In the present chapter we shall consider a number of wild flowers that are to be found by the waysides, including banks and hedgerows, and in waste places, during the spring months.

Our first example is the Celandine (Chelidonium majus), of the Poppy family (order PapaveraceÆ), generally spoken of as the Greater Celandine in order to distinguish it from the Lesser Celandine (p. 108), which belongs to the RanunculaceÆ. This plant is moderately common in shady hedgerows and waste places, grows to a height of from one to two feet, and flowers from May to July or August. It has a yellow, pungent, poisonous sap. The leaves are pinnate, with an odd leaflet at the tip, of a glaucous green colour; and all the leaflets are bluntly lobed. The flowers are yellow, from three-quarters to an inch in diameter, and are arranged in long-stalked umbels. As in the poppies, there are two sepals which fall early, and four petals which are crumpled in the bud. There are numerous stamens, attached below the superior ovary; and the latter ripens into a pod-like capsule of one chamber, about an inch and a half in length, which splits, when ripe, into two valves.

The Order CruciferÆ is well represented by the wayside and on waste ground during the spring months, and the reader will do well to note the general characters of the flowers of this order (p. 17), unless already acquainted with them, before attempting to identify the species here described. Our first example—the Shepherd's Purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris) is a well-known weed, often troublesome in our gardens, and may be seen in bloom from February to October. It is an erect herb, from six to eighteen inches high, which may be identified at once by reference to our illustration. The small white flowers are in lengthening racemes, and are often made less conspicuous by the conversion of the four petals into stamens. This weed is easily distinguished from all the other plants of the order by the form of the fruit, which is triangular and inversely heart-shaped. When ripe, it splits into two boat-shaped, keeled valves, which separate from a central membrane to which the seeds are attached.

The Common Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia officinalis) is to be found chiefly on the sea shore, but it often extends for miles inland, especially along the banks of the estuaries of rivers. It is a smooth, succulent plant, from four to eight inches high. The little white flowers have spreading petals, and are arranged in a short raceme; and the fruit is globular or oval, nearly a quarter of an inch long, pointed at the top, with several seeds in each cell. This plant commences to flower in May, and continues in bloom until August.

The Common Whitlow Grass (Draba verna) is a very small and inconspicuous plant, abundant on banks and hedgerows, bearing minute, white flowers in April and May. It has a cluster of narrow, toothed, hairy, radical leaves, from a quarter to half an inch long, that spread horizontally close to the ground; and a leafless stem, from one to four inches long, bearing a raceme of flowers on slender pedicels. The petals of the flowers are deeply notched; and the fruits are oblong, about a quarter of an inch long and half that width, containing many seeds.

Two species of Winter Cress (genus Barbarea) are common in waste land—the Common Winter Cress or Yellow Rocket (B. vulgaris), and the Early Winter Cress or American Cress (B. prÆcox). The former is an erect plant, from one to two feet high, with numerous, small, yellow flowers in a loose raceme, blooming from May to August. The radical leaves are pinnately divided, with a large, rounded, terminal lobe, and side lobes becoming smaller towards the base; and the upper leaves are oval and irregularly toothed. All the leaves are smooth and glossy, and of a deep green colour. The fruits are short, and thicker than the pedicels. A double variety of this flower is commonly cultivated in flower gardens.

The Early Winter Cress is a very similar plant, flowering at the same time, but is of a more slender habit, and has narrower leaves, the upper of which are pinnately divided. The flowers are also larger, and arranged in a closer raceme; and the fruit is longer, but not thicker than the pedicel. This species is cultivated as a salad, and frequently occurs as a garden escape.

Two species of Sisymbrium are also very common—the Garlic Mustard (S. alliaria), also known as Sauce Alone and Jack-by-the-Hedge; and the Thale Cress or Wall Cress (S. Thaliana). The first named is one of the commonest of our hedgerow flowers. It grows to a height of one or two feet, and bears, from April to June, a corymbose cluster of pure white flowers, each about a quarter of an inch in diameter. The stem and leaves, when crushed, emit a distinct odour of garlic. The former is slightly branched; and the leaves are large, stalked, broadly cordate, with many prominent veins, coarsely toothed, and of a delicate green colour. The fruits are erect, about two inches long, on short pedicels.

