, while few plants make more show than the Scarlet Lychnis, which country people so commonly call Scarlet Lightning, and which our forefathers termed Cross of Jerusalem. It is the L. Clialcedonica of the botanist, andis a native of Russia, but is much improved by culture. The Italians call it, Croce de Cavatierc. 5. AGROSTEMMA (Cockle). 1. A. Gitlutgo (Corn-cockle). Calyx ribbed, much longer than the corolla ; petals undivided, destitute of a crown ; leaves narrow. Plant perennial. This showy Cockle unfolds its rich purple blossom at the period when the corn-fields are looking very beautiful, when the nodding grain is daily becoming more golden in hue, as the sunshine of June and July is ripening it for the sickle. It is sweet to wander during the various seasons at early morning, through the quiet pathway, and to look at those " Gorgeous flow'rets in the sun-light shining, Blossoms flaunting in the eye of day, Tremulous leaves with soft and silver lining, Buds that open only to decay. 23 G FLOWERING PLANTS " Everywhere about us they are glowing, Some like stars, to tell us spring is gone; Others, their blue eyes with tears o'erflowing, Stand like Ruth amid the golden corn : " Not alone in Spring's armorial bearing, And in Summer's green emblazon'd field; But on arms of brave old Autumn's wearing, In the centre of his brazen shield." Our beautiful Corn-cockle is too conspicuous a flower to escape notice, and well deserves its name of Crown of the Field, though this was at first applied to the German species of our gardens, the Flos Jovis. Ready as the lover of flowers is to admire the corn-flower, it cannot be pleasing to the agriculturist, who well knows that its seeds, which contain the noxious principle of sapo- nine, may greatly injure his corn, and fill his flour with black specks. The capsule, when ripened, is full of large, black, glossy seeds, from which the plant obtained its specific name ; the black aromatic seeds of some plant known to the Romans having been called Git, or Gith. Gith is an old Celtic word, and the word Cath is said by Sir William Hooker to signify a seed of corn in modern Gaelic. The French call this flower La Niclle ; the Germans, Der Raden. It is the Koornvlam of the Dutch farmer, and the Agrostemma of the Por- tuguese. The reader of Scripture, as he sees these purple flowers amongst the corn, is reminded of the denun- ciation of Job, "Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley ;" but the word rendered " cockle" by our translators does not appear to refer to OF CHEAT BHITAIX. 237 this plant. From one of our old nursery songs, in which a neglected garden is said to be a Full of weeds and cockle seeds," we are inclined to infer that theEnglish word "cockle" had in earlier times a wider meaning than it has now. But whether our translators, by the word " cockle," did or did not intend this species of plant, it is now well known that Job could not have referred to it, as it is not a weed of Palestine or Arabia. All recent writers agree that some useless, if not noxious, common weed was intended by the Patriarch ; and many have sug- gested tli at it was a bramble or other thorny plant, or that the word meant weeds in general. Dr. Royle infers as probable, that it is a species of Nightshade (Solatium] , common in cultivated grounds, not only in Europe, but in Syria and Arabia. The same Hebrew word is, in Isaiah, rendered by " wild grape ;" and the Arabs call the Nightshade by a name signifying Wolf's- grape, or Ox's-grape. 6. S A GIN A (Pearl- wort). 1. S. proctimbcns (Procumbent Pearl-wort). Stems prostrate, smooth ; leaves pointed; petals much shorter than the calyx; capsule curved downwards before ripen- ing. Plant perennial. This little plant, growing in small tufts, is among the most minute of our wild flowers. When we look at its tiny blossoms, and con- trast them in imagination with some of the giants of the Vegetable Kingdom, we can but wonder at the remem- brance, that the little Pearlwort is as perfect in its 238 FLOWERING PLANTS structure as those large flowers of which travellers tell us. We read of the Monster Cactus, which reached Kew Gardens in 1846, and required eight strong mules to draw it over the mountains of Mexico, and ten men to place it in the scales at the gardens ; of other species, thirty or forty feet high, forming a chevaux de frise to theplantation,and covered with rose-like flowers; of the blossoms of Aristolochia cordifolia, which Baron Hum- boldt saw the children place on their heads for caps ; of the Victoria Reyina, with its lilies six feet in diameter ; of the strange Rafflesia Arnold!, whose immense petals measured a yard across, and whose nectarium would hold twelve pints of water ; of the Barlacenia, which the Chevalier Schomburgh describes as having flowers six inches long, on a stem twelve feet high ; of the immense Ftircrtea, of the Aloe family, which Karwinski found on the mountains of Mexico, whose tufts of leaves, six feet long, produced innumerable large white flowers, and rose to nearly ninety feet in height ; and of various other plants renowned for their immense size. Many a specimen of the Pearlwort might be covered stem, leaves, and flowers with a florin, yet the tiny blossoms have their stamens and their pistils, and produce in abundance their little seeds. The hand of Grod has formed them with as much skill as the larger blossoms, and His work is as discernible in the smallest as in the greatest. This little Pearlwort is not a favourite with the gar- dener, for it possesses itself too readily of his gravel paths, dispersing itself by its innumerable seeds, and taking root very easily, wherever it can find a suitable OF GREAT BRITAIN. 239 soil. The gravelly heath, the crevices of the stone wall, and other waste places, are its common haunts ; and it, may be found among the short grass of the pasture, or alpine hill, or lowly valley. The central stem is erect and flowerless ; but the steins which arise from this spread over the ground, being from two to four inches long ; often sending out roots from different parts, at the insertion of the leaves, and new plants arising from these. The little green blossoms are to be seen all the summer, growing singly at the end of the stalks, or placed in the angles formed by the stalks and leaves. The leaves, which are awl-shaped, are scarcely thicker than a packthread, and have membranaceous margins at the base. 2. /S. apetala (Annual Small-flowered Pearl wort). Stems slightly hairy, erect, or ascending ; leaves awned and fringed ; sepals 4. This little Pearlwort is much like the last species, but smaller and more slender in all its parts ; its stems too are erect and slightly hairy, and the fringed leaves afford a characteristic feature, while its petals, being always present, distinguish it from the next species. It grows on dry walls and gravelly places, flowering from May to September. Curtis says that it ripens its seed much more rapidly than any other English plant. 3. 8. maritima (Sea-Pearl wort). Stems erect, or pro- cumbent only at the base; leaves fleshy, obtuse, or with a- short point ; petals none. Plant annual. This species ip not uncommon at the sea-coast, or on land occasion- ally overflowed. It is generally of a reddish or purplish hue ; but many writers think that its difference from 240 FLOWERING PLANTS the preceding species is simply referable to the place of its growth. Old writers called the Pearlworts, Chick- weed Breakstone; the French term the plant, LaSagine; the Germans, Der Vierling ; and the Dutch, Vetmuur. 7. MCENCHIA. 1. M. ervcta (Upright Mcenchia). Sepals 4, large, pointed, and with a white membranaceous edge. Plant annual. This Mcenchia is not common, but it blossoms during May and June, on some of our pastures which have a gravelly soil, and may be easily distinguished from any other of our wild plants. Its stem is from two to four inches in height ; its white flowers are large in proportion to the rest of the plant, and open only in the sunshine. 8. HOLOSTEUM (Jagged duckweed). 1. H. umbelldtum (Umbelliferous Jagged Chick weed). Stems smooth below, and hairy above ; leaves oblong and acute ;J?ower-stalfo turning downwards after flower- ing. Plant annual. This is a singular and interesting little plant, very rare in this country, found only on very old walls about Norwich and Bury. Its stems are about four or five inches high, leafy, and viscid between the joints. The flowers are about four or five in each umbel ; and the petals are white with a reddish tinge. It blossoms in April. The French call the plant Holostu ; the Germans, Spurre ; and the Dutch Zoryhzaad. