Flowers Shown to the Children Part 18

These circles of leaves and flowers grow at intervals all the way up the stem, with a good distance between each circle, and the flowers in the lowest circles always come out first.

The stem of the Ground Ivy is four-sided. It is tinged with pink and is very hairy.

3. HAIRY WATER MINT

This strong-smelling plant is common everywhere. It likes to grow in wet places, and it is in flower towards the end of summer and in autumn.

The Water Mint is not an attractive plant. It has four-sided juicy green stems stained with purple. These stems do not grow straight.

The flowers grow in pink clover-shaped heads, either at the end of the main stem or sometimes on very short stalks which spring from between the stem and the leaf.

Each pink head is made up of many tiny tubes. These tubes are prettily cut round the mouth, and you can see four stamens, with deep crimson heads, coming out of the mouth of each tube. The forked tip of the seed-vessel is so tiny you scarcely notice it.

Below the flower there is a deep funnel-shaped calyx in which each pink tube stands, and both it and the flowers are covered with fine soft hairs. There is often a pair of small oval green leaves just beneath the head of flowers.

The leaves of the Hairy Water Mint are broadly oval with widely separated teeth round the edge. They grow in pairs on short stalks on each side of the main stem, and they are hairy all over.

Plate x.x.xVII: 1. COMMON FUMITORY 2. RAGGED ROBIN 3. RED CAMPION

1. COMMON FUMITORY

The Common Fumitory is abundant in all parts of Britain, and it blooms in summer. The flowers grow in loose cl.u.s.ters. Those that are lowest down the stem come out first, and the buds are always at the top of the stem.

The flowers are a pretty rose pink colour, but the tips are often purple, especially before the flower is fully out. The petals are curiously shaped. They are joined together into a tube which is curved at the end, and inside this tube the stamens and the seed-vessel are hidden. You will notice that there is a tiny piece of one petal which is not joined to the others. It stands out by itself and looks like a small pink tongue, which broadens at the end. You can always recognise the Fumitory by this pink tongue.

There are two tiny green sepals with edges cut like the teeth of a saw, and the pink tube lies in between these sepals. After the pink tube falls off, the seed-vessel, which is inside, grows into a little green knot. You can see many of these little green knots on the lower part of the stem where there have once been flowers.

The green leaves of the Fumitory are very delicate and pretty. They are finely cut up into many little divisions, and each division is a beautiful shade of grey-green.

2. RAGGED ROBIN

This untidy plant likes to grow in damp places; it is very common in meadows and in marshes, and it blooms all summer.

The flowers grow in twos and threes, on short stalks which branch opposite each other near the end of a long slender stem.

The petals are a delicate pale pink, and they are very much cut up into narrow ragged pieces. You will easily know the Ragged Robin by these pink petals.

The sepals are joined together into a cup which is cut into teeth all round the mouth. They are dark green tinged with red, and have many purple veins running from top to bottom.

The leaves of the Ragged Robin are shaped like a lance. They are long and narrow with smooth edges, and they grow opposite each other in pairs, closely clasping the stem. Those leaves that grow close to the ground have sometimes short stalks.

The upper part of the sticky stem is dark red in colour, and it is usually rough.

3. RED CAMPION

This pretty summer plant is fond of damp places like its cousin the Ragged Robin.

It has pink flowers, which usually grow in pairs at the end of slender stalks branching from the main stem. Sometimes you may find a single flower growing on a small stalk in between two pairs on much larger stalks.

There are five petals, each with a deep nick in the centre, as if a three-cornered piece had been cut out. These petals lie flat open round the rim of the reddish-green cup formed by the sepals; and if you pull the sepals apart, you find that the petals have long strap-shaped ends which go right down into the cup.

There is a curious thing about this plant. You find one pink flower with a bunch of stamens inside the cup. You can see their tips peeping out where the pink petals all meet together. There is no seed-vessel in the middle. And in another plant, that looks just the same till you examine it, you find no stamens, but instead there is a green seed-vessel in the centre of the cup, with fine, wavy green threads at the top which stand out where the petals join.

The stem of the Red Campion is red and sticky, and the leaves grow opposite each other in pairs which clasp the stem.

If you crush the leaves and stalks they give out a strong scent which is not pleasant.

PLATE x.x.xVIII: 1. DOVE'S-FOOT CRANE'S-BILL 2. HERB-ROBERT 3. STORK'S BILL

1. DOVE'S-FOOT CRANE'S-BILL

The Dove's-foot Crane's-bill is known to us all. You will find it flowering by the roadside from May to September.

The flowers are small and pink, sometimes almost purple. They have five petals, each with a notch in the broad end and with many fine hairs near the narrow end.

The flowers open flat, like a wheel, and you can see the green tips of the sepals appearing between each of the pink petals, as you look down into the flower.

After all the pink petals have fallen off, a thin green spike shoots up in the middle of the sepals. These sepals no longer lie flat open, but half closed, they form a green cup. The spike holds the seeds, and when it is time for them to be scattered over the ground, five green threads loosen themselves from the bottom of the spike and curl up nearly to the top. At the end of each of these green threads there is a seed, and very soon the green threads crack and the seeds fall to the ground.

The leaves of the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill are very soft and downy. They are round in shape and are covered with fine hairs. Each leaf is divided into seven parts, which are toothed round the edges.

This plant has a weak stem, which lies near the ground. It is tinged with pink, and is very hairy.

2. HERB-ROBERT

The Herb-Robert is common everywhere in early summer. It is a cousin of the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill, but differs from it in some points which you must notice. The stems are much stronger and can stand upright.

The flowers are longer than those of the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill, and the five petals have no notch in the broad end, and no hairs at the narrow end. These petals are pale pink, streaked with white or purple, and they grow in pairs at the end of short stalks which branch near each other from the main stem.

The sepals are of two kinds. You have three outer sepals which are green and hairy, and inside these there are two others which are very thin and almost colourless.

The seeds of the Herb-Robert are scattered in the same way as those of the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill.

You will always know this plant by its beautiful red leaves. They are shaped like a hand, and are cut up into many tiny fingers. At first they are green, but very soon they become a beautiful red colour. So do the stalks.

The whole plant has a strong and rather unpleasant odour.

3. STORK'S BILL

The Stork's Bill is very well known. In summer it grows plentifully on dry ground, especially near the sea coast.