FLOWERING RUSH 155 



into the water, in which they do not sink but terminate in tlic mud 

 at the side, the plant hein^- dispersed by currents and by its own 



aijencv. 



Arrow-head is a([uatic, and a peat- or clay-loving plant. 



This choice plant is infested by two fungi, ^cidiuni incarccraliiiii 

 and Doassaiisia sagittaricr. A beetle, Galeriica sagiitaTicc, is found on it. 



Sagittaria, Lobel, is from the Latin sagitta, an arrow, and the 

 second Latin name also refers to the arrow-shaped leaves. 



Arrow-head is called Adder's Tongue, Water Archer, Arrow-head. 

 As to the second name Gerarde says, " Because it is good to pull out 

 arrows" l:>y Doctrine of Signatures! and as to the last he says, " Hath 

 large and long leaves, in .shape like the signe Sagittarius, or rather 

 like a bearded broad arrowe-heade ". 



The rhizome is bulbous, and has been used as an article of lood 

 in China, and here it is cultivated. 



There are 3 types of leaf. The submerged type is ribbon-like, 

 the floating leaves are oblong to heart-shaped, short, the erect, non- 

 submerged aerial leaves are arrow-shaped. The first are e.xtremely 

 thin, and the chlorophyll granules are arranged according to the state 

 of the light; they are flat and wave about in the water. 



Essential Specific Characters: — 



315. Sagittarla sagittifolia, L. — Leaves on long petioles, hastate, 

 erect, submerged petioles linear, flowers white, in whorls of 3. 



Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus, L.) 



This beautiful species, entirely aquatic, is found to-day in the North 

 Temperate Zone in Europe, N. and W. Asia, N.W. India. It is 

 unknown in early jjlant beds. In Great Britain it is absent in Corn- 

 w-all in the Peninsula province, but grows throughout the Channel, 

 Thames, Anglia, and Severn provinces; in S. Wales only in Cjlamorgan, 

 Brecon, and Pembroke; in N. Wales Carnarvon, P'lint, Anglcsea; 

 throughout the Trent, Mersey, and Humber provinces; in Durham 

 only in the T\ne province; in Scotland only in Mid and E. Perth. 

 El.sewhere it ranges from York and Durham to the South Coast. It is 

 naturalized in Scotland, rare in Ireland. 



The Flowering Rush is one of the pictures of aquatic vegetation, 

 which rises up in the mind's eye in recalling its main characteristics, 

 as obtained from the point of view of the most beautiful species. It 

 grows in canals, rivers, brooks, streams, and also in ponds and pools 

 indifferently, in the reed swamp. 