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 241 9. SPERGULA (Spurrey). 1. S. arvensis (Corn Spurrey). Leaves slender, cylin- drical, and awl-shaped, in whorls around the stem, with minute chaffy stipules at the base; fowers in panicles; fiower-stalks bent down when in fruit. Plant annual. This Spurrey, which is common on gravelly and sandy soils throughout Europe, is from six to twelve inches high, and when luxuriant is sometimes more abundant in the cultivated field than the farmer desires. Its white flowers may be seen throughout the summer, and its stalks and flower-cups have usually a reddish tinge. The leaves, which are scarcely thicker than a coarse thread, are about an inch in length. The French call this plant La Spergule the Germans, Der AcTcer- spergel ; the Dutch, Akker-tpurri. It is the Spergola of the Italian ; and the Danish name of Knaegraes is not inappropriate, as the stalks bend at the joints in a sort of angular manner, difficult to describe, but giving a peculiar character to the Spurrey. Our country people have various names for the plant, as Sandweed, Yarr, and Pick-pocket. Although the Spurrey is a troublesome weed in the corn-field, where its numerous seeds render it often abundant, yet it is a plant to be prized on the pasture land, as cattle eat it with much avidity, and it is highly nutritious. The farmers cultivate it in Holland on meadows destined to afford pasture for their cows; and it is also sown in the Netherlands among the stubble of the field from which the corn has been gathered in, in order that it may afford winter food for the sheep. VOL. I. I I 242 FLOWERING PLANTS It is remarkably rapid in its growth, for it may be sown and reaped in the course of eight weeks, either in autumn or spring ; and the sheep are much improved by feeding upon it. It is also a favourite and valuable food for poultry. Von Thaer remarked of it, that it is the most nourishing, in proportion to its bulk, of all forage, and gives the best flavoured milk and butter. Its culture has been recommended to the English agri- culturist ; but it is thought that the expense would exceed the remuneration of the crop, and, as Professor Martyn remarks, we have many plants better adapted to our poorest soils. The Spurrey grows wild in many parts of North America, and is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Quebec. It seems universal through- out Europe ; and in Finland and Norway bread is made of its seeds during seasons of scarcity. The small flowers are very sensitive under atmospheric changes ; and Dr. George Johnston remarks," We have seen a whole field, whitened with its blossoms, have its appearance quite changed by the petals closing on a black cloud passing over and discharging a few drops of rain." 2. 8. nodo-sa (Knotted Spurrey). Leaves opposite, growing together at the base, upper ones very short, growing in knots, and having tufts of young leaves in the axils; petals much larger than the calyx ; foiver- stalks always erect. Plant perennial. As the Eev. C. A. Johns has remarked, in his " Flowers of the Field," this species may be known by its tufted leaves, which distin- guish it from any other British plant. Its flowers are very pretty, and showy for its size ; they grow two or three together, on a stem about three or four inches OF GREAT BRITAIN. 243 high, and appear in August and September. The plant is not unfrequent on wet sandy fields and marshy places. The central stem is shorter than the lateral ones, and bears no flowers. Some writers consider this and the two following species as Pearlworts, and place them in the genus Sqgina. 3. S. sayinoides (Pearl-wort Spurrey). Leaves oppo- site, awl-shaped, and tipped with spines ; flower-stalks solitary, very long, and smooth ; petals shorter than the calyx. Plant perennial. This is a very small plant, not uncommon on the Highland mountains ; bearing drooping white flowers in June and July. 4. S.subuldta (Smooth Awl-shaped Spurrey). Leaves opposite, awl-shaped, crowned, and slightly fringed ; flower-stalks solitary and very long \ petals rather longer than the calyx. Plant perennial. This plant, which is very similar in appearance to the Procumbent Pearl- wort, is common on gravelly pastures; its white flowers appearing in June and July. 10. STELLARIA (Stitch wort). 1. S. media (Chickweed). Leaves egg-shaped, with a short point ; stems with a hairy line alternating from side to side ; petals deeply 2-cleft, not longer than the sepals ; stamens 510. Plant annual. Everybody knows this common little plant. Our fathers called it also, Hen's Inheritance ; its numerous seeds and young tops affording a good supply of food, not alone to the poultry which may stray over the grass lands, but also to those singing birds which God has sent to gladden 244 FLOWERING PLANTS the heart of man, and to fill the wild wood with songs of joy. The Chickweed. grows everywhere on rich cultivated land. Now we find it springing up in the garden, after a spring rain, making the beds green with its young shoots, and even in winter having the light tint of the spring leaf. In the fields it calls for the weeder's care ; and under the hedge-bank its white flowers bloom all the year long, save when the snows have covered every green thing. It is a very valuable plant to birds ; nor is it one of the worst of those herbs which men have sometimes boiled for their food. We need hardly describe its small flower, for it may always be seen, like a little star among its leaves, when the sun is shining. It is a good indicator of the changes of weather ; and we would warn the traveller to wrap his cloak about him if the flower is quite closed, for rain, if not come, is coming soon, when this is the case. But if the Chick- weed flower is fully expanded, he may walk gaily on, with a pretty good assurance that for four hours at least he may be safe from rain; though if half closed, it would be well to take timely warning that the leaf may soon be wet with the passing shower. We, in modern days, find no great remedial virtues in this herb, but our fore- fathers recorded it as an effectual remedy against cramps, convulsions, palsy, and various maladies. " Boil a hand- ful of chick weed," says one old herbalist, "and a handful of red-rose leaves dried, in a quart of muscadine, until a fourth part be consumed :" oil of sheep's feet was to be added, and the " grieved place" anointed therewith. One can imagine from the nature of some of the ingre- OF GREAT BRITAIN. 245 clients, that the sufferer might find relief from pain by this application, but it was not completed without bind- ing some of the chickweed over the part affected, which if done, would, as the director adds, " with God's bless- ing, cure the malady in three times the dressing." 2. S. Jiolostea (Greater Stitchwort, Satin-flower, or Adder's Meat). Stem nearly erect, with four distinct angles, rough edged ; leaves very narrow, tapering to a long point, delicately fringed ; petals twice as long as the calyx, and cleft to the middle; calyx without nerves. Plant perennial. There is beauty on the earth in every season of the year, in some part or other of the land- scape. The leafless woods of winter, with their crimson berries lingering yet, and their boughs sparkling with the frost, and beautiful in their varied outline and their emerald mosses, which half disclose some crimson or orange fungus, have their beauties to offer to the wan- derer there. The golden corn-field of August, when the bearded grain, doing obeisance to the passing wind, reminds us of the wind-swept ocean, has its chief love- liness of flowers in the autumn, when the crimson poppy, the yellow charlock, the corn-cockles, and the blue starry succory and lilac scabious contrast with the corn. The heath-land has its glory in summer time, when it is rich in its fragrant furze and broom, and branching ling, and purple and rose-coloured heather flowers, and nodding blue-bells; and when the linnet is yet singing among the furze tops, and the goldfinch comes thither to pick the thistle-down, and the bee and butterfly are there in search of nectar. May and June are the months in which the meadows are most lovely, 24G FLOWERING PLANTS when the tall grass waves gracefully by the gold cups, and when thousands of silvery daisies glitter beside the blue speedwells, while the scented honeysuckles and brier-roses are unfolding. May is the loveliest