102 



BRITISH FLORA 



plant has the rosette habit, with an erect stem. 

 The radical leaves are lyrate, the terminal lobe 

 larger, the upper pair of lobes small, shorter than 

 the breadth of the terminal lobe, which is large 

 and oblong to egg-shaped. The lateral lobes of 

 the lower leaves are small. The upper leaves are 

 entire, toothed. The flowers are smaller than in 

 B. -vulgaris (hence parviflord), in a close, narrow 

 raceme, the flower-stalks erect. The petals are 

 half as long again as the sepals. The flowering 

 buds are downy. The pods are short, closely 

 pressed, with an awl-like point. The plant is 

 1-2 ft. high, flowering from May to July, and is 

 a herbaceous biennial. 



Hairy Bitter Cress (Cardamine hirsuta, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is moist places and open 

 ground. The plant has more or less the rosette 

 habit. The stem is not wavy, stiff, erect and leafy. 

 The radical leaves form a rosette. The leaves are 

 pinnate, with the leaflets of the lower leaves round, 

 angular, or toothed, those of the upper leaves 

 narrower, oblong, entire, oval, cut. There are 

 no stipules. The flowers are white, with erect 

 petals, which are twice as long as the calyx. 

 There are 4 stamens. The style is short, stout, 

 equal to or half the breadth of the pod. The pods 

 are erect, as are the stalks. The plant is from 

 6 in. to 2 ft. in height. The flowers are in bloom 

 between April and September. The plant is a 

 herbaceous -perennial. 



Common Bitter Cress (Cardamine amara, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is river-sides, moist 

 meadows near streams, watery places. The habit 

 is as in the last. The rootstock is slender, how- 

 ever, and bears stolons. The stem is ascending, 

 angular, smooth or hairy. The leaves are alter- 

 nate, pinnate. The leaflets in the radical leaves 

 are more or less round or ovate, those of the stem 

 narrow, oblong, deeply toothed. The stem-leaves 

 have angular leaflets. The flowers are creamy- 

 white, and large. The petals are three times the 

 length of the calyx, and erect, large, inversely 

 ovate, spreading. The stamens are as long as 

 the petals. The anthers are purple or violet. The 

 style is long and slender. The stigma is small. 

 The pods are erect, and borne on slender stalks. 

 The plant is 1-2 ft. in height, and flowers from 

 April to June. It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Horse-radish (Cochlearia Armoracia, L.). The 

 habitat of this plant is ditches, corners of fields, 

 river-banks, waste places. The plant is tufted in 

 habit. There is a stout, long, cylindrical root- 

 stock. The leaves are linear to oblong, blunt, 

 scalloped. The radical leaves are long, stalked, 

 wavy, with reticulate veins, heart-shaped, wedge- 

 shaped, or unequal below. The stem-leaves are 

 stalkless, lance - shaped, serrate, toothed. The 

 young leaves are pinnate. The flowers are borne 

 in racemose panicles, and are white, the petals 

 twice as long as the calyx. The style is slender, 

 the stigma is large and shield-shaped, pin-headed. 

 The pods do not ripen in the British Isles, the im- 

 mature ones being inversely ovoid, borne on long, 

 slender stalks. The pouch is ovoid, 4 -seeded. 

 The plant is 2-3 ft. in height. It is in flower 



in May and June, and is a herbaceous perennial. 

 Awlwort (Subularta aquatica, L.). The habitat 

 of this species is gravelly bottoms of subalpine lakes 

 in N. Wales. The habit is the loose rosette habit. 

 The plant is small and submerged. The root con- 

 sists of numerous densely tufted, long, white fibres. 

 The leaves are radical in tufts, round in section, 

 linear, tapering to an awl-like point, and are cel- 

 lular. The flowers are few, small, white, sub- 

 merged, borne on a naked scape. The pods are 

 oblong, with few seeds, and small, borne on short, 

 ascending stalks. The pale -brown seeds are 

 minutely dotted. The plant is 1-3 in. in height, 

 and flowers from June to August. It is a herb- 

 aceous perennial. 



ORDER CARYOPHYLLACE/E 



Bog Stitchwort (Stellaria uliginosa, Murray). 

 This plant is indigenous, and is found in wet 

 places, ditches, by streamlets, and bogs. The 

 habit is prostrate or erect. The whole plant is 

 bluish-green, more or less devoid of hairs. The 

 stem is 4-angled, spreading, much-branched. The 

 leaves are ovate, lance-shaped, oblong, acute, 

 narrowed both ends, the tip hard, fringed with 

 hairs below, soft. The flowers are few, in cymes. 

 The bracts have a smooth, membranous border. 

 The calyx has a funnel-shaped tube, with narrow, 

 long-pointed, 3-veined sepals. The petals are not 

 so long as the latter, 2-partite. The capsule is 

 ovoid, about as long as the calyx. The seeds are 

 very small. The plant is 3-18 in. in height. It 

 flowers from May to July, and is a herbaceous per- 

 enniaL 



ORDER ELATINACE^E 



Waterwort (Elatine hexardra, D.C. The 

 habitat of this plant is margins of ponds, lakes, 

 pools. The plant is of aquatic habit. The stems 

 form a matted mass under water, and are limp, 

 rooting at the nodes. The plant is creeping, and 

 very small. The leaves are opposite, longer than 

 the leaf-stalks, spoon-shaped. The flowers are 

 rose-colour, have the parts in threes, borne on 

 short stalks, in the axils, alternate. The calyx is 

 3-fid, with unequal sepals. There are 3 inversely 

 ovate petals, longer than the sepals. The stamens 

 are 6 in number. The capsule is top-shaped, with 

 8-12 straight seeds, which are ascending, the cap- 

 sule concave above, 3-celled. The plant is 1-3 in. 

 in height, and flowers between July and Septem- 

 ber, being a herbaceous annual. 



Elatine Hydropiper, L. The habitat of this 

 plant is muddy ponds. The habit is as in the last. 

 The plant is small and creeping. The leaves are 

 opposite, not so long as the leaf-stalks. The 

 flowers are rose-colour, the parts in fours, stalk- 

 less, with 8 stamens, the calyx 4-fid, and with 4 

 ovate petals. The capsule is nearly round, de- 

 pressed, 4-celled. The seeds are curved, nearly 

 double, pendulous, hooked, 4 in each cell. The 

 plant is floating or submerged, 1-3 in. high, flower- 

 ng in July and August, and is a herbaceous 

 annual. 



