BRITISH FLORA 



Ul.iiuls. It occurs also i-lscwhcrc .is a casual. 

 The habitat is pasture-land of a sanely or jfravclly 

 nature. It has an erect habit, the stem bein)^ 

 simple. The flowers are borne in a cluster, and the 

 scales of the calyx are membrane-like and almost 

 transparent. The flowers are small, rose-coloured, 

 and open singly. The plant may be as much as 

 18 in. in height, but is usually less. From June 

 onwards it may be found in flower up till October, 

 but is at its best in July. It is an annual. The 

 anthers ripen first, and the flowers are pollinated 

 by butterflies. The seeds are dispersed by the 

 wind, the capsule having the censer type of struc- 

 ture, opening above. It is not sufficiently large 

 to find .1 place in the garden. 



Maiden Pink (Dianlhus delloides, L.). — Much 

 commoner than the last, this pink is found in half 

 of the counties, being a purely European species, 

 whereas the last is found in Asia and has been 

 introduced into the United States. The habitat 

 is similar, but it is often found on banks, usually 

 on dry soil, and commonly on hilly pastures. 

 The flowers .ire single, and the scales of the 

 calvx equal the tube. The stem and leaves are 

 downy and rough. The flow-er is rosy-white, and 

 has no smell. The dark circle round the mouth 

 of the corolla may serve as a honey-guide. The 

 flowers bloom from June to September. The 

 pollination and dispersal are as in the last. No 

 use is made of this plant. It is about a foot high. 

 The soil is a sandy loam. 



Order Malvace^ 



Mountain Crane's Bill (Geranium pyrenaicum, 

 Burm. fil.). — This plant may be found by the road- 

 side, often near gardens, on railway banks, by 

 river sides, in hedgerows, and in pastures and 

 meadows, but it is not a common plant. The 

 rootstock is spindle-shaped. The plant has no 

 underground stems, and a straggling habit. The 

 leaves are kidney-shaped, with 5-6 blunt divisions, 

 divided into three nearly to the base, with hairy 

 teeth. The deeply-notched purple petals are twice 

 as long as the sepals, and the flower is i in. across. 

 It is 1-3 ft. high. The flowers open in June and 

 may be found onward till August. It is perennial 

 (as another Latin name denotes). 



Order Leglminos^ 



Meadow or Zigzag Clover (TrifoHum medium, 

 L.). — This plant is found in dry pastures, on 

 rocky soils, meadows, and on banks of railwaj's, 

 streams, &c. As the name implies, the hairj- stem 

 is zigzag, the leaflets are oblong, blunt, with 

 lance-shaped stipules or leaflike organs, and the 

 leaf margins are fringed with hairs. The flower- 

 heads are brighter red than in the Red Clover, 

 larger, terminal, stalked. The calyx is quite 

 smooth, with bristle-like teeth. The pods open 

 lengthwise. It is from 1 ft. to 18 in. in height, 

 and flowers from June to September, and is 

 perennial. 



Strawberry -headed Clover {Trifolium fragi- 



fcrum, L.). — The liabil.it of this plant is varied. 

 It occurs by the roadside close to the m.icadam, 

 on commons, and along sandy seashores, as well 

 as in dry pastures and meadows, and in ditches 

 and wet places. The habit is prostrate, with 

 smooth creeping stems, w ith inversely egg-shaped 

 leaflets, with small coarse teeth, triangular, oblong 

 stipules or leaflikc organs, with a long point. The 

 flowers are numerous, rose-coloured, in dense 

 heads, stalked, in the axils, and rounded. The 

 involucre or whorl of leaflike organs is multifid, 

 and equals the calyx, in which, after flowering, 

 two lobes become enlarged and enclose the pod. 

 The plant is 6 in. to i ft. or less in height, and 

 flowers Lite, in July .ind August, being perennial. 



Lesser Yellow Trefoil ( TrijoUum dubium, Sibth. 

 = T. tiiiniis, Sm., Relhan). — The habitat of this 

 plant is pastures, roadsides, and dry places. The 

 habit is prostrate or ascending. The stem is 

 wir^', straggling, slender. The leaflets are blunt, 

 narrow, inversely egg-shaped or heart-shaped, 

 the middle one stalked. The stipules are egg- 

 shaped, not as long as the leaf-stalks, the upper 

 part with a long, narrow point. The flowers are 

 small, pale yellow, turning brown, bent back at 

 length, in a dense head of 4-20 on long, slender, 

 axillary, straight stalks, the ultimate stalks short. 

 The standard is narrow, folded, blunt, furrowed, 

 covering the pod. The style is shorter than the 

 pod. The calyx is bell-shaped, with triangular 

 teeth, short, the lower longer, lance-shaped. The 

 pod is inversely egg-shaped. The plant is 6- 18 in. 

 high, flowering from June to August, and is a 

 herbaceous annual. 



Milk Vetch {Astragalus glycyphyUos, L.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is fields, on banks, hedges, 

 and woods, and originally it was doubtless a 

 woodland plant. The habit is prostrate, or zig- 

 zag, and the stems are smooth, stout, with oblong, 

 blunt leaflets, smooth above, hairy beneath, with 

 egg-shaped to lance-shaped stipules or leaflike 

 organs. The flowers are dingy yellow, in com- 

 pact egg-shaped racemes, on peduncles or flower- 

 stalks shorter than the leaves. The smooth, up- 

 right linear pods (li in. long) are bent inwards. 

 The calyx is bell-shaped, half as long as the 

 corolla. The plant is 2-3 ft. in height. It flowers 

 between June and September, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Great Hedge Lotus (Lotus uliginosus, Schkuhr). 

 — The habitat of this plant is meadows and pas- 

 tures, which are usually moist, and damp woods 

 or marshy tracts. The plant is erect in habit or 

 ascending, bearing underground shoots, or may 

 be prostrate. The stems are smooth or hairy as 

 a rule, with inversely egg-shaped leaflets. In 

 bud the teeth of the calyx are spreading, in the 

 common one erect. The flowers are large, golden 

 yellow, and the heads 8- 12-flowered, the two 

 upper teeth of the cahx spreading, in the common 

 one (Lotus corniculatus) meeting. The standard 

 has a linear claw or stalk. The plant is 6 in. to 

 2 ft. or more in height. It flowers in July and 

 August, like other moisture-loving plants, rather 

 late. The plant is perennial, herbaceous. 



