PLANTS OF HEDGEROWS AND WALLS 343 



the petals and are proterandrous. The pistil is inferior, 

 and consists of five carpels enclosed in a disk which becomes 

 fleshy ; the fruit is a berry (8). 



Woodland species are so numerous in the hedges that 

 hedgerows may be regarded as linear extensions of the 

 woodland flora. The more typical herbaceous species are 

 Bracken (Pteris aquilina) and other ferns, Soft-grass and 

 other woodland grasses, Bluebell, Garlic, Purple Orchis, 

 Dog's Mercury, Moschatel, Anemone, Wood Violet, Wood 

 Sorrel, Primrose, Cowslip, Stitchwort, Herb Robert, Dead- 

 nettle, Hedge Woundwort, Foxglove, Crosswort, Jack-by- 

 the-hedge, Chervil, and Nettle. 



Invaders from the meadows are represented by the 

 Daisy, Yarrow, Clover, and cultivated grasses ; while 

 wind-dispersed composites like the Dandelion, Groundsel, 

 Goat's-beard, and Thistles are also common. 



Parasites are frequent, and we may find the strange- 

 looking Toothwort, which lives parasitically on the roots 

 of trees and shrubs ; also Broomrapes on the roots of her- 

 baceous plants (p. 359), or the Dodder (Figs. 230 and 231), 

 twining round and absorbing food from the stems of Gorse 

 or Clover. 



The vegetation of the ditch varies with the water-supply. 

 If much water is present, aquatic and marsh species occur, 

 similar to those found in a pond and on its margin. Common 

 species are Mud Crowfoot [Ranunculus Lenormandi), Lesser 

 Spearwort (R. Flammula), Marsh Marigold (Caltha palu- 

 stris), Water Cress {Radicula Nasturtium), Bog Stitchwort 

 (Stellaria tdiginosa), Water Blinks (Montia fontana), Water 

 Starwort (Callitriche stagnalis), Square-stemmed Willow 

 Herb (Epilobium tetragonum), Water Dropwort (Omanthe 

 crocata), Brooklime (Veronica Beccabunga), and Floating 

 Mead-grass (Glyceria fluitans) . 



In addition to the above, many other problems may be 

 studied in a hedgerow, e.g. how patches of bare soil or 