season for the woodlands ; which are, however, more or less lovely in every changing season. "VVe lose some of the graceful forms of the boughs as they may be seen in full outline in winter, for green leaves are thickening fast upon them, nor is the green tint, though gay, so deep and varied as are the hues of July, or the autumnal touches of the brown October. Here and there some dark-green holly or darker yew contrasts with it, or a gleam of sunshine gives some bough a deeper yellow ; yet now, elm and oak, and birch and hawthorn, have almost all the same pale and delicate verdure which tells of youth and spring. It is now that the flowers of the wood are in fullest perfection ; and should our footsteps traverse those paths three months later, though fields and meadows are still rich and gay, yet the flowers of the wood will be comparatively few. The golden-rod may be there, and the magnificent foxglove, but all the wealth of anemones, and primroses, and violets, and h} T acinths, and orchises, will have long since passed away. It is when these flowers are all in perfection that we see the delicate white blossoms of the Stitchwort gleaming among them, too large to be unnoticed, and too beautiful in their pearly petals and golden anthers to escape our admiration. No spring flower seems to our eyes more lovely than this ; and it is a common flower too, growing among the grass of the hedge-bank, on a stem a foot high, and clad with delicate green OF GREAT BRITAIN. 247 leaves, and seeming all the whiter from its contrast with the deep-blue hyacinth. Yet strange it is that few save botanists know its name, nor have many poets sung its praises, though none in forming a wild nosegay would fail to gather it. It has not, however, been left quite unsung, for Calder Campbell has named it among the flowers of spring: " The buds are green on the Linden-tree, And flowers are bursting on the lea ; There is the daisy, so prim and white, With its golden eye and its fringes bright ; And here is the golden buttercup, Like a miser's chest with the gold heap'd up ; And the Stitchwort, with its pearly star, Seen on the hedgebank from afar ; And there is the primrose sweet, though wan, And the cowslip dear to the Ortolan, That sucks its morning draught of dew From the drooping curls of the harebell blue." This Stitch wort is about a foot or a foot and a half high, its stem and foliage somewhat glaucous, and very rigid and brittle. Indeed, so brittle is it, that it is impossible to pull up the plant by the root ; and we can remember in childhood regarding it as a wonderful plant, growing without any root, as it breaks offjust above the earth, and we could never by our simple implements bring a fibre to view. The French call this plant La Stellaire ; the Germans, Das Auyentrost-gras-, and it is the Oogentroost-gras of the Dutch. Our fathers called it All-bones, probably with a jocose refer- ence to its brittleness. It has a great number of cap- sules, which separate by valves, and scatter its profusion 248 FLOWEIIING PLANTS of seeds. These seed-vessels droop when the flower is over. 3. S. graminea (Lesser Stitch wort). Stem nearly erect, angular, smooth ; leaves very narrow, acute, smooth, fringed ; flowers in forked panicles ; corolla scarcely longer than the calyx ; sepals 3-nerved. Plant perennial. This species, which is in blossom during June and July, is neither so frequent nor so ornamental as our spring favourite, though it is not uncommon on dry pastures, heaths, and sunny banks. The stem is more slender than that of the preceding, and about a foot in height; but the much smaller white blossoms, with petals cleft so deeply as to make it more star-like, and less cup-like in form, at once distinguish it : the nerves of the calyx, too, are a specific character. The anthers are red. A variety of this plant is sometimes described as a distinct species, and called the Many-stalked Stitch- wort, S. scapigera. It is distinguished by its long footstalks, and has been found on the hills north of Dunkeld, and about Loch Nevis. 4. 8. glauca (Glaucous Marsh Stitch wort). Stem angular, nearly erect, without hairs, and glaucous; leaves narrow, tapering, entire, and glaucous ; flowers solitary, on long footstalks. Plant perennial. This species is readily known by its very narrow and glaucous leaves, and by the circumstance of its flowers growing singly, instead of being placed several together. Its blossoms are to be seen from May to July, and are, next to those of the Satin-flower, the largest of the genus. It, how- ever, in its general aspect, more resembles the Lesser Stitch wort than either of the others, and like that flower, OF GREAT BRITAIN. 249 its blossom is deeply cleft ; but the moist marshy land, and not the dry open down, is the place on which we must look for it. The stem is about a foot or a foot and a half high. 5. S. uliginosa (Bog Stitch wort). Sfetits spreading, angular ; leaves smooth, broadly lanceolate, with a rigid tip ;Jloivers])'aTiicled; petals deeply 2-cleft, shorter than the 3-nerved sepals, which are united at the base. Plant annual. Those who are wont to roam among the coarse mosses which grow on our moist lands, probably often see this little Stitchwort, for it rejoices in the soil of such spots, as well as in the sides of ditches and rivulets, and is very common. Its white flowers are so small, that one would hardly notice them among the broad leaves. They expand in June. The stems are about a foot long. 6. S. nemorum (Wood Stitchwort). Lower leaves stalked, and heart-shaped ; upper ones egg-shaped, and sessile ; panicle offowers forked. Plant perennial. This rare species of Stettaria is found chiefly in the north of England, or in the lowlands of Scotland. It is easily distinguished from theothersby theheart-shaped leaves, which are very large, and sprinkled with little raised dots, that render the surface rough. The stems are weak, and about a foot or a foot and a half long, downy at the upper part, but often smooth below. The flowers appear in May and June, and are white, deeply cleft, and twice as long as the sepals. VOL. I. K K 250 FLOWERING PLANTS 11. HONCKENYA (Sea Purslane). 1 . H. pepldides (Ovate-leaved SeaPurslane) . Leaves sessile, egg-shaped, acute, smooth, fleshy; sepals obtuse, with white margins ; stems very fleshy, decumbent at the base ; calyx without ribs. Plant perennial. This plant, which is often called Sea-side Sandwort, and placedin the genus Arenaria,is frequently very puzzling to the unpractised botanist. It is very unlike the Sand- worts in general, and is so stout and succulent that it would rather remind us of the Stonecrop family. It is very peculiar, and we know of no British plant which has its leaves more distinctly decussate. Leaves are said to be decussate when they cross each other at right angles; and although, when older, this arrangement is not so distinct, yet the young shoots show very plainly the four distinct rows in which they are crowded. This Sea Purslane grows in tangled clumps on the sand, spreading its stems over the ground, the rich glossy green leaves having none of the glaucous tint of most other sea-side plants. One rarely sees its flowers ; they appear in June, and are small and white, but they never expand in cloudy weather, or long after noon- day. The roundish capsules contain a few seeds, which are large, in proportion to the size of the plant, and when matured are quite black. The author has occa- sionally found them as large as a pea. This flower is oftencalled the Sea Pimpernel; itis confined to the sand or shingle, or the salt-marsh, never growing on inland districts. It is very common on the shores of Iceland, and is there prepared for food, by being fermented. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 251 12. ARENA'RIA (Sandwort). * Leaves without stipules. 1. A. tnncrms (Three-nerved Sandwort). Leaves sessile, egg-shaped, acute, the lower ones stalked, 3 5 nerved, fringed ; flowers solitary, from the forks of the stem and axils; sepals 3-nerved, the central nerve rough. Plant annual. This is a little plant of shady woods and moist places,having much branched downy stems, about a foot in height, and its upper leaves being without stalks. Any one little used to plants would mistake it for the common chick weed, but its white petals are not cleft like those of that flower. The blossoms are small, appearing in May and June. The Sandworts are a dif- ficult tribe of plants to the unpractised botanist, but if this species is examined when in seed, it may be seen by a common glass, such as are used by naturalists, to possess a peculiar character, in having a little appen- dage to the scar of the seed. This plant delights in damp hedge-banks. 