FLOWERS OF THE CORNFIELDS 



[N.B. — Some of the plants placed in the section on Waste Places, might be equally included here, and vice 

 versa, hut the choice is arbitrary, and those only that are more general in cornfields, or the most dominant 

 types, are included here.] 



Ordkk PaI'AVERACE.E 



Poppy (Pa/'nvcr /,i'<m/it, Lamottc). — The habi- 

 tat ot this plant is the sides of fields, chiefly on 

 calcareous soil. The habit is erect. The plant 

 differs from the smooth-headed Poppy in having^ 

 the sap dark-yellow on exposure, the leaf lobes 

 larger, the capsule club-shaped, oblong, broadest 

 one-third below stigma, and the lobes of the 

 stigniatic disk bent down. The flowers are large, 

 the petals red, distinct, inversely egg-shaped, or 

 wedge-shaped. Otherwise the plant resembles 

 Papaver dubiiim (q.v.). The plant is 1-2 ft. in 

 height, and flowers in June and July, being an 

 annual. 



Violet Horned Poppy (Roemeria hybrida, D.C.). 

 — The habitat of this plant is chalky cornfields, 

 on dry soil. The habit is erect. The stem is 

 slightly hairy or hairless, with yellow juice. The 

 leaves are divided to the base, once or twice, 

 with lobes with a terminal bristle, rough, linear, 

 nearly smooth. The flowers are violet-blue, with 

 a black disk. The petals fall before midday. 

 The sepals are hairy. The pod is cylindrical, 

 rigid, sparingly hairy above, 3-valved, erect. 

 The seeds are numerous, rough, deeply pitted. 

 The plant is i ft. to 18 in. high, flowering in May 

 and June, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Ormkr Cricifer^e 



Mithridate Mustard {Thlaspi arvcnsc, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is cornfields, fields, and 

 roadsides, cultivated ground. The habit is erect. 

 The stem is simple, slender, the radical leaves 

 stalked, the stem-leaves oblong, arrow-shaped, 

 toothed, smooth, with rounded basal lobes. The 

 flowers are white in a long raceme, the pods flat, 

 on slender, spreading flower-stalks, large, rounded, 

 notched, the valves having a broad wing, the cells 

 5-6-seeded, the seeds rough and finely furrowed, 

 dark, with small pinholes. The plant is i ft. in 

 height. The flowers are in bloom from May to 

 Jul v. and the plant is a herbaceous annual. 



Wild Radish {Rnpliatins Raphanistrum, L.).— 

 The habitat of this plant is cornfields and culti- 

 vated fields. The habit is erect, pyramidal. The 

 root is slender. The stem is stout, erect or spread- 



ing, hairy. The leaves are simple, with coar.se 

 teeth, the lobes distinct, the terminal lobe largest. 

 The flowers are white, with white petals with 

 violet veins, or yellow with darker veins. The 

 pod is moniliform or bead-like, the beak longer, 

 w'ith slender ribs, awl-sh.apcd, flat. The pods 

 open at the base above the first segment, which 

 is barren and small. The plant is 1-2 ft. high. 

 It flowers in June and Jul\-, and is a herbaceous 

 annual. 



OrUER CARVOrilVI.I.ACE^E 



Night - flowering Catchfly (Silene noctijlont, 

 L. ). — The habitat of this plant is sandy cornfields, 

 gravelly fields, cultivjited fields, on light soil. The 

 habit is erect. The stem is rounded, glandular, 

 simple or forked, the leaves below stalked, in- 

 versely egg-shaped, the upper lance-shaped, 

 acute. The flowers are in a panicle, open at 

 night, are fragrant, creamy-white. The cal3'x 

 is oblong, elliptic, clammy, veined with 10 ribs, 

 glandular, the teeth long and awl-shaped. The 

 flower-stalks are glandular also. The petals are 

 crowned, divided into two nearly to the base, 

 rolled up in the daytime. The capsule is egg- 

 shaped and has no septa, being as the calyx. The 

 plant is 1-2 ft. in height, but frequently 6-8 in. It 

 is in flower between July and September. It is 

 a herbaceous annual. 



Corn Spurrey {Spergularia saliva, Boeim.). — 

 This plant is a colonist, found in cornfields, culti- 

 vated ground. The habit is erect. The stem is 

 succulent, the leaves in whorls, longer than in the 

 Common Spurrey, and the internodes are longer, 

 the leaves grey-green, linear, fleshy, very clammy. 

 There are 2 stipules below the leaves. The flowers 

 are while, the seeds black, flattened, with a narrow- 

 wing, with minute, elevated points, not wart-like 

 projections. The plant is 4-15 in. in height, and 

 flowers from June to .August, being a herbaceous 

 annual. 



Order Legiminos.^ 



Lucerne (Medicago saliva, L.). — The habitat of 

 this plant is cultivated ground, railway banks, 

 hedges, and fields, hedgebanks and borders of 

 fields, and it is frequently sown by farmers. The 

 plant has an erect habit. The stem is erect, 