The Thale Cress grows on dry banks and walls, and displays its minute white flowers from April to the end of the summer. The stem is erect, slender and branched, from six to ten inches in height; and the leaves, which are nearly all radical, are simple, oblong-lanceolate, toothed and downy. The fruits of this species are erect, narrow, with four obscure angles, and about twice as long as their stalks.

The Rape or Cole-seed (Brassica napus) is a cruciferous weed commonly occurring in cultivated ground, and often cultivated for its seeds. It grows from one to two feet high, and bears corymbose clusters of yellow flowers during May and June. Its root is fusiform (spindle-shaped), and all its leaves are smooth and of a sea-green colour. The lower leaves are lyrately pinnate, with toothed edges; and the stem leaves are ovate-lanceolate, acute, embracing the stem. The pods spread as they ripen.

The Wild Turnip (Brassica Rapa) is a very similar plant, producing its yellow flowers from April to July. Its root is tuberous and fleshy. The lower leaves are hairy and rough, and not of the glaucous green characterising the last species, while the upper leaves are glaucous and smooth.

The Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)—the favourite flower of wayside banks—is common in many parts, and is generally very easily distinguished from other similar species of the order (ViolaceÆ) by its pleasing fragrance. It has a short root-stock, and, usually, long creeping runners. At the top of the stock is a cluster of long-stalked leaves, broadly heart-shaped in form, blunt, with crenate margins and a slightly downy surface. At the base of the leafstalks are very narrow, entire stipules; and from among these arise the slender flower-stalks, of about the same length as those bearing the leaves, with a pair of small bracts a little above the middle. The flowers are solitary, drooping, of a violet, lilac, or white colour, with obtuse sepals; a short, blunt, straight spur to the lower petal; and a hooked, pointed stigma. The conspicuous, scented flowers with which we are so well acquainted, bloom from March to April; but all through the summer the plant bears small petalless flowers that produce the seeds.

Of the order CaryophyllaceÆ our first example is the Ciliated Pearlwort (Sagina ciliata), a small, creeping plant, flowering in May and June in dry places. The leaves are very small, narrow, ciliated, terminating abruptly in a sharp point; and the two of each pair are united at their bases. The flowers are very small and stalked; and the petals are either very minute or absent. The sepals, stamens, styles, and valves of the capsule, are each four; and the sepals lie close against the capsule.

The Procumbent Pearlwort (S. procumbens), also found in dry places, is a similar little plant, smooth and prostrate, with very small white flowers that appear in May and bloom till the end of the summer. The peduncles of this species curve backward just after flowering, but become erect afterwards; and the sepals, which are sometimes five in number, are not close against the fruit, as in the last, but spreading.

The genus Stellaria includes some plants with pretty, white, star-like flowers, some of which adorn our hedgerows in early spring. The most conspicuous of these is the Greater Stitchwort or Satin Flower (S. Holostea), the flowers of which are three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and are arranged in loose, leafy cymes. The sepals have no veins, and are about half as long as the petals, which are so deeply cleft that the flower, at first sight, appears to possess ten instead of five.

The Lesser Stitchwort (S. graminea) is a very similar flower, common in dry places, blooming from May to August. The plant is smooth, and does not possess the glaucous hue of the last species. The stem is very straggling and slender, from one to three feet long; and the leaves are grass-like, sessile, and acute. The flowers are very similar to those of the Greater Stitchwort, but are smaller. The sepals have each three veins, and are as long as the petals.

The Little Chickweed (S. media), so troublesome in our gardens, belongs to the same genus. Its decumbent, branching stem has a longitudinal line of hairs placed alternately on opposite sides from joint to joint; and its ovate, smooth, succulent leaves are shortly pointed, the lower ones having hairy stalks. The little star-like, white flowers grow from the axils of the leaves, and have each five hairy sepals, as long as the deeply-cleft petals, with narrow, membranous margins.

These three species of Stellaria, and, in fact, all the species of the genus, are distinguished by their divided petals and the presence of three styles; but there is another group of flowers in the same order known as the Mouse-ear Chickweeds (Cerastium), also with divided petals, but having either four or five styles.

