158 



BRITISH FLORA 



2-sccilc(I. Tlif plant is 1-2 in. hiijli, ;uul (lowers 

 in June and July. It is an annu.al. 



Okdkr Lythrace.k 



Water Purslane {Pefi/is Por/ula, L.).— The habi- 

 tat of this plant is wet heathy places, the marjjin 

 of ponds, damp places. The habit is creeping:. 

 The stem is longf, creeping. The plant is devoid 

 of hairs, branched, tufted. The stems are 4- 

 angled, creeping, fragile. The leaves are oppo- 

 site, shortly-stalked, inversely ovate. The flowers 

 are small, solitary, purple, axillary. The petals 

 are often absent. The tube of the calyx is short, 

 shortly bell-shaped, not so long as the capsule, 

 i2-ribbed. The teeth are triangular. There are 

 6 or 12 stamens. The capsule is rounded. The 

 plant is 3-8 in. in height, flowering from July to 

 August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Order Cornace.« 



Dwarf Cornel {Cornus snecica, L.). — The habi- 

 tat of this species is moist alpine moors. The 

 plant is prostrate, then erect, herbaceous in habit. 

 The rootstock is prostrate, then ascending or sub- 

 terranean, woody and leafless. The aerial stems 

 are erect, forked above, scaly below, 4- angled. 

 The leaves are few, stalkless, in pairs, oblong or 

 ovate, acute, with 5-7 veins, bluish-green below. 

 The flowers are in terminal umbels, with an in- 

 volucre of 4 white leaves or bracts, which are 

 acute, petal-like, with few flowers. The flowers 

 are white or dark purple, and very small. The 

 petals and sepals are bent-back. The bracts have 

 purple tips, and serve as petals. The stamens are 

 yellow. The fruit is a drupe, red in colour. The 

 plant is 4-8 in. high, and flowers from July to 

 August, being a herbaceous perennial. 



Order Composit^e 



Common Erect Cudweed (Filago germanica, L. ). 

 • — The habitat of this plant is dry pastures and 

 banks, where the soil is drj', and it is adapted to 

 these conditions, having erect, reduced leaves, and 

 the whole plant is woolly. The habit is erect, 

 branched above, the stems rigid, cottony. The 

 leaves are oblong, linear. The flowerheads are 

 in the angles of the branches, the florets pale- 

 brown, the heads obscurely 5-angled, 20 or more, 

 in terminal dense clusters. The involucel is yellow 

 at the tip. The fruit is rounded, covered with 

 wart-like projections. The plant is 6 in. to ij ft. 

 in height, and flowers in July and August, being 

 a herbaceous annual. 



Cudweed (Filago apicnla/a, G. E. Smith).— The 

 habitat of this plant is sandy places. The habit 

 is similar to that of F. germanica, but it is taller 

 or branched, and erect. The stem is rigid and 

 cottony. The leaves are blunt, broader, with a 

 small hard point at the tip. The flowerheads are 

 acutely 5-angled, and one or two leaves overtop 

 them. The florets are as in F. germanica. The 

 bracts are purple and boat-shaped. The tip of 



the involucel is red. The plant is green, not grey, 

 as in the List. The flower smells like Tansy. 

 The fruit is as in the common lirecl Cudweed. 

 The plant is 6 in. to 1 ft. in height, and flowers in 

 July and August, being annu.il and herbaceous. 



Cudweed (Filag,, spalhulala, PresI).— The h.ibi- 

 tat of this plant is dry fields, waysides. The habit 

 is as in the two last, but the stem is short and pros- 

 trate, branched from the base, the branches hori- 

 zontal, the leaves flat, spoon-shaped, and the acute 

 leaves are longer than the 5-angled flowerheads. 

 The involucral bracts are boat-shaped. The tips 

 of the involucel are pale yellow. The florets are 

 not sunk in the wool. The plant is 5 in. to i ft. 

 in height, and flowers in July and August, being 

 a herbaceous annual. 



French Cudweed (Filago gallica, L. ). — The habi- 

 tat of this ])lant is sandy and dry gravelly fields. 

 The habit is erect, the stem very slender, much 

 branched regularly into 2 forks. The leaves are 

 linear, awl-shaped, and the margin is turned back, 

 as in plants adapted to dry conditions. The 

 plant is grey, and covered with silky wool. The 

 florets are yellow, in 3-6 stalkless woolly heads in 

 the axils, the leaves exceeding them. The fruit is 

 flattened at the side and covered with wart-like 

 projections. The plant is 6-8 in. in height, and 

 flowers between July and September, being a herb- 

 aceous annual. 



Jersey Cudweed (Gnaphalium luleo-album, L.). 

 — The habitat of this plant is dry places, light 

 soils, where it is sporadic. The habit is prostrate 

 below, then ascending or erect. The whole plant 

 is densely cottony. The stems are numerous and 

 leafy, simple or branched at the base, forming 

 corymbs above. The leaves are linear to oblong, 

 blunt or acute, the margin wavy, woolly both 

 sides, half-clasping, the lower leaves broader at 

 the extremity, the upper narrower, acute. The 

 flowerheads are clustered at the extremity in 

 leafless dense corymbs. The involucre is straw- 

 coloured. The florets are pale-yellow, tinged with 

 red. The scales of the involucre are membranous 

 and transparent. The female ray florets arc in 

 many series. The fruit is papillose. The plant is 

 6-12 in. high, flowering in July and August, and 

 is a herbaceous annual. 



Small Fleabane (Pnlicaria vulgaris, L. = P. 

 prostrata, Aschers). — The habitat of this plant is 

 moist sandy places, heaths, and wet places. The 

 habit is erect. The whole plant is downy and 

 glandular. The stem is leafy, much-branched. 

 The leaves are oblong, narrow below, lance- 

 shaped, stalkless, with a few teeth, wavy, some- 

 what clasping the stem. The flowerheads are 

 more or less solitary, terminal and lateral, hemi- 

 spherical. The florets are yellow. The ray florets 

 are very short. The ligules are erect and very 

 short. The flower- stalks are short and stout. 

 The involucral bracts are awl-like, glandular to 

 downy. The fruit is round, the outer pappus con- 

 sists of distinct scales, the pappus hairs are few, 

 dirty-white, and unequal. The plant is 3-18 in. 

 in height, and flowers between August and Sep- 

 tember. The plant is a herbaceous annual. 



