The Crowfoot group of the RanunculaceÆ contains two bog-plants popularly known as Spearworts on account of their spear-like leaves. One of these—the Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus Flammula)—is abundant in wet places, especially the edges of muddy pools and ditches, where its buttercup-like flowers may be seen from June to September. It is a slender, smooth plant, with a branched stem, more or less decumbent at the base, from four to twelve inches high. Its leaves are narrow-oval in form, stalked, and either slightly toothed or quite entire; and the yellow flowers are about half an inch in diameter, on long peduncles.

The other is the Greater Spearwort (R. Lingua), a much larger species, varying from two to four feet in height, and flowering during the same months. It has stout, hollow, erect stems which throw off whorls of root fibres from the lowest joints; and the glossy, yellow flowers vary from one to one and a half inches in diameter. This species is not nearly so common as the other, but occurs more or less in most parts of Britain.

Taking next the cruciferous plants (CruciferÆ), we have first to note a few species of the Nasturtium genus, including the Water-cress and the Yellow-cress. These are all smooth plants, with small yellow or white flowers. They may be distinguished from other crucifers by their loose calyx; simple, rounded stigma on a very short style; and their oblong or narrow pods with the seeds arranged in two rows on each side of the membranous partition. The species with which we are at present concerned are:—

1. The Water-cress (Nasturtium officinale).—A succulent plant, with a branched stem rooting at the base, growing freely in ditches, shallow streams and muddy places, and flowering from May or June to the end of the summer. Its leaves are pinnately divided into from seven to eleven wavy or slightly-toothed segments, the terminal one of which is usually larger than the others and nearly round. The flowers are small, white, in short, crowded racemes; and the pods are spreading, more than half an inch long.

2. The Marsh Yellow Cress (N. palustre), common in muddy places.—A slender plant with a fibrous root, and pinnate leaves with irregularly-toothed segments which are smaller towards the base. The flowers are yellow, about an eighth of an inch in diameter, with petals no longer than the sepals. They bloom from June to September. The pods are oblong, swollen, slightly curved, a quarter of an inch long.

3. The Amphibious Yellow Cress (N. amphibium).—An erect plant, two or three feet high, with fibrous root and creeping runners, flowering from June to September, moderately common on the banks of muddy streams. Its leaves are narrow-oblong, three or four inches long, deeply toothed, or cut into narrow lobes; and the flowers are yellow, similar to those of the other species, and similarly arranged, but with petals twice as long as the sepals. The pods are broad, only about a sixth of an inch long, with a rather long style.

In the marshes of the South of England we may often see the Marsh Mallow (Malva officinalis or AlthÆa officinalis), of the order MalvaceÆ, flowering during August and September. Its stem is hairy, with erect flowering branches two or three feet high; and the leaves are shortly stalked, thick, velvety, broadly ovate, and sometimes divided into three or five lobes. The flowers are shortly stalked in the axils of the upper leaves, or sometimes collected into a terminal raceme. Round each one is a whorl of several narrow bracts, shorter than the calyx, and united at their bases. The calyx is five-lobed; and the corolla consists of five broad, rose-coloured petals. This plant is shown on Plate V, Fig. 4.

The Marsh St. John's-wort (Hypericum Elodes—order HypericaceÆ) is a somewhat shaggy little plant, common in the bogs of many parts of Britain, more especially in West England and Ireland. It varies from a few inches to a foot in length; with prostrate stems rooting at the base; and rounded, opposite leaves without stipules. Both stem and leaves are clothed with white, woolly hairs, the latter on both surfaces. The flowers, which bloom during July and August, are of a pale yellow colour, and form a few-flowered, terminal panicle. They have five small, oval sepals, fringed with little red-stalked glands; five petals, about three times as long as the sepals; and many stamens, united to more than half way up into three bundles. (See Plate V, Fig. 6.)

The Blue Marsh Vetchling or Marsh Pea (Lathyrus palustris—order LeguminosÆ) is occasionally to be met with in boggy places, flowering from June to August. It is a smooth plant, with a weak, winged stem, two or three feet long; and pinnate leaves consisting of from two to four pairs of narrow, sharp leaflets, and terminating in a branched tendril. At the base of each leafstalk are two narrow, half arrow-shaped stipules. The flowers are of a bluish purple colour, and are arranged in one-sided racemes, of from two to six flowers on long stalks. The pods are smooth and about an inch in length. This plant is represented on Plate V, Fig. 5.