Three of the species of this group may be included among the spring flowers of waysides. One of these is the Broad-leaved or Clustered Mouse-ear Chickweed (Cerastium glomeratum), which flowers from April to the end of the summer. It has an erect, sticky, hairy stem; and pale green ovate leaves. The little white flowers are tufted, on short stalks, with sepals and petals of equal length. A second—the Narrow-leaved Mouse-ear Chickweed (C. triviale)—has a similar but spreading stem; and the leaves are narrow, and of a deep green colour. In this one, too, the sepals and petals are equal; but the former are hairy, and the flower-stalks are longer. The other is the Field Mouse-ear Chickweed (C. arvense), which has numerous white flowers, in forked cymes, blooming from April to August. Its stem is hairy, prostrate, from six to ten inches long; the leaves very narrow; and the sepals only about half as long as the petals.

The pretty Wild Geraniums, of which there are several species, often form a very attractive feature of the wayside. They are readily recognised as a group by the swollen joints of their stems; the simple, stipuled, lobed leaves; the axillary flowers; and the fruit composed of five distinct carpels, with their five long styles adhering to a long central beak. The flowers have five distinct petals and sepals, and ten stamens, five of which become alternately larger. When the fruit is ripe the five carpels separate, and are raised by the curving of the smooth styles which remain for a time attached to the beak.

In early April, and from then to August or September, the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill (Geranium molle) may be seen in flower by the wayside. The plant is prostrate, soft and downy, with rounded leaves lobed and cut. The pretty pink or lilac flowers are from a third to half an inch in diameter, with abruptly-pointed sepals and notched petals. This species may be readily distinguished from similar plants of the same genus by the smooth, wrinkled capsules, and smooth seeds.

A second species—the Jagged-leaved Crane's-bill (G. dissectum)—is also very common in wastes and by waysides. It is a hairy, rather than a downy plant, with spreading stems from one to two feet long; and displays its bright red, shortly-stalked flowers from April to August. The flowers, which vary from a quarter to half an inch in diameter, have long-pointed sepals and notched petals.

A third species, also very common, is the Herb Robert (G. Robertianum), characterised by a strong odour, and red, hairy, spreading, succulent stems one or two feet long. The leaves are compound, with three or five deeply-divided leaflets, and turn to a bright crimson colour in late summer. The flowers are half an inch or more in diameter, with ovate entire petals, of a pink colour and beautifully veined. The sepals have long points, and are rendered very viscid by glandular hairs. A white-flowered variety of this geranium is occasionally seen.

We have now to note four of the spring leguminous plants (order LeguminosÆ)—plants belonging to the Pea family, distinguished by their butterfly-like flowers, and, usually, by compound, stipuled leaves. Our first example is the Black Medick or Non-such (Medicago lupulina) which is common in wastes, by the waysides and in pastures. This is a procumbent, spreading plant, with stems from six inches to two feet in length, and leaflets inversely egg-shaped, with finely-toothed edges. The flowers, which appear in April, and continue to bloom till near the end of the summer, are small, yellow, and arranged in dense oblong spikes. The calyx has five teeth, and the pods are kidney-shaped, each with only one seed.

In shady grassy or bushy places we may see the Crimson Vetch or Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus Nissolia) which, although not common, is rather frequent in the midland and southern counties of England. It is a very slender plant, from one to two feet high, bearing crimson flowers in May and June, and may be identified at once by reference to our illustration.

The pretty Bird's-foot (Ornithopus perpusillus) is commonly found on waste ground, more particularly on sandy soils. It has a spreading, prostrate stem, from six to eighteen inches long, and pinnate leaves with from about fifteen to twenty-five elliptical, downy leaflets. The flowers appear to be pink when viewed from a distance; but, when examined closely, are seen to have cream coloured petals that are veined with crimson. They are arranged in heads, of a few flowers each, on long stalks, with a leaf immediately below each head. The pods are curved, and made up of from seven to nine oval, one-seeded joints, with a terminal beak resembling the claw of a bird, so that each cluster of pods has much the appearance of a bird's foot. This plant flowers from April to July.

Our other example of leguminous flowers is the Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium)—a climbing plant with stem two or three feet long, very common in hedges, flowering from April to August. The leaves are pinnate, with from twelve to eighteen oval, blunt leaflets which increase in size towards the base. The flowers are pale purple, and are arranged in axillary racemes of from four to six, on very short peduncles. The style is tufted on one side, and the pods are smooth and erect.

