20 FLOWERS OF THE BOGS AND MARSHES 



The \'aleriaii is 1-2 ft. high. It (lowers in May and July. It is 

 a deciduous, herbaceous plant increased by division. 



The honey is secreted in a small pouch with a green, tleshy ring 

 ^ mm. from the base of the tube. The flowers are dioecious, stamens 

 and pistils being on different plants, and are usually cross-pollinated. 

 The male tlowers are larger than the female, and are the first to 

 be visited; but the female open first according to Kerner. The tube 

 in the male plant is 2^ to 3^ mm. long, wider above; the female is only 

 I mm., and the honey is accessible to short-lipped insects. The 

 capitulum or head of the flower is not as conspicuous as in V. offici- 

 nalis. It flowers so early that the plant is exposed to much less 

 competition. Insects are numerous but not varied. There are 4 kinds 

 of flowers: i, male flower without rudiment of pistil and large corolla; 

 2, male flower with rudimentary pistil and smaller corolla; 3, female 

 flower with traces of anthers and still smaller corollas; 4, female flower 

 with scarcely any trace of anthers and very small corollas. It is visited 

 by Apis lucllifica, Ainirciia a/liicaiis, Eristalis arbits/oniiii, Rhingia 

 rostrata, Tifiu/a, Picris napi, Meligclhes. 



The calv.x of the fruit is provided with feathery hairs which aid in 

 wind dispersal. 



This Valerian is addicted to wet land, and a [ieat-]o\ing plant, re- 

 quiring a more or less peaty habitat, such as that of a marsh or bog. 



Two little fungi may be discovered parasitic upon it. They are 

 Uroinyces ]"alerian(r and Synchytriuin aiirenm. A Thysanopterous 

 insect, Phl(Cothrips albipeiinis, and a moth, Dcpressaria pulchcriiiiclla, 

 feed upon it. 



J'a/ci'iana may be from the Latin z'a/ar, to be powerful or well, 

 because of its medicinal effects, and the second Latin name refers to its 

 dioecious character. 



This plant is an ornamental plant. It has been used for hysteria. 

 Cats are fond of it, and rat-catchers also employ it. 



Essential Specific Ch.\racteks : — 



145. Valeriana dioica, L. — Stem erect, radical leaves ovate, petio- 

 late, stem-leaves pinnatifid, with terminal lobe, plants imperfectly 

 dioecious, flowers white or rose-coloured, siaminatc flowers larger. 



Cranberry (Oxycoccus palustris, Pers. = O. quadripetala. Gilib.) 



Though an Arctic plant the Cranberry has not been found in any 

 early deposits. At the present day it occurs in the North Temperate 

 and Arctic Zones in Arctic liurope, but not in Turkey, in N. Asia, and 



