74 



BRITISH FLORA 



The bracts are awl-like. The flowers are numer- 

 ous, in a long-, narrow, spiked raceme. The 

 flower-stalks are spreading 1 at first, then erect. 

 The perianth -segments are narrow to oblong, 

 variable in length, green, the margins white in- 

 side. The anther-stalks are swollen below to the 

 middle, long-pointed. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, 

 flowering in June and July, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Drooping Star -of -Bethlehem (Omilhogalum 

 nutans, L.). The habitat of this plant is copses, 

 shrubberies, orchards, fields, and waste places. 

 The leaves are linear, lance-shaped, broad, bluish- 

 green, with a white stripe, grooved. The scape 

 is as long as the leaves. The bracts are long and 

 slender. The flowers are white, few, drooping 

 (hence nnfans), in a loose raceme. The flower- 

 stalks are curved, shorter than the bracts. The 

 perianth is broad, with lance-shaped segments, 

 green externally. The anther-stalks are broadly 

 swollen upwards, 3-lobed, flat, membranous, the 

 lateral points acute, the middle short, bearing the 

 anther. The capsule is pendulous, egg-shaped, 

 green, and fleshy. The plant is 9-12 in. high, 

 flowering in April and May, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Purple Martagon Lily (Lilium Martagon, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is woods and copses. 

 The habit is lily-like. The stem is downy, rough, 

 rounded. The leaves are stalked, inversely egg- 

 shaped to lance-shaped, in whorls of 6-8, the upper 

 linear, acute. The flowers are in an erect raceme, 

 drooping, sweet-scented at night. The bracts are 

 green, linear to lance-shaped. The perianth-seg- 

 ments are flesh-coloured to purple, bent back, ob- 

 long, with dark, raised papillae. The honey-gland 

 has thick, raised borders. The plant is i-ij ft. 

 high, flowering from June to September, and is a 

 herbaceous perennial. 



Pyrenean Lily (Lilium pyrenaicum, Gouan). 

 The habitat of this lily is hedgebanks. The habit 

 is as in the last. The leaves are scattered, linear, 

 lance-shaped. The flowers are yellow, with black 

 dots below, nodding. The perianth is turned 

 back, and the segments linear lance-shaped, 

 yellow. The plant is 1-3 ft. high, flowering in 

 June and July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Yellow Star-of- Bethlehem (Gagea In/ea, Ker.). 

 The habitat of this plant is woods, thickets, 

 pastures. The habit is lily-like. The stem is 

 angular, not as long as the leaf. The bulb is 

 solitary, small, egg-shaped or nearly round, with 

 basal bulbils. The radical leaf is linear lance- 

 shaped, ribbed, flat. The scape is short. There 

 are 1-3 bracts, 2 opposite, i exceeding the flowers. 

 The sheath is slender. The flowers are yellow, 

 in an umbel. The perianth-segments are linear- 

 oblong, blunt, thin, yellow-green at the back. 

 The flower opens only in the middle of the day. 

 The capsule is membranous, the seeds numerous. 

 The plant is 6-10 in. high, flowering in March till 

 May, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Herb Paris (fan's quadri folia, L.). The habi- 

 tat of this plant is damp woods. The habit is 

 erect. The rootstock is white, creeping. The 



stem is round, leafy above, with a sheath below. 

 The leaves are egg-shaped to oblong, or inversely 

 egg-shaped, 4 as a rule when the flowers are in 

 4's, or more when the segments are more, 3-5- 

 nerved. The flowers are solitary, stalked, erect. 

 The sepals are lance-shaped, green, with a long 

 point, as long as the yellow awl-like petals. The 

 connective is produced. The fruit is a black 

 berry, which bursts irregularly. The seeds an 

 black. The plant is 6-12 in. high, flowering in 

 May, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



ORDER JUNCACEJE 



Hairy Wood Rush (Luzula vernalis, D.C. = 

 fitncoides pilosum, Morong.). The habitat of this 

 rush is woods, thickets, and shady places. The 

 habit is the usual rush type. The rootstock is 

 short and tufted, with slender stolons. The stems 

 are slender, numerous. The leaves are as long 

 as the stem, broad, lance-shaped, soft, sparsely 

 hairy. The bracteoles are short and broad. The 

 flowers are in a loose cyme, with few, turned- 

 down, hair-like branches in fruit. The floxvrrs 

 are more or less solitary, chestnut-brown, paired. 

 The perianth-segments have a long, narrow point, 

 shorter than the capsule, which is broad, egg- 

 shaped, blunt-pointed. The crests of the seeds 

 are curved, terminal. The plant is 6-12 in. high, 

 flowering in May and June, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Forster's Wood Rush (Litzula forsteri, Sm.). 

 The habitat of this species is thickets, woods, and 

 shaded places. The habit is as in the last. It is 

 more slender than the last. The leaves are linear, 

 hairy. The flower-stalk is i-flowered, erect in 

 flower and fruit, the flowers in a panicle with few 

 branches. The stamens are as long as the style, 

 the anther-stalks as long as the anthers. The 

 capsule is acute, 3-angled, not narrowed below. 

 The seeds have a short, terminal, straight, blunt 

 crest. The plant is 6-12 in. high, flowering in 

 March to June, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



ORDER CYPERACE^ 



Grassy Sedge (Carex remo/a, L.). The habitat 

 of this sedge is copses and damp places. The 

 habit is sedge-like. The stem is slender, inclined, 

 3-angled. The leaves are channelled, narrow, as 

 long as the stems, flat. The bracts are long, leaf- 

 like. The spike has a rough rachis, and the 

 spikelets are all simple, the upper crowded, ob- 

 long, the lower remote (hence remo/a). The fruit 

 is egg-shaped, lance-shaped, longer than the 

 glumes, narrow to egg-shaped, pale, finely fur- 

 rowed. The beak is broad, with toothed margins. 

 The midrib of the glume does not reach the point. 

 The plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering in June and 

 July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Elongate Sedge (Carex elongata, L.). The 

 habitat of this sedge is wet copses and marshes. 

 The habit is sedge-like. The plant is slender, 

 with a tufted rootstock and many stems, 3-aiiK I( '<' 

 rough, graceful, leafy. The leaves are longer 