We have now to note a flower of the Rose order (RosaceÆ), but since it is common for a beginner to be confused by the general resemblance of some of the flowers of this group to some of the RanunculaceÆ, it may be well to point out that in the latter the stamens are united to the receptacle of the flower, below the carpels, while in the rose order the stamens are attached around or on the ovary itself.

The Strawberry-leaved Cinquefoil or Barren Strawberry (Potentilla Fragariastrum) is very similar to the Wild Strawberry, with which it is often confused; but no difficulty will arise if it be noted that the species we are now considering produces no running stems. The Barren Strawberry is a silky little plant, with a thick, prostrate stem; and, as one of its popular names implies, a ternate leaf resembling that of the Wild Strawberry. The flowers are white, half an inch or less in diameter, on slender peduncles, with notched petals. This is one of our earliest spring flowers, blooming from February or early March to about the end of May; and is very common on banks, in hedgerows, and in weedy wastes.

The Tuberous Moschatel (Adoxa Moschatellina) is a very inconspicuous but an interesting little plant. It is sometimes placed in the same order (AraliaceÆ) as the Ivy, while some botanists regard it as belonging to the Honeysuckle family (order CaprifoliaceÆ). It has a scaly, creeping, thick, underground stem or rhizome, and a four-angled aerial stem; and the whole plant emits the scent of musk. The flowers are small, of a yellowish-green colour, and are clustered together into five-flowered, terminal heads. The petals are spreading, the stamens four or five in number, and the fruit is berry-like, with one-seeded chambers. The plant is only four or five inches in height, and though not common, may be found in shady places in many parts. It flowers during April and May.

The White or Red-berried Bryony (Bryonia dioica) is a very common hedgerow climber, the only British representative of its order (CucurbitaceÆ). It has a very thick rootstock; a slender stem, that often reaches a length of ten feet or more; large, bright green, palmate leaves with three, five or seven angular, coarsely-toothed lobes; and long simple or branched tendrils. The flowers are imperfect, the males and females growing on separate plants. The former are of a pale yellow colour, in stalked clusters, each one consisting of a spreading, five-lobed corolla, about half an inch in diameter, and five stamens, one of which is free, while the other four are united in pairs: the females are smaller, generally in pairs, each consisting of a globular ovary with three stigmas, and a superior, five-lobed corolla. The fruit is a scarlet or orange-coloured berry, about a third of an inch in diameter, containing several seeds. The whole plant is clothed with small, white hairs, and contains an acrid sap. Time of flowering—May to September.

The Common Beaked Parsley (Anthriscus vulgaris), of the order UmbelliferÆ, is very common by waysides, flowering during May and June. The stem of this plant is smooth and shining, from two to three feet high, slightly swollen at the nodes. The leaves are tri-pinnate, with blunt segments, and slightly hairy on the under side. The white flowers are arranged in compound umbels with short stalks, and the umbels droop before the flowers open. There are no bracts at the base of the main pedicels, but five or six bracteoles, with fringed edges, lie at the foot of the secondary pedicels. The fruits are short, ovate, with short beaks and hooked bristles. As with the other members of this genus, the petals have an inflexed lip.

This genus includes the Chervil or Wild Beaked Parsley (A. sylvestris), which is very common in hedges and waysides, flowering from April to June. It grows from three to four feet high, and has tri-pinnate leaves with coarsely-serrated edges. The umbels are terminal, on long stalks. There are no bracts, but about five narrow, ovate bracteoles with fringed edges. The flowers are white; and the fruits are long and narrow, smooth, with short beaks.

The Garden Beaked Parsley (A. cerefolium) is very similar to the last species, but has only three bracteoles in a whorl, and the umbels are lateral and shortly stalked. Also, the fruit, which is of the same form, has a longer beak. This species is not a native, but is often found as a garden escape. It grows to a height of about eighteen inches, and flowers from May to July.

Our last example of the UmbelliferÆ is the Goutweed, Bishop-weed or Herb Gerard (Ægopodium Podagraria), a rather coarse, erect, smooth plant, from one to two feet high, commonly seen in wayside ditches and other damp places. It was formerly cultivated largely for medicinal purposes, consequently it is to be found chiefly near towns and villages, where it occurs as a garden escape. It has a creeping, aromatic stock; a hollow, grooved stem; large long-stalked, biternate radical leaves, with ovate or narrow, toothed segments, two or three inches long; and smaller stem-leaves with fewer segments. The flowers are greenish white, in umbels of many rays, with few or no primary or secondary bracts; and the fruits are oblong, about a sixth of an inch long, with the two diverging styles curved downward. The plant flowers from May to August.

