BRITISH FLORA 



riic pLTianth is bro.-id, with white or pale yillow- 

 colourcd flowers, in pairs (hence the Latin specific 

 name), the marffin bent inwards. The tube is 

 slender, sabrc-shaped, the flower-stalk slender. 

 The 6 perianlh-sejfments are blunt and ejfjf- 

 shaped. The crown is pale yellow, scalloped, 

 short, hollow, the margin pale then white. This 

 Narcissus is i-iA it. in heigfhl. It is in flower in 

 .\pril .and May, .ind is .i herbaceous perennial. 



Pheasant's Eye Narcissus (AVimJXKi poetictis, 

 L.). — This pl.mt is luund in fields, or heathy open 

 fields. The habit is similar to that of the Daffodil. 

 The leaves are rather blunt, keeled, and linear. 

 The scape bears one flower as a rule, and is 

 flattened at the border, beinjj 2-edged. The petals 

 are broadly egg-shaped, white, with a yellow 

 crown, which is hollow above, short, with a 

 scalloped red border (hence the English name). 

 The plant is from i ft. to i8 in. in height. The 

 Pheasant's Eye blooms in May, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Snowrflake (AcHfo/'K»H astivum, L.). — The Snow- 

 flake is found in wet meadows and by stream 

 sides, in osier beds. The habit is erect, the bulb 

 I in. long. The leaves are produced at the same 

 time as the flowers. They are keeled, blunt, 

 rather bluish-green, and linear. The long scape 

 is 2-edged, with a spathe with many white flowers, 

 the tip green and entire. The flower in bud is 

 erect, drooping when open, and is bell-shaped, 

 the flow-ers in clusters of 2-6. The petals are egg- 

 shaped, green at the tip. The style is thicker above. 

 The fruit is conical. The seeds have no caruncle. 

 The height is 2-2A ft. Flowers may be gathered 

 in May, and the Snowflake is a herbaceous per- 

 ennial. 



Order Liliace,e 



Grape Hyacinth (Muscari raccmosum, Lam. & 

 D. C.).— The habitat of this plant is grassy places. 

 The habit is lily like, or that of a geophyte. At 

 the base of the small bulb are small bulbils. The 

 long linear leaves are bent back, channelled, half- 

 round, limp, wavy, prostrate. The scape is short, 

 round. The musk-scented, egg-shaped flowers 

 are numerous, dark-blue, borne in a raceme, 

 cylindrical, and the rachis after flowering be- 

 comes thickened. The slender flower-stalks are 

 long when the plant is in fruit, the upper flowers 

 almost stalkless, barren, or imperfect. The cap- 

 sule is notched. The plant is 4-10 in. in height. 

 The flowers open in May and June, and the plant 

 is a herbaceous, bulbous perennial. 



Order Melanthace.e 



Meadow Saffron {Colchicum autumnale, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is meadows and woods. 

 The plant has the lily habit, with tuberous root- 

 stock. The leaves are vernal, the flowers autumnal, 

 rarely vernal. The leaves are smooth and dark- 

 green, lance-shaped, flat, erect, with close nerves. 

 The sheath is long, large, and stout. The radical 

 flowers are purple, the tube 2-6 in. long, and the 

 ovary, buried in winter in the ground, rises up 



with the leaves in spring. The anthers are large, 

 yellow, .and there are 6 stamens (in Crocus 3). 

 The capsule is 1 J in. long, membranous, 3-grooved, 

 shortly stalked, acute at both extremities. The 

 brown seeds are small and numerous. The plant 

 is 6-12 in. in height. The pl.'int is in flower from 

 August till October. It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Order Cvperace.* 



Great Prickly Sedge (Carex muricata, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is ditches, gravelly 

 pastures, marshes, copses. The habit is tufted. 

 The stems are slender, with short stolons, wiry, 

 3-angled, roughish at the extremity. The leaves 

 are not so long as the stem, narrow, flat. The 

 4-6 spikelets are borne on a long oval spike or 

 panicle, with or without a bract below, and are 

 touching. The fruit is oval with a long point, 

 veined, finely toothed at the top, with a broad, flat, 

 long beak, divided into two nearly to the base. 

 The nut is egg-shaped. The style is club-shaped 

 below. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, and flowers 

 from May to July, being a herbaceous perennial. 



Oval-headed Sedge {Carex leporina, L. = C. 

 ovalis. Good.). — The habitat of this sedge is wet 

 places, meadows, pastures, &c. The plant is 

 stout, having the sedge habit. The rootstock is 

 tufted, without stolons. The stems are 3-sided, 

 smooth, or rough above. The leaves are narrow, 

 not so long as the stem. There are about six 

 spikelets, which are oval, contiguous, lobed, close, 

 pale-brown, flattened, alternate. There are male 

 spikelets below. There are no bracts, or, if so, 

 they are awl-like. The glumes are acute, pale- 

 brown, with a green midrib, white edges, with 

 a membranous border. The fruit is erect, ovate, 

 narrow, plano-convex, lobed, with membranous 

 borders. The beak is divided into tw-o nearly to 

 the base. The nut is elliptic, oblong, with a short 

 cylindrical beak, stalked, shining. The plant is 

 6-12 in. high, flowering in June, and is a her- 

 baceous perennial. 



Carex Pairai, Sch.— This sedge is regarded as 

 only a variety of the last by Mr. G. C. Druce, 

 though raised to specific rank by others. It is 

 found in the S.W. of England and is very rare. 

 It differs from the last in its narrower leaves, the 

 spike being compact or occasionally interrupted 

 below. The fruit is short and spreading and 

 suddenly narrowed into a short beak. The square 

 small nut is blunt. It is from 1-2 ft. in height. 

 Flowers are found in May, Juno, and July. It is 

 a herbaceous perennial. 



Glaucous Sedge (Carex ghuica, Scop.).— The 

 habitat of this plant is grassy places, usually 

 damp, pastures, woods, rocks. The habit is 

 sedge-like. The stem is tall and wiry, with 

 narrow, bluish-green leaves, which are flat, erect, 

 or bent back. There are several male spikelets, 

 2-3 stalked, fertile spikelets, the flowers crowded, 

 drooping at length. The bracts are broad and 

 not sheathing. The glumes are dark, short, acute, 

 not as long as the .stalkless, elliptical, blunt, rough, 

 swollen fruit, with a round, entire, turned -back 



