144 



BRITISH FLORA 



flowers an- lilac, the caljx leelli densely hairy. 

 The lower part ol'llie calyx and corolla are smooth, 

 as are the ultimate flower-stalks. The bracts are 

 all leafy, the uppermost with no flowers. The 

 plant is 1-2 11. in lieijjht, flowerinjj from August to 

 October, and the plant is a herbaceous perennial. 

 Water Germander (Tcucriiim Scordium, L.). — 

 The h.ibilat of this plant is wet meadows and 

 marshes. The li.ibit is erect, or prostrate below, 

 the stem hair}', much branched from the base. 

 The leaves are obloni;*, without stalks, toothed, 

 green on each side. The corolla is purple, the 

 flowers being borne in whorls in the axils. The 

 teeth of the calj'x arc short and equal. The 

 bracts resemble the leaves. The lower lip of the 

 corolla is spotted. The plant is 4-24 in. in height. 

 The period of flowering is from July to October. 

 It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Order Polygonace.'e 



Small Persicaria (Polyironum minus, Huds.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is wet, gravelly places, 

 marshy places. The habit is prostrate, thci 

 ascending. The stem is spreading, much branched, 

 slender. The leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, 

 linear, fringed with hairs, not glandular, the ocrese 

 or stipules close, short, not inflated, fringed with 

 hairs, glandless. The flowers are in greenish- 

 pink, erect or ascending, slender, loose, straight, 

 solitary racemes or spikes, on slender stalks. 

 The outer perianth-segments are glandular at the 

 base only. The styles are 2-3, united half-way. 

 The fruit, a nut, is smooth, shining, small, plano- 

 convex, or 3-angled, flattened, as long as the 

 outer perianth. The plant is 6-18 in. high, flower- 

 ing in August and September, and is a herbaceous 

 annual. 



Yellow Marsh Dock {Rtjmex palustris, Sni. = 

 R. limosiis, Thuill. = K. mnritimus x conglomeratus). 

 — The habitat of this plant is marshes (hence 

 palustris). The habit is erect. The radical leaves 

 are narrowly lance-shaped, rounded, or run down 

 the stem below, the stem-leaves are linear, lance- 

 shaped, narrow below. The flowers are numerous, 

 in distant, distinct, leafy whorls, yellowish-green. 

 The outer perianth -segments are egg-shaped, 

 oblong, with 2-3 short, bristle-like teeth, not so 

 long as the inner perianth-segments, with a lance- 

 shaped, entire point, and a prominent, narrow, 

 oblong tubercle. The fruit is larger (2-3 times) 

 than in R. marititniis. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, 

 flowering in July and .'\ugust, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Order Ament.\ce^ 



Alder (Alnus glulinosa, Gaertn. = A. rotundi- 

 folia. Mill.). — The habitat of this plant is river- 

 banks, marshes, stream-sides, moist places. The 

 Alder nas the tree habit. The trunk and branches 

 are crooked. It is a bush or tree 20-40 or 70 ft. 

 in height, with a trunk 1-2 ft. in diameter. The 

 bark is black, the wood white, turning red, then 

 pink. The leaves are shortly-stalked, glutinous, 

 downy in the axils of veins below, hair_y when 



young, wavy, coarsely-loothed, invcrsily ovate 

 or rounded to wedge-shaped, green both sides. 

 The stipules are ovate. The male flowers are in 

 long, pendent catkins, which appear before the 

 leaves, with red, round bracts; the female flowers 

 are in short, racemose spikes, terminal, oblong or 

 ovoid, blunt, with reddish -brown woody bracts. 

 The fruit is pale, scarcely winged. The Alder is 

 fairly tall, flowering in March and April, and is a 

 deciduous tree. 



Dwarf Birch (Bfliila nmia, L.).— The hal;itat 

 of this pl.int is Scotch bogs, turfy places, moun- 

 tains. The plant has the shrub or bush habit, 

 prostrate, then ascending. The leaves are small, 

 round, scalloped,* hairless, shortly-stalked, blunt, 

 dark-green. The catkins are compound inflor- 

 escences a quarter as large as in B. alba (q.v.), 

 the scales of the female catkins digitate to 3-fid, 

 inversely wedge-shaped, with equal, rounded 

 lobes, small, nearly stalkless. The fruit has a 

 narrow, membranous border, and is round. The 

 plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering in May, and is a 

 perenni.1l shrub. 



Almond-leaved Willow (Salix Iriandra, L.). — 

 The h.'ibitat of this willow is river-banks, osier 

 Ijeds, wet woods. The plant has the willow habit. 

 The bark is flaky. The leaves are linear-oblong, 

 lance-shaped, smooth, acute, coarsely-toothed, 

 narrowed to the base, paler below. The stipules 

 are half heart-shaped, blunt. The catkins are 

 slender, oblong, ovate, stalked, and appear with 

 the leaves. The female catkins are narrower. The 

 disk of the male flower is 2-glandular. There are 

 3 stamens (hence triandra). The stigma is more 

 or less stalkless, with a thick short style. The 

 scales are persistent, smooth. The ovary is not 

 furrowed. The capsule is small, round, smooth. 

 The height reached is 20 ft. This species flowers 

 in April and Ma}', and is a deciduous tree. 



Osier (Salix viminalis, L.). — The habitat of this 

 plant is wet places, osier beds. The Osier has 

 the shrub or tree habit, with long, slender, straight, 

 wand-like branches, when young silky, polished 

 and leafy when older. The leaves are linear to 

 lance-shaped, with a long point, n.arrowed into a 

 stalk, shining, netted above, bluish-green or silvery 

 and silky below, the entire or obscurely-scalloped 

 margin rolled back. The stipules are small, 

 linear to lance-shaped. The catkins are stalkless, 

 lance-shaped, long, and appear before the leaves, 

 being golden -yellow. The scales are oblong, 

 brown, and blunt. There are small bracts, or 

 none. The style is long, linear, and entire. The 

 stigmas are entire. The capsule is shortly- 

 stalked, downy, with a broad base, white, lance- 

 shaped or awl-like. The Osier reaches a height 

 of 30 ft. The flowers bloom from April to June. 

 The tree is deciduous and perennial. 



Purple Osier (Salix purpurea, L.). — The habitat 

 of this plant is river-banks, osier beds, marshes. 

 The habit is erect or prostrate, with tough, slen- 

 der twigs. The bark is red or purple. The leaves 

 are sometimes more or less opposite, thin, linear 

 to lance-shaped, long-pointed, narrow above and 

 below, glandular, coarsely-toothed, bluish-green, 



