Flowers Shown to the Children Part 17

When the flowers are in bud they are completely hidden inside this hard green ball, and after the flowers are withered you see these b.a.l.l.s, which have become dark brown, still clinging to the ends of the stalks.

The Knapweed leaves vary much in shape. Some are narrow and long, with edges that are finely toothed. Some are deeply cut up at the sides.

Those that grow clasping the stem are broad, and they are smooth all round the edge.

3. WILD THYME

This sweet-scented little evergreen grows abundantly on all sandy and chalky pastures, and is specially common in mountainous districts. It flowers in summer and early autumn.

The Wild Thyme trails along the ground in a thick tangle of wiry stems and tiny glossy leaves. From this tangled mat some of the stems stand upright, and these bear ma.s.ses of small purple flowers at the top. Other stems end in a tuft of tiny leaves.

The flowers of the Wild Thyme consist of a narrow purple tube which stands in a deep green funnel-shaped calyx. The mouth of the flower-tube is cut in two, and the upper half has a small notch in the centre. The lower half is divided into three blunt points.

Inside the tube, clinging to its sides, are four stamens. After the flowers are withered you can see the tip of the seed-vessel coming out of the mouth of the calyx.

The calyx is funnel-shaped and has many sharp teeth found its mouth, and there is a fringe of white hairs just inside.

The leaves of the Wild Thyme are very small. Sometimes the edges are rolled back till they almost meet behind. They are dark green and glossy, with smooth edges, on which you can see a line of fine hairs.

Plate x.x.xV: 1. EARLY PURPLE ORCHIS. 2. PURPLE LOOSE-STRIFE.

3. COMMON b.u.t.tERWORT.

1. EARLY PURPLE ORCHIS

At the same time of year, and in the same places as you find the Blue Hyacinth, you will discover the Early Purple Orchis.

It is a curious plant, and belongs to a family whose flowers are always strangely shaped.

The flowers grow in a cone-shaped head at the upper end of a stout, juicy stalk. Each flower consists of three purple petals and three purple sepals, and you will not be able to distinguish which are which.

These petals or sepals are very irregular in shape. One is broad, and hangs open like a lip. This one has a long purple spur behind. Two smaller petals rise straight up above this lip and form a hood. And the others are shaped in varying ways.

Inside the broad lip with its hood you see a slender column, in which the one stamen as well as the point of the seed-vessel are combined.

The flower is placed at the end of what looks like a twisted purple stalk. This is really the seed-vessel, and where it joins the flower-stem there is always a narrow strip of purple leaf.

The leaves have no stalks. They are broadly strap-shaped with blunt ends, and they have long narrow lines running from base to tip. Each leaf is stained all over with purple spots.

The root of the Early Purple Orchis consists of two egg-shaped k.n.o.bs, and above these k.n.o.bs grow many white, worm-like rootlets.

2. PURPLE LOOSE-STRIFE

The Purple Loose-strife is common in all parts of England, but you do not find it so abundantly in Scotland. It is a tall, spiky plant, which likes to grow in wet places, and it blooms in late summer and autumn.

The flowers are a rich purple colour which is sometimes almost pink.

They grow in circles close round the main stem, and there is always a pair of broad pointed green leaves separating each circle from the one above.

The flowers have six separate petals, which are long and narrow and rather crumpled looking. These petals are placed at the mouth of a green calyx, which is shaped like a thick tube. This tube is ribbed all over, and has six large green teeth and six smaller green teeth round its mouth. If you gently split open this green tube you find two rows of stamens clinging to its sides. These stamens have purply-pink heads, and there are six long ones which stand up in the centre of the flowers, and six which are shorter and hidden out of sight.

The leaves of the Purple Loose-strife are dark green. Usually they are covered with fine hairs, but sometimes you find leaves which are quite smooth. It is easy to recognise this plant by the rings of flowers growing close round the main stem.

3. COMMON b.u.t.tERWORT

It is always a delight to find the dainty b.u.t.terwort. It grows in heaths and bogs and marshes almost everywhere, but is most abundant in the North. The delicate flowers bloom in summer.

You will easily recognise this beautiful highland plant by the leaves.

They are thick and juicy, and grow close to the ground in a pale green star-pointed rosette. Each leaf is stalkless and as smooth as satin. On the upper side these leaves are pale yellow-green, but sometimes the edges curl upwards, and then you see that the leaf underneath is so pale that it is almost white.

From the centre of the rosette rise tall, slender stalks with drooping flower-heads. These flowers are dark bluey-purple, and their petals are joined into a short tube which stands in a shallow, toothed calyx-cup.

The mouth of the tube folds back in two parts. The upper half is short, with a deep notch in the middle. The lower half is much longer, and is divided into three deep scollops.

You will find a pink horn-like spur standing up near the base of the short tube, and you can see that the back of the flower is a delicate rose pink colour. Inside the blue tube there are two stamens and a curiously shaped seed-vessel hidden from sight.

PLATE x.x.xVI: 1. COMMON BUGLE. 2. GROUND IVY. 3. HAIRY WATER MINT.

1. COMMON BUGLE

The Common Bugle is a low-growing plant, very frequently found in open woods, banks, and pastures. It blooms in spring and early summer.

You will not think this a very attractive plant. The leaves and flowers are crowded together from top to bottom of the main stem. The stem is pale purple, and has four sides. It is hollow in the centre, and breaks off easily because it is soft and juicy.

The flowers grow without stalks in circles close to the stem wherever the leaves join it, and each circle is close to the one above it.

In every flower there is a slender tube, and one half of this tube folds over at the mouth into three lips, the centre lip having a notch in the middle. The other half of the tube stands erect.

These flowers are usually deep blue, but you may find them purple, or rose colour, or even white. They are never yellow.

Four golden-headed stamens stand up a good way beyond the mouth of the flower; two of these are short and two are much longer. The forked tip of the seed-vessel can be seen among these stamens.

The end of each tube stands in a small green calyx-cup edged with pointed teeth.

The leaves of the Common Bugle are dark green, and each pair clasps the stem closely at the bottom.

2. GROUND IVY

The Ground Ivy bears little resemblance to the ivy we all know so well.

It is common everywhere, and blooms in spring and early summer.

The flowers grow without stalks in whorls or circles close to the stem where the leaves spring from it. These flowers are dark purply-blue tubes, prettily divided at the mouth into rounded lips. The lower lips are marked with white and dark purple blotches. Inside the tubes are four small stamens with yellow heads; you can just see them at its mouth, with the forked tip of the seed-vessel among them.

There are usually six or more flowers in a whorl, and each flower has a green calyx-cup which is very hairy and is edged with five long sharp teeth.

From each side of the stem, close among the flowers, grow two leaves on pink stalks. These leaves are round and are beautifully scolloped at the edge. Each leaf is covered with a network of veins and is hairy all over, both above and below, as well as round the scollops.