ROADSIDES AND HEDGES 



79 



egg-shaped, acute, 3- or rarely 5-nerved (hence 

 trinervis in the first case), fringed with hairs, like 

 the stalks, the upper stalkless. The flowers are 

 small, in the axils, solitary, or in a cyme, long- 

 stalked, the stalks slender and spreading at length, 

 white. The petals are inversely egg-shaped, 

 lance-shaped. The sepals are 3-ribbed, the lateral 

 veins faint, the intermediate rib strongest, rough, 

 lance-shaped, longer than the petals. There are 

 10 stamens, or the plant may rarely be pentandrous. 

 The capsule is nearly round, included in the calyx, 

 the seeds smooth, with an arillus. The plant is 

 6-12 in. long, flowering in May and June, or as 

 late as November, and is an annual. 



ORDER GERANIACE^: 



Small Crane's Bill (Geranium pusillum, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is waysides, hedge- 

 banks, cultivated ground, and waste places. The 

 habit is prostrate, then erect, or with a semi-rosette 

 habit. The stem is spreading, downy, the down 

 soft and short. The leaves are as in G. molle, 

 but deeply lobed, kidney-shaped, with 5-7 lobes 

 radiating from a common centre, divided into three. 

 The flowers are numerous, small, pale-rose, not 

 longer than the calyx, the stalks in the axils shorter 

 than the leaves, bent down in front. The petals 

 are notched, the claw fringed with hairs. The 

 sepals are blunt, pointed, or acute. The perfect 

 stamens are often only 5. The style is pale flesh- 

 colour. The carpels persist, and are keeled, not 

 wrinkled, with closely pressed hairs. The seeds 

 are smooth. The plant is 6-18 in. high, flowering 

 from June to September, and is a herbaceous 

 annual. 



Jagged-leaved Geranium (Geranium dtssectum, 

 L. ). The habitat of this plant is hedges, waste 

 places, and cultivated ground. The habit is pros- 

 trate, then ascending. The stem is branched, 

 hairy, and rather glandular. -The leaves are 

 much-divided nearly to the base, with 5-7 linear 

 segments, deeply irregularly lobed, longer than 

 the short flower-stalks. The footstalks are short. 

 The stipules are egg-shaped, with a long, narrow 

 point. The flowers are axillary, small, shortly- 

 stalked, bluish -purple or bright -red, the petals 

 notched, short, inversely egg-shaped, the claw 

 fringed with hairs, about as long as the sepals, 

 which have a long awn. The carpels are not 

 wrinkled, smooth, even, or with erect hairs. The 

 seeds are pitted. The plant is 6-18 in. high, 

 flowering from June to August, and is a herb- 

 aceous annual. 



Shining Crane's Bill (Geranium lucidunt, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is hedgerows, hedge- 

 banks, rocky places, and old walls. The habit 

 is prostrate, then ascending. The plant is brittle 

 and succulent. The stem is hairless, shining (hence 

 liici'dum), spreading, tinged with red. The upper 

 branches have two lines of hairs. The leaves are 

 rounded, kidney -shaped, 5-lobed, the segments 

 scalloped, bent, blunt-pointed. The leaf-stalk is 

 long, but less than the flower-stalk. The stipules 

 are egg-shaped, acute. The flowers are rose- 



colour. The calyx is wrinkled, pyramidal. The 

 claw of the inversely egg-shaped, entire petal is 

 without hairs, long, nearly equal to the calyx, 

 which has long-awned sepals, shorter than the 

 petals. The carpels are wrinkled, keeled, netted, 

 separating from the axis, hairless, glandular, or 

 hairy above. The seeds are smooth. 



ORDER LEGUMINOS^ 



Smooth Tare (Vicia tetrasperma, Moench). 

 The habitat of this plant is hedgerows, bushy 

 places, hedges, meadows, cornfields, and woods. 

 The habit is climbing. The stems are thread-like. 

 The leaflets are in 3-6 pairs, blunt, narrow, linear 

 to oblong, with a short point. The stipules are half 

 arrow-shaped, the lower divided into two nearly to 

 the base. The tendrils are once- or twice-forked. 

 The stalks bear 1-2 flowers, which are as long as 

 the leaves, pale -blue, the standard with blue 

 streaks, notched. The calyx-teeth are long, tri- 

 angular, unequal, shorter than the tube, the two 

 upper spreading. The ultimate flower-stalks are 

 short and curved. The pods are shortly-stalked, 

 4-seeded, smooth, linear to oblong, the hile oblong. 

 The seeds are 3-5, rounded, dull-brown, roughish. 

 The plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering from June to 

 August. It is a herbaceous annual. 



Slender Tare ( Vicia gracilis, Lois.). The habi- 

 tat of this plant is hedges, fields, in the south, 

 and waste places, and the plant is rare. The 

 habit is as in the last. The leaflets are in 3-4 

 pairs, linear, long, narrow, with a long narrow 

 point, acute. The stipules are half arrow-shaped. 

 The flowers are twice as large as in the last, the 

 stalks bearing 1-4 flowers, and longer than the 

 leaves, pale-blue, with a notched standard. The 

 calyx- teeth are unequal, shorter than the tube, 

 the 2 upper shortest, meeting together, long, 

 triangular. The pods are 5- 8- seeded, hairless, 

 longer than in the last, linear, the upper entire, 

 rather bent down at the end. The seeds are 

 rounded, dark-brown and yellow, half as large as 

 in the last, and the hile half as long, round to 

 oval. The plant is 1-3 ft. high, flowering from 

 June to August, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Common or Hairy Vetch ( Vicia hirsute, Gray). 

 The habitat of this plant is hedges, cornfields, 

 waste places. The habit is as in the last. The 

 plant is, however, hairy (hence hirsute). The 

 leaflets are not so large, in 6-8 pairs, linear, 

 lance-shaped, blunt, with a short point. The 

 stipules are 4-lobed. The stalks bear 1-6 flowers, 

 and are as long as the leaves, the ultimate ones 

 straight, the flowers smaller, pale-blue, the stand- 

 ard not notched. The calyx-teeth are equal, as 

 long as their tube, the 2 upper meeting, awl-like. 

 The pods are 2-seeded, hairy, rarely smooth, 

 stalkless, shorter, oblong, blunt, the upper entire, 

 nearly straight, and prominent at the end. The 

 seeds are round, flattened at the border, red with 

 dark spots, smooth. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, 

 flowering between June and August, and is a 

 herbaceous annual. 



Common Hedge Vetch (Vicia sepium, L.). 



