WASTES AND WAYSIDES IN SUMMER 



191 



short stalks. Each has a pair of rather large bracts which 

 completely hide the calyx, and which might at first be mistaken 

 for the calyx itself. 



The Small Bindweed is, perhaps, more commonly seen in fields 

 than in hedgerows, and is included among tlie field flowers 

 on p. 228 ; and the Dodders, 



.:^ 



belonging to the same order, are 

 described with the other para- 

 sitic plants in Chapter XXIII. 



The fom- British plants of the 

 order Solanacece are all wayside 

 species, flowering from June 

 onwards, and may be considered 

 together here. They possess the 

 following features in common : — 

 The leaves are alternately 

 arranged, without stipules. The 

 flowers are regular, with a five- 

 toothed or five-lobed calyx, and 

 a corolla of (usually) five united 

 petals which are folded in the 

 bud. The number of stamens 

 correspond with that of the lobes 

 of the corolla, and the ovary, 

 which is two-celled, ripens into 

 a berry containing several seeds, 

 except in the Henbane, where it 

 forms a capsule. 



The Henbane {Hyoscyamus 

 niger) is an erect plant, with a 

 branching stem from one to two 

 feet high, and the whole is more 

 or less coarse and hairy, with a 

 viscid touch and an unpleasant 



odour. The flowers are of a dingy yellow colour, and are arranged, 

 with very short stalks, in one-sided, leafy sj^ikes which are curved 

 backwards before the flowers are open. The calyx is at first short, 

 but grows longer, as the fruits rij^en, until it is about an inch long. 

 It has prominent veins, and its five lobes are stiff and bristly. The 

 dingy corolla also reaches a length of an inch or more, and is dis- 

 tinctly marked with dark bluish veins. This plant flowers from 



THE RAMPION BELLPLOWER. 



