FURZE 75 



The beetles Libia cyanocephala, Cryptocephalus morcci, Chrysomela 

 hyperici feed on St. John's Wort. 



The flowers are prettier than those of some of the other species 

 (hence the Latin name pulchruni), and are tinged with red. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



62. Hypericum pulchrum, L. Stem erect, single, terete or round 

 in section, glabrous, leaves cordate, clasping, smooth, the upper 

 oblong, flowers golden -red, sepals and petals also obtuse, fringed 

 with stalked glands. 



Furze (Ulex europseus, L.) 



Though ubiquitous in certain habitats, no traces of Furze occur in 

 Glacial deposits. The present range is from Denmark to Italy, the 

 Canaries, and Azores, or the Warm Temperate Zone. Furze is found 

 in every part of Great Britain northward to Scotland, and though rarer 

 in the North it ascends to 2100 ft. in Wales. It is found in the Channel 

 Islands. 



There is not a heath in the country which lacks a patch, however 

 small, of the dry-soil-loving Furze, unless it has been .rigorously under 

 cultivation for a long time. But even then a bit here and there will 

 keep cropping up to indicate the former state of the country before the 

 universal enclosure, and consequent obscuring of the native flora, 100 

 years (or in some cases 200, or even 300 years) ago. 



Furze is a dense, much-branched, stunted shrub, with no leaves in 

 the older stages, when they take the form of long thread-like spines, 

 which are straight and furrowed or branching. The stem is hairy and 

 spreading. The cotyledons are succeeded by trifoliate leaves with egg- 

 shaped leaflets which soon disappear. 



The flowers are golden-yellow, lateral, with egg-shaped bracts, free, 

 borne upon the spines, the teeth of the calyx coming together, yellow, 

 with black hairs, and shaggy. The wings of the flower are larger than 

 the keel, the petals shortly clawed. The pods are black, and clothed 

 with brownish hair, and on maturity burst and scatter the seeds to 

 a distance. 



The plant is 6 ft. high usually. The flowers bloom in April right 

 up to August in different parts or even later, and as early as January 

 in some seasons. Furze is an evergreen shrub, and propagated by 

 seed. 



The calyx is larger and coloured, the alae are longer in proportion, 

 and project beyond the keel, being locked at the base with it. When 