2. A. serpyllifolia (Thyme-leaved Sandwort). Leaves broadly egg-shaped, pointed, somewhat rough, sessile; calyx hairy, about as long as the corolla; stem repeatedly forked. Plant annual. This, like many of the Sand- worts, is a native of the driest places, flourishing on open sandy banks, the tops of walls, and the sea-cliffs. Mr. Johns remarks, that when growing near the shore, the stems become less branched, and the leaves some- what larger and more decidedly fringed than in its ordinary state. It flowers from June to August, but 252 FLOWERING PLANTS its white blossoms are small, and its shrubby stems and foliage rarely exceed five or six inches in height, so that the plant is too inconspicuous to attract the notice of any but the botanist. 3. A. verna (Vernal Sandwort). Stems numerous, panicled ; leaves awl-shaped, 3-nerved when dry ; petals somewhat longer than the narrow-pointed 3-nerved sepals. Plant perennial. This Sandwort is found on fragments of quartz, on the mountains in the north of England and "Wales, at the Lizard Point, Cornwall, as well as about Edinburgh, and on some Scottish moun- tains. It is very pretty ; its white flowers, which appear in May and June, being large for the size of the plant. The stems are slightly hairy, and three or four inches high. The plant grows in tufts among the grass, or on the almost bare rock. 4. A. rubella (Alpine Sandwort). Stems numerous ; flower-stalks downy, terminal, and usually bearing but one flower ; leaves slender, and awl-shaped, 3-nerved, blunt ; petals shorter than the 3-nerved calyx. This rare plant, which is nearly allied to the last species, seems to be almost peculiar to the summits of the Breadalbane range of mountains in the Highlands of Scotland, growing amid solitudes in which the traveller might be reminded of the words of the poet: " Hail, silence of the desert ! I speak low In reverence : Here the falcon's wing is awed, As o'er the deep repose, sublimely slow, He wheels in conscious majesty abroad ; Spirits should make the desert their abode ; The meekest, purest, mightiest that e'er wore Dust as a garment, stole from crowds unbless'd, OF GREAT BRITAIN. 253 To sea-like forests, or the sea-beat shore, Or utter'd on the star-sought mountain's breast The holiest precepts e'er to earth address'd." This lowly alpine flower has also been found on Ben Hope, in Sunderland, flowering in July and August. Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott remark of it : " This is quite an alpine or arctic plant ; it loves to grow with its root buried under a loose piece of rock, and late in the summer often acquires a reddish tinge." 5. A. uliyinosa (Bog Sand wort). Stems prostrate at the base, with from one to three flowers, on long slender stalks; leaves awl-shaped, without nerves, and somewhat blunt ; petals about as long as the calyx. Plant peren- nial. This rare species, which blossoms in June, grows in tufts near Teesdale, Durham, on the banks of a stream. The whole plant is without down or hairs. 6. A. tenuifolia (Fine-leaved Sand wort). Stems very slender, much branched and forked ; leaves narrow, and awl-shaped, 3-nerved ; calyx about twice as long as the petals. This is a small plant, its stems not more than five or six inches high, and scarcely thicker than a sewing-thread. It grows in sandy fields in several counties of England, bearing its minute white flowers in June and July. It has been said to occur in some parts of Scotland, but this is doubted. Like many other of its species, it is a true Sandwort, and found only on sandy lands. The French call the Sandwort La Sablon- niere, the Germans Das Sandkraut, and the Dutch Zandmuur; while the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese call it Arenaria. 1. A. fastigidta (Level-topped Sandwort). Stems 254 FLOWERING PLANTS erect ; leaves in tufts, awl-shaped, pointed with minute bristles ; flowers in dense tufts; petals shorter than the calyx; sepals narrow, and pointed,white with two green ribs. Plant annual. This species occurs on rocks, on some of the Scottish mountains, and is found also on the rocks of the Pyrenees. Sir J. E. Smith remarks that its seeds are beautifully toothed like a wheel, each on a long slender stalk. It flowers in June. 8. A. Norvegica (Norwegian Sandwort). Leaves oblong, tapering towards the base, fleshy and smooth; sepals egg-shaped, acute, with 35 obscure ribs. Plant perennial. This species was discovered in the Shetland Isles, by Mr. T. Edmonstone, Jun., in 1837. Its stems are branched, and spread over the ground, and the branchlets are from one to three-flowered. It blossoms in July and August. 9. A. cilidta (Fringed Sandwort). Leaves tapering towards the base, roughish, fringed with small hairs ; corolla twice as long as the calyx ; sepals lanceolate and acute, with 3 5 prominent ribs. Plant perennial. This small Sandwort is peculiar to the limestone mountains of Ireland. It is downy, and flowers from June to August. * * Leaves furnished with stipules. 10. A.rubra (Purple Sand wort). Leaves linear, fleshy, pointed with a minute bristle ; stipules chaffy ; stems prostrate ; seeds rough. Plant annual. This little Sand- wort is very frequent on the ridges of sandy or gravelly fields, having a number of pretty little purple or pale lilac flowers in the axils of its upper leaves, from June OF GREAT BRITAIN. 255 to September. It is much branched, and very easily distinguished from all but the next species, by the egg- shaped stipules, which consist of a pair of thin, white, chaffy scales, united at their base. It is very similar to the sea-side species, but altogether smaller, and less succulent. Many writers believe it to be the same plant, only altered by the condition of the soil on which it grows. 11. S. marina (Sea-side Sand wort). Stems prostrate; leaves semi-cylindrical, without points ; stipules white, chaffy, and cleft; seeds smooth, flattened, the seed- vessel usually longer than the calyx. Plant annual. Few sea- side plants are more generally to be found about our shores than this. Sometimes it hangs its branches down from a rocky crevice, giving a verdure to the cliff, though, as we look up to its clumps, we cannot perceive the small purple stars which are seated among its foliage. Sometimes our plant grows among the timber lying in the boat-yard, near the sea, or hangs in clumps from between the stones of the harbour, on some high wall never washed by the water ; but the spot on which this Sand wort attains itsgreatestluxurianceis the salt-marsh, where, from June to September, it may be seen amid the pale green stems of the Southernwood, and the deeper tinted rosy tufts of the Thrift, its thousands of starry flowers, as large as silver pennies, by their mul- titude giving a distinct hue to patches of the soil. These blossoms vary from deep purple to delicate lilac, or white. A little later in the year, the numerous seed- vessels are crushed by every footstep, as we wander over 256 FLOWERING PLANTS the dreary, treeless, and almost flowerless marsh, when the wind sweeps through the sea-reeds its melancholy accompanimentto the dashing waves. Theflowers of the Sea Sandwort, however, can be seen spangling the grass only in the early part of the summer's day, for, by four o'clock, each blossom is closed up from the dews which twilight brings; by nine o'clock the next morning, they will be all open again in their full loveliness, reminding us of the pretty fancy of Linnseus, who constructed a dial of such flowers as were constant in their habits of opening and closing at certain hours. Charlotte Smith has a beautiful little poem on such blossoms. "7n every copse and shelter'd dell, Unveil'd to the observant eye, Are faithful monitors which tell How pass the hours and seasons by. " The green-robed children of the spring Will mark the period as they pass, Mingle with leaves Time's feather'd wing, And bind with flowers his silent glass. " See Hieracium's various tribe Of plumy seed and radiate flowers ; The course of time their blooms describe, And wake or sleep appointed hours. " Broad o'er its imbricated cup The Goatsbeard spreads its golden rays. But shuts its cautious petals up, Retreating from the noontide blaze. " Among the loose and arid sands The humble Arenaria creeps ; Slowly the purple star expands, But soon within its calyx sleeps. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 257 " Thus in each flower and simple bell That in our path untrodden lie, Are mute remembrancers which tell How fast the winged minutes fly. " Time will steal on with ceaseless pace, Yet lose we not the fleeting hours, Who still their fairy footsteps trace, As light they dance among the flowers." The Purple and Sea-side Sandworts are, by some botanists, placed in a distinct genus, called Spergularia, from the resemblance to the Spurrey (Sperguld). They are by these writers termed Sandwort Spurrey. 13. CERA'STIUM (Mouse-ear Chiekweed). * Petals not longer than the calyx. 1. C.viscosum (Viscid Mouse-ear Chickweed). Stems hairy, viscid ; leaves oblong-, tapering ; flowers in pani- cles. Plant perennial. This is a very common plant, though one which is little noticed by any but the botanist. It would, however, if removed from the road, or field, or pasture where it grows, be missed by the singing-birds, which make a large demand on the cap- sules, so well stored with tiny seeds. Thomson has said, speaking of Nature, " All is form'd With number, weight, and measure, all design'd For some great end ! where not alone the plant Of stately growth ; the herb of glorious hue Or foodful substance : not the labouring steed, The herd and flock that feed us ; not the mine That yields us store for elegance and use ; The sea that loads our tables, and conveys The wanderer, Man, from clime to clime; with all VOL. I. L L 258 FLOWERING PLANTS Those rolling spheres that from on high shed down Their kindly influence ; not these alone, Which strike even eyes incurious, but each moss, Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank Important in the plan of Him who framed This scale of beings ; holds a rank, which, lost, Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap Which Nature's self would rue." This Mouse-ear Chickweed bears small white flowers throughout the summer, and its seed-vessels, as they ripen, lengthen and become curved. Its stems are spreading. 2. C. vulffdlum (Broad-leaved Mouse-ear Chickweed). Stem hairy, nearly erect, the upperpart viscid ; leaves egg-shaped ; petals as long as the calyx ; bracts leafy. Plant annual. This is a smaller species than the last, though, in other respects, very similar to it, but it may be distinguished by its tufted flowers ; these are white andinconspicuous,thepetalsbeingsometimes altogether wanting. They maybe found from March to September, and after flowering, the capsules, curving upwards as they ripen, occur in great numbers. The stem is much branched at the lower part, and grows to the height of six or eight inches. Lyell remarks of this Chickweed, that it is amongthemost common plants in the world, being a truly cosmopolite species. We may find it everywhere in our own land by road-sides, and in fields and pastures. weed, or Little Mouse-ear Chickweed). Leaves egg- shaped, or oblong ; stem hairy and viscid, bearing few flowers; upper half of all the bracts and sepals chafty. OP GREAT BRITAIN. 259 Plant annual. This is a common little herb on dry walls, or dry sandy bank sand waste places, distinguished from similar species by usually having five stamens, though in a few cases these are but four in number. It blossoms very early in the year, its white flowers being almost hidden by the calyx, which is twice as long as the petals. At the same season the little Vernal Whitlow Grass often grows beside it, though this chick- weed is more frequent than that plant, scarcely an old wall being without it. It remains in flower until May, withering, as Sir J. E. Smith observes, before the narrow-leaved species begins to put forth its far less conspicuous blossoms. It is a pretty little plant, very generally known by the name of Spring Mouse-ear. 4. C. tetrdndrum (Four-cleft Mouse-ear) . Leaves egg- shaped, or oblong ; stem forked, hairy, and somewhat viscid, with flowers in the forks ; calyx rather longer than the petals. Plant annual. This species, which is in flower from May to July, may be known by its four stamens; and this is a pretty constant character, though it occasionally has five : the corolla is also 4-cleft, and it has leafy bracts. It grows on waste places, walls, and sandy grounds, chiefly, as at Yarmouth, near the sea ; but it is not a common plant, and many botanists think it is merely a variety of the preceding species. * * Petals longer than the calyx. 5. C. arvense (Field Chick weed). Leaves narrow, tapering, downy ; petals twice as long as the sepals ; stem much branched, and bending down at the base. Plant perennial. This is by far the handsomest of our 260 FLOWERING PLANTS common Mouse-earChickweeds,havinglarge milk-white flowers, growing two or three together on terminal stalks. It blossoms during May and June, and it would remind us of the flower of the Greater Stitch wort, but that the petals are thicker in texture, while the foliage has a dull, greyish-green tint, instead of the rich bright green of the Stitch wort leaf, which resembles the young "blade of corn in its verdure. The Field Chickweed grows in dry sandy and gravelly places, on sunny banks or downs, and is, in some parts of England, a common flower, though in others unknown. It is less frequent in Scotland. 6. C. alpinum (Alpine Mouse-ear Chickweed). Stem ascending; leaves elliptical, egg-shaped, or oblong; flowers few ; bracts leafy, having usually a narrow mem- branous margin. Plant perennial. This is a truly alpine plant, growing high up on the mountains of the Highlands, on Helvellyn, and other lofty places, and often in great abundance. It is from three to five inches high, and bears, from June to August, large handsome white blossoms, which delight the lover of alpine flowers. The whole plant is often covered with soft silky down. 7. C. latifolium (Broad-leaved Alpine Mouse-ear Chickweed). Leaves somewhat egg-shaped; stem pros- trate and tufted; branches usually single-flowered. Plant perennial. This, too, is a mountain flower, its foliage wearing a deeper green tint than that of the last species ; yet, probably, it is not essentially distinct. It is chiefly distinguished by its solitary flowers, and by the yel- lowish down with which its leaves are covered. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 261 3. C. trigynum (Stitch wort Mouse-ear Chickweed). Stems bending, with an alternate hairy line; leaves oblong, tapering at the base ; flowers mostly terminal, two or three together. Plant perennial. This plant, which grows on the Breadalbane mountains of Scot- land, and on other mountains north of that range, has large flowers of pure white, during July and August. The much branched stems are from four to six inches high, and the foliage is downy. This plant is, by many writers, called Stellaria cerastoides. 9. C. aquaticum (Water Mouse-ear Chickweed). Lower leaves stalked, upper ones sessile, heart-shaped, tapering to a point ; capsule opening with five 2-cleft teeth. Plant perennial. This plant is the largest of the genus, and is, in its general habit, so similar to Stellaria nemorum, that many writers think that it should at least be considered as belonging to the same genus. It differs, however, from that plant by its fewer styles, and by having hairs only on the margin of its leaves. It has white flowers during July and August, and its stem is one or two feet high. Some writers make it a distinct genus, under the name of Maldchium, naming it from the Greek malakos, soft or feeble, on account of its weak straggling habit. The French call the Mouse-ear Chick-weed Ceraiste, the Germans Hornhraut, and the Dutch Hornbloem. ]4. CHERLERIA (Cyphel). 1. C. sedoides (Mossy Cyphel). Leaves crowded, slender, and awl-shaped ; flowers solitary ; calyx mem- branous at the edge ; petals none, or rarely present ; 262 .FLOWERING PLANTS stamens ten ; styles three. Plant perennial. This rare little Cypliel grows at the very summit of the Highland mountains, especially those of the Breadalbane range. It has long roots, and numerous densely tufted stems, which scarcely rise above the ground. Its yellowish green flowers are, in August, half hidden among its crowded leaves. John Henry Cherler, after whom the plant was named, assisted John Bauhin in preparing his " Historia Plantarium." 15. BUFEONIA. 