On dry banks by the wayside we may commonly meet with the Crosswort or Mugwort (Galium Cruciatum) of the Bed-straw Family (RubiaceÆ). It is a prostrate plant, with stem from six to eighteen inches long; and soft, downy, elliptical leaves arranged crosswise in whorls of four. Its fragrant little yellow flowers are in whorled, axillary cymes, each cluster having from six to eight blossoms. The lower flowers have stamens and no pistil, and the upper ones pistil only. The fruits are smooth. The time of flowering is from April to June.

Composite flowers (Order CompositÆ) are mostly summer-bloomers, but three at least are very common by waysides in spring. One of these is the Mouse-ear Hawkweed (Hieracium Pilosella), a slender plant with leafy runners, rendered silky in appearance by long, soft hairs. The stem is almost leafless, but there are elliptical-lanceolate, entire, radical leaves covered, especially on the under side, by starlike hairs. The yellow heads are solitary, on stalks varying from two to ten inches long. This species flowers from May to August.

The second species is the Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), which may be seen in bloom throughout the year. Though so well known, we think it advisable to call attention to one or two of its characteristic features. The leaves are smooth, deeply cut, toothed, and half clasp the stem. The flower-heads have no ray florets; and the outer bracts are very short, with black tips.

From March to April almost all damp places are more or less thickly dotted with the bright yellow flowers of the Colt's-foot (Tussilago Farfara); and later, after all the flowers have ceased to bloom, the same places are covered with the large, heart-shaped, angular leaves, four or five inches wide, thickly clothed beneath with a loose, cottony down which is also sparingly scattered over the upper surface. The early flowering stems are rather thick and fleshy, about six inches high, and downy. They bear a number of small, narrow, erect, scale-like leaves, and, at the top, a single flower-head, surrounded by a whorl of narrow bracts, and a few smaller outer bracts. The inflorescence consists of several whorls of narrow, strap-shaped, outer florets, with no stamens; and a few central, tubular, perfect florets. The fruits are cylindrical, with a tuft of long, simple hairs.

The Speedwells (Veronica) belong to the order ScrophulariaceÆ. They are all herbs, with simple leaves; slightly irregular flowers with an unequally four-cleft, spreading corolla, the lower lobe of which is smallest; and only two stamens. At least six species of this genus may be found by waysides, in flower during the spring months.

One of these—the Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia), is common in most waste places. It is a small plant, with a downy, prostrate stem from three to ten inches long. The leaves are broadly elliptical, slightly crenate, blunt, and somewhat leathery in nature. The flowers are about a quarter of an inch across, of a light blue or lilac colour, striped with dark blue veins; and appear from May to July. They are arranged in several spike-like, many-flowered racemes. The corolla tube is very short; the style long and persistent; and the fruits are inversely-cordate capsules.

The Common Speedwell (V. officinalis) is a small plant, with hairy, prostrate stems from two to ten inches in length. It is common in dry places. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, serrate, with short stalks. The pale blue flowers, which are only about a sixth of an inch in diameter, are in many-flowered, axillary, spike-like racemes. The capsules are of the same form as in the last species, but are deeply notched. This species flowers from May to July.

The Germander Speedwell (Veronica ChamÆdrys) is one of our most beautiful and most abundant spring flowers. It is very common on banks and by roadsides, flowering during May and June. Its stem is weak, decumbent, rooting at the base, often considerably more than a foot in length, and remarkable for the line of hairs that changes to alternate sides at each node. A raceme of flowers, much longer than the leaves, arises from several of the nodes. The flowers are bright blue, about half an inch in diameter, with a four-cleft calyx; a deeply four-cleft corolla, the lower lobe of which is narrowest; and two prominent stamens. The fruit is a very broad, flat capsule, notched at the top, narrowed towards the base, splitting into two valves when ripe.

A fourth species, the Wall Speedwell (V. arvensis), is abundant on walls and dry roadsides. It is a prostrate, downy plant, generally more or less thickly covered with dust, flowering from April to about the end of summer. The stem is from four inches to a foot in length, and two lines of hairs run along the branches. The leaves are oval-cordate, crenate, and slightly stalked. The flowers are very small and inconspicuous, and are frequently almost completely hidden by the crowded upper leaves. They have very short corolla-tubes, and are arranged in loose, terminal, spikelike racemes.