Some of the Willow-herbs (OnagraceÆ) are very partial to wet and boggy places. A few species of other habitats are described in Chapters X and XI, and these, together with the members that come within the range of the present chapter, are readily distinguished by their willow-like leaves and the very long inferior ovaries of their flowers. We shall here note three species—

1. The Great Hairy Willow-herb or Codlins and Cream (Epilobium hirsutum).—A large, erect, hairy plant, from three to six feet high, with numerous underground suckers, and a stout, round, branched stem. Its leaves are opposite, sessile, often clasping the stem, narrow, and finely toothed. The flowers are nearly an inch in diameter, of a deep rose colour, arranged in terminal, leafy racemes. They have four broad, notched, spreading petals; eight erect stamens; and a four-lobed stigma. The plant is common in wet places, and flowers during July and August.

2. The Narrow-leaved or Marsh Willow-herb (E. palustre).—A smaller plant, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in height, frequent in bogs and marshes, flowering during June and July. Its stem is round, with two lines of downy hairs on opposite sides; and its leaves are sessile, opposite, very narrow, tapering towards the base, and sometimes slightly toothed. The flowers are small, pink, nodding when in bud, arranged in a terminal raceme. Both flowers and fruit resemble those of the last species except that the stigmas of the former are not divided.

3. The Square-stalked Willow-herb (E. tetragonum or E. adnatum).—A similar plant, from one to two feet high, common in bogs and ditches, and easily distinguished from other species of the genus by the four angles of the stem formed by the downward continuation of the margins of the leaves. The flowers are small, in terminal, leafy racemes, and erect when in bud. The petals are of a rose-pink colour, deeply notched; and the stigma is not divided. This species flowers in July and August.

Our next flower is the beautiful Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria—order LythraceÆ), which is abundant in the marshes, ditches, and wet places of most parts of Great Britain. It has a creeping rootstock; a stout, erect, slightly-branched, four-angled stem, from two to four feet high; and sessile, narrow, clasping, entire, acute leaves, two or three inches long, arranged in opposite pairs or in whorls of three or four. The flowers are of a reddish purple or pink colour, nearly an inch across, arranged in whorls on a long, tapering, leafy spike. They have a toothed and ribbed, tubular calyx, with broad inner, and narrow outer segments; oblong, wavy, wrinkled petals; twelve stamens in two whorls of different lengths; and a superior ovary. The time of flowering of this species is July to September.

We have now to note several species of umbelliferous plants that grow in bogs and other wet places. The general features of the order (UmbelliferÆ) will be found on p. 167, and the reader should refer to these, if necessary, before attempting to identify the following:—

The Procumbent Marsh-wort (Helosciadium nodiflorum or Apium nodiflorum) is a creeping plant, abundant in ditches and other wet places, rooting at the base, with erect flowering stems that are sometimes very short, but often reach a height of three feet. The whole plant is smooth, with hollow stems; pinnate leaves with from three to nine or more pairs of ovate, bluntly-toothed leaflets; and almost sessile umbels of small, white flowers either opposite the leaves or in the angles of the upper branches. These umbels are compound, with about five or six rays, usually without primary bracts, but with several, narrow, secondary ones. The petals have their points turned inwards; and the carpels are oval, each with five narrow ribs. This plant is commonly seen growing in company with the Water-cress and the Brooklime, and blooms in July and August.

In ditches we occasionally meet with the Water Hemlock or Cowbane (Cicuta virosa)—a tall plant, from three to four feet high, bearing large, flat umbels of small, white flowers from June to August. Its stem is hollow, furrowed, and branched; and the leaves are large, twice pinnate or ternate, with lanceolate, acute leaflets, generally over an inch in length, the margins serrate or (sometimes) doubly serrate. Comparing this plant with the Common Hemlock (p. 169), we should note that the secondary bracts of the latter are three in number, almost invariably turned to the outside; and that its calyx teeth are very indistinct, while in the present species they are prominent above the ovary.

Next follow three species of Water Dropwort (genus Œnanthe)—smooth plants, with much-divided leaves and compound umbels of white flowers, with secondary, and sometimes also primary, narrow bracts. In all three species the central flowers of each secondary umbel are perfect and shortly stalked, while the outer ones are on longer stalks, and usually staminate. The petals are notched, with points turned inwards; and the fruits have two rather long styles, are crowned by the five minute teeth of the calyx, and their carpels have each five blunt ribs. The three species referred to are:—

1. The Common Water Dropwort (Œ. fistulosa).—An erect plant, from two to three feet high, with a fleshy, fibrous root; creeping runners; and a thick, hollow, slightly-branched stem. Its radical leaves are bipinnate, with segments cut into three or five narrow lobes; and the stem leaves have long, hollow stalks, with a few narrow segments at the top. The umbels have from three to five rays, usually with no primary bracts, and a few, narrow secondary ones.