1. B. dnnua. Stem loosely panicled from the base; branches spreading, short, and firm ; capsules scarcely so long as the calyx ; leaves awl-shaped, spreading at the base. Annual. This plant, though still retained in the list of our English flora, is now extinct in this country. It is recorded as having been found in the time of Dillenius and Plukenet, about Boston, in Lincolnshire, and on Hounslow Heath. Many bota- nists call this B. tenuifolia, but Sir W. Hooker and Dr. Arnott remark, "Linnaeus' B. tenuifolia is made up of several species ; hence it is better to adopt the name given by De Candolle." We have, on an earlier page, noticed the English rural names of many plants names given by the monks or herbalists of the olden days, expressive of the real or supposed virtues of plants, of religious or other associa- tions. The name Bnffonia reminds us of a large class of names, many of them of more modern date, given by botanists in memory of men of eminence. A very large number of names, both generic and specific, have this OP GREAT BRITAIN. 263 origin; and many, like the Banksias, Fuchsias, and Dahlias of our gardens, or the Cherleria, Linnsea, Sib- baldia, and others of our native plants serve to remind us of men who have done good service to the cause cf science. It is not often that a botanic name bears a contemptuous allusion, and when Sauvages gave the name of Buffonia tenuifolia to a plant, because its slender leaves were typical of the slender attainments made by the naturalist in botanical science, he deviated from the ordinary practice of botanists. It is true that Buffon knew little of plants true that he was a vain, man ; yet such of us as, like Baron Cuvier, learned from his glowing pictures of animated nature to look around us and mark the wonders and beauties of all living creatures, from the lion to the wren, feel unwilling to associate his name with one contemptuous thought. Flowers should be connected with nought that is un- amiable ; they are so lovely and so pure, such meet representations of all sweet and kindly sentiments, that we would fain link them but with loving and gentle memories. A few other well-known names of plants have a similar fault ; and LinnaBus, in his " Critica Botanica," mentions, that the genus Dorstenia, with its obsolete flowers, devoid of all beauty, alludes to the, antiquated and uncouth book of Dorstenius ; while the specific name of Hillia parasitica is thought by other botanists to be a just satire on the pompous pretensions of Sir John Hill, though probably Jacquin, who con- ferred it, might not so intend it. Linnaeus, in the book referred to, draws a fanciful analogy between the names of several plants and the botanists after whom they were 264 FLOWERING PLANTS designated. Thus, the genus Bauhinia was named after the two distinguished brothers, John and Caspar Bauhin, and its two-lobed or twin leaf seems an appropriate characteristic. Scheuchzeria, a grassy Alpine plant, Linnaeus says, commemorates the two Scheuchzers, one of whom excelled in the knowledge of alpine produc- tions, the other in that of grasses ; while Magnolia and Dillenia, the former with its noble leaves and flowers, and the latter with its beautiful blossoms and fruit, serve to immortalise two admirable botanists. Her- nandia, an American plant, one of the most beautiful of all trees in its foliage, but having only inconspicuous blossoms, bears the name of a botanist highly favoured by fortune, and to whom a large salary was given for investigating the natural history of the western world, but whose travels produced little result of any value. The remark made by the great Swedish botanist on the name of the plant called by Gronovius after himself, is somewhat touching. " The Linncea" he says, " a depressed abject Lapland plant, long overlooked, flowering at an early age, was named after its pro- totype Linnaeus." Many of the names given by ancient botanists to commemorate distinguished persons, or in allusion to the uses to which the plants were applied by their fabulous deities, are yet retained. Such are Centaurea, from Chiron, the Centaur; Euphorbia, the name of the Spurge genus, which immortalises the physi- cian of Juba, a Moorish prince; Gentiana, which tells of Gentius, King of Illyria, and has, as Gerarde would say, a "royal and princelie authoritie;" and OF GREAT BRITAIN. 265 AcliilUa, which connects our Yarrow with the renowned Greek warrior. Many excellent Greek and Latin names, which have been given at different periods, indicate, like others of our simple English ones, certain properties or striking peculiarities of the plant; such a&Amarant/tus, without decay, for an everlasting flower ; Helianthus, a sunflower ; Lithospermum, a stony seed, which is given to the Gromwells, from their hard nuts; Origanum, the joy of the mountain, given because the Marjoram thrives on elevated spots ; or Ar en aria, which is a plant of the sand. Of this latter class are some of the best and most expressive names used by botanists. Glaux mari- iima tells us at once that we may expect to find it on the sea-shore. Hottonia palustris, the Water Violet, suggests in its name the marshy habitat ; Sedum ru- pestre would lead us to look for the stonecrop on the rock ; Convolvulus arvensis tells of the cultivated field ; and Poa pratensis is the grass of the meadow. ORDER XV. LINE^. THE FLAX TRIBE. Sepals 3 5, overlapping while in bud, not falling off; petals equal in number to the sepals, twisted before unfolding, and falling soon after expansion ; stamens equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them, united at the base into a ring, with small teeth between them ; ovary of about as many cells as there are sepals, and as many styles; capsule approaching a globular VOL. i. &r M 266 FLOWERING PLANTS form, tipped with the hardened base of the styles, each cell incompletely separated by a partition extending from the back inwards ; seeds one in each imperfect cell, pendulous. This Order consists mostly of herbaceous plants, having yellow, white, or blue flowers. It is of great importance, as containing species the tenacious fibres of which are made into linen. LINUM (Flax). Sepals 5; petals 5; capsule 10- valved, and 10-celled. Name from the Celtic Lin, thread. 2. EADIOLA (Flax-seed). Sepals 4, connected below, 3-cleft ; petals 4 ; capsule 8-valved, and 8-celled. Name from radius, a ray, either from the ray-like segments of the calyx, or the radiate direction of the branches. 1. LINUM (Flax). * Leaves alternate. 1. L.perenne (Perennial Flax). Leaves very narrow, tapering to a sharp point ; sepals inversely egg-shaped, obtuse, obscurely 5-ribbed. Plant perennial. This flax growson cb alky hillsin many parts of England, as in Cam- bridgeshire, where one often sees its delicate blue flower in June and July, a flower so frail that the lightest breath of wind seems to make it quiver, and a butter- fly's passing wing to waft it away. The stems are very slender, about a foot high, several of them arising from one root. The narrow leaves are without stalks. 2. L. angustifolium (Narrow-leaved Flax). Leaves OP GREAT BRITAIN. 267 very narrow, tapering to a point; sepals elliptical, pointed, 3-ribbed. Plant perennial. This species is more common than the last, especially on the sandy pastures in the southern and western counties of Eng- land. It much resembles the Perennial Flax, but is characterised by its more pointed sepals, and the paler blue tint of its equally fragile flower, which expands in June and July. 3. L. usitatissimum. Stems mostly growing singly from the root ; leaves alternate, lanceolate ; sepals egg- shaped, acute, 3-nerved, slightly fringed ; petals edged with roundish notches. Plant annual. This species has blue flowers like the last, expanding, too, in the mid- summer months ; but it is altogether much larger, and the circumstance of its root bearing a single stern instead of several, is a marked feature of difference. The flower, too, is of a deeper blue colour, and the leaves are more distant. Though quite a common plant of our fields, especially near spots where flax has been cultivated, and though found wild almost all over Europe, yet we cannot claim it as a true native to our soil. It is Le Lin of the French, Der Flacks of the German, and the Vlascli of the Dutch. This species is the well-known thread, or clothing plant, so interesting in its associations, so valuable in its productions,and apparently amongthe earliest cultivated plants in the world. The reader of Holy Writ recals, at its mention, the period when, in the time of sorrow brought by God's anger upon the people of Egypt, the flax was smitten just as it was boiled, that is, furnished with a bole, or stem. The fine linen of Egypt, so often 