The Grey Field Speedwell (V. polita) is common in waste places and rough fields, flowering from April to September. Its flowers are bright blue, about a quarter of an inch across, solitary, axillary, on stalks which are longer than the leaves. The sepals are broadly oval and pointed, and the petals are all of the same colour. The leaves of this plant are stalked, cordate, and irregularly toothed.

Our last example of the order is the Green Field Speedwell (V. agrestis), also common in fields and by the roadside. It has several prostrate stems, from four to eight inches long; and stalked, cordate leaves with irregularly serrate margins. The flowers are small, about a fifth of an inch across, solitary, axillary, on stalks shorter than the leaves. The sepals are narrow, oblong, and blunt; and the lower petal is white. This species flowers from April to the end of the summer.

The Dead Nettles (genus Lamium, of the order LabiatÆ) may be readily distinguished from the Stinging Nettles, with which they are often confused, by their square stems, and whorls of showy, lipped flowers. Further, these flowers may be recognised from among the others of their own order by the ten-ribbed, bell-shaped calyx; and by the one or two teeth on each side of the lower lip of the corolla.

Three of this group are very common wayside spring flowers. One is the White Dead Nettle (Lamium album), with large, white flowers forming whorls in the axils of the leaves. The leaves of this plant are all stalked, cordate, with a very sharp point, deeply serrate, and often marked with white blotches. The teeth of the calyx are narrow, as long as the tube, with long slender points; and the tube of the corolla is curved, longer than the calyx, gradually widening from below upwards. The two lower stamens are longer than the upper pair, and the anthers are black. The plant varies from six to eighteen inches in height, and flowers from April to September.

The Red Dead Nettle (L. purpureum) grows to the same height, but has much smaller cordate or kidney-shaped leaves, with blunt apices and crenate edges. The upper ones are very crowded, and often tinged with red; and all the leaves are stalked. The flowers are small, of a red-purple colour (rarely white), in crowded whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. The tube of the corolla is straight, longer than the calyx; and the calyx teeth are spreading.

The third species—the Cut-leaved Dead Nettle (L. incisum or L. hybridum)—is not so abundant as the other two, but moderately common on waste land. Its leaves, which are all stalked, are very deeply cut in a serrate manner; the lower ones being cordate, while the upper are more triangular. The flowers are of a rose-red colour, in crowded whorls near the top of the stem. The tube of the corolla is shorter than the calyx, and straight; and the teeth of the calyx are about as long as its tube. The plant grows from six to eighteen inches in height, and flowers throughout the whole of spring and summer.

Another common Labiate—the Ground Ivy (Nepeta Glechoma)—may be seen almost everywhere in the spring, in bloom from March to May. It has a procumbent, creeping stem, and deeply-crenate, kidney-shaped leaves. The flowers are of a blue-purple colour, arranged in whorls of three or four in the axils of the leaves. The calyx has five teeth and fifteen ribs; and the two front stamens are shorter.

The Early Field Scorpion Grass (Myosotis collina) belongs to the order BoraginaceÆ—a family of (usually) hairy herbs with alternate leaves and one-sided spikes or racemes of showy flowers. The flowers have a five-lobed calyx and corolla, five stamens, and a fruit of four nutlets. It is in the same genus as the familiar Forget-me-not, and, in fact, somewhat closely resembles that plant, which is often confused with certain species of Scorpion Grass. It is a slender, more or less prostrate herb, with blunt oblong leaves; and minute, bright blue flowers which are at first hidden among the leaves, but afterwards exposed by the lengthening of the stem. The flowers have very short pedicels; and are in long, slender, leafless, spikelike racemes, with a single flower some distance down, in the axil of the highest leaf. The popular name of Scorpion Grass has been given on account of the characteristic arrangement of the flowers when in the bud, these being then tightly coiled in a scorpoid fashion. In order that the present species might be distinguished from allied plants, we should note that the pedicels are shorter than the calyx; that the calyx is furnished with hooked bristles, and is open and swollen when the fruits are formed; also that the tube of the corolla is very short. The Early Field Scorpion Grass is very common on dry banks. Its stems vary from about four to ten inches long, and the flowers appear during April and May.