2. The Hemlock Water Dropwort (Œ. crocata) is a larger plant, from two to five feet high, with a tuberous root and a thick, branched stem. Its leaves are bipinnate, with stalked, shining leaflets that are irregularly cut. The umbels are on long stalks, and have nearly twenty rays, several narrow secondary bracts, and sometimes a few primary ones. The middle flowers of each secondary umbel are perfect and almost sessile, but the outer ones are stalked and staminate.

3. The Fine-leaved Water Dropwort (Œ. Phellandrium) grows from one to four feet high, and has an erect, creeping or floating stem with runners at the base. The upper leaves are bipinnate, with small, cut segments; and the submerged ones are deeply cut into very narrow, almost hair-like lobes. The umbels are small, on short stalks in the angles of the branches or opposite the leaves. They have about ten rays, narrow secondary bracts, but no primary ones.

All three of the above species flower from July to September.

Next follow a few composite flowers (order CompositÆ), the first of which is the Marsh Thistle (Carduus palustris) that varies from two to eight feet in height, and bears dense clusters of purple (occasionally white) heads during July and August. Its stem is stiff, hollow, slightly branched, and thickly covered with very prickly wings that are continuous with the margins of leaves above them. The leaves are narrow, wavy, deeply divided into prickly lobes, with scattered hairs on both surfaces; the lower ones often seven or eight inches long; and the upper much smaller and narrower. The flower-heads are ovoid, surrounded by an involucre of many closely-overlapping bracts with prickly tips.

The two Bur Marigolds (Bidens) are more or less common in marshes and other wet places. They are both smooth plants with opposite leaves, and hemispherical heads of yellowish flowers surrounded by two or three rows of bracts, the outer of which are spreading. The receptacle is flat, with membranous scales between the florets; and the fruits are crowned by from two to five stiff, prickly bristles. The more abundant of these is the Nodding Bur Marigold (B. cernua), a stout plant, from one to two feet high, distinguished by its narrow, entire, sessile leaves, and its drooping flower-heads. The other—the Trifid Bur Marigold (B. tripartita)—has three-cleft, stalked leaves, and heads erect or only slightly drooping.

The Common Ragwort of waste places, described on p. 187, is represented in marshes and wet places by a very similar plant called the Marsh Ragwort (Senecio aquaticus), which varies from one to three feet in height, and flowers in July and August. Its stem is more slender than that of S. JacobÆa, and is usually more branched. The leaves are either deeply toothed, or pinnately cut into segments which decrease in size towards the base. The yellow flower-heads are not so densely crowded as in the Common Ragwort, and have longer stalks.

The ScrophulariaceÆ contains three common plants of the Veronica genus that grow in wet places. All three are similar in that they have opposite leaves; a corolla with a short tube, and four spreading limbs, of which the lowest is narrowest; two stamens; and a capsular fruit, flattened at right angles to its partition, opening by two valves, and containing a few seeds.

One of these is the Marsh Speedwell (Veronica scutellata), abundant in the marshes and ditches of most parts of Britain. It has a weak, straggling stem, from four to eight inches high, with creeping runners at the base; narrow, smooth, sessile leaves, either uncut or only slightly toothed; and slender racemes of pale pink or white flowers on axillary peduncles arranged alternately, there being only one raceme at each node.

The second is the Water Speedwell (V. Anagallis), a smooth plant, varying from six inches to two feet high, abundant in marshes and ditches, bearing small lilac or white flowers in July and August. Its stem is stout, succulent, hollow, erect, and slightly branched; the leaves narrow, acute, toothed, sessile, sometimes clasping the stem; and the racemes axillary and opposite. The flowers are only a fifth of an inch across.

The third is the Brooklime (V. Beccabunga), a very abundant plant commonly seen growing in ditches in company with the Water Cress and the Marsh-wort. It is a smooth plant, with a stem from one to two feet long, procumbent at the base and rooting at the joints; erect, succulent flowering branches; thick, elliptical, blunt, slightly-toothed leaves on short stalks; and opposite, axillary racemes of blue (occasionally pink) flowers about a third of an inch across.

