A HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE 



The country around is broken by deep valleys, dales or gullies, watered 

 by rivers and rivulets, in which are found the trailing stems of the water 

 milfoil (Myriopbyllum spicatum) or streaming stems of water ranunculus 

 (Ranunculus pseudo-Jiuitans), and on the marshy moorlands the golden 

 saxifrage (Chrysosplenium alternifolium), the marsh violet (Viola palustris} 

 and the beautiful grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) . In the beauti- 

 ful Dove dale the limestone rocks have been rent by the geological 

 convulsions of nature, and present their naked faces or escarpments in 

 the form of perpendicular rocks rising high above the level of the 

 stream, attaining an elevation of over 1,000 feet above sea level, to 

 which many fanciful names have been given. These rocks, abound- 

 ing in fissures, are the homes of many of the rarest plants of the 

 district, as the hairy violet (Viola birta}, the barberry (Berberis -vul- 

 garis}, the wall whitlow grass (Draba muralis}, the rare bitter cress 

 (Cardamine impatient), the kidney vetch (Anthyllis Vulneraria} and the 

 dwarf furze (Ulex nanus}. In the valleys of the Hamps and Manyfold 

 are similar mountain limestone rocks, fantastic in appearance, one of 

 the more notable being Beeston Tor. Here is found the wild pansy 

 (Viola lutea}, the white beam (Pyrus Aria) and the mossy saxifrage 

 (Saxifraga hypnoides}, and on Ecton Hill the vernal sandwort (Arenaria 

 verna). South of this are the fine limestone eminences, the Weaver 

 Hills, rising to some 1,150 feet above the sea, clothed with rich grass in 

 spring, but very bare in the hotter months, and with abundant exposed 

 rocky surfaces, affording a home for many of the limestone loving species, 

 such as the rock rose (Helianthemum vu/gare), the dropwort (Spirtza Fili- 

 pendtila), the sandwort (Arenaria tenuifolia}, the autumn gentian (Gentiana 

 Amarella}, the field gentian (G. campestris] and the long-stalked crane's 

 bill (Geranium columbiniim}. In the southern portion of the county, 

 south-west of Rugeley, the country though richly undulating rarely rises 

 to greater altitudes than from 600 to 800 feet above sea level. Here 

 are a series of round topped hills, a portion of the extensive Cannock 

 Chase. These are usually clothed with thin grass, abundant bracken 

 (Pteris aquilina}, and grey with a rich clothing of ling (Calluna vulgaris}, 

 heath (Erica cinerea and E. tetralix), with dark green bushes of crow- 

 berry (Empetrum nigrum), the whortleberry (Vaccinium Vitis-Id<#},and here 

 and there gay with the golden flowers of the broom (Cytisus scoparius}, 

 but with furze and bramble really rare ; very well wooded in parts with 

 oak, elm and pine, and with a rich undergrowth of bilberry and bracken 

 and often bluebells (Scilla nutans). In the valleys between the hills are 

 swampy grass lands, watered by small rapid streams and rich in marsh 

 plants, as the forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris}, and here also the bog 

 asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), the grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palus- 

 tris), the marsh violet (Viola palustris) and the trailing stems of the 

 cranberry are abundant. South-west of this are the limestone hills of 

 Dudley Castle and Sedgley Beacon. These are slight elevations, but 

 appear more elevated by contrast with the low level of most of the 

 country around. Dudley Castle is 730 feet above the sea, and its ruins 



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