128 



BRITISH FLORA 



and hedges, and it is a casual escape from gardens 

 in many instances. The habit is erect. The stem 

 is smooth or downy, simple, with numerous leaves, 

 nearly round, the radical leaves heart-shaped, 

 on long stalks, rough, unequally scalloped and 

 coarsely toothed, the upper stem-leaves are stalk- 

 less and lance-shaped. The flowers are pale blue, 

 bell-shaped, in terminal racemes, turned one way, 

 bent back, the calyx segments drooping at length, 

 and the corolla lobes bent back. The capsule is 

 nearly round, the valves at the base. The plant 

 is 1-2 ft. in height. It flowers in July and August. 

 It is a herbaceous perennial. 



ORDER PRIMULACE^ 



Punctate Loosestrife (Lysimachia punc/ata, L. 

 = L. verticillata, Bieb.). The habitat of this 

 species is damp, shady places, waste places. The 

 habit is erect. The stem is downy. The leaves 

 are downy, ovate, lance-shaped, opposite or in 

 whorls, stalked, dotted, the upper leaves narrower. 

 The flowers are yellow, with a corolla fringed 

 with hairs, the segments ovate, glandular, the 

 stalks in the axils, opposite or whorled, i-flowered, 

 downy, rarely branched, not so long as the leaves. 

 There are 5 stamens. The plant is i-i ft. high, 

 flowering in June and July, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Ciliate Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata, Ait.) 

 This plant is found near gardens and waste places. 

 The habit is erect. The stem is tall, rigid. The 

 leaves are opposite, ovate to lance-shaped, not 

 dotted, more or less heart-shaped, the stalks 

 fringed with hairs. The flowers are pale yellow, 

 the corolla - segments round, scalloped. The 

 flower-stalks are axillary, opposite or in whorls. 

 There are 10 anther-stalks, free, 5 being function- 

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

 and July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



ORDER BORAGINACE.S 



Madwort (Aspcrugo procumbens, L.). This 

 species is a weed of rich waste or cultivated 

 ground, and has been largely introduced with 

 grain. The habit is prostrate, then ascending. 

 The plant is prickly. The stems are stout or 

 slender, soft, simple or branched, angular, ridged, 

 tin- prickles shortly hooked and scattered, turned 

 downwards. The leaves are blunt or acute, hairy, 

 the lower stalked, the upper stalkless, linear to 

 oblong, thin. The flowers are blue, small, solitary, 

 axillary, shortly-stalked. The calyx in fruit has 

 unequal lips, fan-shaped with palmate lobes, the 

 ultimate flower -stalks are short, curved down- 

 wards. The receptacle has 2 membranous scales 

 formed of the detached cuticle of the calyx. The 

 plant is 6- 1 8 in. high, flowering from June to 

 August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Common Alkanet (Anchusa officinalis, L.). 

 This plant is found on ballast hills, sandbanks, 

 hrdgi-s, field borders, near gardens, waste places. 

 The habit is erect.' The root is stout. The plant 

 is densely softly hairy. The stem is rough, with 



the hairs bent down, angular, simple or branched. 

 The radical leaves are narrowed into long, winged 

 stalks. The stem-leaves are not stalked, and are 

 oblong to lance - shaped, linear to oblong, the 

 upper half-clasping. The flowers are purple, more 

 or less stalkless, in crowded, one-sided spikes, or 

 in pairs. The bracts are ovate to lance-shaped. 

 The calyx - segments are blunt, ovate to lance- 

 shaped, hairy both sides, narrow, longer than the 

 tube. The scales of the corolla are hairy, white, 

 papillose. The small nutlets are brown. The 

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

 August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Evergreen Alkanet (Anchusa sempervirens, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is hedges, waste places, 

 near ruins, waysides. The habit is erect. The 

 root is stout. The stem is rough, with spreading 

 hairs, which are turned downwards, simple. The 

 radical leaves are oblong to ovate, long-stalked, 

 the stem-leaves are ovate, on short stalks, acute. 

 The flowers are salver-shaped, bright blue, on 

 short stalks, in cymes in axillary pairs, which are 

 very hairy, long-stalked. The flower-stalks are 

 spreading, slender, and bear 2 dense spikes with 

 an intermediate flower. The calyx-segments are 

 narrow, linear, hairy outside. The bracts are 

 very small, lance-shaped. The scales of the corolla 

 are downy, white. The nutlets are small, netted. 

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

 July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Harlequin Weed (Myosotis versicolor, Sm.). 

 The habitat of this plant is waste ground, dry 

 sandy places, meadows, and banks. The plant has 

 the rosette habit. The stem is usually branched 

 from below, or simple, erect. The leaves are 

 narrow, linear to oblong, more or less acute, the 

 upper sometimes opposite. The flowers are pale 

 yellow, then blue, in long cymes (stalked), small. 

 The calyx is bell-shaped, cleft half-way, with 

 numerous, spreading, hooked, few straight hairs, 

 closed in fruit, oblong, the lobes erect, and longer 

 than the ultimate flower-stalks, which are ascend- 

 ing. The tube of the corolla exceeds the limb, 

 which is concave, and lengthens so that the 

 stamens are as long as the style, which is nearly 

 as long as the calyx. The nutlets are black, and 

 bordered. The plant is i-io in. high, flower- 

 ing from April to July, and is a herbaceous 

 annual. 



Jersey Bugloss (Echium plantagineum, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is dry places. The habit 

 is erect. The rootstock is reddish, spindle-shaped. 

 The stem is ascending or erect, hairy, branched, 

 the lower branches prostrate. The radical leaves 

 are lance - shaped, stalked, blunt. The upper 

 leaves are half-clasping, linear to oblong, heart- 

 shaped below, with lateral ribs, spreading, blunt, 

 enlarged below. The flowers are dark -bluish- 

 purple, or violet, in spreading curved cymes, or 

 long spikes. The sepals are awl - like, lance- 

 shaped. The stamens are hardly longer than the 

 corolla, unequal, short, 2 intermediate and 2 longer. 

 The nutlets are angular, rough. The plant is 1-3 

 ft. high, flowering in June and July, and is a herb- 

 aceous biennial. 