Two of the Figworts, belonging to the same order (ScrophulariaceÆ), are abundant in wet places all over Britain. They are both tall erect plants, with opposite leaves, and peculiar greenish brown or dull purple flowers. In both the corolla is almost spherical and shortly lipped. Two of the five lobes form the upper lip; two are at the sides; and the other, forming the lower lip, is turned down. There are five stamens, four of which are fertile and turned down, while the fifth is barren and scale-like, under the upper lip of the corolla.

One species—the Water Figwort (Scrophularia aquatica)—grows in marshes and on the banks of ditches and streams. It has a stout, angular stem, the angles of which are drawn out into narrow wings; smooth, opposite, blunt leaves, cordate at the base, with crenate or toothed margins; and long, narrow panicles of flowers with blunt bracts. The five lobes of the calyx are fringed with a conspicuous, transparent, membranous border.

The other is the Knotted Figwort (S. nodosa), which is much like the last, but emits a disagreeable odour, and may be further distinguished by the little green, fleshy knots of its rhizome. Its stem is sharply four-angled, but not winged; its leaves are acute, and doubly toothed; and the panicle has small, narrow, sharp bracts.

Passing now to the order LabiatÆ, we come first to the Gipsy-wort (Lycopus europÆus), an erect, branched, slightly hairy plant, from one to three feet high, bearing dense whorls of small, white, sessile flowers from June to September. The calyx has five equal teeth with stiff points; and the corolla, which is only slightly longer than the calyx, has four nearly equal lobes. This plant is abundant in most parts of Britain, and is generally seen on the banks of ditches.

In the same order we have the Mints (genus Mentha)—strongly-scented plants with creeping rootstocks and runners; and small flowers in dense, axillary whorls, or in terminal spikes or clusters. In all the calyx has five equal teeth; and the corolla is bell-shaped, with a short tube, and four lobes of which the upper is broader. There are four erect, equal stamens; and the fruit consists of four small, smooth nuts. Three species, more or less abundant, occur in marshy or other wet places. They are:—

1. The Round-leaved Mint (Mentha rotundifolia).—A moderately common, erect, hairy plant, from one to three feet high, with a powerful but hardly agreeable odour. Its stem is green, hairy, and branched; and the leaves are sessile, broadly ovate or round, blunt, wrinkled, green above, and whitish and shaggy beneath. The flowers are small, lilac (occasionally white), in dense, cylindrical, leafy spikes from one to two inches long. The bracts are rather narrow and sharply pointed, and the corolla is hairy. The time of flowering is August and September.

2. The Water Mint (M. aquatica).—An abundant marsh plant, from one to three feet high, flowering from July to September, possessing a strong, pleasant odour. Its stem is much branched, generally clothed with soft hairs; and its leaves are stalked, ovate, serrate, the upper ones passing into bracts which are shorter than the flowers. The latter are lilac, and form dense, terminal, oblong or globular clusters, with, frequently, two or three dense, axillary whorls beneath. The calyx is tubular, about an eighth of an inch long, with very sharp teeth.

3. The Marsh Whorled Mint (M. sativa).—A very similar plant, common in wet places, flowering during July and August. It grows from two to five feet high; and its elliptical, toothed leaves are hairy on both sides. The flowers are lilac, in dense, axillary whorls, without any terminal cluster.

There is yet another marsh plant of the LabiatÆ to be considered, and that is the Marsh Woundwort (Stachys palustris), which is very much like the Hedge Woundwort described on p. 199. It has a stout, hollow, hairy stem, from one to three feet high; and narrow, coarsely-toothed leaves, from two to four inches long, the upper ones sessile and the lower shortly stalked. The flowers are pale purple or dull, light red, arranged in whorls of from six to ten in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is bell-shaped, with ten ribs and five long, acute teeth; and the lower lip of the corolla has its side lobes turned back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Their stems are solid, usually more or less triangular, not swollen at the nodes as in grasses; and the sheaths of the leaves which surround the stems are not split. The flowers are in little green or brown spikelets that are either solitary at the top of the stem, or collected into a cluster, spike, panicle, or umbel. Each spikelet is in the axil of a scaly or leafy outer bract, and consists of several scales or glumes, each with a single sessile flower in its axil. The flowers have no perianth, but there are often a few very small scales or bristles at their base. They have two or (generally) three stamens; a one-celled ovary; and a style that is more or less deeply cleft into two or three slender stigmas. The fruit is a small, one-seeded nut, usually flattened in the species which have two stigmas, and triangular where the stigmas are three.

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

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

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

The Marsh Sedge.