The Wood Loosestrife or Yellow Pimpernel (Lysimachia nemorum) of shady waysides and woods is a member of the PrimulaceÆ or Primrose family. It is altogether a pretty little plant, much like the Scarlet Pimpernel in general appearance, but somewhat larger and more glossy. It has a prostrate, spreading stem, often tinged with red; and opposite, oval, acute leaves with short stalks. The flowers are yellow, usually a little more than half an inch in diameter, with a spreading corolla. They are axillary, placed singly on very slender peduncles, and have very narrow sepals. This species flowers from May to August.

The Perennial or Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), of the EuphorbiaceÆ or Spurge family, is one of our earliest spring flowers, and may be seen in abundance on almost all shady waysides, in bloom from March to May, and growing from six to eighteen inches high. The minute green flowers, which have three sepals and no petals, are in racemes or spikes that grow from the axils of the upper leaves. They are unisexual; the staminate flowers in slender racemes, with several erect stamens; and the pistillate ones in short, few-flowered spikes, with a two-celled ovary, two styles, and a few imperfectly formed stamens.

The Black Bryony (Tamus communis)—order DioscoriaceÆ—is a pretty climbing plant, the slender stem of which twines for several feet among the hedgerow trees and shrubs. Its leaves are cordate and acute, and change either to a bright yellow or a beautiful bronze colour in the autumn. The flowers, which appear in May and June, are yellowish green, in small clusters; and the fruits are oblong berries, turning to a bright scarlet as the leaves assume their autumn tints.

Our next flower is the peculiar and interesting Wild Arum (Arum maculatum), of the order AraceÆ, also known as Lords and Ladies, Cuckoo Pint, and Wake Robin. It is a very common flower of shady waysides, blooming during April and May. The plant is succulent, with a short, fleshy rhizome; and large, smooth, sagittate leaves that are often spotted with purple. The floral stalk is thick and fleshy, and supports numerous unisexual flowers which are clustered round a central axis or spadix that is prolonged above into a club-shaped appendage. The whole of the spadix is surrounded by a large bract or spathe which is contracted a little distance above its base. The portion of the spathe below the constriction encloses the flowers, and remains permanently closed as long as they are in bloom; but the upper part opens on one side, just before the flowers begin to mature, exposing the club of the spathe. The club is thick and fleshy, and coloured either dull purple, bright red, pink, or yellow. The pistillate flowers are clustered round the bottom of the spadix, and consist of a number of sessile ovaries. Above them is a ring of imperfect flowers consisting of styles only, and above these again is the cluster of staminate flowers, with some aborted stamens at the top. After fertilisation has taken place the spathe and the spadix soon wither away, and the ovaries develop into a cluster of large berry-like fruits, each containing a few seeds. These fruits, mounted on the summit of the lengthened, fleshy peduncle, are very conspicuous objects in the autumn hedgerows.

The contrivance by which cross-fertilisation is secured in these flowers is particularly interesting:—Numbers of little insects (midges) are attracted by the brightly coloured club, and, possibly, also by the foetid odour of the flowers. These creep down the spadix, passing through the narrow neck into the closed compartment below. The neck is more or less obstructed by the upper, abortive, staminate flowers, which consist merely of a few whorls of bristles. Since, however, many of these bristles point downwards, they offer but little obstruction to insects as they enter; but prevent their escape. Thus, on cutting open the lower part of the spathe, we may frequently find quite a number of midges that have been imprisoned, their bodies covered with pollen that has probably been carried from another Arum previously visited. The pistillate flowers are mature first, and thus the imprisoned insects, creeping about in their cell during this early stage of the flower, are sure to bring pollen cells in contact with some of the ripened stigmas.

After the work of fertilisation has been accomplished, the anthers ripen, setting free abundance of pollen which now covers the bodies of the insects in the place of that which has been rubbed on to the stigmas. Then the abortive stamens, which prevented the escape of the insects, wither; and, at the same time, the neck of the spathe relaxes. Thus the prisoners are again set free, and possibly a large proportion of them enter another flower and repeat the process of cross-pollination.

The commonest of the early-flowering Grasses of the wayside is the Annual Meadow Grass (Poa annua)—a small tufted species, varying from a few inches to nearly a foot in height. It commences to flower in March, and remains in bloom till the end of the summer. It is represented on Plate III.