ROADSIDES AND HEDGES 



249 



limit also other plants disappear. The typical 

 vegetation above this is the moorland heather, 

 &c. , varied with Matweed or wet-soil plants, 

 as in the bogs, which cover so large a part of 

 the uplands. As a whole, in fact, the flora of 

 a roadside is usually very uniform in this 

 respect, as it is a sine qua non to provide a 

 level road. But there are considerable varia- 

 tions in altitude in the same road, and the 

 flora even at the bottom of a long steep hill 

 will differ from that at the top, if only from 

 the greater exposure to wind. 



At low levels in flat country the roads may 

 frequently be under water for some period of 

 the year, or the surrounding district over- 

 saturated with moisture, especially near rivers. 

 In this case many plants will be dispersed, 

 owing to the floods, by the carrying of seeds 

 from elsewhere, and aquatic plants often 

 spring up along such roads. 



The influence of altitude upon plants in this 

 way should be carefully noticed, and lists of 

 plants at different heights should be made and 

 compared. 



Effect upon Habit. The tree types and hedge 

 or scrub of a roadside may be continuous or dis- 

 continuous. In the former case, if the two sides 

 of the road are equally allowed to attain their 

 full development, as in an avenue, to take an 

 extreme case, the effect upon the rest of the 

 flora will be similar to that of a ride or glade 

 in a wood, and the conditions as regards light, 

 moisture, and protection will be such as shade- 

 plants require. The latter have several types 

 of habit, as the inversely pyramidal, grass 

 habit, and rosette habit. Where the tree and 

 scrub are discontinuous the conditions will be 

 intermediate, and sun-plants will in this case 

 be more dominant, whilst shade-plants will 

 seek the shelter of the hedge bottom or ditch. 

 In the opposite extreme case, where both trees 

 and scrub are absent and the hedges layered 

 or cut back, shade-plants will survive only in 

 the hedge bottom and ditch. 



The flora of the sward in the first case will 

 be more akin to that of a woodland, whilst in 

 the third case the flora will be of a dry-soil 

 meadow type. The plants in the ditches, 

 owing to the narrow character of the latter, 

 will be erect and drawn up, developing spike- 

 like flowering stems, and reduced or rosette 

 foliage, whilst the aquatic types will be less 

 well-developed, and in the intense struggle for 

 existence will at the lowest level show ab- 

 normal characters. The hedgerow plants and 

 trees are largely affected in habit by artificial 

 trimming or layering. 



Flowering Seasons. The flora of the road- 

 side is decidedly composite, so that the seasons 

 of flowering of wayside and hedgerow plants 



are sufficiently representative. The meadow 

 types that flourish on the sward are akin to 

 those that grow in the fields, and these, except 

 Grasses, are more or less early. Plants such 

 as the Ragworts, Red Bartsia, and Rushes 

 are late-flowering. The Sedges usually met 

 with are early-flowering species, as Carex 

 verna (or prcecox), Carex glauca, &c. The 

 Daisy and the Dandelion are almost perennial. 

 The ditch vegetation, like that of truly 

 aquatic formations, is as a whole late, e.g. 

 Watercress, Great White Stitchwort, many 

 Rushes, Sedges, &c., whilst Cuckoo Flower is 

 early in flowering. The plants that lurk in 

 the hedge bottom are representative of all 

 months of the year. The Lesser Celandine 

 appears almost before any other flowers, and 

 the Spurge Laurel soon after. The Common 

 Chickweed is nearly perennial. Moschatel is 

 fairly early, and so, as wayside plants, are 

 Lords and Ladies and Dog's Mercury, indicat- 

 ing former woodland. The Red Campion, 

 also a woodland plant, is a little later. Ground 

 Ivy is one of the early plants, and Germander 

 Speedwell also. 



In the hedge the Hazel is the first to bloom, 

 then come the Sloe, Crab Apple, Hawthorn, 

 and still later the Dog Rose, Cornel, Guelder 

 Rose, and Buckthorn. Privet is the latest, 

 save the Ivy. Of the trees, the Elms are very 

 early, as are the Willows, then the Ash, the 

 Oak, Beech, Field Maple, and Lime com- 

 mence to flower by degrees. 



Effect upon Height The continuity or other- 

 wise of the trees and scrub in the hedgerow 

 has a marked effect upon the rest of the road- 

 side flora. Much depends upon the direction 

 of the road, and the relation of the sun to the 

 barriers that the hedges form to its path across 

 the road. 



There are roughly four types of vegetation 

 along a roadside or a hedgerow, and the plants 

 of each type more or less retain the same rela- 

 tive standard as to height, save in the case of 

 the plants on one side which receive least sun, 

 or are hidden by an overhanging hedge or tree 

 belt. The height of the ditch plants is regu- 

 lated by the height of the ditch. Those that 

 grow vigorously, as Great Hairy Willow-herb, 

 endeavour to reach above the banks on either 

 side, and are usually abnormally long. Hence 

 they must not be taken as typical examples. 

 The plants at the bottom, as Watercress, are 

 necessarily dwarfed, and consequent upon the 

 crowded character of the ditch often lie along 

 the bottom in a procumbent manner, and so 

 lose height, even if they do not spread much 

 more extensively than usual. The plants 

 below or at the bottom of the hedge, as Three- 

 nerved Stitchwort, usually lie on the surface, 