268 FLOWERING PLANTS referred to in Scripture, and in other ancient records, was made from it ; and specimens of this fabric are yet to be seen in the linen in which the mummies are enfolded. The paintings of the grotto of El Kab yet show the whole process of the ancient manufacture with the greatest clearness ; while from the fact that Eahab hid the Hebrew spies among the flax spread on her roof, we must infer that the plant was also grown in Palestine in ancient days, as it is even now. It is thought that the preparation of flaxen thread was long almost confined to Egypt, and that the Jews procured it chiefly from thence, and used it in their fine twined work. The linen of Egypt was also used for sails; for when the Prophet describes the riches of ancient Tyre, he says, " Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail ;" and the Prophet Isaiah mentions the failure of the flax as one of the greatest calamities which should befal that country. " Moreover," he says, " they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded." Herodotus mentions that the Greeks received it in his days from Egypt. The Emperor Severus is recorded as the first Eoman who ever wore a linen shirt, for woollen garments were the usual attire both of the ancient Romans and Greeks. In the time of Pliny, however, flax was generally cultivated in many parts of Europe ; and that writer describes linen so fine as to equal the web woven by the spider, and at the same time so strong that it yielded a sound like the string of the lute. Still, however, the linen of Egypt had the preeminence ; for this writer records having OF GREAT BRITAIN 269 seen a linen net from that country, of which the threads were so fine, that, although every cord of the mesh was wrought of a hundred and fifty threads twisted together, yet it could be drawn through a finger ring. It is generally supposed that the culture of the flax plant was introduced into Britain during the first settle- ment of the Eomans, though some authors doubt whether linen was ever manufactured here before the Conquest, flax not being mentioned as a titheable article before the year 1175. In the sixteenth century acts were passed enforcing its culture in this country, and requiring that out of every sixty acres of land one rood should be devoted to flax or hemp grounds. Flax was for- merly grown much more generally in theUnited Kingdom than it now is. Little patches of the plant were reared by private families for their own use ; and an unwhole- some method of preparing it was practised, that, viz., of steeping the stalks of the plant in water, and leaving them in the sun till the green tissue was decomposed by the elements. Some streams and ponds close by dwellings were so injured by this means, that in the time of Henry VIII. and James I. acts were passed prohibiting people, under a heavy penalty, from the practice of steep- ing flax in any water to which cattle had access. Even the process of macerating the flax by exposure to sun and rain, must, if the plant was in any quantity, have inju- riously affected the air of the neighbourhood. Many pretty domestic pictures of olden writers, and many a painting wrought by the artist, remind us of the time when flax was spun at the cottage-door into the garment of family use. A little poem, written for this work 270 FLOWERING PLANTS by Mary Isabella Tomkins, whose verses so often charm the readers of " Household Words," alludes to these times : THE FLAX FLOWER. w It shimmers in the sunshine, That cup of clearest blue, As it did love to see above Its own reflected hue ; A fair flower and a fragile, Each zephyr bears it down, Yet know I none beneath the sun, More worthy of renown. " And ever when we see it, What pleasant fancies steal, Of how, around the fireside found, We watch'd the spinning-wheel; The spinning-wheel unwearied, When labour else was o'er ; And saw how swift the shadows shift It casteth on the floor ! " There wrought the cottage mother, We list'ners gave good heed, As loved she well with pride to tell What stores she kept for need ; And how her skill the Preacher Applauds with kindly words, Whose distaff and whose spindle heap'd Of old such household hoards." Extensive flax plantations are to be found in various parts of Scotland and Ireland, and in the latter country it supplies the material for its large linen manufacture. Happily, this culture is on the increase in that land; and manufacturing capital and industry, and agricultural skill, are now being more brought into action in this OF GREAT BRITAIN. 271 way, thus affording a large means of employment to the poor, since women, and even children, may work in the flax-grounds. Many agriculturists regret that flax is not more generally planted throughout the United King- dom, as many parts are admirably adapted to its growth; and with the exception of the Lake district, the moun- tainous parts of Wales, Dartmoor, and a few places in Ireland and the borders of Scotland, the climate is well suited for the growth of this plant. Its cultivation differs very widely from that of any other crop, quality rather than weight being the desired object. Large supplies of flax have hitherto been derived from France, and Egypt, but most especially from Russia, Holland, and Belgium. The greatest attention is paid to flax at Court-ray, and its produce is used for making the finest lace and cambric, the Russian flax being mostly em- ployed in manufacturing canvas and stout cloths. Our wild perennial flax affords almost as good a fibre as that which is more frequently cultivated. The seeds of both also contain a large quantity of oil, from which is expressed the linseed oil of commerce, and the refuse forms the substance called oil-cake, which is used as food for cattle. From the strong fibres of the flax yarn is spun, and to them we owe our coarsest and our finest linen, from the sheet and tablecloth to the cambric handkerchief, and the lint used by the surgeon. Even whenthesehaveservedtheirhouseholdpurposes,the frag- ments have other uses, and we may bid them go down *' Into the paper-mill, and from its jaws Stainless and smooth emerge. Happy shall be Its renovation, if ou its fair page 272 FLOWERING PLANTS Wisdom and Truth their hallow'd lineaments Trace for posterity. So shall its end Be better than its birth." Both the Perennial and the Common Flax are often planted as border flowers in gardens, and many beau- tiful species are introduced hither from other countries. The lovely Golden Flax (Linum trigynuni), which has blossomed in a stove in this country, has a yellow flower as large as that of the Eschscholtzia, and was seen by Captain Hardwicke on the sides of the mountains of India, flowering in great profusion, in December. Its provincial name is Gul asJiorifee, " flower of the gold coin." * * Leaves opposite. 4. Z. cathdrticum (Cathartic Flax). Leaves oblong, broader at the base ; sepals pointed. Plant annual. This pretty little flax is very different from the other species in regard to size, but the little vase-like blossom is formed like theirs. It is of pure white, and so small, that an emmet would hardly find shelter within its cup. The whole plant has the slender elegance of the Flax tribe. It flowers from June to August, drooping grace- fully before expansion. This is a very common species on meadows, chalky hills, and cliffs, where it grows beside the Eyebright, the Eock-rose, and Wild Thyme, acquiring, from its love of hill sides, the country name of Mill Mountain. It has a long-established reputation in villages as a cure for rheumatism. It rarely grows to the height of six inches, and is as common on the chalky soils of France as on our own. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 273 2. KADIOLA (Flax-seed). 