WOODS AND COPSES 



69 



stalked, small, llie lobes willi 2 points. The cap- 

 sules are ^raiuilate, the seeds smooth, brown, 

 rounded. The plant is 1-3 tt. hijjh, flowering iVom 

 June till .Auijust, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Cypress Spurge (Euphorbia Cyf>arissias, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is woods .ind plantations 

 and grassy places, railway banks, brick pits, &c. 

 The habit is that of the last. The plant is bluish- 

 white. The rootstoek is creeping; and stolon- 

 ilerous. The leaves are more numerous, narrow, 

 linear, entire on the barren shoots, bristle-like, 

 close, turning: red. The bracts are blunt, heart- 

 shaped, united below, rounded. The tlowerheads 

 are bright yellow, in an umbel of many forked 

 rays. The involucre has lobes with z horns. The 

 capsule bears tubercles, and contains many white, 

 smooth, rounded seeds. The plant is q-15 in. in 

 height. It flowers in June and July. The plant is 

 a herbaceous perennial. 



Caper Spurge (Euphorbia Lalhyris, L.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is stony and rocky woods, 

 and copses and cultivated ground. The habit is 

 erect. The stem is purplish, thick, short, bearing 

 leaves the first year, flowering the next. The 

 leaves are numerous, opposite, in alternate pairs, 

 linear-oblong, the upper heart-shaped, smooth, 

 bluish-white, stalkless, spreading, i-nerved, blunt, 

 the apex rounded, with a short point. The bracts 

 are heart-shaped below. The flowerheads are 

 yellow, large, in umbels with 3-4 forked rays, 

 which are unequal. The involucre is large, stalk- 

 less, the glands moon-shaped, with 2 nearly erect, 

 blunt points. The capsule is smooth, with a dorsal 

 line. The seeds are rigid, wrinkled. The plant is 

 1-4 ft. high, flowering in June and July, and is a 

 biennial or perennial. 



Order .'\ment.\ce.e 



Silver Birch (Betula alba, L.).— The habitat of 

 this plant is woods and heaths. The Birch has 

 the tree habit. The bark is silvery while, flaky. 

 The branches are erect, or drooping. The 

 leaves are smooth, rhomboid,- triangular, toothed, 

 leathery, resinous, blunt below. The leaf-stalks 

 are slender. The young shoots have resinous 

 tubercles. The stipules are egg-shaped, lance- 

 shaped. The male catkins are pendulous, with 1 

 sepal. The female catkins are in a solitary spike, 

 not so long, and nearly erect. The scales of the 

 fruit are winged, wedge-shaped, 3-lobed to the 

 middle, the lateral lobes bent back, spreading. 

 The fruit is inversely egg-shaped, rounded, with 

 a notched wing, in threes. The Birch is 20-80 ft. 

 in height. It flowers in .Vpril and May, and is 

 a deciduous tree. 



Birch (Belula tomenlosa, Reich.). — This plant 

 differs in habit, being bushy, with rhomboid, egg- 

 shaped leaves, the lateral lobes of the fruiting 

 bracts being erect. The young shoots are downy. 

 The leaves are smooth, flat above, with raised 

 veins beneath. The stipules are egg-shaped, 

 blunt, twice as broad as long, the sides turned 

 down. The buds are egg-shaped. The twigs 

 are often pendulous. It is 6-15 ft. in height. 



flowering in May and June, and is a deciduous 

 tree or shrub. 



Hazel (Corj'lus Awllana, L.). — The habitat of 

 this shrub is woods, copses, and hedges. The 

 I lazel has the tree or bush habit. The trunk may 

 have a girth of 3 ft. It has the young twigs 

 usually glandular, roughly hairy or downy. The 

 branches are tufted, the bark rich brown, smooth, 

 warted. The leaves are rounded, in two rows, 

 with an unequal base, heart-shaped, with a narrow 

 point, downy below, toothed, with blunt points. 

 The stipules are blunt, oblong. The male catkins 

 are long, drooping, in a raceme, the female 

 flowers in egg-shaped buds nearly stalkless. The 

 fruit is woody, clustered, the involucre bell-shaped, 

 spreading, or palmate, a cupule. The Hazel 

 grows to a height of 6-20 ft. or rarely 30 ft. It 

 flowers in March, and is a deciduous shrub. 



lloinbeiim.(Carpiuus lie/it/us, L.). — The habitat 

 of this tree is woods in central and southern 

 England, damp clayey woods, and hedges. The 

 Hornbeam has the tree habit. It is a small tree, 

 with a trunk, flattened, frequently of 10 ft. girth. 

 The bark is smooth and ashen-gre)'. The leaves 

 are more or less in two rows, shortly stalked, egg- 

 shaped, elliptical, plaited in the bud, with double, 

 deep, and sharp teeth, hairy below. The male 

 catkins are pendulous, the bracts acute, egg- 

 shaped, lance-shaped. The female catkins are 

 pendulous in fruit, cylindrical, with an entire or 

 toothed bracteole. The female bracts are 3-lobed, 

 the middle one largest, the lobes lance-shaped. 

 The fruit is green with 7 it ribs. The Horn- 

 beam is 70 ft. in height when full grown. It 

 flowers in May. It is a deciduous tree. 



Sweet Chestnut (Caslaiiea saliva, MilI.).^In 

 this country it is a very doubtful native, having 

 been cultivated since Cjesar's time, and found in 

 parks and plantations. The Sweet Chestnut has 

 the tree habit. The trunk is usually twisted, and 

 deeply, spirally furrowed. The le.-ives arc oblong, 

 lance-shaped, toothed, smooth both sides, with 

 narrow, long, blunt points. The barren catkins 

 are long and cylindrical. The perianth is made 

 up of 6 segments. There are 8-20 stamens. The 

 fertile flowers are 3 in a 4-lobed prickly involucre. 

 There are 6 stigmas. The nut is i-celled with 

 1-3 seeds. The Sweet Chestnut is 60-90 ft. in 

 height, flowering in April and May. It is a 

 deciduous tree. 



Order Salicace.e 



White Poplar (Populus alba, L.).— The habitat 

 of this tree is moist woods, river banks, &c. The 

 White Poplar has the tree habit. The bark is 

 grey and smooth. The branches are spreading. 

 The buds are cottony. There are many suckers. 

 The leaves are triangul.ir, egg-shaped, 5-lobid, 

 and toothed. The leaves are smooth at length, 

 downy in bud, roimdish, he.irt-shaped, wavy, 

 white and cottony below. The leaf-stalk is long, 

 slender, flattened. The catkins are cylindrical, 

 the males hairy, longer. There are 6-10 stamens, 

 and the anthers are purple. The stigmas (2-4) 



