CORNFIELDS 



19 



revolving from rijjht to left, again.st the sun, in 

 about two hours. The stems arc smooth ortlowny, 

 numerous, branched, angular. The leaves are 

 egg-shaped, arrow-shaped, entire, or w.ivy. The 

 bracts are linear, sm.ill, .ind some way down the 

 flower-stalk. The flowers are pink with white 

 bands, plaited in bud, rolling in when they fade, 

 two or more on a stalk. The flower-stalks are 

 4-angled, bent back in fruit. The sepals are un- 

 equal. The stigma is slender. The capsule is 

 2-celled, round, with a point. The seeds are 

 3anglcd, with small prickles. The plant is 6 in. 

 to 2 ft. 6 in. in height, flowering in June till Sep- 

 tember, and is a herbaceous pcrcnni.il. 



Flax Dodder (Cuscula epilinum, Weihe). — The 

 habitat of this plant is flax fields, roadsides. The 

 habit is festoon-like, the stem thread-like, pale- 

 green. The flowers are white, clustered, the calyx 

 is nearly as long as the corolla, which is inflated 

 and rounded, and the segments are acute. The 

 scales are closely pressed, the stamens do not pro- 

 ject. The capsule is 2-celled and 2-seeded. The 

 plant is 1-3 ft. long, and flowers in July and 

 August, being an annual. 



Order Scrophulariace.^ 



Male Fluellitl (Linaria spuria. Mill.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is cornfields, ballast hills, the 

 former sandy and chalky. The stem is trailing, 

 downy, with short and long hairs, short-stalked. 

 The leaves are egg-shaped, nearly rounded, downy. 

 The flowers are yellow, large, the upper lip choco- 

 late or purplish-brown. The spur is curved, at 

 right angles to the tube. The flower-stalk is 

 hairy. The fifth stamen is a small scale. The cap- 

 sule is nearly round. The seeds are deeply pitted. 

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

 from July to October, being a herbaceous annual. 



Narrcw- leaved Toadflax (Linaria Elatine, 

 Mill.). — The habitat of this plant is cornfields. 

 The habit is prostrate. The short hairy stem 

 bears long, trailing branches, with shortly-stalked 

 leaves, the lower egg-shaped, the upper arrow- 

 shaped. The flowers are as in the last, but not 

 so large. The flower-stalks are hair-like, curved 

 above, longer than the leaves. The sepals are 

 lance-shaped. The capsule is round, the seeds as 

 in the last. The plant is 6 in. to 2 ft. long, and 

 flowers from July to October, being a herbaceous 

 annual. 



Small Toadflax (Linaria minor, Desf.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is cornfields, fields, cultivated 

 ground, railway ballast, sidings, &c. The plant 

 is erect in habit. The stem is slender, branched, 

 glandular, downy, clammy. The leaves are alter- 

 nate, linear, lance-shaped, blunt, the radical leaves 

 almost spoon-shaped. The flower-stalks are in 

 the axils longer than the leaves. The flowers are 

 single, the corolla about as long as the calyx, with 

 linear, oblong sepals. The flowers are small, and 

 dull-yellow. The capsule is swollen below, open- 

 ing by pores, the seeds furrowed, oblong. The 

 plant is 4-15 in. in height. It flowers in May up 

 till October, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Green Field Speedwell (Ft-roH/Vv? agrcslis, L.). 

 — The habitat of this plant is cultivated ground, 

 fields, and waste places, or the wayside. The 

 habit is prostrate. The stem is downy, with slen- 

 der branches, the leaves stalked, blunl, toothed, 

 with regular, shallow teeth, heart-shaped, as long 

 as the flower-stalks. The flowers in the axils and 

 solitary, the lower petal white, are pale-blue. The 

 sepals are fringed with hairs, oval, oblong, blunt, 

 >nerved in fruit, unequal. The capsule is hairy, 

 cells 2-lobed, 4-5-secded, the hairs straight, glan- 

 dular. The plant is 4-8 in. in length. It flowers 

 between April and September, or later, and is a 

 herbaceous annual. 



Buxbaum's Speedwell (Veronica Buxbaumii, 

 Ten. = Totirne/ortii, Gmel.). — This plant is an 

 alien, found on cultivated ground, in fields, and 

 waste places, especially gardens. The habit is 

 prostrate. The long, much-branched stems, with 

 ascending tips, are hairy, and the leaves are 

 stalked, shining, broadly egg-shaped to heart- 

 shaped, with 5-6 rounded lobes, toothed and bent. 

 The leaf-stalk is enlarged above. The flower- 

 stalks are longer than the leaves. The flowers 

 are solitary, in the axils, pale-blue, larger than in 

 V. agres/is or V. polita. The sepals arc lance- 

 shaped, acute, in front. The capsule consists of 

 2 spreading lobes, flattened above, with a sharp 

 keel, net-veined, downy, glandular, with 5-8 seeds, 

 and are twice as broad as long. The plant is 

 6-12 in. in height, and flowers between April and 

 October, or later, being a herbaceous annual. 



Purple Cow Wheat (Melamf>yrum arvense, L.). 

 — The habitat of this plant is cornfields, cultivated 

 ground, and dry banks. The habit is erect. The 

 stem is branched, covered with short, stiff hairs, 

 bluntly angled, stout, rather rough. The leaves 

 are lance-shaped, linear, acute, with a rough edge, 

 somewhat downy both sides, and entire. The 

 bracts are purple, broadly lance-shaped, with long, 

 slender, acute teeth, divided to the base. The 

 segments are awl-shaped. The flowers are rose 

 colour, with a yellow throat, and dark-pink, closed 

 lips, the tube curved, in loose, conical spikes. The 

 corolla is longer than the calyx, with long, slender 

 teeth. The capsule is egg-shaped, not so long as 

 the calyx, i-seeded. The plant is 9-24 in. in 

 height, flowering from June to September, and is 

 a herbaceous hemi-parasitic annual. 



Order Lahiat.e 



Corn Mint (Mentha arvensis, L.). — This plant 

 is found in cornfields, cultivated fields, and waste 

 places. The habit is erect. The stem is short, 

 branched, with short hairs, dense, and turned 

 back. The leaves are narrowed below, stalked, 

 egg-shaped, oblong, lance-shaped, toothed, the 

 upper similar and large. The flowers are lilac, in 

 axillary, distant whorls, none at the top, the calyx 

 bell-shaped, with triangular, short teeth, as broad 

 as long. The throat of the calyx is naked. The 

 corolla is lined with hairs and hairy outside. 

 The bracteoles are acute, and not as long as the 

 flowers. The nutlets are dry and smooth. The 