1. R Mitterrand (Thyme-leaved Flax-seed). Leaves distant, egg-shaped, entire, smooth ; jloicers solitary, on short stalks. Plant annual. This is not a very common plant, though occurring in many parts of our island, and is one of the smallest of our wild flowers. Sir William Hooker and Dr. Arnott remark of the leaves, that when under a high power of the microscope, they are seen to be dotted. The flowers are white, growing among the leaves, but they would hardly be observed were they not so numerous. They expand in July and August. Moist boggy soils, and lands in which gravel prevails, are the places on which we must look for this Flax-seed, which, from its small size, is doubtless often passed by without being seen. ORDER XVI. MALVACEAE. THE MALLOW TRIBE. Sepals 5, more or less united at the base, valvate in bud, and often enclosed in an outer calyx ; petals 5, twisted while in bud ; stamens numerous, and united by their filaments into a tube; ovary formed of several carpels united in a radiate manner ; styles of the same number as the carpels, either distinct or united; capsules 1-seeded, placed in a whorl round the style; leaves alternate, with stipules. This Order contains a large VOL. T. N N 274 FLOWERING PLANTS number of shrubs and herbaceous plants ; most of them are clothed with down, and the kidney-shaped 1 -celled anthers are found in all. All the species abound in a nutritious mucilage, and no plant among them pos- sesses any unwholesome properties. This mucilage is extracted from many by boiling, and is valuable as a medicine ; and several of the mallow tribe are useful as food. The young heads of the Hibiscus esculentus, the Ochro of eastern countries, are much valued as an ingre- dient in soups ; and the Abiitilon esculentum serves the same purpose in Brazil. Several of the Hibiscus tribe afford excellent medicines; and the Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis is the Shoe-flower of the East Indies, its juice being used instead of blacking. In China it is also employed for dyeing the hair black, while the seeds of several other species are used as coffee ; but the most valuable plant of the ti ibe is the Gossypium, the Cotton- bearer, which affords the cotton of our manufactures. This substance is the downy investiture of the seeds with which the pods are filled, and which is picked off for use. The seeds, after being stripped of the down, are bruised for the oil which they contain, or furnish a wholesome and nutritious article of food. 1. MA'LVA (Mallow). Styles numerous; outer calyx 3-leaved ; inner 5-cleft. Name from the Greek malache, soft, from their emollient mucilage. 2. LAVATERA (Tree Mallow). Styles numerous; outer calyx 3-lobed ; inner 5-cleft. Named in honour of the two Lavaters, friends of Tournefort. 3. ALTHAEA (Marsh Mallow). Styles numerous; outer OF GEEAT BRITAIN. 275 calyx 6 9 cleft. Name from the Greek dlt/io, to cure, from its healing nature. 1. MA'LVA (Mallow). 1. M. sylvestris (Common Mallow). Stem ascending, or erect ; root-leaves kidney-shaped, with 7 acute lobes; fruit-stalks erect ; fruit not downy, wrinkled. Plant perennial. Every one knowsour common Mallow. Marsh or Mash- mallow,as countrypeople frequently and erroneouslyterm it. A very handsome flower it is, when, in the summer months, from June to August, its lilac petals are lying fully open, and giving a bright tint to many a waste piece of ground or field border. This species is not frequent in Scotland, but in England it is universally so ; and we have only to walk out of our metropolis towards any of its suburbs, and we are sure to find its large handsome rounded leaves, when fresh and young being bright green, but soon becoming, as the plant grows older, ragged and grey. Under the rock, by the road side, or in the nook where the long bramble-stems are twining, or the large dock-leaves are clustering, many a bright clump of mallow is to be found. " To me the wilderness of thorns and brambles, Beneath whose weeds the muddy runnel scrambles ; The bald burnt moor, the marshy sedgy shallows Where docks, bulrushes, water-flags, and mallows Choke the rank Avaste, alike can yield delight ; A blade of silver hair-grass nodding slowly In the soft wind ; the thistle's purple crown, The ferns, the rushes tall, and uiosses lowly 276 FLOWERING PLANTS A thorn, a weed, an insect, or a stone, Can thrill me with sensations exquisite For all are exquisite, and every part Points to the Mighty Hand that fashion'd it." It is not alone in its beauty of tint and in its use to man and animal, that the mallow offers indications of the great Creator's skill. The minute grains of white pollen, or powder, which stud its central column, coming off on our fingers as we touch it, are exquisitely beautiful when examined by the aid of a microscope. Small as they are, their structure is wonderfully organized, each minute particle being, as in several other plants of the Order, a minute globe surrounded with prickles j or, as Linnaeus described it, each grain resembles the wheel of a watch, the prickles giving to its globular form this toothed appearance. This pollen is in an earlier stage contained in the anther, which, as we have stated, is kidney-shaped, and which is like a little box filled with these grains of pollen. The anther of plants is at all times a wondrous object; sometimes it consists of several cells, but most frequently it is formed of two, and sometimes, as in the mallow, of but one. When the pollen is ripe, the anthers burst, and discharge their contents. The granules of pollen are often oblong, but some, like those of the Portugal Dill, {Amthumsege- lum,} are cylindrical, and in some plants, as the Virginian Spider- wort, they are curved; others are square, or oval, and in the Evening Primrose the shape is triangular, with the angles so much dilated as to give the sides a convex form ; some, like those of the mallow, are stud- ded with prickles, and most are furrowed. This pollen OF GREAT BRITAIN. 277 is full of a matter exuded at its bursting; and we subjoin a description given by Professor Lindley of one of the curious contrivances for its emission, affording one of those instances of Divine skill which become more appa- rent the more we examine the works of God in Nature. BeferringtothepollenofthePassion-flowerthisbotanist tells us that each spherical grain has on its surface three equidistant circles, which indicate the lines at which it opens ; at the proper time those parts of the coat of the grain contained within the circle separate from the rest, like little lids, and allow the contents of the pollen to escape. The colour of the pollen of the mallow is white slightly tinged with lilac, and it varies in different plants to almost every colour except green. It is more often yellow than of any other tint ; but in the tall willow herb called French Willow, the pollen is blue ; in the Mullein it is red, and in the Tulip black. So wonder- fully regular, however, are all the characters of natural objects even themost minute that a skilful botanist can exactly discover the class of a plant by examining its pollen with a microscope. The American Journal of Science for June, 1842, gives a very interesting account of some showers of pollen, one of which fell at Troy, New York, and another in the harbour of Picton. In the latter case, so large a quantity of pollen was carried through the air, on a serene night in June, that a portion alighting on a vessel in the harbour had to be collected and thrown over by the bucket-full in the morning. A small quantity of the powder was, in each of these cases, preserved, and sent to Professor J. W, Bailey, for micro- 278 FLOWERING PLANTS scopicexamination. This gentleman ascertained that the powder which fell at Picton was wholly composed of the pollen of a species of pine, and that the substance col- lected from Troy was formed of that of various trees, though he was unable to state with certainty from what trees it had proceeded. Drawings of the three forms of pollen met with in this powder from Troy were fur- nished by Professor Bailey ; and Mr. Hassall, after ex- amination, considered that two of them have to be referred to some endogenous plants, one, most probably, to a species of grass, the other, perhaps, to a plant of the water-lily genus ; and that the third form was unquestion- ably the pollen of an exogenous plant, not unlikely to be that of the hazel. The great quantity of granular sub- stances analogous to seeds which exist in the club- mosses, led to the suggestion that this pollen might have arisen from these plants ; but Professor Bailey considered this as unlikely, because the club-mosses do not produce these grains till a later season ; and Mr. Hassall arrived at the same conclusion, because the figures of the pollen did not agree in form with the s'porules or seeds of the club-mosses. The seeds of the mallow are often by country children, both in England and France, called cheeses; and many of us besides Clare can recal " The sitting down, when school was o'er, Upon the threshold of the door, Picking from mallows sport to please, The crumpled seed we call'd a cheese." The leaves of the mallow are used as an application to wounds, and are often boiled and placed, with excellent OF GREAT BRITAIN. 27