FLOWERS OF THE ROCKS AND WALLS, 

 SANDY AND GRAVELLY PLACES 



[Rupestral plants are essentially plants that grow on shallow soils, or in the clefts and crevices of rocks. 

 A large number are found in hilly regions, chiefly in the west of England, or in Scotland and Ireland. This 

 section therefore is to some extent similar to Section VII, but in the latter case the soil is usually less 

 hallow. Many of these plants are alpine arctic types; a large number grow on the borders of rills or wet 

 rocks. The flora of a wall is artificial, but many plants have adopted this habit, being native on rocks. 

 Sandy and gravelly places are more akin to walls and rocks than fields or hills and dry places, and some plants 

 are therefore included here that might be placed in either of the latter.] 



ORDER RANUNCULACE^E 



Thalictrum Kochii, Fr. This plant was formerly 

 regarded as a variety of T. minus. It is a local 

 species. The habitat is wet rocks. The plant has 

 spreading stipules with horizontal auricles. The 

 stem is leafy below, tall. The leaf-stalks have 

 spreading branches. The achenes are egg-shaped. 

 The stem is 2-4 ft. high, and this Meadow Rue 

 flowers in July and August, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Globe-flower (TroHiuseurop&us, L.). The habi- 

 tat of this plant is subalpine damp mountain pas- 

 tures, stream -sides, damp meadows, mountain 

 waterfalls, wet rocks on mountains, copses. The 

 habit is erect. The rootstock is short, crowned 

 with rigid fibres. The stem is hairless, simple, 

 leafy. The radical leaves are stalked, nearly 

 round, divided into 5 lobes radiating from the 

 centre, the lobes rhomboidal, wedge-shaped, 

 divided, lobes cut, toothed, the stem-leaves stalk- 

 less, not so large. The flowers are globular 

 (hence Globe-flower), bright-yellow. The 10 petals 

 are ligulate, oblong, as long as the stamens. The 

 sepals are 10-15, golden -yellow, round, hollow, 

 forming a globe. The stamens are short. The 

 follicles are transversely wrinkled, keeled, beaked. 

 The seeds are 3-angled, shining, smooth, black, 

 and dotted. The plant is \-z\ ft. high, flowering 

 in June and July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



ORDER PAPAVERACE^E 



Yellow Welsh Poppy (Meconopsis cambrica, 

 Vig.). The habitat of this Poppy is moist glens, 

 damp rocky places, shady spots. The plant has 

 the rosette habit. There are no hairs on the stem 

 or leaves. There is a stout, thick, branched and 

 tufted rootstock. The roots are thick. The stem 

 is woolly at the base, many-flowered. The leaves 

 are pinnate, with segments deeply divided nearly 

 to the base, distinct or decurrent, and are long- 

 stalked, bluish -green below. The flowers are 



yellow, large, borne on long stalks. The sepals 

 are hairy. The petals are rounded. The style is 

 short, the stigma pin-headed, with 4-6 rays. The 

 capsule is 4-6 valved, ribbed, smooth, elliptic to 

 oblong, beaked. The seeds are black or brown, 

 netted. The plant is 1-2 feet high, flowering from 

 June to August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



ORDER CRUCIFER.S 



Alpine Rock Cress (Arabis alpina, L.). This 

 plant has the rosette habit. The rootstock is 

 stoloniferous. The barren shoots are prostrate. 

 The stem is smooth or hairy. The hairs on the 

 leaves are 3-4-forked. The radical leaves are 

 oblong, blunt, stalkless, or narrowed into the 

 leaf-stalk, which is short and winged. The stem- 

 leaves are lance-shaped, oblong, auricled, spread- 

 ing, with irregular teeth, and some secondary 

 teeth. The outer sepals are gibbous below. The 

 flowers are white, the petals large, twice as long 

 as the sepals. The pods are spreading or curved 

 upwards, broad, blunt. The seeds are round to 

 oval, with a narrow membranous wing. The plant 

 is 4-9 in. high, flowering in July and August, and 

 is a herbaceous perennial. 



Rock Cress (Arabis petrcea^ Lam.). The habi- 

 tat of this plant is alps, moist rocks. The plant 

 has the rosette habit. The stem is erect or prostr- 

 ate, smooth, hairy, branched below. The leaves 

 are stalked, the radical leaves lyrate, or deeply 

 divided nearly to the base, long-stalked, oblong 

 to ovate, the stem-leaves nearly entire. The seg- 

 ments are short. The leaves are smooth, or have 

 forked hairs. The flowers are large, white or 

 purplish, in a corymb. The petals have a broad 

 claw, and are spreading. The pods are spreading, 

 with 3-nerved valves, slender, straight. The 

 seeds are oblong, with a terminal, straight, in- 

 distinct wing. The plant is 3-8 in. high, flowering 

 in July and August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Bristol Rock Cress (Arabis stricta, Huds. = A. 

 scabra, All.). The habitat of this plant is cal- 



