KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



201 



"OUR WILD FLOWERS." 



No. 1.— INTRODUCTORY. 



We have read so much, my dear sir, 

 about our Wild Flowers, in the pages of 

 Our own Journal, that it appears to me to 

 be a favorite subject with your readers col- 

 lectively. I therefore propose originating a 

 series of papers on the Wild Flowers of Great 

 Britain and Ireland. And here let me offer 

 a few preliminary remarks. 



The " British Flora" is divided into 

 "Flowering and Flowerless Plants"; conse- 

 quently the subject being " Our Wild 

 Flowers, " I must confine myself to the 

 jir.st of these divisions, — viz., that of the 

 "Flowebing Plants." Dr. Lindley in 

 his admirable work, the " Vegetable King- 

 dom," divides these Flowering Plants into 

 five classes ; to four of which we have in 

 England representatives among our wild 

 flowers. Hooker and Arnott, in their 

 " British Flora, 1 ' class our plants under the 

 heads of Exogens, Endogens, and Flov:erless. 

 The two first of these classes contain the 

 Flowering plants ; the third (as before 

 mentioned), the Flowerless plants. 



1 will not enter into the characters of each 

 plant separately, nor into the precise dis- 

 tinctions of each order ; but give a brief 

 account of the plants peculiar to each order, 

 as they stand enrolled ; endeavoring to 

 make the subject interesting to all the friends 

 of Our Journal, so that they may be led 

 hereafter to take a further interest in this 

 most agreeable and delightful study. 



first class. 

 Exogens (Leaves netted). To this sub- 

 class, the greater number of our wild flowers 

 belong, and they likewise have a more 

 perfect organisation than those belonging to 

 the 



second class. 



Endogens, which have their leaves 

 parallel-veined. 



Taking the orders belonging to the Exo- 

 gens, we will commence with the 



Ranunculacece. — Belonging to this order, 

 we have plants, the greater number of which 

 clothe our fields in spring and summer. 

 Some few are aquatics, and others, although 

 not aquatics, yet always choose for them- 

 selves places near running streams, or where 

 water overflows every year. Some few deck 

 our woods with their spring blossoms, and 

 here and there they may be seen amongst our 

 hedge-plants. 



The greater part of the plants belonging 

 to this order are either remarkable for their 

 acridity, or even in some cases are very 

 poisonous. Among the first of these, our 

 field plants, I will mention the common 

 Buttercup {Ranunculus bulbosus), and its like, 

 which are so well known to all young people. 



It is indeed a beautiful sight to behold all 

 our fields clothed early in the year with 

 myriads of these pretty little cup-shaped, 

 rich yellow flowers. We have again, in our 

 corn-fields, yet rarely to be met with (I 

 very much doubt whether they deserve to be 

 called "our Wild Flowers") — the common 

 Larkspur (Delphinium consolida) and the 

 " Pheasant's Eye " (Adonis autumnalis) ; 

 the bright blue of the former, and the (mini- 

 um) fine red of the latter, when found 

 growing together in these fields, being suf- 

 ficient to render them easily observable to the 

 Botanist. The first has a spur to its flower, 

 as its name implies ; the other, from the 

 beautiful red of the corolla, and its black 

 centre, has received the name of the " Phea- 

 sant's Eye." Among the aquatics of this 

 order, no doubt you have observed the 

 beautiful effect produced by one or two of the 

 Crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis and panto- 

 thrix), in our ponds and streams. Instead of 

 beholding, as in our fields, a carpet of gold, 

 we have all over the ponds (whilst you can 

 only here and there see the water) a covering 

 of snow-like little flowers. The effect is 

 certainly very peculiar. Those which patro- 

 nise the damp and submerged fields, are 

 the " Celery-leaved Crowfoot" (Ranunculus 

 sceleratus), which has a thickish stem, and 

 small flowers, and which also grows frequently 

 on the edges of ponds ; the Great and Lesser 

 Spearworts (Ranuncidus Lingua and Flam- 

 niula), which bear large flowers and have 

 spear-shaped leaves; the "Common Marsh 

 Marigold" (Caltha palustris), which may 

 easily be recognised from the flowers being of 

 a deep golden yellow color, and the leaves 

 dark green, heart-shaped, and crenate. 

 This handsome flower blooms early in the 

 month of May ; it may be met with on the 

 banks of rivers and in moist meadows. 



Another very beautiful flower, — which 

 takes the same fancy of growing along the 

 banks of rivers and streamlets, only confines 

 itself to the mountainous parts of England, 

 — is the Globe Flower (Trollius Europoeus). 

 This flower well deserves its name, for it is 

 quite globular, from the converging of the 

 sepals into a globe. The effect of these 

 golden flowers is very pleasing ; I greatly 

 enjoyed the sight of them, last summer but 

 one. I found them growing all along the 

 banks of the " Sour Milk Gill," which rushes 

 down from Eastdale Tarn, into Grasmere in 

 Westmoreland. It is a lovely spot alto- 

 gether. The Common Meadow Eue 

 (Thalictrum flavum) is found along the 

 banks of ditches and rivers, in parts of 

 England. There are, however, some other 

 species of the "Meadow Rue," which are 

 confined to the mountains. 



A plant which is well known to us by the 

 name of the " Wolfsbane," or " Monkshood" 



