272 FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



stalked, each with two pairs of small bracts at its base ; and are 

 arranged in irregular, leafy racemes on the topmost branches. 



Still in the same order (Ericacece), but quite distinct from the 

 Heaths, are a few moorland shrubs the berries of which are largely 

 eaten by the country-folk. They belong to the genus Vaccinium, 

 and have scattered, deciduous or evergreen leaves. We have noticed 

 that in the heaths the ovary is superior, but in the present genus 

 it is inferior ; that is, it is situated below the calyx and corolla, 

 which parts are attached to its upper border. The calyx has four 

 or five lobes ; and the corolla, which is bell-shaped or pitcher-shaped, 

 has the same number of lobes or teeth. The stamens, eight or ten 

 in number, are usually rendered peculiar by the tubular bristles 

 that extend upwards from the anther cells. The berries are globular 

 or nearly so, and contain several seeds. Some species of this genus 

 are rare, but three, at least, may be included here. They are — 



1. The Whortleberry or Bilberry {Vacciniam Myrtillus). — A 

 smooth shrub, from six to eighteen inches high, common everywhere 

 except in some of the eastern counties, flowering from April to 

 June. Its stem is erect or spreading, branched, green, and sharply 

 angular. The leaves are shortly stalked, ovate, serrate, seldom 

 more than an inch long ; and the flowers are nearly glol^ular, with 

 small teeth, drooping on short stalks, and placed singly in the axils 

 of the leaves. They are of a greenish rose or flesh-colour, often 

 tinged with red, and have a very waxy appearance. 



2. The Great Bilberry or Bog Whortleberry ( Vaccinium uligino- 

 sum). — A smaller and more woody shrub, from six to ten inches 

 high, growing only in the moorland bogs of North Britain. Its stem 

 and branches are round or scarcely angular, and usually procumbent 

 and crooked. The leaves are small, obovate or round, entire, thin, 

 deciduous, with the veins strongly marked on the under side ; and 

 the flowers are globular, of a pale pink colour, smaller than 

 those of the last species. This species flowers during May and June. 



3. The Red Whortleberry or Crowberry (F. Vitis-idcea). — A 

 straggling, much branched, and woody shrub, from six to eighteen 

 inches high, found chiefly on the mountainous heaths of the North. 

 Its leaves are evergreen, obovate, dotted beneath, with the margins 

 slightly rolled back ; and the flowers are bell-shaped, of a pale 

 pink or flesh-colour, arranged in rather dense, drooping clusters. 

 The latter, which bloom from June to August, are followed by 

 red, globular berries. 



On wet, marshy heaths we occasionally meet with the Marsh 



