I40 K1.0\Vi:i^S OI' LAKES, RU'ERS, ETC. 



flower. It is called .Snake's-head l.ily tmni the shape of the flower 

 and the spotted petals. It is an ornamental plant which is cultivated 

 and grown in gardens. 



Es.sENTi.\L Si'Ecii'ic Cii.\r.a.cti:rs : — 



303. Fritillaria Meleagris, L. — Elowering stem a scape with single 

 fl(_)wers, leaves linear-lanceolate, flowers purple, chequered, camj)anulate, 

 drooping. 



Reed-mace ( Typha latifolia, L.) 



A common and familiar plant, associated with pond antl aquatic life 

 generally, our present knowledge of its range and history is derivetl 

 from the modern distribution of the Reed-mace, which is the .\. 

 Temperate Zone in Europe (e.xcept Greece), N. Africa, X. and W. 

 Asia, N. America. In South Britain it does not grow in .\. I)e\on, 

 Cardigan, Mid Lanes, S.E. Yorks, Isle of Man. In Scotland it is 

 found onlv in Wigtown in West Lowlands, not at all in the I{. Low- 

 lands, and not in S. Perth or Kincardine. In the W. Highlands it is 

 found only in Clyde Islands, Cantire, and in N. Highlands in E. Ross, 

 Caithness, and it is extinct again in the Orkneys, in the North Isles. 

 It is found in Ireland and the Channel Ishuuls. 



The common Reed-mace is a local but generally distributed aquatic 

 plant, growing deeply rooted in the mud in ponds, pools, and lakes, 

 generally in a more or less sheltered position. It is also found less 

 commonK' in ri\ers antl I)\- the siiles ot streams, as well as in fen and 

 marsh land in the reed swamp, open or closed. 



While grass-like, the Reed-mace has a habit of its own, with tall, 

 erect, unbranched stems, and leaves i in. broad and 3 tt. long, bluish. 

 They are flat, linear, in two rows, blunt, and longer or taller than the 

 flowerheads. 



The plants are monoecious, with male and female flow'ers on the 

 same spike, the latter below, dark-brown or black, the former yellow. 

 The anther-stalks are shorter than the anthers at first, then longer 

 after the pollen is shed. The stigmas are long, lance-sha[K'(.l, oblique. 



Reed-mace is 6-10 ft. high. The flowers are in bloom in July. 

 The plant is a herbaceous perennial and propagated by seeds, forming 

 a great ornament in ponds and even growing on dry soil. 



The flowers are wind-pollinated, moncecious. The yellower flowers 

 above are male, with 2-5 stamens, the connective e.xtending beyond 

 the anthers, which are monadelphous. The flowers (both sexes) are 

 surrounded by persistent membranous scales or hairs. The anthers 

 open laterally, producing showers of pollen. The stigma is blunt, the 



